Chapter 1
Waking up sore and disoriented, I look around the familiar room and smile. Last night I had turned eighteen. I had been welcomed by the pack as a grown adult and told my Beta training will begin soon. Taking a deep breath I breathe in Rune’ scent and grab the pillow he slept on. Rune. My friend. My play mate growing up. And now my Mate. We always tussled with each other during training with each one of us holding our own against the other. I know him. Know that even though he is dating Tanya, he will do what is right by me and tell the pack we are Mates. He already promised me as much last night as we fell asleep in each other’s arms.
My smile turns into a wide grin. Last year I became an orphan when my parents saved Alpha Valor and Rune from a pack of Rogues that snuck into Pine Moon during the early morning. Now I will be the future Luna of the pack, gaining a bigger family in the process with Alpha Valor as my father in law and Gale and Miss Asteria as my Uncle and Aunt.
Speaking of my Mate, I look to the side of the bed Rune slept on and wonder where he had gone. Nothing but a pair of boxer briefs and a t-shirt remains, the clothes smelling like his scent of mint and vanilla. Curious to learn where he went, I reach out through our mind link but come up empty. Something is blocking me. Shocked, I try again, hoping to reach my mate to see if his father knows we are fated by the Goddess, but I get the same results – nothing.
Deciding I need to find my Mate and talk to him face to face about what the next step will be, I grab the clothes he left for me and quickly dress. It is just as I am about to stand from the comfortable bed that the door is slammed open and in walks Tanya Cross and her minions.
“If it isn’t the little home wrecker.” She sneers as she takes a step forward. I bristle at her words and glare at the brunette, hazel eyed she-wolf with the fakest tan I have ever seen and scoff. If anyone is the home wrecker, its her.
“Show some respect for your future Luna. I am Rune’s Mate.” I shoot back, watching as shock, then anger crosses her face. Tanya has always hated me ever since the day she arrived at our pack ten years ago. She is not a true member of Pine Moon, but the daughter of the Alpha to the largest pack in the area Blood Claws. Alpha Valor made some sort of deal with her father ten years ago and Tanya came to live in Pine Moon when she was nine. When she turned fourteen her and Rune started dating she began bullying me for no other reason than that I was friends with Rune and Caspian.
“You will never be Luna of Pine Moon. That position is mine and will always be mine.” She screeches at me. I open my mouth to ask what she means but before I can, her minions are rushing towards me. The strawberry blonde she-wolf called Paisley grabs my hair, yanking it hard and pulling me off the bed and catching me off guard as I fall onto the floor. I can smell the scent of wolfsbane on her fingers and I snarl at her. Wolfsbane is poison to us wolves, how dare they try to use it on a high ranking member of the pack.
Kicking out at Paisley, I manage to connect the heel of my foot into her stomach. She releases me as she is sent flying towards Tanya, crashing into the spiteful bitch. Unfortunately I leave myself open for another attack and the two remaining she-wolves, a red head named Scarlet and a blonde name Ashley, take this chance to claw at me, their nails cutting into my exposed skin. I wince as the wolfsbane on their nails seep in through the wounds they made, feeling it begin to work through my veins. Doing my best to fight back, I send an S.O.S. into the pack link, but I am met with another block.
It is then that I realize something is wrong. The only reason for my pack link not to work is if the Alpha blocked me from mind linking with anyone. Scarlet makes a swipe for my face, but I dodge her just in time and she grazes my shoulder. I wince, my energy slowly being zapped by the wolfsbane poisoning my body.
“What the hell is going on?!” I sigh with relief when I hear a shout. Standing in the door way is Alpha Valor, his angry grey eyes taking in the five of us. Tanya pouts behind him, a bruise on her cheek from where Paisley crashed into her.
“Brynlee attacked Tanya.” Scarlet accuses instantly, pointing her finger at me. I growl at her, turning to the Alpha ready to explain my side of the situation but he growls back.
“I will not have anyone attacking a visiting pack delegate.” He snarls, marching to where I stand and grabbing me by the wrist. His eyes glaze over as he begins to drag me from his son’s room, ordering everyone out before he slams the door. Before I know it, he is dragging me from the third floor and down the stairs, making sure I barely have enough time to stand to my feet while treating me like a filthy Rogue before throwing me outside of the large five story building. I stumble as I try not to fall on my face before turning to glare at the man that is supposed to become my father-in-law.
By now I realized why his eyes glazed over when he grabbed me. He had sent a mind link and as a crowd begins to form, I realize he was linking the pack demanding them to come and witness a public trial. Dread fills me as I wait to see what he has planned. Rune must have told Alpha Valor about us, so why am I being treated like a criminal.
Chapter 2“Brynlee Eclipse, you stand accused of attack my future daughter in law Tanya Cross. For that, you will be demoted to an Omega.” Alpha Valor calls out. My eyes widen and body flinches as I feel my title being ripped from me, my status as a Beta she-wolf being thrown to the wolves as I feel the new title of Omega settle onto me. He literally walked in to me fighting off Scarlet and Ashley, so how could he do this to me.“Do you have anything to say for yourself?” He continues, his grey eyes stone cold. This was not the Alpha I grew up respecting. Not the man my parents died protecting last year. Many in the crowd watch on with anger, either directed at me or towards the Alpha. It is clear by the way the three she-wolves look versus my dishevelled and wounded state that the Alpha is spouting lies.“If I tell you the truth, will you even believe me?” I ask sceptically. I try to reach out to Rune, to ask for his support but my mind link to the pack is still blocked and it is cl
Chapter 3A dull humming of pain wakes me from the darkness, the scent of my home being the first thing I notice as soon as I come to my senses.“Good, you’re awake Brynlee.” Turning to the sound of the voice, I see Miss Asteria standing before me as she removes pictures from frames and carefully sets them into a box. She is meticulous in her packing, making sure not to bend the only images I have of me and my parents.“I don’t want to hear you protest. Gale and I already renounced our status as members of Pine Moon and packed away our house.” She cuts me off as I open my mouth, her hazel eyes staring into mine. I want to say something, to make her change her mind, but Miss Asteria is an Alpha blooded wolf. Once she makes up her mind there is no turning back.“Valor and Rune went too far and you deserve better. I will not stay here while they destroy the pack my ancestors built.” Miss Asteria states as I slowly push myself into a sitting position on my couch. Looking around the room I
Chapter 4“Brynlee, I am vacuum sealing all the bedding.” Miss Asteria calls out, her head popping in the door way. A look of shock fills her eye as she takes in my now empty room before it morphs to one of sympathy. She understands what I am going through as she is also leaving being her ancestral home.“My bedding is on the bed. I wasn’t sure how to pack it.” My voice sounds emotionless and hollow and surprises even me. The calm that washed over me earlier seems to be working. I am holding myself together pushing all the pain and agony from being rejected and banish into a dam inside my mind. Time will tell when the dam will break and all the pain and hurt comes crashing down on me but for now I can manage each task one at a time.“I can pack it up for you while you decide what to do with your parents’ room. I left it for you to pack up.” She pads into the room to where I stand, wrapping her arms around me and pulling my body in for a hug.“Thank you.” I find myself wrapping my arms
Chapter 5“You did the right thing Son.” My father, Alpha Valor, claps me on the shoulder as I watch my Uncle Gale carry Brynlee – my Brynlee – away. My face burns from her claw marks, the pain reminding me that I hurt her all because I was forced to. Judging from how the blood continues to drip down my face, I know these marks will leave a scar. A scar that will match the pain in my heart forever.The pack begins to disperse now that the show is over, some whispering about how the pack will change when my Aunt and Uncle leave. Aunt Asteria was furious when she learned what we had just done to Brynlee before denouncing her role in the pack and breaking all ties with us. She told me I will regret loosing Brynlee and will realize that mindlessly listening to my father will lead me to a life of misery. I asked her if Brynlee had a Mate Beater’s mark like me, but she told me that Brynlee attacked me after I rejected her and there for will not bear the make before she left chasing after Un
Chapter 6Glaring at Rune’s retreating figure, I stand from the floor now that I can breathe again. To think he would find his mate in that slut Brynlee and left me at the party alone to spend the night in her arms. I was furious to learn that she spent the night in his bed, even more furious when I slammed the door open to see her wearing his clothes and covered in his scent. Rune is my play toy and no one can have him but me.“Tanya, why were you on the floor?” Valor walks into the pack house, his own mood soured from the trial outside. It seems getting rid of that slut caused problems with the pack. Many of the pathetic Omegas and lesser Warriors already voiced their opinion on the matter, stating they would rather have Brynlee as their Luna over me. I have a plan to deal with these wolves later as long as Valor keeps Rune in check.“Your son thought to teach me a lesson of respect.” I growl out in frustration, allowing the man before me to see the bruises left on my neck. Valor st
Chapter 7Slinking towards the motel, I shake my fur out as the light misting of rain makes me wet. I am happy that Miss Asteria and Gale chose a motel so close to a forest so that we can stretch our wolf form as it gave me a chance to run free and hunt down a rabbit that I happily gnawed on while mulling over my thoughts. It’s been seven days since we left Pine Moon. Three days that I haven’t been able to shift till this morning. Keeping the dam of pain and emotions at bay in my mind has gotten easier the further we are from Pine Moon and I find myself enjoying the long drives from motel to motel.Shifting to my human form, I find my clothes in the hollow tree I left them in and change, rushing to our room on the first floor and entering it just in time to see Gale and Miss Asteria getting ready to leave.“Did you have a good run?” Gale asks, giving me a hug.“I did. It was needed.” I admit with a small smile.“Well, you have rabbit blood in your hair. I am guessing you went on a qui
Chapter 8.1Glaring at the computer screen in front of me, I read the report sent by the Private Investigator I hired to find Brynlee. Its been a week since she was expelled from Pine Moon and I have slowly come to realize how much I regret what I did. I should have never slapped her, never rejected Brynlee – my Goddess given Mate.The last seven days have been hell for me. Tanya has ramped up her abuse on the Omegas, ordering them around like slaves to prepare for our wedding day in a few months time. Every day, I get reports of her attacking she-wolves that mention my Brynlee and how she would have made a better Luna. It has caused me to placate my pack mates and put Tanya in her place. But when ever I do that, my father indulges Tanya stating that those she-wolves shouldn’t have mentioned Brynlee in Tanya’s presence.It has become a nightmare for me. Always having to perform my duties as heir to reassure pack mates that I am handling Tanya, to dealing with my father yelling at me f
Chapter 8.2Walking through the woods on the outskirts of the pack, I curse myself for being so dumb at loosing track of time and running late. Today Brynlee turned eighteen and as the future Alpha I need to be at her party to congratulate her. To welcome her as a functioning member of the pack. She will begin her Beta training under Jett and will become my Beta when I take over the pack.[Where are you?] Wincing at the sound of my father yelling through the mind link, I roll my eyes and pick up my pace. He seems angrier than usual and me being late does not seem to help.[On my way. I lost track of time in the wood.] I reply back with honesty, deciding to shift into wolf form so that I can move faster. My clothes tear as I shift mid step, my paws hitting the hard forest floor as I take off. The party starts in ten minutes, I need to be there in five to make it in time to change into new clothes and still be on time for the party.[Hurry the fuck up, Rune. Your Aunt will nag me to dea
Glaring at the email before me, I suppress the growl threatening to spill. Our council representative has been hard at work investigating Valor, Tanya, and Jonnah to the point they have begun questioning the destruction of smaller Packs surrounding Blood Claws and Pine Moon. What is worse is that other than Willow Bark, no other survivors have been found from any of these smaller Packs that were destroyed. For all the Council knows, they have either become Rogues hiding deep in the forests in wolf territory or blending with Humans in the many cities.One thing is for sure, Jonnah and Valor have committed more crimes than we originally thought.Reading further along the email, my eyes widen and my hand instinctively reaches for my stomach. Judging by the images attached to the email and the medical report the Council’s spies were able to obtain, it seems that I am not the only one expecting a pup. Now the question is, whose is it?“Brynlee, are you in here?” The door to my office opens
Watching Brynlee drive away, I wait for her truck to disappear from my view before deciding to head to my dorm room for the night and get some much-needed rest. Today has been an eventful day that has left me reeling with exhaustion. I had just finished patrol when a sudden urge of danger coursed through me. At first, I thought the warning was because Rogues had crossed our borders into the pack territory, threatening the pack. When I realized it was an internal warning from the Mate Bond, my wolf instincts took over and I rushed directly towards the danger warning without thinking. All I could think of was protecting Brynlee.’I knew I was being irrational when I barged into the training facility without warning. I knew how much of a prick I was when I swept Brynlee into my arms and carried her away from everyone without her consent, but my body kept moving on its own. I felt like a man possessed but until I knew Brynlee was safe in her den – in her cottage – I couldn’t relax.As soon
Reading the list of thirty Rogues looking to join Cresent Phoenix, I focus on the skills each wolf has listed. Some wolves come with skills such as farming and manual labor. These are definitely Omegas that left their old Pack for one reason or another. The others are a mix of Hunters and Warriors that would be good to growing the Pack’s strength. Hell, some of our current Pack Mates might be able to find their Goddess given Mates if we accepted these wolves into Crescent Phoenix.Moving to look through the applications list, I note down that out of the thirty Rogues, ten came from two Packs that I remember dealing with when I was in Pine Moon – Flaming Canine and Snarling Spruce. These Packs are ruled similarly to Pine Moon with a patriarchal rule where she-wolves are aa lesser class, only meant to produce pups and take care of the elderly and males are meant to be obeyed without any questions or doubt.I have a feeling that these wolves left for their own personal growth and safety.
Watching Quincy leave the office, I walk around Asteria’s desk and take the seat he previously occupied. Asteria watches me as she does, her eyes filled with un-asked questions.“What did Rune do to you earlier?” She asks and I sigh. I am going to kick Quincy’s ass later.“I was training with Odette when the Mate Bond let out a danger warning to Rune. He came barging in and took me away to my cottage.” I answer, watching as Asteria’s eyes widen. She subtly looks down and I stiffen in my seat as her eyes land on my stomach. I keep my hands on the armrest of the chair, doing everything I can not to confirm her suspicion while Quest watches on in shock.“So that’s why everyone has been talking about Rune being a possessive ass hole.” He laughs out, making me roll my eyes.“He definitely is an asshole.” I agree with a grumble, crossing my arms over and letting out an annoyed sigh. Asteria looks away from me with a small smile on her lips as she turns her attention to Quest.“When it comes
Helping Milan pack up the remaining items in the kitchen, I catch site of a few pups helping to bring boxes and bags out to the charter bus where Ashton and Eddison are waiting to load the storage compartments.It has been six days since we arrived at the farmhouse and after realizing how much packing needs to be done, Gale and I had called Asteria asking if we could delay our return to the pack to sort through what Milan and the others will be bringing with us on our return trip home. Luckily, Asteria agreed that us staying would be beneficial to the Willow Bark wolves and just asked that we call her before we make the drive back home.“This should be the last of it.” Milan says as she stands, a smile on her face.“So we should be ready to move out soon?” I ask my niece. She looks around, taking her time to answer as her smile falls and a hint of melancholy washes over her. I know she is sad about leaving the farm, the only safe place she has known since Valor attacked Willow Bark.
Standing in front of Brynlee’s cottage, I knock on the door and wait for her to answer. After confronting Rune, I had planned to talk to her but duty called and I had to deal with wolves on our borders. It was spies of Pine Moon once again trying to sneak in and catch a glimpse of our Luna and Beta.News had spread that Crescent Phoenix had helped Onix Moon liberate themselves from the tyranny of Viren and people were becoming increasingly curious of our female leaders. It took longer than I had thought to deal with them, the enemy wolves fighting my men with everything they could. One managed to escape capture while the other two decided to take their own lives by slitting their throats before we could restrain them.“Quincy? What are you doing here?” Brynlee’s voice calls from behind me and I turn to see her coming up the path. The faint smell of rubbing alcohol comes off her and I frown. It seems she is just coming back from the Pack Infirmary.“I wanted to see how you are doing.
Curled up in bed, hand on my flat stomach, I wonder if I am truly pregnant. It could be one of Rune’s tricks with him trying to get back together with me, but my instinct tells me he wasn’t lying with how overprotective and possessive he became. The worst part is that the bond became whole once more when he announced I am with pup. I can feel it even now, humming with new vitality as if the rejection never happened.[Hey Brynlee, are you okay?] Caspian’s voice rings through my mind, taking me out of my thoughts.[I…I am dealing with something.] I answer hesitantly, getting a hum in response.[Does it have anything to do with how Rune behaved?] I sigh, turning to lie on my back and looking up at my ceiling.[Unfortunately, it does.] I then apologized to Caspian about how Rune behaved with his Mate, Odette, and explained that the bond threw out a danger warning that set Rune off. Caspian is silent for a moment before our link hums with understanding.[Something happened between the two o
Looking out the window of my room, the lights off and the area quiet, I wonder how Brynlee is doing. After announcing to her that she is pregnant, Brynlee kicked me out of her cottage saying she needed time and space to think about it. That was three hours ago. In these last three hours I have done nothing but sit in my room worrying about her.I know Brynlee wants to be a mother. Know that she wants a big family after living life as an only child, but I also know that she is terrified. I can feel her fear through the Mate Bond, feel her worrying over this news. I hate that I can’t be there to hold her and help her through it, but this is Brynlee’s decision. It is her body, her choice.If she decides that she isn’t ready to be a mother, then I can’t change her mind. As much as I want our pup, I can’t force her to stay pregnant just for my selfish needs. I had already been selfish once and rejected her for the safety of a pack that didn’t really care for me. I will not make that mistake
Chapter 79Staring at Brynlee held in a headlock, I stalk towards the training ring she is in. Caspian’s mate tentatively lets her go as the power and anger inside my blood courses out in waves. I watch as Brynlee stands, worry in her eyes as she places her hand on my shoulder.“Rune, we were just sparing.” She states, her scent wrapping around me. Something has changed about it. It has grown sweeter and warmer. The urge to protect her grows stronger and without thinking, I scoop her into my arms are walk out of the training facilities with everyone watching. I note the scrapes and bruises left on her as she silently lets me carry her, knowing they are from her sparing and will heal in no time but that doesn’t stop the feeling of wanting to turn back and thrash that she-wolf for giving them to her. The broken bond hums with satisfaction at my thoughts of wanting to take revenge for my Mate no matter how misguided they may be. But I can feel Brynlee growing angry at me for taking her a