Chapter 31: Aislin

Chapter 31: Aislin

The effect of the marking ritual was distinct and immediate. The swirling, volatile angers within me met their match in the preternatural bond granted by the Moon Goddess, and the inferno of my fear and fury became tamed. I was eternally bound to Everett. My wolf would never have to run alone again.

That first night, I slept better than I ever had. Snuggled up against Everett’s warm, comforting chest, I finally felt at home with him, and I was ready to live this feeling for the rest of my life. Everett March, the stoic Alpha of Eastpeak, was my mate.

After meeting with Sebastian, I felt the compulsion to do more. There was only so much we could depend on the Mythguard for. Everett and I shared that thought. While he got our packmates ready for the hunt in the yard and we waited for Gavin and Billie to bring my mother home from the hospital, I sat by myself in Everett’s home office. In the chair where he usually pondered his next move, I gazed out across the world that had for so long been his—and now was mine. The mountainside dark with twilight, stars glistening between dim cotton clouds and the faintest glow of the sliver of the new moon. This would become my domain. As the Alpha’s mate, I wanted to be known for the actions I would take, too.

I gazed up at that dark sliver of the moon and sighed. The marking ritual had made me feel closer to the Moon Goddess than ever before. It reminded me that she was real, however intangible an entity she was, her magic was true and flowed through my veins as well as Everett’s. She was looking down on us, wise enough to choose the perfect fated mate for us. Aware of us… and aware of what was transpiring with David and the wicked dragons.

Closing my eyes, I reached out to the Moon Goddess with hope in my heart. “Luna, if you can hear me… please, please don’t grant David and Lothair their Lycan powers. You know as well as I do that it’ll only cause more death, and we’ve already suffered so much. So many wolf shifters—your shifters—have had their lives ripped away. Our packs are broken. If you let him succeed, then everything you have already done for us… for me, for Gavin… will be in vain. Please listen to me, Luna, heed my prayer. We are your children. And we want to live.”

I fell silent, waiting for a response. Nothing happened.

Even when I opened my eyes and gazed down the mountainside, I hoped to see some sign that the Moon Goddess had heard my pleas, but there was only stillness in the dark. I wasn’t sure if it was futile, making this prayer to her, or if she even cared… but at least I could rest assured knowing I had made the plea, rather than doing nothing at all.

I walked downstairs in the same moment that Gavin walked through the door supporting my mother on his arm. My heart leaped, whatever disappointment I faced from the Moon Goddess’ silence overwritten with joy to see my mother. Racing down the stairs, I greeted them with a warm smile. “Hi, Mom.”

My mother was still wrapped in bandages, walking frailly beside Gavin. She might be healing faster due to being a shifter, but she was still pretty fragile, and I could tell from the slowness in her body that her burns hurt her terribly. She looked at me and mustered a small smile, reaching out for me. I all too quickly took her from Gavin, carefully embracing her where she wasn’t burnt. “Aislin. It’s good to be here and out of that noisy hospital,” she said softly.

“It’s good to have you here. You’re all I’ve been thinking about.” Well, Everett was heavily on my mind too, as was the safety of our packs, but mostly, I had been worried about my mother. Every minute I was away from her, I ached over what we had both lost.

“I suppose we’ll be spending a lot of time here for the foreseeable future, hm? How does Everett feel about that?” my mother asked quietly.

I pulled back and searched her eyes, rubbing the side of my neck to draw her attention to the scar there. “He’s happy about it. We’re mates now.”

My mother’s eyes lit up and glistened. “Oh, Ais. That’s wonderful. Since when? How much have I missed…?”

“Not much,” I laughed softly. “It was only last night.”

She drew me into another hug, tighter than before. Her love was expressed in the long, silent seconds she spent wrapped around me, so purely happy for me and relieved that there was an inkling of positivity in the face of all the darkness. It was unspoken, but I felt it. “Before I know it, you’ll be getting married, moving into his house, having his babies…”

“One thing at a time,” I joked. “I still want to spend time with you. Don’t think you’re getting rid of me that easily.”

“Of course not. You’re all I have left,” she murmured, withdrawing again to place a hand on my cheek. I clasped her hand, but the smile we shared was tinged with sorrow.

Gavin stepped up beside us. “You still have us,” he said. “Aren’t Billie and I your family too?”

My mother brightened a little, reaching out to touch Gavin’s cheek too. “Of course.”

“And you know, I’m going to be depending on your wisdom and guidance from here on out,” he added.

It needn’t be said what he meant by that. My mother didn’t even need to think about the offer, either. She gave a nod of understanding, accepting her new role as Gavin’s Beta.

“Come on,” I said. “Everett’s going to lead a hunt tonight. We’re all taking part.”

“You don’t expect me to shift like this,” my mother said.

I chuckled. “No. But we still want you there.”

I bet she’d been itching to get some fresh air. Even if she couldn’t transform, she could still watch us from afar.

The four of us went to the yard to join everyone else. Their eyes all fell to us, and to our surprise, even the Eastpeak wolves received my mother’s arrival with exclamations of warmth. Everett’s mother Lyssa quickly joined my mother’s side, walking with her toward the group. “You and I will sit together and watch, hm?” she suggested.

“I’d like that,” said my mother.

Everything seemed to be falling perfectly into place. My mother and mother-in-law would become fast friends, even if Lyssa had been hesitant to accept me at first.

Our two packs then underwent our transformations into wolves. Each one of us shed our clothes and morphed in the darkness, leaving behind our human anatomies for the wild bodies of our beasts. Pain flared up my front limbs but was soon dulled when fur filled in the missing flesh—or maybe it was my connection with Everett that allowed us share the pain equally. By the time my transformation was complete, I rose as a wolf and looked to my mate, his powerful timber build standing tall. Steel grey eyes met mine. No matter the pain we shared, we were strong enough to endure.

He took off in a jog toward the woods at the edge of the yard. I followed him, and behind us were Gavin and Billie, and then our packmates. We already had been keeping tabs on a herd of deer roaming across the mountainside. It didn’t take long for us to find them.

The grass was soothing on my paws, the wind leafing through my autumn red fur. I tipped my ears forward and listened to the symphony of the night, crickets trilling and frogs uttering their final songs of summer’s end. In a single file, the wolves traveled between the trees like ghosts, led by my mate who was swift as a shadow and silver even in the faint light of the moon. Our tails waved like banners, our noses to the air in pursuit of the scent of meat. Hunger stirred within us. It had been too long since we’d hunted, any of us.

The moment we spotted the herd dispersed through the forest, we clustered and made a silent plan. An injured doe would be our target, and though it was hardly enough of a meal for fourteen of us, it was the start of a new tradition of hunting together. I already knew that Everett and I would forego the meal for our packmates to fill their stomachs. It didn’t matter to me that I wouldn’t eat. All that mattered was the unity of victory.

We burst into a run, working in tandem to isolate the doe from the rest of the herd. Any that weren’t our target vanished into the shadows, and our heightened numbers allowed us to surround the doe with ease. We ran alongside her, tongues lolling from our mouths and teeth glinting, each of us searching for the opportunity to strike. My heart raced. I felt alive again, running as a wolf beside my mate. Our paw steps beat as one.

Everett lunged at the doe and sunk his teeth into her flank. I marveled at the deftness of his feet and the muscles surging under his ashy pelt. Alongside him, I snapped at the doe’s haunch and got a solid grip just above her ankle, fortunate enough to avoid getting kicked in the head. Then the rest of our packmates closed in. Gavin raced beside us on the opposite side of the doe, grabbing her neck where it met her shoulder. Billie kept pace too, taking a mouthful behind the doe’s arm on the same side as Gavin. The four of us each had a hold on the doe that weighed her down until she could no longer run. Our packmates swelled around us, barking with enthusiasm and encouragement. The doe came to a halt, catching her breath, but the battle was already lost. Gradually, she succumbed to our teeth and collapsed into the grass.

Usually, Gavin would have bullied his way over top of the prey to make the kill. But this time, he stayed back, releasing the doe and stepping away with Billie. With just me and Everett latched onto the doe, I caught his eye and growled playfully. He rumbled back at me, the tip of his tail flicking with amusement. We tugged and feinted, baiting each other for a reaction while the others milled around us, increasing the volume of their excited bays. Finally, Everett moved his grip around the doe’s throat and squeezed, suffocating her and bringing an end to the game. When she fell still, he released the doe and looked out at all of us around him.

His head tipped back. With a great breath in, Everett erupted in a victorious howl, declaring our success—our survival—to the world.

The rest of the wolves sang with him. We poured our heart and soul into this declaration, announcing the pride with which we continued to breathe and hunt. We could not be vanquished so easily by the dragons, or by anyone—we refused to be. We were stronger than what David made us out to be. Through all our trials and tribulations, we were still alive, and we weren’t going to allow him to destroy us.

Our howls filled the night beneath the gaze of the Moon Goddess. It was a promise that we were still here, and we would be here for a long time.

United, we would survive the night and see the sun rise on our packs once more.

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If our love is forbidden, I’ll make it possible at any cost.

Since my parents vanished, I’ve dedicated my life to fulfilling my mission, but a new schoolmate makes a difference.

We are meant for each other by a fated bond, yet she rejects me for an unknown reason.

I strive to let her guard down, and we almost kiss until I find out she’s a Dysonmia.

Mating with a Dysonmia is a disgraceful taboo, so our love is unacceptable to all.

But I’m intent on protecting her from any harm, even if it jeopardizes my reputation.

I teach her to calm her angry nature, and our bond becomes unbreakable.

But life isn’t a bed of roses. Wolf hunters are coming back, and she’s in great peril.

Worse still, my uncle is a vicious hypocrite who murdered my parents and now plots to kill my mate.

Some debts must be paid...

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EXCERPT: Wild Moon

Chapter 1  Sierra

Hide. Run.

That’s what I’m best at. I’ve tried to hide the most vital part of my life. Because I’m scared, I’m scared of being hunted. I harbor a fear of rejection. When a person has been through what I have, they tend to get desensitized, and they barely see the rest of the world.

I don’t form relationships. I move somewhere new, and all that keeps me going is counting down the time till I have to leave again. Before someone finds out who I am. Before I ultimately have to run.

“Pass me that light-bulb, will you?” my father asks.

He’s standing on a wooden stool, trying to install lights in our new home, a house that just became ours a few hours ago. A house that won’t be ours anymore in a few months.

I grab the light-bulb and hand it to him. My eyes are trained on the stool he’s standing on. I’m watching carefully, making sure that he doesn’t lose his balance and topple over. He’s not as young as he used to be, but he’s the only person I have in the world. My protector, so to speak. I can’t lose him.

“Why are you staring like that?” he questions.

His attention is still mostly turned to the bulb, but I’m sure he could feel me staring.

“I’m just worried. We really should have called someone to take care of that,” I say. “I’m strong enough and smart enough to fix a damn light bulb,” my father insists stubbornly.

Those words would have carried more weight if the bulb didn’t choose that exact moment to explode. The shock and maybe pain make my father yelp and sends him scampering down.

He clears his throat, visibly embarrassed.

“The bulb must have had some sort of defect,” he states, making me fight back a smile.

“Guess we’re sleeping in the dark tonight,” I say to him.

He shrugs before moving towards his new bedroom. I’m sure he doesn’t mind the darkness; he was just trying to help me see better since I don’t have his heightened senses. My father cares about me, and once in a while, he acts like it. However, those moments are becoming few and far between.

I watch him run his hands through his short blonde hair before turning back to look at me with worry in his expression. He has been giving me that look a lot these days. I know why. I can feel it deep within myself. Which means he can feel it too, or at least smell it.

My body’s going through a change, one that will ultimately put us in more trouble and make our lives harder. He doesn’t say anything, but I understand, and the guilt hits me in full force. Most kids are blessings to their parents but to be honest, I’m nothing more than a liability to my dad, despite how hard he tries to hide it. I’m a liability he can’t turn away because whether he likes it or not, I’m his daughter. The only one he has.

Feeling a little claustrophobic in the small house, I decided to go out. I take out the trash while I’m at it. The cool breeze and night air soothe me. It calms my fast-beating heart. Anxiety is something I’ve become accustomed to. When you live your life on the run, it’s a natural occurrence. I can’t name one instance in my life when I have ever felt completely safe.

Just as I’m about to return inside, I hear a low feral growl. I take a step back, then another one. My heart climbs in my throat when I see my stalkers.

They’re dogs, huge, Alsatian dogs with beady eyes and black fur. They’re foaming at the mouth and growling quietly. I can feel their anger and something else, their fear. They’re acting rabid because of me, because of what they feel. I’m instilling fear into them, and they’re about to react the only way they know how. Fight.

But the dogs don’t know that I can’t defend myself. Not now, at least. Just as one of them leaps in my direction, he’s thrown back by another animal. The newcomer lands on his hind legs before straightening to its full height.

Its fur is brown, and its eyes are glowing yellow orbs, the color of the sun. Eyes just like mine. My father has arrived to save me. He gives me a look, and I’m almost sure he’s trying to tell me to leave now when I have the chance. I want to yell that I didn’t choose this. I also don’t want to continuously put myself in a state where he has to constantly save me.

The beasts face off. The dogs against the wolf. But there’s a natural pecking order in the world, and the dogs know who’s boss. The wolf releases a low guttural growl, and that’s enough to make the dogs submissive. They turn to me one last time with promise in their eyes. They’re telling me that they’ll be back. They’re not done with me yet. It’s natural to feel the urge to get rid of something that instills fear in them.

The wolf walks back into the house, and I follow. As he walks, his form straightens, and brown fur is absorbed into pale white skin. The plates of his skull bones shift beneath rippling skin. Angled limbs straighten, and the crackle of fusing and splintering bones bounces off the walls. It’s easy to return to human form; it’s morphing into a wolf that’s painful. My father walks to the couch and grabs a coat to cover his naked body before turning back to me. His eyes, once full of life, are dull and tired.

“Sierra,” he begins.

“I didn’t know there were dogs,” I immediately defend myself.

“You should know. These things would be of the utmost importance to you. It’s your safety, after all, and I won’t always be there to save you from creatures like these. These were just dogs. What if you’d been discovered by beasts more ominous?”

My father loves me, he’s never stopped, but his resolve has been weakened by age and enforced nomadism. He’s tired of running, of protecting me from the world, I can see it, but he cannot stop. The world thinks I’m a danger, and because of that, I’m always in danger.

“I’m sorry, dad. I’ll be more careful next time,” I promise because that’s what he wants to hear.

“I think the dogs belong to our neighbors. I’ll have a talk with them. Tell them you’re deathly afraid or allergic. I’ll come up with something so they can keep them chained up most of the time,” he informs me.

“Alright,” I say to him.

Just when I think he’s about to retreat to his room, he turns to me again.

“You’re not an ordinary werewolf, Sierra. Your kind isn’t welcome anywhere. They’re hunted by other wolves, and even dogs can feel that you’re dangerous. They can all feel how different you are, and that makes them fearful. This is why you have to be on high-alert at all times. Do you understand?” he asks.

“Yes,” I mutter.

“Right now, we’re on the territory of the biggest pack in Arizona. We’re going to be on their radar and living next to them. You’re going to have to try your hardest not to draw any attention to yourself. I don’t know much about the Blue Blood Pack, but they’re strong, they’re powerful, and they’re ruthless. Keep your head down for the duration of our stay. Am I clear?”

“Yes, dad.”

It’s a lesson I have been learning my whole life. I’m different. I need to be cautious. But I’m tired of living in a shell, and I’m tired of lying and hiding my nature because of potential threats who hate me just for what I am. I never asked for this.

I never asked to be a Dysomnia.

High school.

With everything that I’ve been through in my life, it’s almost laughable that I have to go through something as mundane as this. But school is the only place where I can feel a sense of normalcy. Never mind that I’m always alone and friendless. I have been the new girl so many times that I’m pretty close to adopting the moniker.

It’s finally my last year, though. Just a few more months till I’m done with school. I don’t know whether to be glad about that or terrified. I’m a senior, and soon I’ll be turning 18. My turning 18 doesn’t do much else except make me acutely aware that the thing I fear the most will be much closer to the surface. I’ll be in more danger.

Domina High is a fairly small school. I don’t think it’s got up to a thousand students, which doesn’t fit into my favored arrangement. All I want to do is blend. I prefer being invisible, but due to their low number, it’s obvious the students of the school are going to notice me. And they’re going to ask questions. I can only hope they don’t find out my secrets. Some of them are werewolves, supposedly my kind, but none of them would ever accept me.

My first class is Biology. I locate the class easily and make my way in before the bell rings. I’m hoping I won’t be forced to introduce myself to the rest of the class. I really hate doing that, especially after doing it so many times over the years. No such luck, though. As soon as the teacher enters, he calls me up. He’s a tall, gaunt fellow with high cheek bones, somewhat hollowed cheeks, and a bright smile.

“Let’s all give it up for the new student in our midst,” he says, clapping his hands.

To their credit, the rest of the students clap as well. It’s not a mocking sort, either. I take a deep breath before walking to the front.

“Hi, I’m-” I’m cut short when the door to the class slams open.

Everyone’s attention turns to the person. A jolt runs through me when my eyes land on blue ones so vivid and sharp.

“Sorry,” the guy says with a grimace before hurriedly moving to take his seat

My eyes follow him the entire way. It’s almost like I can’t help but stare at him. He’s handsome, of course, tall with curly brown hair and broad shoulders. But that’s not what’s drawing me to him. It’s something else. Something I can’t explain.

“Don’t arrive late to this class again, Mr. Lowell,” the teacher, Mr. Parks says in warning.

“You got it,” the blue-eyed boy replies easily with a confident smile.

Then his gaze sharply turns towards me. I’m staring at him so intently; I’m not surprised when his eyes meet mine. What does surprise me is the fact that he doesn’t look away. His gaze clashes with mine, leaving me almost spellbound. I’m not sure I want him to look away. I don’t know how long it lasts, maybe five seconds, ten. But it feels like an eternity.

Then Mr. Parks clears his throat.

“Miss Langford. We’re listening,” he reminds me.

Right.

“I’m Sierra Langford. I’m 17 years old, and I just moved to Peoria with my dad,” I say with as much cheer as I can muster, which isn’t a lot.

The rest of the class claps politely, and Mr. Parks gestures for me to return to my seat, which I hurriedly do.

“You did great,” the guy I had been ogling says.

His seat is right beside mine.

Of course.

Still, I’m surprised by the amount of warmth in his voice. It’s not often I hear that.

“Thank you,” is all the reply I can muster.

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