An Unlucky Moon (7 page)

Yet Dante had done nothing.

Oh, she knew that connection, that cord that could bring them together was there, but he ignored it. He stood back and watched as her once-vibrant self had faded to almost nothing.

She lashed out, and he’d taken it with nothing but a look of sorrow.

What did he have to feel sorrowful about?

He was killing her with his lack of action, and she was weak enough to take it.

Well, no more.

She slammed her hands on the sink and cursed. 

She was done with waiting for a man who wouldn’t have her. He might be her true half, but that didn’t mean it was his decision.

She’d walk away or find another way.

Dante was hers, and she’d either have him or find another way to live.

She wouldn’t wallow anymore.

She had to be stronger.

Chapter Five

Hunter wasn’t sure he would be able to wait any longer for Becca to give in to their mating. It had already been two weeks since he’d come to her and told her it was time. In retrospect, telling a human—a human
woman
—that their mating had to occur right then might not have been the best thing to do.

No, she’d told him they’d have to take it slow, so that’s what he was doing.

Dating her slow and steady would have been okay if he’d been human. Eating meals, watching movies, and doing other things in public was nice, but his wolf was on edge. He spent every night with her.

Watching.

Waiting.

Enjoying.

He’d do anything for her, but hell, he needed a cold shower or a quick dip in the lake after each date.

Waiting, however, was killing him.

He was a wolf, not a man, so standing back and watching her take her time and do…human things made him feel as though he was betraying his animal half. He knew that wasn’t the case, but it didn’t help matters that all he wanted to do in her presence was strip her down and feast on her sweet taste.

Apparently that would be moving too fast.

On four paws rather than two feet, Hunter ran through the forest, letting his wolf take over. They were on their sanctioned full moon hunt. They ran as a Pack, rather than the disillusioned men and women they were quickly becoming. 

Contrary to the popular lore, their wolves didn’t need to turn at the full moon and could turn when they needed as long as they had the energy. The more dominant the wolf, the faster they could change and the less recovery time they needed.  Though each change hurt like a bitch due to the fact they were literally rearranging their bones and tissues, they pushed through it because it was in their nature.

Some of the more submissive wolves could change as quickly as a more dominant wolf because their power sat differently. They were the
strongest
of the submissives, something that not everyone understood.

Also unlike what was stated in the lore, they weren’t vicious beasts—half man, half wolf—who walked on two legs and looked like horror movie rejects. No, they looked like wolves and were only slightly bigger than their animal counterparts. Most people couldn’t even tell the difference. They ran in a wide array of natural colors and had the same colored eyes they had in human form—usually gold but for a few special members. 

Those Pack members with blue eyes were usually treasured and cared for beyond measure because they were submissive, and the stronger wolves
needed
to care for them—not that all submissives had blue eyes either. Hunter held back a growl at the thought of one of the submissive wolves who hadn’t been treated like the treasure she was. Leslie Masterson was the younger sister of Dorian, a council member, and she’d been treated like a pet, rather than the strong woman that hid beneath the downcast eyes.

He’d fix that.

Not only was it his job as Beta, but he also liked the girl like the little sister he never had.

Hunter leaped over a fallen tree, letting the scent of the forest wash over him. He’d missed this. Damn, he’d missed this. He could feel his Pack around him, their movements in sync as they hunted their prey—whether it be a rabbit or willing partner.

For wolves, the hunt led to violence or sex. Always. They’d either kill a rabbit, deer, or something non-human, or find another wolf to fuck hard into the ground. They killed in wolf form, mated in human form. He could sense some of the female wolves around him, their arousal filling his nostrils, but he ignored them. They wanted the freak from hell who’d been gone so long. They wanted a hard fuck from the Beta of the Pack and hope for a mating.

He had Becca and didn’t need another wolf to fill her place while she took her time deciding what she wanted—though they both knew what she wanted and were only giving it time because rushing head-first into a mating as a human didn’t seem like the best choice.

He wouldn’t fault her for that and would wait.

Alone.

He growled at a female who got too close but kept the growl soft so he wouldn’t anger her. He didn’t want to piss off someone who just wanted contact, but he wasn’t about to send mixed signals.

She tossed her head then ran off to find another male. When the wolf rode them hard, it didn’t matter to most who they found to satisfy the need.

Liam and Alec ran on either side of him, their dominant power seeping off of them as they pushed harder. His ear twitched as the sound of a rabbit’s frantic chase began. He inhaled, that tangy taste of prey hitting his wolf.

He ran harder, Liam and Alec following. He pounced on the rabbit and dug his teeth into its flesh. It died a quick death—Hunter wasn’t one to let it suffer—and Hunter began his meal, his wolf happy with the hunt.

 Liam and Alec each found a rabbit of their own, and they feasted until their bellies were partially full and the moon trickled over their fur. He hadn’t been on a hunt in over four years. He could have gone when he got back, but he’d been more animal than man and had needed space.

In retrospect that might have been the wrong decision because it kept him from his Becca for too long.

He knew he was paying for that now. Maybe not consciously, but he had a feeling it was on her mind.

He shook off his slight doubt and howled to the moon. Liam and Alec joined him, their own howls melding into a perfect harmony. Others howled as they found their conquests, their hunts ending. 

He trotted past other wolves eating their dinners in animal form, and they lowered their eyes, their power not as dominant as his. Grunts and slaps reached his ears, and his wolf perked up at the smell of sex in the air. Pack members in human form fucked in corners and shadows, their partners in ecstasy. Some were with their mates, others with random men or women. Most wolves were bisexual, considering there weren’t that many women, and sex was a natural process, not something to be looked down on. Hunter himself had been with men, but preferred women.

Well, woman, now, thinking of Becca.

The woman who, as a wolf, had shown her eagerness to him currently knelt on all fours as Dorian plowed into from behind. The other male wolf didn’t much mind that the woman wasn’t getting off but rather faking the noises and movements so Dorian could enjoy himself. The man was a sadist in every meaning of the word, and Hunter was just glad he didn’t have to see all of what went on behind his closed doors.

As the three of them—he, Liam and Alec—passed, Dorian lifted a lip and snarled, his grip tightening on the woman, Sandra. She rolled her eyes but otherwise looked as though she was fine.

Hunter wasn’t in the mood to get in a fight with the man, but he’d protect Sandra if she needed it. Instead, he, Liam, and Alec made their way back to his home then shifted back, the tearing of tendons and breaking of bones a sweet pain. He shifted faster than the other two, but not by much. There was a reason Liam and Alec were council members.

Hunter threw on some jeans but didn’t bother with a shirt. Though he’d let his wolf play, his skin was still too itchy to deal with the fabric.

“Council meeting in five minutes,” Liam called from the other room.

“Didn’t we just have one?” Alec said with a grunt.

“No, that was the Beta ceremony,” Liam explained as Hunter walked in the living room.

The two men were sitting on Hunter’s couch in jeans but hadn’t put on shirts either. He’d have to make sure they dressed for when Becca came to live with him. There was no way he’d let the two of them walk around so freely in front of her. It was true that the Pack didn’t bother with modesty unless they were in the den center or near were the pups played, but he didn’t think Becca would think the same way.

Plus he wanted to keep her for himself.

His wolf nudged at his skin again, and he held back a growl.

Waiting for her was taking too long. He’d have to go to her home again and ask for another…date, as she put it.

“What’s got you looking like you’re ready to tear out someone’s throat?” Liam asked.

“Nothing.” He hadn’t mentioned Becca to them yet for some reason, and he didn’t want to deal with the matter now. She would be there soon enough.

“You’re lying, but I’ll let you pass on that for now,” Alec said. “Now we need to leave, or we’ll be late for the council meeting.”

“The council shouldn’t have the power to call the Alpha and Beta in whenever they want,” Hunter grumbled as they made their way to the council chambers, away from their homes.

Liam held up both hands in mock surrender. “Josiah agreed to it, so we’re having the meeting. Don’t get on my ass for it.”

“I want nothing to do with your ass, Liam,” Hunter said. “I’m just pissed that on the night of our hunt I have to go sit and listen to the other three members of the council bitch and moan about something that has nothing to do with them.”

Alec nodded solemnly. “I agree. Why do you think Liam and I stay on the council? Without us, who knows what the other three would do?”

Hunter held back a shudder at that and reached out to squeeze Alec’s shoulder, ignoring the odd look on Liam’s face. They’d deal with the latter later. “I know I don’t say it enough, but thank you for being here. Thank you for taking care of Samuel when I could not.”

That familiar stab of pain echoed through him at the mention of his brother’s name, but he put that away. He didn’t want to think about the boy who’d been too young to lead by Josiah’s side and had lost his life because of it.

“We weren’t enough,” Alec whispered.

Liam growled. “No, but we’ll find out who did it—and who sent you to hell.”

Hunter started, looking at the wolf he called friend. Though they’d all tiptoed around the fact that a member of the Pack had betrayed him, they hadn’t outright stated it. The fact that Liam and Alec were on his side almost sent him to his knees.

Hell, he wasn’t alone.

Overcome with an emotion he didn’t want to name, he gave the other wolf a nod then walked into the council chambers. The room was in a horseshoe shape with five seats surrounding a center where someone could stand and bare witness or counsel. There were two seats higher than those of the council members for the Alpha and Beta. 

According the some of the council members, those seats were just for show, but Hunter would be damned if he’d let the council meet without him. The council was supposed to only advise, not govern.

The Pack wasn’t a democracy. The Alpha held the power to rule over the Pack, and in return, their wolves would gain the power of knowing they were protected by not only Josiah, but the Beta as well.

The council, however hard they tried, would not be able to change that.

Hunter would make sure of it.

Fate and the gods had ensured it for generations before him.

Dorian, Gregory, and Alistair already sat at their places. Gregory and Alistair whispered to each other about mundane things. Silly to whisper when a wolf was around, but those two seemed to want to be human no matter the insanity of the issue.

Dorian, on the other hand, draped himself over the chair. His pants were zipped, but not buttoned. The sated look on his face only made Hunter want to claw him more because he knew Sandra was probably still wanting—something that could be dangerous for a wolf, male or female. He himself didn’t have his Becca, leaving him aching just the same.

Josiah sat on his throne, a carefully blank, yet just as fierce, expression on his face. No matter what people thought, what Hunter himself had once thought, Josiah was stronger than them all. He played the soft ruler when it was needed and killed when others would not in the name of peace. His wolf could shift the fastest, and his own strength outweighed the strength of any other. 

The only downfall to a strong Alpha was that they needed an even stronger Beta to balance that power.

When Hunter had been gone, Josiah had looked weakened. He might have been Beta before all this had happened, but when he’d come back, he had to prove himself all over gain. It made no sense to some, but to wolves, proving one’s self never ended.

When Hunter’s brother Samuel had stepped in when no other could, it hadn’t been enough. As council members, Liam and Alec hadn’t been able to become Beta, even if their power and level of dominance would have made it easier. Samuel might have been a dominant wolf but hadn’t had the power to take care of his Pack. Nor had he known the politics enough to keep himself alive.

Liam and Alec took their seats while Hunter made his way to his.

“Wait, Hunter,” Gregory drawled. “You need to stand in the middle.”

His wolf clawed at him, pissed at the command in the man’s tone. “Did you just order me?”

Gregory paled slightly but didn’t say anything.

“We’re not ordering you,” Dorian said, the lie evident in his voice. “We’ve summoned the council to talk about the Beta. It would behoove you to stand in the center.”

“Summoned?” Hunter raised a brow. 

Behoove? Who knew the other wolf knew such big words.

Dorian rolled his eyes. “It’s a council meeting. You know what I mean.”

“Why I am I the subject?” Hunter growled, glaring at Liam and Alec.

His two
friends
shook their head, and Hunter tensed. If they didn’t know the topic of the council meeting, then something was up, though with each recent council meeting, something was
always
up.