Luna of Mine (27 page)

She knew what he was
really saying was that if her faith and hope were waning, then he
would have enough for the both of them. For that night, that is
what she needed—for him to be her Alpha and her mate―to protect her
not only from the outside enemies but also from herself. It would
not be the last time that he would have to shelter her, because for
all the strength she possessed, she had an equal amount of love and
compassion. Though those things could be assets, they could also
strip a person until every weakness was laid bare. So she would
wrap herself in his care and security, because for now she did not
see the chasm growing any smaller. She did not see their foe
collapsing under their strength, not yet.

Romanian Proverb #
16

Omul întelept face ce
poate, nu ce vrea.

If we can't do as we would,
we must do as we can.

Three years after
exile.

S
he is turning nineteen today, Vasile thought. Another
birthday that he could not hold her, another year gone, lost
because of the greed of one man. For three years he and his
warriors had been thwarting, battling, and killing the wolves and
sometimes other creatures that Emilian paid to pursue them. He had
not sought out the help of Anghel or any others because this was
his fight, not a species-wide battle. Vasile was tired of running.
He was done with being separated from his mate and his wolf was
barely under his control. It was time. He would begin seeking out
those in his pack that were not loyal to Emilian, and then he would
start exploiting the weakening Alpha’s paranoia. He knew they would
have to be cautious because Emilian no longer had any control over
the most dominant males in the pack, and they were beginning to
realize just how much freedom their beasts had. He would also have
to be careful who he approached to join him in the fight because of
those same dominants. Their growing urge to rule might cause them
to reveal Vasile and his warriors before it was time.

He stood high up on a
mountain that looked down into the territory where the villages of
his pack lay. He imagined he could see Alina doing the wash,
talking with Sisily, laughing with her mother. His eyes closed as
he pictured her face as she turned at the sound of his voice. Her
face lit up as she ran to him throwing herself in his arms and
finally he was holding her. Warmth seeped into him from her body
heating his blood that had grown so cold over the years. Her touch,
and hers alone, chased away the darkness, filling him up inside
with peace and love. A limb cracking behind him snapped him out of
his day dream and his eyes opened.
Soon,
beloved, but not soon enough,
he thought
as he turned away from the villages and saw his warriors waiting on
him.

“
I do
not know about you three, but I am tired of sleeping on the ground,
eating raw rabbits, and constantly looking over my shoulder.” His
eyes narrowed and he knew they were glowing with his wolf. “I want
back what is mine.”

“Finally,” Ion muttered
drawing a chuckle from the others.

“Now we get to kill him?”
Nicu asked as his claws emerged from his very human
hands.

Vasile smiled a wolfish
grin. “Feeling bloodthirsty?”

The warrior shrugged and
then scratched his head with his long, sharp claws. “I do not know
what would give you that idea.”

“Could not possibly be the
glowing eyes or sharp nails,” Alin said dryly.

“
If you
all are done,” Vasile said as he motioned towards the side of the
mountain they had climbed up. “Let’s finish
this.”

Romanian Proverb #17

Pui migdale în nasul
porcului si el spune cã e o ghindã.

Honey is not for the ass's
mouth
.

Four long years after
exile.

“
W
hen was the last time you heard
from your brother?” Alina asked Sisily as they sat with their feet
dangling in the river at their usual spot. The water was cool,
bringing them a measure of relief from the hot summer
day.

“
It has
been over a month,” Sisily admitted.

“
Same
for me as well, which is strange since he is usually the one who
helps with the weekly questioning, and of course, he comes by my
house to check and see how I am,” Alina said as she rolled her
eyes. “All he is really doing is trying to see if he can tell if I
am mated with Vasile.”

“
Maybe
he is trying to smell him on you. Maybe he thinks you are seeing
Vasile secretly,” Sisily said in a dreamy voice, her romantic
notions of danger and intrigue getting the better of
her.

“If only,” Alina
sighed.

“
It is
getting more painful, isn’t it?” Sisily asked.

Alina nodded but did not
look at her friend.

“Is there something wrong
other than you missing Vasile?”

Alina never was good at
hiding things, especially not from her closest friend. She leaned
over so close that her mouth touched Sisily’s ear and whispered as
softly as she could. “I got my markings.” Alina was ready for
Sisily’s reaction and slapped a hand over her mouth pulling her
close. “You have to act normal,” she whispered quickly. “If Emilian
finds out I am as good as dead.”

Sisily nodded and Alina
released her. She looked at her friend and could see the tightly
controlled excitement. She let out a low laugh as she snatch up a
piece of grass and began playing with it. “I discovered this rash
yesterday,” she began hoping that Sisily would catch on to what she
was really referring to.

“
Oh, so
it is a relatively new rash?” Sisily asked.

“Correct.”

“Have you discussed the
rash with anyone?”

Alina nodded. “My mother,
of course. She seemed to think it was nothing to be concerned
about. She just told me to make sure to keep it covered from the
elements.” Alina could tell her friend wanted to ask more about the
markings and to actually see them. But if there was someone
watching or listening, she didn’t dare risk raising her shirt to
show off her back out in the open air.

“
So you
are turning twenty in two days.” Sisily smiled but it did not reach
her eyes.

Alina’s stomach sank as
she thought about what this birthday should mean. It was to be when
Vasile could finally bond with her and complete the Blood Rites,
but instead it would be another night that they spoke through their
bond, and for the fourth year in a row, he would wish her happy
birthday from across the chasm of his exile. She was not mad at
him. She was mad at the situation and, of course, at the one who
had caused all of it, Emilian. The very name made her sick and had
her wolf clawing to get out. She was actually, along with her
parents, surprised the wolf had lasted this long. With so many
dominant males out of control, losing their tempers at a whim, and
getting in fights like maniac dogs, it was a wonder none of them
had challenged Emilian yet. And due to the lack of control she felt
over her own wolf, she was beginning to believe that she might just
be more dominant than Emilian. How riotous would that be, she
thought.

I
t
was two days after her time with Sisily at the river when the calm
before the storm that seemed to be building for four years finally
broke. It started out like any other day. Alina had woken up with
the constant ache in her body, the growing need to see Vasile was
getting worse, but she still managed to smile and talk at all the
right moments. Her mind was preoccupied with the conversation she
had had with Vasile the night before. She knew he had been near the
territory, attempting to gain pack members to his side. He was like
a ghost, and though there were rumors that he was there, no one
could catch him, and no one admitted to seeing him. She found
herself looking into the forest, her eyes darting around, hoping
with everything inside of her to catch a glimpse of him. He had
caught her thoughts several times and scolded her, though not
harshly, pointing out that it would probably look very suspicious
if she simply stood stock still staring off into the trees. That
did not stop her from hoping.

It was hotter than usual
on that particular morning and so her mother had her doing chores
inside to stay out of the heat. Because she was inside and not out
where males would see her, she had only wore her shift with a skirt
over it so her arms and shoulders were bare, as was the back of her
neck. Her hair was pulled up and fixed into a bun, allowing air to
get to her back. Because she had no plans to go outside and her
mother had already seen them, she hadn’t given her markings a
second thought. She had been burying the thought of them deep in
her mind, away from Vasile, because she knew that he would quite
possibly lose control once he knew about them. It was Vasil’s
biggest fear that Emilian would learn that he and Alina were true
mates. Without the markings it would be almost impossible for
Emlian to prove her mateship with Vasile. But now there would be no
denying it.

She had wondered why
Vasile had not mentioned his own markings changing, as she had
thought that both the male and female markings changed at the same
time. But then she thought that perhaps because he was living in
the forest he did not have a looking glass to see his reflection.
On the other hand, surely one of his warriors would have noticed
the change and told him.

But for that morning,
because it was her birthday and her mother and father were trying
so very hard to make it a good day, she pushed the worries of the
markings away. She attempted with all of her might to ignore the
ache of being separated from her mate and simply enjoyed the fact
that she had two parents who loved her, a safe home, roof over her
head, and food to eat. Mistake number one, she forgot
herself―forgot the danger of her situation.

She was humming, though a
somewhat subdued tune, as she swept the floor with her back to the
only door of the cottage. She did not notice the figure that filled
the entry until the low growl reached her ears. She jerked around
releasing the broom and grabbing the blouse that lay across the
back of the chair. Pulling it on quickly and buttoning it up, she
looked up at a very angry, snarling Serghei. His eyes glowed and
she could tell by the way he held his mouth open slightly that his
canines where lengthening.

“
How
long?” he growled.

“
How
long what?” she asked shrugging. If he thought for one second that
she was just going to confess, even though he must have seen a tiny
glimpse of the markings on her back, then he was a
fool.

“
Do not
play games with me, female.” His words came out stilted as though
they had to be pulled from him.

“
I am
not playing games with you, and I do not appreciate you coming into
my home uninvited and unannounced.” Her anger grew with every
breath and every second that he stood there staring at her as if
she had wronged him. She knew that if she did not calm down Vasile
would pick up on her distress so she began to close the bond not
all the way but enough―mistake number two.

“
Perhaps, you should not leave the door open where just anyone
can walk in. You do remember that we have fugitives on the loose
who wish our Alpha harm, do you not?”

His
condescending tone irritated her wolf; it felt as if its fur was
being rubbed the wrong direction. When he took a step further in,
she had to force herself not to retreat. She would not become prey
to this male.

“
I want
you to leave, now.” Her voice was rough with the growl of her wolf
who was close to the surface, ready for a fight, craving blood,
mostly Emilian’s but the blood of the one who wished her mate harm
and attempted to claim her against her will would do just the
same.

“
I do
not take orders from you.” He took another step. “Turn around,
Alina.” She heard the command in it and felt the power that Emilian
must be allowing Serghei to draw on. Lucky for her, neither male
was more dominant than she.

“
What a
coincidence, Serghei,” she said in her most mocking tone. “I do not
take orders from you either.”

“But you do from our Alpha,
and he has demanded that any female with new markings be brought to
him. Turn. Around,” he ordered again.

“
NO!”

He moved faster than she
expected, grabbing her wrist and turning her roughly. He shoved her
forward until her chest and face were pressed against the wall of
the cottage. He was strong and his rage was making him stronger.
She pushed against him, thrashing her head from side to side, but
still he managed to grab the back of her shift and pull. She heard
the tear and felt the hot air on her skin from her neck clear to
her lower back. She was not scared, she was furious. How dare he
touch her? How dare he bare her flesh to his unworthy
eyes?