Resisting the Moon: A Royal Shifters Novel (2 page)

Finn acknowledged my mother with a nod and a smile. “Sophia,” he said warmly.

She nodded back. “Finn.”

Taking my hand, he led me outside and pressed me against the side of my parents’ house, our bodies hidden by a set of bushes. “I love you, Tyla. I know you’re not happy about last night, but there’s still time. We don’t need magic to tell us we’re meant to be mated.”

“No, but it’d help. I care about you Finn, and I do love you. I just wish it’d happen for us.” The only truly mated couples in our pack were my parents, and my aunt and uncle, Sarah and Benjamin. My parents were also the oldest. Everyone looked up to them, yet resented them for being complete. To find your true mate was rare, but we kept praying for a time the magic would come back to us.

Sighing, he leaned down and kissed me, placing his forehead to mine. “Stay with me tonight,” he murmured.

I sucked in a nervous breath. “You mean—”

“Yes, baby, all night.”

Was I ready for that? We’d messed around for the past couple of years, but we’d always ended it before we got too far. The thought excited and terrified me all at once. I had never slept with a man before.

His hands slid from my neck, down to my breasts; his arousal pressing into my leg. My heart thundered in my chest. He could hear it and a smile splayed across his face.

“Sounds like you’re just as excited as I am,” he murmured low, kissing his way across my collarbone.

Giving in, I tilted my neck to the side. “Just go slow with me, Finn. That’s all I ask.”

“Tyla, wake up!” Finn shouted. At first, I thought I was dreaming, but when I opened my eyes, I was naked in his bed, my pulse spiking the moment I spotted him. Ripping the blankets off, he helped me out of bed, pulling me into his arms.

“What’s going on?” The look on his face terrified me.

“Vincent’s wolves are closing in. They were spotted about fifteen miles out. I need to get you away from here.” He grabbed my clothes off the floor. “Put these on.”

“I want to stay and fight,” I said, tossing the clothes onto the bed.

Eyes glowing, he growled. “If something happens to me, Vincent will lay claim to you. I need you gone. As soon as it’s over, I’ll come for you.” A loud knock sounded on the door downstairs. “
Please
, Tyla. I need you to do this for me.” He kissed me hard and raced out of the room. I threw on my clothes and cringed when I heard my parents’ voices down below.

I raced downstairs and my mother’s look of disappointment was evident by the scowl on her face. My father and Finn were already outside talking strategies. “We have to go,” she demanded. Grabbing my hand, my mother pulled me outside to their waiting car. The guys were standing by the passenger door, and it was filled with luggage and boxes.

“What the hell’s going on? Why aren’t we shifting?” I asked.

Finn clasped my face in his strong hands. “I had them be prepared, in case something like this happened. I had a feeling Vincent would come for you. He’s done the same thing before with another pack.”

“And what happened to them?”

He huffed and held me tighter. “He wiped them out. But I’m not going to let that happen here. Now go.”

“Oh my God,” I gasped.

“Tyla, let’s go,” my father urged.

Finn kissed me one last time and stepped back when howling echoed through the trees. “Go,” he commanded. “I’ll be with you soon.” He ripped off his clothes and shifted, racing into the trees. The enemy pack drew closer and I could hear their snarls.

“Tyla!” my father shouted.

Turning on my heel, I ran to the car and jumped into the backseat. We took off out of the driveway, tires spinning on the gravel. We were in the middle of nowhere. If we didn’t get out of the woods, the wolves would catch us.

“We’re never going to get away from them,” I shouted.

My father pressed the gas and my body jerked back. “We will. We just need to get to the main road.” The night was foggy and dark, leaving everything bathed in an ominous glow from the moonlight.

The hair on the back of my neck stood on end, my pulse racing. Then, I saw a set of glowing eyes in the distance. But they weren’t alone. “They’re here,” I growled.

After that, everything moved in slow motion. More eyes appeared and what sounded like a thunderous gunshot rang out.

“Hold on,” my father shouted. He lost control of the car and we went sailing down a ravine. I was jarred forward as we slammed into a tree; the car, nothing but a smoking pile of junk. My father kicked his door open and ripped mine off its hinges so I could get out. He rushed over to the other side of the car to help my mother, who had blood streaming down her face from a gash above her eye.

“Mom, are you okay?” I gasped, running over to her.

She hissed in pain when my father touched the wound. “I’ll be fine. We need to shift.” Growls erupted all around us; they were close. I could hear fighting from a distance, the smell of blood permeating the air.

“You wanna fight?” I shouted. Ripping off my clothes, I stared the wolves down before shifting.
Come and get me.

Tyla

“C
an you believe the turn out?” Bailey shouted over the din of the bar. She was my friend, a royal, alpha female and the mate of our pack leader, Ryker Whitemore. She practically glowed with her whitish-blonde hair and bright blue eyes.

“Of course everyone would be here. How could they pass up the chance to celebrate the little one?” Once news spread about their pregnancy, the party was set up the very next day. I looked around; the bar was filled with nothing but wolves.

Smiling, Bailey turned her gaze to the crowd. “I can honestly say that everything seems to be right for the first time in my life.” I wished I felt like that.

My focus landed on her younger sister, Faith, who threw her head back and laughed at something Cedric said. She was beautiful, just like Bailey, with the classic whitish-blonde hair of the Arctic wolf. Surely Cedric wasn’t
that
funny. He was Ryker’s second-in-command and a complete pain in my ass. I loved him though, even if he did always find ways to get on my nerves.

Then there was Colin, Bailey’s older brother and a Royal Arctic wolf who couldn’t seem to take his crystal blue eyes off of me. I tried ignoring him, but it was hard when I could feel his power across the room. We seriously needed to get rid of all the testosterone. Having five alphas in one pack was insanity.

“Tyla? You still in there?” Bailey laughed.

Clearing my throat, I pulled her into a hug. “Sorry about that. I am truly happy for you, Bailey. You deserve all of this and more.”

She stepped back and smiled at something over my shoulder. “So do you,” she replied with a wink. When she turned to leave, I felt him, the man I didn’t want to want. Who was I kidding? All of the royal males in our pack had an advantage and I didn’t like it. Their power could draw you in like an addict, salivating over your next fix. It sucked donkey ass.

“Can I help you?” I asked, turning to face Sebastian Lyall.

His whitish-blond hair was perfectly coifed in messy spikes, his light blue, button down shirt matching the color of his eyes. The last thing I needed was to look into them. He’d had me tongue tied several times in the past and it ended up making me look like an idiot.

Smirking, Sebastian stepped closer, holding out a hand. “Would you care to dance?”

Rolling my eyes, I nodded toward the group of women in the corner who watched his every move. “Why don’t you ask one of your groupies? I’m sure they’d be more than willing.”

He and his brothers, Micah and Zayne, along with Colin, were hot commodities in our pack. They were all royal wolves—the elite. No female could resist them, except me that is. I couldn’t complain though; the royals helped make our pack invincible.

Sebastian leaned closer, his gaze serious. “I asked
you
, Tyla Rand. Besides, there’s something I need to tell you.”

“Why do we have to dance in order for you to spill? Just say it now.”

Chuckling, he grabbed my hand and pulled me to the dance floor. “What’s the matter, afraid to be close to me? I promise I won’t bite.”

Right.
Huffing, I reluctantly walked onto the dance floor just when the tempo changed to a slower, sensual beat. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” I growled. Other couples joined in and held each other, swaying to the music, while I stood there like a fool.

Grabbing my other hand, Sebastian pulled my arms around his shoulders and put his around my waist. “See? Not so bad.”

I glared up at him. “Just keep your hands from wandering. Now what do you want to talk about?” His hands snaked lower and I growled. “Keep it up and see where your hands end up next.”

Chuckling, he lifted them higher. “I like watching your cheeks blush. It’s sexy as hell.”

“Will you stop already?” I snapped.

His smile faded, eyes darkening. “Why is it you can joke around with everyone else, but when I do it you get pissed off?”

“Because they’re my friends.”

“And I’m not?” he countered, the muscles in his jaw ticking.

Sighing, I tried to pull out of his arms, but he held firm. “You are, but it’s not the same.” We used to banter quite easily, until the night it all changed between us. I knew what caused the tension, but he’d ignored it and decided it was best to spend his time with other females; at least, up until recently, when I started being around other men. Now he wanted what he couldn’t have. Besides all of that, my track record with men wasn’t exactly a good one. It was best if I stayed away from falling in love, even if that included my true mate.

“What about my brother? You have no problems joking around with him.” For a split second, I could’ve sworn there was a hint of jealousy in his tone.

My gaze landed on Micah, who paid us no attention, as he was too busy talking to a group of men at the bar. He was Sebastian’s doppelganger, but they were nothing alike. For the past couple months, he’d been my sparring partner. The draw to him wasn’t there though. “Micah and I train together, Sebastian. That’s it.”

He nodded toward the door. “That’s what I want to talk to you about. Can we go outside?” His gaze bore into mine and I gave in, giving him a nod.

“Fine, let’s go.”

“You’re not going anywhere,” a voice teasingly called out. With a wide grin, Colin sauntered up and stood beside Sebastian, who fumed with impatience. I couldn’t help but enjoy the tension. I was seeing a side of Sebastian I’d never seen before. “The only place she’s going is back on the dance floor with me,” Colin said, holding out his hand.