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“I don’t need to talk,” I replied flatly, not letting any flicker of emotion into my voice.
Because she was wrong. I wasn’t grieving. I didn’t stay away from everyone because I was too depressed to carry on. I didn’t need to cry out my feelings.
I was fucking furious.
Rage burned in my gut and pulsed through my veins, and had done since the moment I realised that my mate was trapped in a different realm. Since the instant I knew that not only did we have no way back there to find her, but that we’d been betrayed by one of the people I’d trusted most in the world.
It was taking every ounce of my energy to keep it locked down. I loved my pack and I refused to unleash this rage on them. None of this was their fault; they needed me in this fight. The bitch Queen hadn’t just given up and there was a war coming. So I wore a disinterested mask and pushed it all down inside me to protect them.
If I cracked now I’d lash out and break everything in sight, including my mother’s heart.
She opened her mouth to speak but I cut her off. “I’ll see you later.”
I turned away without waiting for a response, heading towards the cabin and ignoring her as she called my name again.
As much as I wished things were different, I had nothing left to give.
I could see why young shifters hated the full moon.
Being locked inside your wolf form with no way of taking control back was a freaky thing to experience when you weren’t used to it. You were still conscious and fully aware, but the wolf was at the wheel and you were just along for the ride.
It had been over a decade now since my first shift, and with everything that was going on lately I was perfectly willing to give up control for the night. My wolf needed the freedom to run in his wild form, and I needed the chance to fully let go and relax.
As predicted, my wolf avoided the pack. He was just as broken up in missing our mate as I was and had no patience to socialise. The pack bonds just didn’t feel the same as they used to anyway. They were weaker and had less of a pull on me, so staying away was easy enough.
He took us deep into the forest, loosely following the river northwards and chasing whatever wildlife he could spook out of the undergrowth. The night was calm with a cloudless sky, the moonlight shining through the trees meaning even Cor could have walked around without an issue.
A rustle ahead grabbed my attention before I could fall back into thoughts of my mate, my wolf halting and standing alert. Donn’s scent hit me a few seconds before his sleek black wolf appeared from between the trees. He stopped a few feet in front of me, scenting the air and holding my gaze. He wasn’t the Alpha any more though, he was my equal, and my wolf refused to drop his eyes or show submission.
After a long moment, he padded forwards, nudging my shoulder with his head in a friendly greeting before continuing along his own path. I could smell Mina on him, that was no surprise, but I couldn’t sense another wolf nearby. It was unusual for mated pairs to separate on the full moon, as the bond pulled them together instinctively, so it seemed strange that she wasn’t nearby. My wolf didn’t have the understanding to notice this though, let alone investigate, so we moved on.
A small rabbit ran directly into my path a few minutes later, eyes wide, and my wolf immediately dove for it without hesitation. The tricky animal was fast and smart, darting through the smallest gaps at high speed in its effort to get away. My wolf completely lost itself in the challenge of the chase as I let my attention wander again, and it wasn’t until we skidded to a sudden halt that I snapped back into focus.
“Hmm, and which one are you?” a voice hummed irritably.
Mina stood before me, dwarfed between two thick tree trunks as she looked down on my wolf. Her nostrils flared and her eyes narrowed further.
“Noah. Typical.”
My wolf stood still and watched her bend to pick up a small package from the base of the tree. He had no reason to be particularly wary of the familiar female who stood before us in the moonlight, even if he was sensing my unease.
My mind, however, was reeling.
She was in human form on a full moon. It made no sense. No shifter had control over their shift right now, so how the hell was she in that skin? I didn’t understand how it was possible, let alone why she would contain her wolf that way. It wasn’t natural or right.
There was also the question of who had left her a hidden package out here, and why she was collecting it so secretly. She was hiding something. Something bigger than we had dared to imagine.
Mina took a slow step towards me, and my anxiety spiked as my wolf didn’t move away. I hadn’t trusted this woman before now after the way she had treated Cor and Liam, and now my gut was screaming at me to get away from her. My wolf, however, didn’t see a threat here, and there was nothing I could do as she stepped in close and the scent of magic flooded over us.
She was doused in it. The scent was pouring off her as she crouched before me and cocked her head thoughtfully. My wolf finally went to take a step back as he recognised the danger of that smell, but her hand darted out to snatch a handful of fur on my neck, holding me still as she spoke.
“Do you have any idea how inconvenient it is that you’ve seen me here?” she hissed, her green eyes flashing dangerously. “The pack are running south right now, but are you with them? No, of course not, you’re embracing the life of the pathetic loner that you’ve become.”
A growl built up in my chest as my wolf struggled to pull away, confused by her words and the strength in her hold.
“And now I have to deal with you,” she continued, undeterred by the sound. “There are still two weeks until the meeting, and I can’t have you tattling to anyone now, can I?”
Out of options and acting on instinct, my wolf attacked, shoving forward and snapping my jaws in her face. She was ready though, and ducked sidewards out of reach, shoving at my neck to push me away. The wolf began to twist back towards her again, coiling the strength in my legs to pounce, not expecting the heavy weight that suddenly smashed into my skull.
