Moonbeams & Wolf Dreams_Children of Selene_Book 1

by Sarah Louise

  “I know you do love. That’s completely normal. Honestly, we are all a little surprised you haven’t broken down more,” he told me as held me close.

  “I can’t afford myself the luxury of breaking down. I don’t have time to grieve and scream at the world about the unfairness of it all. Besides, Duke wouldn’t want me too. He was practical like that,” I gave a half-hearted chuckle. “He would honestly probably badger me about taking the time I have. He trained me to compartmentalize my whole life thinking I’d need to with no telling what I’d have to do to stay out of James’ clutches. I don’t think he quite imagined life would be like this for me,” I confessed.

  I snuggled deeper into Liam’s embrace allowing myself a moment of peace before having to face the day and the challenges that would come with it.

  “What time is it? Or day for that matter? My sense of time has been so skewered,” I asked Liam.

  “It’s been three weeks since you first changed, and this is the second morning since you woke with us in Anakin’s pack,” he answered. I couldn’t believe that much time had passed and yet it also felt like it had been years since that first shift.

  I sighed and rolled Liam onto his back, using the moment to push myself up and over him to get out of the bed. I saw there was a bathroom attached and desperately needed a shower.

  “Um, I hate to ask, but do you have any clothes I can borrow? I’ll need to make a stop at a Walmart or somewhere before we leave so I can get some clothes that fit,” I said.

  “Jacobi already took care of that,” he said.

  “What? How would he even know what size to buy?” I questioned.

  “It’s his hawk eyes, he can zoom in on the tiniest details. He is also mildly obsessed with clothes. So, he went shopping for you when you were initially recovering. It’s how he coped.”

  “Well, there are worse habits to have I guess,” I chuckled to myself. I seemed to have developed fucking my mates as my coping mechanism and I didn’t know if that was a good or a bad thing.

  “So where are these clothes and how do I get some? As much as I love wearing your oversized T-shirts or nothing at all, I’d kill for a clean pair of underwear right now after my shower.”

  “How about you go ahead and shower and I’ll have Jacobi layout an outfit for you,” Liam countered.

  “That works for me,” I agreed. “Just tell him to make it comfortable. After I’m done we can gather everyone and I can go over what little information Selene did give me while I was dreaming.”

  “I can do that love,” Liam said. He gave me a kiss on the forehead and then proceeded to walk out of the room, I presumed to hunt Jacobi down to bring me clothes. I went to the bathroom and pulled out towels and a washcloth. I made sure the shower had shampoo, conditioner, and soap before I set the water to nearly as hot as it could go. Now that I had a minute to myself without my mates surrounding me, all the grief from Duke’s death seemed to just crash into me all at once. I sat down in the shower with my back to the stream of water, letting it soak my hair as I cried silently to myself. Even knowing he was happy and at peace, it didn’t stop the ache that losing him left me in my heart. Without Duke I would have never survived, I would never have been strong enough to face everything that was to come. He made me who I was and raised me to continue his fight for equality and a better way of life for all shifters. I knew he wouldn’t want me to wallow around in pain like this, but there is only so much control I had over these emotions. Tala whined in the back of my head experiencing the same heart break I did.

  We have all lost someone Aylin, death is a natural part of life. The Goddess granted you a huge boon by letting you know his soul is now truly at peace. As much as it hurts, we don’t have time to grieve like you want. We must continue on the path set before us. That is our duty, that is how we continue to honor your adopted father. It is what he would want.

  I know you are right Tala, I thought. Sometimes it all just catches up to me and it is like I cannot breathe.

  That is why you have me. It is why you have your mates. Lean on us when it becomes too overwhelming. We were made to help and support you, albeit in very different ways. I cannot wait to run with their animals myself.

  I am curious to see each of them in their shifted form. So far, we have only seen Nicolae and he is mystical and gorgeous.

  You can say that again, Tala chuffed and retreated a little ways back, feeling that I had worked through the worst of the grief in this moment. I stood up and cleaned myself off, making quick work of the shower. Once I finished I stepped out and wrapped one of the towels around my head and the other around my body. I stood in front of the steam blocked mirror, trying to will myself to wipe away the water and truly look at myself for the first time since I had changed. Up until this moment I had never had the time or I was too scared to try. Experiencing the change wrought about small changes on the body as you adjusted to life fully as a supernatural being, especially one that changes into another animal. Yet so much had happened in these three weeks I had this debilitating fear that I would see a stranger in the mirror. How do changes upon one's soul reflect upon your outer image? Would me delivering justice and killing Melanie stain my soul? Would that stain be reflected upon my physical body? I wondered if people would now be able to look at me and know that I was a killer. Logically I knew that was probably impossible, but then again, anything was possible these days. I mean I was talking to a Goddess in my dreams for Christ’s sakes! Steeling myself against my irrational fears I took my hand and wiped down the mirror methodically from top to bottom and finally perused my reflection searching for the changes I could feel were there. I let out a relieved sigh, I still looked like me, I was still Aylin.

  I started to look at myself with a more critical eye now. My eyes were brighter, my cheek and jaw bones sharper and more defined. My hair had also grown an inch or two and was thicker and held an almost otherworldly sheen to it now. My body hair was also thicker, covering my arms and legs, even my pits and pubic area, all of my hair was thicker and had grown. I knew now why the ladies in the Alpha house spent so much time in town being waxed, though it seemed just silly to me. Unless I started growing a pelt on my human skin I wasn’t going to be concerned with it. The Goddess made me as I was and I had no desire to spend every day shaving over every surface of my body. Ain’t nobody got time for that. I chuckled to myself at that thought and started to smile. I could see the ends of my canines when I did that, they had lengthened and sharpened, though they were shorter and blunter than a vampire’s, they were noticeably different than a regular humans. Note to self, don’t smile with teeth in front of the normies. I continued my perusal taking in my new mating marks. Thanks to the magic that was shifter healing all four of my marks. I had one on each side where my neck joined with my shoulder from Anakin and Nicolae. The one on my inner thigh from Liam and Gunnar’s on my wrist. They all shined with a silvery undertone permanently marking me as theirs. I heard a knock at the door, shaking me out of my self-critique.

  “Aylin, it’s Jacobi. I have an outfit laid out for you here on the dresser when you are ready to come out.” I went ahead and opened the door to walk into the room. I wanted to pin down my hawk shifter for a minute or thirty since he was the last mate I had to complete bonding with. Jacobi quickly backed up to avoid being hit with the door as I barged into the room, catching him unawares.

  “I-I thought you would wait until I left the room,” he stammered. His eyes looking all over my body as he tried in vain to not check the goods.

  “Now why would I want to do that?” I asked him coyly.

  “Because you’re in nothing but a towel,” he said as I took the one holding my hair up off and tossed it into the bathroom. I then smiled at him mischievously and dropped the towel around my body down to the floor.

  “And now I’m in nothing,” I told him. Jacobi audibly swallowed as he took in my naked body. His eyes darkened with lust and I could see him visibly grow hard through his jeans making m
e squeeze my legs at the thought of taking my fifth and final mate.

  “Aylin, there is no rush to do this. We don’t have to complete the bond right this minute if it is not something you want or are ready for. We’ve barely gotten a chance to know each other.” Even as Jacobi said this, I’m sure in an attempt to reassure me that I shouldn’t feel pressured he was also taking a step closer to me and inhaling deeply, drawing in the scent of my arousal.

  “Jacobi, if this was something I didn’t want, I wouldn’t have bothered to drop the towel. We may have only known each other for a short time but my wolf recognizes you and your falcon as my mate. That is strong and heady magic that I wouldn’t even want to try to fight.” I stepped into his arms, “Now are you going to stand there wishing you could kiss me or are you going to actually kiss me.” I smiled and looked up at him, letting him read the truth in the emotions displayed across my face. I could see the moment he decided not to fight anymore as his whole body relaxed into mine. I wound my arms around his neck and pulled his face down to mine. His kiss was gentler than all of my other mates. Light as air, barely a feeling a pressure. It left me needy and wanting more. I pushed my tongue out to lick the seam of his lips and he smiled and parted them slightly allowing me access to taste him. Jacobi tasted like the freshness of grapes and the spiciness of lamb meat.

  "Have you been eating gyros today?" I asked him cheekily.

  "How can you tell?" He joked back at me as he walked us over to the bed.

  "I can taste it, you know, I think I may need another shower if you're planning on getting me all dirty and sweaty again."

  "I think I'll happily clean you off after I dirty you up again my sweet wolf."

  I laid down on the bed pulling Jacobi on top of me. I slid my hands under his shirt feeling his hard muscles bunch under my fingers as I scraped my nails lightly up his chest. He groaned and deepened his kiss, flicking his tongue against mine in a tantalizing rhythm that had me wrapping my legs against him and trying to grind against his erection through his pants for some kind of release.

  “Patience Aylin, I am going to enjoy every inch of you,” he murmured against my ear.

  “How can I be patient when you are fully clothed and I’m naked and waiting here for you?” I asked him.

  “I can remedy that,” he said as he sat up on the bed swiping his shirt to the floor in one fluid move. He unbuttoned his jeans and pushed them down his hips and fisted his cock as he stared at me hungrily. I licked my lips and leaned forward, taking just the tip in my mouth and swirling my tongue around it like a lollipop. He unconsciously thrust a little more into my mouth but then pushed me back down on the bed. He then removed his jeans and came to lay between my legs again. He gave me a deep kiss as he put his fingers to tease against the seam of my pussy, barely penetrating me and setting my body on fire.

  “Jacobi, please… I need more,” I begged him. He granted my wish by inserting two fingers into me and savagely attacking my clit with his thumb. It had me arching my back and pushing myself into him. Then he bit down on the swell of my left breast, right over my heart marking me and making me come apart in his hands with the intensity of the magic and his skillful ministrations.

  “Now. I need you inside me now.”

  “As you wish,” I almost had to back track at him quoting the princess bride at me but then he pushed his thick cock inside me and with two thrusts was seated fully to the hilt. I squeezed him with my inner muscles causing him to twitch and set all my nerves on fire again. I pulled him down to me. “Start moving or you die,” I told him. He chuckled and thrust his hips out and in fast and hard causing me to gasp. He wasn’t holding back anything from me. He angled his hips downward so with every thrust my clit got the attention it was begging for. I was quickly working my way up to my second orgasm, and I was determined to make him lose as much control as he made me earlier. Right as I felt my orgasm reach the edge I put my mouth against his neck and bit down hard and fast piercing the skin instantly. Jacobi roared and started pumping in and out of me so quickly it was only another two seconds before we were both coming together. Jacobi pulled out and rolled to the side of me and pulled me close against him.

  “That was the most amazing thing I’ve experienced in my millennia of being alive,” he confessed as he kissed me on the forehead.

  “Millenia!” I screeched! I knew my guys were old, even for shifters but that one caught me by surprise, though it probably shouldn’t have.

  “HEY, if you guys are done mating up there we are all still waiting to get an update down here!” Liam called from downstairs. I groaned and hid my head against Jacobi’s chest.

  “I guess I won’t be getting that second shower,” I grumbled.

  “I know, but it’s best not to let the natives get too restless,” Jacobi teased as he got up from bed and started putting his clothes on. I walked over to the dresser to look at what he had picked out for me to wear. He had laid out a pair of cotton boy shorts and a sports bra for underwear, both in black. Practical and comfortable, so far so good. Next came a pair of supple leather pants that were soft as butter but would offer good protection during a fight. He complimented this with a dark green racerback tank. Altogether the outfit was exactly what I asked for and if we ended up starting our journey tonight it would be for traveling on either foot or in a vehicle. Now if only I could acquire some more weapons to hide on me besides my knife that was in my pack I would be completely set. I finished getting dressed and pulled my long hair up into a ponytail, from there I braided the hair and wrapped it into a bun and secured it at the base of my head. I found a pair of tennis shoes and socks by the door that I put on as well. I turned back to Jacobi who was looking at me anxiously.

  “I love it, and everything fits better than any clothes I’ve worn in my life. Thank you for taking care of this for me.” I told him. He immediately gave me a hundred watt smile and preened. So pleased with himself it was almost comical.

  “Come on ya big lug. Let’s go deal with the rest of the pack,” I said pulling him towards the door.

  We walked downstairs hand in hand towards the kitchen where we could hear everyone gathered and it smelled like someone was cooking dinner. My stomach grumbled as soon as we walked in and all of my mates looked at me.

  “What? I’m hungry! I’ve burned a lot of calories today,” I cried in defense.

  “And ruined a perfectly good dining room table,” Anakin teased at me with a wink.

  “Well how else would you burn calories?” I countered.

  “Fair enough little dove. I concede your point. Let’s get you fed and then you can tell us what the Goddess told you in your dream,” he said moving to give me a kiss on the forehead.

  I sat down at the table and Gunnar poured me a bowl of the potato soup that was cooking on the stove. I put a spoonful in my mouth and it was like heaven on my tongue. Flavors like I had never experienced had me moaning as I eagerly devoured the entire bowl in all of a minute. I gave Gunnar my puppy dog eyes. “Can I have some more please,” I asked in my best Tiny Time impression.

  “I don’t think I’ve ever been jealous of soup before,” he said as he poured me another bowl.

  “Well, if it came between you and the soup, I’d be hard pressed to pick. I don’t like to choose,” I told him with a wink. He smirked at me as he poured each of my other mates and his pack mates a bowl and we all sat down around the table to eat together. Duke would have loved to have been a part of this. Just the ease in which my mates interacted with each other, the adoration you could see in their eyes when they looked at me. Even just being able to sit down at a table for dinner like this and eat a hardy meal with one another; it is something he would have cherished. It was special to me too. It made me think of how things could be once we were finished with all this destiny shit. We would have to clear out a little area for ourselves and start our own pack. Things would be different for our pack, everyone would be equals.

  “Guys,” I said getting their attentio
n. “I wanted to thank you, for this dinner, for taking care of me when I couldn’t take care of myself. For helping me when you didn’t have to.” They all started to protest at that. “Yes, I know I’m your mate, but that didn’t mean you had to accept me, to bring me into your pack like this, to show me unconditional love and support no matter the decisions I’ve made. There have been quite a few lately that I never thought I would have to make. So, thank you, I appreciate each and every one of you for all the ways you’ve helped piece me back together and hold me there.” I wiped a tear out of my eye, I hadn’t originally planned such an emotional speech but it seems the mood of tonight had gotten to me.

  Chapter 19

  “So,” I started, “Now that my sappy emotional bit is out of the way. Let’s talk about the main reason I wanted to bring you all together. Selene visited me in my dream again during my nap with Liam. She gave me some closure, told me my dad was at peace and she personally saw him into his afterlife. She then warned me that something big was headed our way. She couldn’t give me any more details, just to be prepared. Do any of you have any idea what this new plot twist could possibly be? And how should we proceed?” I asked them.