Run with the Moon

by Bailey Bradford

  * * * *

  Valen was impressed. Tentin hadn’t seemed bothered by their scent other than for a brief moment when she’d pawed at the ground and snorted. After that, she’d followed along unhesitatingly.

  He was still careful to keep ahead of her, and when possible, downwind. After several hours, he figured they all needed a break, or at least Tentin and Aaron did. Valen could have run until he reached his father’s property. Fear that he was making a mistake in going back couldn’t be dismissed. However, he knew that if the fire was set by marauders—hard to imagine, but his mind kept going there—then he needed to return.

  No one had ever attacked their pack, or any of the other shifters that he knew of. That didn’t mean that such a thing couldn’t happen, especially if other Human villages were struggling like Aaron’s was. Some people would believe it to be easier to take by force rather than ask for help.

  After finding the scents surrounding Aaron’s village, then seeing the fire, Valen was inclined to believe that was the case now, though he hated to admit it. While shifters were fierce and strong, fire was an enemy they couldn’t win against if the circumstances were against them.

  Around midday, Valen sent Rivvie to find them a meal then shifted and stepped onto the path Aaron was riding on. It wasn’t a true path, per se, just a less difficult area to ride through. They were almost through this part of the forest, and Valen wanted to check on Aaron.

  Tentin neighed at him and tossed her head. Valen didn’t speak horse. She may have been greeting him or trying not to give in to her fear of him.

  “Are we stopping?” Aaron asked. Sweat beaded his brow, giving his skin a glow. He leaned forward on Tentin’s neck.

  “For a short amount of time, yes. You need to eat.” He walked to Tentin’s side to help Aaron get off the horse.

  Aaron placed his smaller hand in Valen’s, and a second later, slid down into his arms. “Hi,” Aaron whispered, staring at Valen’s lips.

  Valen was no fool. He slanted his mouth over Aaron’s and slipped his tongue past Aaron’s full lips.

  Aaron moaned and clung to him in a way that made Valen feel as if he were the biggest, strongest alpha in the world. He cupped the back of Aaron’s head, and his bottom. He enjoyed being able to hold his lover immensely.

  And Aaron certainly liked it, too. Aaron pressed closer to him. Valen thrust his tongue in more aggressively, need building in his groin.

  Tentin neighed and shuffled back.

  Aaron swayed, either startled by the horse or dazed by the kiss. Valen was going with the kiss. He stroked Aaron’s smooth cheek then ran his thumb over Aaron’s lips. “Sweet,” he found himself saying.

  Aaron blushed adorably and looked down.

  Valen tipped his chin up and took another kiss. “You don’t think you deserve compliments?”

  “I—” Aaron gasped as Valen tweaked one of his nipples.

  “Because you do.” Valen pinched again.

  Aaron’s eyes widened and he pushed into the touch.

  Valen twisted harder, gaging whether or not Aaron wanted more, wanted pain. Aaron had gotten off on having his arms pinned down when they’d been together that first time, Valen knew that much.

  The direct approach seemed the best one. Valen added more pressure, tugging the nipple away from Aaron’s chest. “Do you like the pain?”

  Aarons face turned red and he bit his bottom lip.

  “There is no wrong answer, Aaron, unless it’s a lie.” Valen released Aaron’s chin and began giving his other nub the same treatment.

  Aaron moaned, his eyes rolling before he closed them. “Yes,” he hissed. “And it isn’t pain, exactly.”

  Valen’s entire body went tight with excitement. “It isn’t?” He pinched and twisted again.

  “Oh! It—” Aaron’s mouth dropped open as he tipped his head back.

  Valen couldn’t resist the smooth expanse of skin. He leaned in and raked his teeth over Aaron’s Adam’s apple, then sucked at the sweet hollow beneath it.

  Aaron shivered, gripping the rope he held in one hand and fisting his other on Valen’s shoulder.

  Valen slid one leg between Aaron’s thighs. “Ride it,” he ordered. “Get yourself off like this.”

  “My…pants—” Aaron rasped out.

  “Open them.”

  It took Aaron two attempts until he got his shaft free and began to jack it.

  Valen nudged Aaron’s balls with his leg. “Move, honey.”

  Aaron moaned as he started humping.

  Valen kept working his tits, wishing he’d had Aaron take his shirt off. He’d like to see if they were dark red or purple, feel if the skin was hot and rough or smooth.

  Aaron’s rutting was hesitant at first, but soon he was rubbing uninhibitedly, seeking his release.

  Valen resumed sucking on his neck, leaving love bites all over Aaron’s golden skin. He felt Aaron’s body tensing, then a moment later, Aaron moaned, the sound coming up from deep inside him. The scent of his semen filled the air. It was all Valen could smell.

  His own cock was hard and his balls eager to spill their juices. Valen wanted Aaron’s mouth and would have pushed him to his knees had it not been for Aaron’s injury.

  Valen heard Rivvie approaching and knew he’d have to wait for his own pleasure. Anticipation was a good thing, though in this case he was afraid it’d ensure his balls ached for hours.

  Rivvie held a rabbit in his hand. “Do you want to shift, or…?”

  “Take it out of Tentin’s sight and scent range,” Valen ordered when the horse began to fidget.

  “She can smell the blood,” Aaron added.

  Rivvie laughed. “Funny, all I can smell is cum.”

  “Pervert. Go wait for me.” Valen waited until Rivvie had left then he helped get Aaron covered again, tucking his spent member back into his pants and helping him clean his hand off.

  “I’ll just eat in the saddle,” Aaron protested when Valen tried to get him to sit on a nearby stump. “That way you don’t have to shift again after I’ve eaten so you can help me back up.”

  “Makes sense.” He helped Aaron back onto Tentin then handed him the pouch Walter had tied onto the saddle. “We’ll yip when we’re ready.”

  “Okay.” Aaron took a bite of something that smelled of meat.

  Valen jogged out of sight. He shifted then joined Rivvie for their meal. Rivvie was proving himself quite useful.

  The silence in the forest was only disturbed by the sounds of them eating. All of the birds and other small animals had fled. Valen would have liked to have heard some birdsong—sometimes he felt like every living thing ran from him when he was a wolf. It was hard to appreciate the beauty of a feathered wing or the cadence of song or chatter when all other creatures ran in fear for their lives. At least he got to experience those things when he was man, usually. Sometimes if he was very angry or feeling other strong emotions, he seemed to have the same effect on the wildlife that his wolf did.

  Valen was letting his mind drift to keep from dwelling on the dark possibilities it kept wanting to spin to. He stood up and shook thoroughly, hoping to rid himself of the blood and gore he tended to accumulate on his fur when he ate in his shifted form. Rivvie did the same, then after a glance at Valen, yipped a few times.

  Aaron called out to them that he was ready, and they resumed their trek.

  The smell of smoke grew stronger when the wind shifted again. Valen growled, the fur on his back standing up. He ran faster, Rivvie at his side.

  Chapter Ten

  Valen didn’t keep the fastest pace he could, not wanting to exhaust Aaron or Tentin. Aaron was stronger than he looked, Valen would wager. The horse, on the other hand, was an unknown quantity.

  They arrived on the fringe of his father’s pack lands hours after sunset. There was no doubt that the fire and smoke had come from there. The reek of it overpowered all else, and even Tentin was unnerved by it, prancing and snorting, tossing her head.

  Vale
n tipped his head up and howled. Rivvie joined him in calling out for their father. Permission had to be granted or they could face death for trespassing.

  It wasn’t Varex who returned their call, but rather their mother’s mournful cry.

  Oh no. Fear clamped a tight vise around Valen’s gut.

  “Valen? What did that mean?” Aaron inquired softly.

  Valen and Rivvie howled again. More wolves joined in, though not as many as there should have been. There had been many losses to the pack.

  There was no longer a need to ask permission. The alpha was dead. Valen would cry for his father later. For now, he had to help his former pack any way he could. He stood and gave one more howl before shifting. Valen walked to stand beside Aaron. “It’s bad. Father is dead. Maybe you should go back—”

  “And possibly run into whoever killed him?” Aaron asked. “Or was it an accident?”

  Aaron had a valid point. His safety wasn’t guaranteed with them or without them, but perhaps being alone wasn’t best for him.

  “You’re right about there being a chance of you encountering whoever did this. We don’t know where they are, and that should also answer your question. It was no accident.” Valen could tell that by the song being sung. “They were attacked. Tentin is not going to like it.”

  Aaron patted her neck. “Tentin is a smart girl. She’ll manage until she can’t, then I’ll find somewhere to tie her while we go on. I’m sorry, I’ll slow you down.”

  “You’re safer with us, and that’s what matters.” Valen needed to get to his mother. He didn’t have time to play hide-and-seek for Tentin’s sake. “You might want to turn her head. I’m shifting.”

  “She’s going to have to learn,” Aaron said with a stubborn tilt to his head. “Go ahead.”

  Valen would have argued had his heart and head not been in chaotic states. He shifted, noting that Tentin reared up once before Aaron had her under control.

  Rivvie kept up his howls and barks, alerting the rest of the pack that they were entering the territory. Close to midnight, they were met by their mother and two of their siblings at the edge of a burned-out field.

  They shifted almost at the same time, then Valen had his mother, Beal, in his arms, her body racked by great, shuddering sobs.

  Rivvie and their youngest brothers Marco and Ezra were hugging as well.

  “What happened?” Valen asked once Beal’s sobs had tapered off.

  Her eyes were red-rimmed and swollen, her blonde hair singed and lank. “They came when we were sleeping, in the morning yesterday. Lanaka had no forewarning. She says she has no answer as to why this happened. I think… I think humans are just as evil as we’ve always heard they were.”

  Valen stiffened. He didn’t want to upset his mother, nor could he reject Aaron. Already the man meant too much to him to be discarded. “Not all humans, Mother.”

  Her answer was a strangled scream as she pounded on his chest. “Yes, all humans! They murdered your father and your pack mates! And the other pups and babes we lost—our pack is decimated, Valen! I cannot live without Varex! I am decimated too!”

  “Mother, no,” he said urgently. “You can live without him. Your children need you.”

  Her histrionics, while justified, had set Marco and Ezra into fits of panicked crying.

  “They need you, and the rest of the pack do as well,” he continued, giving her shoulders a squeeze. “And we can’t judge a whole species by the actions of those who attacked. I have met some very good humans in the days I’ve been gone.”

  Beal stilled after one last sniffle. She raised her head and looked at him with more hatred than Valen would have ever suspected her capable of. “Have you?” she said tonelessly. She finally seemed to notice Aaron. “Have you?”

  Aaron gulped.

  Beal shoved Valen back so forcefully that he stumbled.

  “You!” she screamed, shifting in mid-air as she leaped at Aaron.

  Tentin shrieked and went up on her back feet, her front hooves deadly weapons, surely.

  Beal dodged them and snapped at Aaron’s leg.

  “Mother, stop it!” Valen shouted, diving for her. He hadn’t shifted, afraid that Tentin would throw Aaron off if another wolf came running at her. “Rivvie!”

  Rivvie ran to Tentin’s other side. “Aaron, this way!”

  Aaron went sideways off the saddle. Valen hoped that he was clear and safe. Beal wasn’t going to be reasonable.

  Valen shifted and tackled his mother. He was aware of hooves and neighing, and was thankful to the gods that neither he nor his mother were stomped on or kicked. Valen held her down until she finally quit fighting him. He’d have scratches and bruises, but she hadn’t really hurt him.

  “I can… I can go home,” Aaron said.

  Valen bared his teeth at that idea. He shifted but kept his weight on Beal. “Do it,” he demanded.

  Aaron gasped. “Oh. O-okay.”

  Valen could have smacked himself. He looked at Aaron, held steady by Rivvie. “Not you. Mother. She needs to shift or I’m not letting her up. And she needs to give me her word that she will not attack the man I intend to take as my mate.”

  “I—” Aaron’s eyes were huge, his cheeks ruddy.

  Valen addressed his mother. “I mean it. He’s mine. I won’t tolerate him being harmed or feeling threatened.”

  She shifted and pushed at Valen. “Then he shouldn’t be here! I won’t be the only one wanting his blood!”

  Valen growled at her and stood up. “We’ve always been taught that humans are the stubborn, foolish ones, but that will be us if we can’t accept that not all of them are violent, and that we are wrong to assume such a thing. How many times have they attacked us before?” he demanded.

  Beal turned away from him.

  “How many?” Valen asked again. “Right. None. Maybe back centuries ago, even longer than that. We have no record of it, so possibly it’s never happened. One time they come after us, and all of them are our enemies when since we’ve existed, we’ve lived if not in harmony with Humans, at least without crossing paths? I don’t think so. These humans that attacked, they’ll be found and brought to their maker, that I can promise you, but I won’t punish all of their kind for it, and I won’t give up Aaron because of it.”

  He had thought to take longer and see if he and Aaron were going to work out. There was no reason to hesitate, not if he were being honest with himself. Valen had never been so caught up in a lover before, had never kept one around as there had been no reason to. None had entranced and intrigued him as Aaron did.

  Aaron, who still looked stunned.

  Valen walked to him and pulled him into his arms. “You’ll be my mate, won’t you?”

  “Yes,” Aaron answered immediately. “But what does that mean, exactly?”

  Valen kissed the top of his head, then his nose and finally his lips. The kiss was a chaste one, however. “I’ll explain it in more detail later. For now, it is enough to know you’ll spend your life with me.”

  “A Human,” Beal sneered.

  Rivvie went to her, stopping in front of Beal. “Mother, stop. You aren’t this way. I know you’re hurting, but you can’t punish Aaron for it. He’s one of the nicest people I’ve ever met, and his family, they’re nice too. They didn’t try to hurt me or Valen, and they’d never seen a shifter before us. They treated us with respect and we treated them the same.”

  Beal turned on her heel and gave them her back.

  Valen and Rivvie exchanged worried looks.

  Marco studied Aaron. “You’re a Human. You don’t look dangerous.”

  Aaron shook his head. “I’m really not.”

  “Do you know how to make fire?” Ezra asked. “And turn it into a weapon?”

  “That isn’t a skill I possess, no. I can never get the flint to strike just right.” Aaron shrugged. “As for weapons, I’m not good at them in any way. I can’t even hit anything with my slingshot, and I practiced a long time with it.”
/>   “Don’t rush home,” Beal snapped. “The dead are already buried.” She shifted and left them there.

  Valen felt that like a kick to the diaphragm. Of course his father and other pack members were already buried. It was their way to do so quickly for many different reasons. None of those reasons eased the pain at not getting to say goodbye or being there to mourn with the pack during the burial ceremonies.

  “It’s bad,” Marco mumbled, his eyes tearing up. Ezra covered his face with his hands and sobbed. “Real bad.”

  “Can you tell me how it happened?” Valen held out a hand to his brother.

  Marco came to him. Rivvie held Ezra and comforted him.

  “We were asleep, then there was fire everywhere,” Marco whispered. “I woke up and there was so much smoke, and screaming, so much screaming. I couldn’t see much at first. Ezra was still asleep, and I had a hard time waking him up.”

  “I had smoke inside me,” Ezra added. “Lanaka said the gods saved me ‘cause they have plans for me.”

  Marco rolled his eyes but not when Ezra was watching him. “I saw arrows with fire on the ends, and men and women—humans—carrying fireballs. I mean, they were made of rags and dry brush, shaped into circles, sort of like the balls we play kick with. The humans had some kind of liquid that smelled really bad and they sprayed it and when the fire touched it, p-people j-just w-went up in flames.”

  Valen couldn’t imagine seeing such a horrible sight. He asked of Aaron, “Does that sound like anything you know of?”

  Aaron nodded, his expression full of remorse. “I’m sorry, but yes, it does. There are substances that can be used as fire accelerants. I’ve heard of them. We don’t have them in our village. Every fire is started and maintained the old-fashioned way, and we haven’t the capabilities for making accelerants.” He frowned. “I suppose some natural ones might exist. Things not meant to be used as such could have accelerant properties. I just don’t know enough about it to be helpful.”

  “You’ve been plenty helpful.” Valen looked for Tentin. “Shit. Tentin took off.”

  Aaron put two fingers from each hand in his mouth and let out an eardrum-shattering whistle.