Hunter's Moon (The Witch Who Sang with Wolves Book 1)

by Kat Bostick

  “I agree. Like, what does mating entail? How exactly does that work? Wait, don’t tell me how it works with body parts. I don’t need a werewolf birds and bees talk. That’s just too many animals at once. Unless you guys have different anatomy? I got a glance last night and I’m pretty sure I didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. Not that I was staring. And not that we were or have…ugh…what I meant to say was…” Mari covered her face with her hands and let out a frustrated breath. Why couldn’t she just keep her mouth shut? “Okay, starting over. Tell me everything there is to know about werewolf mating. Without gory details, please.”

  Clem covered her mouth to mute her laughter. It didn’t work. “In some ways a werewolf mating is no different than a traditional human marriage. We have customs and rituals that vary from pack to pack. Some of them are very much like wedding customs.”

  “Like exchanging vows? Doesn’t that have to happen?” Mari asked hopefully. If she and Jasper hadn’t exchanged vows then surely they weren’t permanently bound.

  “Eventually.” Charlie agreed. “It all begins with courtship.”

  “Courtship? What is this, a Jane Austen novel?” Actually, now that she thought about, she had read a werewolf book or two that talked about courtship but they were purely fictional as far as she could tell.

  “You will find that the values of werewolves are, for the most part, fairly old-fashioned and conservative. There are far fewer born werewolves than there are bitten which means that mating tends to be a subject of great debate and concern. Many matings are arranged by the alpha, the parents, or both. It is in the best interest of the pack to find a suitable mate for their born females as only they can bear children. Ah, but let’s not get into the complications of that just yet.” He waved the thought away. “You sound like you know what courtship is.”

  Mari shrugged. “It’s dating but without any of the good stuff, right? And you get married at the end.”

  Charlie shook his head. “You make it sound so lackluster. Courtship is both romantic and thrilling. The ‘good stuff’ isn’t entirely excluded either. We’re not that old-fashioned. But for werewolves, developing an emotional relationship is much more important if we intend to develop a physical relationship and you will soon understand why.”

  Clem raised an excited hand and took over the explanation. “That’s where mating and marriage differ so greatly. Like you, we are creatures of magic. It lingers in our bones and, for better or for worse, rules our hearts. That magic is why we werewolves mate for life, with exceptions. When werewolves consummate a relationship, a tether is created between the involved parties. The coming together of flesh binds two souls in a way that no other magic can.”

  “You can see why that would make casual sexual encounters a problem for us.” Charlie said. “I imagine a werewolf with multiple partners would go mad from the emotional overload.”

  “Mating bonds are real?” Mari wasn’t sure if she liked the idea or felt more terrified than before. Being eternally bound to someone was a hell of a commitment.

  “Is there a myth about them in modern werewolf lore that I’m unfamiliar with?” Clem inquired. “I don’t see how non-werewolves would know about such a connection.”

  “It’s a popular theme in werewolf romance novels. There are true mates—the perfect person created just for you by the divine—and bonds that make their relationship unshakeable. In some stories the bond gives mates the ability to read each other’s mind. They can feel each other’s pain and pleasure and even track them down from long distances. Oh and supposedly they carry each other’s scents. Jasper and I read a lot of those books, probably all of them, and he didn’t confirm that any of those mating bond myths were real.” Mari explained. “Though I suppose our method of communicating wasn’t foolproof.”

  Clem hummed thoughtfully. “Intriguing that humans are so fascinated with our mating. Is it a scientific interest or are they imposing the standard human obsession with sexuality on us?”

  “It’s a human sex thing. Don’t ask, I have no idea where the fixation comes from.”

  “Aspects of the human fantasy are true. Mates will carry each other’s scent. It makes sense when you consider it. Spending the majority of your time around an individual and making close physical contact would inevitably leave their distinct scent on your person. Though, a mate can be away from another for weeks at a time and the scent will not fade. It’s carried on their skin. I have so many theories about that. Are you familiar with telegony?” The she-wolf had a glint in her eyes and Mari got the feeling if she encouraged Clem to continue they would be getting an entire lecture.

  “Clem, my dear, I don’t think we have time for a biology lesson today. Tomorrow I will set you lose in the library with our little witch and you are welcome to school her for as long as she will listen.” Charlie smiled affectionately at his daughter.

  She nodded and made an apologetic noise. “Of course, I do get carried away.”

  Clem and Charlie paused to stand in the grass by a gentle stream. Mari stepped up beside them and watched the crystal clear water burble over collections of stones smoothed by time. She’d been so wrapped up in the conversation and her overabundance of questions that she’d almost forgotten they were in the forest. Focusing, she could feel the thrum of it all around her. Perhaps it was because the trees went mostly untouched by human hands and the earth mostly untrodden by human feet but the magic here felt potent. The taste was earthy and sweet with tiny floral notes that came and went as she breathed.

  Mari knelt beside the creek and scooped up a palm full of water. With her other hand she dabbed her index finger into the collected liquid. Then she pressed droplets into the center of her forehead, over her heart, and over her womb.

  “I give thanks for the many gifts you offer the children of the moon. You feed them flesh and blood and in return they shall give you flesh and blood.” The voice of the wise witch inside of Mari said in prayer to the water and the wind and the soil beneath her feet.

  “Fascinating.” She heard Clem say.

  When Mari looked up at Charlie he was cocking his head to study her. “What does that mean?”

  She frowned, not sure how to explain what was strictly intuition. “Earth magic is strong here. I think it’s because you are blessed by Earth Mother. She likes the way you balance the scales of life.”

  “I’ve always believed that is what we wolves were brought here to do.” Said Charlie thoughtfully.

  “You’re doing it well.” Mari brushed the water from her hands and rose.

  “I am going to enjoy observing you, Mari.” There was such a genuine eagerness to Clem’s words that Mari couldn’t be mad that the she-wolf made her sound like a test subject.

  She smiled and looked at her toes. “You were telling me about mating bonds?”

  “Pa, I think you should take the floor here.” The she-wolf patted her father’s arm and leapt gracefully over the creek to continue walking.

  “As far as I know there aren’t any mates that can read minds or track each other. I could be wrong, of course. I’ve lived long enough to recognize a man should not easily discount any myth as false. For all we know, there could be wolfmen and witches roaming the woods under the light of the moon.” Charlie winked before he pranced over the creek after his daughter. When he reached the other side he stilled and a mournful expression darkened his features. “Having a mate is like having two heartbeats. The very essence of them flows in your blood and you can feel them there always, running under your skin and breathing life into your soul.”

  His words held an abundance of emotion, grief and passion and yearning so fierce that Mari felt tears gather in her eyes. Charlie’s pain became thick smoke in the air. She wasn’t sure if she could ever live with something like that constricting around her heart.

  “It is true that mates are in tune with each other’s emotions. That seems to be an ordinary experience between romantic partners, human or wolf, but the empathetic nature o
f a werewolf heightens the awareness of emotion to the point that extreme feelings are shared. I recall times when Viola was angry with Cash—he was such a recalcitrant child—and I would begin growling at him without cause. He’s lucky she never used that to her advantage.”

  “That sounds…suffocating.” Mari admitted. She could also admit that it sounded intimate, that the thought of such a connection made her feel secure. A part of her even craved that longing and heat she saw in Charlie’s eyes when he spoke of his mate. Yet, she couldn’t help but fear the oppressiveness of having someone else’s feelings bearing down on her all of the time and losing her privacy to them completely.

  “It can be.” Charlie agreed. “As all relationships can be. It’s worth it though, little witch. Do not doubt that it is worth every moment of frustration, agony, and grief. Love is it’s very own kind of magic and only a lucky few truly experience that power.”

  “You said this connection is made when mates, you know, do it?” Mari chose to ignore his sentimental speech, regardless of how it stirred her. She wasn’t interested in being convinced to accept a mating with Jasper until she had all of the details.

  “Consummation solidifies it, but it begins when courtship ends with the offering of a traditional gift from wolf to she-wolf. This part has evolved over the centuries. It’s much more like a marriage proposal than it used to be but, as with most of our rituals, it must be done under the full moon. The male wolf presents the she-wolf with a gift that demonstrates his ability to provide for her.” Clem took over.

  “Like a dowry?” Asked Mari.

  “It’s a similar concept. These days most simply give a ring, like humans. The type of gift can vary. As long as it shows the female that he has the capability and intention of providing for her, it doesn’t really matter what it is. At one point the traditional gift was food, usually an animal hunted solely by the male to demonstrate that he can.”

  “An animal?” Mari’s heart jumped into her throat. “Like, say, a rabbit?”

  Clem leaned against the trunk of an oak and pivoted to face Mari. “I imagine deer or elk would be more impressive but a rabbit would do just fine. Why does that make you screw up your face?”

  Mari felt as if all the blood in her body rushed to her head at once. After her rites, she’d been curious about the dead rabbit Jasper was adamant she accept and wondered exactly what the unknown magic that came with the gift had done. It was, without a doubt, the most euphoric sensation she’d ever known.

  How was it possible that such a blissful feeling could make her want to puke?

  “Are you alright?” Mari hadn’t noticed that she was sinking to the ground until Charlie caught her elbow and prevented her knees from slamming ungracefully into the earth.

  “I’m going to kill my father and I’m going to bring my grandmother back from the grave so that I can slap her.” she groaned. “If they hadn’t been tight-lipped morons and hid this magic shit from me I probably would have known better than to accept a marriage proposal from a werewolf in the form of a dead bunny. Holy crap, aren’t you supposed to have like ten shots of tequila in a Las Vegas casino for something like this to happen?” She burrowed her face in her palms and sucked in rapid breaths.

  The only reason a full blown panic attack didn’t set in was because fury quickly replaced anxiety. Charlie and Clem were laughing at her. They were laughing at the fact that she’d unknowingly bound herself to a werewolf who, at the time, couldn’t even speak to ask her if she agreed. It wasn’t fair! Mari didn’t get any say in the matter. Sure, she accepted the gift but not because she thought it meant she had to commit herself to an almost stranger for the rest of her life.

  “I don’t see what’s funny here!” Mari snapped at them. “I accidentally gave my whole life to someone I barely know. What if Jasper and I are incompatible? What if I don’t want to join a wolf pack? I’m not even twenty two. I’m too young to be married or mated or either.” She scooped up the nearest stick and chucked it at a tree. “Can we have it annulled if I don’t want to be his mate?”

  Charlie squatted beside her. He was doing his best to offer a look of sympathy but Mari still felt his amusement. “I’m sorry, child. In that way it’s not like a marriage. I’ve never heard of anyone being tricked into a mating or accepting it by accident. I can’t say I know of any way to reverse the link because no one would want to.”

  “It’s not that I don’t like Jasper. He’s one of my very best friends.” The tears that she refused to shed made themselves known in her quavering voice. “But I can’t agree to spend the rest of my life with a guy just because he’s pretty and I like the way he kisses me.” Shoot, she hadn’t meant to confess that in front of Charlie. “That’s not a solid foundation for a relationship.”

  “I understand your hesitation.” Clem surprised Mari by sitting down in the damp leaves beside her. Her jumpsuit would be muddy and stained but she didn’t seem the least bit concerned. “I have avoided an arranged mating for many years because of the exact sentiments you are expressing now.”

  “I’m not entirely sure what to do for you in this situation. I’ve never encountered anything like it and I’m not likely to ever encounter it again.” The alpha pressed his lips together. “Why don’t we lay out your options?”

  “I have options?” Mari asked hopefully.

  “Of course.” Clem put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

  “If you choose to accept Jasper’s claim, you will become a member of our pack. We will provide for you and protect you in whatever way that you need, even from this witch that has cursed your mate and threatened you. When you have children we will help you raise them and care for them as our own. I don’t know much about your kind but I will do everything in my power to insure you learn your craft and hone your skills. I can’t deny that it would benefit me and mine as much as it would benefit you. In that I am selfish.

  “However, if you join my pack and mate with Jasper, you cannot leave. We won’t hold you prisoner—and we wouldn’t have to if you truly accept him as your mate—but we will expect your absolute loyalty. As your alpha I would require your allegiance and obeisance. You could never join a coven and unless your mate does, you could never join another pack. You would be one of us, wholly and completely.” Charlie’s voice was gentle but Mari felt the commanding edge that he so naturally carried.

  “As you have not yet consummated your mating, you are not fully bound to Jasper. This means that if you choose not to accept him, you may leave. I appreciate that you are not like us and might want—or even need—to find others of your kind. Seek out sisters and join a coven if that is what you would prefer. Let them teach you the ways of your magic. In time you might be able to move on from your mate. You will never forget him but as you are not a wolf the connection may be fainter on your end. There is a future for you outside of the pack with a coven or even in the human world, if you wish it.

  “The same cannot be said for Jasper, sadly. He will never love another. You, little witch, will continue to pulse in his chest as a tiny palpitation, causing pain and illness and loneliness beyond words. I don’t tell you this to rouse guilt or shame you into staying. I only think it’s fair that you understand the consequences for him if you choose to leave. He’s a challenging man to read but I think I know his heart well enough to confidently say that he did not intentionally mislead you. Life looks much simpler when you walk on four legs and sometimes that means we make rather rash decisions.”

  Mari laughed dryly. “Like asking the first woman to take you home if she wants to be your mate by dropping a dead bunny at her feet?”

  “I can grasp what might have been going through his mind when he offered his claim but, if you don’t mind my asking, what was going through yours? How exactly did you accept a rabbit corpse without pause?” Clem asked carefully.

  Mari gave a brief summary of the night she performed her rites. She explained the way the full moon impacted her power and her connection to ancestors thr
ough the link with her mother. Explaining to them made her realize just how thoughtless she’d been that night. Then again, how was she supposed to know that accepting his gift carried such a responsibility?

  “So in other words, you were moon drunk?” Charlie chuckled again.

  “I guess you could say that.” Mari grumbled.

  Clem tapped her chin. “Newly bitten and young wolves often experience the power of the moon much like you described. Perhaps you need to spend more full moons among trees, under the stars. Acclimate yourself to the magic that draws you as it draws us.”

  “I’ll get on that.” Mari replied tersely.

  “Clem, I think Mariella has had her fill of us for now.” The alpha stood and lazily stretched his spine. “Consider the options we’ve discussed and don’t hesitate to come to us with questions. In the meantime, you should speak to Jasper. Hear his side. I can’t ask you not to be angry but please don’t punish him too harshly. Whatever he’s done, he did it with his heart guiding him.”

  “May I make a final inquiry?” Clem pressed her palms together in appeal.

  “Sure, go ahead.”

  “The first day you were here, you described hearing Jasper’s voice in your mind. Do you share in emotions too? Did that happen before you accepted his gift or only after? A werewolf can make a bond with humans and, as proved by your lineage, witches, but typically it isn’t shared as it would be between two wolves. From what I understand, you shouldn’t feel the connection as he does. My mother never did.”

  Mari chewed her lip nervously. Clem was wrong. The moment Charlie described having a mate as a second heartbeat, she knew that there was inextricable magic binding them together. It wasn’t as strong and fierce as what she saw in Charlie’s eyes, but maybe that was how Jasper felt it.

  “After.” Mari choked out. “I’ve heard his voice and felt what he feels ever since the solstice moon.”

  “Thank you.” Clem said, then muttered “I wonder if it is the wolf in your blood or the Wolfseggner.”