“Then she will become an Elder, like you?”
The old man chuckled. “A seer never gives away all his secrets.” He stood. “It is time for you to go now. Tomorrow, you will claim your birthright.”
He took the hint, and moved toward the door. “Do you have anything else to tell me before I leave?”
Roman’s lips spread into a slow smile. “What else would you like to know?”
Devin didn’t know if he wanted to discover anymore surprises. How could Roman deal with so much knowledge and not suffer from information and historical overload? “Goodnight, old friend.”
“Devin…”
He paused outside the home, and turned to find the Elder standing in the door frame.
“Sooner or later, you will have to give into the urges of your wolf side. He is stronger now than he’s ever been before. Not even as a child was your wolf this confidant. Only a true mate would bring out this much dominance in a wolf.”
“Why are you telling me this?” he asked.
“A wolf always knows his mate.”
The elder closed the door, leaving him standing in darkness among the sound of crickets.
Devin snuggled against Tamara, resting his chin on her shoulders and wrapping his arms around her tightly. She responded by moving closer to him in their spoon. His body was still heated from their rounds of sex, but she’d begun to shiver after they’d parted. The temperatures had dropped below freezing soon after he returned from visiting Roman. He had to remember that Tamara was only human and her temperature did not adjust that quickly to this type of weather.
She’d not fallen asleep yet. Devin could tell from her uneasy breathing.
“Tomorrow night is the Blue Moon,” he said.
“I know. Elisa told me.”
“What exactly did Elisa tell you?” Devin thought back to what Roman had said. With Elisa being a seer, there was no telling what she’d revealed to Tamara.
“She said that all the wolves would gather. It’s usually a time of celebration, but this one will end in disorder.”
Elisa was right. If he remembered correctly about how competitive his cousin was from their days as young pups, then he would not go down without a fight.
Devin swallowed hard. “I owe this duty to the Caedmon people.”
“I respect your decision.”
Was Tamara his true mate? It would explain why he’d been so drawn to her the night at the museum. There was this feeling to protect her like only mated wolves do. He’d had other women before, but before they could expect any sort of commitment he would break it off with them. Bachelorhood was better than having a broken heart in the long run. At least, that was his take on life until he bumped into Tamara. She awakened the urges of his wolf, a wolf who yearned for a life-long companion.
But how could it be possible that his mate was a human?
She sighed. “But, it’s obvious that I don’t fit in here.”
“It will take time for the Caedmon people to accept our union. I’m the bastard son of Daniel Caedmon and many still oppose me. My people have been betrayed many times in the past by pack members that have long been removed. There has always been hesitation to embrace change.”
“I don’t want to come between you and your pack. Knowing that you’ve broken a rule because I was selfish hurts me.”
“Your actions were not selfish. We both want each other. Let’s commit to be together and let the cards fall where they may. I want you in my life.” There would never be anyone else who completed him as Tamara did. He could not let her stray from him. Roman had been right; his wolf was very much compelled by her.
“And I want to be in your life.”
It was all he needed to hear, and his heart was reassured. He would claim her soon, but not during the height of this chaos.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The huge crowd was unexpected. Tamara had no idea how significant the Blue Moon was until she saw the turnout. As her eyes roamed over her surroundings from her seat on a fallen carved out tree, she spotted more wolves than she had ever seen gathered in her life. They mingled at the opening in the forest where the events were to be held, both in human and wolf form.
Elisa, who sat beside her, grabbed her hand. “Not all Caedmon live in the village. Some have gone on to enjoy life outside of these woods among the humans. There could be other reasons for leaving, too.”
“Like what?” Tamara asked.
“To start their own pack. To leave and join others…usually the women to follow their mate.”
Tamara searched the area for Devin. It didn’t take long to find him, as he’d been the main attraction throughout the evening. She thought back to his conversation the night before. No matter what the consequences were, he seemed content on being with her.
“That’s Darius,” Elisa whispered.
Tamara followed her gaze on the other side of the field where another crowd formed a semi-circle around a man. He was built, tall, and exceedingly handsome. Long brown hair hung to his bare broad shoulders. Nothing in his appearance said evil, but then looks were mightily deceiving. A woman stood beside him. She was just as tall and fair, with short ice blonde hair. “Who’s the woman standing next to Darius?”
“His mate. Yeah, even evil wolves can be mated. I don’t know much about her. She was brought over from another pack.”
A hush fell over the crowd as two old men stepped onto a large wooden podium and took a seat at a long table.
“They’re about to get started,” Elisa said, as Dawson joined them.
Several moments passed as the two old men, Devin, and Dawson began their meeting at the round table. Tamara wasn’t close enough to the front to hear anything that was discussed but from the serious look on each of their faces, she figured they’d started with the issue at hand.
“This will be the third Blue Moon that I’ve seen,” Elisa said, interrupting her train of thought. “It’s beautiful. A special one.”
“What’s going to happen?” Tamara asked, slowly, not taking her eyes from Devin as he took a pen offered to him by one of the men at the table. It appeared that he’d signed some papers.
“Be careful, Tamara.”
Tamara swallowed. The blunt answer was indication that the young, wise little girl knew more than she was letting on. Be careful. What did that mean? What did it imply?
“I am Roman.” One of the old men stood up from the table at the end of the podium. “Executor of the estate of Daniel Caedmon, the third. This evening marks my fiftieth blue moon.” He thrust a rolled paper up toward the sky, holding it tight in his fist. “On this evening, I live to honor the Caedmon legacy. Herewith, I inform you of the last will and testament of Daniel Caedmon, the third. All properties, buildings, lands, debts, monies…anything bearing the Caedmon name shall now revert to his first born son…Devin Caedmon.”
The crowd broke out into a choir of whispers.
“No opposition?” Tamara whispered.
“No one is crazy enough to argue with the written will of Daniel Caedmon…or with Roman, for that matter.”
Roman placed the will into a small chest and slid it across the table to stop in front of Devin. “There are other pressing matters at hand,” he said. “Our pack is without a leader. An Alpha who is strong enough to man and protect the pack. Not another night shall go by without such guidance. Shortly after the death of Daniel, only one has come forward to lead…”
The front of the crowd shifted away from the podium as Darius and his crew stepped up to be noticed.
“In Caedmon culture, direct descendants of previous leaders have fair claim to the position. Among us Caedmon, it is well known that the eldest son rose when the father passed on by default...”
Elisa squeezed her hand, hard.
“…unless there is a challenge.” Roman’s cold stare fell on the crowd. He seemed to gaze at nothing in particular, as he paused. “Darius Caedmon, the son of the brother of Daniel has stepped forward to lead.”
<
br /> Darius made a great show of himself, allowing his mate to take his coat as he stepped onto the podium. He wore a necklace with a stone pendant, but it was made of white diamond versus the emerald that Devin had gifted to her.
Tamara clutched the pendant against her breastbone, and turned her gaze to Devin. He seemed to stare in her direction, his eyes glowing intensely in the darkness. She wanted to tell him to be careful, and even wished that he wore the protection amulet instead of her.
“Good evening,” Darius drawled, his grin could have charmed the most doubtful of men. “I would be honored to lead us into the future.”
“There will be no easy victory,” Roman told Darius.
“What…?” Darius looked back at him, annoyed.
Devin stood up then, his look turning from indifferent to stern. “There is no way I will stand by and let you lead and destroy.”
Darius’ laugh was loud and menacing. “Let? Did you say let?”
“By law, there are only four of us left to lay down the law. We’ve exercised our vote to remove you from stepping into the vacancy.”
“No one stands against me,” Darius said, holding out his arms for emphasis. “Show me the law that says you can stop someone from guiding our pack. If there is no leader, there is no pack. It is the oldest law in the book.”
“Our aim is to stop you from guiding our pack, Darius. There have been too many charges against you. Too many speculations, and not to mention the foolish notions about how you plan to dictate and rule our people. We need a leader, not a ruler. There are other suitable leaders.”
“Like whom? Dawson is too young to lead. He has one more year. No one will wait that long.” Darius stared Devin down in disgust. “And you are no more than the bastard son of your father. I’m surprised he left anything to you. Why would anyone want you to lead?”
Devin growled, and threw himself toward Darius. It took three men to hold Devin back as he struggled to release their hold on him.
Tamara’s heart jumped to her throat. It seemed to beat rapidly there and her blood heated. This time, it was she who strengthened her grip on Elisa hand.
“You will not lead us,” Devin snarled between clenched teeth. “I challenge you, Darius Caedmon.”
“I came prepared for this,” Darius leered. “I’ve been watching for days as you practically ignored the most respected law of our pack. No humans allowed within our haven.”
The crowd gasped and Tamara swallowed, holding her breath.
“It is no worse than the murder committed to steal this title.”
The crowd erupted in a frenzy of chattering. Murderer. Bastard. Human. Those words rung over and over around her. She kept her line of sight on Devin, but she knew many pairs of eyes bored into her. Being called out was not something she’d planned for tonight. She knew it would have happened eventually, and that there’d be consequences if she’d stayed here with Devin, but she hadn’t set herself up for the embarrassment she now felt.
“How dare you?” Darius hissed. “Nothing about which you imply has been proven. You, on the other hand, bring the human into our communities with no shame in your game.” He pointed toward Tamara to make his point.
“What am I to be ashamed of? I will not hide away the woman I love.”
Darius laughed. “The woman you love is a human.”
“She is my mate.” Devin’s words sliced through the crowd like a knife and echoed throughout the trees.
“No.” Darius shook his head. “You won’t fool us as your father did. He was a liar. He faked a true union in order to rise as Alpha, calling your trifling mother his mate. Just like that bitch, your human is a whore.”
There was a flash of green, and a wolf emerged where Devin once stood. It leaped into the air, hurling itself viciously toward Darius.
Tamara thought she heard flesh tearing as the paws of the wolf lashed Darius across the face. Darius fell back a bit, and when he moved his hand away from his cheek, it came away with blood. Three ugly claw marks ran across the side of it.
“You will pay for that…” was all Darius said before Tamara saw two wolves clash together and tumble off the side of the podium in one violent brown and black fur ball.
Tamara couldn’t stand to look. Pain seized her body as if she were the one doing the fighting. She wanted the hurt to go away, so she closed her eyes. Ripping her hand free from Elisa’s grip, she drew her palms to cover her ears. Her efforts to block out the violence were futile.
A vision of Brad flashed in her mind. She’d been stuck in traffic on the way from a class lecture. Dinner would have been late if she didn’t stop for pizza. It had begun raining heavily before she made it to the apartment. Their parking spaces were on the other side of the lot. She’d grabbed what she could to keep herself from becoming drenched. He was angry even before she entered their apartment. He hadn’t hit her because dinner was late that night. He’d hit her because she’d used his letterman jacket like a raincoat. The side of her face stung, as if she’d been thrown back in time.
She wanted to forget…
Just before Tamara opened her eyes, freezing rain began to fall softly. Sheets of it came down, accompanied by a gust of cold winter wind. The full blue moon still beamed in on the wolf fight. Not a soul seemed to care as the dirty gray clouds loomed overhead, soaking them all.
Her lips began to quiver as she strained her eyes, trying to focus on the fight.
Suddenly Tamara heard a yelp, and her eyes shot toward the two wolves. Devin had his muzzle around Darius neck. Devin’s growl rumbled and his sharp teeth could be seen as he gripped the other wolf’s neck.
“Fight to kill,” the crowd chanted. “Fight to kill.”
Tamara’s chest burned, and she realized that she’d been holding her breath. Fear was her reality. Rain tasted like salt. It took her only seconds to realize she was crying. The horrific sight of the wolves battling terrified her. Her body obeyed what her mind was telling it to do.
She ran.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Devin ran.
He ran like his life depended on it. The trail of Tamara’s scent was nearly gone. Pure instinct was all he had to find her now. She didn’t know the land very well. He feared for her.
Too much time had passed since she’d taken off into the forest before Devin realized that she was gone.
He would have caught up to her by now, but he was weakened from the fight. The deep claw wound in his back pulsed with pain with each leap he made, but he was determined to find her.
Tamara’s scent took him in circles. She’d roamed in loops. That made it harder for him to trail her. It was an indication that she was lost in the forest. Anything could have happened to her by now.
He should have killed Darius, but those actions wouldn’t have earned him any prizes. It served the scoundrel better to live the rest of his days as a failure.
It was time to move forward with only good intentions for the Caedmon pack, and leave behind only those who would bring harm to them.
Devin’s intuition led him to a stream. Sure enough, at the water’s edge, her small form lay in a heap on the grass. Her hair was mated to her face. The clothes she wore clung to her like a second skin. Her lips looked dried and parched. Her breasts rose and fell rapidly as she clutched tightly at the pendant that he’d gifted to her.
It pained him to see her in such distress.
He whined and nudged at her cheek with his nose. Tamara was beautiful still, even through his wolf eyes. Even in her state of mishap. Her lids peeled open slowly, and she lifted her small hands to his neck and pulled herself up to a sitting position.
“Wolfie, you’ve come to save me from this all over again.” Her breath was rushed, and he could tell she was dehydrated. “I knew you’d come.” She swayed slightly as though she were disoriented.
He shifted from wolf to human form, and allowed her to fall into his open arms. “Tamara, please…don’t ever run from me again. If anything had happened to you, I
would have been devastated.”
“You scared me.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to scare you, but this thing had to be done.”
When he looked down again, her eyes were completely closed and she went limp in his arms. He bit back the pain as he hoisted her up, carrying her through the forest back to his haven.
Tamara rose to the smell of homemade soup. She drew in another deep breath and her insides warmed. It was a familiar fragrance of broth, herbs, and freshly stewed vegetables. Before she even opened her eyes, she knew exactly where she was.
The interior of the cabin hadn’t changed since the day she and Devin had left for the Caedmon Village. She felt safer here than she did anywhere else in what seemed like a very long time. Clutching the soft sheets up against her chest, she lifted herself to a sitting position.
There were candles on almost every flat surface throughout the cabin. It was dark out, but she noticed that none of the lights were turned on. She reached out and clicked the switch in an attempt to turn on the lamp beside the bedside. Nothing happened.
“The freezing rain turned into snow shortly after we got here. Most of the town’s power lines froze and fell down. We’ve been powerless for several hours.”
Tamara turned in the direction of Devin’s voice. He sat in the oversized leather chair in front of the fireplace. She couldn’t see him until he swiveled around in the chair, coming into a clearer view.
He was alright. Why had she been so scared? It was in a wolf’s nature to be aggressive. Although, Devin wasn’t just any wolf. He was a man. A man who’d made her feel safe and welcome from the very beginning.
Devin seemed to be studying her. Maybe he thought she was a completely crazy person the way she ran off in the forest out in the middle of nowhere.
Tamara looked down at the sheets. “I acted childishly.”
“You did what any normal person would have done.” As he sat on the bed next to her, the mattress sunk deeper. “You’re not accustomed to seeing wolves battle it out like that.”
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