by R. E. Butler
“Aw.” She smiled further, her cheeks darkening in a blush.
As they walked to the clearing where the pack would gather to celebrate the full moon, she told him about speaking with her mom earlier that morning.
“She said she thought that the alpha had drawn the whole pack into dark magic. The demon probably was very seductive, making a lot of promises in exchange for their loyalty.”
“Was she upset?”
“Of course, but upset that I’d been taken and nearly killed. She said she wished she’d never brought him back when I was eighteen because then he wouldn’t have known where I was. I told her that it wouldn’t have mattered because they were using dark magic and would have found me regardless.”
His wolf gnashed his teeth. “I wish I could have protected you.”
“The bad guys are dead, and we’re all safe. I think we won that battle.”
They walked into the clearing. Wolves removed debris from the wide area where the pack would gather. Cinder raised her head and looked at the sky. The trees had been chopped down years ago to create an opening in the thick canopy so that the moon could be seen shining brightly in the clearing.
“There’s a monthly rotation so that every wolf helps prepare the clearing.”
“What are we going to do?”
He took the book from her and gently turned the old pages until he found the preparation instructions for the lygisa ceremony.
“We’re going to get the wood ready. Or, rather, I’m going to chop it, and you’re going to haul it. Sound like fun?”
“Not remotely.”
He chuckled. “While we’re working, I’ll tell you about being a wolf.”
He handed the book to her, and she followed him to where several trees had been felled and sectioned, ready to be chopped. He picked up a section of oak and set it on a large stump. Lifting the axe, he swung it a few times in practice, and then he brought it down smoothly into the center of the log and split it.
“Cool.”
He grinned. “I had a lot of practice as a teenager. Read the instructions, love.”
She settled on the grass and opened the book, laying it in her lap. “A fire is laid from the wood of oak trees. Why oak?”
He set another piece on the chopping block and split it. “It’s strong and lives a long time. It’s a symbol of the strength and longevity of the pack and their bond to the lygisa.”
She hummed in her throat and looked down at the book while he swung the axe again. “Tell me about your first shift.”
“I shifted for the first time the month I turned sixteen, just a few days before my birthday. It’s good luck for wolves to shift in their birth month.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. Maybe because it makes us more awesome?”
She laughed and threw a stick at him.
He was fortunate to grow up in a pack that cared about the young wolves as much as his did. After his fifteenth birthday, he was allowed to begin working on the full moons. He was a glorified errand boy, but he hadn’t cared. He’d been so hungry to shift and join the ranks of the pack members.
“I was a total pain in the ass the week before the full moon. My parents were sure I would shift, so my dad and grandpa waited with me that night in the clearing. They talked me through the shift and then took me on my first hunt.”
“New wolves shift in front of the pack?”
He tugged off his shirt, wiping the sweat from his brow with it, and then tucked it into his waistband. “Being naked and shifting is normal for us. The pack shifts together and goes to hunt in our territory. And I’ll point out that Wiccans like to get naked together for their ceremonies too.”
She rolled her eyes so hard he was surprised they didn’t pop right out of her head.
“We wear cloaks and we’re all women, and the guards who are there always turn their backs to us. It’s entirely different.”
“Po-tay-to, po-tah-to.”
“You really want everyone in the pack to see me naked?” She stood, hugging the book to her chest.
“They won’t be paying attention, love. They’re going to be waiting for us to share our pleasure with them.”
“It sounds totally kinky and strange since your parents are going to be there.”
He laughed and closed the distance to her. Sliding an arm around her waist, he pulled her close until their bodies were touching. He bent and kissed her ear, enjoying how she shivered. “After your lygisa ceremony and after you join the pack as alpha female, I’m going to pull you down to the ground and fuck you. When we come together — and we will, sweetheart – we’re going to focus on that hot, twisting, amazing feeling deep inside of us and push it out to the pack.” He leaned away from her to look into her eyes. “You think the pack is happy now because you’re here with me – with them – but wait until they feel our love for each other like a physical being. Sharing our pleasure is a way to tie the pack together.”
“Then I’ll shift?”
He nodded. “Angie has some clothes for you to wear so you don’t have to be naked during the ceremonies or when we share pleasure. Maybe someday, though, you won’t mind it. I’d love to see your beautiful body highlighted by firelight.”
She rested her cheek against his shoulder. “Thank you for sharing your life with me, Adam.”
“There’s more to tell, love, but first, we’ve got wood to haul, and then you’ve got some lygisa stuff to get ready, right?”
“I do.”
Tucking the book under her arm, she picked up a piece of wood, and Adam scooped up several logs. They returned to the clearing together. It took six trips to fill the fire pit. He could have sent others to grab the wood, gotten a wheelbarrow, or even carried a lot more than he did each trip, but he enjoyed walking with Cinder and talking to her. She wanted to know everything about the pack, and he shared everything he knew. By the time they were finished hauling wood, he’d filled her in on pack history and about his rise to the rank of alpha, and she’d shared with him stories of her childhood, her mom, and her desire to join with a more friendly coven.
“Being half-Wiccan was hard,” she said, holding his hand as they walked through the woods to the house. “I had the power, but I wasn’t whole, and some covens are exclusive. Once the corners found out that I was part wolf, even though at the time that part of me was dormant, they strongly suggested I find a different coven.”
“There are packs like that, but ours isn’t. The previous alpha had a Wiccan mate, and several of the younger wolves have mates who aren’t wolves. As far as I’m concerned, it doesn’t matter what a person is, only what they do with what they are.”
“You’re pretty sexy when you’re being noble.”
Stopping at the bottom of the steps, he tugged her close and growled softly when her curves fit against him perfectly. “Wanna take you upstairs,” he said as he slid his hands through her hair and fisted the soft strands lightly.
Nuzzling her neck, he let her scent wrap around him and the wolf, who he’d kept at bay all morning to honor Cinder’s request to be treated like a new wolf, was suddenly there. Without another word, he lifted her into his arms and stalked into the house. He couldn’t get to the room fast enough, and when he did, the slammed door and thrown lock were loud reminders to everyone that he and Cinder didn’t want to be disturbed.
For a while.
* * * * *
Cinder could have stayed in Adam’s arms all day and been thoroughly content. Being with him kept most of the aches at bay, and the little that slipped through was manageable. When she wasn’t touching him, she felt as though her bones were trying to pop apart. Her wolf paced in her mind, anxious for the full moon, but the powerful part of her – the lygisa – was growing too. She could feel the power bubbling inside her, growing stronger in preparation to come to her completely. As a natural Wiccan, she’d always had powers, so she’d never gone through a real awakening like this. It was as if she was seeing the world for the fi
rst time. Unlike her Wiccan power, the powers of the lygisa were wolf-centric. She could feel the pull of the moon on the pack members, and could even sense where the pack was at any given moment. At first, she’d been most aware of Adam and his family, but as the day had waned, she’d come to realize she could sense each pack member.
A grinding noise brought her back to the present, and she smiled at Angie, who was helping prepare the ingredients for the lygisa spell. Cinder looked down at her own mortar and pestle and gave one more twist for good measure and gently set the pestle on Adam’s office desk. They’d begun work in the kitchen, but the females had been so interested in what she and Angie were doing, they had been too distracting, so she and Angie had taken over Adam’s office. Not that he minded. He was busy in a meeting with the highest-ranked wolves in the front room. On the next full moon, she’d be in the meeting, too, but for this first one, she had more important tasks to complete.
“How are you coming with that landor seed?”
Angie tilted the soapstone bowl slightly, and Cinder could see she’d done a great job reducing the tiny pink seeds to dust.
“I’ve never heard of landor.”
“It’s not from our realm. Some of our supplies are from other realms.”
Cinder added the grinded landor seeds to the spell chest, a small wooden trunk that Adam had bought for her. She looked inside at the different spices, herbs, and minerals that would help her fully accept her power.
“Are you nervous?” Angie asked as Cinder closed the chest and carried it out of the office.
“A little. I’m not afraid of the power, but I’m kind of freaked out about shifting.”
“You saw yourself in the vision, though, right?”
“Yeah, but seeing and actually doing are two different things.”
Angie chuckled. “I guess so. Come to my room. I have something for you.”
Cinder followed Angie down the hall to her bedroom. The second floor contained the bedrooms of the family members and the highest-ranked males who lived there. It was a busy house with so many adults living in it, but it was one of the most comforting places she’d ever lived. She was completely surrounded by the pack. With the coven, she’d lived in her own home and only been around them when she was working or during ceremonies. The pack lived together, and those who didn’t live in the alphas’ house lived nearby in the territory.
Angie opened her bedroom door, and Cinder stepped inside. She turned in a slow circle to take in the room’s decor. The white walls were painted with cherry blossoms. The branches were dark, the blossoms varying shades of white and pink. She moved for a closer look.
“They almost look real,” Cinder said as she stared at one of the flowers, with her fingertips hovering just over it.
“Thanks. It took a freaking long time.”
“You did this?” Cinder looked at Angie in surprise.
She shrugged, looking shy. “I like to paint. When Adam took over as alpha, he said I could do whatever I wanted with the bedroom. I love cherry blossoms. They symbolize beauty and joy.”
“How long did it take you?” She cast her gaze around the room. The furniture was white – the full bed, desk, dresser, and nightstand – but each one had cherry blossoms painted on the surface somewhere.
“A year. I slept on the couch in Adam’s office until I was done. I didn’t want to move in until it was complete because I thought I’d get complacent and not finish. It was the longest year of my life – that couch is not comfortable.”
“Wow, it’s so beautiful. You did an amazing job.”
Angie smiled broadly. She moved to the bed and pointed to a stack of fabric. “These are full moon clothes.”
Cinder joined her as Angie laid them out – a short black skirt made of soft, stretchy material and a black tank top.
“What makes them full moon clothes?”
“First, they’re inexpensive. One of the females in the pack makes them. If you ruin either piece, it won’t cost a lot to replace and you can get them in any color. And second, they’re loose enough that if you’re dressed when you shift, you can wiggle out of them when you’re done.”
“Really? Cool.”
“When we’re young, the shift can come on us really suddenly. I lost a lot of cute pants before I took my mom’s advice and wore the simpler clothes.”
“Thanks, Angie.”
“You’re welcome. You’re not just my alpha female. You’re my sister. I always wanted one.”
“Me too.”
Angie hugged her, and Cinder gathered the clothes and said goodbye. Her nerves rose once more as she hugged the clothes to her chest and walked up to the third floor. She could feel the full moon drawing close and the excitement of the pack. They were receiving a lot tonight — a lygisa and an alpha female — but she was getting so much more. After this night, she’d be a fully shifting female with the power of the lygisa, she’d take her place as a pack member, and she’d be the alpha female. They were gaining a leader, but she would be gifted with a big family in return.
Chapter 16
Adam watched his mate as she spoke to the females. The wolves from the evil pack were standing together, but three of the females, who Cinder said were helpful to her, were next to his mate. They looked at her with the adoration of people who had been in bondage and suddenly freed. He had thought that they might want to stay out of pack life and find their own way, but all of them wanted to stay if they were welcome, and Adam and Cinder agreed they could.
The sun was slowly setting, bathing the woods in soft oranges and ambers, making the shadows lengthen. She wore what he’d come to think of as the females’ uniform – a short skirt and a loose tank top. She looked amazing in it, especially because he knew what she looked like under the clothes, or maybe because he was so totally nuts about her. She could probably wear a potato sack and he’d think her beautiful.
“You look like a guy from the cover of one of my mom’s romance novels,” Brick said as he came to stand next to Adam.
“What?”
“You know,” Brick clutched his hands together over his heart and batted his eyes, “I just lurve her so much, and she’s so bee-yoo-tee-ful.”
Adam’s face flashed with heat, and he turned and tackled his cousin with a snarl. Brick hit the ground with a loud thud, the wind whooshing from his lungs as Adam landed on top of him.
Adam growled, his face inches from his beta as he bared his fangs. “Don’t compare me to a romance novel model again.”
Brick’s eyes widened and then he laughed. “You must be in love. Six months ago, you’d have thrown me halfway across the yard for saying something like that.”
Adam snorted and stood, pulling Brick to his feet with a little more force then necessary. He tugged him close and clamped his hand on the back of his neck so he could whisper in his ear, “You’re betting I won’t kill you because my mate is watching, but there’s always tomorrow. Test me again and see how genial I am.”
Brick dropped his head and tilted his neck. “Sorry, Alpha.”
“I’ll bet you are.” Adam gave Brick’s neck a little extra squeeze and released him.
Brick flashed Adam a grin before he ducked away into the crowd. In truth, Adam didn’t mind his pack seeing the physical proof of his affection for Cinder. He knew they could feel it through their connection to him, but seeing it was good too.
Cinder met Adam’s eyes, her brow cocked in curiosity. His mom said something under her breath that he couldn’t hear, and all the females giggled, including his mate. He was pretty sure he didn’t want to know what was said.
Cinder’s eyes flashed golden, and she swayed slightly. Adam rushed to her side, keeping her upright.
“It’s time,” she said, her voice otherworldly.
Keeping one arm around her to hold her steady, he walked with Cinder through the woods to the clearing. The woods darkened as the sun set completely, but the wolves didn’t need light to see, thanks to their enhanced eyesight.
He left Cinder next to the unlit fire pit and stepped back, joining the pack as they entered the clearing and created a circle around the pit. Earlier in the day, he’d marked out a barrier in logs so that no wolves would be inside the perimeter where Cinder needed to perform the ceremony. He stood with Brick and Solan, his family, and the pack, and watched as Cinder turned and set a few items on the ground.
She straightened, lifting a leather sack from the ground, and walked six steps toward him. Stopping, she pulled at a small string in the corner of the bag. As it opened, something poured out. The substance looked like salt, but he knew it wasn’t just salt, but a combination of other minerals meant to protect her as she took on the mantel of her lygisa power.
Her lips began to move as she walked a slow circle around the perimeter of the fire pit. He’d read the words in the book, but he couldn’t hear anything but the sound of rushing wind. It was a form of protection, so that no one but a lygisa could actually hear the words being spoken. He felt the earth begin to tremble as she reached her starting point and the last grains of minerals formed a closed circle. A brilliant flash of red made him close his eyes for a brief moment, and when he opened them, he could see Cinder standing next to the fire pit, with a red haze completely enclosing the circle.
She bent and picked up the chest, opening the top and fisting a handful of the crushed herbs and spices that she and Angie had spent the afternoon working with.
She spun, tossing the handful onto the logs in the fire pit. The wood blazed to life, the flames reaching higher than he’d ever seen before. The heart of the fire was white and blue, the outer flames crimson and orange. He felt the heat from several feet away and was thankful that Cinder was protected and wouldn’t be harmed by the heat.
Her voice was clear and powerful as she spoke. “I, Cinder Knight, hereby claim the mantel of lygisa. I accept the power over wolf and pack, over earth and flame, and vow to never betray my pack or my mate.”
She turned and shoved her hand into the box, extracting another handful of herbs, which she tossed onto the fire. The flames roared and stretched higher, causing the orange to disappear from the tips of the flames as the white and blue center expanded.
