Broken Moon: Part 1 Read online

  BROKEN MOON, PART 1

  Claudia King

  Published by Claudia King at Smashwords

  Copyright © 2013 Claudia King

  Smashwords Edition, License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Proceeds from sales directly help this author to continue doing what she loves, and to share it with you the reader!

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  Broken Moon, Part 1

  * * * * *

  The taste of rain in his mouth and the chill of icy sleet running down the back of his neck didn't bother him. He was used to it. Even with his hunting jacket soaked through and his dark hair hanging in wet locks before his eyes he carried on, pressing up the mountain slope to where the weather was harsher, the wind colder.

  They were stalking him, he could tell. Half a dozen times he'd tried to climb the mountain to find their pack, and now, at last, they had been the ones to find him.

  He smiled to himself, exhausted, and forced his thickly muscled body onwards up the steep slope, the forest thinning and giving way to scattered pine trees, the grass becoming patchy beneath his boots where snow blown down from the chilly heights had smothered it.

  In the back of his mind his wolf whispered to him, like a wild animal dogging his every step, trying to latch on and sink in its teeth the second he faltered.

  You need me. You need my strength. They'll come for you soon.

  He grit his teeth and pushed his wolf to the back of his mind. The thoughts were his own, but they weren't born of the human part of him. He knew the steep slope would be made easier by his wolf's powerful legs, the cold more tolerable by a thick coat of fur, but he refused.

  They were close now. Even without the sharp senses of his wolf he could hear their paws disturbing the rocks and smell their pack-scent on the wind. No doubt they were waiting for him to turn back, as he had always done before, but not this time.

  He forced his aching legs to keep moving forward. Years of rough living had chiselled him into a rugged, weather-hardened creature, and he could endure far beyond the point at which most others would give up. He grit his teeth, forcing his endurance to the limit in a silent challenge to his pursuers. Would the harsh weather get to them first, or to him?

  As long as they were out there, he wouldn't stop. He'd force them to make the first move.

  His boots slipped on a heap of loose shale and he dropped to one knee, cursing through his teeth as pain shot up his leg. He curled his fingers into the grass, struggling to drag himself back to his feet, and then he saw them.

  They slunk out from behind the trees and rocks all at the same time, far nearer than he'd expected.

  He was a large wolf, an alpha among his kind, but every one of these creatures matched him in size. Half a dozen pairs of animal eyes glistened through the rain, watching him with human intelligence. They were werewolves, like him, and he was trespassing in their territory.

  He huffed a breathless sigh and sat down on the slope, closing his eyes for a moment as he fought the maddening urge of his wolf prickling at the back of his mind.

  Fight them. You need me. Fight them.

  A pair of boots crunched on the shale as the lead wolf took his human form, standing just a few feet away.

  "This is the third time we've seen you in our territory. What are you doing here?"

  He smiled, wiping the wet strands of hair away from his face as he looked up at the leader, blinking through the rain. "Looking for you. I'm getting close to your pack, aren't I? Otherwise you'd never have shown your faces. And this is the fifth time I've been up here."

  "Why?" The leader narrowed his eyes, taking a step forward and bending down on one knee to meet the eyes of the other wolf. His hair was cropped short, his gloves and trench coat lending him an almost military air.

  "Because you're the only pack I haven't found yet. You're the Highland Pack, aren't you? Hiding up in the mountains, hidden away from everyone."

  The leader ignored his question. "You're a loner?"

  He nodded.

  "How long?"

  "Two years, give or take."

  "What happened to your last pack? Did they drive you out?"

  He glared at the leader, and for a moment he almost gave in to the furious urges of his wolf. "I left. There was no place for me there."

  "The Highland Pack doesn't take in strays."

  "I never asked you to take me in."

  The leader stared at him for a long moment before responding. "Two years is a long time to be out there on your own. I'm surprised you didn't go feral."

  "Don't tempt me."

  One of the other wolves growled, baring his fangs as he inched forward until the leader held up a hand to halt him. He regarded the stranger in silence once more, then offered him his hand.

  "Our elders will want to talk with you, then we'll decide what to do. What's your name?"

  He managed to stifle his sigh of relief as he took the leader's hand, rising to his feet with a groan.

  "Cyan."

  * * * * *

  April hugged her bedsheets, clinging on to their lingering warmth as the fire in her cabin's hearth died down and the icy chill from outside crept in through the boards. Hail and sleet drummed against the windows, and she knew the winter snow would be here before long. If there was one thing she disliked about her home, it was the cold.

  With a reluctant grumble she dragged herself out of bed, the sheets still clutched to her body, and shuffled over to the hearth to feed fresh logs into the coals. She would need to chop fresh wood today to build up her stocks for the winter. She'd put off replenishing the log pile outside all summer, and now it was coming back to bite her. If the weather got much colder she'd have to start sleeping in her wolf form again, and she hated having to brush hairs out of the sheets every morning when she did that.

  A sharp rap on the door made her jump, and she peeked out past the curtains hesitantly before breathing a sigh of relief. It was only Harper. No need to get dressed for him.

  A smile lit the corner of her lips. Probably every reason to stay undressed.

  April drew back the latch, wincing as a gush of icy air and rain blew in along with Harper and his heavy boots, her mate-to-be dripping all over the floorboards as he hunched his shoulders and shivered.

  "You brought in all the cold," she complained, latching the door shut again and hurrying back to the warmth of her bed against the far wall.

  "I needed you to warm me up." He grinned, taking off his boots and hanging his jacket on the back of the door without her even having to ask this time. Good. At least he was learning.

  "What are you doing up this early, anyway?" she said. "You're not on hunting duty today, are you?"

  "No, but Blackthorn and some of the others are out on patrol. He wanted me to keep an eye on the camp, just in case."

  April shook her head. "He's too paranoid. And aren't you shirking your duties, coming in to see me when you're supposed to be keeping our pack safe from the terrors of the wilderness?" She rolled her eyes, blowing a tangle of red hair out of her face as Harper eased off his damp trousers and dropped to the bed beside her with a chuckle.

  "Most girls would be flattered by the attention."

  "You've only known, like, a couple of dozen girls in your whole life."

  "Hey, that's not true." He mock-frowned, sliding an arm around her waist. "I got to know lots of girls when they sent us off to school with the r
egular kids."

  "Yeah, I guess so," she sighed. "I liked it when they let us do that. It was nice seeing how people who aren't werewolves live. Their houses had better heating than ours."

  "But they don't get all of this natural beauty to enjoy down in the city," Harper replied, leaning up to kiss her cheek.

  April smiled, finally letting go of the sheets and curling her arm around her partner. She liked these moments when he was sweet. It reminded her of when they were younger, when the idea of playing "mates" was just a silly childhood game. She'd never really understood what it would be like to make a life with Harper back then, to share a home, maybe even have children one day if they were lucky.

  She shivered again, and clutched the sheets back to her breast.

  "Still cold?" he said.

  She nodded quickly, forcing her thoughts back to the present. She was lucky, really, to have someone like Harper who cared for her. If it weren't for him the elders would have paired her up with another mate the second she hit adulthood, and she wouldn't have had much say in the matter. Not that the other arranged couples in the pack were unhappy, but the idea of it had always unnerved her. She sometimes lay awake at night wondering what it would have been like to be paired with one of the older males, Blackthorn, or Hadrian, or even Gene. Moving into their cabin and going to their bed every night...

  She bit her lip and chased the unwanted thoughts away again. That didn't matter when she had Harper.

  The pressure on the two of them to complete their mating had been minimal, but it was always there in the background, hanging over her uncertainly. Soon the day would come when she'd have to give up her own cosy cabin and move into his.

  It was as good a future as any female in the Highland Pack could have asked for, really.

  Harper's lips brushed her bare shoulder, their warmth sending a tingle through her body as his free hand moved beneath the sheets to caress her bare hip.

  "Your fingers are cold," she said softly, looking down into his sparkling eyes and running her fingers through his fair hair.

  "I can always leave you to warm up by yourself, if you'd like," he replied, a teasing smile on his lips.

  April returned the smile and shook her head, breathing in sharply as his cool hand traced the softly defined muscles of her stomach, his fingers brushing the dip of her navel.

  Harper was a good friend. A good lover. And he would make a good mate. She had no reason to complain.

  Easing her down on the bed he slid his arm out from behind her back and straightened up to remove his shirt and underwear, casting them aside on the cabin floor as April ran her tongue teasingly over her lips, rubbing her thighs together in expectation as the familiar tingle of excitement built in her belly. It always made her feel young and girlish, reminding her of the first night her childhood friend had kissed her and taken her virginity, their sweaty, quivering bodies wrapped together in the sheets of his bed as the firelight danced on their skin. She had never been with anyone else since then, and doubted she ever would.

  He eased the sheets away from her naked body and slid in beneath them, his hardness pressing against her stomach as he took her in his arms and leaned in for a kiss. She responded affectionately, indulging his eager tongue in her mouth with a soft suckling and a murmur of encouragement, parting her thighs for him as his knees eased them apart.

  His hands found her pert breasts, teasing her excitement closer and closer to the surface as he massaged them gently, rolling the nubs between his fingers until they were hard and tense. Her chest rose and fell sharply, her breath coming in gasps as she clung to Harper's muscular shoulders, pressing her body up against his to bathe in the sensation of his skin rubbing against hers, the teasing pressure of his shaft resting just below her navel, twitching in response to her quiet sounds of pleasure.

  "I don't have to go back out there," he whispered in her ear amidst a trail of warm kisses along her cheek and neck. "We can take our time."

  "You don't need to impress me," she chuckled, twining her fingers through the hair at the back of his neck and pursing her lips teasingly. "Just do as you please, my alpha."

  He bared his teeth in a smile and gave her neck a sharp nip, drawing a squeak of excitement from April as she giggled and curled her legs around his waist, tugging him in. Needing no more encouragement, Harper reached down and aligned himself with her moistening folds, stroking himself gently against her opening for an agonising moment before pushing firmly in.

  April let out a gasp of pleasure and tightened her legs around her partner, wanting more of him, harder, the need between her legs growing intense. He filled her steadily, but the pressure of his grip around her hip and shoulder didn't match the fervour with which her fingers clutched at his neck, her nails digging into his skin as she sucked in heavy breaths through clenched teeth.

  "Harder," she whispered, eyes closing, her brow furrowed.

  "Are you ready?" Harper's husky voice answered. "I don't want to hurt you."

  "You won't."

  He drew back gently, her slick walls reluctant to let go of his shaft, and thrust back into her harder, driving his hips against her pale body until an unbidden squeal rose in her chest.

  April's fingers roved across his toned shoulders, her palms stroking his smooth cheeks, nails scratching at his firm chest as her lips closed and parted in silent ecstasy until the tension in her throat finally broke with a breathless cry of passion.

  Harper panted in time with his strokes, his hands finally giving her the pressure she craved as he gripped her tight, holding her down against the bed by her shoulder with one hand while the other braced her hip against the rhythm of his thrusts.

  The tantalising scent of her arousal mixed with his filled the space between them, the cold forgotten as April's heated juices ran from her folds and the warmth of her partner's body mingled with hers. Her cries became a desperate whimper as her impending climax coiled within her belly, gripping and stroking and squeezing at the sensitive spot at her core that threatened to ignite into mind-numbing pleasure at any moment.

  The slick friction between her folds stoked her excitement higher, her lips finding Harper's skin as she kissed the faintly salty male scent from his body, his chest, his neck, his mouth, until she could barely breathe and her muscles ached with the effort of clinging to him.

  She just needed a little more. To feel his teeth, his hands clutching her hard, harder, something sharp, something bestial, she wanted that wolf to drive her higher than ever before—

  Harper shuddered, throbbing inside her as he groaned with release, April's own climax seeping out of her in a heady cloud of warm pleasure as she focused on the friction of him inside her, the closeness of his body and the weight of his hands as he shook with ecstasy.

  She tingled as she hit her peak, sucking in a shrill breath and clutching her partner's body to hers as he clung on, her walls gripping him feverishly tight, longing for more, just a little more, something to prolong that wonderful moment...

  Her pleasure ebbed, the sharpness of her breath easing as the tremors in her muscles gave way to dull exhaustion, her legs unlocking from around Harper's waist and sliding down the back of his thighs as her toes curled and squirmed in the afterglow.

  His heavy breathing filled her ear, and she stroked his cheek warmly as the weight of his body rested against her side.

  "Warmer now?" he panted, giving her ear a kiss.

  "Much. Thank you." She smiled, stroking her fingers up and down his back, rubbing her thighs against his legs to prolong the pleasant tingle running across her skin.

  Harper was a good lover. He'd make her a good mate.

  April dozed a few minutes longer in her partner's arms, feeling the warmth of his body close against hers as the steady patter of the rain against her cabin grew fainter. She could never manage to drift off to sleep again while Harper was here. Perhaps it was just the unusual presence of another body in her bed, or the sound of his heavy breathing in her ear, or the l
ingering intensity of their lovemaking, but it was never quite the same as crawling back into bed by herself.

  She enjoyed him being here, but at the same time it set her on edge, as though reminding her of how much her life would change once the pair of them were mated.

  She sat up suddenly, drawing the sheets away from him and clutching them to her breast once more. His hand crept up her bare back, and she shivered.

  "What's wrong?" he said.

  "Nothing." She shook her head, agitated by his curiosity. How could she explain something she didn't fully understand herself without making it sound like she didn't want him here? "We should... we should be more careful." April shifted on the edge of the bed, feeling the slick leavings of his climax between her thighs.

  "About what?"

  She turned, looking down at him. "I don't want to be a mother. Not yet."

  Harper gave her a wry smile. "Don't let any of the elders hear you say that. It's our duty to keep the pack going for another generation, after all. Don't worry about it, it might never happen."

  "Might," she replied with a sigh.

  Having children was often a once in a lifetime occurrence for werewolves. Many were mated for years without ever conceiving, which was all the more reason for the pack elders to make sure every female found a mate as soon as she was old enough.

  "Would it be so bad?" Harper said. "It would make everyone happy. Including me." He gave her shoulder a squeeze, and April looked away.

  "I suppose I'm just being silly."

  After a long pause Harper sat up beside her, removing his hand from her shoulder. "Are you still uncomfortable with this, April? One moment you're happy with me, the next it seems like you don't want us to have a future together at all." He hid it well, but she caught the note of frustration in his voice. They'd known each other too long for her to miss it. "I know things might not be perfect, but we've got a good life waiting for us if only you'd warm up to it. We could be mated any day now. I'm just waiting for you to say the word."