Luna panted heavily as the sun began to peek over the horizon. Her wolf was satisfied and had allowed the shift back to her human form. The scent of the pine trees tickled her nose as she pushed her hair out of her face. She gasped and scooted back against a large tree when she saw three men approaching her from a trail.
“Luna, it’s just us,” the alpha’s brother announced softly. They were all dressed, and she was not. Her body shivered, not from the cold, but from the sight of three men coming toward her. When they noticed, the men froze and each one of them dropped to their knees.
“We brought you clothes,” the blond one said, holding out a folded stack of clothes with a pair of sandals on the top. He set them down just off the trail and stood up. The other two men did the same. “You can get dressed and we will give you privacy.”
They turned their backs and walked away, stopping after they made it to the bend in the trail. She quickly grabbed the clothes and put them on, feeling more like herself when she was covered.
“I’m dressed,” she called out.
“You were quite the hunter last night,” Dane chuckled, but pressed his lips together when she frowned. “What?”
“I don’t remember much about last night,” she admitted. “Did I do anything wrong?” The last thing she wanted was for her wolf to do something they would deem as wrong. According to their pride, wolves were deadly. She didn’t want to be labeled as such.
“No, quite the opposite,” the one named Booth smiled. “I thought our beasts were active. You actually wore me out with all the running and hunting. We did share a nice buck around midnight. You don’t remember?”
“No,” she replied, shaking her head. “I don’t think so. I think I remember running the trails, and I remember scenting your panther, but that’s about it.”
“Well,” Dane shrugged, “we had a blast last night. Thank you for that. We don’t get to play often.”
“So, I wasn’t feral?” she asked, worrying over their answer.
“Hell, no,” Noah chuckled. “You were as docile as a family dog… Oh, I’m sorry.”
“No offense,” she laughed, feeling a little of her stress melt away. “I’m new to your ways just as you are to mine.”
“You have nothing to worry about, Luna,” Noah declared. “Come, let’s go back to the alpha’s home so the females can show you to your new room and you can clean up.”
Luna followed the males back to the alpha’s home. Dane was cracking jokes, making her laugh loudly. She hadn’t felt that free in a very long time. Life on the island with the Community was hell, and she never wanted to be caged again.
“She outran you,” Booth teased Dane. Noah, the alpha’s brother, rolled his eyes and shook his head.
“I let her win,” Dane retorted, shoving the dark-haired male by the shoulder. Luna jumped back and laughed loudly as the two scuffled as they entered the backyard of the large home.
“Whatever,” Booth continued, but turned toward her. He leaned down to her shorter height and came fairly close. The male didn’t make a move to touch her, and she was glad he kept a bit of a distance. She blushed when he winked. “You’re fast…like really fast.”
“I wouldn’t know…” she frowned and stopped in the yard as a low growl filled her ears. The males around her froze and all eyes fell on the back porch of the alpha’s home.
“Well, well, well,” Dane snickered. “Looks like doc isn’t too happy with you that close to her, Booth.”
Before any of them could respond, Harold stepped off the porch, his body swelling as if his size was doubling. Those broad shoulders of his raised as his hands fisted at his sides. His eyes were glowing, and as he approached, Luna closed her eyes and inhaled. He smelled amazing. Like the forest and power.
“Are you okay?” he grumbled. His eyes narrowed at Booth.
Luna felt her wolf stir. A soft whine fell from her lips as the healer’s dominating power struck deep inside her soul. The male’s deep voice made the animal inside her want to drop to its knees and show him her throat.
“I…I’m fine,” she stammered, seeing the males move away slowly from her periphery. They mumbled excuses and left the two of them standing there alone. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” He cleared his throat. The amber set to his eyes faded and the icy blue returned. “Your room is ready at the alpha’s home. The females are waiting for you.” Before she could speak to him, the healer walked away, turning for his home.
Why did seeing those Guardians laughing and flirting with Luna set Harold’s panther on edge? He didn’t know, and the feelings were driving him crazy. Was it the fact that she’d been gone all night and he hadn’t been there for her in the woods during her shift?
The night before, he’d tried to sleep, but her howls and the cackles from the other males kept him awake. He should’ve been in the woods with her, but he wasn’t, and he shouldn’t have those concerns for her wellbeing.
It just wasn’t right.
She was a wolf.
He busied himself for an hour, cleaning the exam rooms and making sure everything was stocked. Did he really need that many tongue depressors? Gauze?
Fuck. He felt like a damn teenager with a stupid crush on the one girl who was off limits. He was a grown male and should be more professional. The last thing he needed to do was attack the males for making Luna smile when he wasn’t able to during the night.
The soft knock on the door had him sighing, knowing it was Luna. He didn’t even have to open the door to see her face, because he could scent her sweetness through the barrier.
“I’m here to help you,” she offered as soon as he opened the door. She didn’t even hesitate to enter, making the male take two large steps back to avoid touching her.
“You should be asleep,” he scolded. “You were out all night.”
“I slept in my shifted form.” She shrugged but didn’t elaborate.
“Did the Guardians rest with you in the woods?” he snarled, vibrating with anger. The thought of his pride brothers close to her while she was vulnerable sent his beast to the point of shifting. He wanted their heads.
“I wouldn’t know,” she huffed. “All I remember was the scent of the panthers and running, but even that is foggy in my mind.”
“What did the Guardians say this morning?” he asked.
Luna took a seat on the couch and clasped her hands in front of her. She lowered her head in submission. “If it makes you feel better, the males said I wasn’t feral.”
“Luna,” Harold paused, feeling like a complete asshole, “I think we should talk.”
“Talk?” she asked, confusion written all over her face. “Why?”
“Every since you came here,” he swallowed, “my beast has been on edge. I thought maybe it was because you are a wolf, but the more I am around you, the more he is…interested in you.”
“Curious or interested?” she asked. Harold saw her yellow eyes flare in recognition when a deep growl rumbled in his chest. He felt powerful when she scented the air and those eyes of hers hazed over. “You’re mating scent… It calls to me.”
“And your wolf?” he asked.
“She was angry and hurt you didn’t shift with us last night,” Luna admitted, looking down at her hands again.
“Never avert your eyes from me,” he heard himself say.
“It is the way of my world,” she replied, not looking up. Harold wanted so badly to reach over and touch her skin and lift her chin so she would look him in the eye. “Females are very docile.”
“Did you not have your own free will?”
“Oh, yes, we do…did,” she said, only then raising her eyes to look into his. “I have always been protected, and even when I was offered the chance to mate the old alpha’s son, I denied him, and they respected that.”
“Was he your mate? Did you touch him?” Harold asked, feeling his panther push at his skin. The thought of another male touching her sent him into a feral rage of his own.
“We didn’t feel any connection so we denied the alpha’s request that we touch,” she answered. “I didn’t want him. I didn’t have that pull toward him.”
“Was there another male you felt the pull to in your pack?” he pushed, wanting to know who that male was.
“Not in my pack, no,” she answered.
“Then there was a male you felt could be your mate?”
“Yes,” she whispered, looking back down at her hands, “but the union would never work.”
“Who was the male?”
“You, Harold,” she cried, wiping away a tear. “You are the only male that my wolf has ever been drawn to, but you believe I am a monster.”