Moon bound Episode One

Ivy

I never thought I’d be waiting for death so easily. Sitting on the outside of a circle waiting for the verdict of who would lead the packs. I guess when you think about it, I already knew the Larics would be the ones to claim Alpha. But part of me hoped we’d retain control over our own territory.

“They’re demanding a match,” my mother whispered. Her dark eyes met mine, and she smiled slightly. “Just keep your head down and they’ll choose someone else,” she said, adjusting my jacket over my shoulders. Her dark eyes met mine. “It’s better than death to our pack.”
The meetings were always at the headquarters of the town, and most of the time I didn’t bother to attend. This time it was not an option. When our Alpha was killed last summer, it left us vulnerable and easy to pick off. The only option was a pack merger.
“Then I can go back to my life,” I said without thinking. The other women glanced at me, and some shook their heads.
“You don’t think he’s honestly going to pick you, do you?” One of the younger ones snorted. Her dark hair fell down her back, and I was slightly jealous.
“Relax, I’m not even interested. He’s all yours,” I said, stepping past her. The last thing I needed was some alpha asshole telling me what to do. I liked my freedom and the fact the pack left me alone.
I took my place beside some of the others and looked at the ground, hoping this guy would look right over me and pick one of the other more suitable women. They would fall in line like a good little wife. Me, I was nothing like that. Never wanted to be some breeding machine. Or worse, someone’s Queen.
Two months and I could get the hell out of here. That’s all I needed.
The doors to the meeting room opened, and three men a few years older than me walked into the room. I kept my eyes down to avoid any of their attention. The last thing I needed was this complication.
“Your pack is lacking,” the biggest of the three said, and I glanced up just for a second. He was taller than I by some measure. His dark hair was longer, like it was struggling to stay where he put it, but his eyes are what caught me. They were a dark blue I’d never seen before. Even with the scar that ran across the left eye, he still had some measure of kindness in them.
I looked away quickly to keep from staring. He stopped in front of me and I felt my heart racing with panic.
“What’s your name?” He asked, and I licked my lips.
“Ivy,” I said, but I didn’t dare look at him. If he even had a small amount of interest in me, it had to die right now.
He sighed and moved past me to the next girl. I couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief, but deep down there was a pang of some kind of sadness I’d never felt before. I pushed it away and stared at the floor.
“None are suitable,” one of the others from the Larics pack I didn’t know said, and I closed my eyes. “We’ll still merge the packs, but as of right now, none of our alpha candidates has a mate.”
The group erupted in conversation, and I backed out of the room as fast as I could. I couldn’t catch my breath, and the most annoying part of my wolf, the smells, was making me want to throw up. I rushed past the others and through the door into the cool night air.
I took in a deep breath and instantly felt a bit better.
“Don’t worry, the sickness passes,” a deep voice said to my left.
I snapped my eyes to meet the same dark blue ones I’d just seen inside and looked away.
He chuckled and stepped closer, the rich smell of damp dirt in the summer wafting from him, and I felt my breath catch. “Don’t worry, sweetheart, I don’t want it either.”
I snapped my gaze to his and cocked my head in confusion. He just smiled wider and walked past me back into the building. As soon as he was out of my sight, I felt an ache in my chest. I rubbed it and walked further into the darkness.
“Fuck this. I’m going home,” I announced to no one.
Two months. That’s all I need to be free of this forever.

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Erik

The moment she walked away, I felt relief. She should be happy I didn’t tell anyone about the mating call I felt the moment her eyes met mine. I could have claimed her and the alpha position, but something inside me told me not to. Maybe it was the look in her eyes when she thought I was going to or the way she wouldn’t even look at me in there.
She was feeling it, though. I’d just have to stay away from her until her time passed. Then we’d both be free of this.
“What did you think of the choices?” I heard him before I saw him, but glanced towards the door of the weird building they used for pack meetings. The town was small and old. Nothing like the home our pack claimed, but the territory was close to New York and that made it valuable.
“The choices were slim,” I said and leaned against the cool stone of the building.
“You seemed interested in the blond,” he said with a smirk.
“She’d be good for a one-night fuck, but not as a wife,” I said.
“I’m not even sure they exist anymore,” he said, crossing his arms. Jaylyn was smaller than me, but not by much. His dark eyes were much more used to this political shit. I wouldn’t say it to his face, but I secretly wondered if he would make the best alpha of all of us.
“Maybe it’s for the best,” I said without thinking, but my mind drifted back to Ivy’s emerald green eyes. “They still accepted the merger. This is our pack now.”
“It would be stronger with a match.” He kept his eyes on me, and I shrugged.
“Guess you’ll have to bite the bullet and find yourself a wife,” I said with a smirk.
“Why am I always the one making the sacrifices?”
I shrugged. “Comes with being the younger brother.”
“You know I’d have to fight Gavin for alpha, wife or no wife,” he said with a sigh. “It’s the only thing he wants.”
“He’s too hotheaded,” I said without thinking. “You’d be the better choice.”
“It doesn’t matter. We have a month to figure out who the hell is going to lead this new combined pack.”
“Who’s staying here?” I asked, but I knew they’d tell us that without letting any of us have any input. My guess was the one that got the least amount of push-back from the new members.
“No clue. We have a few days before father tells us,” he said with a sigh.
“You’d think he’d want to stay alpha,” I said.
“You know he’s getting too old for that. He won’t be able to hold it without someone challenging him. Especially now.”
“You really think one of these wolves is going to challenge him?” I raised an eyebrow and crossed my arms. “Doubt they would even last five minutes in a fight with him.”
“Better get some sleep before we have to prove we mean to help these people,” he said and walked towards the street leading to the house we’d bought not two weeks ago. It was close to the center of the town for good reason.
“Do we?” I watched him and he shrugged.
“What’s good for them is good for us,” he said and walked away.
He was right. With the mounting war with the vampires, the stronger we were, the better we all would be.

Ivy

I tried to stay away from the other pack invading our town as much as possible, especially Erik. That was the last complication I needed in my life.
“How many attacks are we talking about?” my mom asked someone on the phone. She paced in the living room, and I could see the slight panic on her face from my barstool perch in the kitchen.
“I understand,” she said and hung up the phone. The stress of these attacks was showing on her face. She looked years older than the mid-sixties she was.
I watched as she walked over and took a seat next to me at the kitchen island. “Is everything okay?”
She forced a smile. “We need to make this thing with the Larics work,” she said. “The vampires are getting more aggressive.”
Whenever my mother mentioned the vampires, I knew it was serious. They’d been our enemies in one way or another for years, but then again so were the witches. At least to everyone but my mother.
“Are they close?” I picked at my food.
“Close enough. They attacked a pack not far from here,” she said with a sigh.
“Why the Larics, though?”
“Because they have a strong bloodline. When the packs split, they were one of the most respected ones,” she said. “If anyone can keep this pack from dying out, they can.”

***

I felt bad leaving my mom there after all that, but I had to get out of my house. Unfortunately for me, the whole town was crawling with Laric pack members. Some of them watched me when I walked by, and some just acted like I wasn’t even here. At least I hadn’t had the displeasure of seeing Erik.
I rounded the corner towards the town center, where the library was. The best part of living in a small town was the choice of books, and anytime I wanted a certain one, Sam would make sure I had it.
I pushed the door open and walked into the small building. It was dated, but I loved it here. The way the books smelled when I held them in my hands was the best, and the flickering light in my favorite reading nook gave its own kind of comfort.
“You like books, huh,” a familiar voice said from behind me.
I let my eyes close in annoyance before opening them and slowly turning around with a forced smile on my face. “Erik.” I glanced back at Sam standing behind the counter watching the entire scene play out. She was trying really hard to hide the smile on her face.
“I thought since I was stuck in this place, I’d see what you had for books,” he said, holding up a couple of worn sci fi books he’d picked up.
I raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything.
He grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the counter. I didn’t fight him. The last thing I needed was a scene.
“I told you not to worry about this whole thing,” he said, his dark blue eyes burning into me.
“No, you said the sickness passes,” I whispered. “I didn’t have that.” It was a huge lie. Every time I got near him, my stomach lurched, and I felt like my whole body was vibrating, and not in a fun way. Even now, with him this close, my body was reaching for something I didn’t understand.
He watched me with a smirk as I wiped the sweat off my forehead. “I didn’t mean to run into you like this, really.”
“Then why pull me away to talk?” I kept my eyes on him, and he paused, as if he were looking for an excuse.
“You really are a pain in my ass,” he snapped.
I just stared at him.
He almost glared at me as if I were some kind of horrible thing threatening his very existence.
“Why are you so angry all the time? Is it a Laric thing?” I said, crossing my arms.
His eyebrows knitted together. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“Just what it sounds like. Larics are known for being aggressive. Even when the packs were infighting, yours was the worst. You killed wolves for being different, for having a different opinion than yours.” I never heard anything good about them or their pack, but maybe this was a step too far, especially when we needed them.
“That was under a different Alpha,” he grumbled, and I studied him for a moment.
If that was the truth, and he wasn’t intending to be like them, maybe it could work, but that was a long shot. “Will it matter if the next one is the same?”
“You know it’s between me and my two brothers?” He watched me. “That was what the mating was for, but I don’t want it.”
“Why? Isn’t that the biggest honor for you?” I studied him.
“I should go.” He headed towards the counter with his two books. My gaze followed him, but I didn’t say anything else. That stupid longing in my chest pulled at me. It was almost like a part of my own soul was walking away.
The worst part was I let him.

ivy

The walk home was quiet at leas, but that stupid ache in my chest was getting stronger the more I tried to ignore it, and don’t get me started on the sick feeling in my stomach.
The minute I hit my street, I could see all the cars in my moms driveway and groaned. While my mother was not the leader of our pack, many of the elders took her word as important. So, it made sense the rest of the pack would be there asking for her thoughts.
I opened my door and walked past the group sitting in the den talking, but I felt his eyes on me and my body heated on its own. Which pissed me off more than I wanted to admit.
My feet hurried up the stairs as the meeting ended and the others started filing out of the room. I didn’t bother turning around when I heard the feet behind me, I just wanted to get the hell out of there and as far away as possible from the wolf I knew was in that damn room.
The moment I crested the stairs a hand grabbed my elbow and spun me around. I met his gaze with a glare and it seemed to make him even more amused with me than he’d been before.
“I thought you didn’t’ want anything to do with me,” I snapped.
He glanced down the stairs and pulled me further into the hallway. “I don’t but this god damn mate bond won’t let me forget you either.”
“So, stay away from me,” I whispered.
“You think I don’t want to?” His gaze hardened. “All I think about is your eyes. Those fucking lips and all the ways I could make you moan my name.”
I stared at him. All the retorts I had gone.
His smirk widened. “Maybe I don’t want to fight this anymore.”
“Well, I do. I have life things I want to do,” I said. The words were true, but the way my body ached for his touch and the way it warmed in the spot he was still holding my arm told me I was a liar.
“It would satisfy the pack and you’d be taken care of,” he said, his eyes burning into mine.
I glanced at the stairs and pointed towards my room. If anyone found us, they’d know something was up, but at least we’d have a little privacy for me to tell him no.
He pulled me inside and closed the door. “Tell me you don’t want to be an alpha’s wife,” he said.
“I don’t. I want to be doctor. I want to help people and this,” I said swinging my arms. “This isn’t the life I want.”
He took a step closer. “You could do all of that,” he said, grabbing my arm and pulling me closer.
His warm breath feathered my hair and that warmth grew lower. My breath picked up as I thought about the way his hands would feel on me. How his lips would feel against my skin.
“I would make sure you had everything,” he whispered and before I could say anything, his lips were on mine. Possessive and demanding, like he’d waited so long just to kiss me. Like I was the only one he ever wanted or needed.
He pulled back and I felt myself pull him against me. My hands roaming over his chest. I was lost in his touch, his kiss.
The knock on my door brought me out of my lust induced coma and I shoved him back, still trying to catch my breath.
“Get out of here,” I whispered.
He just stood there watching me until I motioned for him to go through the window.
“You want me to jump out a window?” He said with a smile. “Like I’m a teenager?”
“My mom can’t see you,’ I whispered. “Besides, I’m not doing this, mate thing, remember?”
“That’s what you say, but…” He smirked and I narrowed my eyes.
“Go.”
He relented and crawled out of the window just as my mom knocked again.
“Just a minute,” I sang to the closed door and looked back at Erik.
He was still hanging on to the open window but was most of the way out. “Don’t worry. Ivy. You’ll change your mind.”

Erik

I jumped to the ground and smiled to myself. The touch of her lips was all the confirmation that the torture I was going through since I’d lied about her not being my mate to everyone was not just affecting me.
My eyes glanced at the house again, up to her room. The thoughts about all the things I’d wanted to do in that room flooded me. Ivy was my mate, and even if that meant I’d have to take on the role of Alpha to have her, I’d do it.
I pulled myself away from the house and headed back to the rundown piece of crap home my father bought not too far from hers. The leaders were standing in the living room chatting. No doubt about the vampire problem that seemed to be getting ever so close.
“We need an alpha before they attack here,” Jaylyn said, he glanced at me walking into the room.
“What did I miss?” I glanced at the others. Gavin stood by the wall, leaning over the table with a map laid out, and my father sat on the couch with his hands at his side.
“Where were you?” My father didn’t even look up when he spoke.
“I was just taking another route home,” I lied, and he glanced up at me.
“One of you will be the next alpha for this new pack. To maintain power, you need to know everything going on. That means being here when you’re called,” he said.
“How was I supposed to know we’d have a meeting after the one with the rest of the pack?” I snapped. “Seems redundant.”
He stood, his dark eyes locking onto mine. “You can run the pack however you want when you become the alpha. If you become the alpha,” he said.
I lowered my eyes and forced an apology.
“The vampires are close. Too close,” he said. “They aren’t just attacking us for food anymore. There’s something else behind it.”
Vampires normally didn’t attack wolves, even for food. They preferred the blood of humans and sometimes the witches in the area, but those seemed to be getting slim for them or they were hunting something.
“What are they after?” Jaylyn’s voice brought me out of my thoughts.
“I don’t know, but once they have it,” my father glanced at me. “They will come for all the wolves.”
“We need to pick an alpha,” I said without thinking. “How when the tradition says they need to be mated?” I left out the part where I could be if Ivy would just take the bond.
“Pack vote is the only other way,” he said, looking from me to Jaylyn and then to Gavin.
“No problem for me,” Gavin said with a smirk. “Half the pack is ready for a strong leader to whip these Violet Moon bitches into shape.”
“You think they’re going to respond to force?” I snickered. “Good luck. They’ll have you ousted in a month.”
“Do you have a better plan?” He took a step towards me.
“I don’t want to be alpha,” I said plainly.
“If we can’t hold the vampires back, you’re all going to have to be alphas to another pack.”
I snapped my eyes to my father. “What does that mean?”
“It means the pack is going to be the largest on the East Coast. Might as well get used to being leaders.” He raised an eyebrow. “I don’t trust this legacy to anyone but my sons.”
I shook my head. “So, what was the point of that little parade of women?”
“It’s easier if you mate a woman from the other pack. Ties us together and all that.” He kept his eyes on me. “They will listen if someone they respect leads them.”
I shook my head slowly. “You son of a bitch. You are manipulating everyone.”
“I’m keeping them alive.” He shrugged. “And that keeps all of us alive.”
There was no way I was going to let Ivy marry into this now. She deserved better.
And she’d have it.

Ivy

Thankfully, I didn’t run into Erik for the next few days. It seemed like something was up that I wasn’t privy to, but that was fine with me. The less I had to be around him, the better. Every day that went by without me being forced into a mate bond was a day closer to when I could leave and not have to worry about it ever again.
I made my way to the library again and when I saw Sam, I was instantly feeling a bit of relief.
“No one else is here today. Do you want to see those magick books?” She was good about knowing exactly what I needed.
“You heard about the Vampire attacks to the north, huh?” I don’t know why I thought the elders would be able to keep it a secret in the smallest town ever.
“Yep, and having a witch protect us, would be a great asset,” she said. “My sister met a witch once. I don’t know why we’re so weird about it.”
“Mom doesn’t talk about my dad much. Just that he’s not around anymore,” I said with a shrug. “But she doesn’t even get into the politics of the outside world either. She seems to think it’s better for all of us if I just pretend I’m a wolf and call it a day.”
“Maybe it is, maybe not,” she said with a shrug. “I mean everyone deserves to know their family.”
“I guess. What books do you have on magick?” I asked and she grinned.
“It’s going to depend on the kind of magick you have. Have you ever casted anything?”
“Are you kidding? My mom would lose it. It’s bad enough I had to wait until I was twenty two to leave my pack. If she knew I’d tried using magick, she’d lock me away forever,’ I said.
“Then you’ll probably have to try them all until you find out what it is,” she smiled. “That could be fun.”
“That could be dangerous,” I countered.
“You never do anything fun.”
“Fine, we can meet at the park on the edge of town tonight and give it a try. Who knows, maybe it will actually work,” I said with a smile. The idea of actually understanding my magick side was something important to me, but making sure I stayed off my mothers and the elders radar always seemed more so. Sure my pack knew about my issue, but the Larics had no idea. If they did, they might not want to pollute the blood of their wolves with someone like me. It might make the entire pack vulnerable.
It was bad enough one of the potential alpha’s was sniffing around thinking I was a mate, but if he knew what I was, what I truly was, then it might change the way he looks at me and the way he looks at my pack.
My family had done enough damage when I’d been born from an umated wolf. I wouldn’t make it worse for my mother by allowing the entire pack to suffer.
I’d leave first.
I’d be forced to leave first.

***

The park was one of those places, not many went to after the sun went down. Even less would be out and about with the vampires running around and out to kill any wolf they found. It really was the perfect place to try out magick without anyone knowing or getting hurt.
“So, I found some more books we can look at,” Sam said, dropping a bag full of magick books on the dirt in front of me.
I sat on the marker for first base at the edge of the park that doubled as a baseball field and a running track and opened one of the books.
“This one is talking about a book that tells the future,” I said giving her a look. “Do we have that one here?”
“That would be the Arcana, but it doesn’t just tell the future, it has spells to do some epic shit.” She looked over my shoulder at what I was reading. “Last anyone knew, it was in the hands of a nasty warlock, but he disappeared a long time ago.”
I closed that book and set it off to the side. I grabbed one that talked about nature magick. “This one is cool. It’s about growing plants with magick. Apparently, earth witches can do that.”
“I don’t think you’re an earth witch,” Sam said, sitting beside me. “I think you might be something else.”
“Like what?” I glanced at her and she sighed. “It’s rare, but in my research of magick, there is a type that is tied to the moon.”
“Like a wolf,” I said with a sigh. “So even when it comes to the witch side, I can’t escape it.”
“I don’t know how it works because it’s so rare, but maybe that’s why you haven’t felt it yet.” She grabbed a book titled Moon Witch. “It’s only triggered when you find your mate.”
“That’s why you looked at me like you did when I was talking to Erik,” I said.
“There’s something there, isn’t there?”
“No,” I lied and she raised an eyebrow. Of all the people in the world who knew me and my secrets, she knew me that best.
“It doesn’t matter,” I snapped. “He’s going to be an alpha and I’m damaged goods.”
“You’re not damaged, you’re unique,” she said with a hint of a laugh.
“You’re the only one that thinks that,” I mumbled under my breath.
“You’re mom had to have loved your dad even a little.”
Before I could say anything, I felt something shift and glanced at Sam. It was an odd feeling, but I just knew something was a bout to happen. “Sam, run,” I almost yelled before the first vampire rushed us. I pushed her to her feet, but was too slow to get to mine and a dark haired burly vampire threw me halfway across the field. I hit the dirt hard and gasped for air.
That same vampire stepped to the side to let a tall blond through. He looked down at me with a predatory smile on his face. The damn thing cocked his head and kneeled down. “You’re a pretty little thing,” he said, reaching out to push a strand of hair out of my face. “Maybe I should keep you.”
“Maybe you should fuck off,” I snapped and the laugh he let out, chilled me.
“Such fire,” he said. His hand grabbed my throat and he pulled me to a standing position, still chuckling to himself.
I was a second from passing out when his hand went limp and I fell to the dirt. I barely could make out what looked like Eryk beating the crap out of the blond vampire and then the other one. They got a few good hits in and managed to get him down long enough to get away.
He walked over to me and leaned over me, my eyes fluttering open to the concern on his face and those beautiful dark blue eyes.
“Ivy,” He said and I nodded.
“I’m okay,” I croaked, my throat burning. “Sam.”
“She’s okay. I found her and she told me where you were,” he said. “What the hell were you doing out here in the dark with vampires running around?”
“I wanted to talk to my friend,” I said. No way I was telling him, oh yeah, I’m part witch and don’t know what my powers are. That would go over well.
I sat up and he held onto my back. That’s when I noticed the blood on his shirt. “You’re hurt.”
“It’s the vampires. I’m fine,” he said, but the way he looked like he wanted to hunt them down and take out every one they loved made me shiver. It was a look I rarely saw in my own pack.
“You can’t be running around like this alone at night. They could have killed you, or worse,” he said.
“What, like turn me? They can’t turn wolves,” I said and he cocked his head.
“No, but they can make slaves out of them,” he said. “Bleed them every day. That can’t happen to you. I won’t let it.”
Someone clearing their throat, got his attention and I felt him tense.
“Who’s this?” The deep voice was familiar. I’d heard it before, but couldn’t quite place it.
“No one, father,” Erik said and I silently cursed. His father would see everything I was trying to hide.
“I thought you said you didn’t find a mate,” he shifted his gaze from Erik to me and back.
“She doesn’t want it,” Erik admitted and I felt a little bad for him. It wasn’t just that he was potentially letting his dad down, but he was doing it to give me a chance to have a life without this.
“You know the bond doesn’t care about what we want. The wolf wants what it wants,” he said and looked at me. “You don’t have a choice.”
“I can reject it,” I said.
“Do you know what that does to both of you?” His father’s gaze was almost burning into my soul, it was so intense.
“We just won’t find love,” I answered.
“No, it means exile. You’re shunned from your pack. Both of you.” He said and I believed him. “You’ll mate my son and he’ll be the next alpha of both our packs.”