The Luna wakes me when it's still pitch-black outside, and it takes some effort to abandon the warm folds of my blanket. Dante is snoring, not ready to start his day. I trot behind Harla into the kitchen. The scent of freshly brewed coffee hangs in the air and my rumbling stomach reminds me that I skipped dinner last night.

"Sit and let me take a look at your neck." The Luna smiles as she pats the bar stool.

My smile is tentative; I'm still holding a grudge for her siding with Dante last night.

Her fingers get busy applying a cooling ointment onto my wound before she covers the new tattoo with a bandage. "This will help the healing process and should prevent an infection."

"Thank you."

When she pours me a cup of coffee, her gaze is upon me. "Raelyn, I know you're mad at me, but what happened last night was for your own protection. When he got home, Dante was very upset and would have beaten you hard if I hadn't intervened. You need to learn to stay away from him when he is in one of his moods."

Which means I should stay away from him, period. So far, I haven't seen him once in a good mood. "All these changes have been really difficult for me." My voice is thick and a hitch in my throat warns of impending tears.

"I know it's been tough, but if you try to adjust, it can only get better. You need to start following our rules. My mate is really fed up over your constant defiance and the disrespect you have shown for our ways of life, and quite frankly, I have to agree. He will soon discipline you himself if Dante can't break you. Trust me, it's not a position you want to be in."

"So what should I do?"

"Keep your head down, do your chores, and prepare yourself for motherhood. There's nothing more rewarding than caring for your young. Us females are a closed knit group and we have great fun when the males are not around. Give this pack a chance."

"I'm not used to not being able to speak my mind."

"And I understand that this might be difficult, but it has to stop. If you keep up what you've been doing and quarrel with Dante every step of the way, your life here will become very uncomfortable. Lance Ward feels you might be trying to influence the younger females to rebel, and if there is any evidence of that, no one will be able to protect you from my mate. He will tear you apart. This pack means everything to him, and he won't let anyone destroy our ways of life that we have been following for centuries."

I gaze up at her through teary eyelashes. "I understand and I'll try to do better." Their rules will suffocate me with every breath, but the more I fight them, the more I will suffer. Somehow, I'll have to learn to accept them.

I sip from the coffee and watch how she cracks a couple of eggs over the skillet. She adds freshly toasted bread to a plate and places it in front of me before carefully slipping the fried eggs on top of the bread.

"Do you want ketchup?"

"Yes, thank you." I grab my fork and knife. "And I don't know if this question is already disrespectful, but why am I eating alone?"

"Until further notice, you are on barn duty. That means you start earlier than the rest, but you will also have some free time after lunch. For now, you are also expected to take the evening shift. My mate felt that you're having too much energy and hopes that you'll get all that negativity out of your system if you keep busy."

So I'm being punished by having to do extra chores, and they'll work me to the bone to guarantee I have no more time and energy to fight with Dante.

"Just keep going, Raelyn, and things will work out."

~~~~

Over the next weeks, the word slave pops up more and more often in my mind. I'm forced to muck the stables out, starting with the pigsty before dawn and moving on to the cow dung. The stench is nauseating. By the time the rest of the pack starts their day, I'm already covered in sweat and dirt. Since Dante also ordered that I'm not allowed to wear pants or coveralls, my clothes consist of old hand-me-down dresses and skirts, most of them so worn that the fabric threatens to come apart at the seams. In Calina Falls, I'd be arrested by the fashion police.

The long strands of hair that are left in the front of my head keep falling into my eyes or stick to my cheeks and mouth; on the second day, I ask the Luna to shave it off altogether. The result is a pixie cut that I find cute but that Dante hates. His bad for ruining my hair. If he hadn't chopped it off, I could've pulled it into a ponytail.

Since I'm no longer allowed to run in the woods with any male other than Dante, who is never around during the day, my only option for exercise is taking short walks by the lake around the packhouse. The other females are still busy with their own chores, and the loneliness gets to me after the first week. My soul is weeping. Having been silenced at the dinner table, the half hour in the morning with the Luna is my only opportunity to speak with another wolf. The isolation is so pressing that I cry myself to sleep every night.

As the full moon approaches, my wolf is getting more restless. She wants to break out and run. I'm having cramps on and off, my body preparing for my heat. Hailey, Savannah, and the other unmarked females start to smell of arousal, tempting the unmarked males to tear off their clothes. Aggression levels are high and a few of the younger males have been fighting with teeth and claws. It's time to get to the lair in preparation of the new life.

A couple of days before the full moon, the Luna catches me as I sneak into the house for a quick nap. "Raelyn, I need you to help me round up the unmarked females. A few have tried to escape and it's time to get them away from here."

"What about my evening chores?"

"That's canceled."

The poor pigs and cows will have to make do without me tonight. I rub my hands; at least it gives me something more meaningful to do.

I track down Hailey and Savannah at the clubhouse where they are playing a board game. "It's time, guys."

"Raelyn, wait." Hailey's gaze darts around, her voice dropping to a mere whisper. "I heard that it really hurts if you go through the heat without a male. Is that true?"

My smile is crooked. "Let's just say, those won't be the most comfortable days of your life." The lust will burn through her body, her need for a male's touch consuming every part of her rational mind. She won't be able to sleep, eat, or do anything other than fight the untamed desire.

"I also heard it helps"—her gaze flicks around again, her voice dropping even lower—"if you masturbate."

All my female friends and I used to do it; it was the only way to stay sane. "Ehm, yeah, probably."

"My mother claims it's a sin. That the Moon Goddess will punish me if I do it."

Crap, I shouldn't have said anything. "You should follow your mother's advice, Hailey."

"But you think it's a good idea to masturbate, right?"

"Look, Hailey, I can't tell you what to do. Going through heat without a mate is incredibly hard and your unfulfilled needs will drive you nuts. However, there are plenty of females who make it through without pleasing themselves. It's not something that's impossible to manage. I'm sure you'll be fine." I squeeze her hand in encouragement, but her face is twisted with doubt. Young wolves' troubles. I wish my life was that easy.

I usher them and the other females from the clubhouse out into the courtyard and onto the bus. After some back and forth with females spitting threats at each other as they fight over window seats, the Luna and Millie are ready to go. A few of the younger males have shifted and watch the spectacle. Most are crouched low to the ground with their tails beating the frozen ground. Their plan is to follow the convoy to break into the lair. It happens in every pack; the instinct to follow their natural urges is too strong to defy.

Lance scans the round.

"You expect trouble, Beta?" one of his fighters asks.

"Not more than the usual." His moss green eyes cut into me. They have darkened; even he is jarred by the smell of the females. "Go and find your mate, Raelyn. You should be in the woods by sunset."

Easier said than done. After searching the packhouse, I check the clubhouse and even the training center. As the moon is rising, I finally pick up his scent floating in from the boathouse. I'm already at the door when the stench of a female flares my nostrils.

Lara!

I push the door wide open. Dante is alone, but the blanket he's sitting on is still warm. She couldn't have left more than a few minutes ago. The smell of her arousal and his essence is so strong, it turns my stomach.

"You had sex with her? On the first night of the heat?"

He inhales deeply from his cigarette, blowing the smoke toward the sky. "Relax. I didn't. I just had to release some of her tension, so she wouldn't suffer as much while being locked away."

"How kind of you. And why are you reeking of sperm if that's all you did?"

His smile is smug. "What can I say? When she came, I got so turned on that I couldn't help myself. But not to worry. I kept it far away from her, so she won't be carrying my pup."

"That was very thoughtful."

Viciousness sneaks into his smile. "And I decided that before we'll go to the lair, you'll please me here. With your mouth."

"Fat chance. I don't do that."

He is up in a heartbeat, his fingers clawing into my short hair. With one pull that tears deep into my skull, he brings me to my knees. "Female, if you get smart again, I swear I'll beat you unconscious. Don't forget, your cooperation isn't needed to make a pup."

I whimper. "Let go of me."

"Will you behave?"

Tears blur my vision. I try to swallow the words, try to prepare my body for a beating, but my mouth develops a mind of its own. "I'll do whatever you say."

"Good girl." He drops his pants. "Now get to work."

Lara's stench is so strong that my wolf is in a total uproar. It takes all my effort to contain her, my teeth threatening a few times to break through my gums as my body readies itself to shift. His wolf growls in pleasure the deeper he pushes into my mouth. A few times, I try to pull away when bile rises in my throat, but his hands are cupped firmly around my head, preventing all movement other than the rhythmically going in and out of his shaft. I gag, but he is relentless. Only after he fills my mouth does he release me.

"I think I'm going to like this heat." He lifts me to my feet, his lips crushing onto mine. Lara's cum still clings to his breath and makes me gag again. He fights my body's resistance by sucking my mate mark, his hand moving between my legs. My wolf snarls in pleasure—for her, this heat has begun. Her instincts are only driven by her natural need to reproduce; my mate's fling with another female is pushed to the side. My mind can't combat the natural urge to be with my mate.

"Let's go to our lair. You're gonna love it."

I shift within seconds, my wolf ready to start the chase. With one leap, she's out of the boathouse and into the woods. Dante nips my hindlegs as he catches up. His wolf is agile, his whole body flying through the air whenever he takes a big jump. All the insufferable attitude of his skins-side has vanished—his wolf and mine have the same agenda. We are ready to mate, make a pup, and have a lot of pleasure in the process.

The lair is in a small, sheltered wooden clearing right off the lake. Blankets and bear furs cover the ground and he caught some fresh game for us to feed on while we mark the new lair. I rub my scent into the blankets before emptying my bladder around the clearing. With the rising moon, I stretch my nose toward the sky, a howl breaking through the night. Other females pick up my lead, a symphony of lust soon mixing with the snarls of my horny mate.

When I step onto the blankets, Dante's wolf immediately mounts me from behind. His front legs push me down, his dominance strong when his wolf claims mine as his mate for the very first time. He moves fast and hard, his release accompanied with a triumphant howl. The Alpha born has planted his seed. We cuddle up on the bear fur and he licks my coat until I fall asleep.

The cycle repeats itself throughout the night. He hunts during the day while I'm allowed to rest, and I feed off rabbits and deer meat until I'm ready to burst. In between meals, my wolf lays lazily in the sun, letting the warmth stroke her underbelly. I wonder if I have conceived yet. The second night of the heat will be my most fertile, right when the moon has reached its peak.

By nightfall, Dante nudges me with his snout; he is ready to go again. Like juveniles, we play in the snow before our lust takes over our senses. Making love to him in my wolf form is satisfying, even if he insists on total dominance. It's something my wolf can accept as long as she gets her prize in return—a pup.

The warning of approaching danger prickles under my scalp and I raise my head. My fur curls on my neck as amber eyes gloat at me from the darkness. They are watching me, not even a blink disturbing the intense glare. I raise my nose, sniffing the air. A female in heat. A low growl resonates from the stillness of the night before she jumps into the clearing. Baring her teeth, she snarls; she's challenging me for my male. Since no female of my pack would ever stake a claim to my mate, she must be a rogue.

She is massive; her size can easily compare to that of a male wolf. Hard muscles ripple under her caramel, almost golden coat. She snarls again, her amber eyes provoking me to accept the challenge. I gaze at Dante in the hopes he will bite her away, but he's crouched down low on his belly, his tail drumming softly on the blanket. A low rumble springs from his throat; it's full of lust and desire. Nothing in his stance signals me that he will have my back.

When the she-wolf bares her teeth again with a louder snarl, I abandon the warmth of the lair. Venturing slowly into the clearing, my stare is fixed on the rogue. Her attack is fast, her body crushing me before I can even react. Teeth slice into the side of my face before delving deep into my shoulder. Wailing in pain, I somehow manage to toss her off.

She attacks again, but this time, I'm prepared. When we rise on our hindlegs, our bodies crash together, and I snap my teeth to get some of her flesh. The taste of her warm blood gives me momentum. I go for her throat, but her heavy body tosses me off balance. As I land on my back, she locks her fangs, puncturing my ear. Searing pain blinds me and my agony-stricken howl drifts toward the moon.

I try to roll back onto my stomach, but her teeth are already on my throat. Her amber eyes gloat, daring me to make a move. My pitiful life hangs by a thread and I'm totally at her mercy. Pulling my tail between my legs, I admit defeat. She keeps me down for a moment longer, her tongue licking my nicked skin before she turns toward the lair.

Powerless, I'm forced to watch as she rubs her scent into my male. He sniffs her between her legs, rubbing his nose into her heat and licking the length of her body. Laying on her belly, she watches my every move as Dante prepares her for the mating. Once I flinch, but her snapping teeth warn me to stay put. If I attack, she will not spare my life again.

After Dante has licked her clean, she starts on him. Her nose nuzzles into his sleek black fur, licking, rubbing, marking, until the stench of her heat has saturated his every pore. His growls are carnal, his dark eyes filled with nothing but hunger. He craves for her—a rogue—and not his rightful mate who has suffered under his controlling regime. When he mounts her, I turn my head away. As their bodies fuse into one, he plants the seed of life into her womb—and the full moon is watching at its peak.

~~~~~

© Sally Mason 2018

This work is protected by copyright and should not be copied, downloaded, translated or used in any way without my expressed consent. Please don't steal it. Thank you!