Moon Bound [Undergoing Rewrite]

Chapter 1✔

AS THE AUTUMN breeze scattered the leaves all over the forest floor, Ludovica darted deeper into the woods, Jacqueline not far behind. Looking over her shoulder, she grinned. Even though Jacqueline was the Beta of the pack for many years, she still was no match for her.

When she halted, Jacqueline tried to stop, but her body staggered forward, giving Ludovica the opportunity to turn in time to swing her arm downward and strike her left leg. A soft gasp escaped Jacqueline's lips before her chest struck the unforgiving forest floor.

Using both her hands, Jacqueline pushed herself up from the ground, then pressed a hand against her chest. "That was a little too hard for training, wasn't it? Are you in a bad mood? You never take it this seriously—Heck, you have never trained at all. You have always said that you have never needed it." She bent over, propping her hands on her thighs as she tried to slow down her breathing.

Seeing her out of breath confirmed that she gave it all, yet she did not manage to catch Ludovica or block her attack. Though, who could ever catch a wolf shifter as fast as she?

No one.

"You could say that I'm in a bad mood," she admitted.

Jacqueline raised her eyebrows. "So, you had to take it out on me?"

"No. Of course not. It is about time that I trained everyone harder, including you," Ludovica said, hands propped on her hips and chin held high.

"What's the point of training? Nothing ever happens in this damn place. We are so deep in the woods that some packs actually seem to forget that we exist."

At the sound of a branch snapping, they both stopped speaking. Ludovica crouched down, narrowing her eyes to peer through the darkness that overwhelmed every inch of the forest. Tilting her head to the side, she tried to listen to anything amiss.

"It must have been a deer or something," Jacquelyn said, folding her arms over her chest. "I think I have to see the doctor or something. You might have broken my rib cage."

"I doubt I did. You're just not used to actual pain." When Ludovica stood up, a large tanned hand grabbed hold of her wrist, jerking her forward. She formed a fist with her left hand and swung, but the one holding her wrist caught it with his free hand without much effort. At the soothing laughter that escaped his lips, her muscles relaxed. 

Damn Caleb and his ability to surprise me. 

Sometimes he made her question her decision to keep Jacquelyn as Beta when she took over the pack after her father retired. Between the two, Caleb was more powerful, faster and wiser. Though, she had a concrete reason for not choosing him: if she did, everyone would have believed she switched Jacquelyn for Caleb because he was her childhood best friend. Those who believed they were good enough for the position would have challenged him. Something she would never want to happen. When a wolf was challenged, it was until either was dead on the ground. 

He wrapped his arms around her back, drawing her closer to his chest. They had never been this close; bodies touching from chest to knee. She tried to squirm out of his hold, but it was futile. His strong arms didn't budge. When his gaze dropped to her lips, her eyes widened. His mouth covered hers, a brief lingering of their lips that had her heart drumming in her chest. As he pulled back, she couldn't stop her gaze from falling upon his lips.

At the high-pitched laughter of Jacquelyn, her eyebrows knitted together. "I don't find anything humorous about this," she said, almost choking on her words when she met Caleb's intense gaze.

"I do. An Omega capable of locking an Alpha in a hold is very impressive," Jacqueline said, amused by the fact Caleb had overpowered Ludovica.

Gaze still locked with Caleb's, Ludovica held her chin up high. "I'm allowing him to believe he has overpowered me."