Moon, Bitten

Chapter Thirty-Two

An unbridled, heedless rage drove him through the trees. His eyes, glazed over with that red, impenetrable sheen, glinted like sharp rubies beneath the pearly, beguiling moon. But tonight, his silvery host held no mastery over him. Nothing could thwart the violence surging his veins like molten fire.
He tore vastly through the dense vegetation, the sound of limbs splintering and snapping resounded in his fleeting wake, all the while, the festering madness intensified, the lasting image of his beautiful, human mate imprinted tortuously on his mind.
He knew from the moment he laid eyes on her that she was meant solely for him. He should have claimed her long ago, no matter mortality. His fingers burned in remembrance of her soft skin as he had cradled her in the palms of his hands. That memory struck his chest like a hard, violent blow. The pain was unbearable. He needed her more than air. There was no life without her. He had no purpose. She was his purpose.
He could see nothing beyond the static sheen of red as it grappled with his vision, so he relied entirely on his reeling senses as he launched viciously through the night, fueled by the insatiable, fervent need for bloodshed.
And tonight, he would relish in bad blood.

"I can't believe this has happened." Julie wiped at the tears trickling her face and settled next to Kate's side, willing the life back into her dear friend's motionless body. "I should have stayed with her." she said in a hollow, shattered voice. How could she have allowed this to happen? She should have been honest with Kate from the very beginning. She should have warned her of the dangers lurking within Black Mountain. She should have warned her against Ronan Morrissey, instead, she had encouraged something that was perilous from the start. And now because of it, her friend was dead. She had abandoned her friend in her hour of need. How could she have done that?
She raised her head and suppressed the next onset of tears stabbing at the backs of her eyes and gathering to her feet, reached for the .40 Smith & Wesson nestled securely at the small of her back.
The elderly woman straightened at the sight of the weapon, "Just what do you plan to do?"
Her glassy, cerulean eyes glinted with unshed tears. "I'm going to kill 'em all."
The elder raised a brow, "I would advise against it."
Julie narrowed cerulean daggers at the old woman and raised her glock, "I would tread lightly, elder, for I intend to kill every last bit of supernatural creature in this blasted town." Her expression turned cold and calculating, hinting at the skilled huntress disguised by the veneer of a lively, small-town waitress. "If not for your attempt to save her life, I would kill you just the same."
The elder remained aloof to the threat, simply gazing back at the huntress with those timeless, fixed eyes. "What if I were to tell you that she could be saved?"
Cerulean eyes narrowed discernibly to thin slits of disbelief and then with a small shake of her head, "How?" she demanded.
The older woman shifted dark, knowing eyes to her lifeless friend. "Because like Kate, I too was once human," she paused, "And I died."

They were all there, his pack, assembled together within a clearing, amidst the trees, gathered for the full moon. He perched on an overhang, surveying them through glimmering eyes, carefully extracting those innocent from the impending bloodbath.
As he began his descent, he crouched low, his jowls peeling away to expose lengthy canines as a menacing growl erupted from his throat, rendering the air.
Countless pairs of eyes swung in his direction as he crept closer and sensing the undulating violence, Malachi and Isla were the first to retreat to the shadows, taking with them, their cubs, Mikko and Nolan.
Nicolai, Mikhail, and Wulfric were aligned to his left, and he immediately eliminated them as a threat. Alaric and his mate, Willow , stood to his right, and instinctively, Alaric inched protectively closer to Willow . His eyes then fixed furiously on Draven, the one whose loyalty had remained questionable up until the attack in the alley.
You're on my shit list. His gaze, steadfast in its red fixation, reflected unmistakably of feral madness. And he imagined after tonight he'd never be the same.
Because she was gone.
He drew his gaze from Draven, surveying the wolves beneath the favoring moon, and settled markedly on Sabine.
'Where is Lorelei?' He commanded of her sister.
Sabine's dark eyes glinted despairingly back at him, and then, she bowed her head. 'She is gone.' She responded reverently.
Ronan enclosed the space that separated them, Sabine anchored by the open rage in his unflinching gaze. 'Know this, if you played some role in my mate's death, I will not think twice on ripping out your throat. Your sister has sealed her fate. I will not rest until she is dead. Have you anything to say?'
A noticeable tremor racked her fur. 'I knew nothing of her plans. If I had known, I would have surely prevented it. My sister is lost to me now.' She raised dark, fathomless eyes of sadness to him. 'Please believe me, Ronan. I didn't know.'
And he did. The foretelling anguish, perhaps at losing her sister forever, reflected painfully back him.
Lorelie. Target number one.
He would prowl the faces of the earth for her, and naturally she would flee, sensing his relentless pursuit. He had nothing left to give in this world, nothing but the pinnacle of a careless, steadfast rage. He felt like a shell bereft of all emotion but with single flame of madness, and that alone, fueled his vengeance and nothing would extinguish that until he snuffed the lives responsible for Kate's death.
Only then did Von and Kura come forth from the dark. Von nudged Kura aside, a distinct indication that shit was about to hit the moon.
Catching sight of the bastard, Ronan's rage doubled over, churning deep into the chasm of where his heart lay shattered.
A growl thundered from his throat as Von inched toward him, his gaze mirroring that of his own - red-hot.
But before he could advance, the massive shape of another wolf crept forward, and Ronan felt the violence within him intensify tenfold.
Nico. The bastard always managed to stay below the radar, out of sight, a constant companion to darkness. He padded closer but rather falling in beside Von, he kept a considerable distant between them.
It would appear he came for a showdown, one of which Ronan intended to triumph. Von didn't stand a chance, but Roux, he was a worthy adversary. The wolf was riddled with secrets, and though most packs roamed as one, he often frequented the shadows alone. It puzzled him, especially considering the wolf wanted nothing more than to be alpha of his pack. Or perhaps he had alternative motives?
The rivalry between them had stemmed since their youth, since the very day his father brought Nico to their pack. Nico was a force to be reckoned with, indeed, but this pack belonged to him. He wouldn't just hand his alpha status over on a silver platter to one such as Nico Roux.
But after today, after losing the one true thing that meant more to him than his rank, he couldn't withstand another moment of life without her.
His purpose now was carnage. And at the moment, Von appeared a worthy candidate.
He shifted his undivided attention to the smaller wolf.
'You're a fool if you think you can best me.'
Von's black eyes sharpened like daggers of granite. 'You should've died back there in that alley. Where is your beta now?'
He snarled deep in his throat. 'Where is your pack of rogues? Did you slaughter them after your use of them? No one can tame a rogue, especially a pack of them. You, who are so quick to use and discard as you please, are unworthy of this pack. The hour of your imminent death is upon you.'
Von answered with a rising, guttural growl as he hunched low, every muscle growing taut as he braced for an attack. 'It's a shame your bitch has rolled into her grave. I had a seemingly befitting surprise for her.'
Every bit of the hellfire seething beneath his fur erupted in an ear shattering roar as he lunged at Von, canines bared. The impact of their bodies sent them rolling beneath the tantalizing ray of moonlight. They snarled as they snapped their jowls with the spray of spittle attesting to their savagery. Von's canines sank deep into his flank and he bellowed a howl that hurled through the darkness.
He swept around, sinking his teeth deep into the thick coat of Von's fur and wrenched, a satisfying grunt of pain elicited from his opponent's throat. They fumbled and twisted, grappling with their momentum as they lunged once more, tussling violently into the dirt. Only this time, Ronan gained the upper hand and with a fierce growl that illustrated his rage, he latched onto Von's throat and promptly ripped out his jugular.

Julie peered skeptically at the older woman as if she had just sprouted serpents from her head. "You were once human?"
The elder gave a concise nod, her gaze fixed tellingly on Kate. "I was the healer of my people. I came from a village and happened upon a man, naked and wounded on a lone trail I often traveled to gather herbs." Her face was a mask of emotions and since first meeting the older woman, Julie perceived the faintest flickering of pain in those dark, eternal eyes. "Little did I know at the time, the man was anything but human, but one of Loup-Garou blood." Her body shuddered with a breath, "Alistair." She said softly, her eyes glazing over with the turning of time.
She turned unwavering eyes to Julie, "The attraction was unmistakable, like the pull of an invisible thread, and we were incapable of being without the other. It wasn't long before he disclosed his true self. A beast enslaved by the moon, determined to claim me as his."
Julie took a step back and collapsed into the chair she knew to be braced against the wall, her gaze enthralled of the elder's telling.
"Naturally, I was horrified and I fled. But amid that time spent without him, an emptiness unlike anything I'd ever felt befell me. I needed him with every fiber of my being and there was no escaping the unworldly affect he had over me, unaware at that time, something extraordinary was at work. His pack had advised against taking me, a human, as his mate. It was forbidden. And as law would decree, they sought me out - and killed me."
A breath hitched in Julie's throat at the unmistakable sheen of pain glistening in those dark eyes.
With her silence, the elder proceeded. "It would seem Alistair's ancestors left out one very impertinent detail."
Julie leaned earnestly at the edge of her seat, "What?"
The elder shifted her head, her eyes falling once more over Kate, surveying her with an understanding all her own. "It is said, that the Loup-Garou are deemed the hounds of Hell, enslaved to the cruel mastery of the celestial moon, but even the moon can be kind, relinquishing a sliver of its ethereal power onto the inferior species - humans. Most wolves are born, rarely bitten, though it is not uncommon. But for a human simply to carry the gene of a werewolf, it is unheard of. There are humans who live a lifetime, unaware of their undiscovered destinies and their mates fall prey to the thrall of the Bonded Calling, essentially succumbing to their madness. But there are some, fortunate enough to cross paths when their intended lifemate." She paused and it took every bit of Julie's willpower to not demand more. "When my mate's pack hunted me down and killed me, only shortly after did I discover my true fate, for you see, in order to awaken that dormant gene, you must rattle the very depths of your soul, therefore, you must die."
Realization dawned as Julie gazed longingly at Kate, "Are you saying she's like you? That she carries the dormant gene?"
The elder nodded, "Yes."
Julie's brows furrowed, "How can you be so certain?"
The elder peered at Kate, "Because once you truly have an understanding of what you are, what you carry within you, can you recognize the mirroring soul of another. We are alike; therefore I detected the faintest traces of it, buried beneath a wealth of pain."
"Are there others in Black Mountain ?" her face suddenly paled considerably of color as a thought occurred to her, and she swallowed, "Am I -" she let her latter words fall silent.
The elder gazed discernibly back at her, "No, you do not carry the gene. And yes, there are others like us in Black Mountain but I cannot disclose them."
"Why?" she asked out of sheer curiosity.
"Because it is a divine secret of our ancestors. Our numbers are dwindling and those carrying the dormant gene are essentially our revival. Therefore their identities must be kept disguised for our enemies will seek them out and destroy them."
Julie's shoulders sagged with this knowledge and then she peered concernedly at Kate. "Why didn't he just turn her?"
The elder shuffled to the herbs dispersed on the nightstand, "I tried convincing him of it, to spare her the traumatic awakening from death, for one simply does not recover from the afterlife without some residual effects. If he had turned her, then he would have relieved her of that shock."
"Why did you not simply tell him? He was against changing her but ultimately she would become what he didn't want for her."
Once again, dark eyes fastened on her from across the room. "I am bound by decree by my mate's ancestors. There are things that I must allow, no matter my desire to intervene, to take course. I have already done an injustice by divulging this to you."
"Then why did you?" Julie asked.
"Because even you, huntress, are bound by certain laws, and I trust that you would not do anything to jeopardize your friend."
"So what happens now?" she demanded, "How long before she awakens?"
"Not long now."
And unable to remain seated, Julie surged to her feet with livened hope blossoming in her chest, and began to pace a groove into the floor. It seemed countless moments ticked unmercifully by, until finally, the faintest of sounds immobilized Julie where she stood, her eyes riveted on Kate.
And then her friend's chest broadened with the taking of breath.