Chapter Nine

Keiran stood there in the middle of this clearing and was trying his best to keep his body under control. The female that was standing before him was absolutely gorgeous, and hell, he had to stand behind some bush just so she wouldn’t see his body reacting to her and the thoughts that were running through his head.

Long, light brown hair cascaded down from a small widow’s peak to beneath her shoulders. Her full lips were a soft pink and he thought that they were totally kissable. Her body, which was full in all the right places, was otherwise fit. She looked so soft, like if he were to touch her, she would melt in his hands. S**t, he wanted to make her melt at his touch.

As a quiet grunt rumbled in his throat, he rubbed the back of his neck and contemplated moving forward. Despite the fact that she was gorgeous and his wolf was telling him that she was his mate, he couldn’t make himself move.

He’d been through a relationship before, and the one he thought was his forever had been taken away by unexpected death. He didn’t think he could go through that again, and he couldn’t explain why he had heard her voice and why she was leading him to this female. Hadn’t she made him promise he would wait? He’d been so willing to do it, too.

The sound of a pained howl echoed through the air and Luna’s face immediately turned to worry.

“Oh God, no,” she whispered and turned to run the opposite direction without a word.

He stood there for a minute, wondering if he should follow. He was pretty sure that if it was possible, his wolf would have kicked him in the a*s to get him going. He took off after Luna and followed closely behind.

The single howl turned to a chorus of many and he had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. He’d heard something like this before.

Luna ran through a thicket of bushes and jumped into a small lawn in front of a cozy cabin, but the group of people standing around outside in the front didn’t seem so at ease. A body of a young female lay on the ground, blood seeping from a gaping wound in the middle of her forehead. Her leg was horribly twisted the wrong way, and she was pale…lifeless.

There was a young male on his knees beside her, practically wailing with pain, loss, and sorrow. “Maddie!” He screamed and wrapped his arms around the female’s body, pulling her up to his chest.

Luna dropped to her knees beside him and rested her forehead on his back, whispering something to him. From what he could tell, she was praying and trying to comfort the male when she was crying with grief, too.

He tried to stay back and out of anyone’s way. This was not his pack, and technically, he really shouldn’t be here. He hoped like hell that no one would notice his presence.

All too soon, his hopes were dashed as a male close to his age backed him up against a tree with a loud, rumbling growl. There were tear streaks down his cheeks, but pure anger in his eyes. “Who the f**k are you?! Luna!” The male grabbed his throat and squeezed, cutting off any air that Keiran had as he looked over his shoulder at Luna.

“Rafe!” Luna yelled out over the cries of the young male. “Please…I understand your pain, but this is no time for any more violence, let alone introductions. He’s a friend, so please…” She let out a breath and held out her hand to the male.

Rafe’s hand on his throat loosened and he walked over to the group as his shoulders dropped in defeat. He joined them on his knees and placed his hand over the bullet wound in Maddie’s forehead. “Maddie, why…” His cheeks were adorned with fresh tears.

Keiran sucked down a breath of air and ignored the burning sensation in his throat. He quickly made the connection that Rafe was the beta she had been speaking of earlier; the female on the ground and the young male holding her was the couple that was supposed to have been mated tonight. He knew what it was like…to lose a mate, but the idea of losing her on the full moon of their mating. He couldn’t even imagine.

Luna sniffled and spoke through broken sobs. “What happened?”

Moments passed and for a while no one said anything.

The silence was broken by Rafe’s broken voice as he explained. The young male, which he still hadn’t heard his name, was in no position to be able to even talk.

“She and Raul were…finishing up their run before coming back to the cabin. I guess they’d accidentally been separated. The couple seconds they were apart was all it took… It was one of Robert’s men…he found her and kicked her back leg. She started shifting but it only broke her leg more. Then, when she was able to shift fully, he…”

Rafe couldn’t finish the sentence; he didn’t have to. Everyone knew what had happened from that point.

Even more silent minutes passed and Keiran wondered if he should just go. Rafe had had every right to flip out on him being there, but he had a feeling Luna wouldn’t want him to. He moved over to the group ever so slowly and with an exhale of air, he placed his hand on her shoulder.

~

Luna wished she could smile when she felt Keiran’s hand on her shoulder, but the grief of pain was too much for her right now. She didn’t know how much time had passed before they all finally started moving.

It was painful to watch Raul carry her body inside. They would give her a proper burial, but first Luna and Jaclyn would clean the blood from her body and hopefully cover up the wound as best as they could.

Raul placed her body carefully on her bed with Rafe’s help and she immediately set to work by bringing buckets of clean water into the room as Jaclyn cleaned her. It was hard to believe that just a day or so before, it was Maddie and Jaclyn that had been doing this for her. The thought made her chest clench with sorrow.

They dressed her in her favorite outfit: a yellow sundress with gray leggings and the ballet flats that she wore every day. Once the fatal wound was covered up, Luna stood there and stared at her. If it weren’t for the fact that she was deathly pale, it almost looked like she was only sleeping.

Raul had been in the corner the whole time, sobs shaking his entire body. She was crushed by this, but she couldn’t even comprehend his pain. She walked over to him and rested her forehead against his. “You know we’ll give her a proper burial when you’re ready, Raul.”

He took a deep breath and looked up into her eyes. “I need…few minutes…”

She gave him a nod and kissed his tear soaked cheek before walking out of the room.

Keiran was there, waiting for her. She’d almost forgotten about him, and her heart leaped in her chest at the sight of him. He’d actually stayed. She walked over to him and in all the emotions she was feeling, she wordlessly placed her cheek against his chest.

She noticed he hesitated, but after a moment, he placed his arms lightly around her.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered above her hair.

She was at a loss for words, but she lifted her head and looked at him. His top was bare, but it looked like Rafe had given him some jeans to wear.

"Have you talked to your pack?” Her voice was rough, barely a whisper, and he shook his head no.

“No,” he mumbled. “I couldn’t bring myself to leave, and I still can’t.”

That statement made her heart jump again, but she ignored it, once again taking control of herself and her emotions so she could do her job as an alpha.

“Go get them and bring them here. We’ll be stronger as one large group, even if we are two packs.” She looked up at his face and saw as he recoiled from the order she’d given him without realizing it, but then that was just the nature of an alpha.

He knew she was right, though, and he nodded his head.

They both realized at the same time that his arms were still around her. With an awkward shrug of his shoulders, he dropped them and gave her one last look before walking out the front door. Jaclyn stepped out of her room after that and she touched her arm.

“Go with Keiran, Jaclyn?”

Her best friend studied her face, but gave into her orders. “Alright,” she mumbled, and followed Keiran out the door.

She stood there in the main hallway and tried not to fall to the ground as her knees shook. “Oh, Larentia, goddess of wolves, please be with us,” she prayed.