The forest was quiet around me. How many years had it been now since I’d left society to live in the forest? Who was the last person I’d seen?
I knew the answer to the last question. Payne. He had been the last one here. The presence of Pestilence was the only one I’d tolerated.
I ruffled my light-gray fur and started to march toward the lake. I could use some water. At least water couldn’t die.
The animals scattered around me and gained their retreats. It was no surprise. They felt Death all over me.
My claws sank into the dirt, and worms died. I got annoyed. I was tired of it.
It didn’t bother me to be a wolf. I actually enjoyed it more than being human. People didn’t prod wolves to talk, and I could live quietly in the forest. It was definitely a plus for me.
However, I was tired of things dying around me.
The lake was unbothered, just like me. It was the perfect mirror of my soul, except maybe mine had more ripples. I’d killed more as Death than I ever had as Desmond.
A smile appeared on my snout. It had been a long time since I’d called myself that. I looked at my reflection and saw a wild wolf. I hadn’t bothered to groom my fur in a long time.
When I leaned into the water to drink, I heard footsteps behind me. Were humans in the forest? That could be bad. I turned around to look at the intruder and saw to my surprise the Moon Goddess.
She hadn’t changed a bit since the last time I’d seen her.
She was wearing one of her fluid white gowns, and her long black hair was flowing softly around her head. Her silver eyes were on me as I bowed my head.
“Desmond,” she said.
That made me stiffen. The last time she’d used my real name, she’d cursed me. What would she say now?
“It’s time. A thousand years have passed since our last encounter. You are now free of the curse.”
I felt my human side resurface. It had never really left me, but I’d just lost the ability to see my body. It felt weird after all this time.
The Moon Goddess smiled at me as I regained my footing and came closer.
She put her warm hand on my head and said, “Since you are free now, I would suggest going to America, more precisely, Montana. I have a gift there for you.”
A gift? What could that be? I looked at her quizzically, but she just stepped away and vanished, just like she’d appeared.
I was singing along with the radio in my car as I drove through my territory at night.
Nothing could happen to me on our lands, so I wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings. I was too focused on the song. I loved music, and I intended to live my passion to the fullest.
I was drumming on the wheel and singing like a crazy teenager, and I felt good. I’d had meetings all day for the pack, and I finally had some time to relax, so I’d embrace it.
The road curved and so did the car when I saw a big furry thing.
“Holy shit!”
I stepped on the brakes, but it was too late. The car hit the furry monster and sent it flying. I immediately unbuckled and ran to see who I’d hit.
This furry thing could only be a pack member, and I’d run over them.
“I’m so sorry! Are you all right? I didn’t see you there.”
I leaned over and touched the stranger. The tingles shot right through my body, making the wolf grunt.
I startled and started checking him for wounds, but I saw only cuts that were already healing.
“I’m so sorry! Please let me help you.”
My wolf was doing the happy dance in my head, and a smile naturally graced my lips, while the other wolf remained stern. He had to be feeling it too, though. Why wasn’t he reacting?
I put my hand on his huge head, and he half closed his eyes to enjoy it. That was when his size finally hit me.
He was much bigger than any werewolf I’d ever seen, and I was an alpha, which normally made me the top dog.
Who was this guy? How had he ended up here? He wasn’t a pack member, that was for sure.
“Do you mind shifting, big guy? That way, I can see how much damage I did. I’ll take you to my pack doctor, and it’ll be easier if you’re not in wolf form. You’ll never fit inside my car like this.”
I chuckled, and the wolf seemed perplexed, but he finally obliged.
The familiar crack of bones and skin remodeling made me anxious for the first time. What would my mate look like? I was like a kid on Christmas Day. I couldn’t wait to see him.
Where the beautiful light-gray wolf had stood was now a tall man. He had tattoos all over his arms and chest, and I could see they were running on his back as well.
He was heavily muscled, as if he’d trained his whole life, and his muscles were toned and defined. He looked like a Greek god gym addict. I couldn’t help but run my tongue on my lips.
He was gorgeous from the V on his lower belly to his six-pack and muscled pecs.
I lifted my gaze higher to meet icy-blue eyes and a face that transmitted calmness. I’d just run him over, and the man didn’t seem fazed at all. He seemed to be…thinking deeply.
I would have yelled in his situation, but he just didn’t care about that. So it seemed.
I stood up and looked at him, but that told me nothing. He was a closed-off wall.
He was looking back at me, and I knew my face was a mess. I was blushing like crazy, and I wanted badly to put my nose in his neck.
I was at a loss for words, and the stranger didn’t seem to mind. Maybe he was feeling the same thing, but it was hard to tell.
I breathed out and finally took my head out of my uterus to say, “I’m Cassandra, by the way. Are you...all right?”
“I’m fine,” he answered with a deep voice that made my pussy drip.
“Let’s go to my pack so we can make sure of this.”
He seemed hesitant, and he finally lifted his gaze back to me.
“I’m not sure it’s a good idea,” he said.
“Why? I ran you over, so the least I can do is to make sure you’re okay.”
He offered me a small smile, and I swear I could have fainted right there. I was overly dramatic tonight.
“You’re kind,” he said, coming closer. “I’m not sure I deserve your kindness.”
“Well don’t you... Don’t you feel it?”
He looked at me quizzically, and I put my hand on his forearm, feeling the tingles shoot right through my body to my core.
He still seemed unfazed, but there was no denying that he felt it too; his blues were definitely warmer.
“I do, but... I’m still not sure it’s a good idea.”
“The Moon Goddess wants it so, and we can’t go against her wishes. You...you don’t like me?”
For the first time, I saw a real emotion cross his face. Shock. He was shocked that I could say that. He shook his head and met my gaze.
“You’re the one who’s not going to like me. I’m a lycan, and my name is Death.”
Death? A lycan? As in...the four cursed generals of the Moon Goddess? They were real?
“You’re fucking kidding me.”
