Fire Moon by Miss CrazyPlantLady (phonics reading books .TXT) 📖

TO REFUSE A SUMMONS MEANS WAR.

August warned all the pack members of the summons, warned them of the possible outcome if Cameron was unsatisfied with our visit. The outcome being their own war with Cameron. There was a difference between assisting another pack with their defenses against Cameron and having your own war against him.

I was sleeping in August's bed again. I had no idea where he slept but I didn't want to ask last night so I let myself fall asleep on the couch. I woke up to Sam trying to carry me to bed and the memory alone made me laugh.

He was successful in picking me up but only made it to the other side of the couch before he laid me back down. I woke up to him right in my face and attempting for a second time. Sam was so pure and good-hearted but not the heavy-lifting type.

My nightmares returned that night.

I dreamt of Shaw and Mara. Except instead of Shaw, it was me and instead of Mara, it was Wren. I didn't even know if Wren was truly dead but the image was so real and haunting. It ended up morphing into August holding the sack of skin and hair. He was wailing like Shaw was, the noise was so deafening and I had to step closer to see that it was me he was holding. I was dead. I was watching my decapitated body. I was watching my blood pour around us. Waves of it surrounding me. I turned and ran. I was running and running. I sat up with a gasp.

The sun was barely rising. The room had begun to turn blue and the light of the closet was spilling into the darkness.

August was standing at the door to his closet without a shirt and a shoulder leaning against the frame. He looked as if he didn't sleep at all and when my eyes met his, he looked at me with concern, "Nightmare?"

I laid back down with a hand on my chest, trying to calm my racing heart. My words were hoarse with sleep when I spoke, "The worse one yet."

The bed dipped and August scent danced around me, "I've been having those dreams too."

He sat with his glorified back to me, looking at nothing in particular and he turned his head to face me. My eyes met his tired ones, "What do you dream about?"

He almost shuddered at the question but he gave my arm a warm squeeze before heading back to his closet. His bare muscles shifting with every movement. I wanted to touch his skin. My skin on his skin. I wanted to speak to him about mates and if he felt the same tug that I did. Our forever straining string.

"How long does it take to get to Cameron's?" I asked instead, still laying down.

"About six hours in a car and four on foot" his voice came from deep inside the closet.

I frowned in the dark, "On foot?"

August emerged with a grey long sleeve dress shirt and a darker suit jacket over his shoulder. My mouth must have dropped. He was beauty itself. He opened the bathroom door and wandering in, I could hear the shower going as he walked back out.

"Are some of us travelling by foot?" I asked again.

He reached for my warm covers and pulled them off, my skin prickled as he stared down at me. He reached down, pulling me up by my forearm and my skin alighted at the touch. He nodded, "Wolves don't do car rides."

I frowned as he continued to push me towards the bathroom, "I'm confused."

A small laugh fell from his lips, "You are travelling in the car with Quinn and the rest of us are running."

He shut the bathroom door at that and I took it as cue to get ready.

The shower was the same heavenly place as it was yesterday, I used the body wash that was available and washed my hair with August's shampoo. It smelt like the small sweet mixture of cedar and jasmine that I knew. The clothes weren't the same as yesterday, there was only one choice. An emerald-coloured dress. This dress was the most delicate thing I've seen in my life, soft waves of fabric fell from my waist to the ground and the hard corset was covered with beautiful detailed embroidery. It was like nothing I've ever seen.

August was gone once I emerged and I found the different pair of borrowed shoes at the foot of the bed. Flat emerald shoes to match the glorified dress.

"Dear, you cannot leave your hair like that" Sara had stopped me a few steps from the room.

My drenched hair was heavy against my back, "I don't have a brush."

She was in her usual paint-covered pants and flowing shirt. She fingered my wet hair with a sigh, "No, this won't do."

She led me back to her studio and sat me down on a stool, "I like this dress"

I nodded as she started gathering my hair. Her hands were delicate and gentle, her violin music playing softly in the corner and I let the familiar feeling of safety swirl within me.

"Do you think it is possible to know who your mate is without actually knowing?" as if I was telling her a secret, my voice was lower than a whisper.

"Definitely, my dear" she answered in the same whispered tone. She twisted my hair into a low, clean bun and gripped my shoulders, "Perfect."

I wanted to ask more. Understand more but I didn't linger.

Leaving Sara after she held me tight and rubbed my back with a tenderness that made my eyes tear up. I missed my mother. The sad reminder clutched at my chest.

I wandered through the house, running my finger against the wall as I checked every room and to my surprise, everyone was standing outside. Only the Etas were coming with us, Quinn and Bain were coming as well but everyone else was to remain behind.

The Etas being August's warriors, he had a group of five due to the size of his pack and compared to my one Eta, it was a lot more. He also had two Zetas and our pack didn't even have one of the generals.

The Zetas were called Danny and Asher. I remembered seeing them at the first meeting, I remembered that they sat down with all the leaders and were one of few that didn't erupt when August decided to help my pack.

Danny was the first to bend his head in my arrival, "Eden, it's a pleasure." Asher mimicked his movements but only gave me a small smile.

The winter was ending. The air wasn't as harsh anymore. The snow wasn't covering the ground as thick. I still shivered in the thick coat I stole from August's closet but it would have been worse in the middle of winter.

Sam was dressed up too and I smiled as he approached, "You look so good" I signed.

He wore a dark blue suit with a grey thick jacket over the top. His auburn hair slicked back, face freshly shaved and I've never seen him without stubble.

His smile was wide as he pulled me into a hug, "Stunning" was all he signed back.

Quinn wasn't dressed in her usual either. She wore a silk gown of copper, hugging to her like a second skin. A thick coat wrapped around her shoulders with her hair braided upon her head. The shoes she wore, wrapped up her legs and glistened in the light. She looked regal. She looked like a queen.

She noticed my gawking and gave me the smallest of smiles, "Didn't expect this?"

I shook my head and smiled in return, "Do we always dress up when visiting another pack?"

A shrug, "Not always but we're entering another territory and they're known for their exquisite taste," she leaned into the car to start the heater, "You get used to it."

August was talking in hushed tones to the Etas, face focused and determined. It was only when I looked over that I noticed him watching me, staring at me and I felt the string grow tighter than before. The group disbanded and he headed over to me, his face unreadable.

"I hope you don't mind" I gestured to his coat that threatened to swallow me whole.

He eyed me with an unreadable expression and he smiled, "Are you ready?"

I frowned, "To go?"

He took three steps back and shifted. I wasn't at all ready for the large bronze wolf that emerged. He was the colour of the first ray of light in the morning. Almost an exact shade of his hair colour. Sam always shifted in front of me, he always let me see his wolf but I was always warned before he shifted.

Unmated wolves aren't supposed to shift in front other unmated wolves. It was an unspoken rule. Not that I cared because August's wolf was magnificent, glorious, powerful and what I wished my wolf would be.

I didn't care that I was staring, my mouth was probably open and I had to peel my eyes away when Quinn cleared her throat, "Hurry up, we have two hours longer than them."

"Go, I'll meet you there" August's voice swirled in my head. Our eyes connecting as he turned back to the Oracle who was still in human form. A cigarette glowing in his long fingers.

It was a few hours into the drive when Quinn finally spoke to me. Her driving was manic. Gracefully swerving in and out between cars. Never braking or making a mistake.

She let out a breath as she spoke, "Do you like classical?"

It took me a second longer than necessary to get that she was talking about music and I nodded, "Yeah, I don't mind."

It was the same type of music that Urith and Sara played in this study. I didn't think she would have this type of music taste. I expected something edgier or heavier.

"Was Urith not coming?" I only just realised that Urith wasn't with August and the others.

A sharp shake of her head, "Urith is only a Sigma and it would be too dangerous for him."

A heartbeat later, "How did you know Urith was your mate?" I asked my question before I could stop myself.

Her sapphires glanced to me before returning to the road, minutes passed and I thought she wouldn't have answered but she sighed, "He understood me."

I didn't get a chance to speak as she continued, "He understood why I was so cold to others, he understood my reason for hiding because he did it too and it was as if he knew my soul before I even knew it myself."

"And even though I expected him to leave and save the trouble, he stayed and waited for me" she added quietly.

The trees grew thicker outside the car, denser around us and I watched as the snow lightened, "What if, metaphorically, I knew someone like that" I kept my voice even and calm, "Someone's footsteps, someone's smell, someone's emotions and metaphorically, what if I could feel an invisible string tying us together."

I didn't dare look over at her.

"Then, metaphorically, I would say you found your mate" her eyes were glancing over at me with the confused expression.

"But I read that sometimes, it's just feelings" my response rushed out of me, "Like a crush or lust."

"My father always said that if you are drawn to them, like a magnet drawn to metal or the pull to them was