#1 The Rise of the Crescent Moon

August

I was so proud of my mate and her ability to handle the pack like a true Luna. Just being around her calmed my body and helped the healing process along. I stroked Josie’s hair as she rested against my chest. After a few blissful minutes of breathing in her scent, Josie shifted and began to pull away. A low growl escaped my throat.

“Oh, enough of that.” She rolled her eyes at me as she stood up.

“What can I say, I don’t like sharing you with other men.” I smirked at her.

“They weren’t other men, August, they were your patrol and Beta and Gamma and whoever that other dude was.” I laughed at Josie as she tried to calm me down.

“Vincent will be dealt with, I promise you that.” I nearly growled. Vincent was a brute fellow, great at tracking and torturing our prisoners, not so great at speaking appropriately to anyone. Josie began bustling around the kitchen and living room, cleaning up the mess that my injury left her with.

“It’s partially my fault.” Josie said from the kitchen. I tried to stand up but one glare from my mate had me settling back down in the chair.

“Vincent’s behavior is not your fault.” I snapped at her.

“He didn’t know that I was your mate and he definitely didn’t know that I’m the future Luna, so how was he supposed to know to not be an ass?” Josie shrugged as she tidied up the table, wiping it down with an antiseptic wipe and throwing the bloody towels in the garbage can.

“I don’t care.” Was all I said. Josie glared at me again,

“August….” I stopped her,

“You’re not gonna win this one, love.” She said and pressed her lips together, staying silent. I shifted in the chair and groaned at the pain shooting through my arm. Josie was at my side in a second,

“What is it?” She said quickly, examining the wouldn. I grabbed her hands,

“It’s just a little sore, I’ll be fine. You did an excellent job, baby.” I tried to soothe her but only succeeded in causing her to roll her eyes at me.

“I don’t understand why it’s not healing quicker.” Josie stated.

“I don’t know either, must be something new the rogues are trying.” I shrugged. I was attempting to appear calm and unbothered. I didn’t want to worry her, but, the truth was, I was very concerned over the new tricks the rogues had.

“If I had you in a hospital, I could run some tests and see if they left anything in your blood.” Josie suggested.

“You think you could find something?” It hadn’t occurred to me that they may have used a substance that would show up in bloodwork. Josie just nodded, biting her lip.

“My smart, sexy, doctor mate.” I purred, my hands brushing against her waist. She swatted at my hands, blushing at my compliment.

“Shut up.” She mumbled and I laughed at her embarrassment.

“We have a pack hospital.” I said, knowing perfectly well that Josie knew about our hospital.

“I know.” She responded.

“I can have one of our nurses draw the blood and run the lab work.” I suggested delicately. Josie quickly shook her head and I swear I saw a flash of lust, maybe even jealousy, in her eyes.

“No way, I’ll do it.” She said determinedly.

“Josie,” I pulled her back down to my lap and she didn’t argue,

“I promised that I would give you time to adjust to everything before announcing you as my mate and Luna. But, I won’t hide you or deny you. If you come to the packhouse, I can’t lie about who you are. It’s just not possible, it’s not in my nature; Arlo wouldn’t let me even if I wanted to.” I brushed Josie’s hair from her face and looked into her eyes for a reaction.

“I would never ask you to, August, that wouldn’t be fair. I’m ready for you to not have to hide me anymore. I’m ready to stand in front of the pack as your mate.” Josie shocked me, her words actually shocked me.

“Are you sure?” I almost hated to ask, but I needed her to be sure. She nodded with a small smile on her lips.

“I felt horrible today. The way Vincent looked at me and talked to me made me feel horrible. The fact that he didn’t think I should have been there, next to you, made me feel horrible. I meant what I said, it’s not his fault. I made the decision not to come forward. But, I don’t ever want to feel like I don’t belong in the pack or by your side again.” Josie wouldn’t look me in the eyes. She was playing with my hand and biting her lip. I picked up her chin and made her look at me,

“Josephine Taylor don’t for one second think that you belong anywhere else but in my arms. I would be honored if you would allow me to announce you as mine to the pack. To our pack.” Josie’s face lit up and she pulled me towards her for a passionate kiss.

Suddenly, I started tasting salt on my lips and I pulled away to see that Josie was crying. I quickly wiped the tears from her face.

“What’s wrong, baby?” I asked softly.

“I thought….” she sniffed and gathered her emotions so she could speak,

“I heard you, Arlo, howl. I felt your pain. I thought I was going to lose you.” Her cheeks were puffy as the tears started flowing fast.

“Josie, you’re never going to lose me.” I assured her, rubbing my thumb across her cheeks.

“Everything seems so silly now.” She said, rolling her tear filled eyes.

“What do you mean?” I asked her.

“My reservations, my human moments. It all seems so dumb now. I want this, August, all of this. I want you to claim me. Claim me to the pack, to our families, and for ourselves. I don’t care about anything else anymore. I just want you.” All of the hesitation and shame was gone from her eyes, they were clear and confident.

She sniffed again and I wiped the last of her tears away, pushing her hair behind her ears and holding her face tightly between my hands. She was saying all the things I had been dying to hear. It had only been a couple of days since I met the most perfect woman on the planet, my most perfect mate, but it had felt like a lifetime. It had felt like a lifetime of waiting for her to want me the way I wanted her.

“Don’t tease me, Josephine.” I warned her, a smile threatening to take over my face. Josie shook her head as her hands found my face.

“I’m not. August,” she sighed, biting her lip again as she gathered herself,

“August, I love you. I love you and I’m done denying it. I love you and I want the entire world to know.” I lost it under her touch and her declaration of love. I crushed her to me, ignoring the pain in my arm. I just wanted her close to me.

“I love you, my beautiful mate.” I whispered against her lips, trailing my kisses down her neck and back up again, nibbling at her marking spot. Arlo howled in my head and I knew we were starting to lose our ability to hold back. Josie pulled herself away from me,

“Slow down there, Alpha. We’ll get to that part eventually.” She giggled and it sounded like the most magical thing in the whole world. I growled and nipped at her lips as she jumped off my lap and ran away.

“Oh, there’s something else that you should know.” Josie said as she walked over to her suitcase and pulled out a clean shirt. She ducked behind the bathroom door and changed out of her blood stained clothes. I longed to sneak a peek of her beautiful body.

“I’m not sure I can take anything else, love.” I admitted, standing up from the chair and wondering towards the bathroom. She stepped out and I was annoyed to find her fully changed already. She rolled her eyes at my disappointed face.

“Fine, I guess I won’t tell you about how I mindlinked with your patrol earlier.” She shrugged and started to walk away. I grabbed her wrists,

“Excuse me.” I was shocked.

“How do you think those idiots knew to bring you to me?” She laughed at my expression. I guess I hadn’t really thought about it.

“I heard you howl and I ran outside,” I glared at her for leaving her house when I specifically told her to stay inside. She waved her hand, dismissing my lecture, before continuing on,

“Then, I heard Dax and Blaine having a conversation. In their minds. About me.” She explained. I just stared at her, speechless.

“I don’t know why, but it’s not the first time I’ve been able to mindlink.” She confessed. I blinked at her, in absolute shock and confusion.

“What?” Was all I could manage to say.

“When I started training, when my father started letting me go to the packhouse, I started being able to mindlink with the wolves I was in regular contact with. My father and brother, Benji and your brothers, and any of the other pups who trained with me. I could mindlink with them if I wanted to.” She said.

“What do you mean, if you wanted to?” Mindlinking wasn’t really something we could turn on and off. It wasn’t like we could push the ignore call button.

“I could choose to let people in. I didn’t have to mindlink if I didn’t want to. My dad said it was a human perk. Since I had Alpha blood, I could mindlink, but because I was a human, I could choose not to. And it wasn’t strong, I couldn’t mindlink with a wolf I hadn’t met before and I wasn’t able to be a part of the pack mindlinks my father had. But, I wasn’t convinced that my father didn’t have something to do with that.” Josie looked lost in thought for a moment, thinking about her time as the Alpha’s daughter. She shook herself from the memory and made eye contact with me.

“You’re such a mystery.” I smirked at her and she blushed.

“Don’t worry, I like a good mystery.” I teased her and her cheeks got even redder. I laughed out loud which earned me a good smack across my uninjured arm. I nuzzled my face into her neck as an apology.

“You ready to go to the packhouse?” I asked her. She nodded slowly,

“As ready as I’ll ever be.” She admitted.