#1 The Rise of the Crescent Moon

August

“Should she really be out here? It’s only been two weeks since the attack?” Hayden asked me as we stood off to the side, admiring our Luna.

“You try telling her she can’t do something, I’d love to watch.” I smirked, crossing my arms across my chest.

I admit, I was a little jealous of Ethan, Hayden, and my two brothers at the moment as they joined my mate on the sparring mat. She was wearing a crop top and workout leggings, her belly button playing peek-a-boo with the hem of her shirt. I wasn’t thrilled about her choice of attire for her workouts, but I knew better than to argue. If my wolves couldn’t handle themselves around her, we had bigger problems than her exposed midriff.

I growled as Ethan landed a hit on Josie’s shoulder, knocking her down. I was two seconds away from tackling my Beta to the ground when Josie did it herself. Lunging up from the mat, she wrapped her legs around Ethan’s waist and yanked him down to the ground. She pinned him to the mat until he tapped out.

“She’s impressive.” Hayden laughed as Josie offered Ethan a hand up,

“Ethan’s pissed, he can never beat her.” He added. I beamed with pride at my Luna. Ethan was one of our best warriors, but Josie’s agility and quick thinking put her skills above his brute strength.

“He can learn a thing or two from her, we all could.” I said.

“We can hear you two!” Ethan shouted over at us, whipping his sweat stained forehead with his arm,

“Why don’t one of you two spar with her if you’re so fantastic?” Hayden raised his hands in surrender,

“Because I’m not an idiot. I know when to quit.” Hayden teased, joining Ethan on the other side of the mat. I walked up to my mate,

“And I’m too smart to pick a fight with our Luna.” I grinned down at her. She jammed her elbow into my ribs,

“No, you’re not.” She mocked, rolling her eyes.

“Can I have a minute?” I asked her, leaning down to whisper in her ear. She blushed at my closeness and nodded, grabbing a towel to wipe off her face. I led Josie away from the training grounds and towards the shaded courtyard.

“August, I’m all sweaty.” She whined as I leaned my body against hers, pushing her back towards the side of the packhouse.

“I don’t care.” I said in a low voice, nuzzling my nose against her cheek.

Josie wiggled against my body which only made me groan more. She grabbed my face in her hands and pulled me towards her lips, nibbling my lower lip with her teeth. She moaned against me as my hands found her bareskin. I paused along her scar, running my thumb over the three thin lines that now stained her stomach, chest, shoulder, and neck. I ran my hand up the length of the scar, ending my tour of her body by cupping her cheek in my hand and slowly the passion of our kiss.

“I have some bad news.” I said, moving my lips away only enough to talk. Josie’s warm breath blew across my face as she struggled to breath,

“Oh.” Was all she could manage to say.

“I have to go away for a few days for work.” This caught her attention. She pushed my body away and maneuvered away from me and the wall.

“Why?” She asked, a small hitch in her voice let me know that she was on the verge of upset.

“Despite the fact that I would rather spend every waking moment by your side, I do have to work to provide for this financially dependent pack,” I chuckled,

“I have a contract with a business in New York, they want my firm to design several large buildings for them.” Josie sighed at me but I could tell she understood.

“How long do you have to be gone for?” Josie asked, picking at her fingers. I grabbed her hands and ducked my head so she would look me in the eye,

“Just a couple of days. I have to leave tomorrow morning though.” I told her. She nodded slowly, biting her lip,

“Alright.” She sighed again. I smirked at her mode, slightly thrilled that being away from me bothered her this much. Suddenly she perked up,

“What if I went with you? I did live in New York for a few years.” She shrugged, trying not to sound too excited.

“It’s mostly going to be a business trip, Jo.” I loved the idea of her coming with me, but didn’t want her to get too lonely or bored.

“I need to pack up my apartment anyway. I was going to have a friend do it but….” I thought about the idea for a minute,

“I supposed Ethan and Hayden will be fine here without us for a few days.” I smiled and was met with a face splitting grin from my mate,

“Does that mean you want me to go?” She asked, practically jumping up and down.

“I always want you with me, love. I just don’t want to bore you.”

“I’m never bored in New York.” She replied and I realized how much she really did miss her city.

“Maybe we could squeeze in a day of sightseeing.” I suggested and her smile got even bigger.

“Yes please!” She clapped her hands together before wrapping them around my neck. I kissed her cheek,

“Anything for you, baby. Let’s go pack. The jet leaves at 4:00am.” She let out an exaggerated groan,

“Maybe I should rethink this.” I laughed out loud at her and dragged her up the steps.

We quickly packed and Josie snuck in a nap before we had to leave for the jet. My company had its own jet which was used for both company and pack business often. It was a modest size with a few seats, a couch, and a private bedroom. The airport was about an hour’s drive away and Josie slept the entire time there. I practically had to carry her onto the plane.

But, the second we got onto the plane and the doors shut, she was wide awake. She fumbled with the seat belt, strapping herself in before our pilot even turned on the seat built sign. I noticed her face whitened and her hands clutched the armrests.

“Josie, are you okay?” I asked, sitting down next to her. She didn’t respond, staring straight ahead with wide eyes. I tried to take her hand but she shook it off.

“Josie?” I said again.

“I didn’t realize that I don’t like flying.” She mumbled.

“You didn’t realize?” I tried not to laugh at her.

“I’ve never flown before.” She said and I sighed at her, reaching for her hand again. She grabbed a hold of it this time, giving it a squeeze.

“It’s going to be okay, I’ve flown hundreds of times.” I tried to assure her, but it wasn’t working.

“There’s a bedroom, do you want to go lay down?” I offered.

“Are there seatbelts back there?” She asked, her face telling me that she was 100% serious.

“No, Josie, there are no seatbelts in the bed.”

“Then I’m staying right here.” She said stubbornly. I shook my head at her but didn’t argue.

The flight attendant, Mary, told us that it was time for take off before strapping herself into the safety seat. I put on my seatbelt and whispered words of comfort into Josie’s ear, whether she was listening or not I couldn’t tell. Josie freaked out the entire time the plain was ascending and didn’t relax until we were at cruising altitude.

“This is a ridiculously short flight, Josie, we’ll be there in no time. If I knew you were this afraid of flying we could have just drove.” I chuckled.

“Are you laughing at me?” She snapped, pointing her index finger towards my chest.

“No, never, love.” I cooed, tucking her hair behind her ear.

“I hate you right now.” She grumbled and I didn’t argue with her. I hated myself for causing her so much discomfort.

“You’re an asshole. You should have asked her about flying beforehand! You could have made a road trip out of it, idiot!” Arlo growled at me. I shoved him to the back of my head, not in the mood for his bullshit.

“We’re getting ready to land, you might feel sick or your ears might hurt. Here, chew some gum, it might help.” I explained to her, offering a piece of mint chewing gum. She reluctantly accepted and closed her eyes as we began to land.

“I never want to do that shit again.” Josie huffed as she stumbled out of the jet,

“What about going home?” I asked her. She froze on the steps and looked over at me with an expression of pure horror,

“It’s okay, we can drive if you want to.” I offered. She nodded quickly and practically threw herself down on the ground.

“Sweet Jesus humans were not meant to leave the ground.” She grumbled, staring up at the sky as if she was amazed by it.

I smiled behind her back, not wanting her to see and think I was laughing at her. Really, I was just in awe of her. In awe of everything that she did. Even when she was terrified of the sky and worshiping the ground.