When Autumn's eyelids fluttered open, her head was pounding like a drum at a shitty tavern.
Blinking against the haze, she took in her surroundings and immediately … "What the actual fuck?"
Her gaze jerked downward, taking in the frilly, soft pink nightmare.
Ruffles? Ruffles, for fuck's sake?
Her legs were tied to the legs of a chair, her arms bound tightly behind her back.Her silver blonde hair fell in loose curls over her shoulders.
She was dressed in… a dress? A pretty one at that.
"The hell…the hell…?"
A soft breeze made her glance up
And her gaze froze.
There was a cake in front of her. A whole damn cake, with a single candle flickering, the frosting spelling out ' 18' for some reason.
Her stomach twisted. "Eighteen?" Damn right…it was supposed to be her birthday. She hadn't celebrated a birthday since… since forever.
Another cold breeze licked her skin. She looked up. Like up in the sky above her.
The Blood Moon!!!
It hung there all swollen and red, and radiating an unnatural glow in the clearing. It was a semi-forested area and around her, wolves stood in a wide circle…the entire Bloodhound pack…their eyes gleaming in the dark.
Then she spotted them.The bastards who had fished her out of the river,smirking like they had won some kind of fucked up lottery. She twisted, yanking her wrists, her ankles. "Let me go, you flea bitten assholes!" she snarled.
Instinct kicked in. She jerked forward, ready to bolt… the chair wobbled.
" Hell no…Motherfu…!" She was going to face plant right into that stupid cake when…
A broad, calloused hand shot out, catching her forehead an inch from the frosting. The impact jolted her, but the cake survived.
"Careful," a deep voice rumbled.
The hand shoved her back upright.
Autumn blinked, her vision clearing.
And then she saw him.
Alpha Kieran!
She stared up into the face that made her soul shrivel and her heart go on a caffeine overdose.
Mother of wolves!!! What a man!
He was tall…obscenely tall…with a lean, predatory build wrapped in black leather. Broad shoulders…shoulders that could bench a horse, arms corded with scars and ink.More scars criss crossed his neck.He looked like he had stepped out of a villain catalog. The 'Brooding Bastard Edition.' His jaw was sharp enough to cut glass, his mouth set in a permanent scowl. Dark hair, longer on top, fell messily over his forehead, half shadowing eyes that burned like molten gold.
And those eyes were locked onto her.
And he was staring at her like he wanted to rip out her spine... or kiss her. Maybe both.
Her heart skipped.
"No. Nope. Fuck this,"
Her breath hitched.
Then…pain…a strange kind of pain.
A sudden, searing ache in her chest, like a hot knife twisting between her ribs. Her lungs seized. A strong scent flooded her senses…like wild pine, smoke, and something… hers?
"No! No…no, no.! "
Her wolf stirred, a whimper rising in her throat. And bam…
"Mate!!! "
Kieran's nostrils flared. His glare darkened. He felt it too.
For a heartbeat, the world stopped. The pack held their breath. The Blood Moon pulsed above them.
But then…
***SMACK.***
Kieran's palm cracked across her face so hard her teeth rattled.
"The Moon Goddess mocks me!" he snarled, his voice oozing with disgust.
Autumn's head snapped to the side, blood blooming on her tongue. She laughed, spitting red onto the grass. "Yeah? Well, she's got a shit sense of humor,I guess." Autumn mumbled.
Kieran's lip curled. Without another word, he turned and stormed off, his black trench coat whipping behind him. And just like that, he turned on his heel and stalked away, breathing like he was about to murder an entire forest.
Boos!!!Laughter!
The second he was gone, the pack erupted.
"Filthy rogue!"
"Ungrateful bitch!"
"She doesn't deserve the Blood Moon!"
" The audacity… "
Something came flying at her before Autumn could move. Then another. Stones pelted her…pebbles at first, then bigger ones. One struck her temple, warm blood trickling down her cheek. Another hit her collarbone. She gritted her teeth, refusing to scream. But there was only so much one could take -
"Fuck all of you!" she spat, yanking at her binds. "Come untie me and say that to my face, you cowards! Fucking bastards! You wanna throw something? Untie me and I'll show you…"
A rock the size of a fist flew at her head…Autumn closed her eyes, unable to duck… but then nothing… nothing hit her.
"ENOUGH!" A figure stepped through the crowd.
Autumn slowly opened her eyes to find the stone levitating inches from her face before it dropped with a thud at her feet.
The figure walked towards her…small. An elderly woman . Dressed in layers of patchy robes and carrying a walking stick that looked older than the moon itself… the staff of Moses( Autumn giggled in her head).
" Enough of this nonsense… Everyone clear out… " She kept walking so smoothly as if gliding on ice.
Her gray dreadlocks were tied up in a bun that defied gravity. Her eyes flashed like lightning in a storm.
Small but furious, she stepped between Autumn and the pack, arms spread. "Everyone…LEAVE!" she barked."Now! Or I'll lace your next meal with enough laxatives to make you shit your own spine!"
" But…but healer Mango…She's a thief!" someone shouted.
"She's the Alpha's mate!" Mango roared back. "Or did the scent hit y'all in the butt too hard to notice?"
"She ain't worthy," someone else muttered.
Mango stomped her stick, making the ground shake. "None of you are worthy!I see what you all do when nobody is watching!"
Grumbling, the pack dispersed, though a few still hurled curses over their shoulders.
Mango turned to Autumn, shaking her head. "Well, you're a fucking mess."
Autumn grinned, blood staining her teeth. "Really? In my best dress? What an insult.But I guess I did not go down easy…did a fine job with them. "
Mango snorted, pulling a knife from her belt. "Oh, you did. You bit one of the warriors so hard he actually needed a damn rabies shot."
But Mango's knife would not go through those ropes. Enchanted? Wolfbane?
Mango stepped back with a frown and then waved a hand. "Unbind her."
A few pack warriors, Gammas probably…hesitated.
"NOW, dipshits!" Mango snapped. "Before I shove this stick so far up your ass you'll taste bark."
Grudgingly, the ropes were cut with something sparkly.
Autumn sagged forward, catching herself on the table beside the cake which was already distorted and smashed with all that unaimed pelting.
Mango patted her gently, muttering something under her breath as she dabbed at the blood on Autumn's temple.
As more ropes fell away,Autumn rubbed her wrists, eyeing the healer. "Why are you helping me?"
Mango's gaze flicked to the Blood Moon, then back. "Because the Goddess picked you for a reason, kid. And I don't piss on fate." She jerked her chin towards the woods. "Now come on. Before Kieran changes his mind and decides to skin you after all."
Autumn stood up, her legs shaky. "He'd have to catch me first."
Mango smirked. "Oh, he will."
A howl pierced the night….too long…low, and full of fury.
Kieran's.
Autumn's wolf quivered. Her gaze went straight to Mango, begging
Mango sighed. "Yeah. You're screwed."
After a moment's pause Autumn cracked her neck, flexed her shoulders. "Story of my life."
And without warning, she tried bolting into the trees…barefoot, bruised… and thud.
She fell straight on her face.