His words were clear to her then. Donovan hadn’t been talking about the funeral at all but his reign as alpha. Despite his cool approach to Marigold minutes ago, June could see that it was eating him from the inside out.
Without hesitation, she slipped out of his grip and took his hand. Donovan was silent as she pulled him away from the pyre and through the crowd behind them. She locked eyes with Marigold as they passed. She didn’t even spare Thalia a glance as she continued on, head high like the luna she was.
She waited until the clearing was far behind them before pulling Donovan to a stop. He looked at her with an arched brow as she slipped her boots off and passed them to him. Not saying anything, June’s hands went to the bottom of her dress, pulling it over her head.
Donovan audibly swallowed and June rolled her eyes. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m freezing and refuse to walk all the way back home. This way is quicker.”
The bitter fall wind had goosebumps forming on June’s bare skin as she rolled her shoulders back and cleared her mind. Pulling Genesis forward was so second nature that she wasn’t sure how she had lived without the wolf her whole life. Warmth settled under her skin as the world become sharper.
Looking up, Genesis observed the scene around her, stopping on the two legged being in front of her. Steadily, she moved forward, paws silent on the forest floor. Halfway to him, she stopped and sat back on her haunches, waiting.
If this was a hunt, she would’ve gone in for the kill by now, but the tall creature didn’t seem like prey. Her instincts, while wary, told her that she could trust the bipedal. Still, her muscles tensed as the creature approached.
He froze at her reaction. Slowly, keeping their eye contact, he placed the bundle he held on the ground and held up his hands. “Easy, love. You know who I am. I’m not a threat.”
The animal’s eyes narrowed but she made no move to pull away as one of the creature’s hands touched the top of her head. The foreign touch was odd at first, heavy and stiff, and then, like a dam breaking open, a sensation of peace flowed over Genesis. She took a step towards the creature, nudging his hand with the tip of her nose.
Watching the scene playout like an outside from Genesis’ eyes, June opened the mind link with Donovan. “She likes you.”
Donovan’s short nails scratched the wolf’s ears, her head level with his hip, as he spoke out loud, “Considering that my only other option was to be eaten, I’ll take it.”
Genesis relayed June’s own amusement with a snorted huff. Taking a step back, the wolf moved out from under the creature, lowering front half towards the dirt.
“She wants you to get on her back”, June translated.
“Is that a good idea?” Donovan asked.
“Do you want to walk back home alone?” June questioned. “We’re stronger than we look.”
He hesitated for a nanosecond before reaching down to grab the clothes off the ground. Genesis was still as he threw one leg over her back. When his weight was settled, she rose from the ground and shot forward without warning.
Despite being less than a week old, Genesis weaved around the trees with grace. Her movements were precise and smooth as she jumped over logs and veered around the small bank that ran through the forest. In a record of five minutes, the wolf came to a halt in front of the alpha house, barely out of breath and full of exhilaration. The second Donovan was off, she was tempted to take off to see how fast she could run without the added weight.
“Later,” June promised, a faint voice in the back of the animal’s head, “let me comfort our mate first and then you can have all the time you need to frolic.”
Genesis huffed and shook out her fur before agreeing. As their limbs lighted and the fur receded, the wolf’s presence shrank, and June’s conscience came forward. In simple terms, it was like flipping a switch. One second the light was on and the next it was off.
When June opened her eyes, it took her a second to adjust. Her limbs were sore from being contorted twice in the past hour. She stretched her arms over her head before remembering that she was being watched.
Dropping her arms, she sheepishly smiled at Donovan who was slack jawed. “Oops.”
The alpha groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. “You’re killing me, June.”
Shrugging, she pranced passed him, to the house. Inside, she grabbed the afghan hanging off the back of the couch and wrapped it around herself. When she heard the front door close, June turned, facing her mate. “You’ve been silently freaking out since Marigold brought up the alpha challenge. Which I’m still confused about, actually. What the hell was she talking about?”
Donovan collapsed on the couch with a heavy exhale, “Shifter law has always stated that the title of alpha must be passed down through blood. The position is usually given to the first-born son or daughter of the previous alpha but not always. If the first-born cannot inherit the pack, then any of the alpha’s offspring have a right to claim it for themselves.”
“Okay, but what exactly is the challenge?”
“A bloodbath,” Donovan answered, his eyes downcast on the floor. “It’s a fight between all of the alpha’s children until only one remains standing. My father’s father had multiple heirs from many women. Two of my uncles were so close in age that it wasn’t clear who the first born was. To settle the issue, the old council called for the challenge to take place. My dad was one of the youngest competitors to ever fight. He had to witness his seven siblings maim one another. Rodan was spared because his only sister took mercy on him and knocked him unconscious instead of killing him. She won the fight but died two days later in the pack clinic from sepsis, making Rodan the alpha at thirteen.”
“Is that the problem?” June asked, sitting down beside her mate, she placed a hand on his knee. “You don’t want to hurt Marigold?”
“Yes…and no,” Donovan grunted. “What my sister did was something that goes beyond fighting. If the council approves, which they will, then all of Rodan’s children will be invited to participate.”
June processed his statement, but the confusion didn’t relent. “What are you not saying? Rodan had other kids?”
“Just one more, my older brother, Neal.”
“You’ve never mentioned him before. Is he in Canada with your mom or something?”
She thought it odd that Donovan had never said a word about his brother before. However, if anyone understood complicated sibling relationships it was June.
Donovan’s hand found hers. “Before my father was mated to my mom, he was involved with another woman, Annalise Gratzi. They were together for three months when Annalise found out she was pregnant. There were plans for them to mate but she didn’t survive childbirth. My father retreated into himself and left Neal to be raised by the pack omegas. When Neal was ten, my mom mated with Rodan. My brother latched onto her immediately. At first things were perfect and then I was born. When I was a week old, Neal locked me in a closet and wouldn’t tell anyone where I was until our dad alpha commanded the truth out of him. A week after marigold was born, Neal lead me out the house while my mom was distracted. He said we were going to play a game and told me to close my eyes but when I opened them, he was gone. Patrol found me hours later, wandering around in the snow. This was the last straw for my father.
“Neal was sent to an institution that focused on developmental problems. He was there for ten years before my dad let him come back home. Three days later, my father was dead. My mother, Marigold, and I walked in on Neal standing over Rodan’s bloody body in our living room. He was so out of it that he didn’t even fight the enforcers that dragged him away. He was transported to the Ravenswood and locked away in the shifter prison. By issuing the challenge, Marigold’s request overrides the life sentence he was given. As soon as the alpha of Ravenswood is addressed by our council, Neal will be given the choice to fight for the title.
“Then we get Marigold to take it back,” June suggested, already forming a plan in her mind.
Donovan shook his head. “It’s too late. The pack stands behind Marigold. They’ll never trust me again if I don’t let the challenge happen.”
“So, what can we do?” she asked, feeling ill at the idea of either her mate or Marigold meeting the same fate as their father.
Sensing her rising panic, Donovan wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her into his side. Resting her head under his chin, June breathed in his scent, letting it calm her, as he spoke, “We wait. By this time tomorrow, the elder’s will have replaced me with an interim alpha to lead Ashby.”
June’s throat constricted. “I can’t lose you, Donovan. You have to make sure that you win, no matter what, okay? I need you here with me.”
She didn’t realize she was crying until he brushed away her tears with his thumb. “I’m not going anywhere, baby.”
Moving out from under him, June threw a leg over his lap, straddling her mate. She laid her hands flat on his chest, feeling his heartbeat under her palm. “I’m going to hold you to that.”
His mouth quirked into a small smile. “I wouldn’t expect anything less.”
Closing the distance between them, June pressed herself into Donovan, embracing the comfort he freely gave. But while his body was usually a nice distraction, she could feel something big brewing on the horizon.
June forced herself to refocus by letting the blanket slip off her shoulders. The hunger reflected in his eyes was exactly what she needed to see. She would take whatever Donovan offered tonight because in the morning, no one’s fate was certain.
/EPILOGUE/
From the first second he had opened his eyes, Endymion knew instantly that the world had changed. It wasn’t so much the ball of light above him, the soft bed underneath his new body, or the black box with moving pictures that told him this. He had learned of the new world’s amenities through the eyes of those whose dreams he invaded. Some were his victims and others were the descendants of his children who had longed passed from this life.
No, he knew the world was different when he saw the girl, Selene’s champion…what a joke. In his day, champions were men from noble lines, like his brother. They didn’t hold their heart on their sleeves, their eyes didn’t shine with naivety, and they certainly didn’t beg for mercy.
A real champion would give up everything before falling on their knees.
Which is why he had chosen the best of the best to aid him. While the girl couldn’t compare to his son, or was a male, she would do for now. Her family was of pure blood and had never strayed from the path by giving into the wiles of lesser beings.
Thinking of those, Mion’s lips curled in disgust as the door of their lair slammed behind his back. He took a deep breath, expelling the scent of dog, and something a little sweeter, from his nose. Selene’s children had always smelled…bitter. He had been caught off guard by her champion’s scent. Despite sleeping for a millennium, he could still remember how his lover’s skin had smelled, like wildflowers, stars, and midnight.
She may have surprised him, but he wouldn’t make the same mistake again. He would never let himself be seduced by another harlot.
He let that thought resonate as he crossed the clearing. Unlike the moon children, his kind didn’t need a pack link to communicate. As their sire, he could see through the eyes of any of his kind. This was how he had found the vessel. Even while asleep, Mion had never stopped looking. For centuries, he had bounced around from one dream walker to the next in hopes of fate finally being in his favor.
Now that his time had come, Endymion repeated the list in his head. First, he would break out his little Lena and then they would rebuild his forces. While the dream walkers in this modern age weren’t the brute warriors he had once known, he had hope. He would teach them how to kill the wolves while they rested.
Second, he would find his son.
With Lucien, his prized child, despite being half like his mother, by his side, his armies would prosper. The hybrids will come to learn how bloodthirsty the boy was. On the battlefield, he would rain hellfire.
And third, at long last, Endymion was going to kill the damn moon. Once the hybrids were taken care of, once the Luna had fallen, he would snuff out Selene’s starlight sky. With Zeus as his witness, the goddess would fall and a new era, one led by him, would rise.
Oh, yes.
This was a very, very good beginning of the end.
Afterword
Dear readers, I can't thank you enough for purchasing this book. Genesis originally began as a dream, one I never fully intended to pursue or publish. I must have cried a thousand tears of fustration and lost countless hours of sleep to tell June and Donovan's story. I hope you have reaped the benefits of my hard work as I have. With that being said, the story is far from over.
The Ashby pack will be returning in 2022. For updates, you can follow my author page on Facebook.
With love,
Texie
About The Author
Texie D. Freeman
has been writing stories since she was a child. She can often be found daydreaming instead of participating in reality. Her favorite tales including daring heroes and mystical, far off lands. She was raised in a small town in Texas but now lives in Arizona. She can contacted at [email protected] and has an author page on Facebook.
Books By This Author
Revival
Genesis: (Book One of the True Luna Series) Page 30