The Awakening: Book 1 of The Bloodmoon Wars (A Paranormal Shifter Series Prequel to Luna Rising)

by Sara Snow

  A loud thud echoed behind me, and when I turned around, Cyrus’s large wings were disappearing into his back as he walked forward. I felt my face light up, and a feeling of relief washed over me now that he was back. He always gave me the best advice, and right now, I needed that. I felt as if my father had trapped me on a marriage-go-round, an endless circle where I just met one man after another.

  "Hey," he greeted me. As he got closer, though, my smile slowly faded.

  “Hey,” I murmured.

  His voice sounded dull and void of emotion, and there was a hardness in his eyes where they were usually kind. His face was stony, and his energy felt off—dark. This was what I hated. This was the way he got every time he returned from his home.

  Time in the Underworld was different than here on Earth, from what I understood. For us, it had only been a few days, but who knew how long it had been for him.

  He frowned after a moment.

  I followed his gaze.

  He was staring at Skye and Nolan. As Nolan talked animatedly, a deep guttural sound came from Cyrus. It was a growl but a contorted one—the sound that demons made.

  “His name is Nolan,” I told him. “He’s an Alpha-born my father invited here to see if he’s my mate.”

  His eyes narrowed. “I’m assuming he’s not?”

  I shook my head. “He’s not.” I cleared my throat. “Um, are you okay? You always seem a little different after going home.”

  His eyes slid to me. He inhaled deeply and exhaled through his mouth. “I’m fine,” he answered softly, but the look in his eyes as he watched Skye and Nolan suggested otherwise.

  Cyrus had never given any of us a reason to fear him, to fear the demon within him, even though we knew it was there. But each time he went home, I was reminded of who he really was—demon royalty.

  Skye turned to look our way. Her face lit up when she spotted Cyrus, and she immediately told Nolan she'd be right back. In turn, he looked our way. It was clear the way his brow rose when he saw Cyrus what was about to happen. And this was the worst possible time.

  Demons didn't regularly hang out with other supernaturals, so Nolan had to be wondering why Cyrus was there. Despite Skye telling him she'd be right back, he walked with her.

  I sighed.

  Please don’t let this turn into a fight.

  That thought was forgotten when the force of a strong wind pushed me away from Cyrus. His red wings, spanning at least twenty feet, flapped once, then he suddenly shot upwards into the sky.

  “Cyrus!” Skye yelled, but within seconds, he’d vanished. She looked at me and sighed. “What was that?”

  “You know how it is when he gets back.” I glanced at Nolan and then back at her. “I’m sure he’ll be fine.”

  Chewing on her lip, she rubbed at her temple. “Maybe I should go after him.”

  “Why was there a demon here?” Nolan asked as he glanced from me to Skye. He looked around, but nobody seemed to care that a winged demon had just flown away from the gathering.

  “I’m going to go look for him, okay?” Skye informed me. “I’ll see you guys later.”

  She walked off before Nolan could speak.

  I sighed.

  Skye and Cyrus had always had a special bond. No doubt, she was extremely worried about him.

  "It's nothing to worry about." I turned to Nolan. "He's a friend of our pack, trusted by my father, and welcomed here."

  His brows touched his hairline. “But how? He’s a demon.” He looked in the direction Skye had gone. “She seems very concerned about him.”

  Jealous, much?

  “We’ve been friends since we were kids,” I told him. “And she is concerned about him. He saved Skye’s life when she was a child. He was only a boy himself at the time. After that, he was raised right here within our pack. We’ve all grown up together.”

  “How did he save her, and from what?”

  I inhaled deeply as I recalled that memory. “She wandered off into the forest one night and was attacked by a Bleeder.” I nodded. “He saved her and earned his place among us.”

  His eyes widened. "Yes, in that case, he has. But this is still unheard of, a demon allowed on pack territory." He shook his head with bewilderment. "However, I can see why the Blackmoon Pack is so respected. Sadly, I won’t be able to attend the gathering since we already know you’re not mated to me.” He moved to walk away.

  I placed my hand on his arm and stopped him. “I’m sorry, but what gathering are you talking about? We won’t be having a gathering or a party any time soon.”

  He stared at me with confusion for a moment, then a look of realization appeared on his face. “I think maybe you need to speak to your father.”

  I released his arm. “Nolan, please, what are you talking about?”

  “Your father has sent invitations to every pack in the area that a gathering will be happening here within a few moons—a gathering for you to find your mate.”

  My heart clenched. I couldn’t believe my father would go to these lengths just to get rid of me. I bit down on my lip, trying to think of a way out. Then I saw a look of pity appear on Noland’s face. I was an Alpha—no one was allowed to feel sorry for me . . . except me. I quickly pasted a bland smile on my face, hoping he wouldn’t be able to tell how I really felt.

  "Alright then, well, I think you should still come. I mean, it will be a party, after all." When he gave me a tight-lipped smile, I added, "I think I should go looking for those two. I'll see you later, okay?"

  He nodded and turned to walk away. Once I was alone, I closed my eyes and swallowed hard as rage began to turn my vision red.

  6

  Skye

  It didn't take long for me to find Cyrus. Other than our favorite spot close to the pack, there was another place Cyrus and I often went—the spot where we’d met so many years ago.

  I placed my hand on my shoulder, where the scar from that day remained. I’d always been curious—usually a little too curious. As a child, I had never stopped asking questions and loved to explore. On the night I met Cyrus, I had seen a large bird fly over my house and had gone into the forest to investigate.

  At seven years old, I had yet to experience my first change. In the pack, children who hadn’t shifted yet were carefully watched, so I had to plan carefully. I’d waited until everyone was asleep, then snuck out to hunt the strange bird. Only, at the time, I had no idea I’d been the one being hunted.

  The vampire came out of nowhere, throwing me towards a tree. I was knocked out for a few seconds from the impact of my back hitting the tree's trunk, and my shoulder burned with pain where the vampire grabbed me. Its nails pierced my flesh, but it was its eyes that I still dreamt of, even now.

  Back then, the vampire species was even more reclusive than they were now. If anyone came across a vampire back then, they usually didn’t live to tell the tale. Now, however, it was more common to see a Skin—a vampire who could pass as human in behavior and appearance—but not its blood-crazy and hideous counterpart, the Bleeder. Those were the ones that lacked control and would kill anything within their path.

  Vampires were the werewolves’ biggest enemy. We specialized in protecting others, both humans and supernaturals, while vampires slaughtered and fed on everything that had blood within its veins.

  What attacked me was a Bleeder. The gray-skinned, hairless creature didn't see a scared child. All it saw was food.

  My eyes cracked open the moment it rushed at me, its eyes wide with hunger. Then, suddenly, something tore into it. The vampire flew backwards, crashing into a tree and breaking the vampire in half.

  Through my pain, I saw red wings attached to a boy with bright gray eyes before the world around me fell into darkness. When I woke up, I was back home, tight bandages wrapped around my stomach, back, and left shoulder.

  I was relieved to be home and safe, but I worried about the little boy who had risked his life to help me. It hadn’t been a bird I had seen at all, but him. I had no i
dea what he was back then. All I knew was that I needed to know if he was okay too.

  He had walked into my room as I was trying to get out of bed and immediately called for my mother. I couldn’t take my eyes off the dirty boy with ripped clothes. But none of that had mattered to me. I couldn’t look away from his sad eyes.

  My mother rushed in, tears of happiness running down her face that I had finally woken up after two days. She was hugging Cyrus just as Elinor and Alpha Grayson had walked in.

  “I saw your wings. What are you?” I had asked Cyrus.

  He looked at our Alpha and mumbled, “I am a demon, and I know I can’t stay.”

  “Were you the one who saved me?” I inquired.

  He smiled weakly and replied, “Yes.”

  I simply couldn’t believe it. Seeing him up close, he was even smaller than I was and incredibly thin. How had he managed to kill a vampire on his own?

  Alpha Grayson did what I hadn’t fully understood back then, something I now knew to be the noblest thing I’d ever seen.

  “For saving the life of our Skye, the pack owes you a debt. For that reason, you’re welcome to stay with us, child, for as long as you wish.”

  “You’re so thin. Do you eat normal food?” my mother had asked him. As he’d nodded yes, his long tangled black hair fell into his face.

  Cyrus had shocked us all—even Elinor and me—when he ran towards my mother and hugged her as he wept. From that day on, he lived with my mother and me. Since my mother was mateless and had had me out of wedlock, he quickly grew into the role of the man of the house.

  Cyrus would go away from time to time, sometimes for long periods, but he always returned. Over time we learned about his history—and what kind of demon he was precisely—but it didn’t matter. My mother accepted him, and the rest of the pack did as well.

  I stopped walking, spotting him lying under the tree where he’d saved me back then. His chest rose and fell as he sighed loudly and sat up.

  “You shouldn’t have come.” He pinned me with his bright eyes.

  I only shook my head, then walked over to him and sat down. “If you thought I wouldn’t come looking for you, you don’t know me very well.”

  I sat down and rested my head back against the tree, then stared up at the starry sky. We didn't speak for a long time as we both sat in silence, happy for each other's company.

  “Do you want to talk about it?” I inquired after a while, my eyes still on the stars. He didn’t say anything.

  I didn’t know if he would answer at all, but I waited. “I had to attend a ball hosted by my father.”

  I blinked rapidly. He’d never spoken about his father before, so this I found interesting.

  “Oh,” I replied simply. “How did that go?”

  “My father is the Demon King, Skye—the Lord of the Underworld. I’m just one of his many children. Honestly, I thought he wouldn’t even know who I was . . .” He shook his head. “He did.”

  I swallowed, not sure what to do with this information. Cyrus was the son of the Demon King. The Demon King? Now I understood why he’d kept that information to himself. He was literally a prince of Hell.

  “Wow, um,” I mumbled. “So, what happened?”

  He didn’t say anything just then. Instead, he stared at me intently, his eyes darting back and forth over my face. “Never let my heritage change how you see me. I’m nothing like him.”

  I narrowed my eyes . . . and then couldn’t stop myself from laughing.

  He looked at me with concern as my laughter echoed around us.

  “Oh, please,” I chuckled. “Why would that change how I see you?”

  His lips curved with a small smile. “Good.” He crossed his arms over his chest and rested his head against the tree as if he was tired.

  “Have you fed?” I demanded. Even in the dark, I could see how pale he was. He’d always get pale when he went too long without feeding. “You didn’t, did you?”

  His jaws visibly clenched. “That doesn’t matter,” he mumbled.

  I shifted so that I was facing him. I knew he was touchy about this subject, but I couldn’t let him get ill. I was sure he was the only Incubus who held back from feeding. Sexual energy was fuel for him. While I didn’t want to think about him having sex with someone, I didn’t want him to get sick, either.

  “Are you kidding? You’re already pale, and you know what comes next. Why didn’t you feed when you went home?”

  “Let it go, Skye, okay? I’m not hungry. I wasn’t then, and I’m not now.”

  I ignored the edge in his voice. “Is that why you flew off like that back there, why you’re so on edge?”

  He merely continued to stare up at the sky.

  I grew furious. “I hate it when you do that. Stop ignoring my questions.”

  “Trust me for once that I’m okay.” His head tilted to the side, and he smiled at me, acting like the Cyrus I knew and loved. “I’m just glad I got back okay. You worry too much.”

  I didn’t buy it. “I wouldn’t worry if you’d stop starving yourself,” I argued. “You can literally feed on anyone—human or supernatural—and yet, you refuse. Feed on me, then!”

  His face fell. His pupils expanded for a moment, almost turning all the gray of his eyes black before turning to normal. “That’s not funny, Skye, and you know it.”

  “Does it look like I’m joking? You need to feed, and I don’t mind helping you.”

  He shook his head and got up. "That wouldn't help, trust me. I could never feed on you."

  I got up as well, brushing my hand down my dress. “Why not?”

  He started to walk away. I ran forward and stopped in front of him. He moved to the left, and so did I. When he moved to the right, I blocked him again. “Why not?”

  His arms shot out suddenly and grabbed my shoulders. "Because I don't know if I'd be able to stop, okay!" His rigid shoulders relaxed. "You don't know what it's like. I could go too far.”

  There was something about his words that had my stomach clenching. Why was his denial making me even more curious to know what it felt like? To be honest, I’d heard people talk about their experiences with sex demons, of the thrill and freedom they’d felt. Despite acting a little boy-crazy now and then, I'd never dated anyone seriously.

  “Oh,” was all I could say. “I understand.”

  His hands fell away from my shoulders. "Good." He reached out and took one of my curls, stretching it, then grinned as it bounced back into place. His smile was short-lived, however. "My mother said something to me while I was down there, something I can't stop thinking about." His eyes moved from my hair to my face. "She said the werewolves I loved so much wouldn’t be around for much longer."

  I frowned. "Well, that's dark. But when you think about it, demons do live longer than most supernaturals. Maybe she was just trying to get a reaction out of you." I shrugged. "At this point, I think she'll say anything to scare you into leaving us."

  He looked thoughtful for a moment as he pushed his hand through his hair. Still, a few strands fell into his face. His hair had grown so much in such a short time. Then again, I remembered just how different time was in the Underworld.

  “How long were you there for?”

  He puckered his mouth thoughtfully. “Almost two weeks.”

  My eyes widened. “Wow, okay then. So what happened with your father? Are you his successor? Am I hanging out with the next Demon King?”

  He roared with laughter, a genuine laugh this time, and I breathed a sigh of relief. My light-hearted Cyrus was returning.

  “Hell, no,” he chuckled low. “He has many, many children, and only the ones born to the Queen can be successors. But I do have my mother to worry about. She’s after me to take over our clan.”

  "If you do that, you won't be able to stay on Earth, right?" I probed. But I already knew the answer. He'd become Lust—a Sin. Of course he wouldn't be able to spend much time here. He would be too busy doing whatever it was Sins did.


  He nodded. “Yeah.” He reached out and pinched my chin before playfully shaking my head from side to side. “But I can’t see myself leaving you.” He glanced away quickly, releasing me. “Elinor as well, of course." He cleared his throat.

  “Yes,” I whispered. “Elinor as well.”

  Was there something between us, something other than friendship? Nope. There has never been . . . after years of living with him, years of looking up to him . . . even with him acting as my protector, I did like him more than a friend.

  Still, he was a demon, and that was the reality of things. Nothing could ever happen between us, and I was fairly certain he thought of me as a sister.

  “So, what else happened? Come on, give details.”

  He bit down on his lip, then looked away. “I saw someone I had forgotten.” His frown deepened. “The only sibling I was able to tolerate before I left the Demon Realm. He’s not usually there during my visits, so I haven’t run into him in a while.”

  I felt relieved that there was at least one person in his family that he had some sort of relationship with. “So, I’m guessing you guys were able to catch up?”

  He nodded. “Somewhat.” He inhaled and gave me a tight-lipped smile. “At first, I had no idea who he was. I felt horrible, especially since he knew me instantly. We were inseparable as kids . . . mostly because he didn’t want to leave me alone down there. Still, he was the only one that made me feel . . . wanted.”

  “You’re definitely wanted here,” I reassured him.

  His lips curved with a sad smile.

  “Cyrus, what’s wrong?”

  “I have no real role within the pack. I live here, I’m friends with you and Elinor, but I have no real purpose, no sense of where I’m supposed to go.” His sad smile fell away. “To be honest, I think I haven’t made it a point to belong because a part of me knows I won’t be able to fight my mother forever. Sooner or later, I’ll have to take over her Legion—either to keep power myself or to pass it on to someone else. Either way, I can’t be here forever.”