The full moon peeked through the thick brush of clouds as Layla Undertow took a deep breath and steadied herself.
She could feel the damp grass tickle her toes, the air smelled sweet. Bathed in the moonlight, she was ready for a hunt. Not that she needed the full moon light to shift - a skill she mastered many moon cycles ago, she just preferred the tradition. It made her feel closer to the Moon Goddess even if the religion was long ago abandoned by her pack. Which was why she was alone in the woods this particular full moon, itching for a hunt.
Her father and Alpha, Anthony Undertow, forbid her to hunt alone just as he forbade his pack to worship. But Layla felt the Moon Goddess' call and her wolf loved the woods when it was bathed in moonlight.
She removed her long, maroon velvet cloak with a smile. This was her favorite part, the moment before she transformed into her wolf counterpart. The moment before she would let her wolf out and run till her lungs burned. The only time she felt at peace, all alone in the woods just outside her father's pack's territory. However, on this night, she was not alone.
Through the trees, Solomon Riverwalker was on recon for his father, the powerful Balthazar Riverwalker, reigning conqueror of Ashford Mountains and Alpha of the Moonbane pack.
Balthazar had enough of these little, ignorant backwater packs evading his colonization and this territory was one of the last holdouts. His wife, Saraiah, begged her husband to not send their eldest son but Solomon was ready to prove himself.
One day, this would be all his. One day, he would be Alpha.
This thought echoed in his mind as he made his way through the woods, it was a heavy burden but one that felt at home on his shoulders. One day he would be Alpha, one day this would be all his… And as the moonlight peaked through the clouds, he saw her and a deep gravelly voice growled throughout his body, “my mate." Without thinking, he stepped out from his hiding spot and purposely stepped on a twig.
Layla jumped at the sound and quickly turned around. A light breeze wafted his scent through the air. He smelled like cardamon and leather. It was intoxicating, her wolf whined, “this is our mate."
“What are you doing here," Layla demanded. Her tone was more stern than the wobbly feeling in her knees would have suggested. Her father was an Alpha, one day she could be a Luna, she wasn't going to allow one good smell make her weak.
“I could ask the same of you," Solomon purred as he inched towards her. Drenched in the moonlight, Layla could see his broad shoulders and deep, dark brown eyes. He spoke in a soft accent that she couldn't exactly place. But that was all she needed to know to figure out which pack this handsome stranger belonged to.
“This is not Moonbane terrority. You are not welcome here." She snapped. She reached for her velvet cloak and defensively threw it around her shoulders. She fought back the urge to run into his arms, an urge her wolf was hungry for, an urge that was harder to fight with each of his small steps toward her.
“I know," he smiled, “and I thought you lot were packs of idiots out here."
Against her better judgment, she laughed and to Solomon it was as sweet as a symphony. Her caramel colored eyes were burning draggers into his body until she began to laugh and then they crinkled and danced in the moonlight. He caught the silver lines of an old faded scar that ran across her face that started below her left eye and ended under her jaw on the right side of her face. He was equally mesmerized and alarmed. He immediately wanted to scar whoever did this to her but he also felt that it added to her beauty.
“We are not all idiots out here. Why wouldn't we know a River Reach accent when we hear it?" She felt her defensiveness slowly flood out of her body and began to relax, a feeling she realized she had never felt before. He smiled at the mention of his parents' homeland, a land a thousand miles south of the woods in which they stood.
He finally was close enough to reach out his hand and waited patiently for Layla to take it. His wolf wanted to pounce but he was in control. He didn't need to wait very long because Layla immediately took his hand in hers. She locked eyes with him and within a breath, he pulled her close to him. They stood with their foreheads pressed together, hand in each hand, bathed in the moonlight, time stood still.
“I know you feel it, too," Solomon whispered. “But I don't even know your name."
“Layla, Layla Undertow," overcomed with a foreign sensation, she stumbled over her name. He could sense her nervousness and gently rubbed his thumb along her hand.
“That's a beautiful name, Layla," he whispered in her ear, sending a shock down her spine.
“I don't need to know your name, I'm good," she joked as she tried to fight off the unfamiliar feeling growing within her.
“Oh, that's too bad," he said as he slowly moved his right hand up her arm and gently placed it under her ear, “my name is really pretty too."
“Doubtful," she flirted, “I'll be the judge of that." She placed her hand under his bent elbow and inhaled his scent. He stood frozen by her touch.
“It's Solomon River-" he began. Layla's heart jumped out of her chest and crashed into the soles of her feet.
“-Walker," she finished in horror as she pushed Solomon away.
Why would the Goddess punish her like this? This was the last man she could ever be mated with. It was bad enough that he belonged to the Moonbane pack, but the son of the Alpha? Surely the Goddess must have hated her, she thought.
She fell to her knees.
She had never experienced a time where her pack and this region wasn't under the threat of the Moonbane pack. She heard many stories of what life was like before their invasion and it felt more so like a fairytale than historical fact.
The packs of Ashford Mountain mostly lived in harmony with little conflicts here. Nothing prepared them for the invasion of Alpha Balthazar, the conqueror. The River Reach, for as long as history was told, had always been prosperous.
The Moonbane Alpha bloodline came directly from the Moon Goddess herself, and it was said that She favored them above all others. The Moonbane pack had the resources and the technological advantage over the simpler packs of Ashford Mountain.
It did not take much for many Ashford Mountain packs to succumb to Balthazar's reign, but there was still her father's pack and a small handful of others who did not.
However, while their territory remained in their pack and her father was still an Alpha, it cost her and her family deeply. Having never lived in a world without Alpha Balthazar, she could almost forgive the political unrest he caused but she could never forgive the unrest he caused to her family.
Solomon bowed his head, “I'm sorry. Truly I am." He knelt down next to her. “I know you feel this too, but I don't want to force you. I know that this isn't easy. It's the most out of control I've ever felt in my lifetime. You are my mate." He looked deep into her eyes, “but I don't have to be yours."
His words snapped her out of her mental fog. “Wait, what?" she asked incredulously. “What do you mean? That's not how that works. I don't have a choice."
Solomon shook his head and rubbed the bridge of his nose, “Oh Goddess, what is wrong with you people?"
“You people?!" Layla shrieked.
Ignoring her, he continued, “I've lived here my entire life and I will never understand how you people treat your women. You have a choice, Layla. I'm not going to force you. It is within your right to reject me. Well, unless you're an Omega or something."
Layla was more offended by this suggestion than the previous one. “I am not an Omega. My father is an Alpha, I am to be a Luna."
“Except, they do not do that here."
Layla quickly shot Solomon a dirty look. “Thank you for reminding me."
Solomon paused and stared at her for a short time. Finally he said, “I bet you would make a great Luna. I have no doubt that you would be." Although they had just met, it felt as if they had known each other their entire lives. A piece of his soul, his body, and his mind fell into place the second he saw her. She was his other half and he was hers.
“This is why the Goddess told my father to take this land," he continued.
Layla rolled her eyes and cut him off, “Oh, you almost had me. The Goddess told your father to invade this land to free its women? Sure she did."
Solomon shifted his weight. “Well," he began but Layla held up her hand and cut him off again.
“Oh great Alpha Balthazar Riverwalker, conqueror of Ashford Mountain and champion of women," she said sarcastically. Solomon laughed. “If that's true, then the moon isn't full."
“Okay, fine. Maybe he's not all of that. But I want to be. And I want to give you the choice."
Layla sighed, “it's more complicated than that."
Solomon held both of her hands in his. He slowly brought her right hand up to his lips and gently kissed the top. His lips felt soft. Her eyes widened as he made eye contact with her. He then brought her left hand up to his lips and repeated the kiss. Her entire body froze, her senses were heightened. She felt electricity coursing through her body. Without fighting, she allowed her inner wolf to pull Solomon in for a deep kiss. Solomon's inner wolf instantaneously connected with hers. Both Solomon and Layla were no longer in control, the animalistic heat rose within them and the hunger for the other was insatiable.
In a small moment between the rapid succession of passionate kisses, Solomon regained control. “I don't want to do anything ruther," he said out of breath, “until you make your choice."
He buried his head into her hair, she smelled like wildflowers and sugar. “I don't want to pressure you. I can wait."
“What?" Layla growled, her wolf still very much in control. Her bosom heaving as she struggled to catch her breath.
Solomon placed his forehead against hers and steadied his breathing, “I will wait, Layla." She closed her eyes and began to match his breathing.
“Solomon," she finally said, her voice returning to normal, “I don't want to wait. You are my mate."
“Oh thank Goddess," he growled. Before he could begin to kiss her, she could tell that his inner wolf had taken control and she allowed hers to do the same. Their connection sent waves of electric pleasure throughout their bodies and the insatiable hunger was fed. When they finished, Solomon kissed her forehead and whispered, “I love you, Layla. I genuinely do."
Layla smiled and began to quietly cry, “I love you too." She looked over at Solomon and she could tell they both felt the same sinking gnawing feeling in the pit of their stomachs - what will their fathers say?