Dark Moon Ch. 03

She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck and stole quick kisses between each thrust of his hips.

"I've never felt this before." Joshua murmured against her ear, as his breathing became laboured.

His strong palms grabbed hold of her hips, dominating the speed and motion of their movements.

He didn't know what had made him so bold but sex with this woman transcended the physical into something he couldn't describe and was too afraid to analyse.

"Me neither." Passion said and she meant that. She had never been so close to a male before and this was the first time she had ever had sex face to face.

Usually she was on her hands and knees feeling a palm on her ass as her partner drove into her. It was a simple act that was over quickly and allowed them to go their separate ways.

Passion realised, as she convulsed around his shaft, that she had made the biggest but most beautiful mistake in her life, and she wondered what would become of her now.

---

Joshua smiled sleepily with Passion nestled tightly against his chest, as the sun began to dip into the horizon.

Passion, what a marvellous name for a marvellous woman, a woman who had showed him the things he had missed while unmated.

Joshua questioned whether he could willingly mate with Marie, knowing that there was something even greater out there for him.

Carefully, as not to wake her, he shifted her red plaits from her shoulder. He kissed her behind her ear, tasting the salt on her neck and enjoying her heady, unique scent.

Pulling back he noticed her light hazel eyes were watching his every movement. Instead of the satisfied grin he had been expecting, there was a grim frown on her lips and her eyes darkened with regret.

This was what his mother had warned him about. Frivolous activities led to nothing but heartbreak, but his heart hadn't been given. This had just been a quick romp with an exotic creature that would be leaving him to continue with his half life.

"This was a mistake." Passion said, sitting up abruptly.

She remembered that her clothes were at the bottom of the mountain and for the first time in her life Passion blushed.

Since she was had found the Alpha of Oak Falls all she had to do was speak to the Stillwater Alpha. Passion watched as Joshua stood up, favouring a mangled looking leg that she hadn't noticed before.

"You are Joshua Oaken, your father was the Alpha of the Oak River pack. He died a few days ago." Passion said, wincing at her own bluntness.

She ignored her own embarrassment and tried to gauge Joshua's reaction. Joshua stared at his hands for a while, collating what he had just been told.

He knew his father was from a different pack, since Joshua was so different from the other Stillwater pack members. Yet his mother had never spoken of his father, so Joshua had assumed he had died a long time ago.

But the Oak River pack was one of the most powerful of the shifter clans, and to know he was now Alpha of that pack scared him. What right did he have to be ruler of any people when he couldn't even stand up for himself?

"I cannot be Alpha, I'm from the Stillwater pack besides, and I don't have a mate." He mumbled, awkwardly walking to where he left his clothes.

Shyly he handed Passion his t-shirt, unabashedly disappointed when she pulled it over head. The white material skimmed her knees and hid her naked body.

Joshua could feel himself hardening again and was grateful that he was wearing slacks, unable to overcome his shyness of being naked in front of a female, even though they had just had sex.

"Oak River doesn't require you to have a mate." Passion said, detangling her braids.

She had to keep her hands busy or she would be tempted to touch him again. She sat on a fallen trunk watching as Joshua paced back and forth muttering to himself.

She noticed the scars on his back, numerous lacerations and she wondered how he had gotten them. She wanted to ask about his leg but she didn't feel like she had a right to know. Sex was just sex for their people, as casual as walking down the road. She hadn't marked him and he hadn't marked her. Hopefully no one would even know that they had been together.

She wasn't looking forward to meeting the Alpha of Stillwater but she wasn't about to start a war by kidnapping the Alpha's son.

"You are here for me? To take me back to the Oak River clan?" Joshua said for clarification.

"Yes, all we have to do is tell your mother..."

"No! You can't do that, she won't let me go, she'll never let me go." Joshua shouted, his eyes widening with fear.

Passion could have sworn that he shook. Getting up from her place on the trunk, she took his hand. They were large and warm and engulfed hers. Ignoring the sensation his skin against hers, she looked into his eyes reassuringly, once again taken aback by the clearness of his eyes.

"I have to." She said sombrely, wondering if Joshua was going to argue with her.

Instead he hunched his shoulder dejectedly and nodded slowly. He never released her hand as he walked back to the village, taking the least travelled path so that no one would see them as they made their way to his mother's home.

---

Passion's eyes widened as they silently passed farms, and a large mill that she hadn't seen from beyond the fence. The whole village was self efficient and she wondered just how backwards the Stillwater clan was.

Looking at the people they snuck by, she noticed that they were dressed in the current fashion. Perhaps meeting Naomi Stillwater wouldn't be so daunting.

They snuck behind a large, two floor house. It was painted in a light cream that seemed so welcoming and warm. Passion patted Joshua reassuringly on his shoulder hinting that he should continue walking.

Joshua opened the front door slowly, checking to see if any of his mother's sentinels were close by. Naomi had a handful of expert fighters who patrolled their home, mostly to stop Joshua from leaving again and also to appease her paranoid mind. Naomi believed she had many enemies waiting for the opportune time to take over her pack.

"I smell the blood of an Oak River bitch." Came a hiss from the shadows.

Passion and Joshua spun around as Naomi and five other wolves stood in the foyer. The Alpha looked as crazy as she had sounded. Her black hair was tied tightly in a bun and she wore a blood red skirt suit, but it was the madness lurking in her eyes that sent a shiver down Passion's spine.

"Get out before I kill you." Naomi growled, barely keeping a grip on the shift.

Joshua pulled Passion behind him in a protective gesture, which Passion would have found sweet if she didn't know how to take care of herself.

"Zachariah is dead, Joshua must be returned to the Oak River pack." Passion said defiantly, baring her lengthening incisors.

Joshua attempted to pull her back but she tensed against him, until he feared he'd snap her arm by accident.

Naomi blanched slightly at the news, although deep down she knew that Zachariah was no more. He was her mate and they had shared a connection even while they had been apart.

It wasn't normal for mates to be separated and Naomi had known that that was why the madness had begun to eat at her. Their relationship had been one of extreme love and extreme hate. But now there was an Oak River bitch threatening to take her son from her, she could not allow it.

"Either you leave now, unharmed or you die." Naomi threatened, meaning every single word.

"I cannot." Passion said, although why she would sacrifice herself for her pack she did not know.

Deep down she recognised that the Oak River pack was her family, even if they did treat her like shit. Naomi sneered, her face contorting into something evil.

"Take her." Naomi ordered, finding pleasure in the bitches screams.

---

Passion rested her head upon her raised knees. The straw floor was drenched with the rotten fruit that had been thrown at her earlier.

Worst was the acrid scent of her own vomit on the floor. At sundown Joshua had been publicly flayed for his disobedience, right in front of her. Her knuckles were blood raw from where she had bitten them, in an attempt to stop from crying out.

The sound of uneven footsteps drew her attention. She watched as Joshua hobbled to the cage, his eyes blackened from the beating and his back hunched with pain. The feeling of relief and annoyance warred within her.

"What are you doing here?" She whispered harshly, not wanting him to be in anymore danger.

"Freeing you." Joshua said, producing a rusty key.

Carefully he put it into the lock, catching the padlock before it could hit the floor and disturb the residence.

Passion wondered where the guards were but Joshua quickly explained that his friend was keeping the females occupied.

"But wont he get in trouble?" Passion asked, slipping between the gates.

She willed herself not to search his body to see if he was ok. Joshua secured the gate behind her and led her in to the forest where they stripped off their clothing quickly.

"There is a chance he'll become a pariah and will stay unmated forever, but I promised him that I will come back for him and I will." Joshua said with conviction. Passion nodded in agreement, she would be the one to lead the rescue.

They ran to the fence and Passion felt a shudder wondering how they were going to accomplish this feat.

"When you shift get on my back."

"Is this some kinky Stillwater thing?" Passion laughed tensely, as they shifted into wolf from.

Joshua touched his tongue gently against her nose then crouched low so she would climb on top of him.

Passion held onto his ruff with her teeth as Joshua took a few steps back. He then ran with all his might, sailing over the fence easily. Landing perfectly he made sure that Passion was still holding onto him.

Passion woofed with giddiness as she slid of his back. She had never felt anything so exhilarating, had never allowed herself to be so free than when she had trusted Joshua.

Passion looked at Joshua who was labouring to breathe, and noticed that blood soaked his fur. How could she be revelling in this new found freedom when he was in pain?

They couldn't shift back until they reached Colorado Springs, which was probably for the best since they could move much faster as wolves.

Passion rubbed her nose against his flank, ushering him forward so that they could make their way to the rendezvous point. Passion only hoped that they would make it back in one piece.