Crimson Moon

Twenty-Three

 "Oh, you've got to be kidding me," Lou rolled her eyes as Ryland's silver wolf dropped a stick at her feet and wagged his tail. "You're a wolf." The warrior's response was to simply drop his chest to the ground and wiggle his butt in the air, begging her to throw the stick for him.

She glanced over at the girls, Henry, and Joey, all of whom giggled at Ryland's antics. Lou knew what he was doing; he was trying to lighten the mood. The full moon was tonight, and the twins were showing sure signs of shifting. Tonight was the night. It was almost ten o'clock at night now, although one would hardly realize that with how bright it still was outside. It was light almost twenty-four hours a day now, but that didn't mean that the full moon didn't affect the wolves just as intensely.

The twins were out further in the yard with Cain and the other males, except Joey, all in their wolf forms to provide a supportive presence for the new wolves when they finally emerged. Right now, though, the twins were just in pain and lying prone in the grass. Jack laid closest to his pups, nudging them with his nose now and again to reassure them that it would all be over soon.

Ryland had apparently taken it upon himself to keep an eye on the pack's females, along with Joey who wasn't officially part of the pack and therefore less welcome by the wolves. Especially right now when there were pups in distress.

A few days ago, after the incident in the kitchen, Joey had cornered her once she and Cain left his office. Cain, understanding her brother's concern, had let them be for a moment as he returned to the kitchen. Lou didn't blame Joey in the slightest for being worried about her. He'd spent the better part of his life protecting her from males, and if her heat had come upon her like that in her father's pack, the males would have gone after her with no remorse. Then she was in Cain's office for what Joey considered a long time, so naturally it took some convincing to assure him that all was well. More than well. She'd felt amazing.

In the few days since then, Cain had been around her as often as he could, but he didn't touch her unless she touched him first. He didn't trust that she felt safe around him, that he wasn't taking advantage of her. She didn't know how to convince him of otherwise. The only hesitation she had around Cain now was that she didn't want to seem too eager, and her lack of experience made her a little hesitant to make the first move on anything. What if she did it wrong? What if she was bad? Cain was experience, he knew what he was doing. How could she compare to the women he'd been with before her? Lou had seen the woman in when they were in town, the one who had stroked his face. She was tall, leggy, and thin, with beautiful blonde hair flowing in perfect waves down to her lower back. In short, she was the exact opposite of Lou. Cain had even admitted to Lou that that woman had been an old fling. If that's what Lou had to compete with...

Ryland barked, drawing her attention back to him. "Alright fine, you goofball." Lou grabbed the stick and hurled it as far as she could. Of course, Ryland being the show-off he was, leaped into the air and caught it mid-arc. He pranced back over and dropped it back at her feet.

"Well that's hardly fair," she told him, crossing her arms.

Ryland's ears drooped, his eyebrows lifting in perfect puppy-dog eyes.

She sighed and leaned forward to rub his coarse fur, scratching behind his ears and kissing between his eyes. "But you're my dear friend, and I know what you're doing. Everything will be okay." He rubbed his face against hers, tucking his head under her chin and licking her jaw. She smiled at the action, recognizing the way wolves greet their fellow pack members. Ryland then licked her face before sticking his nose behind her ear and inhaling deeply.

A low warning growl sounded behind Ryland's wolf, who backed away from Lou and lowered his head in acknowledgment of his Alpha. Cain's gorgeous blue roan wolf stepped toward Lou, gazing at her with those brilliant blue eyes, so like his human's. She still stood by the fact that he was the most magnificent wolf she'd ever seen. Tall and strong, broad in the chest and shoulders. His haunches were taut with muscle and power. Just like his human, he had a quiet strength about him, but it was easy enough to sense exactly who he was to his pack.