Page 12 of Forbidden Moon
“I just got back earlier today and my father set me to run the line, to familiarize myself with the borders. I was going to call when I got to a stopping point, but things seem tense everywhere I’ve run. Why didn’t the mating bond tell you I was here?”
Maya took a step back, then stopped as if realizing what she’d done. “I don’t know. Things have been really emotional, and I had to lock everything down. It muted the bond, so I didn’t sense you. Look, Garrett, this is not a good time.”
He took a step forward and stopped at her warning look. “I’m getting that. Maya, it’s me. Your mate. What’s going on?”
She heaved a sigh. “Things have turned to shit between our packs. I don’t know why the bond didn’t tell me you were here. Probably because I’m barely holding everything together right now. But, trust me. You don’t belong here. This is Dirigo land and you, especially you as a Saranac wolf, are not welcome here.”
Tension leached from his muscles, and he relaxed just a bit, sensing the initial danger had passed, though he wasn’t out of the woods, metaphorically speaking. He leaned against a tree and folded his arms in front of him, trying to appear less threatening. Though he wanted to understand why the mate was muted.
“Sorry to disappoint you, sweetheart, but I saw the boundary maps and I’m clearly on our land. You’re the one who’s trespassing.” He swiped a bead of blood from his neck. “And with that little trick with your claws? Well, I could claim you attacked me.”
Her jaw dropped, and she struggled for her next words, but only for a moment. Then a strangled scream erupted. “I would expect such deviousness from a Saranac wolf, but I had thought you would have more sense than to believe the bullshit. You can claim the land all you want, but it doesn’t make it yours. The Council would definitely disagree on your version of the boundary. Which makes me defending our land and you the invader. You should know that, having been a Council Enforcer for the past four years.”
He barked a laugh. “You’re delusional, sweetheart.”
“When the Council gets here tomorrow, they’ll show you how wrong you are.”
He straightened and frowned. They hadn’t told him they were coming here when they cut him loose. “The Council is coming here? Why?”
She rolled her eyes and folded her arms in front of her. But it wasn’t casual, not like him. No, it was more of a defensive move, and somewhat of a protective posture. His wolf told him that there was something off with Maya, off with the she-wolf he knew and hoped to mate. She was closing herself off from him, from the bond that should be reconnecting with their proximity. Instead, there was deep pain radiating from her and anger, but he couldn’t understand why. And the rivalry between their packs, the same enmity that had driven their friendship apart years before, prevented him from asking her about it now. Though he sensed his pack was at the heart of it.
“Like you’re not aware of what’s going on. Your uncle is at the heart of it, I’m sure.”
He scowled at her sneering tone regarding his uncle, the Beta of their pack. “I don’t know what you’re insinuating. Uncle Linc might be tough, demanding, and a bit archaic in his views on females, but he is a decent wolf.”
She gave a raw, harsh laugh. “You are so deluded. Archaic is not the word I’d use for him. Asshole, abuser, twisted fuck might be more appropriate. Tell me you didn’t know that your pack attacked a nursery of ours, a group of pups and their caregivers while on a picnic, well within our pack lands, miles from your territory. They killed the adults and a couple of pups, but kidnapped the rest of them. Tell me you didn’t know about that.”
His stomach dropped at her words, icy tendrils of horror clutching at his stomach. Pups were noncombatants. Everyone knew that. They were never to be touched or used as pawns. If someone attacked Dirigo and took their pups, that would explain the heightened level of tension he sensed on his run.
“I had no idea. I’m sorry, Maya. Really. Is there anything I can do?”
She glared at him. “Weren’t you listening? You can go back to your asshole uncle and get our pups.”
He sighed and pushed off the tree. “We had nothing to do with this, but I’ll ask around, okay?”
She snorted and turned away. He reached out and grabbed her arm before he could think. She whirled and slashed at him with her claws, slicing four thin lines down his chest. Not enough to cause damage but a warning.
“Don’t touch me, Garrett.”
He backed up, hands in the air. “Apologies. But Maya, it’s me. You know I would never do this or condone it. I will look into it.”
“It doesn’t matter. You’re Saranac and I’m Dirigo. There’s too much between us, especially now. Good luck asking around.”
The last was said with a sneer, and he snarled. “I said I would look into it. My word is good, Maya.”
“Then you would be the only Saranac who can say that. Get off our land before someone kills you without talking to you first.”
She turned and melted into the forest, leaving him staring after her and wondering what this all meant for the mating bond that was withering even now.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Maya ran back to the den and headquarters, shaken by her encounter with Garrett and heartsick at the same time. She had been feeling low-grade sick since she left the Council almost a month ago and knew it was the fledgling mating bond acting on her, trying to get her to go back and complete the mating. Yet, now with the heightened aggression between the packs and the recent attack by Saranac, she wondered if there would ever be a chance for them, if they could overcome this obstacle between them.
At no time had Garrett ever acted like a typical Saranac wolf, not tonight nor in their previous encounter. He hadn’t threatened her or made her feel concerned for her safety at any time. Tonight, he’d been supremely confident that he was in the right, not arrogant, just assured that he was correct and she was wrong. That bothered her more than the other wolves, who knew they were wrong, yet pushed and tested the boundary every step of the way.
Most of the other Saranac wolves were more aggressive, nasty even, and all the Dirigo females on the border had to be careful not to be cornered by them. She ran into every Saranac wolf along the border at one time or another, usually with some kind of skirmish in the mix. Saranac males had low respect for females, ingrained in them from their Alpha, and reinforced by the rest of their leaders.
In Maya’s opinion, they couldn’t deal with powerful females and beat them down, broke their spirits where they could, or abducted them to breed strong pups. Dirigo did their best to rescue females where they could, but they had to play the game of not invading Saranac lands or it could be a declaration of war. Maya danced the line every time she went out against a Saranac wolf, worried they might be setting a trap for her to kidnap her. It wasn’t unheard of, based on rumor and gossip, but the Council, who governed all packs in North America, refused to engage, saying it was a pack issue. Once a female was absorbed into Saranac, she was often lost, hidden deep in the bowels of their land in central New York State. No pack risked open warfare over retrieval. Once captured, her fate was sealed, and Maya knew how the males of Saranac treated their she-wolves. Horror stories emerged from the few that did escape.