Page 19 of Forbidden Moon

Garrett watched Maya walk away from him, the angry strides of her long limbs and the hard beat of her feet a death knell in the hopes of his wolf. He had been telling the truth. On some level, he always knew they were destined to be mates, even when they were young and didn’t know how to define the pull that existed between them. Their parents had recognized it and made every effort to interfere, going so far so to send him to live with his other uncle on the western border, then sending him to the Council as an enforcer, the pack’s representative. Every pack sent one to support the Council, and it was his turn, and a convenient way to sever a growing bond.

They had had a choice between him and Brandon and everyone knew Brandon would have been put down by the Council if they had sent him. He was too on edge, bordering out of control, to be trusted as an enforcer. Garrett had the same strength, possibly more, but could control it better, so they sent him instead. His cousin should have had more controls placed on him, yet Garrett suspected he’d been protected and allowed to continue his ways under cover of his uncles and father for far too long. Would Garrett be expected to do the same?

Now that he was back, though, and he could feel the mate bond strengthening and calling to him, his wolf pushing at his own leash, trying to go to her. He could never bring her onto Saranac lands. She wouldn’t be happy. He didn’t want to watch the light fade from her eyes as he did from his mother’s before her death years before.

Maya wasn’t wrong. Neither pack would accept the other. Well, not exactly. His pack would gladly take her as a mate, then grind her down, beat her and force her to submit, or destroy her in the process, killing what made Maya special in an effort to control her. She was too strong for the Saranac leadership, who liked their females biddable, pliant, and submissive. Maya was definitely not any of those and leadership would make it their mission to correct her behavior and he wouldn’t be able to protect her.

Could he live without his mate?

“You okay, Garrett?” Caleb asked, coming over after finishing his own tour of the scene.

Garrett shook himself out of his reverie. “I’m fine. What did you sense?”

Caleb let out a heavy sigh. “It was a brutal attack. A lot of scents, many I can’t place since I’m not from here.”

“Hell, Caleb. You have the best scent memory on the team. You only have to meet the wolf once to identify them.”

“Exactly. And I think Maya was right. Your father was here.”

Garrett’s heart chilled. “Maybe he came after the attack to offer aid. Or they were old scents from patrols.”

Caleb studied him with an impassive look. “You and I both know that was highly unlikely. I scented him strongly near the place where Maya said her cousin was killed, near a pool of blood. The scent wasn’t fresh, but around the same age as the overlapping scents from the unknown wolves, who were likely the assailants.”

Damn it. His father and uncle had lied to him, and to the Council. Now what?

He stared into the clearing at the other wolves working the scene as he tried to figure out what to do next. Caleb stood silently next to him as Garrett thought.

“We can talk to the Saranac enforcers stationed on the border to see if they were involved. See what they say.”

Caleb grunted as if not convinced. “What about Maya and the mating?”

Garrett glanced at him. “I don’t know. This complicates things.”

“Mating always complicates things. The way that everything has always been between your packs would never make this easy. You had to know that,” Caleb replied.

Garrett sighed. “I know that. We knew each other when we were kids. We weren’t supposed to, obviously, but we kept finding each other in the forest.”

“Fated mates. Drawn together. Doesn’t always happen as children, but it can. It’s a strong bond,” Caleb commented. “How are you going to handle it?”

Garrett barked a laugh and a few wolves glanced over. “Can you see me bringing her to Saranac?” Caleb grimaced. “Exactly. And Dirigo will never accept me here. Even if we were to accept the bond, which Maya has already rejected.”

Caleb arched an eyebrow. “Has she? If she had rejected you, you’d know it. The pain would feel like a knife wound to the gut. Only worse.”

This time, it was Garrett’s turn to eye him speculatively. “Sounds like you know something about being rejected.”

“Maybe. Just remember, a true mate bond is not something to toss away lightly. It leaves a wound that never fully heals. Be sure there is no other option before you accept the rejection. You will never have another bond again, not even a witch one. No other bond can heal the wound or take hold if you reject a true mate bond.”

CHAPTER TEN

Maya avoided looking at Garrett while they were all at the scene of the attack, which was harder than she expected since there was this pull between them that was unavoidable. Her wolf desperately wanted to go to him, to seek comfort from him, even as her human half snarled his pack was responsible for the destruction. Finally, Rafe finished his own circuit of the scene and headed for Caleb and Garrett, and Maya couldn’t avoid them any longer.

Reluctantly, she headed over to the small group by the edge of the clearing. Rafe and Caleb had moved a short distance away to compare notes, leaving her and Garrett to wait. The sun was low in the sky and a chill settled over her that only added to the bone numbing sensation she already had from the leftover horror of the attack.

A heavy leather jacket settled over her shoulders, the warmth seeping into her immediately. She glanced at Garrett, who only shrugged. “You looked cold and I’m okay. Keep it until we get back to the cars.”

She wanted to toss it back to him, but the scent of sandalwood and tobacco and dried leaves soothed her wolf, provided that comfort her wolf had been longing for during their time in the clearing. So she clutched the fronts of the jacket and wrapped it around her to warm her fully.

Eventually, the Council Enforcers came over, troubled looks on both their faces. The pale-haired wolf, Caleb, spoke first. “There are a lot of scents layered over each other in the area. It’s hard to get a solid read on what happened.”