Nature is not a place to visit 17

Chapter 17
*“The starved beast, sensing the prey, was restless.”*
*Mukta Singh-Zocchi*
I’d barely had time to tense up before his large, olive hands seized me, pressing my back against his chest. His lips
against my neck were the next thing I felt.
Away from the dusty temple, I caught his scent for the first time too and – oh, God. I wasn’t even sure how to properly
describe it, but he smelled like the forest. He smelled like pine trees and open air and vegetation after a fresh rain. He
smelled like every smell I’d come to love sniffing as a wolf.
“Well, I’ve caught you, mate,” he said, his lips against my throat. His voice was liquid honey, and all I wanted to do was
press myself further into him. Maybe even roll around in his scent. My wolf heartily agreed with me.
*Wait, no! Mate or not, he’s still a stranger. One who might’ve hurt Luke.*
It was the thought of Luke, still injured in the temple or possibly worse, that gave me the courage to try and pull myself
away from his arms.
Unfortunately, he didn’t seem intent on letting me go anytime soon. While I wasn’t the strongest wolf around, I still had
enough Beta blood to go toe-to-toe with most wolves in a fight, even Alphas.
But this guy? Trying to escape his grip was like trying to move a brick wall. He didn’t budge. Whatever strength he
possessed – well, it was more than I’d ever seen on any wolf.
I tried pulling away again, and this time, he just twisted me around until I came face-to-face with blue and brown eyes. His thick brown eyebrows were pinched together in what looked like confusion, but judging from the way the thunder
picked up, it might’ve been irritation too.
The bark of the big oak tree scraped against my back.
*What’s with this guy and pushing me against things?*
“You’re trying to escape me,” he rasped, cocking an eyebrow. “Why?”
I swallowed down the urge to burrow into his chest and breathe in his scent. “That boy in the temple,” I said, “You didn’t
hurt him, right? Please tell me you didn’t hurt him.”
His eyes narrowed, and I felt it – that raw power I’d felt in the temple. It leaked into the air around us, and like any highranking wolf exerting their power, I got the urge to submit. Except his power, whatever it was, was a hundred times
stronger than anything I’d ever felt from Alpha Roman or Hudson. Even an Alpha’s power was possible to ignore as long
as you had your wits about you.
But nothing about this man – or his power – was easy to ignore.
My wolf whimpered but I ignored her. He could take all his raw power and shove it – I needed to know that Luke was
okay. Assuming that this man hadn’t hurt him, he’d looked like he was healing in the temple but he was still in bad shape.
“Why is my mate asking about another man?” he growled.
“He’s my friend,” I shot back.
Another crack of thunder sounded.
“I’ll kill him,” he said lowly.
As threatening as that sounded, it sent a bout of relief through me. If he was planning to murder Luke, that meant he
hadn’t done it. Yet.
“He’s my family,” I blurted out, “You can’t kill him.”
“He doesn’t smell like you,” he retorted.
I almost told him that Luke was *like* my brother but the words died in my throat. He’d just threatened to kill Luke
because I’d referred to him as a friend. Telling him that I was close enough to Luke to consider him family but not actual
family probably wouldn’t do much good.
I’d forgotten how possessive male wolves could be. Supposedly, the possessiveness got worse with rank. Alphas were the most territorial, but if he was some kind of deity or king, then…
*Yeah, I don’t think this bodes well for me.*
“He’s my cousin,” I lied, “We’re distantly related but still related.”
There was another crack of thunder, and this one was so close and loud that I nearly jumped.
“You’re lying,” he deadpanned.
“What?” I said, trying to keep my voice from going high-pitched and giggly like it always did when I lied. “I’m not lying. He’s my family.”
The blank stare he gave me was almost enough to make me recant my lie on the spot, but I managed to hold myself
together. For Luke.
“You’re lying,” he said, and then he leaned down until his nose was positioned in the crook of my neck. “You don’t think I
can tell when you’re lying, mate? I can smell it. You cannot deceive me.”
As good as my supernatural senses were at picking up scents, I had no idea how someone *smelled* a lie. But since he
could apparently sniff them out like some werewolf-Sherlock-Holmes, I decided to fess up.
“Okay, okay,” I said, my voice nearly losing its edge when his nose began rubbing against the crook of my neck, “He’s
not a blood family member, but I do consider him to be like family. He’s just a friend – there’s nothing going on. You
can’t kill him.”
He didn’t say anything to that so I pressed on. “If you kill him, I’ll never forgive you for it,” I said.
That gave him pause and he pulled back to look at me again. His eyes were completely unreadable, and I was beginning
to wonder if he had any facial expression that just wasn’t a blank stare.
“I will not tolerate competition for my mate,” he finally said, his voice deep and velvety, “If he – or anyone else – attempts
anything, I will kill them. Family or not.”
*Oh, totally not the possessive type then*.
His eyes narrowed. “Do you understand, mate?”
“We’re, uh, crystal clear on that one.”
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*Crystal clear that I’ll never be telling him Luke took my virginity.*
As if that settled everything, he just moved his face back to the crook of my neck. This time, it was his full lips and warm
tongue that I felt against my skin.
I couldn’t hold back the moan when he immediately found the most sensitive areas of my neck, and began licking at
them with his tongue. Each touch lit my skin on fire, and for the first time in my life, I suddenly understood why everyone
bragged about physical intimacy with their mate.
I might’ve rolled my eyes when Becky from training wouldn’t shut up about sex with her mate, but now I understood.
This was heavenly.
This did not even compare to any other sexual experience I had, which was already slim.
My eyes fluttered shut as I enjoyed the sensations. Each touch of his skin, each lap of his tongue was like a mild electric
shock that went straight to my core. I moaned when he found another sensitive spot and he growled in response,
pressing me farther into the rough bark of the tree.
He’d also pressed his waist into me too and his tan harem pants felt like a flimsy barrier between us.
I was pretty sure I was beginning to fall into another hormonal-mate-craze when his teeth suddenly grazed a specific
spot on my neck and I realized he was about to mark me. He was going to claim me, and then, he was probably going to want to consummate the bond.
*I don’t even know this man’s name!*
*Actually, forget that! I don’t even know if I can call him a man.*
“Wait,” I breathed.
He immediately paused but his head didn’t move from the crook of my neck. I could still feel the blunt edge of his teeth
grazing my neck.
“I know we’re mates and I’m not sure how things are done where you’re from,” I said, “But here, mates know a little bit
about each other before they get to the good stuff.”
He pulled back, looking at me with a raised eyebrow. I was starting to think that was his signature move.
“What is it you wish to know, mate?”
I gaped at him.
*Should I ask his favorite color or why he just rose from a crypt like some perfectly preserved Cleopatra?*
“I just found you in a tomb,” I said, “Like an actual tomb. In a temple.”
“Yes,” he said, still giving that same blank stare.
“I always heard the stories growing up,” I started, “There was this legend about the Moon God being locked away in a
crypt and cursed by witches. The story said he could only be woken by his mate. Are you…” For some reason, I could not
bring myself to ask the actual question. Even after the events of the day, it just sounded like such a ridiculous question.
“Are you asking if I’m the Moon God, mate?” His lips curved up into something that looked dangerously close to a smirk.
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I nodded, my face heating up.
“Well, I’ve gone by many names over the millennia,” he said casually, “But yes, that is what the wolves have always called me.”
Although I’d already known deep down who he was, his answer felt like another dose of cold water dunked on my head.
*He’s the Moon God.*
*He’s standing in front of me.*
*I’m talking to the Moon God right now.*
*No, I’m not just talking to him – I’m mated to him. I’m mated to the Moon God. This has to be some kind of cosmic
mistake.*
“I can smell your anxiety, mate,” he said, “But you have no reason to be afraid of me. You’re my mate. I would never hurt
you.”
Had he not been pressing me against the tree, I’m pretty sure I would’ve keeled over. “I just don’t understand,” I said, my
breaths getting shallower and shallower. “You’re the Moon God. The *literal* Moon God. So, all the stories are true? You were really in that tomb for a thousand years?”
“I cannot say for certain that it’s been a thousand years,” he shrugged as if I’d just asked him what the weather was, “I
could not feel the passage of time very well while I was sleeping, but most likely, yes. It’s been a millennium.”
I could only imagine how comical my face looked as I gaped at him like a fish. “And the story is true? You were cursed to
sleep until your mate woke you up?”
I saw something new flash across his face – anger. There was a tick in his jaw as he spoke, and his words came out closer
to a growl. “Yes, I was cursed,” he said, “A coven of witches managed to overpower me, but their curse had a loophole –
as all curses do. I could be awoken by my mate.”
Suddenly, his expression softened and something intense gleamed in his eyes. Adoration.
I wasn’t sure anyone had ever looked at me with adoration, and certainly not like this.
“It was you,” he breathed, his voice husky, “You woke me. My mate.” One of his hands reached up to caress my face, his
touch lighting my face on fire. “When I created werewolves, I made sure they’d have a companion. Someone to share
their life with. A perfect equal in every way. And I made sure I’d have my own companion. I did not know anything about
you – what you’d be like, when you’d be born, what kind of wolf you’d be. All I knew is that you’d be my perfect equal.”
I got lost in his eyes as he spoke. His brown eye was almost golden in color with flecks of hazel. The blue eye was just as
bright, with a ring of lighter blue around the pupil.
His fingertips traced the features of my face, starting with my jawline, my nose, and my browbone. “And perfect you are,”
he murmured.
“You don’t know anything about me,” I muttered, suddenly feeling uncomfortable in my own skin. To have a man – no, a
*god* – tell you that you were his perfect companion? The thought was unbelievable. “I spend my weekends binging
reality TV and gossiping with my friends,” I blurted out, “My family is made up of Betas. I don’t have any special strength
or powers. I’m a regular wolf. There is nothing about me that makes me a perfect companion for you. Don’t get me wrong. I’d love to have you as a mate, but I’m pretty sure our bond has to be some sort of cosmic screwup. Fate must’ve made a mistake.”
He just looked at me, his eyes still full of adoration. The finger that had been tracing my facial features moved to cup my
jaw so that I was looking up at him.
“It wasn’t fate that created our bond,” he said, “It was me. And I didn’t make a mistake.”
And then his lips crashed on mine before I could drum up any kind of protest.