Blood Moon (Moons of the Wolf Series Book 1) Read Free Page A

direction.  Riley had begun to follow her very slowly, but Colin snarled and ordered him to go home with the rest of the pack.  Riley whimpered and whined like a little puppy, but turned and unwillingly followed his father without further disobedience.  Samantha huffed as she watched them disappear into the thick underbrush of the forest.  She sighed, but she continued to follow the trail on her own.  She prayed silently that there were no members of the other pack out on patrol, growing worried about the possible consequences if she were caught.
    Long minutes passed, Samantha jumping at the slightest ruffling of leaves.  She kept her nose pressed to the ground and her eyes down.  Again, there was another ruffling in the leaves behind her and she whipped around, growling and putting her hears back, flat against her head.  There was nothing there, that she could see, but she felt as though she was being followed.  She hesitantly went back to following the trail, her nose pressed into the dirt once more.  She nervously followed the trail even deeper into the territory which she was trespassing in.
    Another wolf, about Samantha’s size, came barreling out of the bushes.  He slammed right into Samantha’s side, knocking the wind out of her and causing her to fall over.  He jumped on top of her, snapping at her face.  She pushed him off quickly and rolled to her feet.  She got low to the ground, snarling and baring her teeth.
    “Why are you in my territory?” The wolf snapped.
    “You’re hardly an alpha, so the territory is not solely yours.  I’m trailing rogue wolves that passed through my pack’s territory.  I mean you no harm.” Samantha replied frantically.
    “Bull shit…” He growled.  He dived at Samantha, but she quickly maneuvered out of his way.  He almost ran into a tree, but he skidded to a stop and turned to face Samantha quickly, snarling.  Samantha could tell that he was clumsy in his wolf form and she guessed that it was only his second or third time phasing on his own will.
    She snarled, “I mean no harm to you are your pack.  I only want to help.”
    “My pack doesn’t need your help.  Get out of here, mutt!”  He snarled and snapped at her.
    Samantha snorted and huffed, but she turned, knowing that it was time to walk away before the younger wolf did something rash. She bolted back into her territory and to the meeting point where the rest of the pack was waiting for her already phased.  Melody handed her belongings to her, and she hid amongst the trees again, changing back as quickly as she possibly could. When she stepped out from behind the trees Colin stepped forward, with his arms folded across his chest.
    “I took it upon myself to call the Head Alpha and inform him that you felt it was absolutely necessary to disobey my orders.” He announced. His voice was cold and harsh, like a parent that was overly disappointed in one of his children.
    Samantha swallowed hard.  The Head Alpha was in charge of all of the packs within the district.  Even pack alphas had to answer to him.  Above the Head Alpha were Master Alphas, who ‘governed’ entire states, Master Wolves, who were in charge of a handful of states at a time and the Absolute Alpha, whose lineage could be traced back to the very first person who could shift into a wolf – or bet moun – as many of the elders preferred to call themselves.  The Head Alpha was only called upon by a pack alpha in an emergency or if there was a situation that the pack alpha felt that they could not handle on their own; typically in cases where severe punishment was necessary.
    Colin continued, “He told me that he would inform the other alphas and that we will all be having a meeting in the morning about the incident.”  Samantha didn’t reply, she simply looked down at her feet, scuffing her heel in the dirt. “Now get out of here. I’m extremely disappointed in you.” Samantha began to walk away with her head low.