Broken Moon: Part 1 Read Free

just the unusual
presence of another body in her bed, or the sound of his heavy
breathing in her ear, or the lingering intensity of their
lovemaking, but it was never quite the same as crawling back into
bed by herself.
    She enjoyed him being
here, but at the same time it set her on edge, as though reminding
her of how much her life would change once the pair of them were
mated.
    She sat up suddenly,
drawing the sheets away from him and clutching them to her breast
once more. His hand crept up her bare back, and she shivered.
    "What's wrong?" he
said.
    "Nothing." She shook
her head, agitated by his curiosity. How could she explain
something she didn't fully understand herself without making it
sound like she didn't want him here? "We should... we should be
more careful." April shifted on the edge of the bed, feeling the
slick leavings of his climax between her thighs.
    "About what?"
    She turned, looking
down at him. "I don't want to be a mother. Not yet."
    Harper gave her a wry
smile. "Don't let any of the elders hear you say that. It's our
duty to keep the pack going for another generation, after all.
Don't worry about it, it might never happen."
    " Might ,"
she replied with a sigh.
    Having children was
often a once in a lifetime occurrence for werewolves. Many were
mated for years without ever conceiving, which was all the more
reason for the pack elders to make sure every female found a mate
as soon as she was old enough.
    "Would it be so bad?"
Harper said. "It would make everyone happy. Including me." He gave
her shoulder a squeeze, and April looked away.
    "I suppose I'm just
being silly."
    After a long pause
Harper sat up beside her, removing his hand from her shoulder. "Are
you still uncomfortable with this, April? One moment you're happy
with me, the next it seems like you don't want us to have a future
together at all." He hid it well, but she caught the note of
frustration in his voice. They'd known each other too long for her
to miss it. "I know things might not be perfect, but we've got a
good life waiting for us if only you'd warm up to it. We could be
mated any day now. I'm just waiting for you to say the word."
    She curled her fingers
into the sheets, wishing she was clothed again. She hated how
reasonable it sounded when he said it out loud. The very things she
loved most about her pack—the stability, the safety—were exactly
what made her so uneasy about her future here. Everything was
expected to go a certain way, including the course of her own life.
How could she explain it in a way that would make him
understand?
    "It's just... I feel as
though everyone wants me to change, and I'm not ready for it," she
said at last. "It's not that I don't want to be your mate," she
added hastily, "I just want to get there in my own time, without it
feeling so... I don't know, forced."
    That had been the wrong
thing to say. Harper's brow furrowed, but he smoothed it over
quickly, as he always did, and cleared his throat.
    "Then I'll do my best
to help you get there," he said stiffly, then flashed her a smile,
bending down to pick up his clothes. "Why don't we spend some time
together later? I'm going out on patrol to check the west ridge,
you should come along."
    He was trying to be
helpful. April raised a hand towards his turned back, but
hesitated. He was so ready for everything the pack expected of
them. She could hardly blame him for not understanding why she
wasn't. She didn't have the heart to tell him it wasn't more time
spent together that they needed.
    "Okay," she said,
withdrawing her hand and returning his smile as he looked back at
her. "That sounds nice. We'll make it a date."
    The relief on his face
was so genuine it brought a lump to April's throat. Everything was
so simple to Harper.
    She would just have to
get used to it, she supposed, and try her best to keep her
conflicted feelings to herself.
     
    * * * * *
     
    The leader, the one the
others called Blackthorn, led the way to the Highland Pack camp