Broken Moon: Part 1 Read Free Page A

in
silence. He remained in his human form all the way, which Cyan was
thankful for. It gave him an excuse to do the same. In the same way
he would have treated a wild animal, he preferred to keep his wolf
on a short tether whenever possible. The less he indulged in his
feral side the better.
    It wasn't a long
journey, but the terrain remained difficult and tiring the whole
way. The rain eased up, and by the time they arrived it had given
way to fluffy spots of snow trying their best to settle on the damp
ground.
    Through the thickening
pine trees they came to a flattened area on the steep slope,
surprisingly open for a werewolf camp, commanding an impressive
view down the side of the mountain to the forests below. The layout
of the small area was more in line with Cyan's expectations, though
far more neat and civilised than the home territory of most
werewolf packs.
    Log seats and a carpet
of gravel and wood chippings surrounded the central fire, the
gravel curving off into carefully laid paths that led to a handful
of wooden cabins tucked in beneath the trees and into the side of
the mountain. Cyan could only make out roughly a dozen dwellings,
but other paths led further up the mountain and between the rocks
of the sheer cliff face, likely leading to more of the small
buildings.
    It was eerily
beautiful, even soaked in rain. The air was tinged with the smell
of wood smoke and pine needles, and everything about the place gave
off the feeling of a quaint, quiet life lived in the solitude of
the mountains. He had certainly visited far less welcoming werewolf
camps.
    "Not what you were
expecting?" Blackthorn looked him up and down as they came to a
halt in front of the central meeting area.
    "I don't know," Cyan
replied. "Judging from the size of you all I half expected a tribe
of highland barbarians. But I'll take this instead."
    "Good. Wait here while
I fetch the elders, then we'll decide what to do with you."
    "We shouldn't have
brought him to the camp," one of the other wolves said as he
shifted back into his human form.
    "Look at the sky,"
Blackthorn snapped, pulling off his gloves and flicking them in the
direction of the clouds. "A bad storm's coming. I'm not leaving
anyone out there once it hits, not even an outsider. He can stay
here until the weather passes." He paused. "But I have a feeling
the elders will want to keep you around, Cyan. You're exactly the
kind of stray Ingrid likes to take in."
    He raised his eyebrows
at that. "Is she your alpha? A female?"
    Blackthorn shook his
head. "No alphas in the Highland Pack, not for years. We have our
elders, four people who we trust to make the right decisions for
the rest of the pack."
    "Three people," a quiet
voice chipped in behind Cyan.
    Blackthorn sighed.
"Yes, three people now. Anyway, you can have a history lesson on
the pack later. For now, wait here." He strode away towards a large
cabin close to the central meeting area and rapped on the door,
leaving Cyan to take the weight off his feet on one of the log
benches.
    He was exhausted. How
long had it been since he'd slept somewhere comfortable? Weeks?
Months? He rubbed his aching eyes, crushing the exhaustion down and
forcing himself to focus.
    He spent so much time
living from moment to moment these days, trying to keep his wolf
subdued while still clinging on to some tangible goal, that it was
easy to forget what it was like to have a pack he could call his
own. A pack that respected him. Obeyed him.
    He swallowed the
bitterness in his throat and rubbed his hands together to ward off
the biting cold. He doubted he'd have the luxury of a pack that
obeyed him ever again. He didn't deserve it.
    Blackthorn returned
shortly with a middle-aged woman in tow. From the lines around her
eyes and the way her greying hair had been hastily tied back Cyan
could tell she'd been woken up prematurely.
    "This is Ingrid,"
Blackthorn said, tucking a hand behind his back formally as he
introduced them. "Shall I wake the other