Broken Moon: Part 1 Read Free Page B

elders?"
    "It's fine,
Blackthorn," Ingrid said in a soft, steady voice. "I doubt Gene
would care either way, and Harriet would just look for reasons to
disagree with me. So, Cyan?" She raised her eyebrows at him.
"You're a loner? From the forest packs?"
    He nodded. "If you'll
have me, I'd love to stick around. I've been looking for your pack
for a long time."
    More people were
starting to appear from the cabins around the edges of the camp,
all eyes focused on Cyan as they whispered to one another, hanging
back out of the falling snow. They glanced away when he looked at
them, or returned his unflinching stare with cold detachment. All
except for a pretty red-haired girl standing in the doorway of her
cabin with her mate beside her.
    She gave him a
tentative smile, and for the first time in months a faint glimmer
of relief warmed inside Cyan.
    "Blackthorn says you've
been out there by yourself for two years," Ingrid said. "How did
you survive?"
    Cyan shrugged. "The
same way any wolf survives. Hunting. Being careful. Smart."
    "And you never felt the
urge to give in to your wolf that whole time? To go feral?"
    "No," Cyan looked from
Blackthorn to Ingrid. "Why does that surprise you?"
    "We've had problems with people losing touch with their human
side over the years, even among the safety of our own pack,"
Blackthorn said. "It's been a while since it last happened,
but —"
    "It'll happen again,"
Ingrid cut in sharply. "If you're used to keeping your wolf at bay,
Cyan, then I'd like to hear how you managed it for so long.
Provided you don't cause any trouble, you're free to stay, at least
for a little while."
    "Until the weather
passes," Blackthorn murmured.
    "Until I say so."
Ingrid shot the tall male a glare. He pressed his lips together
tightly, but nodded in compliance.
    "I won't be any
trouble," Cyan said. "But I can't promise I'll be much help with
your feral problem either."
    "We'll see. In the
meantime you can get yourself dry and find something to eat.
Blackthorn will show you to one of our empty cabins. Stick to the
main camp, and if you have any questions make sure you ask. We have
rules, and you'll be expected to obey them while you're here."
Ingrid rubbed her hands together against the cold and turned back
towards her cabin. "Try and get a fire started before the snow gets
too heavy, I don't want to spend all day hiding indoors from the
cold."
    Blackthorn nodded once
more and gathered his group to clear away the soaked ashes of the
central fire and bring in dry wood. Cyan watched as they erected a
sturdy gazebo of stitched animal hides over the area with an open
flap at the top to let out smoke, the Highland wolves carefully
kindling a fresh blaze to life beneath its shelter.
    He shivered in his wet
clothes, leaving the others to go about their work with the routine
efficiency of a group well-used to battling the elements.
    He'd been lying when he
told Ingrid he wouldn't be able to help her. There had been many
times over the years, even before he was a loner, that the urge to
give in to his wolf had risked driving human reason from his mind
permanently. The grim memories chilled him more than the freezing
wind blowing through his clothes.
    He wouldn't share those
experiences with anyone, nor how he had managed to deal with
them—if "dealing with them" was what he could even call it. He
could barely stand to think about it himself, let alone speak of it
out loud, and to strangers.
    Everyone was a stranger
to him, these days.
    He snorted and eased
the thick hunting jacket off his shoulders as the fire blazed to
life, drawing on the aggression of his wolf for just a moment to
dispel his unpleasant thoughts. The irony that his feral side was
both the source of and the solution to his greatest demons wasn't
lost on Cyan.
    He noticed Blackthorn
keeping one eye on him at all times, but besides that none of the
other Highland wolves seemed interested in approaching him. A few
came over to the fire once it was burning, but