Broken Moon: Part 1 Read Online Free PDF

grit against the
cold.
    "What are you doing out
here?" Harper said, and took a step back to put a hand on April's
shoulder.
    Cyan grunted. "Hunting.
If I'm going to sit around and eat your food the least I can do is
replace it. Know any good spots nearby?"
    Harper's hand relaxed a
little, and he pointed down the mountain slope to the south.
"There's hares in the forest down that way."
    April gave their new
companion a welcoming nod and eased Harper's hand off her shoulder.
"Harper, this is Cyan. Cyan, Harper. We're just off on a little
patrol. We've got feral wolves in the mountains around here, and
Blackthorn likes to know whenever they get too close."
    "Mm, I gathered," Cyan
said, his eyes flicking towards Harper. "Are they dangerous?"
    "Sometimes." April's
partner shrugged. "We've had... accidents in the past. They keep
their distance as long as we scare them off every once in a while,
though."
    "Well be careful out
there. You'll have a hard time catching their scent in this
weather."
    "We will." April
smiled. "Harper knows what he's doing." She patted her partner's
arm, and they turned to carry on the way they'd been going. Cyan's
eyes met hers for a moment, and she caught a glimmer of concern in
his gaze.
    Her skin warmed
slightly at the intensity of the look, but a moment later he was
gone, shifting into his wolf form —a shaggy,
muscular, dark-furred beast—and bounding off down the slope towards
the hunting grounds before another word could pass between
them.
    Despite her assurance
that Harper knew what he was doing, part of April was relieved to
have an experienced traveller like Cyan out here as well. He was
right, it would be hard to pick up scents in this weather,
especially after the earlier rain, and the prospect of running into
feral wolves in the middle of a blizzard unnerved her.
    They had always been
taught never to be frightened of the ferals, to stand up to them
and assert their dominance, but ever since the previous
winter...
    As Harper had said,
accidents happened. There was a reason the pack was down to three
elders now instead of four.
     
    * * * * *
     
    The scent of April
still clung in his nostrils like sweet spice. He should have put
more distance between them before taking his wolf form.
    The wind ripped at his
black fur as he tore down the slope, baring his wickedly sharp
teeth against the cold air as his paws flung up flurries of snow,
claws tearing at the damp grass beneath.
    She's
different, his thoughts whispered, the
voice entirely that of his wolf now. Cyan the human was the one in
the back of his head, the quiet voice of reason trying to calm him
and sooth his feral instincts. He didn't want to be soothed. He
wanted to be free, wild, taking what he desired, unleashing the
alpha that the human part of him had kept buried for so
long.
    Not
like the other wolves here. Remember her scent. She could be yours,
like the one you let escape from you —
    Cyan barked, shaking
his head sharply as though the human side of him had given a
sudden, vicious yank on an invisible leash.
    Those were thoughts he
shouldn't be allowing himself to indulge in. Even the feral part of
him felt the regret of those memories tugging at his heart like a
razor-sharp noose, cutting and terrible.
    He buried his muzzle in
the snow, hot breath melting the flakes as he snorted and snuffled,
trying to purge the enticing scent of the red-haired girl and pick
up any trace of fresh prey.
    It was hard relying on
his nose these days. The scars across his muzzle were a painful
reminder of everything he'd left behind, and his wolf's keen sense
of smell had never quite been the same ever since the day he gotten
them.
    His eyes and ears,
however, were sharper than ever. A flicker of movement, almost
indistinguishable from the carpet of snow, caught his attention,
and his pointed ears pricked up, the dark wolf lowering his body to
the ground. He could hear the drumming of tiny feet against the
ground through the swirl and patter of