Daughter of the Moon (The Moon People, Book Two) Read Online Free PDF Page B

mysterious place where dreams were born, clouding reason and tempting danger. Just as she had learned to brave the spirit world under Adel's tutelage, she would have to do the same with her wolf.
    They left their animal forms behind them and sat down on a hillock overlooking the stream, enjoying the sun on their cheeks as Caspian took her face between his palms and kissed her.
    "I would waste the whole morning like this if I could," he said with a sigh, playing with the small string of wooden beads braided into her long black hair.
    "I would not call that a waste," she replied.
    He smiled, pressing his forehead to hers. "Perhaps not, but we will have all the time in the world to waste once the pack is settled. We must focus on taming that wolf of yours first."
    "It is difficult. I have no room to focus as I did with my training as a seer. The world distracts me at every moment."
    "That may be for the best. If you can learn to command your wolf under such circumstances, you will have a firm hold over her forever."
    " If I can learn to command her."
    Caspian's fingers traced their way down her cheek, stroking her jawbone to the tip of her chin. "There is a game we have our youngsters play when their wolves first emerge. A good way of teaching them many things without the need for lectures. It is mostly for the males, but your wolf may take to it also."
    "What kind of game?"
    He gave her a teasing grin. "A challenge, of sorts. Usually a race, or a tussle. The victor is determined not by who bests the other, but by who restrains themselves at the last moment, sacrificing their own success in an act of humility."
    "That sounds like the opposite of what my wolf would wish to do," she said.
    "Exactly. It teaches us to impose our wills over those of our wolves, choosing reason over instinct. We are not beasts, but that is only because we have trained ourselves to resist that part of our nature." His expression grew grave. "When Khelt bit you, that was his beast getting the better of him. It is a fine reminder that even the strongest of us are capable of terrible things when we grow angry or careless. In many ways, our kind are blessed, but I sometimes believe the Sun People are right in calling our wolves a curse. There are some packs out there who do not prize restraint as we do. I pray you never have to meet them."
    Netya nodded, his sincerity stilling any playfulness she might have felt. She remembered all too well the way her kind had painted the Moon People as savage monsters when she was a girl. They had been wrong about Khelt's pack, but perhaps there were others who had given them good reason to think as they did. She had no desire to let the beast within her run rampant.
    "This game, then," she said. "It sounds like a fine idea, but perhaps I should try it with Fern? She seems a better match for me than you."
    The smile returned to Caspian's lips. "Do not be so sure. Your wolf is stronger than you think. She may prove up to the challenge yet."
    Netya smiled back, but she was far from confident. How could she possibly run faster or fight harder than Caspian? He had the body of a warrior and the mind of a seer.
    Then again, she mused, had Adel not stood toe to toe with Khelt when the two of them fought? Despite the difference in strength between them, it had not been nearly so pronounced once they took the shapes of their wolves. Perhaps she was underestimating herself.
    "Catch me," Caspian said, rising to his feet suddenly. "Then show me who the victor is."
    Before she could respond he had slipped into the guise of his wolf, bounding away down the bank of the stream. Something surged inside her, dragging her body forward instinctively, and before she knew it she was also on four legs, letting out an ecstatic bark as she dashed after him.
    Caspian was quick and nimble, hopping through the shallows from one side of the sparkling watercourse to the other, kicking up flurries of dry pine needles behind him as he bobbed and weaved