Crossing Moon

***

From Aveline Erickana Ruben's diary:

11th December 2008, 9.40 PM, my bed.

I have nothing to say. The anger speaks it out on its own.

Avvie.

12th December 2008, 11.45 PM, my bed.

Sigh...

Avvie.

13th December 2008, 8.45 PM, my bed.

Dad was angry when he saw the bite mark on my neck but I assured him that I wasn't mated or anything. I wasn't! There was no mating involved! But Dad kept on saying gibberish, even my Mom who was always this calm person, went berserk when she saw the bite on my neck.

"WHO THE HELL HAD THE NERVE TO BITE YOU, AVELINE ERICKANA RUBEN?" Dad yelled at me. Boy, he was definitely angry. He only used my full name when he's mad and he's definitely at the point of MADNESS!

"It's nothing Dad! It was silly. I saw an old friend -," I grimaced, feeling the familiar pang of hurt washed over me. "And I was so mad! So I phased -,"

"YOU PHASED?" Mom screeched.

"Mom! Please, just relax and let me finish my story," I said, almost rolling my eyes.

"Well? Go on!" Dad demanded.

"Right," I paused, "So, I had phased and jumped at him. I was so mad. I think I sliced him here and there and then he phased to his wolf form. I was so shock and he took advantage of that and over turned me -,"

This time Dad cut in, "A FULL GROWN WOLF PHASED AND OVER POWERED YOU?"

"Yes, Dad, jeez, what's the big deal? It's just a bite. It'll heal," I said with annoyance.

Dad shook his head, breathing in and out, trying to calm himself, "the problem with this situation, Aveline, is the fact that a male wolf had dominated you and bit you,"

"So what?" I asked back, "If you're worried about my being mated then, don't worry OK? We DID NOT have SEX!"

"He marked you," Mom told me suddenly.

"What?" I looked at her confused.

"It's a very old ancient practice in our wolf system," Dad started to explain to me, "we do not do this type of practice anymore, much less consider it, we have evolved to a point where mating should be between two wolves who agreed to be together, and not when a wolf forces one to be bonded."

"I don't.... understand," I said.

"Of course you don't, Aveline dear," Dad said again, "The wolf did not know the consequences of what he had done when he dominated you in the fight and bit you in the process, he wouldn't know. I am certain of that because he's just a new blood into the Thorn Pack family."

"What are you trying to say here, Dad?"

Mom sighed, "Honey," she looked at me, "Maxwell Thorn had bit you,"

"And?" I was still lost here. Can't they just go straight to the point?

"He bit you and indirectly, he had marked you as his," Dad answered.

That was when I flinched and shook my head, "No! Dad! You can't be serious!"

But Dad wasn't smiling. There was no hint of teasing in his eyes. He was dead serious. "The scandal!" Dad groaned, "A low pack had overpowered my own daughter! The Alpha Princess of Ruben Pack!"

"Dad!" I snapped at him. "Are you trying to say that I'm his mate?"

"No, you're not – not yet but he marked you and no other wolves will dare to break that unless they fight for it," Dad said.

"Then they can just fight..." I told them.

Mom shook her head, "It's not that simple, Avvie dear, the wolves will have to fight to death."

"Then whoever wants me would definitely be willing to do that, right?" I asked them. "I don't want to be a spinster, OK?"

Mom looked at me, "He marked you, Avvie."

Dad stood up and then looked at Mom, "Tell her the rest, love, I don't think I can handle this," he kissed her lips and then he went to me and kissed my forehead.

I looked at Mom, waiting for her to continue but she just looked at the door where Dad had left. She was probably itching to run and follow him probably!

"Mom," I called out to her, "He marked me. OK, I get that! And what's the problem?"

"Well, he marked you dear, and both of you will be drawn to uh – complete the bond," Mom said.

I gasped. "Oh God! Mom! That's just so disgusting! I hate that jerk!"

It was then when Mom asked me, "Why do you hate him? You just met him!"

I sighed. Great. I had just added another pound on my pile of problems.

Awesome. Just awesome...

Avvie

From Carinelle Hynes Thorn's diary:

13h December 2008, 2.30 AM, balcony.

Samuel's asleep now. I guess he's still mad at me but at least I finally have a time alone for myself. Ugh, I feel so sore. It felt like my whole body was breaking into pieces and the joints were stuck.

The whole mating experience was... to say the least, wasn't what I had expected or even wanted for that matter. I was reckless and stupid and definitely too young to make such decision.

I feel really bad. I mean, I shouldn't have agreed to all of this mating arrangement in the first place. Samuel deserves someone better; someone who would want to complete the mating ritual.

Yes, I'm his mate but I haven't bitten him back. I guess I should have feel more relieved when I had passed out during the mating ceremony that had given me an indirect escape from completing the ritual.

But I couldn't escape when he took me back home to his pack. We made love, of course, but then, when the moment came for me to bite him. I just couldn't do it. It was like, biting him, means the end of...

Sigh.

What am I talking about? The blasphemy of such thoughts; I'm practically a married woman for crying out loud. I shouldn't have harboured this futile hope of Alven loving me, for I am the one who had decided to mate with Samuel in the first place. Yes, it's my fault; me and my immature self.

Samuel... Forgive me.

Carrie.

***

"Don't you think you're being a bit harsh, love?" Gracielle asked, almost a whisper, as she snuggled close to her mate, feeling the warmth of their naked skins touching. He caressed the small of her back and shook his head. "She doesn't know..."

"I cannot bear the thought of her being overpowered by a low rank!"

She turned her head and looked at him, bending down and then trailed soft kisses on his sculpted chest. She went on top of him, her legs on his side. Her hair gently cascaded down her shoulder. "Is it your pride?" she asked him, staring at him.

"My pride?" he asked, pulling her down to him, kissing her lips.

Their tongues danced for a while, and then she gently pushed him down to the bed. "Yes, my love, your pride of being the Alpha,"

"Can we not talk about this now?" he asked, pulling her to him, and then went on top of her. He caressed the slope of her nose, breathing in her sweet flowery scent. "I love you, my Gracie..." he whispered, trailing kisses on the nape of her neck. His hands roamed all over her body, doing all the stuff that made her skin tingled.

She panted when his fingers reached down her sweet spot. The button that made her went wild all over. She growled. "We must... ah, talk, about this...Aveline and Maxwell..." she panted but he wouldn't let her talk more as he kissed her deeply.

"I promise you," he said, whispering, "We'll talk about this with Jerry as soon as possible," then he licked her neck, giving her playful little bites that made her go wild with lust.

She tugged at him, pulling him closer to her and they continued blissfully into the night, dancing with their own little love rhythm.

***

Aveline stared at the reflection of the healed bite mark on her neck. She touched it gingerly and winced. Max had bitten her, a little too deep than what was necessary. Alven was standing near the floor-length window, watching the other wolves roaming the area bathed with moonlight.

"Are you OK?" Alven asked, still watching the wolves.

"Apart from knowing that I'm goanna have a huge sex drive in my future, I'm perfectly all right," there was a hint of sarcasm on her voice.

That made him looked at her.

"What are you talking about?" Alven asked seriously.

"Dad had gone ballistic today, didn't you know?" Aveline asked back.

"I was out the entire week." he replied, "As if you don't know."

Aveline sighed. She stood up and then walked to him. She pulled her collar down and showed him the healed bite mark. He growled, "You're mated?!"

"Damn it Alven! I am most certainly not mated!"

"Then what the hell is that bite mark doing on your neck?!" His fists clenched tight. "Who is the moron?"

"Funny you should say that," Aveline said, "Bastard would have been the perfect word." She yanked her collar up, straightened her hair and then pushed open the balcony door. Cool air quickly filled the entire room. She breathed in the air, feeling the need to calm herself.

"Max...the human I met did this..." she said.

"A human?"

"He's not... entirely a human apparently, that jerk, he's a wolf but raised in the human world by his father. You remember Adrian? The story that Aunt Fiorelle had told us when we were kids?"

Alven shook his head, "Are you telling me that Adrian's son mated with you?"

"No, my god, Alven! Are you dense? Did you not hear what I've just said? I'm not mated!"

"Then why would he bite you?" he demanded.

"I attacked him in my wolf form and he didn't know any better. He's new in the wolf world I suppose, Dad didn't say much in details. He yelled at me most of the time, so.... basically, what Dad said was that Max had unknowingly marked me as his and no other wolves would dare to try to mate with me." She had this disgusted look on her face.

"Mark?"

"Yes, I've been marked!" She said heatedly, "And I bet no other wolves would even want to risk their lives for me!"

"I thought... you like this Max fellow..."

"That was before I knew what a lying scumbag he is!" she said angrily.

Alven sighed, he sat down on the plush armchair, "My head is already spinning with this whole Carrie problem and now..."

Aveline felt sorry to him, "I'm sorry, brother," she said, sitting down on the floor. "Don't worry much about me, I'll be OK, I promise you, I will not give in to my sex drive!"

"You sure?" Alven asked, "Marking can pull even the most stubborn wolf on his knees..."

Aveline smiled grimly, "Well, you can always knock me out unconscious..."

Alven scoffed, "That's something worth waiting for."

She hit him playfully. "I guess we shouldn't have gone to the human world in the first place..."

Alven looked at her, "What's life if we don't make mistakes?"

"A very boring one?" she smiled at him.

He stood up, "Come on, let's go out, I'll treat you doughnuts..."

She grinned, "What? Doughnuts can make us forget our problems?"

"Well, I love doughnuts..." Alven smiled back. "Do we need a reason to enjoy doughnuts?"

"No," Aveline smiled, she gingerly touched the healed scar on her neck. She sighed a bit but followed her brother out.

***

Jerry leaned back on his chair, sighing. Max looked straight to the alpha. Adrian was standing by the floor-length window, his arms folded. His head rested to the glass pane.

"Forgive me Jerry, I should have taught him about the rules," Adrian said regretfully.

Max turned his head and looked at his father, confusion washed over his face. He hadn't been gotten straight answers ever since Aveline had attacked him. It was only today that he was called into a meeting with the alpha. His father and the alpha had been discussing about this matter for more than a week already. It was far too long for him to bear.

"It is not your fault, I suppose," Jerry replied, "Aveline should have controlled her temper." He looked at Max, "Now, tell me, young one, why the Alpha Princess of Ruben Pack is so angry with you?"

"I've meet the Alpha Princess before," Adrian said, telling the Alpha, "She bought a cup of coffee, Origa Coffee, I think, if I remember correctly... she was with another girl...."

"That would be Carinelle, my daughter." Jerry said dryly.

Adrian smiled weakly, "Yes, I can see Fiorelle in her."

Jerry's eyes went wide, "She is our daughter," he repeated. "It is no surprise if she looks like her mother."

"Yes, indeed, my Alpha." Adrian replied, nodding his head. He could see that the alpha didn't like to talk more about his daughter.

"Sir? Alpha?" Maxwell called to the alpha.

Jerry turned his attention to Adrian's son, "Ah yes, Maxwell Thorn, do you have any idea of what you have done to the Alpha Princess Aveline?"

"I just.... it was self defence," Max said quietly, "I didn't know it was her... My wolf took control over me... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt her... Is she all right?"

Jerry smirked, "This is not the question of whether she is all right or not," Jerry said, pausing, "She heals faster than you can even blink."

But before Maxwell could even breathe with relief, Adrian added, "What does the Ruben Alpha say about this matter?"

"Ah, we have talked about this," Jerry said, looking at Adrian and then back to Max, who shivered abruptly; Jerry smiled wanly, "I heard that you and the Alpha Princess are very close."

Max blushed, "We're just.... friends,"

"Ah yes, good friends..." Jerry said with sarcasm in his voice, he looked at Adrian, "My friend, Adrian, shall I tell your son the news or do you rather to be the one to tell him?"

"W – what news?" Max looked at his father, "Dad, what's going on?"

Adrian sat down to a chair next to his son, and then, he said, "There are two important factors in this – um, case, Max, son, I suppose I should be the one to blame for I didn't expose the world of the wolves to you as much as I should have done," he paused, patting on his son's shoulder, "There's an ancient rule in the wolf system. It's something that we have never practiced in so many centuries, but the rule still applies and bonding..."

"Dad, can you please go straight to the point?" Max asked exasperatedly.

"When Aveline attacked you, she was in her wolf form and then yes, you did fight back in self defence but your wolf subconsciously aware that Aveline is a female wolf. That triggers a primal instinct inside you to dominate and subdue the wolf on her paws..."

Max cut his father's words, "And... when I bit her..." he couldn't bring himself to continue.

Jerry nodded, "Yes, when you overpowered and bit her, you consequently marked her as yours."

"Marked?" Max echoed.

"Yes, marked." Adrian nodded.

"Aveline's.... my mate?"

Jerry shook his head, "No, but she has been marked as yours, there's a difference in that," he paused, "The two of you will be drawn to complete the bond itself, no matter how much you resist."

"Avvie knows about this?" he asked, using her nickname.

Jerry frowned, clearly not approving this friendly approach, "She didn't know until her parents told her about this, but the most important thing here is that the Alpha Ruben did not like the fact that his only daughter had foolishly followed her temper and as a result of that, got marked by a low rank."

"The Alpha is ashamed of me?" Max asked, his voice filled with hurt.

Adrian sighed, "It is not a matter of shame..." he said, "It's how his daughter got marked was what irked him the most. Yes, we are low ranks and the alpha would have preferred an equal match but he knows about love. He knows that his daughter has some feelings towards you..."

"I have to mate with her?"

"Well, that is what the plan supposed to be, the marking will in the end be too much to bear, you'll be drawn to mate," Jerry said, "But Aveline remained stubborn on the matter, no matter what."

"She's angry with me..." Max whispered.

"Why is she so upset with you in the first place?" Jerry asked, wanting to know.

"Because... I left her with no words on where I was going." Max replied regretfully, "I suppose when she saw me, she felt betrayed..."

Jerry looked at him, not a word was spoken but he nodded, "If you do love my dear Aveline, then I suggest you to go and win her heart back. Yes, I know that in the end, you will be mated because of the marking but I would very much prefer that you two are mated on the basis of love."

"How long do I have?"

"As long as you can withstand the desire to mate with her..." Jerry answered grimly.

Max understood now. True, that he might not be the perfect potential mate for Aveline but, he did love her and, despite of everything that seemed to have gone wrong between them. He hoped that he could win her heart back...

***

The sound of the wolves howling woke Samuel up. He blinked, adjusting his eyes to the dark surrounding. He looked to the left and saw the Carrie wasn't by his side. He frowned, clearly not liking this situation at all.

"Carinelle?" he called out but just as he had expected, there was no reply. He cursed and then he could hear the sound of water splashing from the bathroom. He stood up, not even bothering to put on the robe which Carrie must have prepared for him. He went to the door, tested the doorknob and found that it was locked. He growled again, becoming more frustrated with how his mate was behaving.

No. Not mate. She wasn't completely his. He couldn't understand why she wouldn't complete the ritual and just bite him but he couldn't afford to waste more time on dealing about her behaviour. He's got an Alpha to overthrown.

And then, just as he turned to put on the robe, he heard her crying. It was faint but he could still hear her. What now? He thought grumpily but he was concerned at the same time. He turned the doorknob, forgetting that she had locked it from the inside. He focused his energy and then, broke open the doorknob. He knew that he had to replace the door later but that was not the main priority here.

He pushed open the door carefully, he could hear the sound of the shower louder and also, Carinelle's crying. He saw her silhouette from the shower curtain and felt aroused immediately. Her beautiful curvy outline seemed to tease him, calling him to close the gap and touch her. He swallowed. His throat felt stuck.

"Carrie?" He whispered but she didn't seem to hear him, "Carrie... love?" He walked closer and closer to the shower and then pulled the curtain open gently. She gasped, tears were flowing down her face and her naked form was even more beautiful and tempting up close.

He was in trance. It was as if he was under a spell. He went into the shower with her, despite of her feeble protests. His hands held hers, and his lips found purchase on the outline of her neck. He released his hold on her, as his hands ran down her back. Her arms fell numbly on her sides, frozen. He held her chin gingerly, and then kissing her lips deeply but she didn't kiss him back. It was as if she was cold and frozen. He would have thought that she had passed out if it weren't for her sobbing.

His hard-on poked on her flat belly and she took a step back. He pulled her back to him, now becoming angrier with her rejection. His wolf growled, telling her that he was the one in charge here. Not her! He pushed her to the shower wall, she gasped. His hands held her hands firmly above her head. He growled at her, wanting her to subdue to him. He stared at the healed bite mark on her neck and then bending down, licking the scar seductively.

"Bite me, my love, why wouldn't you bite me?" he asked quietly, teasing her by kissing her neck.

She moaned, unable to hold her own building desires despite of her sadness. "Please... Sam... Please stop," she pleaded, her head turned to the left and he kept on kissing her. His kissed then, trailed down to the valley of her breasts. He suckled one nipple, rolling it with his tongue, tugging, making her quiver under his ministrations.

He let go of her hands, he knelt down and started kissing her abdomen, trailing down to her warm sweet smelling centre. She gasped; her hands went down, entangled with his wet hair. The warm shower made the whole experience more surreal and pleasurable. He ran his hands down her thighs, and then he looked up at her. She looked at him, tears seemed to mix with the water shower. She looked so beautiful, he stood up. Their gaze never broke.