Descendent of the Moon

Raphael's POV: 

I looked over at Jo, who was staring at me with sad eyes. I told him I would be running back to camp before I turned from the car and raced into the woods. I desperately needed to run off my emotions.

I mind link Jo: 'Speak nothing about this to anyone. For now, this is between you and me. Do you understand?'

Jo responded quickly: 'I figured as much Alpha, I understand. '

I took a detour, finding myself where I had shared my first memories of my mate, who was now gone, and I wasn't sure if she would return. Her scent lingered around, drawing me and holding me captive for a while before I headed back to camp.

As I arrived, I avoided everyone, heading straight into my tent.

I immediately linked Jo: 'Please find and bring me any books on rare wolf heritage you can find.'

He instantly linked back to me: 'Yes, Alpha, I will head back to the castle now. I will be back as soon as possible.'

The following day, around 1 a.m., the sun had not yet risen, and I had no sleep in sight. Jo finally stumbled into my tent. I was lying in my bed staring up at the ceiling of the tent.

"I sensed you wouldn't rest. I came back as fast as I could. I didn't realize our scouting camp had made it this far out," Jo said, setting a small stack of books on my side table. 

"Thank you, Jo. You're a great Beta." My response was the truth. He was as loyal and trustworthy as they came. 

"Alpha, why do you need these books, if you don't mind me asking? When we dropped her off at her car, I could tell she was your mate. Was there something different about her?" His question was valid, and I trusted him.

There was a part of me that held back on telling him, but I finally caved. 

"Everything Jo, everything was different," I said, slowly flipping through the pages of one book.

"I need anything about white wolves. Jo, you attended several years of wolf heritage classes. Does anything stand out when you think of white wolves?" I wasn't sure what I was looking for, but I knew her white fur was a significant clue as I had never seen a white wolf before. 

"That depends, Alpha. I can think of a few. May I ask if she had purple eyes?" His question took me aback because I had never heard of a wolf with purple eyes until I laid my eyes on hers, yet he seemed to have heard of this before.

"What is she? What type of wolf is she?" My questions were more like pleas, and I suddenly felt anxious. 

Jo's eyes widened. He took his Beta duties seriously. All his free time was spent doing extra studies on wolves, heritage, training methods, and anything he could to be of the most value to his alpha and king.

"No way," Seth said, looking slightly surprised and intrigued.

"Alpha, there are no books on her wolf. According to the tales, they went extinct over 600 hundred years ago, and the Moon Goddess wiped all their history away from our planet. Selene cursed the breed out of fear, leaving them unable to reproduce. There are rumors that people have been gifted the Tempus Mutare throughout the years after their kind died off. According to some legends, it's supposed to be a sign that something big will happen. While some people have said they have seen this wolf throughout the last 600 hundred years, not many can account for it. Some have said that they are typically murdered or go into hiding as power-hungry wolves and other supernatural creatures often seek out their gifts. Up until now, I assumed they were just tales and rumors. Alpha, are you sure she was a white wolf? Her hair was as red as blood." His thoughts were mirroring my own, but I knew what I saw. 

 "That was exactly what I thought; her fur was nothing like her hair, which I thought was impossible. You say they are often in danger... that means that no one has realized she was born, or no one has been able to find her. I guess that makes sense since she was orphaned to humans..." My thoughts were going around in my head a hundred miles an hour, wondering what this meant and everything that had led up to this moment. 

"My King, she is not safe out there with humans. If anyone discovers that the Tempus Mutare has been reborn and without protection, she will be in more danger than we could fathom. That's assuming that no one has already. Her coming into our territory will surely spike awareness. We don't know if anyone saw her in the woods earlier. Let's not forget we are out here scouting for rogues and other threats based on the commotion we have heard along the Western territories. Alpha, her scent was different, like something familiar, but I can't put my finger on it," Jo's voice was shaky.

I could tell he didn't want to share this realization with me, but I couldn't help it. My Alpha aura leaked out instinctively, turning bright red and flooding the surrounding area with a furious red glow. 

Jo covered his eyes. "My king, that ... that will only draw attention," Jo said quietly, bringing me back into reality. 

"Jo, I need to get her back here immediately. Her scent roaming around this forest could have already alerted others of her existence. I should have known; I could smell her the second I was within 20 feet of her. Her scent was different, but I was clouded by my mate bond and urges." I hated that at that moment; I felt desperate and weak for not handling this all better. 

Atti whimpered at my response. 'I'm sorry, Raph, I should have paid more attention,' Atti responded. 'It's not your fault, Atti,' I replied. 

"Jo, you need to gather all of our fastest warriors and have them shift and run circles in and around the areas that Phoenix has run in." This should help, at the very least, mask the scent, which I now recognize as the scent of the moon.

It didn't even make sense to me how I knew that. Her primary scent was warm, freshly baked vanilla cupcakes. When I finally realized she was my mate, the scent of the moon was there, but I was too excited and shaken up about the situation to pay enough attention.

Jo knowingly nodded his head and left the tent. I calmed down a little bit at the sound of the warriors quickly obeying the orders while I sat and tried to think of a plan. 

She hardly knows me and doesn't seem to know much about being a werewolf at all.

How is she going to react when I arrive at her house to tell her she needs to stay with me and that she is in danger?

I had a gut feeling this would be bad, but I needed to protect her.

I needed to protect my mate.

I couldn't wait any longer. After changing my clothes, I grabbed a few things and headed out of the tent. She may not like the circumstances, but she would be coming with me until I could ensure she was safe at her parents.