Zana’s POV
Upon reaching the esplanade, the Moon is at its highest point. If it weren't for it, I would be wrapped in total darkness in the valley. Without losing another second, I tie my coyoles and let the lub-dub sound of my heart mark my steps as if it were the rhythm of the drums. I begin to move my feet, my hips, my waist until my body finds itself dancing in a fervent prayer to the Moon goddess; the same as every night, the same that has been for years.
“Please Moon goddess, allow me to be listened by my father, let my voice cross the barrier of his heart and allow me to explain to him that it was not me, that I only tried to defend her. Please mother Luna, listen to my prayer and this sacrifice.”
I continue dancing; I no longer feel the pain on my bare feet. After so long, the rattling of the coyoles echoes, resounding in the silence of the night, and I can feel the breeze of the wind refreshing my body, which seems to be on fire.
The sweat that runs through my body due to the intensity of the dance falls to the floor like raindrops and mixes with the reddish stains of the blood that has begun to emanate from my feet. But I don't care; this sacrifice is for her and for me.
But, after so many nights, today something doesn't feel the same. I feel restless and I feel like I'm being watched, as if I weren't alone.
I decide to ignore that feeling and continue dancing until my body is about to fall exhausted. With a last prayer, I stop, looking at the sky and feeling the light of my mother Moon illuminating my face. I can't help the tears that escape from my eyes. "Moon goddess, open my father's eyes, make him see how much I miss him and how much I need my daddy back.”
As I raise a last prayer in silence, at that moment I hear a low and terrifying growl that comes from the darkness. My skin reacts to the fear that it has caused me. I try to focus my gaze towards the place where that fierce growl was heard, and then I saw it.
Almost as black as the darkest night, a huge beast with black fur that seemed to glow blue under the moonlight, eyes so black that they looked like empty sockets.
Even from the distance I was from the beast, I could tell that it was easily more than 3 meters tall. There it was, staring at me. And then, I saw it raising its snout, sniffing the air, like a beast stalking its prey. I could see how it began to salivate, closing those black orbs that had not stopped watching me.
And as if my body had a consciousness of its own, I ran as fast as I could to get away from whoever that was.
Everything had happened so quickly, but those moments had seemed eternal. I had never been so terrified; I still am. If that beast catches me, this will be the last night my eyes will see the light of the moon.
I run as fast as I can, until I feel sure that it is not following me. If it did, there would be no chance for me to escape from such a beast. I have never seen a Lycan so big and, above everything, so intimidating. Not even my father has caused me so much fear.
Just thinking about those deep black orbs following my every move, it was like it could see every single hair on my skin prickling with fear. But for some reason, there was something else that I can't figure out. And it's that for a moment all I could think about was running my hands over the top of his head, burying my face in his neck, and feeling the softness of his fur tickling my face.
I'm sure of something: that Lycan is not part of my pack, and for some reason, he didn't give off that unpleasant smell of rotten meat and swampy water that Lina describes as the stench of rogues, beasts without a pack, without a clan, soulless beasts, thirsty for blood and death.
But this Lycan is different; he exuded authority, and the scent emanating from him so overpowering, almost intoxicating, like dark chocolate, fresh mint and the fresh scent of the forest morning dew. My heart flutters as I remember those seconds standing in front of him. Who was he, what was he doing there, and why didn’t he attack me?
With that scare, the rush, and my mind wandering, without realizing it, I am already standing in front of my bedroom window. But something is not right; no, something is definitely very wrong.
A light coming from my room tells me that once inside, serious problems await me. I knew that this could happen sooner or later, so, without further delay, I decided to enter through the window.
My feet haven’t touched the floor when an indescribable pain runs from my neck to the top of my head. My father's hand lifts me up in the air, taking me by my hair so he could see my face, and while he shakes me in the air hitting me hard against the wall, he starts flogging me with fresh branches of acacia tree; I can feel the thorns ripping my skin open and I can smell my own blood staining my clothes. as I lye on the floor covering my face with my arms, he yells at me.
“Where the hell were you?”
“Dad, I- I w-went to practice, you know, for, for the ceremony!”
Fear had consumed me and I was not able to put together a complete word. The fear in my voice became more and more evident along with the whimpers that scaped my mouth with every lash that my father was delivering to my already bloodied broken body and the contempt of my father towards me.
“Liar, you were surely wallowing with every man you found in your path. You are nothing more than a creeping snake. You are not worthy of being in my presence. I am going to send you to hell with my own hands!”
My father's words felt like daggers stabbing into my chest. No matter how many times he expressed his hatred and repulsion towards me, it has never stopped hurting.
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“Please my Alpha, clear your anger!”
I heard the voice of Lina, my lady in waiting, imploring to my father not to continue tormenting me.
“It was my idea, I was the one who suggested that she should practice the ritual for the day of the banquet, my Alpha. Please forgive my audacity.”
Malina was lying for me, risking her life in it.
“Please daddy, forgive me, I swear that I will never set foot outside again, you will never hear a single sound come out of my mouth if you don't want it. I will be like a bad memory from the past, you won't even know that I exist. But please don't take me away from here, I'm begging you, daddy, please.”
Tears overflowed my cheeks while crying threatened to drown out my words.
“Silence; guards! Put up barricades in the windows. I don't want you to go out for any reason. If I find out that you are left unsupervised for a single moment, I will paint the walls with your blood.”
My father could be too intimidating, and he never threatened in vain. He turned around and left my bedroom. Malina watched in silence until my father was out of sight in the hallway. She closed the door, and with a serious voice she said to me “This time, I don't think I can do much for you. Your birthday is coming up, and you know what that means.”
Malina retired to the bathroom to prepare the tub for me to take a bath. I wasn't cold, but I couldn't stop shivering. Lina’s words made my blood run cold.
Once inside the tub, I couldn't believe that I had forgotten that, in a couple of days, the very day of the banquet was my birthday and that meant that it would be the day I would finally meet my nagual (lycan) for the first time.
Lycan women do not transform until the age of 21, unlike men who can transform around 15, with the exception of Alphas offspring, who have been able to do it since they were 13.
All my brothers have been able to do it for several years now, and despite being the oldest, it has not happened for me yet. Lina says that it is not normal, that there is surely a spell conjured by a shaman or witch doctor at the request of my father.
The legends of the Pack say that it was a way of the mother moon to protect women. 6 months after the first encounter with our lycan, we go into heat, and if the partner destined for us by the mother moon has not been found, the woman becomes vulnerable, especially every full moon after the first heat.
Xali’s POV
“My Alpha, Zana is causing you nothing but problems. Why don’t you marry her to one of the heads of the packs who will attend the banquet? I don’t know, maybe Alpha Eecat is willing to take her as his second wife; I have learned that he lost her Luna in a battle and has no heirs.
I have heard that commissioners from the most important packs are expected to come to the banquet celebration. Why not take advantage of that traitor daughter of yours and thus remove that thorn that is stuck in your heart? After all, you will never see her again, and in exchange, you could receive a very good dowry for getting rid of her.”
Xali’s malicious words whispered into the ear of a man corroded by hatred and the pain of having lost his mate, the great and only love of his life, echoed in the Alpha’s head.
Zana’s POV
“Zana, Zana, come out now! I've heard something terrible!”
Malina whispered from the other side of the door while I washed out the blood from my feet and carefully scrubbed my sore body after the beating that Dad gave me.
“What's wrong, Lina? What could be worse than what I'm already used to?”
“The worst thing you could imagine, Zana. I accidentally overheard that bitch Xali trying to convince the Alpha to sell you to one of the alphas that will come to the banquet in a couple of days!
That bitch continues to poison the Alpha's blood against you; it's as if she had him under a spell. Oh, how I would enjoy sinking my fangs into that bony neck. If it weren't for the fact that it would put your life at risk, I would have done it a long time ago.”
“What? No, no, no; ¡no! Oh, Mother Moon, it can't be true! Lina, if they take me away from the pack, I will never be able to discover who is truly responsible for Mom's death!
Why? Why on the same day as the banquet between the packs? No, no matter what happens, I can't leave. I prefer death!”
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. In a few days, I will finally be able to meet my nagual, my Lycan, and that would bring me closer to discovering who is responsible for Mom's death. And once and for all, I will be able to settle accounts, and Dad will finally be able to see that I am innocent.
But, although I have never expressed it out loud, listening to Lina talk about how much she wishes to find her mate given by the Moon goddess, her destined mate, and about the incorruptible bond of love and loyalty, I prefer to die before giving myself to someone who is not the one the goddess has destined for me.
Xol’s POV
I returned to this side of reality; How good it feels to get back to my old ways, to feel free to run in my original form after being tied to the shadows. If it weren't so tiring to cross dimensional bridges, I would do it all the time.
I jump onto the castle terrace, my bones rearranging before hitting the ground. I take my boxers to cover my nakedness before entering. Walking down the hallway to get to my room, I run into Pili, who looks at me up and down and with a smile I already know, she let me know that the tub is ready and suggestively ask me if I need anything else. (Pili is good at what she does, but she can't accept that what happened between us was a mistake and will never happen again.) I thank her and send her off to her room, after all, it's past midnight…
I enter my bedroom, lie down on the bed, and automatically raise my arm to carefully observe the bells anklet. They are finely carved and woven between the leather and the fabric that keeps them in place. It is not difficult to see that it’s definitely a fine piece and could be considered jewelry. The more details I try to observe, I find myself bringing it closer to my face and inhaling the aroma of its owner that strongly emanates from it, and immediately my member becomes as hard as a rock, my Lycan goes crazy inside my conscience and urges me to let him come back to the surface. He wants to go look for the owner of the bells. I manage to control him, although he leaves my consciousness not willingly. What the hell is wrong with me?
Getting out of bed I go to the tub. The water has cooled a little, but being a Lycan, the temperature is not something that bothers me at all.
I close my eyes to try to relax, but when I close them, my mind rewards me with the sweet figure of the midnight dancer.
I can see how her breasts sway up and down and the firmness of her erect nipples outlined by the thinness of her clothes rubbing against her delicate skin. The firmness and roundness of her butt and the perfect curves of her strong, silky, scantily covered legs, the smallness of her feet and the grace with which her movements give life to the bells, her hair waving in the wind with each movement as if they had a life of their own, the voluptuousness of her full and naturally reddish lips.
My erection has become painful, the tip of my member is red and swollen and asking for relief that I cannot deny. No one has ever made me feel this way. I have to see her again.