Moon Song - Marking Territory by Taina Chapter 3

I cursed the gravel instead, ignoring Cairo's arched eyebrows every time he steadied me. Cairo was silent as ever, I swear, his company could rival a brick wall for all his conversation ever did--or lack there of.

Our territory consisted of about 300 of a miles radius of Denver Drove, and I noticed every time we reached the edges of our boundaries, Cairo would spit on the ground, and rub in the soil as if he were marking our territory.

Which meant, any outside predators that even stepped foot in our bounds was liable for getting his or her head bitten off. A statement that was mandatory to report back to an Alpha, despite that said Alpha was my older brother. It'll only give Satchel a reason to kill off Cairo once and for all. What with his supposed reputation, and being a rival bloodline, I wasn't surprised. Not to mention the fact that I was his little sister. Ugh! That term always rubbed me up the wrong way, and I wished he'd see me as a human first, and an Alpha's little sister second.

This season marked my very own transition into adulthood, which meant, in werewolf-lore, I was eligible to be mated. Being the only Pure-bred female, was another reason why I was on close watch with Satchel, because that meant, any guy unfortunate enough to impregnate me, meant their off spring will be a Pure-bred, thus the reason I'd been kept on a small leash.

You'd think he'd give me at least the decency of recognizing I was an adult, and no longer his "little" sister he so kindly reminded me of everyday, but not Satchel. I already felt sorry for anyone who dared to welcome the wrath of Mr. Alpha-Satchel-King-of-Rage-and-Fury.
The rumble of thunder snapped me back to awareness, and my eyes sought out the gloomy clouds hovering overhead.

"We need to find cover," a low voice bellowed beside me, and my head snapped to his ever present scowl. I'd almost forgotten I was still in Cairo's company, but the crack of lightening startled me again, steeling my attention. Oh God! I hate thunderstorms. My heart rate kicked up a notch, and my eyes skittered around to find something that looked like potential cover. I ran.

"Derryn! Cairo's shout's and protests sounded behind me, my name almost dying on his lips, but they seemed muffled by the obnoxious sounds of the thunderstorm. I dodged through pine trees, dashing through stray branches, scratching the surface of my skin as I passed. The instant torrential downpour had drenched me in a semblance of wet sloshy clay as I stumbled to the ground, and the gritty surface made running all the more difficult. Shuffling to my feet, I picked myself up and surveyed my surroundings. 

My human eyesight rendered me to a complete blurry mess in front of me, and I no longer heard Cairo's voice in the distance. The surge of water pelted on me in huge rivulets, pounding me with its wrath. With Mama singing me a lullaby whenever a thunderstorm hit. I screamed as another crack tore through the night air, and it sounded right in front of me, causing me to an abrupt halt when a picture of a crooked Z blazed up ahead. I pivoted, and ran the other way, as if my life depended on it. I was paning, rushing forward, as my boots made sloshy sounds in the wet ground.

The stubborn pelts of water was relentless, making the man made path ahead of me a little blurry. God! I hate thunderstorms.
"Derryn! How did it get dark so fast?

Panting, I ordered my wolf-eyes to the surface, and the minute he ordered me to calm down, my nerves subsided, as I clenched on to him when another rumble hit. I must've stood in his arms for more than a minute, before I got my bearings right, and managed to slow my heart rate. Causing small floods in ditches, and mud to brown ponds. Cairo informed me, his chin moving against my face as he spoke. He had surprisingly smooth skin for a guy his age, as if he'd stolen a face of a three month old baby, and plastered it on an older guys body. I wondered how old he was? He couldn't have been no older tan Satchel.

I vaguely heard what he was saying, and before I had the chance to nod my affirmation, he snaked his hands under my knees to scoop me in his arms--bridal style, and lifted me as if I weighed no more than a feather.

I was shaking, and shivering, and my arms found leverage, as I clutched on to his neck. I used this as a lifeline, squeezing harder as another thunder hit, and the clouds blinked bright blue, as if a huge camera flash went off. My eyes stained the nightmare up ahead, and I squirmed as another lightening cracked under pressure.

"It's okay, I've got you," he murmured in my ears, bringing my eyes back down to his face. The brief flash lit up his face, making shadows cast over him. "You've got some grip on you, Red Fox," he drawled, his hot breath skimming my ears. I stifled a cry, and my eyes widened when I almost strangled him. I watched silver droplets slide from his unruly curls, dripping on my cheek to my lips, and his scent awakens my taste buds.

I blinked up at Cairo's golden flecks, and realized he'd been carrying me for quite some time. He bent down with me still in his arms, and kicked at a pile of ferns, and pines shrewn haphazardly over the ground. I watched him pull at a small rope of flax that resembled a handle, where a trap door revealed itself as more o the branches shifted a little when he lifted it to open. He slammed the hatch shut, securing the bolt, muffling the sound of the raging beast of a weather that was going on outside on the other end.

The minute we were safe from the surge, he walked me down a flight of concrete stairs, and into a small concrete shelter that served as a bomb shelter. The small place had a makeshift bed made out of some kind of animal skin, and it was surprisingly warm when I noticed a small fire blazing in a crevice made out of stone in the corner where a pot of what looked like water was brewing ontop. A loose string of rope hung omniously above, with Cairo's clothes draping over to make as some kind of washing line. A pair of jeans, sweatpands, a couple of hooded tops, and a white wife beater. He snatched the clothing off the line, and shoved them in his backpack.

"You need to change out those clothes," he said, nodding toward my drenched attire. My eyes settled on the black mark that was peering out of his jeans just near his right hip, and I had to swallow a couple of times when my mind started wandering into Perv territory...

I managed to strip to my underwear, and bra, my heavy clothes making wet sloppy noises as they landed at my feet. I clamped my mouth shut, scolding myself for the invasion. Oh yeah? This startled him, and I could almost hear his heart beating a little faster than it was before. I smirked. I'd rather hear from the lions mouth, than getting caught in the headlights of stupid rumors."

"You almost done?" he asked, his feet shifting from one foot to the other.
"No!" I squeaked, almost shoving his hood over my head for fear of him catching me undecent.
Immediately, I froze, realizing too late that whatever he'd been staring at on me, had summoned his beast. My eyes lowered to his feet in submission, and I stifled a squirm when I heard the low growl hum inside his throat. My heart was fighting to be calm.

I blinked, as I tried not to succumb to the tantalizing sensation of his scent, as it wafted through my nose, and I managed a small gasp as he leaned in at the crook of my neck, and sniffed. A low hum sounded at the back of his throat, like some kind of purring noise, while his eyes glowed an orange-yellow hue. I was at the mercy of Cairo's beast in his human form, and I'd never experienced such a perilous moment, as I was in now. I let my head arch backward, giving him free way of my neck, only half realizing that if he wanted, he could snap my neck with one fast move of his hands.

A loud siren sounded in the distance, a warning of a tornado. The sound must have snapped Cairo out of his trance, because he managed a blink, as the glow in his eyes faded to a subtle brown.
He seemed to frown, as if realizing where he was, when his gaze settled on my eyes. I gulped in a breath, as his eyes settled on my lips.

I nodded, and abruptly, he pushed off the wall, and walked toward the opposite side of the small room, kneeling down to fish something out of his back pack. As if nothing had happened. Knowing that Cairo was possibly completely naked behind me, and my whole skin was ablaze at the unwarranted thoughts that I'd conjured up in my mind. Stop it!

"I've never had a females eyes on me before." There was no hint of cockiness behind his statement, and I could just make out the small sense that he was smiling. Just judging from his light tone. I tried to ignore the fact that it feels good, but instantly empty the thought out of my head.

Great! My heart started thumping in my chest at his words. I squeezed my eyes shut tighter, and started thinking about something else. Anything that would stop me from the ungodly thoughts in my mind. Okay, bad image, because now I had a picture of Cairo dripping wet. Slowly, I turned around, and sighed. His body was covered with the light gray hooded zip up I'd worn this morning, and a pair of dark black jeans hanging on his waist. He scrubbed a hand through his wet hair and pointed to the fire. I shook my head to answer, "no" when my stomach rumbled in protest. He cocked an eyebrow at me, and I avoided eye contact, figuring the fire was more interesting. "A little hungry," I admitted sheepishly. Cairo handed me a wooded spoon with it, and sat on the far wall using the pot as his own bowl.

"There's only one bed, so make yourself comfortable." We sat in silence, eating and I was distracted every time he sent a mouthful to his lips. The stories I'd heard about Cairo were so ridiculous, some weren't even worth mentioning. If anything, Cairo was more human than I could say for a lot of the guys in our pack. My face blanched, and I blinked at Cairo's expectant gaze. I shook my head, hating the fact that I was staring at him. "Nothin’," I mumbled, scooping more soup into my mouth trying to avoid eye contact, but my treacherous eyes still wanted to peek.

He sighed, finishing off his food. "Okay, what's on your mind. I bit my lips. "Right, what is it this time?"
My eyes bugged out, raising my eyebrows in surprise. I'm the beast among the beasts, apparently. Okay," I dragged out, placing my bowl beside me, and wiped stray crumbs off my clothes. I looked him square in the eyes. That story was hot topic among our pack, so I was itching to find out if it were true. House did almost burn me alive. I froze. "Your father?" I rasped, my face agape at his comment.
His jaws tensed, as if he were remembering a bad memory.

I cleared my throat, thinking about the absurd rumors that our pack passed around the fire, when the pack met up for our weekly meetings. "Your birthmark...is the mark of the Devil?"
He shook his head, a smile forming on his lips. "False. But it is the mark of my bloodline.”
"You've eaten human body parts?" "False! I was fighting against my own smile. I shook my head. "Sorry, not my business."
"It wasn't a question; it was a statement that was clear in his eyes. He nodded, averting his eyes down at the empty pot and frowned. "Yeah," he croaked, scrubbing his hands over his chin. I think of the sound his flute made when he’d played it earlier. I pursed my lips regarding him expectantly.
“Cairo?”
“Yeah?”
“Thanks.”
“For not laughing. I hate storms, and…yeah…”
We settled in for the night, but sleep is the last thing on my mind.
View next Chapter Bellow by Tania
Chapters
Chapter 1: Prologue by Tainia
Chapter 2: Wolf Scent by Tainia
Chapter 3: Marking Territory by Tainia
Chapter 4: Rude Awakening by Tainia
Chapter 5: Stolen Oath by Tainia
 

 

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