The Moonstone Wolf

THIS BOOK IS COMPLETED AND GOING THROUGH A FINAL EDIT, AND HAS BEEN APPLIED FOR THE PAY TO READ PROGRAM.  IF THE CHAPTER HAS A TITLE, THE FINAL EDIT HAS BEEN COMPLETED. Warning: This book contains TRIGGERS for s****l abuse, s****l situations, and light torture (nothing  too graphic or over-the-top and doesn't glorify it).  DO NOT READ THIS BOOK IF YOU ARE EASILY OFFENDED BY THESE TOPICS.  There will be a warning before each chapter and when it ends, just to help you navigate through the scenes. It has been and always will be my main goal to convey the message of hope, healing, friendship, and redemption to those who have been abused, and to not give up in seeking help.  I am here to EMPOWER victims, not to glorify the abusers, and will NEVER intentionally push the characters or readers so hard that it crosses that personal boundary of mine.    I promise that this book is not always dark and that it gets better and brighter.  But sometimes to appreciate the bright light for what it is, you have to see the darkness the characters have gone through and walked away from.   With this being said, proceed with caution for this episode.  THIRD PERSON POV     Esmane Prince walked the hallways of the old mansion, her heels clicking on the hardwood floors and echoing through the hall.  She passed the familiar paintings and photographs that adorned the walls, Alpha Kane’s ancestors flanking each side, the backdrop of the pale yellow paint poking through in between.  The older estate was meticulously maintained, carrying with it an almost regal sense of history.  Her Alpha Kane was what werewolves called a legacy- families that could trace their lineages back to when the Moon Goddess created them, making some of them the most powerful and established lineages in the world.  She was proud to call him her Alpha, despite his horrible and violent reputation toward other packs.    Esmane didn’t quite know what to expect however, being summoned to the alpha’s office this late in the evening, but you didn’t question him- you just obeyed.  As she approached his door she caught the scent of fresh pine and grass so strong it made her pause her actions, but she shook her head to clear it and knocked on the thick wooden door.  Instead of the usual command to come in, her alpha opened the door himself, and stood staring at her for a few moments with a confused expression.    That same scent hit her full force, taking her breath away completely.   The moment their eyes locked Esmane felt a warmth spread from her heart to the rest of her body that caught her off guard.  Kane pulled her inside after clasping her wrist, making sure to close and lock the door before pushing her against it with his body.  The warmth of his firm, muscular form radiating into hers was overwhelming, literally almost causing her to melt into him.   “Alpha Kane!  What are you doing?”, Esmane whispered breathlessly against his chest, her eyes afraid to meet his penetrating gaze.  Her heart was beating a million miles an hour, her breathing heavy and labored.  What in the world was going on with her?    She had never been attracted to the alpha before, even though she had begun to work closely with him, helping to plan events that he would hold at the estate.  She had been an assistant to the former planner since she was sixteen, but now that she had come of age and the old planner retired, she was now in charge and worked closely with him.  'Why am I feeling like this now?  After all this time?' , she wondered internally, but she had no answers.   Kane chose to ignore her question for the moment, his eyes roaming the beautiful woman before him.  He suddenly couldn’t get enough of her body- her pale skin, midnight black hair that had white, pearlescent highlights cascading down the length of her back, just stopping at her waist.  Her eyes were exquisite- a bright, vibrant green with the tiniest flecks of blue, surrounded by long, thick lashes that drove him wild when she batted them at him.  He wondered exactly when she had changed from an awkward, clumsy teenage girl to the unique, stunning woman in front of him.  Had he really been that blind to her?  Now looking over her generous curves, allowing his imagination to roam to places he wouldn’t have, he shuddered just imagining what she would feel like being underneath him, his bare skin against hers.     He inhaled deeply, to concentrate his thoughts- which was a huge mistake.  Her scent was overwhelming, like fresh peaches ripe from the sun mixed with the faintest hint of vanilla that was intoxicating.  He dipped his head to her neck and inhaled even more, afraid that he couldn’t take enough of it in.   “I’m not altogether sure… when did you become so beautiful Esi?”, he replied, making his beast rumble in his chest.  “I have never wanted anyone so badly as I want you right now…” his voice trailing off as he breathed her in, took her in, allowing her to drive him mad.   “Alpha Kane, please stop!  I don’t know what’s happening but please, let me go and we can talk,” she pleaded innocently.  He was starting to make her nervous, not in the way she expected to be when she met her mate for the first time.  Her wolf had the same mixed feelings, being torn between the warm feelings that kept spreading through her and the foreboding aura that surrounded him.  Like something or someone was lurking beneath the surface of his skin.   Kane’s face went blank for a moment as he pondered the sudden changes he felt, then his lips cracked into a gentle smile as he realized what it was.  “Oh, but I won’t stop Esmane, because you are my mate.” he finally answered her, relieved that he had found her.  That she was his.  His heart overflowed with the connection of the bond, sparks igniting at the touch of their skin.  He lost himself in her completely, the terrifying and legendary man suddenly coming under her spell.  That is, until his beast intervened.      ‘But she’s not yours, is she Kane?’, his wolf reminded him.  ‘You remember the deal we struck that night, and now I’m collecting on that payment.’    Kane hung his head in shame as he recalled that night and the deal he struck with his wolf.  Had he really known the cost of what he had agreed to, he never would have made it.  Not when Esmane was the payment.    ‘Don’t you dare back out of this now, boy.  You know what I’m capable of...’    Kane waged an internal war with his wolf, fighting to save the innocent woman that stood between his arms.  If he could only figure a way out, something he could offer that was greater...    ‘There is nothing greater than the mate bond, more precious than an alpha’s luna, boy!  You know that.  There is no way out.  Nothing you can do except give her to me.  Let me take over now, and I promise I won’t kill her.’    ‘But it will destroy her and she’ll hate me, never want anything to do with me again,’ Kane tried to reason with him but he would not change his mind.  After all, a promise is a promise.  His wolf kept up his end of their deal, now it was time for Kane to make good on his word.  Realizing there was no way out and that his beast would take over no matter if he allowed him to or not, he thought at least he could guarantee her safety.    ‘Fine, I fulfill my payment to you,’ Kane sighed in defeat.  ‘Just please don’t kill her.’    ‘Oh, I’m not going to kill her but I WILL make her mine!’, his beast declared despite his human’s protests.  The human part of Kane had always been weak and easily manipulated, so it was easy for his wolf to take over and put him behind the mental wall that he had been waiting to use.  Now that he was fully in control, he would really do as he pleased.  No, he wasn’t going to end her life- she was of far more value to him alive.  But... there was no reason why he couldn’t do as he pleased.      Esmane watched as Kane’s appearance darkened and his eyes changed to black orbs, his aura growing even more dark and threatening.  She and her wolf shuddered as she could feel her other half pacing frantically, trying to help her figure out how to get out of this.    “You are mine, and I will make you mine tonight," he growled into her ear, moving his lips to her neck where he would mark her.  "Whether you accept it or not makes no difference to me- but either way, I will have you.  How I take you is your choice,” he said in his deepest Alpha tone, causing her to whimper fearfully in submission.  Her eyes grew round and wide, filled with fear as she realized his meaning, making the corners of his mouth creep up into a sadistic smile.   He stepped back just enough to still corner her with his muscular arms, taking in the effect he and the bond was having on her.  Her body trembled at his touch, her skin grew hotter beneath his lips each time they caressed her skin.  She quietly moaned when he pressed his body into hers, driving his body mad with desire, the beast thoroughly enjoying the control he had over her.     Kane’s wolf had always hated the idea of having a mate.  He had witnessed how weak and careless powerful alpha’s and warriors would become once they found them.  He saw the power that their other half held over them, especially when they were in heat, and he’d be damned if he ever fell victim to her spell.  He’d seen so many lose their lives or their kingdoms over the stupid bond, his father being one of them.  He gave his life to protect his mother, allowing them both to be killed, leaving Kane and his pack to fend for themselves when he was just a young boy.   That night he made a deal with his wolf in exchange for safety, power and protection, and became the sadistic and violent alpha of legend, training his pack to be one of the fiercest and strongest packs in battle.  They killed without mercy, plundered and stole entire kingdoms and packs, and took what he knew to be his by the laws of war, including women.  His mate was no different except that she was a payment of a debt owed.   “What will it be, my mate?”, he said with a sneer as his hand grabbed both of hers and yanked them above her head, causing her to yelp in pain and fear.  His other hand began to roam her body freely, following the curves of her body despite her protests.  “Mine,” he growled.   Esmane’s eyes widened and her lips quivered as she tried to be brave in the face of this monster.  She realized that the words he spoke were true: he was her mate- she was 18 today.  The way her body responded to his touch and his voice made it very clear that he was, in fact, hers.  And even worse, she was his.  Her wolf agreed, even though she was trembling and pleading with his to do something to control Kane- with no response except an eerie, dead silence.   A small gasp left her as Kane drew closer to her lips, his eyes threatening her as he awaited her decision.  Her thoughts were racing, trying to come to terms with what was happening. Why on earth would the Moon Goddess pair her with this monster?!  It had to be a mistake!  The Goddess, couldn’t, wouldn’t do that to her, would she?     The violent jerk of Kane’s free hand on her hip snapped her back into the harsh, terrifying and current truth.  That this was really happening.  Her nightmare was coming true.   “Kane, please.  I don’t want it to be like this,” she pleaded with all the strength she had in her.  “I don’t want my first time to be this way- not on this day,” she said in a trembling voice she didn’t recognize as her own.  She was desperately trying to appeal to any part of him that was still decent, that still cared for his mate.  She had no idea that the human part of the man before her was trapped in his own mind by his own wolf, powerless to overcome his control and watch helplessly through his own darkened eyes.   “I didn’t ask you what you wanted,” his monster hissed.  “I asked you what your decision was!  And that is your ONLY choice right now little wolf.  What will it be?”   Her tears finally spilled over her eyes and she just closed them and let them fall.  She didn’t see any way out, no way to yell for help, and she had never been trained how to fight off an alpha wolf.  He was at least 4 times her size and strength, her mate, and her Alpha, the last two of which bound her to him.  And he knew exactly how to use all of it against her while she had no idea how to reverse it.   ‘Break the mate bond,’  the thought crossed her mind in that moment.  Could that be it?  Could breaking the bond help loosen some of his control over her?  She hoped it would.  She at least had to try, so she focused on the anguish and the disappointment instead of fear, slowly allowing it to develop into the strength she needed.   “You win, Kane,” she quietly whispered but she refused to bare her neck to him.  She felt her wolf strengthen her, giving her a boldness she didn’t know she had within, and she locked eyes with his.  “I will submit to you, but I will NEVER fully be yours,” she continued defiantly.  “You may be my mate but you cannot have my heart, my dreams, or my spirit.  I will NEVER be yours.”     His eyes widened in surprise and when his grip loosened slightly on her wrists, she yanked her hands free and they both stood facing each other.      She would not back down.      She pushed him back towards the wall with every word, every step she took, mustering up every available ounce of courage and sass within her.  “I, Esmane Prince of the Black Moon Pack, reject you, Kane, Alpha of the Black Moon Pack, as my mate.  I hate everything about you!”, she defiantly declared, her heart shattering into a million pieces.  Surprisingly there was only a small burning in her chest, possibly because the mate bond had been breaking ever since his wolf had taken over and it was effected by his actions.   His eyes widened as pain erupted in his body as if a sharp, hot knife and been drilled into his heart and tore it out, driving him to his knees in agony.  He clutched his chest and cried out, finding it difficult to breathe through the most horrific pain he had ever experienced.      Once it subsided, he refocused himself after she rejected him.  He glared at her but admired her defiance, her resolve, and her strength.  Most women would be a heaping pile of tears and fear, but no- not his Esmane.  He thought for a brief moment that if he ever would have taken a mate, he would have been proud to have her as his. But then, no one in their right mind would have ever rejected him before, and he’d see to it that no one else ever would.     As he glared at her, he grew to become the embodiment of rage, lust and violence.  His beast was surfacing, combining with his human body for a partial shift- the most powerful form they had.  He felt his teeth elongating, his fingers sharpening into claws, his form doubling in strength and power.  His entire being changed to one she had never, ever witnessed before.  THIS was the Kane that every woman’s nightmare was made from.  The one of legend.   “You stupid, stupid girl,” he sneered, completely and utterly enraged.  “You just rid yourself of the only thing that would have offered you any protection at all from me.  Now, there is absolutely nothing holding me back from doing exactly what I want with you...”