Chapter 13 Barren Lands

(Alexander POV)

Her golden eyes were staring into mine. I felt naked. Like she could see right through me.

I had to stop her hand from going down my navel. If her hands were able to, ah, travel further down my body, she would be straddling me with me inside her at the back seat of this car. Who cares if Oliver and David were with us in the car? Certainly I wouldn't. But Hope deserved better than a quick romp inside a car.

Just thinking of her on top of me naked has gotten me hard. Damn, I need to stay the perfect gentleman just a while longer. After our mating ceremony and all the pretenses, we will have all the time in the world to explore each other's bodies. For now, I needed to control myself.

I pull her to me and place her back against my chest and wrap her in my arms. "While humans use rings to symbolize a union, we wolves mark our mates."

"Mark? Like a tattoo?" She asked. I chuckled at her innocent question. She was so charming.

"Not quite like a tattoo." I make her sit properly, facing me and I look into those gold eyes. I move her hair and expose her beautiful neck. I run my fingers down her neck to where it meets her clavicle. I felt her shiver at my touch. I affected her as much as she affected me. "I have to bite you here." I tell her without removing my eyes from hers.

"Next you're going to suck my blood," she jokes.

"I'm not a vampire." I tell her incredulously.

"Ooooooohhhh, do vampires exist?"

"Maybe. You have to find out for yourself."

"Awwww. No fun." She wrinkles her nose into a pout. So adorable. "Ok. You bite me and that's it? Nothing else? After that, we're formally mates?"

"That's it. I mark you and you become Luna," I tell her.

"Luna? Am I like the queen of the pack?"

I laugh. So innocent. "Kind of like that. You rule by my side. Our bond will make me stronger, our pack stronger. And because you're so special, I know we will become stronger than ever." I kiss her nose.

"Now you sound like a gold-digger," she jokes and pats me on the chest.

"I'm guilty as charge. I have no shame." She laughs and rests her head on my chest, snuggling as close as she could. I felt my pants tighten. I groan. Mating ceremony please come!

David was driving fast to get to the barren lands as soon as possible. I don't know what Hope knows about the lands of her former pack, but for eighteen years, the land has been nothing but a barren waste land. All dark, damp, everything in it...dead. No one dare travel near the barren lands at dark. It is said many of those who did, committed suicide. It was an old wives' tale, but no one I knew of has ever dared passing through here at night.

The Dark Moon Pack territory was separated from the barren lands by a creek that comes from the mountains. The water of the creek has two colors. One half is blue, while the other half black.

Before the famed Priestess Adella and Alpha Davis were murdered, the two packs were strong allies and trade partners. My father told me, it came as a shock to hear the Rogue Lord had found Priestess Adella. She was the favorite of the Moon Goddess and communed with her regularly. Adella was also the wisest and most knowledgeable of all the Priestesses - she knew what runes, spells and incantations to use to make her invisible to her enemies. When Crescent Moon was attacked by the Rogue Army, the warriors of the Dark Moon Pack came to their aid through the creek that separates our  two boundaries, however as hard as they tried, they couldn't get past the creek. My father believed someone in the Crescent Moon Pack betrayed Adella and Davis and to cover it up, had all the members killed during the onslaught.

After Adella and David were killed, dark clouds suddenly covered the full moon bringing in torrents of rain. It rained for hours causing a massive flood within the territory of Crescent Moon which wiped out everything and everyone in it.

When the rain stopped the night of the attack, the land that once was green, had turned black and a tall wall of thorns, which grew overnight, surrounded it.

"Alpha, we're here." David stops the car. Oliver steps out, motions to our entourage to wait near the boundaries of our lands and opens the door on my side. I step out. I catch a whiff of the putrid smell of the barren lands and pray to the Goddess we wouldn't be staying long.

Hope comes out of the car and I had expected her to wrinkle her nose from the awful smell. Instead, she opens her purse, takes a small safety pin, cleans it with an alcohol wipe and pricks her finger. She crouches down to the ground and places a small drop of her blood on the dirt of the barren lands.

A wailing sound from deep within the ground pierced the air, steam billowed out like clouds, the earth started to shake and the tall wall of thorns started collapsing. I grabbed Hope's arm and hurriedly brought her back into the car. Oliver jumped inside and told David to drive.

David floored the car to put some distance between us and the territory. We could feel the earth move as we drove off. We reached the entourage when Hope motioned to David to park the car.

"David park over there please. Blood sacrificed forgives bloodshed. The Moon Goddess said that. My blood is suppose to heal the land. Look, it's working."

We all look outside. The collapsed wall of thorns was now sinking into the ground. The dark clouds that hovered constantly above the land were now slowly moving away letting the sunshine in. Wherever the light of the sun hit on the black land, the black melted away to show green. The dead trees and shrubs started to bloom. The Goddess has blessed this land once more.

Oliver gave out a sigh of relief. "I thought the ground was going to open up and swallow us whole. I'm not used to this magic stuff. Neither is David. Is it too much to ask we get a heads up before doing something like that again?"

"Oliver." I growled.

"I mean that respectfully, Luna." He bows his head.

"I'm sorry, Oliver. You're right. I'm not used to this magic stuff either. I didn't know that was going to happen. I'm usually very careful. Next time, we treat it like a science project. Goggles, lab coat and all. Ok?"

"Yes, Luna," Oliver bows his head in submission.

"Wow. It's beautiful here. My Dad is going to want to plant apples here." Hope scans her territory, delighted the barren lands were no more.

"You are the firstborn and only heir to the Crescent Moon Pack. That makes you Alpha, Hope. What would you want to do with these lands?"

"Merge territories with yours and give some land to my Dad to plant apples," she quickly answered.

"So be it. I'll get the paperwork done so we can sign a merging of territories. Would you like to build a house here?" I ask her.

"Now that's a wedding gift I want. Make it two houses. One for me and the other for my parents. And.." Her voice trails off.

"Yes, my love?"

"I want that cherry red Ferrari and this Rolls parked in our garage."

"I like the sound of OUR." I kiss her on her head.

"You do...hmmmm." She crawls onto my lap and  kisses me. I deepen the kiss. Oh, she felt so good!

Oliver coughs. We both break apart from our kiss. "Alpha, Luna. The transformation is complete." Oliver points at the now fully restored territory of Crescent Moon.

"David, let's go home. Tomorrow we will inspect these lands." David nods his head and starts the car.

Hope tries to get off my lap so she can sit next to me, but I stop her, keeping her on my lap. "Oliver, partition please."

"Where are you going, my sweet? I'm not finished with you yet." I grab her hand and kiss the finger she pricked earlier.

"Alexander, hmmm, I felt all the hurt fade away from your kiss."