ENCHANTED WORLD SERIES BOOK 4: MOON CHILD'S WAR

Alli didn’t know at what time she slept last night, but when she opened her eyes she found that the sun was already peeking from the gossamer curtains decorating the windows of her room. She stretched languidly and would have stumbled out of the bed if she didn’t come face to face with a mad as hell Ruvin sitting several feet away from the bed scrolling down a phone...her phone!

Alli shrieked like a banshee and fought her way to it, tumbling through the sea of covers and blankets but Ruvin was up before she could reach him. His fingers curled around her small wrist and he raised her hand up having her on her tippy toes. “What are you doing with my phone and how did you open it? It had a password!”

“Izzy can crack anything with a password!” He growled at her.

Alli tried to get to it but he was big and tall and though she was giving it her all it looked like she was trying to play basketball with Kobe Bryant!

“Do you know how many messages Tyson has sent you between yesterday and today? How many missed calls! Not to mention Louise, Titus, and Faelen himself!” Ruvin snapped his teeth at her his arm tightening around her wrist as he pulled her body close to him.

Alli had to muffle back a moan when her body touched his. Oh heavens, he smelled delicious and felt divine! “What the hell are you talking about? And what does it even have to do with you? You have no right to go through my stuff like that! They are personal and that’s why I have a password, you know!”

“I have the right because you are my mate and I don’t entertain the fact that four unmated males have been looking for you, some of them writing disgusting messages!” His hand tightened on the phone and Alli heard the delicate material used to make it groan as it bent awkwardly. Her eyes widened as her fights became frantic.

“You are going to break it!” She yelled.

“That’s exactly what I intend to do!” He barked wanting to throw the phone to the opposite wall when Alli let out a scream.

“Stop!” Her voice shrilled disorienting Ruvin for a moment. He blinked blankly at her as if waiting to see what she will do next. Alli’s breath was raspy as she yanked her hand from his hold and held it out to him. “My phone. Now.”

Ruvin looked like he was about to object but then Alli tilted her head to the side and growled. “Phone, Ruvin!”

She saw the way his teeth were working hard on his jaws but he suddenly placed the phone in her palm and he said. “Erase all those messages and missed calls right now. I will not have Louise, Tyson, Titus, Faelen or any other spineless rodent call you ever again.”

Alli didn’t know why but she actually opened the message inbox and emptied it of Tyson’s messages without reading them. She knew what it was about because they had been there before so she didn’t need to read what he had to say. She kept on telling herself that she was not doing it for Ruvin and that he could go to hell for all she cared but that look on his face melted away some of the anger she had for him....he didn’t look angry anymore. He looked....wary, anxious, and agitated and she found herself not liking that look on his face. She would rather have him barking and growling at her than look so lost and forlorn.

“There!” She held up the phone to him to show that her inbox was empty and so were the missed calls except for Donny’s.

Ruvin relaxed somehow and Alli frowned.

“What’s your deal anyway? I thought I couldn’t use my phone here?” She asked him.

“I asked Izzy to add it into the system. I knew Donny would be worried and I thought you would want to talk to her. ” he moved forward, leaning down to her, his eyes churning up once more and a low growl escaping his lips with every word that followed. “What I didn’t expect is a bunch of weaklings sending you love messages, asking for forgiveness and wanting to start over--”

“I can’t believe you read my messages! My phone is private--this--” She held up the phone in front of him and pointed at it feeling as if she was teaching an errant puppy the simple basics of sit, lie down, and rollover. “--is private property and you don’t have any rights to it. I am not your mate, Ruvin, and I don’t want to be so please, lay off my case.”

“You’re my mate, it’s a done deal,” Ruvin assured her. “If you can’t accept it while I am telling you nicely then I will claim you in public and kill every weakblood with an objection, Alli. Pureblood beasts don’t share especially with weaklings so far down the food chain it’s ridiculous.”

Alli took offense in that because she was one of those weaklings but then she heard the truth behind it. He believed in every word he uttered, he was not being sarcastic about it. It was just a fact. He was also being truthful about that part where he stated he would kill any weakblood that stood in his way. He was built like that. It was one of the things that they were warned about enchanted beings...they acted on instinct.

Alli took the time to look at the agitated man in front of her. He looked like he didn’t have much sleep last night. He was still wearing his hunting clothes and telling by the blood smudges and the torn muscle top and cargos, the hunt went well. She winced not wanting to imagine what the other guy looked like. Ruvin was sinfully handsome not to mention the sexiest wolf she had ever come across but past all that and Alli saw a dangerous assassin and predator that when angered retaliated with everything he had as if he had nothing to lose. That scared her. Just seeing him so angry that morning over lousy phone calls and messages was enough to tell her she was dealing with someone who was not stable emotionally. She didn’t need that in her life at the moment.

It was too early in the morning and she wasn’t in the mood of arguing with him again. She needed to see and talk to her sister. She needed to get out of there before more of Titus’ team found their way into the hideout. She knew Titus would never stop searching now that both she and Corleen disappeared.

“Get out of my room. I need to go and clean up.” She told him suddenly too exhausted to deal with him. Zach told her he had a terrible past and that was why he was hard to deal with but Alli didn’t want to even start dealing with him.

“Ask me to....politely.” Ruvin said.

“You were rude enough to go through my phone, why would I be polite to you.” She gritted her teeth. She couldn’t even believe he asked such a thing of her. She was angry with him and if he knew what was good for him, he would have left that room silently.

“Ask me politely, Alli, or I might as well enter that bathroom with you.” He took a step towards her. “I am pissed. A pissed-off pureblood Lycan can think of nothing else but to make his mate heel and that does not come in form of snapping and barking orders like a drill officer, it is intimately very physical.” He took another step towards her and Alli took a step back.

Every escalated so quickly from there and Alli found herself pinned to the wall with Ruvin looking like he was about to take a bite out of her.

“Ruvin...please.” She uttered, pushing away from him. She was not prepared for the indescribable sensations that went through her body when Ruvin was so close to her. Her heart burst in her chest, sending a tidal wave of blood washing through her veins like molten lava, scorching every part of her. The heat coursed through her body and settled cozily in her womb, making it heave and clench uncomfortably inside her. Her mind was suddenly numb and she couldn’t make a solid thought to save her life! Every part that was in contact with Ruvin’s body tingled teasingly, making it very hard for her not to react.

He moved forward, his cool nose touching her cheek softly. “Please....what?” He rasped against her cheek, his breath tickling the little hairs on her skin.

Alli gritted her teeth because he was so close, she felt his body rub against hers with every little movement he made. A shudder went down her spine and her skin broke out in goosebumps. “Please go away.”

Ruvin sighed and smirked. “I thought you were asking for me to join you in the bathroom.”

Alli’s entire face turned red. “Get out, Ruvin!”

He grinned and bit his lower lip between his teeth, looking so childish but wickedly hot with those dimples of his. He rubbed his thumb against the lip piercing and pushed away from her before he stalked out of the room.

Alli closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. “Alli, get a hold of yourself. This is not you. You are always in control of what you feel and what you are. Ruvin is just passing, you’ll forget about him in just a few weeks.” She mumbled to herself as she made her way into the bathroom.

Ruvin made his way into his room shedding his shredded t-shirt and cargos and tossing them into a bin beside his door. Last night was as expected. More human hunters came to fill in for those who were dealt with the previous night and like them, these new ones were now buried somewhere in the woods...if the mountain wolves didn’t gnaw on their bones for the rest of their days.

The moment Ruvin stood under the showerhead, he punched the tiled wall in front of him, cracking the tiles with the sheer force of it. The four unmated males who dared look for his mate were number one on Shadows’ list on the next full moon’s maiming. He planned to make sure that none of them walked out of those woods on their own feet.

Blinding rage engulfed him to the point where he almost couldn’t recognize himself. It was the same sort of rage that engulfed Ruvin when he once witnessed the Father punishing one of his pawns just because she refused direct orders just to save her own life.

The Father had mentioned at every chance he got that their lives were worthless and that when the time came, giving them up was the best thing to do. Ruvin lived a life where he felt he was not worth saving. He still felt that way to that moment so when someone threatened the one that was giving his bleak life meaning, he was not going to sit back and keep quiet. He was going to bring hell to them!

Ruvin was able to bring hell to anyone who was a threat. He had done so many a time for the Father and he never needed an army to do so. If Faelen thought to cross him and that hiding from him behind his monstrous guards would keep him from getting to him, he better think twice.

Ruvin turned to look down at his bleeding hand. He had several more wounds around his body thanks to the feisty human hunters he met the evening before. Somehow, the rage inside him had reduced but it was quickly replaced by pure, undiluted lust that had him trembling like he was out in the cold naked. His entire body clenched and thrummed and all he could think of was walking back into Alli’s room and making her heel, making her understand what was meant by being true mates.

She thought he could simply walk away just because she didn’t want to be tied down to him. If it were that easy then he would have never revealed himself to her and he would have walked away a long time ago. If only the Heavens had painted a neon sign over her head with the words; WARNING: MATE AHEAD then he would have avoided her like a plague!

Unfortunately, the Heavens loved to play dirty with everyone, letting them get close enough to their mates for the mating bond to be established before the victim is even aware. He recalled how angry she was when she realized he had gone through her messages. Ruvin hadn’t planned on looking through her phone but when the messages kept on piling up in her phone with the same name, his patience popped the limit of the thermometer. He saw red and all he could think of was how to make sure Tyson never looked at Alli again.

After seeing that little mutt with another female, Ruvin couldn’t possibly believe Alli would want to go back there. Just the thought of Tyson sticking his tongue down his mate’s throat was reason enough to kill him. Did they go further than that, he wondered? After all, Tyson was a fully-fledged weakblood which meant his sexual needs were above the boiling point!

A long, annoyed growl escaped Ruvin’s lips. Shadow was pissed and he was urging Ruvin to take action. Any other male with his beast’s desperate urges to kill would have been helpless against them, thus dancing too close to the insanity line with the chances of him or her turning into a Varga getting pretty close, but Ruvin and Shadow had dwindled on that line for a long time to the point that Ruvin wondered if he would ever cross it and if so, was there ever anyone strong enough to off him if it ever happened. Maybe the Lord Mage himself. He was the male who found him dying in a ditch, rescued him, and nursed him back to health...He thought bitterly and his eyes glowing eyes turned to the erection that was throbbing like a second heart against him. If he was not going to do something about it, he was sure to search for Alli.

Gritting his teeth to the point of pain, Ruvin grasped himself tightly in his wounded hand and pumped.

Quakes rippled down his spine as he arched his head back and braced himself against the same wall he had just assaulted a few minutes ago. His entire mind was flooded with Alli, from the way she looked at him with her eyebrows coming down in a frown. They were well manicured and her eyelashes were long, thick, and dark. She had the most alluring eyes he had ever seen even though they were either scowling him or accusing him most of the time. And that mouth--

Ruvin let out a long hiss as the build-up began. If it was possible, he thickened more in his palm. With jerky moves against the steely erection, Ruvin imagined it was Alli’s mouth instead.

“Phone, Ruvin!” He remembered her growling and his body rode another quake that tore a surprised groan from his throat. He didn’t understand why he allowed her to talk to him like that and how he actually gave that offending phone back. He should have told her precisely what he thought she ought to do and should have given her very little room for any objections.

It had always been like that with him. His past partners never asked so many questions. They only did what they were asked to do and that was it. It was simple and straightforward, just like the way he liked it. He hated corners, sudden stops, and U-turns.

Heat began crawling up and down Ruvin’s spine, building up in his groin until he could no longer prolong it, with one last stroke, Ruvin popped the cap and arched back, growling like the beast that he was. He closed his eyes and rested his forehead on the wall trying to catch his breath while hot water cascaded down his back. Like what Edon had told him, he needed to get his act together, or else he was going to find himself in more trouble than he could handle.

Ruvin stepped out of his shower and wrapped a towel around his lean hips. As he made his way back into his room, he found the smirking Zach leaning against one of the windows with his arms tucked in his sweatpants. Ruvin noticed the male had taken on Drake’s dirty habit of walking around the house barefoot so that he could practically sneak on you and you wouldn’t know what hit you!

“Feeling somewhat under control?” Zach’s eyebrow arched up knowingly.

Ruvin had nothing to be embarrassed about. He didn’t mind anyone seeing him release his tension like the way he did in the bathroom. Being under the Father, everything was done in public. All forms of techniques he knew were taught to him in front of others.

To prove just how little a fuck Ruvin gave knowing that Zach must have heard him in the bathroom he unwrapped his towel and hung it up on one of the bronzed hooks.

“I thought you were still half past dead by now? It is still too early for you to be up.” Ruvin sauntered to his wardrobe naked to get something clean to change. It was not the first time Zach had seen him naked nor was it the first time the male had seen the hairline silver scars on his back courtesy of the Father.

Ruvin flinched when he recalled the cold whips that cut through his skin like the way a hot knife would cut through butter. Their feeble bodies were drenched in ice-cold water then whipped until they lost consciousness and remained like that for several days then had to kneel for three days while saying out demeaning words to themselves on how worthless they were and why the Father should forgive them for their sins.

“You street rodents will never see heaven!” He once told them. “This is as close as it gets so either get used to it or get the fuck out of my house!”

Ruvin was always in trouble because he went on about his assignments based on his instincts. They were never wrong but it meant disobeying direct orders from the Father and one thing the male hated the most was feeling like he wasn’t in control.

Ruvin witnessed several taken youngsters lose themselves in the Father’s brutal training and punishments. Their minds shattered never being able to come back again to normal and their souls withered within them until they were nothing but empty shells. Some were driven crazy and others became maniacal, killing indiscriminately until they were hunted down and killed by the same people that they once called friends or family. Ruvin had hunted several of them down and so did he rescue others who he knew wouldn’t make it under the Father.

Although Ruvin felt like he escaped that hell in one piece, he knew he was not whole. He felt he was not complete, that somehow a part of him was stolen from him and still remained with the Father.

When he woke up after being rescued and saw Lord Mage staring down at him, his first instinct was to kill him and escape. He was not going to be a street rat for yet another master... But how that mindset changed with time, baffled Ruvin beyond reason!

“I was until I heard the screaming siren next door. She has you lapping on her palm, doesn’t she?” Zach asked.

“What the fuck are you talking about?” Ruvin turned to his friend in annoyance.

“I am talking about the fact that you missed the part where you have that solemn face and say, ‘Jeez, Zach, you wouldn’t believe I just found my mate.’”

That caught Ruvin’s attention. He quickly pulled on a pair of jeans and turned to Zach, his eyes wary. Just how much did the Mage know? He wondered. “How did you figure it out?”

Zach shrugged his shoulders and pushed himself from the window sill. “All the elements were there; the sudden change in behavioral patterns, the protectiveness, and the fact that you can’t stay even for a moment away from her proves it. Plus, Shadow has become the greatest prick lately.”

This insolent, half-wit charm caster is testing my patience. Shadow hissed already unfurling from his little hiding place in Ruvin’s mind.

Ignore the magician, he’ll stop. Ruvin assured the beast.

“So, what are you going to do about it?” Zach asked him.

“I am going to claim her.” Was there any other way around it? Zach was talking as if he didn’t know what being true mates meant.

“She hasn’t even gone through her first transformation meaning she is practically a baby. You can’t claim a baby. There are rules and they could have you beheaded.” Zach warned him.

“She’s close to transforming. I can feel it. I will wait until then.”

“How close? Today? Tomorrow?” Zach asked.

Ruvin understood Zach’s concern over Alli because before they transformed, they were all almost human which meant they were quite fragile. Alli would not survive being taken by Ruvin. Heck, she wouldn’t even survive being taken by a half-blood!

“Weakbloods are not like us. They are strongest on a full moon so they only undergo their first transformation under the full moon.” Ruvin muttered softly knowing what was to follow.

“Fucking A!” Zach exclaimed. “After a month! You have to wait for her for a fucking month!” he raked his hands through his hair and sighed. “This is fucked up--or have you forgotten what King Rhol went through for just two days!”

“I know that!” Ruvin growled at Zach. “I don’t need to hear it from you too. I know I am risking my sanity and Alli’s too but there is nothing I can do. If the Heavens decided this upon me then I have no choice but to accept it!”

Zach was quiet for a moment. “Maybe you could go back to the enchanted world for some time. It worked for Lord Mage and Queen Noelle for a century. Though the bond was established, they were able to stay away from each other by being in different realms.”

“Their bond wasn’t fully forged like me and Alli’s.” Ruvin sighed and said. “So far I haven’t had the single-minded determination to make her completely mine and I think it is in the fact that she is still a pup. I haven’t felt the full blast of the mating bond and neither has she and that’s why she is still able to fight me off.”

“Maybe it’s best if you let her stay away until she is fully transformed to avoid any incidents from happening--”

“Are you out of your mind?” Ruvin snarled, his eyes glazing over because Shadow was as appalled by the suggestion as he was. “There are unmated males out there wanting to claim her. Now, I promised not to kill someone who doesn’t deserve it but if push comes to shove, how do you think Shadow will react?”

“I tell you once, I’ll tell you again, that crazy-ass beast of yours needs to be put down. He does more harm than good and rides your emotions like a freight train.” Zach shook his head sympathetically.

That was the last straw because Shadow emerged fully seconds after Ruvin was able to warn off the second in command.

“Run!” He rasped knowing there was nothing else other than death for a male that killed the second in command.

Zach grinned and winked at Ruvin before flashing out of the room.

“Oh my God! Alli! Are you alright? Everyone is so worried about you. What happened? Where are you? Are you okay?” The questions tumbled out of Donny’s lips before Alli could stop her.

“Hold up for a second, Donny. How am I supposed to answer anything with you spitting out questions like bullets?” Alli chuckled softly. “I am fine.”

A rush of air could be heard from the other side of the phone. “You had all of us worried--Louise and Titus are out there looking for you. I have been put under twenty-four hours watch thanks to you!” Donny protested. “How can you just disappear without telling me? Are you kidnapped? Is this a ransom call?”

“Kidnapped? Ransom call? Donny, you need to lay off such movies. I am fine though I am at a place I can’t tell you about. I am with Corleen and she is doing well.” Alli smiled, feeling a warmth settle in her stomach.

She was glad Donny was so worried. People thought that they were close friends but the connection they had was beyond friendship. They were practically sisters.

“I am so glad to hear that. Louise didn’t come home last night. He and Titus divided the woodlands among themselves and formed intensive search teams for you and Corleen. Everyone is worried that you might end up like Conrad...” The worry in Donny’s voice made Alli feel so guilty. She should have called her before she left with Ruvin. In a lowered voice, Donny asked. “Are you with the Ghost Runners?”

Alli opened her mouth to answer yes then remembered her conversation was being tapped into. It was utterly ridiculous that she had to beat around the bush with Donny. “Uh--I’ll come back soon, once Corleen is better. Tell Titus and Louise not to worry about me. I am fine.”

The sudden pause Donny had told Alli that her friend understood a lot more than expected. That was one thing Alli loved about her. She was quick to pick up things. “Okay. Call me when you need to. I will check up on you later, okay?”

“Thanks, Donny.”

“You wouldn’t be saying that if you were standing in front of me." She growled.

Alli rolled her eyes. “I know, I know and I am sorry for what I did. I didn’t mean to worry any of you. I was only thinking about Corleen.”

Donny sighed. “We’ll talk when you come back. I have something--disturbing to tell you.”

“Okay...”

“But it can wait. It’s not going away any time soon.” She grumbled. Donny only did that when whatever she wanted to say was too embarrassing. Alli wondered if she had started her period while transforming into her wolf.

Alli chuckled softly just thinking about it! “Okay, I will talk to you later, okay?”

“Yeah....later.” She let Alli hang up.

Alli breathed in hard and turned to her door. She wondered if she could go out there after all that happened between her and Ruvin that morning. It only dawned to her that she was in nothing but a t-shirt and panties when she was arguing with him.

But he was too angry to notice....right? Alli felt like crawling back in the bed but she was super hungry. Thanks to Zach last night, she didn’t get to taste Tessa’s leftovers sandwich. Now that she came to think about it, how peculiar was it that no one heard her screaming at Ruvin that morning? No one filed up in the doorway like the previous time. She was positive everyone on that floor must have heard....unless the others didn’t sleep on that floor.

The thought of her and Ruvin sharing a floor alone made her a little queasy. She suddenly stood up abruptly with her newfound bravado. She was going to walk out that door and act like she wasn’t bothered by anything. She was going to eat her breakfast then go back downstairs and talk to her sister. Ruvin didn’t scare her even a little bit.

She stood in front of the large mirror and looked at herself. She decided to wear black leggings, a loose blue sweater to keep the autumn chill away then slipped her feet into her fluffy bumble bee sleeping shoes and went downstairs.

Again, Alli almost crushed into Lukas but like always, his reflexes were accurate and he moved out of the way before she could do anything. He reminded her so much of Corleen who always had sharp reflexes and very accurate gut instincts that sometimes made Alli wonder if she had their mother’s foresight ability. She took a step back from him because she knew, wherever he was, Izzy was somewhere close...and just like that, Izzy appeared bumping into Lukas so hard making him lose grip on his bowl of cereals. The bowl slipped to the floor and shattered into little pieces.

Izzy made a comical surprised face then smirked and walked away humming softly to herself.

“One of these days that girl is going to get it....” Lukas seethed crouching down to pick up the little glass shards.

Alli didn’t understand the relationship between the two of them. They acted like siblings yet they were not. If they were not trying to kill each other, they were knocking each other’s stuff off. As Alli was about to go around Lukas, he suddenly caught her leg in mid-air.

“Watch where you’re going.” He told her without even looking up at her.

Alli frowned at him and when she looked down she realized that she almost stepped on glass. “How did you--”

He looked up and smirked. “I have eyes at the back of my head.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her.

That was when Alli saw the angry slash going down his neck and disappearing into his shirt. She unconsciously sipped her breath and pointed at it. “Did Izzy do that?”

Lukas touched the slash and grinned wickedly. “She wishes. This, sweetness, was courtesy of the hunters last night. They almost went away with my heart, the cock-suckers.”

Alli’s face must have morphed into something from the movies because suddenly Lukas laughed as he got up and took the pieces away. It didn’t seem like a big deal to him but it was. Alli’s eyes were suddenly snared by Ruvin and he didn’t look happy. It was the first time that she didn’t feel his presence before seeing him. He got up from where he was sitting chatting to Edon and Quentin and approached her but Vixen beat him to her.

“Come on, little girl. Breakfast is getting cold--or were you spoon-fed back home?” She stood between her and Ruvin.

“I need to talk to her first,” Ruvin growled.

Vixen turned to Ruvin and smiled sweetly but the smile didn’t reach her eyes. “You can have her back once I am done with her.”

Alli wanted to drop down on her hands and knees and kiss Vixen’s feet until they were dripping with drool. She knew if Ruvin had a chance to talk to her, it would have been more of growling, threatening, and snapping his teeth than words and Alli was not in the mood.

Vixen led her away from the humongous kitchen to what looked like a dining room fit for a king!

“Wow! This place feels like it just dropped out of a magazine!” Alli breathed.

Vixen approached the area where Raul and Briar were sitting eating quietly then crossed her arms and said. “Stay here until the commander cools down. Ever since you’ve been here, you’ve been bringing out the worst in him and it affects all of us.”

Briar looked up at her and smiled. “Hey.”

Alli pursed her lips and gave her a little wave then turned back to Vixen. “Thanks for saving my skin back there. I really needed to get away.”

Vixen frowned a little with a funny smile on her face. “Don’t thank me because I didn’t do that for you.” she turned on her heels and stalked off.

“Sit down, pup.” Raul motioned to the chair next to his with a wicked smile on his face. Was everyone in that house out to get her? She wondered again.

Briar rolled her eyes and pushed the seat next to hers out for Alli. “Keep your paws to yourself if you know what’s good for you.”

“The commander hasn’t claimed her yet,” Raul muttered sipping his coffee.

“Excuse me? What?” Alli looked at them incredulously.

“Just because he hasn’t claimed her, doesn’t mean she’s game!” Briar glowered at him. “She’s his true mate so if you don’t want to find your bowels shredded, stay away.” they continued as if she was invisible.

“Wait, you know?” Alli asked.

“Of course, we know. Everyone does.” Raul turned to her.

“It’s ve obvious.” Briar grinned at her.

Alli felt like exploding.

They knew!

They all knew!