Defiant Moon

PROLOGUE

I glared up at him, my eyes narrowed, "Excuse me?" I was beyond livid by the words that just came out of his mouth. My glare didn't falter when Parker towered over me, clenching his jaw while trapping me against his desk.

"You heard me."

Parker's voice was so low and intimidating that it made me feel so small. But I wasn't going to let him get to me.

Standing up taller, I snapped, "I will not be your personal toy, available for you to do just as you please! I do not want to be held captive against my will, and not even have a say in anything. To be honest, I don't even want a mate."

"You will do everything and anything I say, do you hear me?" Parker growled, grabbing my chin and forcing me to look at him.

Without even thinking, I said the first thing that came to my head, but I meant every word.

"I, Jasmine Davis, reject you, Alpha Parker Mason, as my mate.”

CHAPTER ONE

"As all of you may know, I have gathered you all here today to inform you that the Alpha of the Lunar Shadow pack will be visiting our pack in a couple of days. The reason for this is that we have decided to create an alliance between our packs." Alpha Bryan spoke to my pack. His booming voice echoed in the room. A few people let out gasps, and my eyes widened.

Why the hell would Alpha Bryan want to get involved with them? This is absurd!

Alpha Bryan continued after everyone hushed down, "We have made a deal, he will give us his best warriors who will train our warriors to be stronger. He has not yet decided what my end of the deal would be. He will either make the deal official or disregard it.

So, please clean up your houses and get organized so we can make a good impression. That is all I have to say. Have a good evening."

The Lunar Shadow pack is coming here? I've heard stories about their ruthless Alpha, even his own pack is somewhat scared of him.

Alpha Parker.

His name doesn't even sound scary but I don't want to assume anything.

Lucky for our pack, the Lunar Shadow pack is the neighboring pack to the East. Note the sarcasm. I definitely don't want to mess with them, that's for sure.

Some rumors have gone around saying that a group of pups were playing by the boundary line, and Alpha Parker was there.

I think the rumors had said that he was arranging his guards or something like that, and he captured the pups and took them into captivity for crossing the line. They were never heard from again.

Like who freakin does that!

I got up from my seat and made my way over to my father, the Beta of the pack.

"Hey, Dad. You know I love you," I greeted, putting on my best smile while placing my arm around his shoulder. My dad chuckled as he turned to me, "Yes, you may go for a run, but be back before dark."

The grin on my face grew. I leaned and kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks, Dad. Tell Mom to leave the dishes for me." He nodded his head in response before he replied, "Sure thing, kiddo." I removed my arm from his shoulder before turning to the door and heading out. I pushed the door open and exited the pack house.

I smelled the air, and the smell of fresh rain hit my nose, and I smiled.

I love the smell of rain.

The cool fall breeze blew past me, hitting my skin. Immediately, goosebumps formed on my arms.

Better shift now so I can get warm.

I walked over to the forest behind the pack house and went over to one of the tall trees in search of a good tree to hide behind. As I walked, little creatures scurried past me. A doe stood a few feet away. It lifted its head and stared at me, examining me to see if I was a threat. Realizing that I wasn't going to hurt it, it continued to graze on the grass.

After finding a nice thick tree to change behind, I stripped out of my clothes before imagining myself in my midnight black wolf form. The sound of bones cracking filled my ears, and I could feel my bones reshaping. Fur started growing on my body, and my ears became pointed. I felt my teeth become pointed. A few moments later, I was standing in my wolf form.

"Finally, you've decided to shift," my wolf, Mia, stated sarcastically. I mentally rolled my eyes at her.

"Shut up," I snapped at her while rolling my eyes, "You know I've been busy."

Mia didn't say anything after, and I'm thankful she didn't. I moved my clothes closer to the tree to keep them hidden so I could get them when I returned. Trotting to the trail, I didn't waste any time before I took off in the direction of the edge of our territory. The boundary line to the neighboring pack to the north.

The trees all became a blur as I raced. The bright orange leaves covered the forest floor due to the late October weather. The wind blew past me and through my fur, which felt refreshing.

My paws pound against the ground as I let my wolf take control. Running in my wolf form is probably my favorite thing to do besides training. Because my father is a beta, I got his strength and speed. I don't mean to brag or anything, but I am one of the best in the pack.

It's not really a shocker, though, because a lot of females in my pack participate in the training and also take shifts in guarding the territory.

My father said that before Alpha Bryan made Luna Autumn the Luna, females weren't able to participate in anything and could only prepare meals, clean, produce and care for pups. Luna Autumn demanded that the females be treated equally. From then on, it changed.

I slowed down at a slower pace so I could check my surroundings. Titling my head up to look through all the trees towering over me, I noticed that it was starting to get dark. The sun was already setting.

Wow, it sure gets dark way too quickly for my liking. I should probably start heading home.

I turned around to head back to my pack, but stopped in my tracks when I heard a cracking sound that made my ears perk up. Lifting my nose, I sniffed the air. A strong foreign smell filled my nose. A smell that I knew didn't belong here.

I skimmed the area with my enhanced eyesight but didn't see anything. Shrugging it off, I sprinted off in the direction I came from. In a matter of 30 minutes, I slowed down once I reached the tree where my clothes were located.

Shifting back into my human form, I pulled my shirt over my head and put on my pants. I came out from behind the tree and jogged to the pack house to retrieve my bag I had left.

Walking up the steps to the porch, I swung the door open and entered. I was greeted by warmth and a sweet smell of Pumpkin Rolls that were probably being baked. Pack members were in the halls, chilling and chatting with each other. Pups ran around chasing each other.

"Good evening, Jamie," one of the women in the pack greeted me as we passed each other. I nodded my head towards her with a warm smile. Continuing my journey towards the living room, the place where I remember placing my bag before the meeting, I turned the corner into the living room and someone bumped into me.

I looked up and frowned when I saw who it was.

"Well, hello there, Princess," the person smirked down at me.

"What do you want, Anthony?" I asked with a sigh, but couldn't help the little smile that crossed my lips. You see, Anthony is the son of the Delta. I wouldn't call him a friend of mine, but he does follow me around in an annoying way. He does hit on me and throws in some random cheesy lines during some of our conversations. Obviously, it never works but he doesn't never stop. It's kind of cute to be honest, but still.

"I want you to accompany me to a party next weekend," Anthony states while smirking, not giving me the chance to respond.

A pack party is a party that any wolf from another pack can attend. They can meet their mates and get wasted, whatever they'd like. I mean, it would be kind of fun to go. I do like to party when I'm in the mood. Maybe I'll meet my mate, not that I really want one, though. I'll turn 20 in a few weeks. I'm a November baby.

November 24th, actually. But I've never been to a pack party before.

"-and this party will be special, it's called The Mating Bond, and it's when they do something special for unmated wolves. They do this thing where they allow you to search for your mate, and that's when they can complete the bond. It's going to be at Thunder Creek pack," Anthony explains. It catches my interest the slightest bit.

"Sounds fun," I commented, pretending to think, "Sure, why not?" Anthony's smirk grew wider. "Well, I wasn't going to give you much of an option, Princess." I shot him a glare for using that nickname. Anthony calls me that because he knows it annoys me. The reason for his calling me that is because my favorite Disney movie is Aladdin, and since my name is Jasmine, he calls me princess, very much like the character.

He leaned against the frame of the living room, eying me up and down as silence fell in between us. My eyes widened when I realized why I was here in the first place.

"Shit!" I shouted before pushing Anthony out of the way so I could actually get into the room. Women were sitting on the black leather couches, sewing. Pups were sitting on the floor, engaged in the SpongeBob episode playing on the TV.

My eyes scanned the room until they landed on the black bag just chilling against the side of one of the couches closest to the wall.

I quickly went over to it and grabbed it before jogging out of the room and brushing past Anthony.

"I'll text you later, Princess," Anthony called out flirtatiously. Rolling my eyes, I speed walked/jogged out of the pack house before actually sprinting down the sidewalks to my house. Since my dad is Beta, we get the second-largest house since Alpha gets the largest.

When my house came into view, I ran faster until I was on the very large porch. Quietly, I opened the door and stepped inside before turning around. I kept the handle pushed down and used my other hand to gently push the door shut.

As I turned back around, I nearly screamed bloody murder. I gulped loudly as my mom stared at me with her eyes narrowed furiously while tapping her foot angrily. My dad stood next to her, attempting to look just as furious. My dad is more laid back than my mom. He's basically my jail-free card.

"And what's your excuse, young lady?" My mom asked me while she crossed her arms over her chest.