I stood, rooted to the spot, my ears ringing with the unbelievable offer the old woman has just given us.
"What did you…just say?"
"I asked if you would like to bring Yeosang back."
"Back? As in…"
"Back from the realm we travel to when we die. Yes."
San stares at the old woman, his jaw slack in shock. He does not move."
"That is impossible to do." I say.
"Not for my pack it isn't. It is very difficult, but it can be done. I can bring him back."
San staggers back, disbelief, grief, and something like a shred of hope glinting in his eyes.
"Why? Why would you do that?"
"I don't like the idea of bringing back the crowned son of the man I despise. Believe me. But I like even less seeing you in so much pain, San. After losing so much already."
San bows his head, trying to hide how much her words have impacted him. But I can see the pain. Tenderly, I reach out and curl my fingers around San's. His hand is hot in my grasp. For a long moment, he doesn't move. But when I squeeze his hand, he slowly raises his chin.
"What do we need to do?"
Recognizing the resolve in San's eyes, the woman squares her shoulders and looks to the door.
"We will go to The Stones."
"The Stones?"
"Ancient stones that are said to be from the moon herself. Our most sacred ground. And a secret long protected. Can I trust you both to keep it?"
San nods, resolute.
"Of course you can."
Yes." I agree
The woman gazes into our eyes, as if peering past them, into our souls. Seemingly satisfied with our answers, she turns for the door.
"Very well. Keep your heads down and follow me."
The hike through the steep mountains behind the mysterious woman's dwelling is short but hard. I'm panting when we finally reach even ground. But when I look up,I stop breathing altogether.
The Stones…
Several large, glittering granite stones reach for the heavens, as if trying to return to their moon. As we walk through them, I feel a mysterious energy pulse through my veins.
"Your very blood calls to this place. You feel it, don't you?"
"I do feel it. It's magnetic."
"That's the call of our oldest ancestors. The first shifters. The ones that lived before packs were formed. Before any wars."
"I feel them, too."
San slides his hand up a stone, a visible shiver rushing through him. He turns to the old woman.
"What now?" He asks
"Now, you will both shed your human barriers."
"Human barriers? As in…" I begin to ask.
"As in your clothing. You must shed your clothes so that your wolves may dance freely and connect with your ancestors."
"That sounds…intimate."
"There is nothing more intimate. But it is the only way. You must dance with your ancestors and ask them to return Yeosang's soul to you."
"If that's what it takes."
San turns away, stripping his shirt. The rippling muscles in his back glint against the night sky.
"And for you, child of True Mates…"
She knows who I am?
"You will become one with the land to strengthen our spell."
The old woman gently lifts an abundant rainbow of wildflowers from the earth, walking them to me.
"These flowers that grow at the base of the stones carry their own power. They are a blessing for she-wolves alone. And if you lay them on your body, you are sure to feel a power you've never before felt."
"A power that will…help us get Yeosang back?"
"Yes."
San almost turns, just barely resisting the urge to look at me, as his hands move to his pants. Closing my eyes, I strip off my clothes and surrender to the woman as she dresses my body in flowers. When she finishes, she steps back, covering her mouth on a gasp.
"Is everything okay?"
"Yes. It's just…you look like you've stepped out of a legend, child of True Mates. Perhaps…you have."
The old woman's words make San turn to look at me.
"(Y/N)…"
Every slope and curve of his muscular body shines, tall and powerful against my floral form. He takes a step toward me.
"You look…"
His hand travels up my body, brushing lightly against the petals of the flowers that barely cover me. I shiver.
"She's right. You look like you stepped out of a legend."
"Thank you, San."
My own eyes trail over his incredible body, the connection between us is more palpable than the pulsing of the stones themselves. Then, a drumming rhythm rises in the distance.
What?
San and I turn to find the old woman a ways off, her eyes shut, chanting and drumming.
"5gaeui haenjeu beomillion sijag. beulaiteu kotillian leibeun-ui daibing. Nightshadesneun yeonghon-ui nolyeog-eul yagsoghabnida. san ja-ege ije jug-eun jado sal-anage hasoseo."
"What do we do?"
"She already told us."
San's eyes darken, sparkling like twin stars in the night sky.
"We have to dance."
He wraps his big hands around the small of my waist, pulling me against his hard body. Something inside me stirs. It feels like an animal, pacing and starving, eager to be sated.
My wolf.
Listening to the wolf inside me, I step in close to San, sliding my arms around his neck. He practically growls at my touch, his grip on my waist tightening.
"You feel it, don't you. The tether. The thing here that's drawing us to each other."
"I feel it, San. It's so strong."
"I know. But you don't need to fight it."
"I—"
The drum beat intensifies and San spins me, pressing me up against one of the stones.
"You're so used to fighting. But you don't have to now. All you have to do is give in."
San's silver Alpha eyes shine brighter than the moon herself as he presses himself closer.
"Give in to this. To me. And dance."
My breath leaves me as he pulls me to him, grinding his incredible body against mine.
"Dance with me, (Y/N)."
His grip on my body tightens, desire dripping from his tongue, coursing through his every rolling muscle.
"Yes."
My answer is breathless, but unmistakable to San. A dark smile reaches his lips as he closes the last gap remaining between us.
"Come here, nae simjang."
San's command is soft but stern, the unfamiliar words hot against the shell of my ear. He grinds hard against me, pressing me tight against the stone. My breath hitches as I feel his heat, his need, thrust against me.
"San—"
"Just let me lead."
His body finds the rhythm of the drums, pulling me with him into a hypnotic dance. Overwhelmed with the sensation of him, I press my face into the dip of his shoulder. He chuckles into my hair.
"Don't hide from me."
He suddenly thrusts me up against the stone, pinning my hands above my head. My heart skips a beat. The drumming seems to grow louder and faster as he gets closer, as though there are more of them, and they beat just for us.
"God, (Y/N)…"
San kisses my neck, scoring and sucking the soft flesh there as his hands move down towards your chest.
"I need…more…"
He says the words like a curse, almost like a plea. His starved wolf taking over completely. And my own starving wolf answers.
"San…"
I whisper his name back, and rock hard against him in invitation. He huffs. Then, he slides lower kissing his way down until his mouth finds my taut, aching breasts.
Fuck.
He sucks hard, taking me in, his hot breath warming me even in the cold night air. When he pinches me with his teeth I arch my back and swear, but I cannot escape the firm hold he has on me. The drumming grows even more frantic as he relentlessly sucks and flicks at my swollen nipples basking in my pleasured cries.
"San—!"
"Mine."
His. I want to be his.
He pulls hard on my breast, sending a jolt of immeasurable desire through me. I wrap my legs around him, completely at his mercy.
I…I want him…
"(Y/N)…"
San, for all his mind-melting movements, seems as though he's struggling just as badly as I am. He brings me to the ground, the steel of his erection pressing so hard against me, I only have to rock my hips for him to enter.
"San…don't hold back with me."
"I won't. I can't."
His mouth captures mine in a kiss that makes me melt. Our tongues dance with one another, never quite close or deep enough to quench my thirst for him.
"Not enough…"
His words flit into my mouth and he kisses me again. The drumming and chanting grow louder. As he moves over me, pressing me into the earth, the flowers that adorn my flesh start to hum.
What?
I feel them tighten against the most sensitive parts of me, returning to the earth and pulling me down.
Oh my God.
Caught between San and the earth, I feel a rush like I've never felt. The very core of mother nature is coursing through me. On instinct, my hips rise to meet San's throbbing body. He huffs and grasps the stone behind me.
"(Y/N), I can't stop."
"I don't ever want this to end."
The chanting and the drumming grows even louder, as though it's commanding the beat of my very heart.
"5gaeui haenjeu beomillion sijag. beulaiteu kotillian leibeun-ui daibing. Nightshadesneun yeonghon-ui nolyeog-eul yagsoghabnida. san ja-ege ije jug-eun jado sal-anage hasoseo."
A string of foreign swears leave San's mouth. His hand tightens so hard on the stone I hear a sharp crack. Then, beneath his claws, within the crack in the granite, I see something glint.
What is that?
It looks like a star, shining like a blinding beacon between San and I. And from the stone I hear a voice, distant but not yet gone.
"…(Y/N)…"
"Yeosang!"
From the earth, I feel my ancient ancestors rise. Thousands of wolves long past.
Please. Please give him back.
The ancestors all gently take my hand and guide me toward the stone. Closer and closer. Letting the strange force of my ancestors work through me, I follow their guiding hands and reach for the stone. It flickers with a blue fire, but when I touch it, I feel no heat. San's eyes widen.
"(Y/N)…"
"We need to tell him, San. We need to tell Yeosang that we want him back."
"We…we want you back, brother."
San shuts his eyes, a tear escaping him as he grits his teeth, his grip on me is hard and shaking.
"We need you back."
The granite cracks further, threatening to swallow the stone into its depths. But my grip is firm, as is my resolve. I gently pull the blue shimmering stone free. It cracks in my palm, pulsing with the same strength as the stones around me, only ten times stronger.
"(Y/N), you…"
The drumming suddenly comes to a halt. San and I look up as the old woman collapses on the nearby hill.
"Oh my God!"
Pulling our clothes back on in a haste, we both sprint for the old woman.
"Ma'am!"
Her breathing is shallow as San lifts her into his arms. She reaches for me.
"Did you…succeed?"
"Yes. With your help."
"Let me see it."
I take the stone and hold it up for her to see. Its depths swirl like the cosmos, glinting in her tired eyes.
"A moonstone perfectly clear and whole. You did well. Only desire born of pure heart can produce a stone like this."
San and I look at one another, heat rising in my cheeks.
"What do we do with it now?"
"You will take it to the body, and place it within his heart. If your desires were pure, he will return to you."
The woman's breathing grows ragged. San's grip on her tightens.
"She's sick. We should find some medicine."
San nods and moves to help, but the old woman shakes her head.
"No. There's no time. You must return with the stone and complete the ceremony before dawn. Otherwise, it's power…and your last hope…will fade."
"But we can't just leave you here."
"This was always a one-way trip for me, young man."
The woman coughs through a weak smile.
"This kind of spell is never free."
"Wait…that wasn't part of the deal."
"I told you. I can see everything about a person when I look in their eyes. I knew you wouldn't go through with it if you knew the true price of it."
"No. No!"
San shakes his head, tears rising in his eyes to fall free down his sharp jaw.
"You're my only family. You're all I have left to remember my mother and—"
"You need your brother more. Now, go."
She coughs again, and blood stains her mouth. My heart plummets.
"No, no, no…"
A cloud of grief threatens to take over San completely. The old woman's eyes flicker as she strains to hold on.
"San. The last thing we can do for her is make her comfortable."
He looks up at me, and after a long moment…he nods.
"You're right."
Using the flowers from before, I form a soft bed beneath the stones. San lays the woman down in them.
"Th-thank you."
"It's the least we can do for the gift you've given us."
The woman's voice rattles, but she reaches for San.
"Boy, please. Come here."
San leans down and she softly cups his cheek.
"You look so much like your mother. She was kind like you. And you have her potent power as well. Do not let either of those things go to waste. Do you understand?"
"Y-yes. I understand."
She turns to me.
"And you…child of True Mates…"
"Yes?"
"…Find the power to protect the power."
"What? What do you—"
But there is no time left. The woman falls against her bed of flowers and dies with a smile on her face.
"She's gone." San says as he strokes her cheek.
"Thank you for thinking clearly. For giving her this final resting place. I wasn't able…"
I reach for San, but he turns sharply toward the horizon, wiping his tears away.
"She said we only have until sunrise."
"Right. We have to go."
San and I take the moonstone and the wolfsbane we gathered and sneak back down through the catacombs. When we emerge, I.N meets us, his stone-face façade firmly in place.
"My Lord."
"Riann. Take this wolfsbane to the highest rooms in the castle. And gather water and wood."
"But why—"
"Just do it."
With a curt bow and a glance at me, I.N gathers the fresh wolfsbane and disappears into the night. Alone once more, I look out at the enemy camp. It stretches out, thousands deep. I cannot see the end of it.
"San…we can't possibly—"
"We have to try. Because somewhere in this hell…Dimitri has Yeosang."