Hunger Moon Rising Read online

  As your flesh burns with need,

  I will fill you.

  I will pour out My power upon you

  as you slake your lust and Mine with the act of love.

  Take what is needed and give freely of yourselves to each other

  For that is My will and I will not be denied.

  And you who seek to know Me,

  know that your seeking and yearning will avail you not,

  unless you know the Mystery.

  For if that which you seek, you find not within yourself

  you will never find it without.

  For behold! I have been with you from the beginning,

  and I am that which is attained at the end of desire.”

  As Molly's last word faded into silence, she took a step back and received the chalice, which had made its way completely around the circle while she spoke. Looking down from my vantage point on the rock, I could see that there was still a little bit of wine in the bottom of the vessel. I expected Molly to drain it, but instead she said, “A challenge has been made for the hand of the Mabon queen. Let the challenger step forward.”

  “The challenger is here.” At last Ben stepped out of the shadows, his tall frame wreathed in moonlight as he walked toward the priestess and the Lead Wolf. I caught my breath at the sight of him.

  He walked through the tall grass with his back straight and his head held high, completely naked and utterly unashamed, as though his bare skin was the only covering he had ever worn. And the way he moved—I had never seen him move like that—with the sinewy grace of an animal stalking its prey. More than a wolf, he reminded me of a rangy jungle cat, a panther perhaps, moving quietly and confidently, secure in the knowledge that he was the most dangerous thing in the forest and that nothing would stand in his way.

  He took his place on the other side of Molly, ignoring the leering snarl on Savage's face. In the moonlight, his body looked like it was chiseled out of marble, each muscle lovingly defined by the pale glow. His hair was an inky black that looked almost blue, and for the first time, I saw his cock, hanging long and thick against one muscular thigh. I tried to imagine how it would look erect—how it would feel to have it inside me—to have Ben inside me, filling me up with himself, making love to me, fucking me…and a strange thing happened.

  Instead of the shiver of fear the thought of sex—any sex with anyone—had so often brought to my mind, I felt a warm current of desire that started at my toes and worked its way upward. I imagined throwing off the thin red robe and welcoming him onto the flat altar rock with me—both of us naked and needy and unashamed of either our nakedness or our need. It was a frightening thought but at the same time an intriguing one. There was no denying that Ben was absolutely beautiful—the hard masculine planes of his body seemed to call to the soft feminine curves of my own, and suddenly the moonlight seemed warm instead of cold.

  “Will you accept the challenge for the hand of the Mabon queen?” Molly's words seemed to break me out of some kind of a trance. I shook my head and blinked my eyes, feeling disoriented and confused. Had I actually just been anticipating having sex with Ben instead of dreading and fearing it? What was happening to me?

  Ben looked up at me and I thought I saw something on his face—a look in his eyes that told me he was thinking exactly the same things I had just been thinking. I wanted to blush and look away, but his dark brown eyes held my gaze for a long time, refusing to let me go.

  In that moment I felt a connection form—I didn't exactly know what or how, but it was as though I was with him, not just watching him. I could almost feel the tension in his muscles and taste the fear and anticipation on his tongue. I wondered if he could feel me too and somehow knew he could. He could feel the rough, cool stone under my feet and the silk robe sliding over my naked skin. He knew that I both feared and wanted him. That I wondered what it would feel like to have him inside me, spreading me, riding me, owning me the way we both needed him to so badly. It seemed to go on forever but finally he looked back at Molly.

  “I accept.” Ben took the chalice from her along with a chaste kiss on the lips and tipped it up to the sky. I saw the strong cords of his throat working as he swallowed the last of the wine, then he handed the chalice back to her.

  Molly stepped back. “Then let the Mabon challenge begin!”

  Both Ben and Savage moved to the open part of the circle, their eyes never leaving each other. Savage was crouched in a fighting posture, but Ben was standing upright, his arms loose at his sides. I hoped like hell he knew what he was doing—I had never seen him fight before except at The Cloven Hoof, and that altercation had been over before I really got a chance to see it. The pack and their mates were still standing in a circle, watching to see what would happen, and there was a breathless hush as everyone waited for the action to begin.

  They began to circle each other, Savage pursuing and Ben retreating. I noticed Ben was leading the larger man to the outer fringe of the circle of watching weres. As if in deference, several of the pack members and their mates stepped aside, and I wondered if the fight was going to be conducted outside the clearing in the forest instead of here where we could see what was going on. I hoped not, I felt like I needed to see what was happening. Needed to keep Ben in my sights for some reason. Maybe it was the strange link to him, but I wanted him close to me, or at least in my line of vision.

  Suddenly Savage shot forward with a roar. The move was almost too fast to see, but it looked like he intended to tackle Ben around the waist and drive him to the ground. I didn't even have time to bite my lip—Ben stepped nimbly to one side, and Savage ran head-first into the tree trunk Ben had been standing in front of.

  The blow would probably have knocked anyone else out cold, but it only made Savage mad. He backed away from the tree, shaking his head like a bear trying to get rid of bees, and rounded to face Ben again. Ben was still standing loose and relaxed, waiting to see what the Lead Wolf's next move would be. Clearly he expected another charge and was ready to sidestep it again. But Savage decided to use a different tactic.

  “Tell me something, pup,” he grunted. “How am I gonna like fucking your pretty little bitch?”

  I saw Ben's eyes narrow. No, Ben—don't go for it! He's just baiting you! I wanted to shout the words out loud, but I was afraid if I distracted my partner for even a moment, Savage would be on top of him.

  “Does she have a tight pussy?” Savage continued. He threw a glance my way, and the lust I saw burning in those slotted, yellow eyes turned my stomach.

  “You're never going to find out,” Ben growled. “She's mine.” I felt a shiver run down my spine at the possessive note in his voice. It might not have been especially progressive of me, but the idea of him fighting for me, claiming me, was starting to do things to my insides. I felt my nipples tighten at the primal look in his eyes.

  “I'm gonna do more than find out,” Savage taunted him. “I'm gonna fuck her right there on that rock.” He nodded to the flat altar stone I was standing on. “Gonna throw her down and ream her pussy good—fill 'er full of my cum. She'll be begging for more.”

  “The hell you will!” Ben leaned forward, his face dark with rage. It was the opening Savage had apparently been waiting for. He dove forward again, but this time instead of dancing away, Ben met him head-on. The two large, masculine bodies collided with a flat smack that seemed to echo through the trees. For a moment they just shoved against each other, like sumo wrestlers that couldn't get a good hold. Then Ben broke free and landed a solid punch to Savage's midsection. I heard the large man grunt in pain, but he didn't falter a bit. Instead, he drew back a fist the size of a canned ham and rammed it home, connecting with the side of Ben's face.

  Ben staggered backward, reeling from the force of the blow, but managed to keep his feet. There was a dark trickle of blood running from the corner of his mouth.

  “First blood!” I heard one of the pack members shout. “The Goddess demands change!”

  “