New Moon Summer (Seasons of the Moon) Read Online Free Page A

It was only a shade paler than her skin in the starlight.
    If the moon had taken form and walked on earth, Abel was pretty sure it would have looked like Rylie.
    “Five minutes,” she said in a low voice.
    Abel repeated it louder for the benefit of the other wolves. “Five minute warning!”
    She twitched, as though the volume of his voice startled her.
    Rylie glanced at him. Her eyelashes fluttered as she drew in a shuddering breath and bit her bottom lip. Abel found his gaze strangely fixed on the indentations her teeth left in her skin.
    She returned her gaze to the pack below them, but she spoke directly to him. “Where do you want to change? Do you want to go down with them, or…?”
    “I’ll change with you. Always do, don’t I?”
    “I just thought…” Rylie trailed off. He watched her throat work as she swallowed.
    He briefly considered going down the hill to change with the other wolves, but the idea of leaving Rylie alone made his hackles rise. She always walked among the pack in her human form. What if one of them attacked before she could change? Even an Alpha’s throat could get ripped out.
    “I’m not leaving your side,” Abel said.
    Rylie nodded, but didn’t speak.
    Five minutes passed too quickly in the still silence. They always did on the night of a change.
    Movement rippled through the waiting wolves. A brown-haired girl named Pyper cried out.
    It was time.
    The energy shifted around Abel. His skin prickled, and the hair stood up on the back of his neck. “Rylie?”
    She looked at him again. There was no human left in her eyes.
    Rylie held out a hand. Abel took it.
    Their interlocked fingers were in stark contrast to each other—his skin darker than the midnight sky, and hers paler than the moon. The calm, assuring aura of the Alpha swept over him.
    He transformed quickly.
    The bones in his face made muffled cracking noises as they extended into a muzzle. His knees reversed and unbalanced him, forcing him to the ground.
    His fingernails fell out. Rylie hadn’t released his hand—the sharp tips of his new claws pressed gently into the back of her hand. She had to let go once his fingers shortened into paws, but she sat at his side until he was done. Her hand stroked the ruff of fur that sprouted form his neck.
    Only a few minutes later, he was done.
    Gwyn had taken a photo of Rylie and Abel’s wolf forms once, just so he could see what he looked like. She put the picture on the mantle like it was a family Christmas shot. He was the size of a small pony, with sleek midnight fur and luminous eyes.
    He shook himself, and flecks of blood sprayed the patio.
    “Are you okay?” Rylie asked. She was frowning and biting her lip. Damn, that drove him crazy. He bumped his nose into her hand to tell her that he was okay.
    The sounds of other changing wolves filled the night. Rylie rose to her feet, and he followed her down the hill.
    She remained human as she moved through the pack. When a werewolf cried out, she sat with them until the transformation ended, and Abel watched to make sure they wouldn’t lash out at her. But none of them dared. Her power was too immense.
    One by one, human flesh yielded to fur. Two legs became four.
    Within twenty minutes, everyone had changed.
    Their hairy bodies milled around Rylie, struggling to get as close to her as possible. She lifted her arms so that they could butt their noses into her ribs, the small of her back, her calves. They smelled her, licked her, bowed on their forelegs to show submission.
    Abel remained at her side. Her fingers brushed his forehead.
    “Go,” Rylie said. “Run.”
    He threw his head back and loosed a howl. A small wolf the color of honey—Bekah—echoed his wail.
    That was all the permission they needed. The werewolves scattered, jumping over rocks and tearing lines through the tall grass.
    Rylie didn’t change.
    Abel tilted his head and whined.
    “Not tonight,” she said. “I don’t want to be with the pack in this