Chapter. 35

“I agree.” A voice to her left made Diana gasp and lower her hands to the rock ready to spring off it and run. A man stood there staring up at the moon. He had tanned skin, long thick white hair and the deepest mahogany eyes she had ever seen. He was beautiful.

He was also totally naked. Diana almost screamed at being snuck up on by a naked guy. It didn’t matter in her book he was ripped and buff as sin. Who walked around naked in the middle of the night and crept up on young women?

But just as the stream of self defensive cusses could leave her mouth, she realised she didn’t have to. He can’t see me. I’m just a spirit right now. I just need to stay still and quiet and wait for him to leave. “…it’s rude to stare.” He chuckled with his hands on his hips and turned to face her with a grin. “Even witches should have manners. Especially ones who trespass onto werewolf territory.”

“…y…you can see me?” She whispered anxiously. “Wait, did you say werewolf?”

“Oh little girl?” His grin was erotic as it held sharp teeth and his eyes turned red. “You have such terrible luck? Of all the werewolves to come across tonight, you came across the only one who isn’t feral and has a high resistance to magic. Your hexes won’t work on my lunar pelt…but my claws will work on you.” He growled and took a step towards her. “How dare you invade pack lands. Especially on a full moon. You will pay for-”

Diana wasn’t listening.

Sharp teeth.

Red eyes?

“ARE YOU THE FUCKER WHO KEEPS GIVING ME NIGHTMARES AND HARASSING MY COVEN?!?” Diana screamed in accusation, jumped down from the rock and picked up a stone. “You listen to me you shadow bastard! Steal my voice again or fuck with my memories again, and I’ll-I mean my sister the coven mother will rip you three shades of fucked up!”

The white haired man comically shut his mouth and blinked at her.

“…shadow…bastard?” He blinked and then chuckled behind one hand like her ire had been cute. “Did you miss the part where I told you I was a werewolf?”

“Like I’m that stupid?” She sneered and raised the rock higher. “Werewolves aren’t real. Normally I see your red eyes and teeth, but you’re hidden by shadow. Did I catch you off guard and in the buff off to sex creep on someone? You’re no where near as scary as I thought you would be under all the darkness. No wonder you hide your ass. Compensating for something humm?” She smirked and nodded down to his groin.

“If you were to appraise me properly little one, you’d see I’m more than endowed enough for any task. Nor am I shy of my prowess.” He chuckled and took a step towards her.

The rock came flying towards him, but he caught it fluidly with a firm fist in front of his face. “Cute.” He chuckled and tossed it to one side. “The only reason I haven’t shifted and ripped your soul to shreds is because I think there has been some sort of misunderstanding here.”

“Oh?” Diana shuffled around the massive upturned rock as he tried to get closer to her.

“I am not a shadow beast. I am a werewolf. I am in fact an Arbitrator. I am descended from the bloodline of a coupling of a werewolf and a lunar witch.”

“Mazel tov.”

“…” He chuckled and put his hands on his hips, pausing his pursuit and smirking at her with amusement. “You haven’t tried to cast a single spell, or tried to leave. You don’t know how to do either, do you?”

Shit shit shit.

“Of course I do.” She bluffed and put her own hands on her spectral hips. “I have questions and I want answers. You say you’re not a shadow beast, but you have red eyes and sharp teeth. How I know this bullshit answer you’ve given me about werewolves isn’t a bunch of baloney?”

“…” The Arbitrator held one of his right elbow and his right hand tapped his lips with mirth. He cleared his throat and nodded for her to look over her shoulder. Diana slowly did so, and screamed at the sight of a pack of running wolves the size of horses. They were following two deer and heading in parallel to them. At the sound of her scream two of the massive werewolves, one reddish brown and an even bigger silvery grey one, broke away from the main pack. They were heading right for Diana and she stumbled over her own feet. She opened her hollow mouth to scream again, but a hand wrapped around it. “Stay low and stay under me. They are all feral under the full moon as dictated by the ancient curse of their bloodlines. They are not as sensitive to your presence as I am, and won’t see you, but they can hurt you. I will use my scent to keep them back. Do not move. Do not make a sound.” He released Diana’s mouth and lowered her to lay down on the ground. She was alarmed at having this naked guy crawl on top of her, but more so by the two snarling werewolves barely a stone throw away from her.

The arbitrator rolled his neck and snarled to the air. Diana slowly turned her head to look up and watch in fascination as white fur blossomed across his body. She flinched at the wet popping sound of joints coming out of their sockets and snapping back into place. The ripping and stretching of muscles. The hot air that beat down on her spectral body from his wide and widening jaws.

The most magnificent white werewolf stood over her tall and regal with red eyes. His head was still lowered and turned to one side so she looked directly into his right eye. It was red, sure, but his pupils were round. No dark tendrils licked out from the pupil into the red expanse. His eyes were crimson red, but no flecks of yellow or orange fire glowed within them.

This isn’t the creature that attacked me or I dreamt of. The Arbitrator huffed, licked at her face and made her grimace with a scowl. He’s still an asshole though! Ek, dog drool on my face and I can’t move. What a jerk! The Arbitrator raised his head high in time to meet the two wolves head on. He watched them intently as they tried to sniff down the source of the scream. Diana was still on her side and strained to look up and backward as the big silver wolf started to hone in on her. Her sadistic saviour growled in warning and lowered his head to cover her.

It felt like forever before the red and silver wolf gave up and ran off to join the rest of the back. Diana was bored waiting for the Arbitrator to shift back, so she rolled onto her back, looked around her and then tapped his left paw.

“If you were going to hurt me, you would have. Licking me was uncool by the way. Sicko. Can I get up yet?” He backed off and with a sickening squelch he began his transformation back. “Dude that’s nasty.” Diana waved her white flaming hand up and down his body as he knelt back up in his naked human form. “I mean, thank you for hiding me from the others.”

“From hiding you from the werewolves who don’t exist, you mean?” Diana pinched her brow and sighed.

“A month ago, witches and monsters weren’t real. Lord does this mean everything is real?”

“It sounds like your peril is real.” He sobered the mood and walked over to her with a sheen of sweat across his tanned body. “You said your sister is the coven mother? I’ve had some dealings with a few covens in the past. Usually when one of theirs is the soul mate of one of ours. From which coven do you hail?”

“Salem.”

“Salem?” His hands went to his hips and he exhaled deeply. “None of my people have dealings with that coven so I’ve not had to adjudicate over any matters there. That land is not a welcome place for our kind. I have heard that it is contested land.”

“That’s putting it lightly.” She sniggered.

“What brings you to Glen Valley?”

“Oh, a pilot test really.” She shrugged. “I’m on an astral walk in space, to prepare myself for an astral walk in time, so I can find out how my life got so fucked up.” She puckered her lips sourly forward and huffed. “What brings you here?” He chuckled at her moxy and reached over to tap her nose.

“I am the Arbitrator. I am responsible for the Werewolf packs in the North of America.”

“Oh? I’d say that sounds like you were big boy pants, but you’re not wearing pants so…” He chuckled and lifted her chin suddenly.

“Perhaps you should leave that peril behind? I can see and hear you, but I can’t smell you. I should very much like to smell you.”

“I should very much like you to sound less creepy.” She countered and jerked her chin free. “Smelling fetish is a new one?”

“Werewolves can sometimes tell if they have met their soul mate by their sent. Either way, I’m sure we would enjoy each other’s company.” His smirk was salacious and Diana groaned and flipped him off.

“A girl can’t even go for an Astral walk without being hounded by a horny dog. Honestly.” He barked with laughter and shrugged.

“Your loss. I’m told that once you’re fucked by a wolf, regular men just won’t do it anymore.”

“Go hump a tree.” She rolled her eyes and looked up with a sigh. Come on guys? Surely this is long enough? Pull me back already.

The Arbitrator saw her starting to fade from his vision and reached for her.

“Wait, what is your name?” At the sound of his urgency Diana looked down at her arms and saw she was getting more transparent. She looked at him and grinned. Knowing she was going back to her body was enough to make her more confident to be a smart ass with the white werewolf.

“You didn’t give me your name?”

“I told you my title. It is how I am to be referred to by all but my mate.” He tried to grab her, but his hand phased straight through her. “I must have a name to recall you by. I must. Please?”

“Call me…” Diana smirked and thought Elaina would split at the seams when she told her how she replied later. “…the blood witch.”

“You were born on a blood moon?!!” His eyes were wide and turned red with alarm.

“Sure was.” He took a step back from her and suddenly looked very pale. He didn’t look all that eager to know her in any way as he backed away from her. Diana raised a brow and decided to ask Elaina more about what being a blood witch was at some point. This werewolf seemed to be intimidated by it anyway. “Bye bye. Thanks again for covering me.”

“It was my honour to serve.”

Diana thought his sudden withdrawal from his previously arrogant self was more worrying than anything. She didn’t get a chance to ask him anything more as her vision whited out and she felt herself falling once more.

The Arbitrator exhaled with relief once she was gone and palmed at his own face. “I need to report this to the council. When was the last time a Cleric was sighted? More importantly…whom does she serve?”