Children Of The Moon

-Michael-

*a year later*

I smiled slowly as I looked out over the three sleeping forms of my pack. My family. There was Victoria, curled up in fetal position with her long brown hair spread out behind her, snoring softly. Sam, laying peacefully, almost smiling in her sleep. Tate lay stretched out parallel to her, his fingertips tangled in her flame colored hair. They were so close, the two of them.. I wanted to smile, to be happy at the connection between them, but I knew it couldn't happen.. it was against the first and most serious rule of my pack---there could be no relationships within this pack other than the bond between us all as family.. And, no matter how badly I wanted to be happy for them, I had to bring it to an end..

Thoughts were swirling in my mind as I had flashbacks to the night we almost lost Sam..the night that Adrianna, my ex girlfriend, had led her pack of rogues right to us, and little brave Sam had risked her life in an attempt to save us all by rushing headfirst into a wave of rogues.

*flashback*
"Sam!!" The scream ripped from Tate's mind as he watched, with wide eyes,the lithe shape of the tigress be swallowed up by a horde of rogues--all vicious, all bloodthirsty. "Michael, do something!!" He turned to me, desperate. Before I even had time to blink, Adrianna and six of her pack were standing in front of us, snarling. Adrianna, the sleek furred leopard, hissed loudly before launching herself at me.

By the time the three of us had fought our way to Sam, we were all exhausted and panting, but the rogues had disappeared, dragging the limp body of their fallen leader. When my eyes locked on the limp ginger shape of Samantha, my feet seemed to speed up on their own accord. As though getting to her faster would change anything... We reached the top of the hill, phasing back into human form, still in our clothes from earlier. "Sam!" Tate reached her first, and hit his knees by the slender cat's head. Her fur was matted and sticky with her own blood, and I could smell the blood seeping from cuts I couldn't see. "Samantha Leigh, don't you fucking leave me like this..." His voice was ragged, low with grief and unimaginable pain. I glanced over at Victoria, only to see silent tears slipping down her face. "Guys," i said quietly, "we have to get her back to the cave...to the water.. we need to wash the blood off so we can see what we're dealing with.." The two nodded wordlessly, and we knelt down simultaneously to pick up the tigress. It was a long trip back to the underground stream, which circled the floor of the cave we claimed as our hideout. We gingerly laid the big cat down, in the cool water, and started to wash the dried blood from her fur.. I could feel the tension rolling off Tate, it came in waves, and Victoria wasn't in much better shape. "Come on Sam... please.. please come back.." I begged, biting my lower lip. We were rinsing a particularly deep cut on her shoulder when we heard a low growl come from her throat. "shit.." she thought. "Can you fuckers be any rougher?" "Sam!!" Tate hugged the big cat, and she locked eyes with me, purring raspily.
*flashback ends*

I realized then that Tate wasn't the only one with feelings for the tigress. But how could I possibly tell him he couldn't love her when I felt the same?

"Nova?" She asked sleepily. "Yeah, Sam?" I answered, turning to see her slowly sitting up, her eyes already adjusted to the dark. "Why are you still up?" "I took first watch.." I lied quickly.  She looked up at me, narrowing her eyes.  I knew she saw straight through me.  "No, you didn't. Something's on your mind.. You can't lie to me, Michael."