Winter's Dawn (26 page)

“Go apologize.” Serena pushed at his back more forcefully. “She loves you and she’ll forgive you.”

“Do you think so?” Max asked her hopefully.

Serena gave him a sad smile. “I do.”

Max nodded and pulled her close. He leaned down and placed a chaste kiss on her cheek. “Travel safely.”

“I always do.” She reached up to caress her cheek. “We’ll see you soon.”

“Soon,” Max agreed, before he steeled his shoulders. “Wish me luck.”

Serena laughed. “Gods’ blessings on you.”

“Put something on the altar for me.” He gave her a pained look. “Because I don’t know if the Gods can help me.”

“They’ll help you,” Serena assured him. “You are the leader of their people.”

“Yeah.” Max turned to leave. “Until the next full moon.”

“Until then,” Serena said, a smile in her voice.

Max left her in the woods and made his way back to the palace, feeling tired and world worn. He hadn’t slept in over a week and it was really draining him. He was longing for a bath to rid himself of the oil that still coated his skin, but he was still apprehensive about facing Susie so he didn’t immediately search her out when he got back to the palace.

He had to go out of his way to avoid everyone as he made it to the altar rooms in the palace. He had no offering, because getting one would mean possible contact with others and he was not up to it even knowing what going into the altar room without an offering would require.

There were only two altar rooms, one to the right with a large silver moon hanging on it and the other to the left with a large, golden sun. Max was male. He could never go into the moon altar room. It was purely for females. Though entering the room was forbidden, Max reached out and touched the silver moon, a ritual he had started when he was young, because Susie was the moon and he needed to connect with her when he was feeling spiritual. It wasn’t real silver, just silver toned, but Max still felt something, a pulse of magic when he touched it. He always did.

He turned away from the moon and walked into the sun altar room. He wished he had a bath before he came, but knowing taking a bath would involve something he was seeking aid for, he let it go. He had never been in there right after a running and he winced at the state of it. All the altars had wilted offerings. Males had a tendency to offer up meat from animals they had personally hunted and it was not meant to sit out quite so long. Max wasn’t certain whose job it was to clean the altar room after a running, but he decided to relieve them of the gruesome task this time. He could never do what he needed to do when the place smelled as it did. Max realized with a sad heart that it had been in this state for every running since he had become fully grown, before then, Max had kept it clean while the rest of his people were gone.

He left the room and walked down the hall to the supply closet that had all the things needed to maintain their place of worship in the palace. He grabbed both a large garbage can and several sticks of incense. He paused at the moon again, setting the garbage can down to reach out and touch it once more.

“Max?”

Max turned, surprised, because he was so tired he failed to smell Susie. He frowned, seeing she was standing at the end of the hall wearing only a long, white robe. “What are you doing here?”

“I wanted a few moments of reflection.” She returned his frown. “What are you doing here?”

“The same,” he said and then grimaced at the thought of the altar room and the state it was in. “It just needed to be cleaned first.”

Susie nodded in understanding, before she tilted her head and studied him, bare foot and bare-chested, with only the dirty leather pants from the running on. “You should have bathed first.”

Max sighed. “I think he will forgive me.”

“You know him better than I.” Susie cast one more look at him and then tilted her head towards the door with the moon on it. “I won’t be long.”

“Nor will I.” Max stepped away from the moon door to allow her access. He frowned at Susie then, noticing she was empty handed. “You have no offering.”

Susie turned back to him, her gaze guarded. “That is a private matter.”

“It was just an observation,” he told her defensively. “It’s unwise to go in without an offering.”

“I have an offering,” she told him bluntly.

Max shrugged and turned his back when Susie opened the moon door, because no male should set eyes on it. He kept his back turned until he heard the small tinkle of chimes and then the click of the lock.

Max turned around again, looking at the small moon chime she had hung on the closed door. It was a warning sign that the queen was in the altar room. No one else could enter when she worshiped. It would have been an extreme insult to the Moon Goddess to interrupt when the queen of her people was connecting with her.

No one wanted to insult the Moon Goddess. Max felt uncomfortable just being outside the door. He attempted to resist, but he touched the moon just once, before he turned around and went back into the sun room.

He made quick work of cleaning the altars, attempting not to wince over the decayed offerings. Females left nice things like flowers, stones, shells and sometimes honey or other sweet foods. Males left gruesome gifts, mainly meat from hunting, but there was hair and fur from rogues that had been killed, even large shells full of blood. Max knew the blood was from Adam. He had a horrible habit of collecting treasures from rogue hunting to offer up to the Summer God in pride that he was serving his people and his line as a descendant from the old Summer Alphas. Max’s father would also do that on occasion, but he didn’t go rogue hunting as often as Adam. Not all the offerings were repulsive. Many left weapons, semi precious stones and honey as females often did and Max left those alone.

When he was done, he set the garbage can outside the door. Then he lit incense, putting a stick in the holder for each of the four Gods of the seasons. He went to the table next to the door and picked up the Sun chime, because Susie wasn’t the only one who was allowed a private audience. Max had worshiped alone since he was young. He barely remembered his father teaching him their ways of worship, but he did know he was abandoned in spirituality before he was four.

Once Susie was born and Max’s fate was officially sealed as king, no one dared go with him into the altar room when he needed to. The only thing more dangerous than insulting the Moon Goddess, was insulting her mate the Sun God. There was a reason his offerings were focused around conquest and protection of their people. He was a dangerous God to upset, especially when he was taking care of someone, like the chosen king of their people.

Max stripped off his leather pants once he had hung the sun chime on the outside of the door and then locked it. He folded them neatly and left them on a chair near the door. He looked up at the large altar to the sun God in the center of the room, framed by smaller altars to the Summer and Winter Gods on the right, and the Fall and Spring Gods to the left.

Max walked to the altar for the Winter God first and placed a large shell on the blue cloth that covered the marble slab. He smiled as he created a small cloud that started snowing for him. He watched the small amount of snow gather in the shell and said, “Thank you for a good season. I will miss you when spring comes, but my offering will remain the same. I know you appreciate it.”

He left the small cloud snowing over the winter altar. Max always offered the Winter God snow. He was the only one who could and he knew without a doubt it was valued. He would usually get more spiritual in the summer, when he was weakest and most miserable. He spent a good amount of time offering snow because he thought the God of Winter had to be as miserable as the King of Winter during the summer months.

He fell to his knees in front of the large altar for the Sun God. This altar had only previous offerings from Max, because only kings could speak directly to the Sun God. His presence was there before Max’s birth, but his altar was empty, waiting for a king to converse with. All other werewolves offered up their gifts to the Gods and Goddesses of the seasons. Only Susie and Max gave offerings to the head deities.

“Winter is a busy time,” Max started as he worked at straightening his altar, picking up old offerings and adjusting them needlessly. He studied the dagger that had caused his silver poisoning when he was nine. Adam had made sure he had it to offer to the Sun God as thanks for sparing his life. “I have been somewhat neglectful and I apologize. Your chosen king should not neglect you, even when he is busy.”

Max picked up the golden leaf Susie had given him the day they played naked in the snow and studied it for a moment. When winter was over, he would surrender it to a pile at the far end of the altar, where fifteen other leaves rested. Susie had been collecting them since she was almost two and he still had every one she had given him. They were a permanent offering, like the dagger that had nearly killed him.

Max rested his elbow on the altar and looked up at the large golden sun hanging on the wall in the center of the room. “I have been a bad mate,” he confessed. “I am a far lesser guardian than you are. You would never argue with your moon as I have with mine and I fear things will be more difficult before they get better.”

Max took a large stone he had found at the beach years ago on Susie’s birthday and placed it in the center of the altar. He had never known why it had spoken to him, why he liked the smooth, black exterior of it, but he had felt it belonged on his altar and it had been resting there with little purpose for a long time.

Max picked up the dagger next, studying it, seeing the blood of long dead rogues on it. He grabbed a small silk cloth and rubbed it clean, something that would have caused Adam to faint on the spot.

“I need guidance,” Max whispered, shaking his head in disappointment at himself. “And I know that I owe you a debt for neglecting the moon you and your mate entrusted me to take care for. Her hair has gone for five days without being braided and she has cried tears I have caused.”

Max did it before he could let fears of silver poisoning rise in him. It was something deeply ingrained in him. He probably feared silver more than other werewolves, despite being the only one to survive an extreme silver poisoning. He had been positively miserable for several months after his poisoning.

He hissed in pain when he grabbed the silver blade in his right hand and held his breath when he smelled the horrible stench of burning flesh. He had no idea how he had failed to notice the burn the last time. It was so painful it was nearly blinding. He endured for several long heartbeats before he jerked the dagger out of his hand, slicing his palm.

He placed his burning, bloody palm on the stone and looked up at the sun again. “I am giving you my blood as a permanent offering. I ask that you not make me sick enough to affect my moon, because this is my burden to bear, not hers.”

Max closed his eyes, feeling tears roll down his face. “Please help me make the remainder of her puppyhood wonderful and give me courage when it is gone. I have fears of her death. I have a hard time trusting your timing is perfect and I know that’s wrong, so forgive me. If we are meant to die, then so be it. I just don’t want her to suffer. I don’t want my puppy to kill her. I fear what sort of king two alphas can make, when my father was able to create someone as powerful as me with just a human. Others assure me she is strong enough, but I know the power in me and I have witnessed the power in her. Our forces combined is something that is terrifying to me. My moon deserve more than a life ended too quickly just to appease others.”

He let his forehead fall against his hand, which was throbbing in pain and took a deep breath, smelling the sticky sweet scent of his blood. “A solution would be nice,” he whispered. “But, if not, strength is requested. I believe I need more than I have now to face our destinies. The thought of her dying too young makes me mean and I don’t want to be mean, especially not to her. “

Max lifted his head, squinting at the sun again. His vision had gone spotted and grey tinged at the edges, but he felt strangely removed and unconcerned as he smiled. “A few days to rest without nightmares would probably help also. If you’d be so kind.”

Max finally pulled his hand away from the stone, seeing the black exterior had hidden his blood. It was made up of countless small holes, like many beach rocks were and no blood had spilled over onto the golden altar cloth. Max just needed to make it through another case of silver poisoning, a small burden to him at the moment, when he considered what his heart was heavy with.

“I won’t leave you alone so long next time. I realize it has been since the Winter Solstice that I have spoken to you. Two weeks is too long. Happy birthday again, by the way. My moon and I are honored to share that day with you. May this year be good to you and your moon.”

Max closed his eyes again as he became more formal, speaking the words his father had taught him long ago. “I am the most powerful. I am the most dominant. I am the king of my people and all will bow to me for the moon is mine. Guide me to fulfill the duties you have bestowed on me and thank you for the honor to serve you and your mate by protecting your people.” Max stood, clenching his fist tighter when he felt the blood still pumping out of the large cut on his hand. “Until next time.”

Now finished, he searched for something to wrap around his hand, but found nothing that would stop the blood flow enough to hide it from Susie. He really hadn’t planned on her being there. He finally gave up, because he couldn’t wrap his hand in the silk clothes they used for offerings.