My Lycan Mate of Suicide Forest

Dear Readers, so far for this month, golden tickets have earned 8 bonus chapters! You all are amazing! Starting tonight, I will release 3-4 chapters a day until the end of the month to repay you for the love. I hope that works for you all rather than one big chunk at the end! Hugs! <3

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"Luna August!" the familiar pups called, racing to her when they saw her come outside.

"Luna!"

"You look like an angel!"

"She looks like a faerie!"

"Look at our masks!"

"How did you and Alpha do that, Luna? I can feel you in my heart!"

"I feel them, too!"

"I felt it first! You didn't even know what was happening, Bear!"

"You are so beautiful, Luna!"

All of the pups she taught in art gathered around her, talking excitedly and making her laugh. Graeme was speaking with some males in the pack a few yards away, glancing toward her and smiling at the exuberance of the youth who adored his mate.

"You all look so wonderful," she told them. "Are you happy with your masks?"

"Oh yes, look!" Clementine answered, and she put her mask over her head, little eyes peaking out through the holes they had made in the flower mask.

"Look at that. What a beautiful flower," August's eyes crinkled.

The rest of the pups put their masks on as well, all falling relatively silent as they waited to be similarly adored and praised by their Luna.

"Come," Alexander pulled her hand. "You have to see the haunted forest! It's so creepy and cool."

"Haunted forest?" she said, imitating a scared expression as they pulled on her hands, leading her away from the fire.

She looked back at Graeme who was watching their interaction as he continued his conversation, and when their eyes met, he nodded. He knew where they were taking her, and the events that had transpired now with the whole pack feeling the union between them gave him the assurance that she was safe. It was without doubt now—she was home here, which meant she was safer now here than anywhere else in the world. Each one of their people would lay down their life for her. The immense peace of that realization was unlike anything he had felt prior to this night. It was like they were truly a family for the first time since his parents' murders and perhaps even before that.

Alexander pulled her under one of the triangular arches leading out of the backyard area behind the pack house with the rest of the pups skipping or running around them toward the haunted forest. The white lights strung up around the outdoor area did not continue this way nor did the bonfire light reach far past the tree line, so there were eerie angular shadows cast in front of them as they went further into the darkness of the forest. If it weren't for the excited chatter and squeals around her, August imagined that this walk would be quite frightening.

After making an abrupt turn further into the denser part of the forest, they caught sight of what was apparently the entrance to the haunted area. Up ahead, there were red lights hidden on either side of the path somewhere in the underbrush and tilted upward to make the trees on either side and vines hung between them appear like gates to the underworld.

While August was walking forward, eyes trained on the glow of the entrance in front of her and the pups who were now sprinting ahead, something dark and solid bumped into her side and she screeched, jumping back with eyes wide to readjust to the depths of shadows. The object swung back, creaking on its rope before slowly swinging her way once again, gradually losing momentum. She squinted and realized it was a stuffed figure hanging from a tree before recognizing that it was not the only one. There were many of these hanging shapes all lining the path toward the entrance of this haunted forest.

She shivered. It was too reminiscent of the true horrors she had seen traces of in suicide forest the day she wandered away from Eliade. Did the pups really enjoy these kind of scares?

"Come on, Luna!" one of the sweet voices called from ahead, and she tore her eyes away from the hanging figure and continued walking on, less enthusiastic now about what lay ahead.

"Are you okay, Luna August?" Finn's voice surprised her from behind, causing her to jump again and then giggle at how scared she already was.

"Finn!" she laughed, placing a hand on her chest. "I guess I am already jumpy out here."

"Is it okay if I join you?" he asked, his expression lacking any amusement. Clearly he was back to taking his job very seriously.

"Of course," she nodded, shifting to walk on the side of the path where he would have room next to her.

"This is the first year for something like this," he thought aloud. "I heard it was some of the juveniles who came up with the idea."

"This kind of thing is very popular during the whole month of October where I come from. There are actually some haunted attractions that operate all year long," she told him, thinking back to all of the haunted houses and hay rides that would be advertised near Maiden Rock.

"Wow," he responded in amazement. "You would go to them?"

"I only went to a few when I was much younger, but they were fun. It's all about the jump scare," she chuckled.

"What's a jump scare?" he tilted his head her way as they got closer to the red trees ahead.

"Oh, well it's something that scares you purely because it's a surprise. Like if someone jumps out of the shadows unexpectedly. Have you ever watched scary movies?"

"No, Luna August," he shook his head, bewildered.

"If you watched a scary movie or two you would understand immediately," she giggled.

"I don't scare easily," he told her. "I don't think most lycans do, honestly, which is probably why we have never had a haunted forest before."

"Hmmm, I can understand that. But the pups seem to enjoy it," she smiled, nodding toward those who were running and shrieking ahead of them.

"Most of them don't really scare easily either," he laughed. "I think it may be the novelty of this that they like the most."

"If they don't scare easily does that mean this haunted forest is going to be super terrifying for someone like me?" she asked, amused now at her growing understanding of how something like hanging figures wouldn't phase the pups she was with. It made sense. Lycans had their senses attuned differently to help identify true threats.

"It's possible, Luna August," Finn smirked.

"Well it's a good thing you're here then, Finn.. Although I should apologize now, because you may hear me scream."

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