The Heir of Crescent Moon

Chapter 1 - Southern Mexico

Cory POV

** 7 years later **

'He's gone around the building. Cut him off before he runs into the next one!' Uncle Theo mind linked everyone. I shouldn't be able to hear him, considering I wasn't part of his pack, Guardian Moon, but with the help of a witch my mother knew, we were able to temporarily mind link thanks to a potion we drank before we got here.

I was closest to the building, I thought. So I ran towards it. We've been trying to catch one of Uncle Helios' siblings but she's slippery. She has the ability to turn into water and kept finding a way to ditch them.

That's why I was here in Southern Mexico with Uncle Theo, Uncle Sebastian and a host of his warriors. They were hoping my ability to manipulate water would help make sure she didn't get away this time. We needed to find her before the others did. We would help her and protect her. The others would not.

Around the time I was one, Uncle Gonzalo(Lalo) and Aunt Kassia(Kassie to us) had come across a seer that predicted that there would be a major showdown with Tezcatlipoca, a dark Aztec god, that has been hunting Uncle Helios. Uncle Helios' original name is Huitzilopochtli, the Aztec God of the sun and war, and his sister Selene, also known as Coyolxauhqui. She was every shifter's moon goddess. He's been after them since an epic fight at the pyramids where Selene freed their mother from his evil influence the only way she could, by killing her.

At the time, Uncle Helios thought Selene and his siblings coldly murdered his mother and spent over millennia, hunting them down and killing them under the full moon to punish Selene, unaware that Tezcatlipoca had been influencing his mother the entire time and using him against them.

Mom's wolf is one of those siblings, and when Uncle Helios came for her and us, Mom used her gift of sight to help him see the truth. When Selene thought that Uncle Helios had redeemed himself, he offered him a choice, remain as they are and help fight the evil after them or become shifters and merge with the spirits of all the siblings he'd kill and fight evil as a shifter god. Uncle Helios chose to become a shifter in order to allow his siblings to live once more and because becoming shifters made them stronger for the battles ahead. Uncle Sebastian, Uncle Theo, and Uncle Gonzalo were his most trusted jaguar warriors and ranked members. Their history, the wolves' relation to each other and their loyal friendship made them family, which made them mine.

He's since spent his life preparing for this big fight, finding the rest of his siblings, and running the neighboring pack. His pack is made up of the remaining of his jaguar warriors and people he'd rescued from some labs that had been experimented on. Now, he helps shifters packs in peril of being decimated by rogues, other magical entities, or tyrannical alphas abusing their power, along with his mate, Aunt Natalia, who is the legendary white wolf with healing abilities.

'I'm on my way' I linked back.

'Warriors, remain at your post. We can't let her get away this time. We might not find her again. She can't move in liquid form unless there's drainage. This is our only chance.' His instructions rang out.

I rounded the corner to see a very pretty coppered skin Mexican. Her eyes widened as she looked up at me. She must find me intimidating at my six foot two to her five nothing. She turned to water and I held it in place, not allowing her to leave. She reformed her shape and I saw her eyes wide and full of fear. I have no doubt she's used this as her defense mechanism for hundreds of years and now it was not effective.

“No tenga miedo!(Don't be afraid.)” I told her, lifting my hands to show her I didn't mean her harm. “La estan buscando unos hombres malos. Mis tios y yo la queremos ayudar. (Some bad men are looking for you. My uncles and I are trying to help you.)”

“Y a donde me quieres llevar? Huitzilopochtli? Me dicen que ya mi hermoano no nos matan, pero que pruebas me tiene? (Where do you want to take me? To Huitzilopochtli? They tell me my brother doesn't kill us anymore but what proof do you have?)

“Trajimos a otro de sus hermanos. El le puede decir.(We brought another one of your siblings. He can tell you)” I told her, surprised that she hadn't tried to leave yet. I hear Uncle Theo coming around the corner.

'Stop. Wait. I think she might listen.' I linked.

“Quien?(Who)”

“Beto. Ummm. No se su nombre de verdad. Lo encontramos en Chile.(Beto. I don't know his Aztec name. We found him in Chile.)”

“Tochtlee” She whispered. “Donde esta?(Where is he?)”

'Bring Beto. She wants to see him.'

'On it.'

“Ahorita biene.(He is coming.)” I told her, trying not to wince at my accent. I really sounded like a white boy in comparison. Mom had taught us as best as she could and we got lots of practice with Uncle Helios and Uncle Theo, but I still stumbled a little when I went too long without usage.

I heard rustling behind me and I saw her eyes widen and she pushed past me. She ran straight into Beto's arms and they started talking rapidly in another language. Uncle Theo came up to me.

“Fantastic Job. Your mom will be proud.” He beamed at me.

“Do you know what they are saying?” I asked.

“Yes. She's asking about his kid and Helios.” Uncle Sebastian appeared beside Uncle Theo, startling me for a moment.

“It's really creepy when you do that, uncle.” I chided.

“Don't encourage him. He loves to be told people can't see him.” Uncle Theo teased.

“Don't start, Corazon(my heart).” Uncle Seb growled but I could see the blush still coming up his face.

“Is that because his gift didn't work at first? Mom told me.” I said, making Uncle Theo laugh.

“It did work! It just didn't work with my tattoos. Now they blend too.” Uncle Seb said indignantly.

“It's OK, Uncle. She told me that too.” I tried to calm him. I could see Uncle Theo trying hard not to laugh and I knew that would just end up with them fighting. “She was trying to tell me every gift has a learning curve when I was struggling with mine.”

Uncle Sebastian was about to respond when Beto and the woman approached.

“Me llamo Ahuic. Siento haber corrido. He corrido por generacciones. Es dificil quebrar costumbres.(My name is Ahuic. I am sorry I ran. I've done it for generations. Habits are hard to break.)”

“No importa. Lo importante es que estes bien. Beto te dijo quien te busca?(It's not important. What's important is you're still alive. Did Beto tell you who hunts you?)” Uncle Theo asked.

“Texcatlipoca.” She said, spitting on the floor as she said his name.

“Si. Hay que llevarte a los estados unidos. Ahi te mantenemos segura.(Yes, we must take you to the US. We can protect your there.)”

“Necesitos unas cosas.(I need a few things.)” She answered. We nodded and started heading to the vehicles. We arrived at a small house in the middle of Tehuantepec. She was accompanied by Beto and Uncle Theo while we waited outside. The humidity was killing me. I thought my legs were going to melt in these jeans.

A few cars came around the street. They were out of place in this small town with no parking on side streets or driveways and narrow streets. Our SUVs were already taking up almost half of the tiny street.

'Uncles...'

'What?'

'I see it. Stay inside Corazon. Everyone stay alert. Be prepared to take cover.' Uncle Seb ordered. Our encounters with Tezcatlipoca's lackeys were becoming more and more frequent. While we were mostly wolves and magical beings, most of his people were not, and it wasn't uncommon for them to bring firepower to a fight.

I looked around quickly to find a safe spot to dive into but I was highly exposed where I was and if I moved, I would alert them that we were aware of them before our people can get somewhere safe.

Tenoch, what are our options - I asked my wolf, letting him sit up front with me so we could see all around us.

Not many great options. It's rained recently. Can we use the water somehow? - He asked. I looked at the street and saw puddles of water all around. Maybe...

The moment I saw the windows roll down and the first gun barrel show, I dove to the ground and placed my hand on the water under our SUV. I felt it freeze under my hands and I let my power flow out. There were only a few shots fired before I heard the tires skidding and the surprised cries of everyone when their vehicles danced around the black ice and hit each other as they tried to come to a stop.

'NOW' I commanded. I heard the growls and roars as my uncle's pack of bears, wolves, and cheetahs shifted. He'd helped so many people start new by giving them a home where they were accepted no matter what kind of shifter they were.

I got up, just in time to feel the sting of a bullet hit my shoulder. I cursed, but it was the only one that was fired before the arm was ripped apart from their body by an angry bear skidding on the ice. It was almost comical to see them spit out the arm while trying to stop their momentum, hitting one of our SUVs with a small whimper. I looked around sheepishly, seeing a few others also having trouble getting through the ice.

It was a good idea at the time. - Tenoch laughed.

Thankfully, the fight was short-lived. No one on our side was hurt, outside of a few twisted ankles as they skidded through the ice to get to them. I unfroze everything, but I was teased non-stop the whole way home. The bullet in my shoulder was a regular bullet, and although it stung, it healed within minutes thanks to Tenoch.

Ahuic arrived safely at Guardian Pack and I went home after a debrief. Something about the whole ordeal nagged at me, but I couldn't quite place what it was.

Author's Note:

I have a lot on my plate currently, trying to plan the release of The Replacement Alpha on Amaz0n and editing Alpha Markus for print. As such, I'm only going to be updating on here once a week for now as I don't have time to deal with contract negotiations quite yet. Once a few things are off my plate, I will negotiate with Dreame to decide if Heir will continue to post here, or will go exclusively to other platforms.

Currently, I will be updating here once a week each Monday.