Warriors of Blue moon

I woke up at first light, I quickly washed my armor rubbed lavender onto them and left them to fry under the sun then headed to the warm pools to bathe, I wanted to smell as fresh as I could before I headed to Heath’s and with how drastic things have changed for me, I needed a moment to breathe.

Once I was washed, I chucked on my shorts and top and headed back home to eat, I stuck to fruits so I wouldn’t smell of cooked wild animal. I Put on my now dry armor and ran my fingers through my hair to detangle any knots to look as tidy as possible, I tied it back, then I made my way to Heaths as soon as it reached noon.

When I got to his boarder, Heath and Mitch were already waiting and I noticed a twinkle in Heath’s eyes as his gaze fell on me ”there’s our little warrior" he smiled brightly as he opened his arms to bask me in a hug and this time I returned without hesitating.

“SO, I was thinking” I said as I stepped out of the hug ”I want to speak to the boy myself today, I want to know if there’s anything else he remembers, there has to be something”.

"Wow, ok… yes of course Lelanna, that’s fine, your happy to come onto my land then?”

I nodded but I couldn’t help the uneasy look that flashed across my face, and he noticed as he cupped my cheek “It’ll be fine, ok? I promise just ignore everyone you pass and concentrate on the goal”

I nodded and smiled in agreement as he motioned for us to walk ahead to his pack land.

Heath and Mitch stayed either side of me as we walked to the bricked building that held the cells. Of course, people looked, some even stopped for a moment to gawk at the woman that was dressed from head to toe in black leather armour with heavy weaponry held at her waist, someone they knew wasn’t a member of the Diamond Moon pack. But one look or growl from Heath and they’d quickly carry on with their business. It was nerve-wracking to walk by so many people in the safety of their land, feeling like a complete outsider and such a misfit, I appreciated Heath scaring people off from staring so much. At least having him and Mitch protectively by my side made me feel a little more at ease.

Heath greeted the two guardsmen as we reached the main doors of the building. “Alpha” they both bowed their heads in respect as they spoke.

“How is the boy today?”

"he’s had both meals and he’s calm, he still hasn’t given us any trouble” one of the guards informed Heath.

Heath nodded “good” he pointed to the door for the guard to unlock it, we walked through a long, bricked corridor then down a flight of steel steps. ”he’s on this floor" heath said as he gave me a quick look ”these are the bigger and more comfortable cells, they’re mostly only used if were holding someone while we prove if their guilty or innocent. we don’t believe in treating someone like a criminal unless they’ve acted like one! The next floor down is the rougher cells, we still have two rogues from the attack down there but of course if they continue to not give us any information, we’ll have them put to death”

“We’re here“, he said as we reached a thick metal door with another two guards standing by “unlock it please"

“Yes Alpha" a guard replied as he unlocked the door

“I’ll go first, you follow in second and Mitch will stay closely behind you… ok?”

"Sure” I agreed confidently

Heath walked in and approached the boy “we need to speak to you again boy” his stern voice echoed in the cell. I walked in behind Heath, then stood to his side to get a good look at the rogue. His eyes widened as he looked at me. He was definitely young indeed, with his skinny teenage frame, his pale face looked as though he was no older than 16!

“Who… who is she?” he stuttered nervously...

Heath looked to me as I stood confidently ”I’m here to speak with you” I answered the boy directly

“Whh…. whhyy?... I… I told you everything… whha… whaat… are you going to do to me… y… you promised I’d be safe if I did”

I stepped forward ”I’m not here to hurt you, however I am here for answers and I will get them”

“wa..wait.. I know you… you were there that d..day.. I saw you.. killing them all”

“that’s right, I was there and yes, I killed some, but I didn’t kill them all, you’re forgetting the men that are stood in front of you… I believe they snapped quite a few necks” I couldn’t help but want to put a bit of fear into him, not to be nasty but to coax him into giving more information. He just looked at me like a scared cat, wanting to run away as fast as his little legs could carry him.

“what’s your name boy?”

“Why?”

“Because I’m asking!”

"Its… Its Benny, well… Benson, but I’ve been called Benny for most me life”

"Ok well what do you prefer… Benson, or Benny?”

"Umm… Benson, I guess”

"Well Benson, I know that the Alpha here gave you a trade. You get to keep your life and be in a nicer cell if you give over any information you have”

“Yes… well he did and I... I have”

I nodded “okayyy, but I have come here today to see if perhaps there’s something, something you have maybe forgotten to mention or not thought to mention. I want as many details as you can give”

" I don’t… I don’t think so miss… I tried to keep me head down yer, they scared me a little. I wanted to leave but they said anyone that leaves will be tortured. there were stories that went around the group I was in, of what the leaders would do if any of us tried to flee”

"Leaders?”

“Yer that’s right miss, the leaders that commanded we attack”

“But you said leaders not leader!”

"Uh, yer miss, well, every time people would talk about them, they’d always say leaders… I remember cause it would always get me thinking about how many were there of them, that what scared me the most miss, that it weren’t just one I had to escape from… you see”

"Yea I understand, thank you Benson, that’s actually good to know. So, these stories you’d hear about them, can you remember if anything was ever mentioned about where they might be hiding orrr what their overall plan was?”

"Umm. I don’t know miss.... like I told you before I’d keep to meself… I’d only listen out for what they said cause I didn’t really know who we were doing it all for”

"So how did you get involved in it all then, I mean you seem young and like fighting isn’t really your mission. I mean I’ve come across enough rogues to see the difference, they live to fight and kill, but you keep saying you were scared, so how did you end up with them?”

“Well, it weren’t by choice”

“How so? What happened?”

"Well, me mum and me were out walking one afternoon, me mum wanted to pick some fruit, so we walked near the trees, we were still on our land miss we didn’t even leave the path, but then out of nowhere, we got ambushed and dragged into the forest, It all happened so fast. They didn’t let us go until we were out of our pack territory, they killed me mum straight away, right in front of me” He gulped as tears threatened to spill from his eyes.

“Then they put a cloth thing over me head and made me walk, it felt far, it felt like I had been walking for some hours, then they just dumped me on the ground and when they took the cloth off, I saw I was with what I think about a hundred or so rogues.... some of them looked scared and new like me, but most of them looked… well.... evil… like they’d rip your throat out if you so much as looked at them the wrong way”.

I sat down on a plastic chair a few yards away from his bed and nodded for him to continue.

" I was terrified! we were there for a few nights, just sat waiting, we’d get fed two meals a day, I don’t know what half of it was cause it smelt awful, but I was too scared to leave it any of it… some of the rouges would fight between themselves. one even died cause it got out of hand. We were told then by one of the men that was in charge that if it happened again, the one responsible would be sent to the leaders, where they’d be tortured, skinned bit by bit while they’re alive, that they would cut flesh from you and leave the wound to infect then cut it again and cut more parts of you… those were just some of the nasty stories that flowed around about what they’d do if we stepped out of line. I do remember the man said, the leaders need us in numbers and didn’t want anyone going to waste unless it was in battle. That’s when I knew what I were there for, they were preparing us to fight”.

He looked down at his hands as he intertwined his fingers, fidgeting as he continued to talk. “Not that we did much, we just sat and waited, then one day we were told to get into lines, then they divided us, two groups of thirty then a group of forty from what I could see. Then two more men showed up, and one man led us off to another part in the woods. when we got there, he said we had to wait for the signal to move and attack.

He said we had to kill as many as possible, we were only allowed to leave the fight if everyone in the pack had been taken down. But you see miss, me and a few others knew it was suicide. We just kept hoping we would be meetin more rogues, that more would come, but when the time come, and we moved to the boarder I could see there weren’t many of us… I thought that was the day I was going to die”.

When he finished speaking, I couldn’t help but gulp and I could feel Heath’s aura behind me had changed maybe he too was thinking the same as me like “damn this poor boy and what the hell was all this for“…. so that’s exactly what I decided to ask.

"I have to say, it sounds like you’ve had a very traumatic time and I’m really sorry about your mum, I can’t imagine how that must have been for you both"

"Yer miss, it has been, me poor mum, she were a good woman, she didn’t deserve such a brutal death, as long as I live I won’t forget that day”

I shook my head ”no, I suppose you wouldn’t be able to, and I am sorry for that, I truly am, but if you want justice for your mum, then you can help us take everyone down that’s responsible! do you have any idea what this was all for? why such a small number was sent to attack a pack that is known for its skilled fighters and Alpha? we already know it was to confuse and scare us… but why?”

Benson took a moment to think as he racked his brain for any memory that would help us.

"Well before we were split up, I did hear the man that led us off speak to another man that was in charge of the second group, he said, they needed to inflict damage so that the pack didn’t have as much back up and hopefully it would scare other packs into not helping when they come in for the final blow”

I sat back in my chair feeling as if a heavy weight was just put upon me and I felt Heath stiffen from behind me. shit. shit. shit. that was indeed just the beginning and clearly nothing compared to what’s coming.

I leaned forward in my chair as I rested my elbows on my legs and clasped my hands together ”Benson, I really am grateful for everything you have told me, you have been such a big help so far, but just one more thing, could you remember whereabouts you were first taken, if I can perhaps find that place then I might be able to track the leaders if they’re nearby”

"Hmmm... well there were a lot of big rocks, and we were in the middle of loads of trees, like they were surrounding us, and, in the middle, were nothing but rocks and dirt, it were quiet, I know there were water nearby cause they kept filling up buckets and bringing them back for us to drink from”

"And how far did you walk from there to where you waited just before the attack?”

"Mmm, not far, it felt like we walked no more than an hour, I remember thinking we’d be forced to treck for days, but it was over pretty quickly”

I smiled ”thank you Benson, I think I know where to start”

He shook his head anxiously “But miss, you don’t understand, from what I heard they sounded really dangerous”

“I know, but if we sit and do nothing, then from what you’ve said they’re planning on killing the whole pack. We don’t know when or why so we need to know and be ready for them, we can’t just sit by and let them kill hundreds of innocent people… sometimes we have to make ourselves act even when were scared”

He nodded in understanding but still with fear heavy in his eyes ”I get it and I hope you find them, I would love nothing more than to know the killers responsible for me mums’ death are rotting in the ground”

"Benson, we will definitely do everything in our power to make sure that happens”

I got up from my chair and turned to face Heath who had a rather serious and stern look on his face, as I began to leave, I flashed a look at Benson “It was nice to meet you Benson, I’m sure we’ll meet again”

"And you miss, please, please take care. They’re… they’re awful people”

" I will”

Heath nodded at Benson then turned as he walked behind me, we left the cell, with the guard locking it. “We need a meeting with the other men, we’ll meet at my office in the pack house...would you like to join us?” he looked to me

I nodded “of course” the need to find out who was behind all of this overtook any uneasy feelings I once had about being on a pack land.

Once we updated Yen, Mitch and Danny, Heath held a separate meeting with more of his pack warriors. He called for more intense training and patrol shifts now had to be done in twos in each area, for them to be vigilant and ready or an attack.

We had planned for me to go into the forest the following morning and track and find the two places Benson said he had been taken to and Heath insisted on coming with me, for his own peace of mind to make sure I was ok and left Trey in charge of the pack.

Heath asked me to stay in the Palace. A part of me wanted to, just to know how it would feel, but most of all because we didn’t know when the next attack would happen, and I wanted to be here with them, in case it came tonight.

Heath gave me a room on the second floor right at the back of the Palace where it was quiet, and no one roamed around the halls so I could have peace and space. When he left me alone in the room to sleep, I stood just staring at the bed for a while, feeling so out of my depth... I hadn’t seen a bed in three years let alone having the chance to sleep in one… and it just reminded me of how different I was to everyone else here and how much of the normal, everyday things I had forgotten about! I had gotten so used to sleeping on a stone floor that the thought of sleeping in a bed felt so strange.

I finally convinced myself to stop over thinking it and to just adapt to all the new changes again. I undressed and slid into the bed and as soon as I sat down, I could feel how soft and spongy the mattress was, and it was warm… so warm. The pillows and quilt were thick and cosy as I led down and let my head sink into one of the pillows and pulled the quilt up to my chin. I smiled widely as I wriggled against the soft sheets, feeling such bliss and comfort and I could hear my wolf purring too, which was the first in a long time.

Although I had started being able to sleep all night in the cave, the sleep I had in the bed was out of this world, I woke up this morning feeling as though I was in a bed of soft fluffy clouds, and I really didn’t want to get out as I stretched and sprawled, snuggling back into the pillows.

If it wasn’t for the urgency of our situation right now, I was sure I would have stayed in that very bed for days and make sure no one disturbed me. But reluctantly I had to get up, every moment counted, and I wanted to help, it actually felt good, finally being able to put what I was originally trained for to pack use.

Once Heath went over things with Trey, Yen, Mitch and Danny. Me and Heath set off into the forest. As the second Place Benson had been taken to wasn’t far from the pack boarder it didn’t take long to find, even though it had been a few days now, their scent and presence still lingered everywhere.

“wow” Heath looked around in astonishment as he scoffed ”you’d think they’d do a better job at covering their tracks... look you can still see where they had campfires”.

“Yea, not to mention, there’s rabbit and deer bones scattered all over the floor... they must have eaten that morning to leave it all like this”

Heath shrugged ”unless the ones who came were too inexperienced to really think about it”.

I looked to Heath questioningly “I know... didn’t Benson’s story freak you out a bit?“.

He nodded as his brows furrowed ”yea it really shocked me actually, feel sorry for the kid, having to watch his own mother be killed, and I’ll bet they made sure it was needlessly horrific”

“I can’t imagine what he must have saw... it’s sickening... but just think Heath if we had killed him, we would have killed someone that was innocent, he was just being dragged along into someone else’s fight out of fear… It’s Just got me thinking about how many more do they have that are like him, forced to fight against their will”

He shook his head ”don’t worry, I’ve been thinking the same thing… and its horrible, it’s sad actually but what can we do? ask them individually if they’re here by choice or force when they attack next? he said sarcastically.

"I know, I just hope there aren’t anymore. killing is bad enough, let alone killing someone who you assume is the bad guy but in fact is the opposite…. I mean you saw him in there, he looks as though he wouldn’t hurt a fly”

He came over to me and put his hands on my shoulders as he looked at me “Lelanna I can’t imagine how you must have felt when you were forced to kill and to do it alone too, but I want you to know, my pack… well it’s always a home to you, if you ever want it to be… so you never have to be alone”.

I smiled at his words and my stomach felt warm to hear that word… ”home” it stirred emotions inside of me, ones I spent so long trying to suppress.

"Thank you and... I will keep it in mind, you’ve all been great, so who knows”

He smiled widely and let out an excited laugh “that is music to my ears sweetheart, just knowing you’ll think about it is good enough for me” he kissed me on the cheek which gave me a fuzzy feeling and my smile grew naturally which made Heath smile even moreso back at me. We stood for few seconds just gazing at each other when he broke the silence and took his hands from my shoulders ”so...can you sense anything else here?”

I stepped back and took in my surroundings and shook my head “I can only notice their scent going that way” as I pointed the way which would lead us back to the boarder. “We need to look closer, deeper, there has to be something that’ll lead us to the way they came from”

“Then let’s get looking”

We spent the next two hours scanning everything with our eyes, looking for any irregular markings on the trees, any dropped items, or foot tracks, but we just came up empty.

“This is so infuriating” I said to Heath “what’s worse is having no idea when they’re going to attack next… you have got reinforcements coming, right?”

"Yes, I called Crescent moon, they’re the closest pack to mine, Luna Fallon is sending fifty warriors, they should be here first thing tomorrow, I know them to be strong and they train hard… so it should make a difference”

"Ok… well it’s going to get dark soon, so we better head back, although it feels quite disappointing to be returning with no good news”

“Well, we’ll see if Trey and the men have any updates, come on let’s get back”.

We jogged back lightly, our stomachs now growling as we left straight after the morning meeting to go over the plans.

Once we got back to the Palace, Heath insisted on us eating in a different room from the main dinner hall so that I wouldn’t feel overwhelmed with all the people that ate there, Trey, Mitch, Danny and Yen came to eat dinner with us as we spoke about what we had done today.

“Alpha” Trey spoke as he ate his steak ”I spoke with Luna Fallon today, she confirmed her fighters are leaving tonight and will be with us at dawn, they’re going to take a detour so as not to run into any ambushes on the main paths”

"That’s great, we need as many warriors as we can get, it’s just as shame other packs are days away”

“But we still don’t know how many more there are, or if they’ll even do a full attack next” Yen spoke with a valid point.

"That’s why we must constantly be on guard, we’ve doubled the guards, no one will be scouting an area alone and until we have more manpower tomorrow that’s all we can do. I’ll be holding an announcement tonight with the entire pack, all the families and staff will be informed to remember the emergency protocol if our boarders are breached, to head to the mountain and follow the trail to Crescent moon, whoever of us is still alive and breathing must go with them and get them there. At least once there, Luna Fallon and her pack will take them in and keep them safe”.

“So how come it’s just a Luna there, where’s the Alpha?” I asked curiously.

“Well, the Alpha died a few years ago, some of the pack children were on a nature walk with a few teachers when rogues breached the boarder, the Alpha sensed the attack and rushed to them, by the time he got there two teachers were already dead while the only teacher left was trying to keep them away from the children. The alpha managed to kill all three rogues himself, but he was hurt so badly he bled out before the pack doctor got to him. He died saving the children and the teacher “.

“Wow...what a selfless, brave Alpha… but where was his men, his guards and Beta?”

“Well back then they weren’t as vigilant or protected like they are now… I think they went so many years without any attacks that they let their guard down. Of course, once that happened the Luna went into despair for a while, she ran into the forest and went on a rampage killing many rogues and once she returned, she wanted to turn things around, improve their safety. They have electric fences all around their boarder, she put intensive training in place, and they have around the clock patrol just like us and it’s all heavily guarded”.

“How do you know all this?” I asked

“Well, it was my uncle that she turned to for help. Once he heard about what happened to the Alpha, he stayed there for a while when she went AWOL, and he helped her when she came back. She told him what she wanted for the pack, and he made sure it got done. By the time he left she was a lot stronger and was running the pack good enough by herself. Her Alphas Beta became hers and they kept it all together… its why we’re such good allies. She’s always been willing to help. She visited a lot when my uncle was ill and helped me take over. She always said she’d help with anything shall I ever need it which is why I knew I could count on her”.

“We’re lucky they’re not far” Mitch chimed in “I think once they’re here, we alternate patrol shifts so that everyone can get in more training”

“that’s a great idea Mitch” Heath spoke in agreement. ”I’ll arrange that tomorrow, once they’re here and settled in”.

Once we finished our food, everyone got on with their duties. Heath asked me to wait in his office, where I could be alone for a moment. He wanted to meet with the entire pack but said he had somewhere he wanted to show me after...

I sat back in his big leather office chair and closed my eyes, but it started to feel stuffy and claustrophobic in here, and I missed the fresh forest air. I went over to the big bay window and opened it, I moved his chair right in front of the window as I felt the breeze wash over my face.

I must have nodded off as I was woken up to the office door being opened and I looked over to see a smiling Heath walking in.

“Come on...we can go now sweetheart”.

I jumped up and followed him out of the office, he took my hand as he led the way.

As the moon was bright in the clear sky Heath had led me to the top of a high hill, he laid down a blanket and motioned for me to lie down on it. “I know it’s not much but at least from here there’s no noise but the sounds of nature and just the moon and stars... I figured with everything that’s been going on lately you haven’t had chance to be alone and be in the forest like your used to... I’m guessing you miss it?”

I let out a little chuckle ”wow you must have read my mind, that’s exactly how I was feeling tonight. I feel as though once again my whole world has changed overnight. I was so afraid about being around you and Trey and the others, but in fact it’s been nice...its reminding me how much I’ve missed being around normal people… people that I can trust… and that don’t want to eat me” I laughed “and well…. I wanted to say thank you, because if it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have this right now and as strange as it all feels, I’m glad I’m here.”

We both looked to each other as he was lying next to me when he spoke softly ”Lelanna, sweetheart if it wasn’t for you, I may have lost men that day… men that feel like family… honestly, were indebted to you and it’s not just me that thinks so… they’re all grateful to you, they already think of you as one of us, they all want to help you to feel settled”

I laughed with gratitude at that, the thought of me being part of their little group. “Well, we do make a good team, I think with all of us together we stand a good chance at winning whatever comes our way”.

He smiled warmly at me as he turned on his side to face me, his body only inches away from mine, I could smell his scent and feel the warmth radiating from him...

“Can I ask you something?” I asked sweetly

He nodded ”of course”

“Well…” I tried to ask, but I suddenly felt shy “Umm, what...what do I smell like?... do I smell like them? the rogues I mean?”

“What??” He looked at me in amusement “No of course not!”

“Really?”

“Lelanna, you don’t smell like how I remembered you to smell, when I first met you, but you don’t smell like a rogue, you just smell like flowers”

I chuckled at the reminder of all the lavender I’ve chucked on myself.

“what’s funny?”

"Ohh nothing… just I always thought you’d all think I stank like one of them”.

"No, never! a sweetheart like you would always smell pretty. you’re not one of them Lelanna, so you couldn’t possibly ever smell like them.” He leaned in slightly closer as he began to speak quietly.

“You’re still the same Lelanna to me, only now your stronger, tougher and have a lifetime of experience that not many others have, but you’re still the same pretty and sweet Lelanna”.

“Hmm, I’m not so sure anymore, I don’t know who I am really”.

“Lelanna”… he cleared his throat ”if you had changed that much then I wouldn’t feel the same for you now like what I did when I was with you at Blue moon”.

“What?”

He nodded “I…. have feelings for you Lelanna, I did the moment I saw you again, but don’t worry, don’t panic, I don’t want to scare you into thinking I want any commitment, or like I’m expecting you to say you feel the same, I want you to make the choices you’re comfortable with, to do what you need when you’re ready. If you have any feelings for me, then I’m willing to wait and see what you decide and when you decide it”.

I blushed at his admitting his feelings for me and a shy smile sprung to my face “I… I do have feelings for you Heath, but I don’t how to process them, or what to even do with them, everything’s changed so fast again and I don’t want to drag you down or make things hard between us cause I don’t know how to show my feelings and act on them, I’m still confused, but I know I do care for you and I do know how you good you make me feel, just like you used to”.

He held my hand and scooted closer, so our bodies were almost touching ”I understand and like I said I’ll wait for you to know what it is you want.”

I smiled at his understanding, trying to fathom how I’ve suddenly become so lucky to have him back in my life “thank you Heath, you do mean so much to me”

He rubbed my hand with him thumb “Lelanna, maybe in time when you’re used to being here and around us all, we might come to realise this was our second chance, our chance to really be together, so, I’m willing to wait” He kissed me on my forehead and led on his back and I followed suit as we stared at the stars, his hand still holding mine. We stayed like that as we talked more but about the things he loved about his land and being Alpha. A chill came and he grabbed a thick blanket and wrapped it around us, putting his arm around me, we talked and watched the sky as I fell asleep nestled into him.