Chapter 11

"Those bitches." Emma spits out while holding Otis in one hand and eating cereal with the other. I sit at her and Oliver's kitchen table as Oliver gets me a new ice pack from the freezer.

After I momentarily fainted in the training building Julia dismissed the class, and mindlinked her mate to come check me over since he is a doctor. Thankfully he deemed me okay enough to head home instead of hauling me over to the hospital. Not wanting to run into Quentin with my brusied ego and double black eyes I asked Julia to show me the way to Oliver and Emma's house.

"Did they reset your nose?" Oliver crouches down in front of me examining my face. Wincing at the lingering pain from when Julia did just that. I meekly nod trying to block out the memory of the distinct crack as she did it.

"Carrie better watch herself because as soon as I can start training again I'm going to put her back in her place." Emma stews taking another bite of her cereal chewing angerly. I shake my head pressing the ice pack lightly against my cheek.

"I'm going to deal with this myself." I grumble already thinking of ways to get my revenge. I know it's not very Luna like to be plotting ways to get revenge on a pack mate, but this goes beyond her punches. It's her words that did her in.

"If you think Quentin's going to let you even go near those women again, I hate to tell you but your wrong." Oliver raises his hands in surrender as Emma shoots him a fierce glare. "I'm just being honest, think about it would you let him go back if the roles were reversed?" Oliver makes a good point, but regardless I'm still furious. It doesn't matter what Quentin will say this is between Carrie and I. No one else needs to be getting involved otherwise it will get out of hand.

"Speak of the devil and he shall appear." Emma mumbles looking over my shoulder. Turning my head to look over my shoulder I make eye contact with a fumming Quentin. His stance is rigid and eyes flaming with anger as he looks me over. I roll my eyes as he stalks closer keeping his gaze locked onto my face.

"I'm fine." I huff out. Quentin pulls a chair out setting it right in front of me. The second he's sitting his hands are all over my face. "Ow." I push his hand away as he pokes around my right eye, the tender skin throbbing angrily. He flinches at my response but doesn't back down.

"Ow" doesn't mean fine." Quentin scolds as I lean away from him. "And did you honestly think hiding out here would have kept me from finding out?" He gives me an exasperated look. I shrug unsure what I was thinking. To be completely honest I was kind of hoping I would be able to sneak off to bed tonight without him noticing. "I told you word travels fast." He reminds me about his words from earlier.

"It's my own fault." I grumble sliding down into the chair further crossing my arms across my chest. Quentin's expression only darkens from my words.

"No it's not. It's my fault I shouldn't have let you go today." I open my mouth to retort back but Emma beats me to it.

"If you think waiting another day or two would have helped you're wrong." She snorts. I nod so Quentin knows I agree with her. He wasn't there so he didn't see the look in their eyes as they threw insult after insult at me, and by the look in their eye they would have done it any day. Hell they'll probably do it again.

"So what do you consider was my best option?" Quentin sarcasticly asks. I don't know if Emma didn't hear the sarcasm or chose to ignore it buts she opens her mouth none the less.

"Train her yourself!" Emma snaps giving him an exasperated look. "You know plenty to teach her, and it will help strengthen the mate bond between both of you. Trust me the earlier you accept and fuel the bond the better it will be for both of you. I'm not saying you have to jump each other's bones tomorrow, just take some time for just the two of you that doesn't involve pack business." I'm out of breath by the time she finishes her rant and I wasn't even the one talking. I look anywhere but Quentin to give my cheeks a few seconds to lose their pink tint. Seeing she's gotten her point across Emma stands up carefully cradling Otis in her arms and leaves the room rolling her eyes.

"She right brother." Oliver mummers into his coffee cup to hide his smirk. Turning to Quentin, whom is already looking at me, I raise an eyebrow silently questioning him if he'll do it. At this point I don't care who helps me train. I just don't want to be beaten down like that ever again.

"I will under one condition." He nods, and I let out a sigh of relief. "You need to heal first before we start again." He holds up a hand to stop me as I open my mouth to protest. "Before you argue try and throw a punch." He keeps his hand up nodding towards it encouraging me to punch him. I take a deep breath raising my fist bitting back the pain that radiates from my shoulder.

"Shit!" I hiss as a small cut on my upper arm I didn't even notice before splits back open as I propel my fist forward. Clasping my ingured arm with my left hand I glare towards Quentin. "Shut up." I snap as he stands up walking towards the cabinets opening one grabbing a rag and handing it to me.

"I didn't say anything, but we should go get that check out and make sure you don't need stitches." He reaches for my arm to get a good look at the cut, but I rip my arm from his grasp. Standing up I storm towards the door feeling frustrated. That little stunt he just pulled only makes Carrie's words weigh heavier on my shoulders.

"I like her." Oliver's voice is the last thing I hear before the door slams behind me. I don't look back continuing my trek to find Julia because as much as I hate to admit it Quentin is right. I need to make sure I don't need stitches, and I pray to the Moon Goddess that I don't because it will only postpone Quentin training me more than it already has been.

* * *

Walking down the semi familiar path I pick a beautiful violet flower from the ground. The heat radiating from the bright sun hung high in the sky warms my skin. Continuing my trek I smile at the unfamiliar faces who all stop what their doing to wave to me. It's odd that I don't recognize them I'm pretty familiar with Black Moon Pack.

"Tessa." A feminine voice whispers into my ear. Spinning around I'm met by nothing but air directly behind me, but that's not what make my stomach twist with unease. It's the fact everyone who waved as I passed is still rooted to their spot staring at me with sinister smiles on their faces. I start to back up not tearing my eyes from the empty eyes of each person following my every move.

"You know the truth." The same voice now shouts from beside me. Jumping I whip back around expecting to see some sick twisted monster behind me, but again empty air occupies the space. I'm about to look over my shoulder when a familiar head of blonde hair runs through the forrest in the distance.

"Della!" I scream hoping to gain her attention, but she doesn't falter in her steps, shifting she gains speed disappearing from sight. Dropping the flower I am holding I take off after her. The terrain gets rougher as I follower her deeper into the woods.

I stop bracing my hands on my knees to catch my breath I realize I've lost her. Looking around I don't see any familiar indicators that would help me figure out where in Black Moon Pack I am. I'm about to head in a random direction, but the sound of hushed whispers stops me dead in my tracks.

I hope it's Della as I silently tip toe towards the voices just in case it isn't her. The closer I get the more harsh the conversation turns. I can't make out their words, yet for some reason the hair on the back of my neck still stands on end.

Stopping I hide behind a large tree truck, and look over a bush to see three people having a heated conversation. There's two men and one woman. One of the men has his back faced to me so I can only make out his really short dark hair. I swear I've seen the women before but I can't pinpoint exactly where. Her long midnight black hair cascades down her back flowing hauntingly in the slight breeze. I focus my attention on her trying to figure out where I've seen her before, but jump back when her fierce green eyes snap up meeting mine.

I turn to run feeling dread stirring in my stomach. The way her lips twisted into the most menacing smirk will forever be engraved into my mind. I sprint around a tree only to see a large blonde wolf lundging at me. Razor sharp teeth gleam in the sunlight right before they sink deep into my shoulder tearing the flesh, muscles, and bones.

* * *

I shoot straight up gasping for air reaching up a feel my shoulder to make sure it was actually just a dream. Letting my finger slide away from my uninjured shoulder I look around the room trying to figure out what happened. The window shows that it's well past dusk and well into the night.

I'm on the couch in Quentin's living room with a blanket draped over my body. I must have fallen asleep on accident, and Quentin placed the blanket on me. Speaking of Quentin he's sound asleep across from me on the other couch. His head sits at an awkward angle since he's too big for the small couch. I feel bad that he felt the need to sleep in here with me. He could have gone to bed without me but he stayed which means a lot.

Standing up I grab a pillow that had fallen to the floor and lightly lift he head and slip it under so he won't wake up with a kink in his neck tomorrow. I cover him up with the blanket he gave me and head for the hallway. There's no way I'll be able to fall asleep again, and if I wake him up he'll start asking questions I'm not ready to answer. Thankfully is loud snores indicate he won't be up any time soon giving me plenty of time to sort through my thoughts.

I want to write down my nightmare before I forget it. When I was little my dads always told me to document a nightmare if I could remember it. Even though I never used to be able to remember them when I woke up having me write it down would have been more for their benefit. I saw how much it tortured them to not  know how to help, but I've got to hand it to them they did a hell of a good job considering they didn't know what was causing the nightmares, nor what they were about.

I quietly pad up the stairs so I don't disturb Quentin and slip into his room to get to my bag, pulling out the small notebook where I wrote down the first nightmare I had at Della's house. I need to find a pen or pencil, and Quentin's office will have one.

The hallway leading from Quentin's bedroom to his office is cloaked with darkness, and the only source of light comes from the two windows letting in some moonlight. It causes me to shiver the lingering emotions from my nightmare are still affecting me. Quietly sprinting down the hallway I twist the doorknob, rush into the room and closing the door behind me.

I don't waste anymore time sitting down in his chair and grabbing a pen from the cup of them on his desk. Opening the first free page in my note book I begin to write down every little detail I remember from my nightmare. From the violet flower to the way that woman's smile terrified me to the core. I write it all down until my hand aches and my eyes feel heavy.

* * *

"Tessa!" Even though the voice is muffled I can still hear the worry behind it. My eyes refuse to open as my neck aches. Swimming up to consciousness is easier said than done especially while running on very little sleep.

Cracking my eyes open I wince at the bright light shining throughout the office bouncing off every reflective surface. I lift my head off the desk rubbing at my neck trying to work out the tension from sleeping at such a uncomfortable angle.

"Tessa! Oh thank the goddess." Quentin throws the door open looking around the room frantically with wide eyes until his gaze settles onto me. "Are your okay?" His eyes zoning in on my hand cradling my neck. He walks around the desk leaning against it to my left. I can feel the leftover worry radiating off of him.

"Yeah, sorry I couldn't sleep. Well for a while." I guess in the end there was no way to escape my body's need for rest. Looking up into his eyes he seems concerned searching my face for any signs that I could be lying. Once he sees I'm being honest he lets out a huge sigh of relief.

"I'm sorry for startling you awake. I freaked out when I woke up and you weren't there without any trace of your scent." Now I feel bad for not thinking about what he would have thought when he woke up. It's just I had one mission last night and I guess I didn't exactly think about any repercussions.

"It's my fault I should have woke you up or left a note or something." I rub my eyes hoping it will help me wake up but I know deep down nothing will help my lack of sleep.

"You had another nightmare." Quentin doesn't ask but states with furrowed eyebrows as he examines the open notebook in front of me. I bite my lip choosing my next words carefully since I don't want to stress him out.

"It wasn't as bad as last time." I reassure him, and it's true because he wasn't hurt or even in my dream period. I will take thousands of nightmares that end with me hurt if it means I never need to relive that first one.

"Still you should have woke me up." He pulls me up out of the chair wrapping his one arm around my waist while pushing a stray hair out of my face with the other. "I'll never force you to talk about them if you don't want to, but at least let me comfort you when you need it most." He presses a feathery light kiss to my forehead. His enduring words have the opposite affect on me. I know he doesn't mean it in this way but I hate how it sounds like I'm weak or fragile. I'm sick and tired of being labeled that, and am still trying to figure out how to prove to everyone what I'm capable of.

"I can handle it." I object, but his frown only deepens. I play with one of the buttons on his shirt waiting for his next words.

"I never said you couldn't, but it would make me feel better to at least be there just in case." I nod giving in. It's not like him staying up with me some nights is going to cause trouble, so if it'll make him feel better he can.

"Fine, but I don't want you worrying about it." I poke his chest firmly as his eyes light up delighted that I agreed. His lips lift up into a half smile as the crease between his eyebrows slowly fades.

"Deal as long as you don't worry as well." It's so hard not to scoff at this. How can expect me not to worry? I mean sure I'll play along and pretend its not at the back of my mind every second of every day so it doesn't weigh down on our relationship. I just want us to be able to continue to grow our pack into what Quentin's always dreamed about, and I have a sickening feeling that these nightmares hold a key to something important I just don't know what yet.

So far all of the nightmares are based in Black Moon Pack, and Della has a hunch that it's got something to do with my mother. Maybe I'll talk to Aidan like Emeric suggested to help give me some answers. I know he'll be able to get me any records the pack has on her, and maybe if I'm lucky a picture of her. I know very little surrounding her death since my dads always sugar coated every detail, but Aidan won't hold back any information. I'm not only curious about my mother but about myself because I have no recollection of my life before my dads so it'll be nice to hopefully get some more insight.

I'm desperately trying to be as optimistic as I can with what I've got, but my gut tells me this is way more than I'm prepared for. If there is one lesson Della has always taught me it's to go with my gut in any situation no matter what.

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Song: Breathe by Tommee Profitt, Fleurie

Thank you so much for over a 100 reads! When I started this book I was a bit worried that others wouldn't be able to connect to the book as well as the first one because Aidan and Della aren't the main characters, but with every chapter your guys constant support and love prove me wrong. I'm so excited and proud of how this story is shaping and expanding into what it is today, and all of that wouldn't be possible without all of you! Also I'm supper sorry for the late update I've been busy this past week, but I promise the next chapter will be out on time. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and if you did don't forget to vote and comment! Until next time.

~Stella Gordon