Chapter 15

The next few days that pass are tense but fortunately uneventful. The pack was on edge always looking over their shoulders which made me feel like a failure. I was their Luna and it was my job to make them feel safe and protected. It only made it worse when I overheard a few whispers that were accusing me of making up the whole thing for attention, and at this point if that makes them feel better about the whole situation I'll let them believe that.

Quentin and I have been working together along with Oliver and a few other head warriors on creating a more efficient game plan for future situations that don't involve sending the whole pack into a panicked frenzy that only causes more harm than good. So far we have instilled different code words to signal each different situation so there is no confusion between warriors along with looking into different alarm systems that we could install around the pack just in case.

It was reassuring that my family agreed that the incident was nothing to be concerned about. I could see Quentin visibly relax as my dads reminded us that since we are now a recognized pack that others will want to seek refuge here just like anywhere else. Although I did notice Della's silence when we called her and Aidan which I found peculiar since she's always the outspoken one. Regardless they assured us that we were doing fine and to take it one day at a time.

"Are you excited?" Carl nudges me with his elbow as we walk down the path. Today is the day I am going to join a training class again. Between working with Carl and Quentin I'm confident I can fully hold my own, but just in case I asked Carl to come with me. It's going to be the afternoon session for any warriors so hopefully Claire won't be there.

"Yeah." I nod my head hoping to hide the slight bit of nerves from him. It's not that I'm worried I will make a fool out of myself again, but the lingering emotions from last time put me on edge. Carl steps forward holding the door open for me so I can walk in first.

"Hey, I'm glad to see you today!" Julia pulls me into a hug greeting Carl briefly as well. "Today is just a sparring day so there will be no reoccurring issues." She promises with a serious expression.

"Thank you." I whisper to her before Carl begins to drag me to the back to warm up. It's way different than last time now that I have someone I know and am comfortable with to be my partner. I look around the room waving to a few familiar faces relaxing as Julia instructs us to start practicing defense strategies with a partner.

* * *

"Tessa!" Julia's voice stops Carl from messing up my hair while holding me in a head lock. Chuckling I push him off me looking up towards the front where Julia is standing with a warrior. She motions for me to follow as her and the warrior exit the room. Carl shoots me a wary look following close behind me as I rush out the room.

"You have a phone call Luna." The warrior informs me as the door closes behind us. I let out a big sigh of relief knowing it's nothing serious.

"Thank you I'll go take that." The warrior nods stiffly walking off in a different direction. Julia excuses herself stepping back inside to resume training. "I'll be quick it's probably just my dads or Della. Go back and make some new friends." I joke as he rolls his eyes.

"I'm going back in but not to "make friends"." He scoffs. "Be safe." He reminds me as he walks back inside.

"I promise!" I yell back jogging towards the pack house.

* * *

"Hello?" I pick up the phone inside me and Quentin's office. Sitting down I spin in the chair to look outside the window at everyone out and about in the backyard.

"Della it's Asher." The familiar voice of my old best friend filters through the line startling me a bit, spinning back around I plant my hand on the desk to steady myself.

"Asher? Is everything okay?" I rush out worried something happened. Why would Asher call me unless something went down at Dark Mountains.

"Yeah I just wanted to call my best friend." I'm grateful he can't see me right now because his statement makes me cringe. It's not that I still have any ill feelings for him anymore, but after the way we both handled my birthday and it's aftermath I don't like the term "best friends" is an accurate representation of our relationship.

"Oh ok." I want to smack myself at my monotonous words. It just came out without much thought.

"How are you?" He doesn't seem effected at my bored tone. I glance around the room thinking about his question.

"Really good." I can't help but smile remembering last night when Quentin and I had a picnic dinner outside while looking up at the stars. The more time I spend with Quentin the more I thank the Moon Goddess profusely for mating us together.

"That's great. I'm happy that you found him." His words hit hard me in the chest. We used to be inseparable for so many years, and now I feel like I'm talking to a stranger. Pushing away the guilty feeling I try my best to reconcile with him.

"Thanks. How are you doing?" I want to keep the conversation light making sure not to touch on any sore subjects.

"I'm doing excellent. Stephanie is actually pregnant." His announcement has my jaw dropping. I mean sure they did meet each other before Quentin and I but not by much and either way I feel like that was quick.

"Congratulations!" I stutter out still trying to recover from my shock. This was the last news I was expecting to hear today. In the end I'm really glad that they are happy and moving forward.

"Thank you Tessa. It means a lot coming from you." I have a feeling his face adorns the same sad smile mine does. My heart aches at the loss of our friendship. I have Quentin and Carl but I'll always have room for Asher. I just hope we can move forward maturely with a extremely platonic relationship. Every day that I spend with Quentin the feelings I had for Asher back then seem so frivolous in comparison. "Listen I have to go but I'm hoping I can call you back in a couple days if that's okay?" He sounds rushed suddenly.

"Of course I'll talk to you later, and tell your dad I said hi." I make a mental note to ask my dads how Brandon, Ashers dad, is doing lately.

"Bye Tess." He hangs up the phone before I can respond. With a bit more positive outlook on today I glance at the clock deciding to find Quentin and see if he wants to eat lunch together. He's busy running through the new procedures with some warriors near the border so I head down the stairs to go find him.

Today is unseasonably warm with no clouds in sight making it feel like mid summer instead of early spring. I sneak out the side door not wanting to run into anyone and get stuck in a long conversation. Normally I wouldn't care but the urge to be near Quentin is getting stronger.

"Are you still at the western border?" It'll be easiest to just ask instead of running all the way there only to find out he's on the other side of the pack. Looking around I realize no one is walking around anymore. A chill runs down my spine as the scene reminds me too much of my Otis nightmare. Shaking it off I pick up speed towards where I'm assuming Quentin is. "Quentin?" My anxiety only grows as I don't get a response right away.

"Tessa please go hide. There are too many to fight off. I'm sorry we didn't have more time, I love you." His words make my heart stop as bile rises in my throat at the realization that we are under attack.

"No no no no..." I repeat over and over again as I take off in a dead sprint towards where they said they'd be. I suppress the tears as best as I can but a few still spill over. I swear to the goddess if we make it out of this I'm going to kick his ass. If he thinks that he can just say goodbye and think I'm not going to fight with him until the end he's fucking wrong.

"Where are you? Are you with Quentin? What's going on?" I feel slightly guilty for throwing so many questions at Carl but my heart feels like it's going to beat out of my chest.

"Northwestern border. I'm with Quentin, but Tessa it's so bad. We can't fight them all off on our own." The adrenaline rush I'm getting because of his desperate tone pushes me even faster but it's not enough. I shift mid air hitting the ground and sprinting faster than I ever have. I know I'm close because snarls and growls grow closer with each step.

Breaking through the tree line into the clearing I search the large crowd of wolves clashing with each other. I frantically look for Quentin amongst the sea of wolves battling for their lives in front of me. It's hard to see through all the different colors and sizes of the wolves but my eyes lock on Oliver. Where Oliver is Quentin most likely is as well, so I shove my way through until I land right next to Oliver who is fighting off three wolves at once.

Springing into action I launch myself forward sinking my teeth deep into the rogues shoulder tearing at the flesh, muscle, and bone hoping to  disable them. Oliver takes care of the other two effortlessly before turning towards me with vaulnerable eyes.

"You shouldn't be here." He argues ducking when another rogue lunges at him. I whip around just in time as one rams right into me knocking me back. Luckily Carl has taught me how to get out of this exact situation. Rolling out of the way I jump back up and hop on the wolves back as it pounces onto the stop I was only seconds ago. I rip away at their throat until they fall limp underneath me. Stumbling back I heave trying not to throw up. I've never had to end someone else's life before and it's makes me nauseous seeing everyone around me having to kill in order to not be killed.

"I'm the Luna of this pack. They need me now more than ever and if I have to die protecting them than that's what I'll do" I would have continued but someone slams me to the ground but I don't feel the weight of anyone jump on top of me. Looking up Quentin takes down a rogue that was headed straight for me.

"What are you doing here?" Quentin's voice booms over our mind link as he stares me down with fury filled eyes. Lifting myself of the ground I rise up walking over to stand in front of him.

"I love you too."  It's true too, and I hate how it's taken our life to be put on the line to realize it. The mere thought of losing Quentin was incomprehensible. We're mates which means the Mood Goddess paired us to spend the rest of lives connected to the other, so we go down together or we don't go down at all.

"We need to call in back up." Oliver's words snap Quentin and I out of our very short lived stare down. The intensity in his eyes made me feel like he could see into my soul, and the debate in his seemed to resolve in that second. We are going to make it out of this.

"I'll try and link my dads." I grunt out as four more rogues pounce attacking all three of us. I fight off the one that went for me while focusing on trying to mind link. You can only mind link your family, mate, and pack so I'm pretty limited on options. It also gets more difficult with distance but it seems more and more rogues keep showing up and there is no way we can defeat them all on our own.

I concentrate on channeling the link between my dads, but the rogue I'm struggling with swipes my face just as I had a grasp on it. Growling I bite it's leg shaking my head to cause as much damage with my teeth.

"Tessa!?!" Fletcher's concerned laced voice has me letting out a sigh of relief. It's not normal for me to mind link them since I moved I've only called them because mind linking them from so far away drains a lot of energy.

"We're under attack. Help!" I cut the line hoping to conserve my energy for as long as I can hoping they get here soon or send someone who can get here faster.

"Tessa!" Carl's voice bellows from across the field causing me to spin around. There are no visible major injuries to him so I don't know why he yelled for me, but it becomes painfully apparent as a rogue sinks their teeth into my front left leg.

Howling out I snap my jaw in their direction trying to get them off me. Unfortunately they are just as persistent as I am making sure to clamp down and cause maximum damage. Quentin and Carl descend on the rogue tearing it off me but it's too late my leg is severely messed up. There is no way I can put pressure on it let alone hold my wolf up long enough to defend myself.

Shifting I stand up and clutch my arm to my chest hoping to not make it any worse than it already is. I can feel the warm sticky blood seeping from the wounds and trickling down the front of my body. Quentin, Carl, and Oliver all create a wall of muscle to protect me from the continuous onslaught of rogues determined to finish us off.

A scream catches my attention, looking to my right I see Claire in her human form desperately holding back a wolf as it snaps its jaw only inches from her face. She may have been a bitch when I first arrived but I'm not going to stand here and watch anyone kill one of my pack members. Without a second thought I quickly make my way through the crowd dodging multiple rogues until I reach her. Kicking the wolf in the head gives her enough time to scramble back up to her feet.

"Luna!" She screams with wide eyes and in the second I see the innocence in her eyes. It's easy to forget that every warrior was once a kid before they were groomed to fight battles such as these but in that moment I saw the real Claire. Unfortunately it's short lived because I'm knocked forward and unable to catch myself with my arms so my face slams into the ground full force.

"Tessa!" Quentin's voice is quiet compared to the ringing in my ears but I can tell he's shifted back to his human form. My leg is bent at a sickening angle clearly broken in most likely multiple places although all of my focus is on Quentin. He isn't injured yet but in his human form he's more vulnerable.

"No!" I try to stop him by pushing myself to my good side and sitting up. Oliver is right behind him still in his wolf form easing my worry only partially. Once he's a few yards away from me I've managed to stand up bracing all of my weight on right side.

My stomach plummets before I even notice the rogue. It's as if deep down my intuition knew it was going to happen before my mind caught up. The helplessness of not being able to warm him because it's too late makes me feel utterly defeated.

A large wolf who must have been playing dead pushes itself into a low crouch just as Quentin passes them lurches forward extending its paw out slicing down Quentin's back and taking his shoulder into its mouth. They must have know Oliver was right there because as a last ditch effort they throw Quentin who lands in the dirt a few feet away.

"Nnnnooooooo!" My scream is deafening in my own ears and I'm positive the whole field halts in that moment, even the rogues, to see what's going down. Stepping forward I reach out as if I could grab him from this far away. It's my leg that does me over giving out sending me into the dirt again. This time I remember to brace myself with my arms which proves to be the worst move yet. My already mangled arm breaks with a startling crack. Wincing as I hit the ground I feel more blood begin to flow from my arm as the wounds are now more torn open.

"Quentin!" I scream digging my nails into the dirt hopelessly pulling my self forward only to panic as I start getting light headed. Oliver has shifted and is kneeling down next to Quentin frantically applying pressure the large gashes on his back in an effort to stop the bleeding. I feel a hand on my back as my eyes began to droop.

"Tessa we need to get you help." I recognize Carl's voice but I don't take my eyes off of Quentin's motionless figure. The pain in my arm and leg intensify as my heartbeat becomes audible in my ears, but none of that matters as I wait for Quentin to move. All I need is to see him roll over, open his eyes, wiggle a fucking finger just anything to know he's okay.

Darkness bleeds into my vision sucking me deep into an unconscious realm where I don't feel any pain except for the ache in my heart. It's unfathomable to think that Quentin could have just been killed right in front of me, but absolutely gutrenching knowing I am the cause of it.

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Song: Born For This by The Score

I feel so bad for posting this very intense and nerve racking chapter when the world is in such a terrifying state, but I've had this chapter and the next one planned since I came up with the idea for this book. There was no taking it out and I certainly wasn't going to not post until things start looking up because in times like this sometimes you just need to escape even for just a moment and for me that's reading, and if this book can help you in any way that's all I can wish for. On to a much lighter note I'm so happy that this book reached 300 reads! It still insane to me that anyone reads my work so as you can tell I get pretty excited to see so many at least giving it a shot, and a special thanks to everyone who sticks around on this journey. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and if you did don't forget to vote and comment! Please stay safe! Until next time.

~Stella Gordon