Page 26 of Rejection on the Full Moon

“What’s wrong?” I ask, seeing the urgency in his eyes.

“Soulless attacked last night. We were able to hold them off, but some of my Hunters were hurt. I have a list of those not able to participate in training today, but Blue is calling for a meeting. He wants you, Alpha Dominic, and your Beta to join us.” Dominic looks alarmed before agreeing, motioning for Miles and Christian to step forward.

“Something came up. Christian, come with us, Miles, you and Lease will lead the Forest Paw wolves in some hand-to-hand combat. We will be back in about two hours and will continue with the running when we get back.” Dominic informs them as I follow Axel to their pack house. The crunch of snow behind me indicates Dominic and Christian following us. I hear Miles calling out to all the wolves, his voice fading away while he explains the change of training for today.

Upon entering the pack house, I head upstairs and into the conference room, saying hello to Marie who is filling the table with easy-to-eat snacks. Blue is writing on a whiteboard while Leo stands in front of a bay window, running his fingers through his hair with a frustrated sigh.

“How organized was the attack?” Dominic asks, not bothering with the pleasantries.

“Very organized. They went in with a purpose, attacking our greenhouse before rushing off to attack houses on the outskirts of the property. We were able to defend and even kill about five of them, but they retreated as soon as they saw our wolves. I think they were testing our strength.” Leo answers, punching the wall beside him. My eyes scan the room, looking for Mia who, as the Head Tracker of Forest Paw, should be here.

“Where’s Mia?” I question, taking a seat at the table and reaching for a blueberry muffin.

“She quit. She’s too scared to be my Head Tracker after you put her into the pack hospital.” He growls at me, causing Dominic to growl back possessively, as he puts his hand on my shoulder to keep himself from doing anything stupid… like attacking Leo.

“If she’s too scared to be a Head Tracker, then you chose the wrong wolf. She’s better off being your little whore.” I point out, as Christian, Zack, Abby, and Axel try, and fail, to hold in their laughter. It’ll only be a few more months, and I’ll be rid of him. Leo goes to say something, anger radiating off of his body and directed at me, but Blue clears his throat, bringing our attention to the front of the room, where a list is written on the whiteboard.

“Yes, Mia was the wrong choice as Head Tracker, but right now, we have more pressing matters to deal with,” Blue says calmly, giving his son a pointed glare. Leo may be Alpha, but Blue is still his father.

“I have a theory, and that is someone is building an army.” Blue continues, motioning to the board.

“Packs in the area are experiencing similar attacks like ours, including Moon Glade, Hidden Claws and Mountain Mist. Each attack seems to be the Soulless testing the waters to say, attacking either really useful buildings like storage sheds or empty houses, before running away in retreat when Trackers and Hunters attack back.” Axel adds, pointing out the packs around Canada facing these issues. Soulless were unorganized, always having a hard time following a leader, and would rather attack each other. Even a group of four will end up with a lone survivor with how deteriorated their minds are. In layman’s term, a Soulless army meant we are fucked.

“We need to up the training then, and get your wolves ready to fight.” Christian states, his eyes scanning the map. A new training plan is put into place then and there, as I suggest doing hand-to-hand combat first thing, followed by a run, then combat in wolf form. It is agreed that Abby will train the pups in self-defence with Blue’s and Serena’s help, as the situation calls for this to happen.

“I have two of my wolves already training yours in hand-to-hand. When we get back, we will have them run as usual.” I state, looking to Leo with a glare.

“And by the end of the day, you will have a new Head Tracker that I decide. Enough bullshitting around, Leo, and grow the fuck up. Be at the field in half an hour.” I add, nodding to everyone else before I leave the conference room. I once again pass Marie on my way out, giving the she-wolf a hug before leaving the pack house. I needed a good run, and Forest Paw needed to up their stamina fast if Blue’s theory is correct.

Chapter 17 – Tackled and Loved

Upon reaching the training field, I stand off to the side, watching as Miles and Lease work on demonstrating group tactics to Forest Paw. Some of Blood Moon’s newer wolves play the role of enemy, as they demonstrate a five-on-two scenario. Pride swells inside me at the ones I call my family when the demonstration ends, and everyone splits off, putting the lesson into practice. Miles sees me, motioning for the Blood Moon wolves to continue training Forest Paw as the two come up to talk to us.

“How bad?” Lease asks, taking the spot on my left while Miles stands to my right.

“Bad. We might have a Soulless army in the early stages of being formed. Hidden Claws is one of the packs being attacked.” As an ally pack of ours, Hidden Claws would be considered second in strength next to Blood Moon. Run by the Beta Couple until the young Alpha comes of age, Hidden Claws has grown considerably over the years. But there was something nagging at me to look deeper.

I take a deep breath and begin to explain the meeting. Miles and Lease listen intently to each word while we stare out at the wolves training before us. They understood just how important it is to help out Forest Paw by the end of this conversation, as Dominic and Leo join us soon after I finish explaining things to my two friends.

“Call an end to hand-to-hand. We’re working on stamina next.” I motion to Miles, taking the scarf from Lease and tucking half of it into my waist band. Miles yells out for everyone to gather around as Dominic gives my hand a reassuring squeeze, knowing full well I needed to run in order to clear my thoughts.

“Due to an agreed-upon change between Blood Moon and Forest Paw, our training will be as followed: hand-to-hand combat in our human form for an hour to two hours, stamina training, then combat training in wolf form. Things are worse than we thought, and so your Alpha has agreed with these changes.” I begin, looking over the crowd of close to two hundred wolves, both Hunters and Trackers alike. I could see the unease and excitement in all of them, the pride in Blood Moon in being able to train the way we normally do at home, and the excitement in Forest Paw wanting to improve for their pack. We had two more weeks to whip them into shape, and I just pray to the Moon Goddess that we are able to instill a new way of working into all of them.

"Same rules as yesterday. We keep going until you take the scarf, but this time I will call an end once three hours have passed. If you can take this scarf from me today, I will call an end to the training to have you all well-rested for the harder lessons I plan to teach you all." I see the determination in their eyes as their gazes turn to focus on the neon pink scarf hanging from my waist. What the Trackers in this group know is that I’m keeping an eye out for an individual talent I can spend some time training one-on-one.

“Remember, no shifting. We want to train your human form so that your wolf form can become stronger. Training only your wolf form will make your human form weaker. Now, ready?—" I looked around me at the wolves, smiling as they get into a runner’s stance, ready to chase me.

"—GO!" And I was off, running at a speed that would push the wolves of Forest Paw’s limits and show off just how far they have come in a week. The winter air is thin, causing many to have a hard time breathing within thirty minutes, but others kept up. My wolves resume their usual positions, surrounding the two hundred Forest Paw wolves and making sure no one lags behind as I lead everyone around the territory. My thoughts drift back to the idea of a Soulless army being formed, something no one believed would ever happen. But the current circumstances say otherwise.

Every now and then, I would dodge attempts of wolves trying to reach the scarf, reaching the hour and a half mark when Leo decided to try his luck. This just made me run faster and cause the Forest Paw wolves to groan, yelling at their Alpha to stay away from me so they had a fighting chance. Everyone knew I was the mate he publicly rejected on her birthday, even the new wolves who have joined since I left.

Running through the snow-covered forest after the revelation of Blue’s theory helped organize my thoughts. I was able to come up with a plan that I linked with Dominic, Christian, and Miles about that we would put into action when we arrive back at home. This included calling all the packs in the area to get a sense of what is happening, as well as copies of their reports. I plan to make a trip to the Temple of the Goddess and speak with a priestess there.

The two-and-a-half-hour mark comes along, and many more attempts were made. My pack mates would link me when a Tracker has fallen behind like I had asked earlier, eliminating them from the list of possible replacements as Head Tracker of Forest Paw. But I have a feeling like I’m being studied like a wild animal. Of course, I knew Leo was staring at me lustfully, but he made no attempts to move closer to me like before, probably afraid of his pack mates rebelling against him. But this other gaze made me hyper-aware of my surroundings as I try to pinpoint where it was coming from, but this person concealed their whereabouts expertly, giving me hope. Forest Paw was running out of time to be released early from training, and this wolf who is studying me is their chance at finally being able to claim this scarf for victory.

Suddenly, my body is tackled to the ground. Whoever it is that made their move causes the two of us to roll on the cold forest floor. The scarf is then snatched from my waist band and a small body stands above me, holding it in victory above her head as her pack mates cheer and mine stare at her in disbelief.

[They got lucky. Exactly one minute to spare before we begin the next part of their training.] Dominic links me, causing me to smile at the young she-wolf whose pack mates were congratulating her. I was ecstatic to be tackled by someone who I never sensed coming, knowing full well that this is the wolf Forest Paw needed to continue training them once Blood Moon leaves. Breaking away from the crowd, the she-wolf makes her way to where I still sit on the ground, offering her hand and helping me stand.

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