Page 33 of Rejection on the Full Moon

[We’re safe here, you can sleep now.] He says, resting his head on my neck. A yawn escapes my muzzle and I comply to the exhaustion I feel. My anxiety is gone now that I’m able to move about, and the threat of being so close to Leo and Mia in the same pack house gone as well. Closing my eyes, I let sleep take over.

???

Something licking me causes my eyes to flutter open. Dominic’s face comes into view as he sends another kiss to my muzzle before nuzzling my neck.

[Morning.] He mumbles into the link, his teeth nipping at my mate mark. My skin shivers from the pleasurable sparks he causes before I push his big, furry body off of mine and stretch. My paws are chilly from the cold morning air.

[Morning, Ice. We should probably head back to the pack house.] I reply, my tail swinging happily behind me. I watch as he sighs dramatically, his body flopping back down onto the cave floor as he lets out a groan.

[We are finally able to stay outside. Can we go back later?] He whines into our link, making me roll my eyes.

[We can make Christian and Camile watch over the pack when we get back, and go for a vacation like Miles and Concra.] I suggest. This seems to be the right response, as Dominic bounds to his feet and presses his flank against mine, coating my fur with his scent.

[Fine, but you have to tell everyone back home that you’re my mate.] That is something I had no problem doing. I felt proud being the Alpha female of the pack I now call my family. I couldn’t wait to get home and be able to tell everyone about how Dominic and I became mates on his birthday, have the ceremony to make me an official leader of Blood Moon, and be able to party with everyone. Dominic and I leave the safety of our cave, walking side-by-side through the forest. As the Forest Paw pack house comes into view, I’m about to bound away towards the open window, but something makes me stop. My fur stands on end as I sniff the air, the wind thankfully blowing towards us. Tasting the air, I instantly start gagging, burying my snout into Dominic’s fur as I try to hold down the bile that threatens to spill from my stomach.

[Soulless are in the territory. Get everyone ready to fight!] I link the pack, and Dominic growls as he pushes me towards the safety of the pack house, where back-up will be coming from, ready to fight. I hear the alarms begin to sound, Blue probably hitting the emergency button to get the vulnerable into the bunkers for their safety so the rest of us can fight. The wolves in Forest Paw were much stronger than before, but even I know they were nowhere near ready to face a large group of Soulless. What made this situation even worse is the five feet of snow covering the ground that would hinder our fight and cover the scent of our enemies. This is not a good time.

My paws move faster towards the pack house, where wolves were spilling out from our only entrance and exit. The only good thing about the blizzard is the fact that the house is sealed tightly. A Soulless would not be able to make it past any of us to enter the pack house. I quickly leap onto the roof, pushing past the wolves who try to exit the building to head up the stairs and into the room Dominic and I share, shifting quickly to put on my Tracker gear. I make sure my weapons are in their right holster, sheath, and pouches, as Dominic enters, putting on his own battle gear.

“Stay safe, Fire.” He says, pulling me close to him and kissing me passionately. Then he is gone, needing to manage every wolf into battle formation and leaving me teary-eyed and breathless.

‘Please keep him safe.’ I pray, brushing away the tears from my eyes before I rush down to the second floor and out onto the roof. Wolves were surrounding the pack house facing every direction as we wait for the Soulless to attack. The air is still and quiet, no one daring to move or breathe too loudly. Some were already in their furs, their muscles tense ready to shred into the enemy with their teeth and claws. Others were in their own form of battle gear, weapons at the ready to battle. Leo stood at the back of the formation, his cocky attitude replaced by fear. At least he’s here, ready to defend his pack.

The sun is high in the sky when the first scream sounds, Soulless begin rushing out of the forest and into the clearing as the battle commences. It soon becomes clear that the amount stated when Forest Paw asked for help is at least tripled the initial number, with wolves coming out of the trees like a plague. All that matters now is surviving.

I stay between the roof with our only entrance and the ground below it, swiftly ending the lives of any Soulless who try to slip past. Their black blood taints the snow and lifeless bodies begin to pile around me. Cries of pain and the tangy scent of fresh blood drift to my position, and a sinking feeling enters my gut.

[Lease, how many enemies are there?] I link the she-wolf. Lease is the best when it comes to scouting, being able to quickly sum up any number of enemies when it comes to a battle. I listen as she ticks off the numbers in her head, her link open to the pack as I continue to kill Soulless, then help an injured Forest Paw wolf inside to be treated.

[Sixty-five alive, twenty-five dead.] My friend's voice rings clear as I kill another Soulless, wincing as its claws sinks into my thigh before it dies. I grimace at the total, knowing Lease is never wrong with her tally. We need to end this battle and fast.

Welps, screams, and whimpers sound around me mixed with the thudding of bodies falling dead to the blood-coated ground. The intent of the Soulless is clear despite their losing battle: they are here to kill. My wolves knew to check in every ten minutes, happy to know that no one has died yet, my pack going strong. The problem lies with Forest Paw, who Lease informs me that five are dead and twenty more are injured.

An hour passes, then another. Forest Paw wolves congregate underneath the window, using their training to tag-team the Soulless. Scarlet and Greg greet me at the window, guarding our only way into the pack house and giving me the go-ahead to head into the fray of battle. I quickly head inside, taking off my uniform and stuffing it into a corner to retrieve later before shifting into my fur form and leaping out into the battle. My claws instantly sink into the throat of a Soulless, killing her instantly.

[Lease, how many?] I question, needing an update.

[Forty-five alive, forty dead.] We are just over two hours into the battle with almost half of the enemy dead, but I thought we would have killed more by now. Anger boils inside me, and I use this to help fuel my fight.

I race towards the nearest Soulless and quickly tackle the she-wolf, her body sturdier than expected as we tumble to the ground. My claws rake against her side, black blood now coating my flame-like fur. She tries her best to throw me off of her, her crazed mind making her movements jerky and unstable. My teeth quickly sink into her throat, ripping it wide open and ending her life. Her companion tries to tackle me, but I move quickly, dodging to the left before rounding on this new enemy and knocking him to the ground. Before he can get to his feet, I pounce onto his neck, using my weight to snap the bone.

In this moment, I am rage, I am fury, and I am an Alpha wolf, using every bit of my strength to bite, shred, and tear apart any Soulless who stands in my way.

[Amberle, are you okay?] Dominic’s voice enters my head, relief filling me knowing that my mate is alive.

[I'm fine, where are you?] I reply back, sinking my teeth into another Soulless and ripping his head off. It feels like this battle is never ending, with wolves in some form of combat all around. We needed this to end, and soon.

[By the forest, west of the pack house. I found their leader.]

[On my way.] I turn around, ready to run to help my mate and manage to dodge a Soulless, her teeth aiming for my throat and just grazing my skin. Anger radiates off of me at the fact that this bitch tried to kill me, and I quickly lunge for her, my jaw closing around her hind leg as I snap the brittle bone. She falls to the ground with a whine, her paws swiping out at me, in hopes of causing any form of injury. I push her flailing limbs out of the way, sinking my teeth into her jugular and effectively ending her life as I tear her throat open. With another Soulless dead, I quickly run towards the forest, my one thought being getting to Dominic and making sure he is safe. Along the way, I kill another two Soulless, shocked to see Leo helping me in ending both their lives before he rushes towards the east side of the pack house. For a pathetic excuse of an Alpha, he is skilled at killing Soulless. My paws continue their path towards the west side of the pack house, praying internally that Dominic is alive and safe.

As I round the corner of the building, I spot signs of the battle now ended, with black and red blood coating the snow-covered ground. I make a mad dash towards the tree line, spotting Dominic just inside the forest with five strong-looking Soulless surrounding him. His fur is covered in both red and black blood, the scent of his own mingling with the stench of decay in the air, informing me that he is injured. Anger continues to build inside me with the injuries to my mate and the fact that he’s on the losing end of this fight. I manage to reach him just in time to tackle a she-wolf in mid-air intending to end Dominic’s life. We roll to the forest floor and I quicky rip out her jugular in the process. One down, four to go.

I can see the relief in my mate’s eyes, knowing that help has arrived, and that with the two of us working together, we can win this and hurry back to the others.

[Lease, enemy count!] I call out into the link, rushing to Dominic’s side and helping him fend off the next wave of attacks from the Soulless in front of us.

[Twelve. No, ten left.] Lease replies. This meant that there are six others, excluding the four in front of Dominic and I. The two of us get to work, springing from our spot in front of the tree to rush at the Soulless. Our bodies move as one in a fluid dance that months of training and trust has allowed us to refine. I would attack, hitting their weak points, then dodge the now-injured Soulless as Dominic ends its life. This worked for the first two we attack, with their warm, dead bodies laying in the snow behind us. Now, we face off against what looks to be an ex-Alpha and ex-Beta, their turn to Soulless recent with how clean their fur is. Dominic distracts the Alpha, giving me a nudge to battle the Beta. It is hard to focus on the enemy before me when my mate is fighting someone else, but I keep my focus. This Soulless Beta is fast, just barely dodging my attacks as my claws and teeth graze his skin. He has little to no injury that I can see, causing me to feel frustrated. Each attempt at attack pulls me further away from Dominic, and that’s when it hits me. He is trying to separate me from my mate.

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