Page 35 of Rejecting the Future Moon Goddess

“I get it, you’re worried about someone you see like a baby sister, but does Gem look like she is hurting?” Dominic points to me just as instantly as Amberle turns to stare at Ariven, who is looking on in amusement, and I still in a laughing fit at this interaction. She stares for a moment, growling and snapping her attention back to Mika when he tries to move, snapping with teeth close to his face. I can sense the fear from him with Amberle keeping him held captive.

“Come on Ams, there are clothes in the bathroom, first door to the right.” I manage to sputter out while my laughing fit comes to an end. She stares at Mika for a moment before slowly stepping away from him and trotting to where Ariven and I sat. Nuzzling my face, she looks between Ariven and I, then to our marks with a wolfish grin before trotting inside.

[About damn time!] She shouts into our link, making me wince and forcing it shut. If she wanted to talk, we can when she is dressed and in human form.

“So, give it to us straight. How is the defense?” Ariven asks as Dominic comes and settles beside us on the steps while we wait for his mate to return.

“Not bad, stronger than expected that’s for sure. Fire did have a lot of fun wreaking havoc, though, so expect some suggestions to improve some more.” He answers. Mika stands with the help of Lace, dusting himself off with anembarrassed look as he looks at Dominic questioningly.

“Dominic, Alpha of Blood Moon.” He introduces with a carefree wave.

“Mika, Beta of Hidden Claws.”

“Not the Alpha?” Amberle’s voice cuts in as she exits the pack house and plops down beside her mate, snuggling into his side instantly.

“No, I handed the position over to someone much more suited to lead.” He answers, a hint of pride in his voice. I can’t help but smile, knowing that this one act of selflessness that Mika did to help grow his pack quickly.

“Who?” Dominic questions and Lace steps forward with a grin.

“Me. Lace, Alpha of Hidden Claws and Mika’s little sister.”

“Damn, and here I was hoping to kick Mika’s ass as a bad Alpha.” Amberle grumbles.

“There’s still plenty of time for that.” Ariven chimes in, getting a mischievous grin from the fire-haired she-wolf.

“As long as I can mess with the pack and help train them, that’s all that matters. Taking care of two five-year-olds and a pack of my own can get boring.” Once again, I chuckle as Lace walks past us into the pack house, with the rest of the group following. We have business to talk about before anything can be done.

?Chapter 33 – Clashing Opinions?

“I just want to say, thank you for coming to help.” Lace starts, directing her attention to Dominic and Amberle. I see my friend beaming at the blonde Alpha Female, but Mika just has to ruin the moment by scoffing.

“What, you’ve got a problem with me coming to help, pup?” Amberle growls, glaring at my ex, who glares back at her. I frown, looking at Dominic, who sends me an exasperated look as we both get ready to play referee between these two.

“Yes, I have a problem! No one really asked you to be here!” Mika calls out in anger.

“Actually, I asked her to be here. Her adopted father was the one to come up with the theory of Soulless making an army, and Amberle has been researching it with the Temple of the Goddess for the last five years.” I cut in calmly, raising an eyebrow and waiting for him to retort. Instead Lace gives Mika a warning look. To my surprise, he backs down and sulks in his chair.

“Sorry about that. My brother has been on edge lately.” Lace sighs apologetically. Amberle shrugs it off not bothering to entertain a fight with Mika at this moment thankfully. Instead, she asks to have access to the computer where she promptly takes a USB drive from Dominic and inserts it. After opening up a few files, she turns to the five of us with a frown.

“So, as many of you may know, the Soulless problem gained our attention about six years ago. Five years ago, Forest Paw was dealing with a similar problem as HiddenClaws.” She begins, pulling up a map of the nearest territories in Ontario.

“During that time, I had switched to being the Head Tracker of Blood Moon and our pack set off to help train just like Geminie did when she came here. That is when we noticed the attacks were organized as if someone was controlling them.” My friend continues, pulling up notes from the meeting held at the now destroyed pack. It’s been years since the mention of Forest Paw, the pack destroyed by an organized Soulless attack days after Blood Moon pulled their support and alliance, a reminder to never turn your back on help.

“Blue, Amber’s adopted father, actually came up with the theory of an army being formed. This led to us researching more attacks other than the ones from Moon Glade, Hidden Claws and Mountain Mist.” Dominic chimes in. Amberle clicks a button, the map zooming out to include packs from Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Nunavut.

“The attacks actually started in Nunavut, going after smaller packs back around one hundred years ago. The packs, being fed up, soon formed the Atuat Pack, the largest pack in Nunavut. From there, the number of Soulless decreased until there were none left in the northern part of Canada. Then comes Saskatchewan.” She pauses, making sure we are following her as the map moves over to the northern part of Saskatchewan.

“Fifty years after the creation of Atuat Pack, Prairie Cloud, Creeping Trails, and Harvest Moon were facing similar organized attacks from Soulless.” Confusion washes over me as I look at the trail, realizing there is a pattern, as the packs being attacked were weak, barely even holding fifty wolves.

“Amberle.” I call out.

“Yes, Gem?” “Zoom out of the map and freeze the screen,” I say, standing from my chair and walking towards thescreen. Taking the electronic pen from the side of the screen, I ask Amberle to highlight the areas of the pack that were attacked, starting at the western part of Nunavut, and connecting each area to form a line. Looking closely, the Soulless had to cross part of the Northwest Territories to enter Saskatchewan safely without being spotted by humans. The line continues as I follow more recent attacks here in Ontario, and if I am correct, continue moving towards other packs until I reach the final one, the Royal Pack.

“What’s the meaning of this?” Mika asks as I back away, the six of us staring at the screen.

“This army has been growing for years, not just one hundred years ago, if I am correct. Think Ira would have more mentions of attacks in Alaska or the Northwest Territories?” I direct my question to Ariven, my mate having lived in the Temple the longest.

“She might, I’ll give her a call and see what she says.” He answers, taking out his phone and moving towards the door.

---