Heart Broken, Bartered, But Loved

Chapter 2

Alexandra’s POV-

I reached the clearing, but remained hidden in the treeline, so that the wolves from my pack would not see me. I scanned across the scene, all the wolves from my pack were being lined up in a battle formation. Not one I would use that is for sure. It spread our lines too thin and showed our numbers, which weren’t great. I slowly and quietly moved around to the clearing, remaining hidden within the trees. I was alert and so was Zira. Her senses are far more heightened than mine. Though my senses are heightened in human form, Zira’s are still stronger than mine. Every werewolf was the same, though, with a lot of training, it could increase their already heightened senses. We had to be careful in case we came across rogues or came across members from Blood Moon, who were trying to flank my pack’s position. It wouldn’t surprise me if they attempted to flank them. That is what I would do. We were downwind, so we could smell how close the Blood Moon members were. Though some were masking their scent, I could tell that much. Eric taught me to sense werewolves, even if one sense is out of commission. Being werewolves, we rely heavily on our sense of smell, but he taught me to rely on my other senses and ignore smell, in case I go up against individuals that are masking their scent. I could tell that Blood Moon were close because they were running. I could feel the earth shake from their thunderous paws.

I moved around the clearing; I could see exactly where my brother was in the line of wolves at the moment. I knew that would change when the battle began. I arrived at a tree that was parallel to the center of the clearing. It was the perfect tree. The branches were low enough for me to climb, if I needed to hide. It was hidden from the view of my pack as well. I was going to stay here until the battle ended, unless Eric or Tristan looked like they were not going to win whatever fight they were in. I would break my cover and get into all sorts of trouble to save them too, because they really are all I have left. I knew that I would be in so much trouble if I joined the battle. But I really didn’t care. Eric is really the only family I have left, the only connection I have to my mother. Tristan is my last friend in this pack. I would do a great many things for them, and that includes taking a beating. I would get to join the fight without the Alpha’s consent.

Zira had been pacing inside my mind, from the moment we arrived. I thought it was just the anxiety of watching our brother wait for this attack that would come soon. I figured it would stop soon, but it never did. She kept pacing about. So, I had to ask, “What the hell is wrong with you, Zira?”

“I don’t like the quiet before battles, it is too creepy. Sets me on the edge. You can sense the wolves that are masking their scent, but there is one with them,” she replied.

“What about them,” I inquired. I already knew what it was about.

“I think one of them is our mate,” she whispered.

“I know I can smell him, but I can’t think about that right now,” I replied, I really couldn’t think about that right now.

“Why, our mate could help us,” she asked.

“Because our brother and best friend are on that battlefield over there, readying themselves, to battle it out against a far greater and stronger pack, and you know it. I just want to prevent this battle,” I responded.

Before we could say anything further, Blood Moon wolves emerged from the trees, opposite my pack. There weren’t many Blood Moon warriors. We had a thousand strong, but Blood Moon showed up with half that, which made me wonder what they were planning. I knew that there were far more Blue Moon warriors, but Blood Moon is known for beginning their warriors’ fighting training at the age of ten, and for training the most feared warriors in our entire world. Wolves from all over the world look at them and even fear them. As per the rules of werewolf warfare, yes, we have rules. Alpha Raven shifted back into his human form, and a werewolf from the Blood Moon pack shifted back into his human form. I assumed it was the Alpha. That was until Raven shook his head, and growled, “Can’t your Alpha face me like a man, or is he too much of a coward?”

“Oh, my Alpha is close by. He is certainly no coward, he just wanted this to be a bit more of a fair fight for you and your pack, after all, look at you,” the man replied.

“I know you, you’re Beta Biggs, whose mate is human, how weak you must be to have a human for a mate,” Alpha Raven taunted.

That Beta’s mate is human. I have never ever heard of that happening. I mean, I know that werewolves can have human mates, but in Blue Moon, it is highly frowned upon. Many parents whose child finds out that their fated mate is human, either force their child to reject their mate, or kill the human themselves, in a random “animal attack” or, at least, that is what the humans would call it. But it was werewolf parents killing their child’s mate, because that was their way. It was an ancient practice to keep werewolf bloodlines pure, but thanks to modern science, it was discovered that having a werewolf and human parent didn’t mean you were any weaker than a wolf with two werewolf parents.

“Such archaic beliefs, Raven, will you even learn? We are in the modern era now. But yes, my mate may be human, but she is probably far more trained than any of the females in your pack. I don’t see any of your females here. They certainly would have strengthened this pathetic excuse for an army,” the wolf, called Beta Biggs, said.

“That is because we protect our females and fight our own battles. It is not archaic for us werewolves,” Alpha Raven growled.

He was right. It was not an archaic concept for us, werewolves. Women's oppression, for humans, stopped over a hundred years ago, but for us, she-wolves, it is only for the last thirty years that we were encouraged to step out of being housewives and were able to go out and join the warrior training, fight in battles, become pack doctors. My mother was apparently one of the women who fought against the she-wolves oppression. Honestly, that made me so proud of her. But how she could mate with my father, knowing what he is, I don’t know, I know I couldn’t. I also know that if she hadn’t, then I wouldn’t be here, neither would my brother.

“The sun is setting. Shall we agree that this battle will be over by dark? After that we call a truce and collect our wounded and dead,” he suggested.

Alpha Raven nodded. Now, I know that it sounds strange to set a time to end a battle, but we really can’t risk our battles being spotted by humans, so we limit the larger battles to at most an hour. One to avoid humans seeing our kind, especially considering how they treat animals and even their own kinds at times. Two, because we have to be careful with fighting at night, because the blood that can be split during battles, can attract vampires. We don’t need to fight on two fronts. Plus, ninety percent of the time our battles are over within thirty minutes, just because of the shear c*****e we can cause single-handily. We have rules of warfare. Rules that should be followed by all, because they are in place to ensure security of our kind from all humans. They have been in place for hundreds of years, to protect us from humans, they came into place around the Salem witch trials. Many werewolves died right along witches back then. It was a dark time for the supernatural kind. We have been hiding in small villages and in some larger cities for centuries. Many of us would have careers in the larger cities. I think Blood Moon owns an international company that has its hands in a lot of sectors, but I don’t know much else other than that. Blue Moon owns a security company that only men are allowed to work for. Women are not allowed to work in our pack, we have to learn the “housewife duties.” Thankfully, James and many of the younger males in our pack, didn’t agree with that way of life. Many of the adult males didn’t either. But Alpha Raven did, so it had to be our way.

Alpha Raven shifted into his wolf, just like the Blood Moon beta shifted. They both let out an almighty howl, which is similar to a human yelling, “Charge.” The two sides collided within mere seconds of each other. I struggled to keep sight of my brother, but somehow I managed. He had quite a distinctive fur pattern. His fur is caramel brown all over, except for the fur on his ears, snout, and along his under belly. Those areas were white like my wolf’s fur. It was unique, just like my wolf’s fur. White wolves are extremely rare, but it is also very rare for a wolf to have white patches of fur. If they do, it is usually because at least one of the parents were white wolves. I have seen my dad’s wolf. He has dark brown fur. So, that left the possibility of my mother. Eric said he never saw our mother in her wolf form. He was told in his letter that our father forbade her from shifting into her wolf form, after they were marked and mated. It was something that disappointed us both, it really did. He would have loved to see her in her wolf form, I would just have loved to meet her, to get to know her.

I kept my eyes completely focused on the battle, when I finally spotted Eric in the battle. He was right in the middle of the battlefield. He was fighting really well. Wolves that came into contact with him either went flying or had to retreat. That was until three wolves jumped on top of him. I nearly jumped in to save him, but he threw two of the wolves off of him and snapped the hind leg of the third wolf with his powerful jaws, which made the wolf stumble away. When those three wolves attacked, Eric said, in a mindlink to me, “Stay where you are!”

He knew I was watching, and I knew he was trying to tell me that he had this fight. I have seen him take on six people before, but these Blood Moon warriors are far different to Blue Moon. They look like they have undergone an extensive training regime. Many of them were pure muscle, much like my brother. Honestly, their muscles were huge compared to most of the men in my pack. I can imagine what Kayley would

Tristan was doing fairly well. This was his first battle. He had really never been tested in a battle situation before. He hadn’t even been on his first patrol yet. So, he was staying quite close to my brother, which I didn’t mind. His wolf was blonde. I just hope my brother, watching Tristan’s back, doesn’t get him killed. But I also hope that Tristan doesn’t get killed either.

For a moment, we looked like we would win, with two Alphas and two Betas fighting, but that soon changed. Another wave of Blood Moon warriors came charging from the tree line they had originally come from, then I heard it. A branch snapped to the right of me. My head snapped in that direction, as Zira yipped, “Our mate is coming. Our mate is coming.”

“You sound like a broken record,” I shook my head at her, knowing we needed to hide.

I spotted movement coming closer to me. Figures of other warriors could be spotted in the distance appearing from behind the trees. They may or may not have seen me, but I didn’t care, I had to try to hide. I immediately climbed up the tree that I was standing near, while I was watching the battle. I had to climb the tree and get out of sight of what was coming towards me. I climbed the tree to the point where I would be out of sight from those passing below, but I would also be able to witness more of the battle. I decided it was best that I told Eric.

“Eric, they are going to flank you. They are about to pass me,” I told Eric, in our mindlink to each other.

“We will be ready,” he replied.

I could hear him, making up a lie to Alpha Raven, in his mind-link, that he saw movement in the trees, and they were going to flank them. It was the smart thing to do, he couldn’t reveal that I was here hiding out, and that I saw the extra warriors from Blood Moon trying to flank Blue Moon’s position. My eyes darted back and forth from the battlefield and the ground below me. I could hear footsteps, though very quiet, getting closer to me. I sniffed the air, and that is when I smelled it. It was the most divine smell I had ever smelt. It was an earthy smell, very masculine. A figure appeared at the bottom of the tree. He stopped and sniffed the air. I could only see his hair at that point; it was a classic-combed back with a faded haircut. I learned about a lot of male hair cuts and how to do them, as I cut both Eric and Tristan’s hair. His hair was black. I could tell he was tall and very broad shoulders, with a lot of muscle on them. He was shirtless, just in a pair of basketball shorts. He was holding a moon flower. Something that is very important to the werewolf world. If one were to walk out on the field with one, the entire battle had to stop. It was the rules. The flower itself is almost like catnip to our kind. When we catch scent of it, during any aggressive assault, we instantly grind to a halt. It makes us stop fighting. I just had to hope that Alpha Raven would follow the rules of engagement, because honestly, he does not like following rules, even ones that he created. That is how much of a pathetic excuse an Alpha, Theodore Raven was.

The man signaled for the warriors to keep going. He whispered to a warrior, something I could just about hear, “Beta Travis, lead the troops and flank Blue Moon, someone is up in the tree, someone that is my mate.”

Honestly, how many Betas does Blood Moon have? Blue Moon only has one Beta. The warriors moved off, following the lead of the wolf, who was called Beta Travis. I was thankfully hidden in the leaves of the tree, but he looked up at me, he could scent exactly where I was, so it was useless hiding from him. For the first time, I could see his face. He was so handsome. His face was chiseled and covered in designer stubble. His eyes were a dark brown and mysterious. He had a devilishly handsome smirk on his face. He looked a lot older than me. I could just about see the muscles of his chest and abs. They were defined. I could see hair on his chest, it was well groomed. From my birdseye view, he looked like a living breathing god. He was so very godlike. As he stared in my direction, a shiver ran down my spine.

“He is our mate. He is an Alpha. He commanded that Beta, you saw,” yipped Zira.

I knew she was speaking the truth and, honestly, I couldn’t believe it for a moment. The Alpha of Blood Moon is my mate. I am fated to be his Luna, to be the Luna of Blood Moon. It left me with questions. What the hell would he think of me? Would he think I am unworthy of being his Luna? Would he reject me because of who my father is? Would he do right by me? Would he love me for who I am? If he accepts me, how soon would he want marriage and children? How many kids would he want? Would the age gap affect us? He is twenty-eight years old. I am nineteen in a few weeks. That is a nine-to-ten-year age gap, as I am not sure when his birthday is. He is most likely experienced in the bedroom department, something I am not. What would he think about that? Most importantly, would he help me save the people I care about?

His smirk grew wider, but he also looked a little impatient, a typical Alpha trait, or is it a male trait? He called out, “I know you are up there. I can smell you, not to mention feel the tingles everywhere you look at me. Why don’t you come down?”