The Luna’s Peak

2

My Wolf thundered through the forest, flattening tall grass and crushing wildflowers beneath her massive paws, the wind whipping wildly through her fur. She hopped over a fallen log, and kicked up dirt and leaves when her paws hit the ground on the other side and she continued her sprint. She slowed slightly when she detected another werewolf’s scent, carried by the wind. But it was just Beck’s.

Beck typically didn’t patrol on Tuesday mornings, but today, his normal training sessions were all canceled, for one reason or another. He asked to join me.

One of my only physically-demanding duties within the pack was to assist Beck with training. Occasionally, Reid would join us, too, but we’d learned that when it came to training sessions, putting us together was just a public power struggle—we would more frequently coordinate so that we attended training sessions on different days.

Patrolling, no matter how eventful or uneventful, really was a nice change of pace.

The Black Summit pack had only continued to grow, naturally. Of course the occasional rogue would come ripping and snarling onto our territory.

As our pack grew, I continued to marvel at how Reid managed to keep everything running so smoothly. His method of assigning stand-in Alphas in our out-of-state territory helped streamline things tremendously—much like assigning governors to states in human society.

Regardless, the sheer number of threats our pack received alone, in any given state in which we held land, seemed like an unbearable burden some days—yes, he had stand-ins, but they all still reported to him. He still would travel to them if they needed him to.

Over the years, he’d taught me the intricacies of the way he did business. I had studied werewolf law to an extent way back when I was to begin training to become Alpha of my own home pack, but Reid’s knowledge far surpassed what mine would ever be. I was still learning, and he told me he was, too.

I had about as deep an understanding as I could have of his processes.

I understood why he used fear. In our society, his method was thoroughly effective.

At first, years ago, there had been rumors swirling around our pack that I was beaten and abused and neglected, but of course, they were the farthest thing from the truth. Now, as far as the public was concerned, poor Alpha Angus’s daughter was hardened and did what she had to do to survive as Alpha Reid’s Luna—as far as the public was concerned, I adapted. And Poor Alpha Angus himself had surrendered, all those years ago, to the merciless Alpha Reid anyway.

My mind wandered to the Blue Valley pack—now, they were just a part of our territory in Virginia.

I wasn’t sure exactly how many wolves dissociated when we absorbed them, but I knew it wasn’t a large number. Retaliation certainly happened, but it was rarer. Both occurrences were simple ways to weed out those who were not fit to be a part of Black Summit.

However, retaliation was trickier, too. Dissociation was simply the cutting of ties to your pack in the event of absorption, effective immediately. Retaliation couldn’t result in execution on the grounds of territory infringement. If Reid was ever questioned on the validity of his determinations of retaliation, he’d have to provide that it really was just that.

He’d proven it before, thanks to his understanding of werewolf law. But he wasn’t questioned for much of what he did anyway.

Five years ago, I thought Alpha Reid was dangerous, an enigma, a power-hungry, war-ravaged beast, just based on rumors alone…five years ago. I could sympathize with the panic and the fear that tightly gripped every werewolf in the packs we absorbed.

But my Alpha Reid was the man of my dreams.

My Wolf’s pace had slowed to a contented trot, as the canopy of tree branches overhead swayed slightly in the light breeze, casting dappled shadows over the forest floor. She loved Tuesdays. At least once a week, she was guaranteed to have a few hours to get out and stretch her legs, to feel the breeze whip through her fur as she ran, and to breathe in the summer air with her own nose.

She spent only about another ten minutes or so wandering the woods. We came upon Beck’s Wolf—I was wondering when we would. She fell into step with him, and they wove through the trees, gradually picking up speed again, till they were leaping over fallen logs and yipping and running together.

But suddenly, Beck and I both received a communication from a brand new warrior named Dylan, and our wolves skidded to a halt.

“Luna Natalie, Beck, I’ve detected an unfamiliar scent. North of me, about half a mile away.”

Beck’s Wolf and mine exchanged glances.

“Be cautious,” I instructed calmly. “Darcy, Garth, and Channing, stay near.”

Beck mindlinked me privately and asked, “Should we head that way?”

“Yeah, just in case.”

I did station myself in the southwest sector, but not because Reid told me to—I wanted to be where any more Virginian visitors would likely come from. I disregarded the fact that I knew Reid’s reasoning was the same.

Dylan was stationed in the west. I was confused as to why any angry Virginians would venture so far into New York State. Their quickest route to get to Reid would be the Taconic Mountains.

After about five minutes of jogging along in Dylan’s general direction, I mindlinked him again. “Dylan, status update?”

Nothing.

“Dylan?” I repeated. “Darcy, Garth, or Channing? Anyone?”

Dylan finally responded. “I have two outsiders. Not rogues. I found them in human form. West border.”

“Beck and I are on our way,” I replied, and my Wolf’s steps quickened. “Don’t let them leave.”

“They aren’t going anywhere,” he assured me, and I believed him.

Dylan was young, fresh out of high school, but he came from a long line of highly-skilled warriors, and he was just as capable as the rest of his bloodline. His family had been members of Black Summit since our pack’s inception. He was destined to serve as a warrior, and he was eager to please.

Just then, Deanna, the leader of the incoming patrol group, mindlinked me to dutifully report, “Luna, we’re en route. Tell your team to head back.”

“We’re a little busy at the moment. No assistance needed, but I’ll notify you when we’re finished.”

“Okay. My team and I will be around.”

“Thank you, Deanna.”

“Yes, Luna.”

“I hope these outsiders aren’t a real threat,” Beck commented telepathically. “Dylan’s got potential.”

I chuckled. “Wouldn’t that be a shame?”

“Real shame,” Beck agreed.

After only another minute or so, my Wolf detected Dylan’s scent, faint but growing stronger.

Beck and I followed the scent, and it didn’t take us long to locate him. Darcy, Garth, and Channing all flanked Dylan, their menacing gazes glued to the intruders as they paced along the treeline, teeth bared as they growled threateningly. They were on standby, ready to attack. Dylan’s Wolf stood before two strangers, in human form just as he’d said, a male of typical build, muscular and tall, with sandy brown, shaggy hair, and a female with her long tresses twisted into a French braid. They huddled together on the ground, trembling, their eyes wide as they stared up at the wolves surrounding them.

They were definitely werewolves—I could smell it. But they were fully clothed and appeared clean, so it didn’t look as though they’d been in werewolf form at all. The female even wore a full face of makeup.

“They certainly don’t seem threatening,” I remarked to Beck.

“Not at all.”

We approached, and Dylan backed away. After five years as Black Summit’s Luna, I knew very well how to behave in the presence of outsiders—I just mimicked Reid.

With every step my Wolf took, she sank lower to the ground. Her fur was bristled and her lip was curled up. By the time she was standing mere feet from the outsiders, her belly brushed against the grass beneath her.

“P-please—”

My Wolf interrupted the intruder with a vicious snarl, and they both cried out in fear. She stomped one massive paw on the ground, and they both bowed their heads submissively, respectfully, as they continued to quake.

My Wolf’s nose twitched as she tried to place where they came from, but she couldn’t. The male peered up at us cautiously, and my Wolf stiffly nodded her head once, but her stance never faltered.

“We come from the Lune Bleue pack,” I was quite surprised to hear his accent, “and we were just passing through. We mean no harm.”

A low, warning growl rumbled from deep inside my Wolf’s chest.

“We mean no harm!” the female repeated shrilly, panicked, through a sob.

Unfortunately, this was just protocol. For Black Summit, territory infringement meant execution. Reid likely wouldn’t even have allowed them to tell him where they were from.

Beck’s Wolf was coiled, ready to lunge. At my Wolf’s signal, a simple glance in his direction, he sprung. My Wolf straightened up and turned away, drowning out the outsiders desperate pleas and screams of terror.

I wondered if they even knew whose territory they’d wandered onto. I was doubtful—were those French accents?

Why would two French werewolves be passing through Vermont?

Reid will figure it out, my Wolf chimed in.

I joined Dylan, and the three other warriors who had come to his aid.

“Great job, newbie,” I teased Dylan, speaking telepathically to all four of them. “What were they doing when you found them?”

“They looked lost,” he said. “I genuinely think they were just passing through.”

“A werewolf can always tell where there are territory lines,” Darcy told him, very matter-of-fact.

Channing added, “They sounded foreign. It’s possible they didn’t know who we are, but they knew they were trespassing.”

Beck’s Wolf, his dark fur now wet with blood, trotted over to our little group.

“Should I report to Alpha?” Dylan asked.

“Yes,” I said, “report it. You need the recognition.” My Wolf nodded at his. “Our shift is over. You guys can all head back to the meeting place.”

Their Wolves all responded with barks and yips of confirmation, and then they all turned and bounded away.

I finally mindlinked my remaining twelve patrolmen. I mindlinked Deanna, too, privately, to give her the details of our hiccup, and to notify her that we were finally heading out.

“Stay extra vigilant,” I told her, “just in case.”

“Will do, Luna. Thanks for the head’s up.”

By then, Beck and I had nearly reached the patrol meeting place. We were among the last to arrive, and we found the clothing of the new patrol team on the ground, with our team’s. My Wolf located mine left in a neat pile near the trail heading back into town, and I willed the Shift onward.

Skin retracted and bones snapped, organs shrank and relocated, and after the Shift was complete and I finished dressing, I stretched my spine and rolled my shoulders.

I reached into the pocket of my skirt and pulled out my special, little velvet bag. I opened it, and retrieved the necklace inside. It was a gift from Reid, about a year-and-a-half ago. I wore it every day.

I didn’t wear jewelry prior to him presenting me with my necklace, but I was desperate for something I could carry with me, something I could hold and touch in remembrance of him.

I’d stumbled upon a beautiful birthstone necklace online, and I felt so drawn to it, I revisited the webpage about a dozen times. I never explicitly told Reid, or showed him, but he apparently noticed.

“I wasn’t sure which stone was…right,” he’d said carefully, “so, I did both.”

Now, standing there in the clearing before my men, I held the necklace in my palm and stared down at it. He’d had it custom made, tweaking the original design slightly to accommodate two round stones rather than just one, set in a small, double-sided gold pendant. One side of the pendant held a shimmering alexandrite, and the other side held a vibrant, leaf green peridot. I tilted my hand slightly to the right, and the alexandrite reflected the dappled sunlight just so.

Beside me, Beck cleared his throat, and I was snapped back to reality. I hadn’t even realized he was there. I slipped the velvet bag back into my pocket and I addressed my men—they were all waiting—as I put on my necklace.

“We had an incident along the west border,” I began. “Nobody else reported anything amiss. Any questions, comments, concerns?”

I received varying responses, including many, “No, Luna”s and some, “Nope”s and a few, “Nothing here”s in response.

“I’ll see you back here next Tuesday, then. 8am. For those of you who will be returning to patrol tomorrow, stay vigilant. Our incident was not with rogues, but they were intruders all the same. Dylan, great job again. Thank you all for your time.”

With that, the crowd began to disperse. I waited for a moment, smiling politely at anyone who acknowledged me, but no one approached.

Beck and I took our leave, turning away from the few stragglers to follow the majority of the crowd down the path back into town.

“You okay, Nat?” he asked.

I looked up at him quizzically. “Yeah, why?”

“You seemed a little distracted just now.” His piercing blue eyes seemed to be searching mine for something.

I shrugged. “Maybe.”

“Just for what it’s worth, I know a very important date just passed. I offered this to Alpha, and I’ll offer it to you, too: I’m here if you need someone to talk to.”

My heart clenched. I was taken aback by his uncharacteristic display of compassion. “I…I appreciate that, Beck.”

He gave me a pat on the back. “No worries. Alpha won’t open up, of course, but I know it’s bothering him. The other day I found him in his office staring off into space with his picture in his hand.”

My gaze fell to the ground. Oh, Goddess, here we go again, just like that.

I failed him.

I failed both of them.

Natalie, stop it, my Wolf cut in firmly.

I did my best to steel myself before I fell apart. I knew the self-deprecation did nothing for me—the negative self-talk, the hate I felt towards my own body some days; it wasn’t productive.

But that nagging feeling…

I glanced up at Beck, and I hated the sympathetic look on his face. “He…he’d be two now.”

“I know.”

“Reid and I shared a cupcake on his birthday,” I said. I looked back up at him, my vision clouding with tears as I smiled wistfully. “Just like last year.”

Beck smiled back, the same sad sort of smile as mine. “Reid ate it, too?”

I nodded. “He ate half.”

“Did he like it?”

I laughed and wiped a stray tear from my cheek, and shook my head. “Of course not.”