by J. L. Berry
“It’s gonna be ok,” he kissed the top of her head, “They don’t know me, of course they’re gonna be concerned but you’re my mate, they will get over it in time.”
Autumn sighed inhaling his comforting sandalwood scent before pulling back to look up at him. “They will never allow you to be Alpha, regardless of how well they get to know you. Which means I could never be Luna, and my whole pack would be thrown into chaos.”
Elijah didn’t know what to say. To him it was simple, she was his mate, and there was no alternative. But he understood she had to sacrifice a lot. “I’m so sorry. I know it’s hard but it will be worth it I promise. I’ll do whatever it takes to make you happy.”
Autumn’s wolf whimpered.
What do we do she asked her?
I don’t know. Her wolf was confused and pacing, why couldn’t she make a decision?
The best part of being a wolf shifter was having the instincts to make decisions quickly and yet she couldn’t. Any normal girl would love to have two gorgeous men fighting over her but those girls weren’t destined to be Luna with the weight of a pack on their shoulders.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“Don’t be, it’s not your fault.”
“No, you’re not understanding me,” Autumn stammered. Elijah’s eyes widened with fear as he stared at her face.
No no no no no his wolf howled.
“I’m sorry because although I like you, I can’t be with you. A good Luna puts her pack before herself and that means letting you go and choosing Drake.”
Elijah stepped away from her, his chest heavy as his wolf howled in agony. “You’re rejecting me?”
“No. I can’t reject you Elijah, because my wolf doesn’t even recognise you.”
Elijah didn’t know if that was better or worse, all he knew was his mate was choosing to be with another man. He couldn’t move. He could barely breathe as she turned and walked away shattering his heart into pieces.
Chapter 23:
Elijah didn’t know how long he stood there.
She’s not coming back his wolf whispered, bereft at the loss of his mate.
What if she does and we’re not waiting?
His internal monologue with his wolf continued for hours until it was finally interrupted by guards searching for him. “Hey, Elijah! You were meant to check in an hour ago.”
Elijah stared at him blank faced, “Sorry, what?”
“What’s gotten into you? Come on.”
Elijah was escorted back to the detaining cells where he sat and continued to mull over the events leading up to Autumn’s rejection. She may not have called it that but she was his mate so that was exactly how it felt to him.
We must change her mind his wolf reasoned with him.
How? This is all about her pack and her future as Luna we have no place here.
His wolf whimpered there was nothing they could do.
If we can’t be with her then we can at least ensure she’s happy Elijah decided.
Standing, he left his cell and made his way to the guard’s office. “Do you guys have a library or something?”
“Sure in the main building, why?”
“Do you think I could use it? I want to see if I can gather more information for Beta Morgan.”
“I don’t see why not, but let me clear it with him?”
One quick call later and Elijah was being escorted to the library and after a quick tour he started pulling down books and maps. He started with a large map of North America, identifying major cities and landmarks.
What doing his wolf queried?
I’m going to locate areas where the Raptors may be hiding Elijah told him.
How there’s nothing to go on?
Exactly, so we’re looking for a forested area with a lack of anything discernible.
It was slow work. Excluding the major forests like Yosemite and Yellowstone was easy. Major tourist attractions were popular for a reason and not suitable to hide a large pack. Assessing the smaller forests one by one however, was painstaking. Dusk fell but Elijah had not finished when Beta Morgan came to investigate what he had been doing.
“You’ve been busy. Care to fill me in?” He eyed the map on the table dotted with markers and bits of paper.
“To be honest I don’t have a lot to show you yet, there’s more work than I anticipated.”
Elijah explained his process to Beta Morgan.
“Interesting strategy, but I see what you’re getting at. Do you know roughly how far you travelled when you left your pack?”
“It was about twelve days before I came across your pack and I was doing around say 40 miles a day. I wasn’t travelling quickly or in a straight line though.”
“Ok, so in theory you’re looking for somewhere within a 480 mile radius of our territory but let’s say 500 to give a bit of leeway.” He placed a pin in the map, “So this is us, which means we focus on a 500 mile radius from here.”
“We?”
“You gonna object to some help?”
Elijah hesitated.
“I didn’t think so. These forests are home to other packs,” Beta Morgan applied more pins to the map, “So they can be excluded as well.” Together they narrowed down possible locations into the early hours of the morning. By the end there were only a handful of options available. “Good work, I can put word out to other packs and get patrols to assess these areas.”
Elijah nodded taking note of the areas and their relative location to each other.
We won’t need help his wolf grumbled.
They headed out to get some sleep. The investigation had been a wonderful distraction for Elijah but once he was alone in his cell the crippling ache of his loss greeted him once more. As he fell into a fitful sleep his dreams were filled with two pairs of grey eyes, but only one was Autumn’s.
The following morning Beta Morgan dropped by to discuss the map more with Elijah but was told by the guard he’d gone for a short run. He waited in the guard room for him to return when his phone rang.
“Yeah?”
“Beta, Elijah just left the pack territory and is heading north.”
Son of a.....
“What do you want us to do?”
“Nothing, let him go.” At least that would take away one drama from the pack, besides it was obvious what Elijah was planning on doing.
Chapter 24:
When Autumn walked away from Elijah she felt an unease she couldn’t explain. Her wolf whined and paced but didn’t complain. Rather than go to Drake she spent the day in solitude, locked in her room laid on her bed doing nothing. She knew she’d have to face the outcome of her decision soon but not that day. For one day she wanted the pressure of her birthright to stand aside and let her be a typical teenage girl.
The next day she dragged herself out of bed as promised and forced herself to get on with her life. She ate breakfast with her parents before attending training with the warriors. As she entered the training centre the gym went quiet making her feel uncomfortable. Drake watched her as she quickly made her way over to their group, looking for any sign to explain her absence yesterday.
“You ok?” He asked.
“Yeah fine, ready to get back to work.”
“Alright then,” he winked at her.
Autumn threw herself into training that day and the next and the next. She was like a wolf possessed. Aggressive, dominating, quick and smart. The warrior clan marvelled at her ability to pick up new tactics and techniques so fast.
“Great work Autumn, you’ll make a fine Luna,” Mariah advised after one session.
The whole pack seemed to have settled in the last few days which put Autumn at ease. Clearly setting Elijah aside had done the trick although she still needed to cement things with Drake. She didn’t know what was stopping her but trusted her wolf to let her know when the time was right.
“Mariah!” Beta Morgan called out over the training centre, “Can you get your group up to the conference room i
n thirty minutes, I’ve got some intel to go over?”
“Sure thing Beta, we’ll see you there,” Mariah replied. “Alright everyone you heard the Beta, pack up and get showered then head to the conference room.”
Half an hour later the group of them were gathered around the conference table, relaxed banter passing between them. When Alpha Grey entered with Beta Morgan everyone immediately sat to attention and the room quietened.
“Thank you all for interrupting your training today,” Alpha Grey began. “We’ve been in touch with our allied packs regarding information gathered about the Raptors. It seems the loss of pups has affected a great many more packs than we ever realised. In fact nearly every pack across the entire of North America has been hit at some point in the last twenty-two years and it’s estimated that around 600 pups have been taken.”
Low whistles and murmurs were heard over the room as they digested the information. While it was good to know they were not alone, the scope for how big a problem the Raptors were made the situation all the more real. Alpha Grey gestured for Beta Morgan to continue,
“Thanks to Elijah we have a better idea of where they may be hiding, although we are none the wiser as to how they are managing to maintain a low profile given the potential number of wolves in the pack. Sadly I think a lot of the kidnapped pups may now be dead and we should be prepared for that.”
“Prepared for that as in we’re going to free them?” Michael interrupted.
“That’s yet to be decided. In the first instance we want to narrow down the possible locations to confirm the area and gather more intelligence. Then after scouting we can make a better decision.”
“Surely if you just take Elijah he will be able to identify the location making it faster?” Zane reasoned.
Beta Morgan glanced uneasily at Alpha Grey. They had tried to keep Elijah’s disappearance as quiet as possible and apparently had succeeded. “Elijah is no longer here, he left the pack territory one week ago.”
“What?!” Autumn was flabbergasted.
He left without saying goodbye her wolf was confused.
“We’re not sure why but we chose not to pursue him as we don’t feel he represents a danger to the pack. In fact we feel it is likely he has gone to identify the location of the Raptors on his own.” Beta Morgan advised.
“Or he’s gone back to them and was a spy all along,” Drake countered, “In which case they’ll know we’re coming.”
“Drake’s got a point,” Mariah added, “We need to be careful about proceeding if that’s what you want to do.”
“And that is what we’re here to discuss so let’s get down to it...”
For the next three hours they planned options for scouting and patrols, analysing possible outcomes and methods to prevent them or protect themselves. By the end everyone was ready for a break and some much needed food. Drake tagged alongside Autumn as they left the main building,
“Are you ok?”
“Of course, why wouldn’t I be?”
“Well you didn’t know Elijah had gone so...”
“You told me to make a choice. I made it.”
“Oh.... OH! So you decided?”
Autumn simply nodded in response. Drake’s wolf was ecstatic and howling with joy as Drake tried to keep a grin from spreading over his own face. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I don’t know, I guess I was waiting for the right time but it never seemed to come.”
Drake couldn’t help but notice her lack of enthusiasm which put a dampener on his wolf’s elation. “Autumn what’s wrong?”
She chewed her lip unsure how to ask him, her wolf whined. “Drake, I need you to be honest with me... am I your mate?”
Drake’s heart began to race, does she know? He gazed into her deep grey eyes searching for answers. “I love you with every fibre of my being. You are the love of my life, my Luna and my best friend.”
Autumn’s gaze softened at his beautiful words but she couldn’t help noticing he’d avoided the question. “But am I your mate?”
“Come with me,” Drake took Autumn’s hand and led her away into the forest.
Neither of them spoke as Drake led the way along the winding path in the trees. Soon they reached the clearing by the lake where they had eaten the night before Autumn’s birthday. Drake stopped and turned to face her reaching into his back pocket for his wallet.
“Autumn,” he began before getting down on one knee and taking her hand in his, “Would I ask you to marry me if I didn’t truly believe you were meant to be my mate?”
Her eyes glistened with unshed tears as she looked down at him her heart warm from the love they shared. “Technically you haven’t asked you know,” she half laughed.
Drake smiled as he opened his wallet to remove his mother’s ring which he had been keeping there since Autumn turned eighteen. “Autumn Grey, I promise to love you until my dying breath. Would you do me the honour of becoming my wife, mate and Luna?”
“Yes!”
Drake smiled with happiness and relief as his wolf rejoiced. He slipped the diamond and sapphire ring onto her finger before rising and pulling her into a toe curling kiss. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck as he lifted her flush against his body to devour her. Eventually he let her body slide back to the floor. She smiled feeling at ease for the first time since her birthday as Drake held her close the water from the lake lapping peacefully at the bank behind them.
As dusk fell they slowly made their way back home hand in hand. Drake’s wolf proudly puffed out his chest while Autumn’s wolf felt calm for the first time in a while. Without discussion they headed to Autumn’s house. Their parent’s needed to be told along with the Alpha so arrangements could be made. Luckily for them it was two birds with one stone.
“Mom, Dad?” Autumn called after opening the front door.
“In here sweetheart,” her father called from the living room.
Drake and Autumn entered to find Alpha and Luna Grey curled up on the sofa together having a movie night. Autumn felt a wave of love for her parents. They still made time for each other even now and that was exactly how she pictured a marriage to be.
“Drake,” Luna Grey smiled, “It’s great to see you. We’ve missed you around here!”
Autumn’s parents had been remarkably patient during the weeks since her birthday. It wasn’t until that moment that she realised how her separation from Drake had affected them too.
“Great to see you too Luna, and I promise you’ll be seeing a lot more of me again. That is of course if we have our Alpha’s blessing to marry?”
Luna Grey shrieked with excitement and shot off the couch to embrace the couple. Alpha Grey chuckled, “Well clearly you’ve got someone’s approval!” He stood and walked over to Drake offering his hand, “And of course you have my blessing, I will be proud to have you as my son-in-law.”
“Thank you Sir,” Drake beamed shaking his hand.
Luna Grey had finally stopped hugging her daughter allowing Drake to tuck her back into his side. “Oh my god, we need to get started on the wedding plans right away, there’s so much to do!” Luna Grey went off on a tirade of things to organise as Autumn looked more and more bewildered by the minute.
“Ok love why don’t we start planning tomorrow and leave them tonight to adjust to the idea first,” Alpha Grey good naturedly reigned in his mate’s gushing.
“Hmmm fine, but tomorrow you two are going to sit down and we’ll go through everything!”
Autumn rolled her eyes as Drake laughed. There are some things even a mate can’t protect you from and a mother wolf with a wedding to plan was one of them.
Chapter 25:
Elijah headed north the day he left the Lunar Forest pack and Autumn behind. His body ached from the separation as his wolf keened for his mate.
We have to do this, it’s the only way he kept reminding him.
But why doesn’t she know us?
Elijah had no answer for him. For her to sta
nd right in front of them and not see them for who they were, that was more heartbreaking than her choosing someone else due to the obligation of her pack. Thoughts of Autumn and Drake together fuelled Elijah with frustration as he surged ahead. They would be mated by the time he came back, if he came back. His wolf howled in agony as he charged through the forest closing the distance to their first location.
Having memorised the possible sites of the Raptor Pack from the map in the library, Elijah methodically worked his way around each one searching for a sign. Over a week had passed before he found what he was looking for. His wolf had been trotting through the trees of one location when the forest suddenly grew quiet. His hackles raised in suspicion as he searched the area for a predator. After seeing, smelling and hearing nothing he slowly advanced.
It’s like last time he notified his wolf who nodded in agreement.
They wove around the perimeter seeking its invisible boundaries where normal forest merged into eerie silence. At last his wolf spotted what they needed for confirmation, an abnormal growth of plants right where the forest transitioned. He dug with his paws sending earth flying behind them uncovering another metal cage with a hessian sack containing something inside. The smell was overpowering this time causing Elijah’s wolf to back away shaking his head as a wave of dizziness came over him. His vision blurred and his mouth watered from nausea.
We need to cover it back over.
His wolf whimpered unwilling to move. It was much worse this time, perhaps because they had been away for so long or maybe because the contents were fresher.
If they check the perimeter regularly they’ll know someone was here and they might recognise our scent.
His wolf still couldn’t move he was completely immobilised by the effects of whatever was in the sack. Seeing no alterative Elijah regained control and shifted back to his human form. The effects of the sack were less potent now he was using his human sense of smell but he could still feel them. As quickly as he could he buried the cage again, automatically feeling a sense of relief as he did so. It wouldn’t fool anyone looking properly but he hoped if the Raptors did do perimeter runs they wouldn’t look too closely.
