From uploading this chapter, I don't know when I'll be uploading chapter 18, I have my A-Level exams coming up soon which requires a lot of revision for unfortunately but you know, it's my future on the line so the upload date is undetermined for now :)
Rae 'Rae x
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Alejandro's POV
"Regardless of whether we have had the ceremony and whether me and Anna have yet to be handed the title, as of now, we are your leaders. I am your alpha and she is your Luna, do you all understand?"
The crowd nodded, "Yes alpha"
"As you may or may not know, our Luna was shot and we have yet to catch the shooter. I decided to let it be but merely 5 days ago, alpha Weston held our Luna against her will and threatened to shoot her" I heard a few growls from the crowd, "I thank the Goddess that she didn't get shot but that is what sparked this war. The fact that my own brother that many of you thought you knew well, hired someone to shoot my mate, is what fuelled my anger to train for this war. You think you are all trained but from what I have seen, you're not trained to my standards and they are exceptionally high."
I started walking back and forth on the stage as I continued speaking,
"I will not tolerate slackers. I will not tolerate backchat. I will not tolerate disrespect and if you think that you can do that and get away with it, think again. I'm not heartless, I shall give everyone a fair warning if it happens once but if it happens twice, you're out. If you're a pack fighter and it happens twice, to me, that is cause for demotion and I will do it with no hesitation"
"Alpha, don't you think that's a bit harsh?"
I looked over at the boy who spoke to see that he only looked about 16 so I chuckled before replying,
"You haven't seen harsh yet. I forgot to add something, I don't tolerate people questioning my decisions, state your name"
"Jermaine"
"Well Jermaine, as we haven't even started yet, I'll let your question slide but question me again and I will not be so lenient, have I made myself clear?"
He nodded so I looked at the crowd again and gestured for Lori to come up on the stage,
"Many of you know Lorianne, the leader of the pack fighters. She will be the one, along with me, showing you how to fight in wolf form properly"
"But girls aren't as strong as guys so how will she be able to teach us?"
Some males in the crowd agreed and I was just about to address the speaker when Anna put her hand up to stop me so I nodded and took a step back while she spoke,
"It's funny how you think that girls or women rather, are weaker than men, hilarious actually" I smiled as she continued, "Please, raise your hand if you have a black belt in Karate and Jujitsu, a brown belt in Kickboxing and has done nearly a year of Judo"
No one raised their hand so Anna smiled, "Exactly. The fact is that I have all of those. I could probably pin half of you males, wolf or not, to the ground faster than you can shout for your mothers"
All the females giggled and I just continued smiling because I knew it was true, wolf or not, she was strong and she's probably been taught to fight someone stronger than her,
"I am a woman and sure I'm not as tall as most of you males and I'm not a wolf and I may not look strong but looks can be very deceiving. Who is the leader of the pack fighters?"
They murmured something unclear to us so Anna spoke again,
"I may have advanced senses but that was ridiculous. Who is the leader of the pack fighters?!"
"Lorianne"
"And what is Lorianne?!"
"A woman"
"Exactly. I don't see any of you males being leader of the pack fighters so the next time you think that women are weak, think about that. Your alpha has listed his tolerance so now I shall list mine. I do not tolerate judgements. I do not tolerate cheaters and I most definitely do not tolerate display of superiority. As of now we are all equals and if you think otherwise or express that we aren't, by all means leave, the door is wide open. I have a limit, do not overstep it, am I understood?"
"Yes Luna"
She nodded and took a step back and I smiled at her before stepping forward again,
"Don't mess with your Luna ladies and gentlemen, that is what you will get"
Everyone laughed and nodded and I continued what I was saying before,
"So yes Lorianne will help with wolf on wolf combat and Anastasia will be teaching hand to hand combat. She has specified her skills so you know what she's capable of. If I feel that you're ready for more, I may move onto wolf on human combat, I'm sure Anna wouldn't mind doing a demonstration with me"
I turned to face her and she smiled and shook her head, "I wouldn't mind at all darling"
I chuckled at her sarcasm and winked at her before turning back to the crowd,
"We'll meet back here in one hour. Lateness is not something I accept. Down here and ready in one hour, dismissed"
They all bowed to us before dispersing separate ways and I walked up to Anna and smiled,
"You never told me you knew all those skills"
"You never asked but you know now. By the way, how do you know that I can fight you while you're in wolf form?"
I shrugged, "Call it a hunch but I know you can. It doesn't just take brute and strength to defeat a wolf; it takes smarts and agility also which is something you most definitely have. Wolves act on instinct almost 90% of the time, I can vouch for that and that will always be our downfall. I trust you to help me show them to plan the next move for not only themselves but for their opponent as well, to think before they act and hopefully along the way, you'll be able to teach me a few things as well"
She smiled and nodded, "Of course and please just because I'm human, don't go easy on me, I hate unfair fights"
"The question I want to ask my little vixen is what does the winner get in return?"
She smirked and tilted her head slightly, "Your voice seems so sure that you're going to win"
I chuckled, "That's because I am sure I'm going to win, you may be my mate and I love you dearly but I never lose a fight"
"Today may be the day that you do"
I grabbed her waist and pulled her closer to me, "Babe, I'm an alpha"
"And I'm a skilled fighter, what is your point exactly?"
"My point is that I know how to fight, very well and as far as I'm concerned, losing is not an option"
"Awe baby, you really think you're going to win? Cute"
I growled lowly, "Think? I know I'm going to win"
She gave me a peck on the lips and patted my chest, "We'll see babe, we'll see"
She walked off into the house and I ran a hand through my hair. She's a little spitfire my mate but I love her for it. The fact is that I'm an alpha and whether she's my mate or not, it would be a sign of weakness if she beat me in the fight which is why I have to make sure she doesn't.
*2 hours later*
We were well into training now and I just have to say that Anna looked so hot when she was fighting. It's such a good think that I'm currently in wolf form otherwise my expression would just give everything away,
"Duck! Jump!"
She shouted out those orders to the person on defence but he was slightly too late because the offence swung his leg out and just caught his ankle which made him fall to the ground so I walked over to them slowly as Anna spoke,
"You have to understand that if your opponent goes for a hit that makes you duck, 99% of the time they will swing for your legs so you must always jump after a duck even if you're not sure, got it?"
They nodded, "Good, fight again and add in what I just taught you"
"Yes Luna"
I nudged Anna's side with my nose gently and she looked down at me and smiled before petting behind my ear which made me purr,
'Stop distracting me alpha'
'I'm merely taking a break Luna'
'Then please, take a break a few steps back, watch me work'
I nodded and took a few steps back before sitting down on the ground and watching her do what she does best,
"Stop!"
Her group stopped and turned to face her, waiting to hear what she had to say next,
"Please raise your hand if you've ever fought someone bigger than you and when I say bigger I mean me fighting Alejandro for example"
No one put their hand up so she nodded, "Thought so. You all plan things to suit people that are the same build as you and that can be a weakness. One day you will come across someone who is much bigger than you and you won't know what to do but, now you will. Can I have a volunteer?"
I sat up straighter and it took a while for someone to step forward but eventually, Devon stepped forward who in height was 6"2 and was simply put it, bigger than Anastasia,
"Thank you, your name is?"
"Devon"
She nodded and gestured for him to stand in front of her so he listened and stood opposite her,
"Take a hit Devon"
I growled but she looked at me and shook her head, 'I know what I'm doing, trust me'
I didn't like it but I nodded anyway and she turned back to face Devon,
"Don't be afraid Devon, remember when I said we're all equals? Don't look at me as your Luna, think of me as someone you really hate"
He nodded and closed his eyes before taking a deep breath and when he opened them again, you could see a new found anger in his eyes and as he went to hit Anna, she ducked and like she taught the group, she jumped immediately after when Devon swung his leg out trying to catch her out.
Devon then moved forward and went for another punch, but Anna leant back multiple times which caused him to punch the air.
I could see she was backing into a tree so I started to panic but I had no need to because as he went to punch her again, she ducked causing him to hit the tree and she slid under his legs ending up behind him.
He turned around and decided to go for a different tactic. He went to kick her but she grabbed his ankle and pushed him away from her which caused him to stumble slightly.
What happened next really shocked me though. When Devon went for another punch, instead of ducking like she'd done before, she grabbed his hand and twisted around so that her back was against his chest. She then took hold of his upper arm and bent down slightly while pulling his body over hers, which caused him to end up on the floor in front of her.
He looked at her shocked but she just smiled and helped him up before gesturing him to go back to the group which, in the last 5 minutes had gotten bigger. My group of wolves had joined up with Anna's group to watch the fight and they were all staring at her in shock, awe and respect as she spoke,
"That is how you defeat someone bigger than you. Fair enough I have more hand to hand combat skills but that can be taught easily. As I have proved, strength isn't everything. Notice how he continued doing the same move over and over which caused me to calculate his next move, making it easier for me to dodge it. Only near the end did he change his tactic but even then I was ready because no offence Devon, it was predictable. Predictability is something we need to get rid of now. If you want any chance of defeating your opponent, be spontaneous because trust me, that's the only way you'll win, am I understood?"
Everyone nodded so she waved them off, "Continue as before, change up the partners though. I want you to fight someone who is not that same build as you, be spontaneous but be alert and defensive at the same time"
They nodded and split up into partners and she turned around and walked up to me,
'You still confident about winning?'
I nodded, 'Yep, he was in human form, being in wolf form is much different darling'
She smiled, 'Well I've showed you my skills, why don't you show me yours?'
'As you wish my Luna'
I gestured for her to follow me so she walked behind me as I walked over to my group of wolves and barked ordering them all to stop and face me.
I spoke in my head so that they could hear me but so could Anna,
'What's the number one rule when it comes to fighting in wolf form?'
'Always protect your neck in defence and go for the opponent's neck in offence'
I nodded and walked up and down in front of them, 'Correct, the moment that a wolf has your neck, that's it. They will either make you submit or they'll kill you, it's as simple as that'
'I'm sure that you all just saw the demonstration that your Luna had given you about human combat?'
Everyone nodded, 'Now it's time to demonstrate how we wolves fight'
They all barked in approval and I could see Anna smirk as she leant against a tree,
'Like Anna said, it's not all about brute and strength, she managed to beat Devon without that and fair enough, he wasn't in wolf form but the same thing applies whether you're in human form or wolf form, understand?'
They nodded so I walked over to Lorianne and gestured for her to stand opposite me so she did as she was told and stood in front of me,
'Take your stance'
She bent low to the ground in an attacking stance and I followed in suit and did the same,
'Proceed'
She growled and lunged at me but I ducked even lower and used my head to push her over my body, making her land behind me.
Even though I didn't turn around, I could sense what she was going to so I immediately dropped to the ground as she lunged at me from behind, causing her to just jump into nothing.
She shook out her fur and was about to attack me again when Anna's voice rang out through my head,
'Be spontaneous Lorianne, he can predict your moves and quite frankly so can I, change it up'
She nodded and looked at me again before running for me and seeing as she was running low, that's a sign of a low attack so I took that as my chance to jump but instead of doing what I thought she would, she jumped up and used her claws to push me to the ground.
I landed on my side and she landed on her feet and wasted no time in going for my neck but I went to protect it, which was the first rule of fighting but of course she predicted me to do that because as I went to protect it, everywhere else was open to attack so she bit my leg which caused me to growl at her and use my claws to push her away from me which then resulted in me leaving my neck unprotected and because of that she lunged forward and took my neck in between her mouth, hard enough to make me submit but as I was an alpha, I continued to refuse,
'You should know Lorianne, I never submit'
She growled slightly so Anna stepped forward and pulled her off of me, causing her to fall to the ground and me along with everyone else looked at her shocked. To pull off a full grown wolf takes strength, a lot of strength,
'Back off Lorianne, you did well in your fight but you know better than to make him submit. He's your alpha, show some respect'
She whimpered and nodded before bowing, 'I apologise alpha and Luna'
I nodded and stood up and shook out my fur before walking up to her and playfully shoving her shoulder,
'You got lucky but I didn't choose you as leader of the pack fighters for nothing, I give you full congratulations'
She looked up at me and gave me a wolf smile, 'Thank you alpha'
I gestured for her to go back to the crowd so she nodded and joined up with the group as I spoke,
'Like Anna said to her group, be spontaneous but be alert and defensive. If you were watching you would've noticed that my mistake was protecting my neck but not protecting the rest of my body which left Lori wide open to attack me. She started off predictable so I knew what to do but as soon as Anna told her to be spontaneous, she did just that. She made me think one thing while she did another and that is what caused her to win. Partner up, different pairs this time, be vigilant, be defensive, protect your necks while protecting yourselves and be spontaneous.'
'Yes alpha'
I gave a single nod before I turned to face Anna and she smiled,
"Do you now understand that brute and strength will get you no where?"
'Hold that thought'
I walked off behind a tree where we kept our clothes after a shift and I shifted back into human form and stretched out my muscles before proceeding to put on my shirt and trousers.
I walked out from behind the tree after getting dressed and I walked back up towards Anna and grabbed her waist from behind while resting my head on her shoulder,
"To answer your question, yes I understand but that still doesn't mean I'm going to lose"
She turned around to face me, "It's a mystery to me how you have not one bit of doubt"
I smiled, "Because I don't doubt my fighting ability"
"How about we make a deal then, since you're so set on winning"
"Proceed"
"If I win, I get to choose my cars, tomorrow"
I raised an eyebrow at her, "Cars? More than one?
"Well, since you're so positive that you're going to win, you won't have to worry about it"
I nodded, "Fair enough, what am I going to get though?"
She smiled, "You'll get that lap dance you asked me for not so long ago"
I looked at her shocked, "Are you serious?"
She nodded and whispered in my ear, "I've never been more serious"
I gulped as she pulled back and looked into my eyes, "When will that happen?"
"Whenever you want it to happen baby, I'm always available to you"
I growled in approval before addressing the crowd,
"It's time for the ultimate fight! Me and your Luna, fighting each other, me in wolf form and her, of course in human form"
The people in wolf form barked and the people in human form cheered and I smiled as I turned to face Anna,
"Can I have a kiss for good luck?"
"Well, I'm sure you don't need luck considering you're going to win regardless"
I smirked and pulled her towards me so that our chests were touching,
"Can I have one anyway? To give me extra luck?"
She wrapped her arms around my neck and pressed her lips to mine softly before pulling away,
"That's all you're getting, wouldn't want to distract your mind"
I smiled and gave her one last peck on the lips before stepping away from her and gesturing for Lori to step forward,
"Initiate the fight please"
She nodded, "This is a friendly fight but as by your wishes, do you both swear to not go easy on your opponent and to stop immediately if they say so?"
Me and Anna nodded and at the same time replied, "I do"
"The rules are clear, alpha, as a wolf, biting of the neck is forbidden so instead, once she's been pinned down you must immediately shift back and pin her from there. If you pin her for more than 5 seconds, you'll win. Luna, as a human, it's harder to pin a wolf down by the neck so if you manage to keep him on the ground, regardless of the position, for more than 5 seconds, you'll win, however, if he shifts when pinning you down and he doesn't manage to pin you for more than 5 seconds, you are still able to pin him down while he's in human form, the rules do not state otherwise. Understood?"
We both nodded, "Then please shake hands"
We both shook hands and I sent her a mind message, 'Good luck my little vixen'
'Right back at you baby'
"Fight by the rules, keep it clean, as by the law, in a fight like this the alpha may not hurt his Luna severely and the Luna may not hurt her alpha severely so please do not" We both nodded, "Also, talking via mind link is forbidden in a fight like this. We keep it fair, distractions are breaking the rules" We nodded again, "Alpha, are you ready?"
I nodded so she looked at Anna, "Luna, are you ready?"
She nodded, "As I'll ever be"
"Then may the best fighter win, proceed"
She stepped back into the crowd and I immediately shifted into my wolf which didn't phase Anna at all because she just smirked and gestured for me to make the first move but I knew how she worked so I stayed put which made her laugh softly before she looked at Lori,
"Am I allowed to address the crowd before we even move?"
She nodded so she smiled at me before looking at the crowd,
"Your alpha is so confident that he will beat me and part of me feels it's because he thinks he's superior. I don't know this but in your world, do the alphas overpower the Luna's?"
The crowd nodded and she chuckled and shook her head, "I thought so, show of hands if you think I'm going to beat him?"
Only a handful of people raised their hands so she smirked,
"Well, it's time to prove you wrong"
Due to her new advanced speed and strength from the mating she caught me off guard when she ran towards me and pushed me to the ground.
I knew to get up immediately because if I stayed down any longer than 5 seconds, I'd lose and I wasn't having that so I jumped up and shook my fur out before growling lowly at her which made her smirk.
I ran towards her and regardless of my size, she managed to jump over me and turn around just in time to grab my tail and pull me down slightly but I moved forward which caused her to lose her footing and I managed to remove my tail from her grasp and turn around to face her.
I knew that I said I wouldn't go easy on her but she's my mate, I didn't want to hurt her because I knew if I did, I'd never forgive myself but I knew that if she found out that I went easy on her, she'd never forgive me.
I ran towards her and went to hit her with my paw but with her previous agility and her newfound agility, she managed to dodge every single attack I made and as frustrated as I was, I was very proud.
As I went to hit her with my paw, she dodged it again so I used my other paw to push her to the ground and just as I was about to pin her down, she rolled over and stood up again.
I stalked towards her slowly and I could see her planning her next move and as soon as she took her eye off me for a brief second I struck and swiped out my paw to remove her legs from underneath her making her fall to the ground so I immediately shifted and placed my hands over her neck, not hard enough to strangle her but hard enough to keep her down.
I knew that even though I was bigger than her, if she was able to dodge me in wolf form, she could certainly move me in human form and exactly 3 seconds after I pinned her she grabbed the hand that was on her neck and pushed me away from her and she wasted no time in standing up and kicking me to the ground before pinning my hands above my head and using her knee to keep me down while she counted out loud,
"1...2...3..." I started to struggle, "4..." I was close to getting up but she increase her grip, keeping me down, "5...6"
She stood up and took a step back and someone handed me a pair of trousers which I gratefully put on before I stood up and out of respect and congratulations, I bowed to her and the crowd followed in suit.
Lori walked forward and stood in between us, "Regardless of what has been said, our Luna has prevailed"
The crowd cheered and I looked at Anna and smiled at her but she shook her head and looked away from me and I looked at her confused before addressing the crowd,
"It's clear that superiority had nothing to do with that fight. Most of you doubted her ability, me included but she managed to prove us wrong. She has proved her ability to fight which reflects on her ability to lead. Training is dismissed for today, tomorrow same time we shall start again"
"Yes alpha!"
I waved them off so they dispersed into different directions and I turned to face Anna. I walked up to her and went to grab her waist but she moved back,
"Babe, what's wrong? You beat me; I thought you'd be happy?"
"I don't believe you fought to your full strength and I hate the fact that I won a fight that wasn't even fair"
I shook my head, "As an alpha, when I agree to an oath, it's against the law to break it. When I said I'd fight fairly, I meant it. I knew that if I held back, you'd never forgive me and you'd be angry or upset with me, kind of like you are now"
She sighed and walked forward and leant her head on my chest, "I'm not angry. You're a wolf and for me that seemed a bit easy for me."
"It seems that your senses, speed and strength have come into play. I think because you're a Luna, it's more advanced so you had no trouble beating me, I'm very proud of you"
She looked up at me and smiled, "Thank you, it felt kind of good getting rid of your confidence"
I smiled, "I'll admit, you were a challenge but you did well, care to tell me what cars you want to buy tomorrow? Maximum 2, I may extend to 3"
"How much am I allowed to spend?"
"I have no limit babe"
She frowned at me, "That makes me look like a gold digger"
I chuckled, "I know you're not. You're my mate; I like spending money on you so I have no limit. You can spend as much as you like"
"Can I get a Range?"
"I already have a Range; one in white and one in black, you can just drive mine"
"Can I get a Porsche in black then?"
I nodded, "You can get whatever car you want my little vixen"
"I feel so bad" She murmured under her breath so I sighed,
"You shouldn't feel bad. I'm supposed to look after you, please don't think like that, I don't like it when you do"
I leant my forehead against hers, "I love you and I'd do anything for you regardless of money or struggle"
She smiled, "I know you would and I really hate you for that"
I looked at her confused, "Why is that?"
"You shouldn't have to spend money on me, especially as much as you do. I hate the fact that you do so much for me and I give you nothing in return"
She ducked her head so I looked at her softly before tilting her head up to look at me again,
"I still don't think you understand how much a werewolf would do for their mates. Money is most definitely not an issue so stop worrying about it. If it makes you feel better, after we buy your car, I won't spend as much money on you but of course if you ask, I will not decline"
She nodded, "Thank you and I love you too by the way"
I smiled and gave her a peck on the lips, "You know, I'm more disappointed that I won't get a lap dance rather than losing the fight in general"
She laughed, "I bet you are but who knows, you might get one, you just have to be a good boy"
I growled, "I'm not a boy, I'm all man, you should know that from yesterday and the 2 days before that"
She blushed so I chuckled and changed the subject, "We need to go to the council about our ordeal"
"Why?"
"It's against the law for someone to threaten the Luna, whether it be physical or verbal and it's even worse when it's an alpha doing it. My brother threatened you and alpha Weston threatened you, on more than one occasion, if the council find out about this realising that we didn't tell them, it would cause uproar"
"May I ask who the council are?"
I nodded, "They are 7 of the most wise and powerful wolves. All of them hold powers and even though they are equal in title, there is one who is the leader of them all and you may be happy to know that it's a woman"
She smirked, "That's a good thing but do we go to the council or do they come to us?"
"They'll come to us on this occasion, we can't waste time going to them, they're based in Italy. I'll call them today which means they should be here in 3 days maximum"
She nodded, "What if they don't like me? I'm sure that they're powerful enough to stop me from being Luna"
"They are but I wouldn't allow it. If they were to stop you from being Luna, they're going to have to strip me of my alpha title as well because without you by my side, I'll refuse to lead a pack"
"You're so sweet; I might just have to marry you one day"
I chuckled, "I was counting on it, you have no choice in the matter actually"
She smiled and patted my chest, "Okay, why don't you go and call the council while I go and lie down, beating you in that fight really took it out of me"
I laughed, "Okay, I'll meet you up there"
I gave her a peck on the lips and we walked into the house and while she went upstairs to the bedroom, I walked into my office, well my dads but soon it will be mine.
I walked over to the phone and dialled the councils number, each pack is allocated with there own number so the council should be aware of who it is and thankfully, they answered after 2 rings,
"Alpha Avontos, it's very rare you call us like this"
"I apologise"
"Oh, Alejandro, it's even rarer you calling us, are you alpha yet?"
"No I'm not ma'am, but even though I haven't got the title, the pack still address me as their alpha"
"As they should and please, council leader or not, I hate being called ma'am so just address me by my name"
"As you wish Adalia"
"Polite as always I see, your parents raised you well; have you found your mate yet?"
"Yes I have actually, her name is Anastasia Richardson"
"Richardson? That name sounds familiar but it's probably nothing, I wish you both well. Is there a matter that you wanted to discuss?"
"Yes there is. I know the wolf laws and it states in section 10, paragraph 17, line 12 onwards: If any pack member, alpha or Luna disrespects a Luna or alpha, whether it be in another pack or their own, punishment can be given. If a threat is given, whether physical or verbal, that is cause for the council to step in without question."
"That is true"
"Well, that law has been broken, both physically and verbally by two different people on more than one occasion"
I heard her growl over the phone, "Disrespect to fellow leaders is one thing I do not tolerate, please state their names"
"Alpha Weston of the Blue Raven pack and my brother, Antonio"
She gasped slightly, "Your brother?"
I nodded even though she couldn't see me, "As shocking as it is, yes, my brother"
"Don't worry Alejandro; me and my fellow council members will be at your pack in roughly 1 or 2 days time"
"Thank you Adalia"
"Until then, may the Goddess watch over you and bless you with much happiness"
"And may she do the same to you"
I hung up the phone because that is how we always end a conversation when talking to a council member so I knew the conversation was over.
At least I knew that the council were on their way because I knew that now the war had started, we needed as much help as we could get.
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Well, the council are on their way so that should be interesting. I think that once I finish writing up chapter 19, I'll upload chapter 18, at least then I'll always be a chapter ahead :)
Rae 'Rae x