Exciting chapters coming up soon. You should prepare yourself! There's still a heap of things coming to this book and I can't wait for you all to read it!!!
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That night, there was a bonfire. It was someone's idea to start one and let whoever wanted to come join in on the fun of roasting marshmallows and making s'mores. There was music playing somewhere in the distance. An old Katy Perry song was playing and I could hear people humming along to the tune.
I was sat on log, waiting for Ezra and the others to return with the things needed to make s'mores. They were taking ages and my belly was beginning to rumble.
The night was chilly. The air was bitter and my toes were cold. But the fire helped with that. It kept away the unwanted bugs and brought warmth to the area. I watched the fire and focused on it dance.
I grew more and more tired as I watched it. I knew that I wouldn't be staying awake much longer. It's been a long day.
"You missing home yet?" A voice asked me as a figure sat down beside me on the thick log. I looked over and realised it was a girl named Gale from my pack. I smiled at her and she returned the gesture.
"I guess... it's so much more carefree here. Not as tense," I told her honestly. I didn't miss home as such, I missed my brothers. They were the only reason that I wanted to return back to Terialta. My brothers were the most important things to me and I hated being away from them.
They hated it too. All of them hated being away from me and ever since the phone call the night before, they'd be linking me a lot more throughout the day. It was good to talk to them while I was away.
"Yeah, but obviously it's because their Luna wasn't slaughtered, right?" Gale questioned me. I shrugged at her and then sighed and nodded. She was right and I didn't like it.
"I haven't met their Luna yet. Have you?" I asked her, changing the subject. Gale smiled at me and then nodded.
"Yeah, I met her yesterday. She was wonderful, very welcoming and kind. I liked her," Gale told me. I nodded at her and tucked my hair behind my ears as I sipped on my beer.
We sat in silence for a little longer before I sighed and turned to her. "How many people do you think will stay here with Takiani and decide not to return to Terialta?"
Gale's eyes widened at me. She looked shocked that I had asked her such a question. But then she shrugged at me and looked past me.
"I think Tyler wants to stay," Gale told me. I looked in the same direction she was and saw Tyler with a group of guys. He was laughing and looked happy.
I felt happy for him. My wolf was satisfied to see him smiling and laughing. He rarely looked so happy back home. No one did.
"Good for him," I said honestly, looking back to Gale. She shrugged at me and then sighed and stood.
"I think I'm going to hit the hay. See you around," she said before leaving. I watched her walk away before I was rejoined by the others. Brayleigh plopped down next to me and shoved a marshmallow onto the end of a thin stick.
Ezra and Lila sat on the log next to mine and do the same. Lila handed me a stick and then tossed the bag of marshmallows on the ground in front of us.
"Those pigs ate all the s'mores. So we took to whole bag of marshmallows," Ezra muttered bitterly. I laughed at this and stuck my marshmallow on the end of my stick before reaching out and putting it in the fire.
We roasted marshmallows in silence. It was peaceful and calm until I felt my brother push his way into my head.
"What you up to right now?" Samaya asked me. I yawned, picking at my roasted marshmallow.
"Roasting marshmallows. I wish you could be here. You always roast my marshmallows for me," I replied to him. I heard his chuckles and smiled weakly as I popped the gooey marshmallow into my mouth. It melted and I moaned.
Marshmallows were the best.
"We'll roast some when you get back. I'm sure the other guys will want to," Samaya told me. I eagerly stuck another marshmallow onto the end of my stick and held it in the fire.
"Sounds like a plan. I can't wait," I said to him. Samaya went quiet for a moment before he spoke again.
"Are you sure you even want to come home? After you know... what happened," Samaya asked me. He sounded hesitant.
What was up with him? Did he not want me to go back?
I didn't want to go home. I didn't feel like having to face my father's Beta nor my father. I didn't even feel like facing my pack. They didn't know, but having to keep a secret — that their Beta was a rapist and a pervert — from them hurt. I didn't like them not knowing, but I could never tell them.
It would tear our pack apart again.
But I also didn't want to not go home.
"I want to come home, but only to see you and the guys. I don't have any other reason to return to Terialta besides you guys," I told him calmly. I didn't want to get worked up over this. Not in the moment where things were finally calm. It was late and I wanted to sleep peacefully.
I pulled my marshmallow from the fire and blew on it softly to cool it down. I sipped on my beer before I began to pick at it.
"What if you stayed there? Takiani is doing you good," Samaya asked me. His suggestion made sense, but I couldn't even think about leaving Terialta. It felt wrong.
"I don't know, Sam... it doesn't feel right to me. I have a pull to this place, but I still don't feel sure about staying here permanently," I told him softly. I heard him sigh and knew he was torn too. He couldn't decide for me.
"It's up to you, of course. I just don't want you to come back here if you are going to be unhappy... you know?" Samaya said back. I smiled weakly. I knew he was just caring for me and it made me feel good.
"I get it. How about we wait until its almost time for me to leave before we decide, okay? I need some time to make a decision," I told him. I heard him sigh again.
"You're right. I'll let you go now. Have fun with your friends. Love you, little sister," Samaya said goodnight and then shut the link.
I yawned and stood up. I looked down at my friends and smiled. "I'm tired. It was a long day today. I'm going to go to bed. See you all in the morning."
Everyone said goodbye and then Ezra joined me in my walk back to the cabin. We walked together quietly and I yawned yet again as we entered our cabin.
"Sleep well, princess. Link me if you need me," Ezra said as we parted ways. I nodded at him and walked down the hallway and into my room.
I changed into my pyjamas and then crawled into bed and fell asleep.
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The next day, when I woke, Ezra informed me that instead of training, I would be going hunting. I could barely contain my excitement. I linked with Lila and Brayleigh to ask if they were going straight away.
The two girls showed up at my house minutes later with happy grins and all too excited energy rolling off them. They were joking the hunt and they were over the moon.
"We're going in a group. Alfie will be there, as will our Luna and Henry. Kade will be there too, and a few of his friends," Brayleigh told me as I readied for the day. I knew that I was going to get my teeth on some good meat.
But I was nervous. I had never hunted anything too big before. Mostly just rabbits and deer. My brothers always tried to take me bear hunting with them, but my father never allowed it, for some reason.
"I'm coming along too. I am not missing this," Ezra said as he flashed me a warm smile. We all chuckled a little.
Lila perked up a little. "They're waiting outside. Let's go!"
We all turned and headed to the door. When we stepped outside, Brayleigh was met by Kade, who chastely kissed her lips and then slipped his hand into hers. She was smiling so big that I could almost feel her cheeks hurting.
My beast rumbled longingly. She wanted a mate so badly, but I knew that I wasn't ready for one. I could barely be around guys, let alone date one. They made me nervous. But it was only because of the incident with my father's Beta.
Asshole.
"Let's go. We want to get to our hunting spot by midday," Henry said. We took off running, heading down a track I hadn't been on before. We all followed him, and I noticed the group of males watching me.
They must have been Kade's friends. They all stared, but I didn't feel threatened. My beast was still curious, of course. But she ignored them and we focused on keeping up with the group.
"Is that the transfer?" I heard a whisper. I wanted to sigh loudly. Did they think that I couldn't hear them?
"Yeah, she is. And her name is Alison. She'll kick your ass," Kade bit back, which made me smile. I looked over at Lila who was also smiling.
When I looked back to Henry, he shifted into his beast. He took off running and everyone around us began to shift too. I grinned and let my beast come forwards. We hit the ground on all four and sped up.
We ran for a while before we came to a large clearing in the forest and stopped. I felt a pushing at my mind and let it in.
"We will be looking mostly for deer and moose. They're the ones that take less time to take down. But if we come across a bear, that would be a good kill too," Henry's voice said to me. I nodded my head and my beast rumbled. The idea of getting her teeth around a bear made us hungry for blood.
"Okay everyone. Let's get going. Tread carefully. We don't want to scare away the prey," Henry ordered through the group link. I nodded my head, as did everyone else. He took off again, running through the woods towards the sound of rushing water.
When we came to the river, the first thing we all saw were the group of moose drinking from the stream. They looked peaceful, safe. But they were in for a huge surprise.
My beast bit back a growl. She was hungry and she was determined to get ourselves a nice and juicy moose for the pack. It would show everyone that we are capable of killing something too.
"The females get the first kill. Go ahead ladies," Henry said, nudging his mate forwards. She looked back at Lila, Brayleigh and I.
The four of us moved forwards. We were quiet and careful. We knew that we couldn't be spotted. We didn't want to scare away our food.
"Lila and Brayleigh, take the ones further up the stream. Alison, you come with me for the two in front of us," the Luna said to me. I still didn't know her name but I respected her enough to listen to her orders.
Lila and Brayleigh trotted forwards. They headed upstream and I stayed with the Luna. She watched carefully, as did I. We had to wait until the right moment to strike.
"My name is Melissa by the way. Call me Mel," the Luna said as we watched. I looked at her and nodded my head.
"Okay, Mel. What do you propose for this situation?" I asked her. I saw her wolf's upper lip raise, almost to growl. But she stopped herself and refrained from doing so.
"You take the one on the right. I'll take the one on the left. We have to make sure they don't get away. The boys will surround the area to make sure they don't get far," Melissa said to me. I nodded my head at her and waited for her to give the signal to attack.
When she started to creep forwards, I did too. We moved at the same time, leaping out from our hiding spots. My heart pounded and I sprinted towards the moose who was suddenly aware of our presence. But before I could leap onto its back, I heard a gunshot.
I yelped and stopped, jumping back. I looked around me, noticing Melissa doing the same. She looked just as confused as I did.
"What the hell?" Brayleigh shouted over the link as we watched our moose sprint away. I slumped and looked around. Where did that gunshot come from?
I began to walk back towards the trees when I heard another gunshot. I yelped as I felt a sharp pain in my leg. I fell to the side, instantly feeling the blood from my leg. I whined and then forced myself to my feet.
Two wolves came out from the trees and there was another gunshot. I recognised the wolves as Alfie and Kade. They both nudged me into the trees and then helped me to run away.
The group sprinted hard and fast. We ran away from the gunshots, hearing loud shouts from the direction we just came from. They were human. I could smell them, and judging by the fact that the bullet wasn't a silver one, it showed that it was a normal one.
The type that humans used.
I had just been shot by humans.