Comrade clears his throat and we all look at him. "Alpha, I believe that it would benefit our Luna's safety if she has at least two members with her at all times. Unless if she's with you, of course," he suggests. He glances at me during his speech and I instantly agree. I turn to Axel to see he is contemplating it.
"I agree," he finally mutters then looks at me.
'Who do you want to guard you, sweetheart?' he asks in my mind. I'm glad he's giving me a choice in the matter and not just issuing people I've never met before to be my guards.
I look at Callum and Comrade, and instantly know who I want to be with me at all times.
'Callum and Comrade,' I tell him without hesitation. Who else is better than your very own guardians?
He nods his head. "Very well," he says out loud and everyone looks at him expectantly. "Callum and Comrade will be with the Luna at all times to help keep her safe," Axel announces to everyone. I see pride and joy swell in both Callum and Comrade's eyes and I smile at the two of them.
The meeting continues with discussions about war tactics and how to approach the situation. Thinking about how much effort Axel is putting into this makes me wonder how my old pack reacted after we declared war. I bet they're just lounging around without a care in the world while a war is brewing right on their doorstep. Although, when the need arises, they have good tactics and one hell of a punch.
"Right, we will inform the pack tonight. Jacobs and Prince, inform the pack to be here in an hour. I want everyone to know as soon as possible. Meeting dismissed," Axel concludes. Everyone scurries out of the room while Axel plops into his chair from his recent standing position.
I move behind his chair and massage his temples soothingly. He sighs contentedly and let his eyes slip close.
"What's on your mind?" I ask.
"Everything," he grunts and brings my hands to a standstill by gently grabbing them. He kisses my knuckles, his thumb running over them afterwards.
"Why does everything have to be so difficult?" he asks me, but I think it's a rhetorical question.
Axel pulls me onto his lap and rests his head in the crook of my neck, his warm breath hitting his mark and making me shiver.
Without my permission, the thought of this upcoming war suddenly enters my mind. I want to help, I know that. What can I do though? It's not as if I can just jump into the fight. Maybe I can use my powers... I haven't even given them a thought yet, maybe I can get Axel to help me practice!
"Axel, do you think-"
I'm cut off abruptly when Matthew comes through the door.
"Alpha, the pack is here and waiting for the announcement," he tells Axel. He keeps his head bowed while he sneaks a cheeky wink at me. I roll my eyes at his antics and push myself off Axel's lap.
"Very well," he sighs then we both follow Matthew out to the backyard.
He joins the crowd as Axel and I walk up the steps where I fell down when I was first introduced to the pack. A blush rises to my cheeks at the thought and Axel chuckles when he sees it in my mind.
We stand before the crowd as they all look at us, silently asking why they got called here on such short notice.
"Welcome one and all. We are deeply sorry for having this meeting at such short notice, but it’s urgent," Axel booms in his alpha voice. "We have declared war on the Moonlight Pack."
Well, that's a bit blunt. Couldn't he have eased it onto them?
Whispers erupt in the crowd as gasps are heard and a little girl starts crying.
"Silence!" Axel booms and everything goes silent. "Like most of you, I'm sure you'll want a reason for this sudden declaration. The reason is that the Moonlight Pack's alpha attempted to forcefully take my mate and your Luna from us while we were in his territory."
Growls, snarls, and protests erupt from the crowd and pride swells in me knowing that my pack won’t let anything happen to me.
"For those of you who wish to fight for your Luna, please stay afterwards and my beta will discuss the tactics with you. For those of you with families and mates, I will advise you to think very carefully about this and how it will affect you. Although the Moonlight Pack may be weak, they can still put up a fight," Axel warns as people hug their mates and children. "For those of you who do not decide to fight, be aware that you are not cowards, but are people who value their families and loved ones."
I look over each of the faces and most of which are looking at either children or mates. Silent conversations are being said with their eyes as they come to their own conclusions and decisions.
"Axel?" I whisper in his ear. He turns his head to look at me. "Can I say something?"
His eyes widen for a moment before nodding. Axel clears his throat loudly, gaining everyone's attention. He takes a step back as he encourages me with a smile.
"I would just like to say something quickly that concerns all of you," I start off and everyone focus their undivided attention to me. "Know that although this pack may seem weak and may not be able to keep itself up, it still has power. The Moonlight Pack has excellent fighters and they will show no mercy; I have experienced it firsthand. So, for those who are willing to fight, please think it through thoroughly. This fight will not be for the faint-hearted."
Silence follows my little speech and they all glance at each other. I see in some people's eyes that they are really thinking about what they should do. Protect their Luna, or protect their family?
"How do you know?" a guy somewhere in the crowd cries out. I scan the faces trying to see who yelled it, but failed.
I answer the question anyway though, "Because, like I've said, I've encountered their brutality and fierceness firsthand. No one, and I mean no one, wants to be a victim of that."
After that, a scene from one of my beatings appears in my mind and it's as if I'm actually experiencing the pain. It was a year before my escape, when I was fifteen. I was sick and couldn't do any work, so Damon and Tina barged into my room with a knife in one hand and ropes on the other.
Tina tied me down but I was too weak to protest or fight back. She punched, kicked, and spat on me for who knows how long. Damon then came up with the knife and whispered a few cruel words in my ear, that I would much rather not repeat. He then stabbed me right in the stomach, but not deep enough to kill me. They kept on beating me with the knife still lodged in my stomach and only stopped when they deemed my punishment acceptable. That was the worst beating of my life.
I hear two loud groans come from the crowd, bringing me out of the memory, and snap my head up to see Callum and Comrade holding their stomachs in pain, the same place where I was stabbed. I grip my own stomach as the memory comes rushing back again, causing me more pain.
Next thing I know, Axel has dismissed the meeting and rushed me inside, Callum and Comrade following closely behind. We make it to our room and Axel places me gently on the bed.
I shut my eyes tightly as I bear the pain and wait for it to pass. When it does, I see Callum and Comrade gripping the bed posts with bloodstained shirts.
"Oh my god!" I cry as I rush over to them. I lift Callum's shirt to see a stab wound. I rush to the bathroom and get two hand towels, soaking them with water.
"Lie down," I tell them both. They do as I say and they both lay down as I hand one towel to Axel. I lift Comrade's shirt next, then decide to just tear it off because it seems to be causing him discomfort. I see Axel do the same to Callum's, leaving us with two tanned, well-toned werewolves, lying on our bed. I'm glad my heat's over...
I gently dab at the wound on Comrade's stomach as guilt hits me hard. If I didn't have that stupid memory, then none of this would've happened. I couldn't stop it though. It was as if it just popped out of nowhere.
"It's not your fault, Snow," Comrade mutters and I gently touch his face. He leans into my touch as I continue to clean up his stomach.
After Callum's and Comrade's stomachs are clean, their wounds seem to heal quickly and I breathe a sigh of relief. A thought strikes me then. Did they feel the pain o
f my mating Axel the other night? Oh god, that would be embarrassing.
"Um, Callum? Comrade?" I begin to say while biting my lip. Axel smirks at me as he knows exactly what I'm thinking. I glare at him, stupid alpha.
"Did you guys feel any... pain about a week back?" I ask shyly as a blush rushes to my cheeks in full force.
They glance at each other with a smirk as they look back at me.
"No, we didn't feel the pain while you were mating," Callum finally admits and I breathe a sigh of relief. Thank the Goddess!
They all chuckle at me as Axel takes me in his arms.
"Alright guys, you're good now. Run along and do what you do. Callum, you need to go see the pack though," Axel tells them and they both jump off the bed and leave.
Axel puts me down onto the bed and I squeal when I fall with a loud thump.
"Now that we're alone, I can finally have some release," Axel mutters as he kisses down my neck.
A soft moan slips from my lips as he bites his mark gently. I guess my powers can wait till tomorrow morning...
22
CELINA
"No, Axel, listen," I command as I back away from his really big, black wolf. His wolfish head tilts to the side and his eyes fill with mischief.
"You take one more step and I'm not sleeping with you for a month!" I warn and he freezes. I don't mean that in a sexual way, I just mean not sharing the same bed.
'You're bluffing,' he says smugly in my mind and I stare at him.
'Really? Try me,' I challenge, and he does. He takes one step towards me and my eyebrows shoot up.
"I can't believe you thought I was bluffing," I say, shocked, and worry fills Axel's eyes. Yeah, that's right, keep thinking that you've lost.
"Well, I'm not sleeping in the same bed with you for a month then," I grumble, then start walking back towards the pack house.
A growl erupts out of Axel's chest and he lunges at me. I collapse to the ground as his wolf breathes heavily on top of me. He then gets that stupid look in his eyes like he's going to do something I won't like. My eyes widen when I realize what he's going to do.
"Axel, don't you da-" I'm cut off when his overly-sized tongue licks right up the side of my face, leaving a big stream of drool.
"Eww!" I squeal as I scramble to try and get out from under him.
Axel's laugh reverberates in my head and I glare at him while attempting to wipe off the slobber. Key word: attempting.
'You... You should've... Seen... Your face!' Axel laughs in my mind and I growl playfully at him. He growls right back and I roll my eyes at his challenging stance. Stupid Alpha...
I was going to ask him about my powers this morning, but then he suggested a run and I thought why not? A run would do me good. So we went for a run and Axel ended up stalking me like I was his next meal. I really need to talk to him about my powers though...
"Axel, can you shift? I want to talk to you about something," I mumble and all playfulness disappears as he shifts and walks up to me stark naked. I hand him the pants I'm carrying and he slips them on before sitting down and cradling me in his lap.
"What is it, sweetheart?" Axel questions softly and I sigh. Will he even let me?
"Can you teach me about my powers?" I rush out and Axel's body goes rigid beneath me. I look into his eyes to see them staring right back at me.
I gulp at his next words as he says, "Learning about powers, Celina, is not for those who will back out. It requires strength, endurance, and determination. The training is hard and brutal. Think hard about this first, because once you decide, there's no going back."
I let myself think about what Axel has just said. Am I ready for this? An image of my fake mother and father, and my real mother and father come to mind then. Even though my fake mother and father never told me the truth, they still raised me to be strong and go for what I believe. Even though my real mother and father weren't there for my upbringing, I still have their blood running through my veins, giving me power and determination.
So, am I ready? Yes, yes I am.
"I'm ready," I tell Axel without a waver in my voice. He looks at me for a moment before he nods and gets up.
He starts to speed walk back to the pack house, and I follow closely behind. He passes the kitchen, lounge room, study, and goes straight to the very back of the house.
He approaches a door hidden by a curtain that blends with the wall. It has no handle, but Axel punches in some code onto the keypad next to it. His eye gets scanned and then the thick, metal door opens.
Axel doesn't hesitate as he walks inside. I follow him again, but a bit of fear creeps in when I realize I have no clue where we're going.
The door opens straight to a set of stairs, we both walk down them. Axel opens another door and we walk into what seems like a training room. Exercise bikes, exercise balls, treadmills, gymnastic rings, rowers, padded walls, everything, really. There's also no window and the whole place is made of concrete, floors and all.
"What is this place?" I ask with awe as I look around the room at all the new equipment. There's two of everything, one for the trainer and one for the trainee.
"This, my dear Celina, is the training room. This is where you will be trained until the war and after that. This is where you will learn to use and control your powers. This is where you will finally become a fully strengthened royal," Axel explains with pride in his voice.
I turn to look at him and notice he’s holding pieces of clothing in one hand and shoes in the other.
I walk up to him and grab them as he points to a changing room that's tucked away in the far right corner of the room.
I quickly strip my clothes and put on the workout bra, mini shorts, and trainers. I tie my hair up in a ponytail and glance down at myself. Really?
I walk out of the room and lust fills Axel's eyes almost instantly.
"Really?" I repeat my thoughts. "Do I really have to wear this?"
Axel nods his head at me and I look at him expectantly for an explanation.
"You have to wear it because there's a greater chance that you will injure yourself when you are wearing more clothing than necessary. It's only for the time being. After you've learned to control your powers, you can wear whatever you like," he explains and I nod my head with a slight frown on my face. He's so making that up.
"Right!" he suddenly exclaims and I jump. "Let's get to work!"
We go into full blown training, spending half an hour on each set of equipment and doing hand to hand combat on the padded mats. Axel teaches me how to block, attack, and defend when needed and teaches me how to actually work all the equipment in here.
By lunch time, I'm stuffed. I collapse to the floor as sweat rolls off me and onto the concrete floor.
"Come on, Celina, that's the warm up! We haven't even gotten to the power part yet," Axel tells me and I snap my head in his direction with wide eyes.
"What?" I snap and, if only I have the energy, I will be strangling him at the moment. He's got to be kidding me!
Axel laughs at me. He has just started sweating and his breathing is only a little bit labored. He seems unmoved by the workout while I'm looking pathetic on the floor.
"Come on, sweetheart, you couldn't have strangled me even if you tried." He laughs again then adds, "Yes, that isn't even the extreme stuff yet. We'll get some lunch then head back down here and the real fun can begin." He smirks and hauls my sorry butt up the never ending stairs.
I stumble into the kitchen and sit tiredly on one of the stools. Chloe, Declan, Matthew, and Jasper decide to walk in at that point. I swear there isn't a time where I haven't seen them together!
"Wow, what happened to you, my dear Luna?" Matthew asks cheekily and I growl at him, not in the mood for his antics.
"Calm down! He’s only asking." Declan chuckles and I shoot him a glare. He puts his hands up in mock surrender as I let my head drop into my arms that are resting on the counter top.
"Come on, guys, she looks pooped out. Don't g
ive her a hard time," Chloe scolds the two boys, and I stick my tongue out at them. Very childish, I know.
Their mouths drop open as Declan points an accusing finger at me.
"Did you just see what she did? She poked her tongue out at us!" he exclaims and I chuckle at him.
"You gotta remember, guys, I'm no older than you are," I tell them tiredly and Jasper, who has been suspiciously quiet, scoffs at me.
"Please, you couldn't be as young as us. We're like sixteen and seventeen. Matthew over there being the oldest," Jasper says and I lock my eyes onto Matthew. He does seem a bit more... manly than the other two boys. That just might be because of his beta gene though.
"Well then, that means Matthew's older than me. You gotta remember, I'm only sixteen," I tell them, smiling innocently as their jaws drop, except Chloe's. I guess her Mum told her.
I roll my eyes and spin my chair back round to the counter to see a chicken sandwich sitting there. I immediately tuck into it as Axel gets a thoughtful look on his face.
"When is your birthday anyway?" he suddenly asks and I choke on a piece of chicken.
"W-why do you want to know?" I retort after a gulp of water. He looks at me like I'm crazy and shakes his head.
"So I will know when to buy my mate presents and bake a cake for her. Also, to know when she's getting older," Axel adds on as an afterthought and I glare at him.
"I'll always be younger than you," I shoot back and 'oohs' are heard around the room. Axel glares at me challengingly and I glare right back.
"What if I tell you mine? Will you tell me yours?" he bargains and I think about it for a moment.
"Maybe," I said and Axel sighs.
"Well, even if you don't tell me, I want a present. Mine's the third of March," he tells me with a cheeky grin.
I look over his face to make sure he's not lying. I glance at Chloe and she nods her head, accepting that it is the right answer.
"Third of March, hey? I'll make sure to remember that," I tell him and get back to eating my sandwich. March has already come and gone, it's about the start of October now.
Unique, Different, Found: Werewolf Paranormal Romance (Nightfall Book 1) Page 17