The Moon and The Star

by Marissa Teng

  “The second we cross the border they will all know we are here.” Jaxson told Slater and he raised his voice to that it would carry to all the Legion members and his own. “The war will start and we will not stop until we have my son back in his mother’s arms!”

  “How old is your boy?” Slater asked as everyone began to position themselves. As planned, not all would shift. Now that they had wolves, a few bears would remain with them in their human forms and they would use weapons from their cars. They would drive ahead taking out as many as they could with tranquilizers.

  “He is six and he’s still alive. I can feel him. He’s angry and—

  “Hurt.” Lucia said, speaking for the first time since they had reentered the truck. “He is angry and hurt. Something isn’t right. He shouldn’t feel this angry. We have to get to him.”

  “All I needed to know.” Staler said and began removing his clothes as Jaxson grabbed Lucia giving her one final hug before he began stripping his clothes too.

  “Stay by my side at all times.” Jaxson told her, cupping her cheek with one hand as the sounds of cracking bones surrounded them and people began to shift. Lucia nodded and removed her own clothes.

  Jaxson let out a roar as his bear pushed forward shifting his bones from man to bear. He fell onto his hands and knees as the shift forced him down. Panting, Jaxson shook himself and looked up. He saw his mate doing much the same in her wolf form.

  His bear, now in full control, moved to her, bumping his head against hers. She responded in kind and for a moment, if a war wasn’t going on, he wished they could remain there and nuzzled each other, seeking warmth and comfort from each other.

  But Stellan was missing and there would be no warmth or comfort without their son.

  Jaxson tilted his head back and let out a monstrous roar, signaling that it was now time for the war to begin.

  The war was answered with a howl from Lucia and then a roar from Slater and soon a cacophony of roars and howls filled the mountain around them.

  Jaxson moved first with Lucia by his side then the trucks zoomed passed them. The fortress would fall tonight. The war had now begun.

  Sixteen

  The second Lucia crossed the border she felt her legs almost buckle beneath her. The dread of being back on Sterling’s territory, back in her prison, had her momentarily frozen. The fear of her son in that monster’s clutches and her never seeing him again, made her move.

  Lucia ran forward with Jaxson next to her. Her wolf pushed at her, wanting control and Lucia gave it willingly. Her wolf ran faster, leaving their mate behind and Lucia pulled her back. She wanted to get Stellan back, but she wanted and needed Jaxson with her. Jaxson caught up with her wolf and let out a growl. Her wolf growled back. She noticed that, just like in their human forms, they couldn’t communicate in these forms through their minds like Jaxson could with the other members of his pack or she could with Stellan. Communication would be harder now that even talking was out of the question.

  Jaxson nudged her with his head through a growl and she snapped at him, understanding that he wanted her to go on but to stay by his side. Yes, she understood that.

  I promised him. Lucia told her wolf. She could feel her wolf’s desperation and need to find Stellan and also the need to stay close to her mate. We need to trust him.

  Trusting was easier for Lucia’s wolf when they had first met Jaxson but now, being back on Sterling’s land, it was harder for Lucia’s wolf than it was for Lucia. Lucia’s wolf was the one who protected Lucia from almost everything Sterling did to her. But no one protected the wolf. Lucia understood that more than her wolf thought.

  We have to get our son. Lucia reminded her wolf. That seemed to get through to the wolf. She stopped snarling at Jaxson and instead turned towards the fortress. The gates were shut and just as she wondered how they were going to get inside, A truck carrying one of the men from the Legion pack along with Apollo zoomed by.

  They attached what looked like some kind of boxes to the door and then drove off, signaling for the others to get away. Jaxson covered her body with his more massive one just as an explosion went off leaving her with a loud ringing in her ears.

  She was deaf for almost as long as it took Jaxson to get off of her. When she was able to rise, she saw that the gate was blown in and the fortress was now open. More trucks were going down the sides of the gate and inside of the fortress setting off more explosions.

  They must have been clearing a way for them.

  They really had thought this through.

  Lucia and her wolf threw their head back and howled. It didn’t go unanswered.

  Jaxson roared and ran towards the opening and Lucia was right next to him.

  Everything was unfamiliar to Lucia and her wolf. They had never been outside of the house they were kept in, and when they had escaped it had been only to fall off the side of a mountain. She began to run towards where she felt Stellan the most. That seemed to be what Jaxson was doing because he was heading the same way she was.

  They were approaching a black building that loomed in the middle of the fortress they were now inside. This wasn’t where she was kept, that much she knew. The door to it opened and men ran out. Now the fight would begin. Lucia and her wolf were ready.

  As they got closer, she saw that there were now at least thirty wolves that had exited the building. Most were in their human form and, just like Slater had predicted, the second they caught the sight of the wolves and bears running towards them, they ran. They turned-tail and ran, racing for their cars or just trying to find the quickest way out.

  Those who didn’t want to run, began to shift. Lucia reached one mid shift and latched onto his neck. She swung him back where Jaxson was waiting to strike him down with his massive claws. A brown wolf lunged for her from her right where she was unprotected, she turned to meet his attack but a massive, white, scarred polar bear struck the wolf down with one strike of his claw. The wolf was flung to the side, spinning in circles until he was caught in the air by a wolf that was a member of her new pack.

  He grabbed him by the leg, slamming him down into the ground as another wolf came and sank its fangs into the enemy wolf’s neck, ripping it out. With a muzzle covered in blood, he turned towards Lucia.

  Are you alright, Luna? The wolf asked. Lucia was stunned not just because they called her Luna but because she could hear them. Why could she hear them but not Jaxson, her mate? She wanted to question it but Stellan came first.

  Yes, thank you. She told the pair and turned back to Jaxson. He motioned towards the black building.

  Jaxson must be feeling what she was feeling, that Stellan was inside. They both ran towards the building with the two wolves and Slater at their heels. Their pack fought around them as more members of Sterling’s pack appeared and fought. No more were fleeing, at least it didn’t seem to look that way.

  Jaxson stormed through first with Lucia behind him. They rounded a corner and found themselves in a sort of common room. This was the pack house, Lucia realized. She raised her nose to the air trying to see if she could find Stellan’s scent.

  Her and Jaxson both found it at the same time, turning their heads towards a staircase. They both raced towards it. Lucia almost didn’t catch it, but she turned her head and body just in time to meet the attack head-on. A dark gray wolf crashed into her snapping at her neck.

  Seeing the attack coming, her wolf shifted her step back and pulled her neck out of reach as they both toppled to the floor. It only took a second for Lucia to realize this was Trenton. His scent filled her nostrils and she bared her teeth using her anger and the momentum of the fall to flip him onto his back and pounce on top of him.

  Trenton snapped his teeth at her, struggling to get out from under her, but Lucia held firm. She felt Jaxson come to her side and Slater on her other, both lending her support but not joining in the fight.

  Suddenly, as if he had given up, Trenton went still under her. He tilted back his head, exposing his ne
ck fully to her. She knew what the sign meant and jumped off of him, watching him warily.

  Trenton began to shift as the two wolves with her snarled. The five of them had Trenton surrounded. Trenton stood, fully human and panting as he glared back down at Lucia.

  “I told him to mate with you.” Trenton told Lucia and Jaxson’s bear growled at that, causing Trenton to take a step back slightly. “I told him to mark you as his mate and he would make the pack stronger. But he never wanted to share power. I don’t even know why he took you.” Being Sterling’s Beta, Trenton knew a lot about the pack and would know where Sterling and Stellan were.

  Lucia began to shift back. She couldn’t talk to Trenton as a wolf and that raised even more questions. When she was fully shifted, she found Jaxson’s bear standing in front of her, between her and Trenton. Whether it was to protect her from him or shield her nakedness from him, she was thankful and rested her hand against her mate’s back.

  “Where is my son?” Lucia asked making sure to hold Trenton’s eyes.

  “You know, the most he ever listened to me when it came to you was producing an heir.” Trenton said and Jaxson growled.

  “That isn’t what I asked you. Where is my son? Where is Stellan?” She looked behind him, to the staircase which Trenton seemed to be blocking.

  “I can’t let you down there. He is still my Alpha and his command was to never let anyone down there.”

  Next to her, Slater began to shift. She didn’t look at him, but felt it as he stood next to her.

  “You guys should go ahead down there.” Slater told her. “I’ll keep this guy from following you.”

  “Don’t!” Trenton yelled. “I’ll have to kill you if you try to go down there!”

  “He won’t get past me.” Slater promised and Lucia nodded, shifting back into her wolf.

  Lucia headed for the stairs and heard a wolf snarling. She turned to see Trenton had shifted back and was making a run for her. Jaxson smacked Trenton away before he could reach her with one massive claw. Slater was still shifting back but one of the wolves had his jaws clamped around one side of Trenton’s flank. By the time Lucia had reach the stairs and looked back, Slater was now in full bear form and he was fighting Trenton with the other wolf.

  It was no question on who would win, Slater and just slashed his claws down Trenton’s stomach and it had ripped open his skin, dripping blood onto the floor. The other wolf joined Lucia and Jaxson as she turned her attention back to the stairs.

  She ran down them, turning each time they came to a turn. They went down far and on the tenth floor, Lucia began to wonder how far down the building went. After each floor they passed, she could feel Stellan’s presence getting stronger. He was deeper down inside the building. How had Sterling built a building where the basement went down do deep?

  Finally, they all came to a staircase where she saw it went straight down into darkness. She paused before venturing deeper. She knew Stellan was down there but at the same time, his presence disappeared. The room was all wrong. If Stellan was down there, she should be able to sense him. True, he was good at hiding his scent, but this was something different altogether. She knew he was down there but at the same time, she couldn’t feel him. That thought unpaused her and she moved.

  Faster now that the danger of whatever lay ahead might be more dangerous to her son than the war that was going on above ground. The staircase took her straight down until the stairs opened up into a hallway.

  Blood! Cried her wolf. Lucia darted down the hallway now clearly latching onto the scent of Stellan’s blood mingled with Sterling’s. As the hallway ended, a door came into view and there past the door was her son clutching a knife that was embedded inside the stomach of the man who had caused her so much pain and anguish.

  She didn’t think. One second, she was running in her wolf form, and the next she was holding Stellan in her human arms tightly. There was a thud behind her and she turned to see Sterling falling onto his knees. Jaxson was suddenly there, also no longer in his bear form.

  “This…this won’t kill him.” Sterling gasped, grabbing the knife in his stomach. He pulled it out and handed it to Jaxson. Jaxson didn’t take it. He glared at the man and the knife he held. “You have to—finish what…what my son—” Sterling coughed, blood falling out of his mouth. “What my son started. I—I tried to stop him. I swear…I always tried to…stop him. I never…wanted him to hurt…Lucia…she was my mate…and I loved her. But…but the beast inside—” Sterling pointed to his head with the bloody knife. “He’s always in control.”

  “Why isn’t he in control now, then, wolf?” Jaxson asked and his voice was sharper than the knife that Sterling was holding out to him. “You feel different than the one who was at my house before.”

  “The new moon!” Sterling gasped, eyes going wide in relief for some unknown reason. “It’s when I am…in control. But he traps…me in here, locking the door with a combination he blocks…from my mind. You…you have to end me. Don’t…don’t let the beast hurt them any…more. Keep them safe. Do what I could not!” Sterling coughed again as more blood filled his mouth. “Do what my son started…”

  “You aren’t my father!” Stellan yelled and that caused both Sterling and Jaxson to look at him. “I’m not your son!” Lucia clutched him tightly in her arms as she felt the little boy shake. “I hate you.” Stellan said and hid his face in the crook of his mother’s neck. He let out a sob which was like a dam opening and he began to cry. “I want to go home, Mommy. I want to go home.”

  Lucia’s eyes went wide with pain and Jaxson’s…Jaxson’s eyes filled with anger that even with the war going on above, Lucia had yet to see in them.

  “If wolves can be given such despicable and wicked power, so much so that even your human counterpart fears the other, then your kind will fall trying to harness that power. Half of your pack left in fear the second we got here. The other half fights while you hide down below ground and behind locked doors!” Jaxson yelled stepping between her and Sterling.

  “I don’t care what happens to the pack!” Sterling said with what seemed to be a burst of energy. “They never once helped her or my son. They knew where she was and what he was doing to her.” He held the knife out to Jaxson once again. “If I could end myself I would. End me before he wakes and then no one will be safe.”

  Jaxson took the knife.

  Sterling lowered his head, letting out a shuttering breath. He seemed so resigned and different than Lucia had ever seen him. Was what he said really true? Was this man really trapped by the wolf and that was the one who harmed her? Did any of that matter? No, she thought as she held onto her crying son. None of that mattered. What mattered now was her life with Jaxson, her mate who she knew loved her, and her son.

  She rested her forehead on Jaxson’s back and let out a soft cry.

  “I’m sorry to make you do this, but I don’t think I can watch.” Lucia told Jaxson. Jaxson turned his head to the side and looked at her as she straightened and looked at him. He nodded back.

  “I’ll make sure he can never hurt either of you again.” Jaxson said and Lucia believed him. Sterling wouldn’t leave that room alive. She nodded, kissing his back before heading back towards the door. She didn’t look back as she stepped into the hallway.

  She didn’t look back as she heard Sterling say “Take care of them, be the mate and father I could never be.”

  She didn’t look back when she heard a gurgling sound come from Sterling, followed by his neck snapping, flesh ripping then two distinct thuds on the floor.

  “His heart isn’t beating anymore.” Stellan whispered finally calming his sobs, which only caused Lucia’s sobs to finally start. She cried into the hair of her son with relief. Her monster was finally gone. She was really free from him now and he could no longer hurt her.

  A wet nose touched her leg tentatively and she looked down to see the wolf who had followed them. For the first time, she noticed this one was a female. Her ears were low
on her head and in her mouth, she held a bundle of some sort.

  Clothes, Luna. I followed the scent the boy left behind and it led me to a room where I found clothes. I figured you might not want to shift so you could hold him.

  Lucia smiled at the wolf.

  Thank you. She told her taking the clothes just as Jaxson came out of the room. Without a second thought, Jaxson took Stellan from Lucia and the boy didn’t resist.

  I will go make sure the way back up is safe, Luna. The wolf said and ran off. Leaving the family in the hallway alone. Lucia began to change into clothes while Jaxson hugged Stellan.

  “You did well, you know that, don’t you?” Jaxson asked Stellan.

  “I wasn’t able to kill him.” Stellan sniffed resting his cheek on Jaxson’s shoulder.

  “You would have if the knife wasn’t rusted.” Jaxson said bringing up the knife and handing it to him. Stellan took it. “And you shouldn’t have to kill. I’ll make sure you never have to kill another person again. Not until you are Alpha and have to defend the pack against someone.”

  “What if I don’t want to be Alpha?”

  “Then we’ll all run away and Holden can be Alpha.” Jaxson said causing Stellan to chuckle. That chuckle melted Lucia’s heart. She wasn’t sure if she had ever heard such a genuine one before from her son. “I’m never going to make your or your mother do anything you don’t want to do.”

  “I believe you.” Stellan said.

  “So do I.” Lucia said, now fully dressed. Jaxson reached down and kissed her which she returned with love. He handed Stellan back to her and began to shift back into his bear which Lucia knew was for their protection. Even if Sterling was dead, there was still a war going on.

  “You’re such a big bear.” Stellan said with his eyes going wide. Lucia smiled and Jaxson’s bear let out what could only be taken as a proud growl.

  With his head, Jaxson motioned towards his back and Lucia placed Stellan upon it. She opted to walk next to her mate as they walked back up the steps of the packhouse.