Jade’s pov:
It was Tuesday, and only 2 days remained till Jessica’s trial. I would not care so much about her, if her issue hadn’t divided the pack, thanks to her father’s ill tongue.
I hated that many pack members assumed I was jealous of her past with Alex, and thus decided to take action against her… When it was quite the opposite. She was jealous of what I had with him, and thought it was a wise idea to babble about my being a born healer.
I was on edge for some reason that was beyond me, but I dismissed it as nerves because of the impending unjustified war. Born healer or not, I just wanted to be Alex’s mate and luna, and live in peace… and this was tiring. I loved training, whether I was going to put my skills to use or not, and I loved listening to Alex devising strategy with Luc and Trevor, but it sometimes felt too real.
My previous pack naturally caught wind of the news, and their insolence was unmathced. The beta dared to call my parents and demand answers from them. And while my dad didn’t tell me about the heated exchange in detail, the sheer look of disgust on his face was enough to drive me sick with worry.
We only had 3 packs for allies whereas there were so many vying for a chance to bring Moonlight Pack down.
I was out in the training grounds, giving my all, pouring my frustration out onto the wooden dummy, when Eli came to join me.
“Looking angry, Luna Jade?” He let out teasingly.
“Angry at the circumstances, yes,” I told him on a heavy sigh.
“It is what it is,” he said as he dropped his hands into the pockets of his jeans.
“Sometimes I wish I had been wolfless instead,” I said before giving a powerful kick to the dummy, which croaked in response as it broke and bent over in 2.
“You don’t mean that,” Eli said in earnest. “You’re going to make your wolf sad.”
“I just want to live peacefully next to Alex, you know?” I retorted, doing my best to keep myself from releasing another sigh.
“You will,” he nodded at me. “In time, everything will be okay.”
“I hope so,” I shrugged, not because I didn’t care heavens only knew how much I did but because I didn’t know, and didn’t have the same conviction he had.
“I know so,” he told me with a smile so bright, I could only believe him.
Soon, we were walking out of the training grounds, ready to head over to the pack house, when we heard someone whistling.
The sound wasn’t too far away, and the smell of putrid flesh permeated the air, making the atmosphere almost suffocating.
“Eli,” I said in a calm tone of voice.
“Head over to the pack house,” he let out, and though worded out as a command, it came out as more of a plea.
“I am staying,” I said resolutely, thinking this might be the perfect occasion for me. Indeed, if it could help me make the pack understand that I was worthy of standing next to Alex, I was ready to risk his anger.
“But…” the protest died on his lips the moment he looked into my eyes.
Soon, 4 rogues appeared, one of which was in human form.
His eyes were unfocused, and his appearance was disheveled more than I could possibly put into words. He looked like a homeless person who might be hanging onto the last thread of sanity… I would have been put off by the sight had it been something else.
But the blood of warriors flowed in my veins, and soon enough, fighting ensued… During the fight, I could swear they weren’t giving it their all, for it was all too easy.
By the time Trevor reached the clearing, there was nothing but a blood bath left, in the middle of which Eli and I stood unharmed.
Trevor breathed out a sigh of relief as I smiled at him, “We’re okay.”
“I am glad to hear that,” he replied with a small smile.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, alarmed at once.
“The attack on the patrollers and here prevented us from keeping an eye on the dungeons…” he trailed off, and I frowned ever so slightly as I tried to put 2 and 2 together. “Jessica has escaped her cell.”
My eyes bulged at once, and I wondered if the attack had been nothing but a distraction.
“Could it be…” I was about to voice out my concern when Trevor put his hand up in the air, silencing me.
He put his forefinger and middle finger on his right and left eye at first, and then just under his ear too… and I understood the assignment at once.
We could be heard, and he didn’t want anyone to suspect that we knew the attack was a little bit of a decoy.
“Could it be that she’ll come after me?” I let out in a dejected tone to defuse the situation.
“Who knows?” Trevor replied with a curt nod, “We’ll have to make sure you don’t leave our sight from now on.”
“I can take care of myself,” I said as I raised an eyebrow at him.
“As proven by this,” Eli waved his hand in the direction of the fallen wolves.
“We’re not saying the contrary, but we’d rather not take any chances,” Luc appeared from behind us, his input upsetting me more than it probably should.
“I am not made of porcelain,” I rolled my eyes.
“Naturally you’re not, Luna Jade,” Luc agreed with me on a nod, which made me almost see red, “But if you were to be hurt, heavens forbid, Alpha Alexander might just lose himself to sorrow and anger. You wouldn’t want that, would you?”
The image his words evoked was frightening to say the least. Already, I knew Alex to be a fearsome alpha. And the more skilled and controlled a wolf was, the more devastating it would be if he were to lose said control.
It was known that many wolves snapped when they lost their mates abruptly, because of a rogue attack or a war.
“You have a way with words,” I clicked my tongue in dismay.
“Well, someone has to make you understand that the best thing you could do is stay protected so that you won’t be a distraction to the alpha,” Eli quipped in a sarcastic tone of voice.
“You…” I glowered at him. “I am starting to hate you.”
“I’ll live,” he chuckled.
And with that, both Trevor and Luc did as well, whereas I sulked all the way to the pack house.