New Beginnings

CHAPTER 7

I heard snarls in the distance, so I quickened my pace, arriving first. I reared up and latched onto the first rogue I came across. I easily latched onto his back and snapped his neck in my overly large jaws. The rest of the pack joined us then, and we fought the rogues.

I lay my front end down, getting ready to pounce on the next rogue. He turned towards me just as I lunged, grabbing his neck in my jaws and biting hard. He didn’t stand a chance.

Just as quickly as it had begun, it was over, with no injuries on our side. As a pack, we all let out a howl, celebrating before we ran back to the courtyard to redress. I was surprised to see that the newborns had joined us, Flynn among them, as well as all of my old pack members.

I felt proud in that moment. What a way to test their loyalty than to have a rogue attack on the night of their induction.

We shifted back to skin and redressed.

“Alright everybody, I think it’s time to celebrate!” Alpha Bill exclaimed.

Cheers erupted once again, and the music began playing as dinner was served while the mothers and pups came out of the bunker, along with Tristan and Eden.

I grinned at them as they joined us at the Beta table just as the Omegas were serving food. Everyone dug in, and the celebration continued.

*THE NEXT DAY*

Eden was back in the pack hospital of her own free will for her therapy session with Dr. Fields. Tristan sat out in the waiting room, bouncing his leg nervously.

“Tris, it’s going to be okay. She’s a strong wolf, stronger than I gave her credit for,” I admitted. Eden hadn’t needed to go back to the hospital the night before after dinner except to pick up prescriptions she was to take every day to help with her anxiety and PTSD.

“So, if she was their first child, that means we’re two Alphas paired together,” Tristan mused.

“Speaking of Alphas… Jacob is worried that you won’t be able to take commands from him or I, or even his parents until they step down.”

“I’m not the Alpha of this pack, nor the destined future Alpha. My pack was dismembered and disbursed. I may be of Alpha blood, but I can still take orders from respectable Alphas. And you’re the strongest. I wouldn’t be able to disobey your command.”

I nodded. “That’s what I told him, but I wanted to talk to you about it anyways. Just to make sure.”

Eden came out of the therapy room just then, and Tristan jumped up and ran to her. She pulled him into a hug, catching him off guard, but he quickly returned the hug.

“I can’t talk about it to you yet. It was hard enough opening up even a little bit to Dr. Fields. But I know I’m ready to accept you as my mate and when the time comes, we will complete the process. I’ll be ready by then.”

“I understand, Eden. We will take this as slow as you need.”

“Thank you,” she whispered, releasing him and taking his hand in hers.

“I’ll leave you two be. Eden, you’re going to have to have your first shift soon. In a few days, not now. But I just wanted you to be prepared.”

“I understand. I also want to start warrior training. Dr. Fields and I both feel like it would be healthy for me to do so.”

I nodded. “We can get that started for you tomorrow. I’ll see you later. I need to go discuss the upcoming ceremony with Alpha Bill, Luna Sally, Scarlett, and Jake,” I grimaced as I left the pair behind.

I could wear dresses without issue, but the Luna’s ceremonial dress was something else entirely. It was fancy, it was extravagant, it was coveted. Something I was not looking forward to. Luna Sally and my mom were designing and making my dress while Scarlett was planning my hair and make-up. I grimaced again. I hated makeup.

I made my way out of the pack hospital and up to conference room one, the smallest of the four.

As I reached the door, my mom opened it, beaming.

“Okay, so, if you’re anything like me, you hate fancy dresses and makeup. We made the dress just fancy enough to be a Luna dress, but not too fancy and extravagant. Scarlett has been told to keep your hair and makeup to a minimum.”

I nodded as I entered the room, bowing to the Alpha and Luna as I did so.

“Let me see the drawing,” I said.

My mom showed it to me, and I had to admit, it was pretty perfect. It was simple with a short train in the back and sequins on the bust.

I closed my eyes. “Okay, I approve. Are you going to be able to get it finished on time?”

“Avon, it’s already finished,” Luna Sally laughed.

“Oh,” I blushed.

“We’re going to stick with light colored, natural makeup to compliment your features. As for your hair, that has yet to be determined,” Scarlett said.

“And the jewelry?” I asked. I didn’t mind jewelry.

“You will wear the “standard” for a Luna ceremony. A necklace with a blue crystal with the pack symbol carved into it. It is white gold, so I was thinking some white gold dangling earrings and a bracelet with the same blue stone.”

“Okay,” I nodded. I could handle that.

Alpha Bill discussed Jacob’s attire for the night, allowing me to leave quietly to go up to the apartment to clear my head.

There were so many thoughts running through my head – would I make a good Luna? How was I going to learn how to be a Luna? What if the pack decides I’m not worthy?

My anxiety was on edge, so I decided to let my wolf out to go for a run.

We ran for what seemed like hours – and it probably was. I let her guide me wherever she wanted to go. We explored our new territory, familiarizing ourselves with the smells and trails.

Finally, Aphrodite was tired, so I shifted back to skin side before heading up to the apartment. I glanced at the clock and realized it was almost dinner time.

Right on cue, wolves started filing in as the Omegas served dinner. I ate quickly and stood up to take my dishes to the sink when a wave of lightheadedness hit me. I shook it off and continued my journey to the kitchen.

My mom followed behind me. “Your heat is coming soon,” she said low enough so only I would hear her.

I groaned. “How soon?”

“A couple days, if that.”

I groaned again. This would impede my ability to train to be Luna. I would be in too much pain to train, unless Jake and I were being intimate… How was I going to help run a pack when I was incapacitated by my heat?

I went up to the apartment and decided to take a shower. I started the water to get it to the perfect temperature, testing it with my hand before undressing and climbing in, sighing in relief. My muscles were sore from my run.

I began to wash my hair, lathering the shampoo into my hair. I went to turn around to grab my body wash and a wave of dizziness washed over me. I reached out for the side of the shower to regain my balance but missed, falling to the floor as my vision blurred before everything went black.

* * *

My eyes flitted open and I found myself on the bed next to Jacob. I was dressed in something soft and fluffy, which made me think of my robe.

“Jake?” I rasped, feeling like my body was on fire.

He was in front of me in an instant. “Avon…” he whispered; his voice was laced with worry.

“What happened?”

“You passed out. I came up just as you fainted. You hit your head on the side of the tub,” he paused. “You’re about to go into heat,” his voice was husky now.

I nodded. “My mom told me. How long has it been?”

“You’ve been out all day, but the docs didn’t think you needed any treatment. That you and your wolf were fine. Your heat is just coming on so quickly, so strongly… your body was tired and you just needed to rest. So, I let you rest. But I was up all night with worry because you weren’t waking up… But you were moving around while you slept, so I knew you were okay,” he inhaled sharply, his eyes going black with lust instantly just as a wave of heat washed over me.

“Jake,” I wailed, wanting to scream from the fire in my body.

“Your heat…” his said, his voice deep and husky.

“Make it stop!” I wailed again, clawing at the bed sheets, shredding them as I writhed in pain. “How can you make it stop?” I gasped, panting.

“There’s only one way,” he told me, his eyes changing back to their normal blue color before going black again.

He stripped himself of his clothes quickly, climbing into bed with me, planting fiery kisses as he climbed. I could feel the warmth pool between my legs as my insides clenched in pleasure and desire.

“Jake,” it was whispered now.

His hands trailed all over my body, leaving no spot untouched. He pushed open my robe as he drew near my thighs. I moaned out loud. Every place he touched seemed to sizzle the fire slightly.

He kissed every inch of exposed skin, stopping at the junction between my thighs. His hand roamed up my body, memorizing every curve as they went. He pushed the robe off me and pulled it out from under me as he discarded it on the floor. He left a trail of kisses up my body, along my collar bone, and to my marking spot, causing me to shiver in response.

His hands found my hardened peaks begging for attention and he began kneading them between his thumb and forefinger as his mouth licked and kissed its way back down to my s*x. He dipped his head down and began to suckle, lick, and nip at my bundle of nerves.

He removed one hand from my breast and slipped two fingers into my soaking wet core.

“Jake…” I moaned, wanting more. I wanted him inside me. I wrapped my arms around his muscular back, my claws leaving scratches down his back as my wolf took over, wanting to enjoy the moment with the human side of her mate.

I peered into his eyes and found that his wolf was in control, too. He used his free hand and switched breasts, kneading and teasing the other n****e.

“Blaze,” Aphrodite moaned again. “I need you inside me.”

As soon as the last word left her lips, Blaze jumped off the bed, stripping quickly before returning, his lips on mine.

Aphrodite was in full control, and I was retreated to the back of her mind, watching everything.

Their moans filled the room, and Blaze was thrusting deep inside me as Aphrodite met him thrust-for-thrust. They both bit down on each other’s marks and came together before relinquishing control back to us.

The burning fire was put out for now, and I cursed. “We didn’t use protection,” I told him, and he froze, still inside me.

“s**t!” he cursed.

“I have a feeling it doesn’t matter,” I said.

“So, there’s no point in me going to get some, is there?”

“Probably not.”

He rolled off me, cursing Blaze for taking over as he got dressed. I went to the closet and grabbed a loose-fitting casual dress and panties, not bothering to put a bra on or do anything fancy, since this apartment would be my best friend for a few days.

There was a knock at the door and Jake went over to open it. Doc was standing there, wanting to check up on me. He gave me a quick check before leaving, as he could sense my heat and didn’t want to intrude.

Wait, why couldn’t I block that thought out?

“Doc, wait,” I said, stopping him. He turned back to face me, waiting expectantly. “What color is your wolf?” I asked him.

“Greyish silver?” he asked, unsure.

“Maybe silver-silver?” I asked.

“Maybe? Honestly, I haven’t shifted for months. I was hardly allowed to shift back at our old pack.”

“Go outside and shift and come to our window and howl so we know you’re there. Go quickly.” I said with more authority than I meant to.

“Yes, future Luna Avon,” he said, bowing his head as he left.

“What’s going on?”

“I couldn’t block out his thoughts. I hear nothing else, but I heard his thoughts.”

“What could it mean?”

“That he’s immune to any ability there is? I don’t really know.”

There was a howl just then, and we ran over to the window. Yup, silver.

You can go back to your duties, Doc, thank you. But you will need to speak with Alpha Bill and Luna Sally as soon as you can about your wolf’s color.

Okay, he responded.