Blood Moon

Chapter 1

A lone man stood on the edge of the quiet wood, his shift on the boarder was nearly done and he was getting restless waiting for his pack mate to release him. His shift ended nearly half an hour ago but Ben was known to get caught up with his mate and turn up late for his shift. Another couple of minutes past and his restlessness got the better off him. He picked up his phone and dialled.

“Hello,” grumbled the sleepy voice of the packs beta.

“Aidan, it’s Jared. Ben was supposed to release me from boarder patrol half an hour ago. He’s probably in bed with Ellen can you go and kick him for me.”

“That wolf,” he muttered “What am I going to do with him?”

“Rather your job than mine,” snickered Jared “Text me when you’ve dragged Ben from his mate.”

Jared hung up the phone and set off on a final check of the boarder before Ben showed up. He followed the tree line and headed towards the river hoping he would catch Ben as he made his way down to the check point. As jared walked he started to pick up on a faint smell of blood, it was too far away for him to know what kind it was so with a sigh he changed course and followed the trail. His phone buzzed in his pocket distracting him, it was Aidan probably wanted to have a laugh about the ridiculous excuse Ben had come up with to explain his absence.

“What was it this time? Let me guess he lost his phone?”

“Jared, I just spoke to Ellen, Ben left for his shift 45 minutes ago. Tell me you’ve caught up with him and he was just being slow,” Aidan hissed into the phone.

As Aidan spoke the wind picked up giving Jared a clear sent of the blood, it was Ben no doubt about it.

“Aidan, get to the East side of the territory now, I can smell Ben’s blood.”

“I’ll be there in five,’ Aidan said quickly just before he hung up.

Jared took off running in the direction of the scent careful not to make any noise incase there was a rogue waiting for him. He flew over the forest ground as he made his way to the smell that was getting so strong it was making him feel sick. As he approached, he slowed scanning the area for any threats. As far as he could make out there where none and then he found Ben.

His body was slumped at an awkward angle with a large wound covering his neck, there was no sign of life. Jared fell to his knees in shock and took in his surroundings. There was fear etched onto Bens face and it didn’t look like there had been much of a fight. Ben was only 19 and one of the youngest recruits in the packs warriors. He had trained hard and although he didn’t always show it he was dedicated and proud of his position within the pack. He had just mated with Ellen, they had been together since school so it came as no surprise that when they turned 18 they chose each other as mates. He had so much of his life ahead of him and Ellen would no doubt feel the pain of this loss more than any of us. Jared’s sadness quickly turned to rage just as Aidan and half a dozen other warriors jumped into view.

“Is this how you found him?” Aidan asked.

“Yes, I did a quick sweep of the area before I approached but couldn’t find any trace of what happened,” Jared whispered “Whoever it is though, I want to make them pay, Aidan.”

“Me too,” Aidan replied as he pulled out his phone. He dialled a number and brought the phone up to his ear “Alpha, there’s a problem. Meet me at the East side of the Territory. 

Cirus was young for an Alpha at just 21 years old, he had been forced to take leadership of the pack after his father was killed in an ambush. Although Cirus, had wanted to seek revenge for his fathers death his mother couldn’t bare to loose another family member and had pleaded with him not to retaliate. As much as it had pained him he understood how his mother felt and knew that he wasn’t in a good position to retaliate. He had spent the last 3 years training and building his packs strength. He had become an alpha worth following in the eyes of his pack. He on the other hand felt as though he was missing something. He had not found his mate yet. Which was unusual for an Alpha, his mother was able to complete all of the duties of a Luna but he knew that she was unable to grieve for his father because she felt like she had to be strong for the pack. Cirus knew his Luna was not in his pack however, the opportunities to visit other packs and find his Luna where limited due to waring nature of their neighbouring packs. 

As Cirus approached the scene he scanned the area for anything that his pack mates may have missed. He approached the body with caution locking eyes with his beta Aidan. 

“So it was Jared who found the body,” He asked.

‘Yes,” replied Aidan,” Ben was supposed to be relieving his boarder patrol but never showed.”

“Jared, did you pick up on anything when you found him?” Cirus asked. Jared just shook his head Cirus could tell he felt responsible as the more senior warrior “This wasn’t your fault Jared, if we knew there was a threat we would have posted more warriors to cover the territory.” 

“I just want to know who did this, Ci,” Jared sighed.

“I know, me too,” he replied.

“Ci, the trackers found a scent,” Aidan called from the edge of the river “it’s faint but looks like it goes into Broadclaw territory.” 

Broadclaw was one of the waring packs and although they weren’t responsible for his father death Cirus didn’t have much love for their Alpha who was only out for his own gain. “I will contact their alpha in the morning, we can’t cross into their territory without causing a war, get the trackers to circle round the toward the West boarder to see if it was a diversion. I need to go and break the news to Ellen and Ben's parents,” Cirus instructed. The worst part about being an alpha was the loneliness, you alone made the decisions that would ensure your packs survival having a mate made that burden easier but for Cirus his mother was the only person he could talk openly to and he felt guilty including her in pack politics.

Cirus, Aidan and Jared made their way back up to the pack village towards Ben's house that he shared with Ellen. Jared split off from the group to collect Ben's parents and bring the to the house. Ellen was waiting outside looking distraught, Cirus was sure she knew what had happened due to their mating bond but he knew she needed confirmation before she could begin to grieve. As they approached the house Ellen raced down the stairs towards them, she tossed aside all formalities and threw herself into Cirus’ arms. “Please, tell me what I’m feeling is a lie?” she whimpered into his arms “he can’t be gone, he can’t have left me.”

“I’m so sorry Ellen,” Cirus whispered wrapping her in his strong arms “I promise you I will find who did this to Ben and make them pay.”

“So it's true?” Ben's father spoke in a soft tone but it did nothing to hide his pain.

“Yes, Im sorry,’ Cirus replied.

Ben's parents immediately fell into each others arms and wept for their son. Ellen broke free of Cirus and joined them in their grief.

“His funeral will be tomorrow morning,” Cirus continued “He will have a warriors memorial. The we will find who has done this. I promise you I will not rest until I have found justice for Ben.”

“Thank you, Alpha,” Said Ben's dad “I may be older but I would like to offer my service to the warriors of the pack to help find this murder.”

‘I am aware of your ability as a warrior Mr. Winstone and would be honoured to re-instate you in to the packs warriors,” Cirus said.

Mr Winstone nodded at him before taking his family inside of the house.

Cirus retired to his office and started to plan his approach his conversation with Broadclaws Alpha and the investigation that would start in the morning.