Sleeping With The Moon Goddess

War Is Coming

“They took Julianna! Ian, we have to go after her!” I can see in his face as he struggles with what to do.

“I’m sorry” he finally says, “we have to stay here.”

I saw red, I started growling and was preparing to lunge at him when Aiden and Damien came in, grabbing me before I could.

“We have to go! They took Julianna!” I shout at them.

I can see their faces take on the same horrified look. I know they both love Julianna like a sister.

“That BASTARD!” Aiden roars, “I’m going to rip his f*****g throat out!”

“We will find her baby girl; we will get them all back! I promise!”

“What do you mean get them all back? What is going on?!” I demand.

“It appears that the wolves at the border were a distraction to draw us out and away from the communities. Once we reached the border, several rogues and Black Water wolves came in from the other borders and just started grabbing people; men, women, children, warriors, anyone they could find, drugging them and dragging them back over the border.”

“I have never known wolves to come in and take hostages this way?” Aiden says out loud, “And other than a few injured patrol guards, they didn’t try to kill or attack anyone.”

We all fell silent trying to think on what Alpha Stephen could possibly be up to when our thoughts were finally answered.

“Alphas, Betas, Delta, I found a note near the border from Alpha Stephen!” coming from some warrior I didn’t know. I wasn’t included in the mind-link, but I could hear it just the same.

“What does it say Ralph?” I could recognize Beta Keegan’s voice.

“Alphas, how many of your pack members are you willing to let die? Are all of their lives less valuable than just one? Meet me in the Northwest clearing and I shall return your members to you unharmed in exchange for the White Wolf. Bring it to me or I will slowly kill each and every one of your pack members until you do. You have one hour.”

“Alphas, what does he mean by a white wolf?” I could hear questions flooding in from Keegan, Lucas and the warrior. All of which were left unanswered as Damien and Aiden closed the link.

I could see my mates looking at each other, thinking.

“Does someone want to fill me in?” Ian finally shouts, interrupting their thought process.

Ignoring him, they continue to mind-link between the two of them, so I listen in to hear what they are discussing and what I hear leaves me pale.

I jump up to my feet, “You will do no such thing!” I yell at Damien. After looking startled for a second, he finally looks at me, “Baby girl it might be the only way.”

“WILL SOMEONE PLEASE TELL ME WHAT IN THE HELL IS GOING ON!” Ian roars.

“Damien is thinking of challenging Alpha Stephen for his title.” I say angrily through my jaw.

“What in the hell Damien, you can’t be serious!”

“Listen, if we try to fight him, he could kill everyone, but if I make a challenge to him as Alpha, he cannot refuse. We might be able to stop any bloodshed before it starts.”

“You have lost your damn mind if you think that’s an option!” Ian shouts, “but what about this White Wolf, what is he talking about? I haven’t ever seen a White Wolf here before?”

Damien and Aiden look unsure if they should say anything. I finally step up.

“It’s me; I’m the one he wants”.

Ian looks at me mesmerized, “Little Luna?”

“This is my fault, and I will put a stop to it!” I say.

“ Absolutely not!” Damien and Aiden’s voice booms out together.

“You will stay here with Ian where we know you’ll be safe.” They both embrace me between them, “You are the most important thing in the world to us princess. We could not go on if something happened to you.”

I couldn’t help the tears that spilled down my cheeks! “Then take Ian with you! He’s your best warrior; you’ll need him beside you to help you fight!”

Damien cupped my chin in his hand, bringing me up to look at him, “He is our best warrior and that is why he will stay with you.”

Damien now looked at Ian, “Promise me that you will protect her, she is more special than you could even know.”

“You know that I would give my life for her”.

Damien and Aiden both kissed the top of my forehead as I sobbed between them. Damien nodded at Ian and suddenly Ian had wrapped his arms around me and pulled me tight into his chest as Damien and Aiden ran out the door, leaving me to scream after them.

Ian took me to the floor and held me as I sobbed into his shirt.

“Shhhh, it’s ok little Luna, they will be ok.” He repeated over and over trying to comfort me. My body went numb as my crying finally stopped. I knew they were probably at the clearing by now.

‘Get up Camille, it’s time’ said the mystical voice in my head. ‘Get up!’ it repeated more urgently, ‘you must go now.”

I shifted and immediately stood with Ian right beside me watching my actions,

“It’s the Moon Goddess, she’s calling to me. I have to go!”

“What are you talking about?” he asks, confused, “You can’t, I am under orders from the Alpha, please don’t make me hurt you again.”

I turn towards Ian, “You will take me to the clearing, and you will take me now! I command it from you!” I say, projecting an aura around him; he grabs his head as if it’s hurting,

“How are you doing this?” he asks me, now down on his knees, holding his head.

“I order you to take me to the clearing!”

Projecting the command on him even harder, I could feel when Damien’s order snapped and mine took its place. Ian quickly grabbed my hand and we raced out the back of the building. He immediately shifted into wolf form. His wolf was massive with fur so dark grey it would almost appear to be black like an Alpha in the night.

‘Get on’ he said while lowering himself down onto his hunches so I could climb on his back. ‘Hold on little Luna” he said as he jumped 15 feet forward, sprinting towards the clearing.

As we approached the clearing, Ian raced up through the ranks towards the front. I could see a large wolf army on the other side with several of our pack members in human form tied up and bound together.

I could hear Alpha Stephen speaking, he was standing in front with a huge wolf army behind him, “Hand over the White Wolf!”

“Never!” my mates yelled back at him. I could see them standing up front.

‘Take me into the middle of the clearing’, I tell Ian.

“Then I hope you are prepared for all of the death you are about to cause!” Alpha Stephen snarled back.

Alpha Stephen looked like he was about to shift when I heard Damien’s voice as we finally made it to the front, “I Da . . . .” he started to speak when me on Ian’s back went flying past him towards the center of the clearing and towards Alpha Stephens.

I could hear my mates yell out for me and I knew that they were running towards us. Before they could reach me, I looked Alpha Stephen in the eyes,

“I, Camille Winters, Alpha and future Luna of the Blood Moon pack, hereby challenge you, Alpha Stephen, for the title of Alpha of Black Water.”

Everyone froze; I could hear Aiden behind me, “NO! What have you done?!”

Alpha Stephens looks at me for a few seconds and then laughs, echoing out over the entire clearing. “Is this some kind of a joke? Aww, are you Alphas that scared that you send your woman out to do your fighting?” He continues to laugh. You can hear the snickering of wolves behind him.

“She withdraws her challenge,” Damien yells deeply through his clenched jaw. I can tell he is furious, but I dare not turn around to look at him. “You will challenge me instead!”

“Tisk tisk, now isn’t this interesting. You know that you cannot take back a challenge once one has been made,” he says, glaring at Damien.

“I have no intention of withdrawing, my challenge stands.” I say loudly.

Alpha Stephen still very much amused, “Alright then, I think having them watch as I kill their mate before their eyes will make for the highlight of my day.”

Damien and Aiden are growling at him.

“Well, since you challenged me, Luna, I get to choose what form we fight in.”

“Very well, what form do you choose?” smirking in my head, knowing that he would pick human form, believing that wolf form would be too easy of a win for him.

“Just as to not terrify you too much before you die, I choose this form,” gesturing towards his human self.

“Do you know the rules my dear, of what you just did? An Alpha challenge is a challenge to the death, no mercy. Once we start. . .’

“I am very well aware of the rules,” I spit back at him.

I know this challenge means to the death, which is why I couldn’t allow Damien to challenge him. Not that I don’t think Damien couldn’t have won, but this was my challenge to make. The rules are simple; no changing forms during the challenge, no outside interference or help, and no mercy is given.

“Then let’s get this over with,” he says, flashing me a disgusting smile. “Your mates will have to remain back; I don’t trust them not to interfere.”

Unfortunately, I agreed with him. I didn’t want them trying to interfere and get themselves killed as that is the penalty for interfering with an Alpha Challenge.

“I need you both to step back” I said, without turning around to look at them. I could feel Damien and Aiden trying to break through to mind-link me, but I kept shutting them out.

Alpha Stephen pointed to Ian, whose back I was still sitting on, “Your mutt may stay”. The Beta is always allowed to be near and witness the challenge to ensure a fair fight.

Ian lowers himself down, letting me off his back. Alpha Stephens, now noticing my short statue, laughs even harder once I am standing on my own two feet.

“Gorgeous,” he says as he walks closer to me, “it will be such a shame to kill you, but then after I’m done maybe I’ll let some of my men take you before you grow cold.”

This caused Ian to lunge and snap at him, growling, warning him off.

“Get back mutt.” He says casually, not even fazed by Ian. “I Alpha Stephen Blackwell of the Black Water pack hereby accept your challenge.” He looks towards the army waiting behind him and I’m assuming calls forth his Beta.