ALPHA LUNA ROMANNIE BLACKMORE

Chapter Six - Caught

{{Johnathan - Flashback continued}}

        I decided to stay home and spend time with mom when my father decided to leave again. He was not happy. He didʻnt like my momʻs peaceful nature, making me soft.

        He was gone for about 4 months and things were pretty peaceful. Kryss had her pup and she and Allen were finally getting their life together. I no longer felt any animosity against them and we continued to be friends. I guess this is exactly what my father was afraid of. Heʻd never let this happen under his watch.

        I decided to take Lennox for a run because he was aching to stretch his muscles.

                “Hey Johnathan, you know, I could just kick your ass for not going with your father. I miss the

                game of the hunt”

                “Yeah, I know and thatʻs why I havenʻt brought you out, cause I didnʻt wanna have to listen to

                your mouth running. I already had to listen to you in my head. Not shut your mouth and run

                before I shift and we head back to the pack house.”

                Lennox is scowling “F***ing ass!”

                “What did you say?”

                “I didnʻt say anything, a**hole”

        We are running and feeling great and come upon an area known for foraging. Women usually come here to Bluemanʻs bush for berries and herbs. I hear someone talking and slowly make my way to the densely overgrown area. I can pick up her scent of warm milk tea and honey. Lennox is on high alert.

                “She smells wonderful!! Do you think she could be our mate? Do you think the Goddess had

                finally found favor in us?”

                “Shut up jacka**, sheʻs gonna hear you!!”

                “You shut up! Why are we sneaking around, why not just go in and introduce ourselves?”

                “Weʻre gonna have to shift, she might be afraid of you.”

                “Sheʻs a wolf, how would she be afraid of me? Iʻm a nice guy. Everyone likes me.”

                “Yeah, whatever, keep lying to yourself. If sheʻs in human form, then we should be too.”

                “Ok, whatever.”

        I shift back and put on my shorts that I brought with me. I walk through the brush making enough noise so as not to startle her. I see her duck in the tall needle and thread grass trying to hide from me.

                “You donʻt need to hide. I already know youʻre here. I wonʻt hurt you.”

                She stands and her eyes show fear that I have never seen before. Almost as if she was seeing

                a ghost. Her eyes told me she was in a fight or flight mode. She was alone. I guess talking to

                herself.

                “Donʻt worry, I wonʻt hurt you, I promise. Iʻve never seen you around here before and just

                wanted to say hello. My name is Johnathan. Do you have a name?”

                “Grace”

                “What a beautiful name to go with your beautiful scent.”

                “Thank you, I need to leave now. My mate will not take lightly my talking to another wolf.”

                My heart sank and so did Lennoxʻ. “I apologize, I didnʻt see your mark. I didnʻt mean to impose.

                Iʻll let you go.”

                “Thank you” 

        And with that, she turned away and took 2 steps and was gone. In a blink of an eye, she just

vanished. I stood there mouth on the ground. There was no way in hell. It's almost like she was

a witch. But that couldnʻt be right. She said she was mated. I just shook my head, thinking I was

just imagining things. I shift back so Lennox can get us home. 

                “Well, that was f***ing weird.” Lennox says

                “Right? Like what the hell just happened?”

                “I dunno but itʻs not normal. Maybe just leave it as is. But then again, wasnʻt she beautiful!”

                “Yes, she definitely was!”

        We reach the pack house and I shift back. I head to speak to my mother who is talking to James. I love my brother dearly. Being that heʻs been home with mom all this time, he really does have her demeanor. He will make a great pack leader one day. I am the future Alpha for our pack but my plan when I take over, is to offer up another territory for James and his future mate. Heʻll be a great Alpha to his pack.

                “Hey there!”

                “Hi hunny, where did you go?”

                “Took Lennox out for a run. Heʻs been cooped up and grumbling.”

                “Thats nice son.”

                “What are you guys doing?”

                “Mom, is having the birds and the bees talk with me, tell her it's embarrassing please! Iʻll know

                what to do when the time comes mom! That pleading look on Jamesʻ face has me rolling.

                “See, you should have lost your virginity before the talk. Mom would have smelled you were

                different and left ʻthe talkʻ alone.”

                “Oh now you tell me!”

                “Hahahaha! Sorry!”

                “Mom, let's change the subject for now please.”

                “Alright James, but weʻre not done.” James is scowling while Iʻm still laughing.

                “Hey mom, do you know a girl by the name of Grace? Maybe from our pack?”

                “Grace, hmmm. Doesnʻt sound familiar. Did she say she was from our pack?”

                “Well I didnʻt get to speak to her for too long. She looked like a deer caught in the light.

                Completely shaken when she saw me.”

                “Hmm, thatʻs weird. What does she look like son?”

                “Beautiful! About 5ʻ5”, jet black hair and piercing gray eyes. Her hair must be long because it

                was tied up in a messy bun. Curvy but not heavy. Not white but more honey toned. She was

                foraging in Bluemanʻs bush.”

                “Well maybe thatʻs why she has some color to her skin tone.”

                “Mom, she was beautiful!”

                “Did you and Lennox feel a mate pull?”

                “We felt something, but it wasnʻt like the pull I felt with Lauren.” My eyes filled with sorrow.

                “What the matter son, why so sad?”

                “She is already mated and the reason she said she had to go. Her mate may not want her

                speaking to another wolf.”

                “Well we know thatʻs understandable. And if she is already mated son, she is already taken.”

                “Yeah I know mom.” I walk out of the room and James is pleading with me to stay. I just smile.

            I canʻt get my mind off of Grace. I go back to Bluemanʻs bush the nest day to see if I can spot her again but she doesnʻt come. I vow to find out who she is. Even if I canʻt have her, I need to know who she is and where she comes from.

                “You can have her, you know.” says Lennox

                “What? How, she already has a mate”

                “Well if she didnʻt have a mate, sheʻd be available to you.”

                “What are you saying, kill her mate?”

                “Hey, if you want her bad enough then yes! You just need to make sure youʻre there for her

                when she is mourning and pray she never finds out he died at your hands or youʻd lose her

                forever.”

            For once the wolf has a good idea. But that is going against everything Iʻm trying not to be. Iʻm not trying to be like my father, but oh my Goddess, I want her so badly.

{{Grace}}

            Oh my Goddess, what have I done! I shouldnʻt have been out yesterday without my shield. I may have put my family in grave danger. I need to tell mother! She will not be happy. What have I done! What will happen to my daughters? Ariess was just 4 years old and the twins just turned 10. Goddess please protect us.

                “Mother?!”

                “Yes darling.”

                “Iʻm afraid Iʻve done something terribly wrong and may have put our family at risk.!”

                Mother whips her head up to look at me seeing my face flushed from all itʻs color.

                “What have you done Grace? Oh gosh Grace, please donʻt tell me someone saw you?!”

                “Yes mother. I went out foraging without my shield and was spotted by another wolf.”

                “Oh Grace. When? Please tell me it was just a few minutes ago”

                “No mother, yesterday. Iʻm sorry mother, I thought my shield was up, until he called out to me.”

                “You spoke to him!! Grace! What were you thinking?!!”

                “Iʻm sorry, I was caught off guard and got scared.”

                “What did you tell him?”

                “Just my name and that I had a mate that would not be happy that I was talking to another wolf                     and he let me go.”

                “You told him your name?!!” Mothers eyes glazed over and I knew she was linking someone.

                “Pack your things, we need to leave. Make sure you take everything you need, we canʻt leave                 anything that has our scent on it.” I was in shock. “NOW!!!”

                startled at my mothers growl, I linked my mate Maddox…

                “Maddox, where are you?”

                “Checking the fish traps, why?”

                “We may be in jeopardy, mother says we need to leave NOW!”

                “Ok, sweetie, Iʻm on my way. Get everything packed, Iʻll be there in a few minutes.”

        I started packing what I could for my family while the girls played in their room. Mother and Father were also packing. I felt so stupid for letting things slip up. I knew King Jaxx was looking for us.

Queen Herrod, motherʻs best friend and queen of the sorcerers appeared to help us get ready for the move. She started her incantation to remove any and all remnants of us. But it would take time. Time that we didnʻt have. She worked feverishly to keep us safe.

                “Queen Merrie, I will need to bring the shield down in order to place it at the new location.”

                “How long in between the time the shield comes down and up at the new location? And how

                  long before we can be teleported?”

                “1½ to 2 hours at the most. My guards are on the way to help guard while I make the transition.

                 Once I remove the shield here which will take the first ½ hour,, Iʻll need to leave to get it set up.”

                “Yes! Go, go, go! We donʻt have time. Weʻll keep packing. Iʻll put a temporary shield up for now!”

        As we frantically pack, father releases the animals from the barn. Cattle, goat and sows used for meat

are also released. We raised them so we didnʻt need to hunt outside of our shield. The shield has protected us for 150 years, right under the nose of King Jaxx. He would have never thought to look in the neighboring territory, his territory. We were well protected. Until now.

                “Queen Merrie, the shield will be down in 5 minutes but my guards will be here in 15 minutes. I

                  will stay till they come before leaving.”

                “No, Queen Herrod, you need to get the new place ready for us. You remember where we decided                    on right?”

                “Yes, Queen, 2 days travel from Black Lake.”

                “Yes, now hurry and get things set up. Weʻll be there as soon as your guards get here. Weʻre                            almost done packing.”

        We hurried packing and Maddox heads inside after helping father with the animals. I tell him to get the girls ready so we can teleport as soon as the guards get here. We have all of our belongings in a pile in the middle of the living area.

                “Grace!!!??? Where are the twins?! They arenʻt in the room!!”

                “Oh Goddess no!”

{{King Jaxx}}

        Gotcha, you little weasels. You thought you could hide from me. 150 years to find and finally. What! Theyʻve been hiding near my home territory! Right under my nose! Someoneʻs head will roll for this! I shouldnʻt have killed that damned sorcerer Sabien! But he held back important information from me. I almost died looking for that damn Cave of Souls and the prophecy. Sabien said the white witch Herrod was helping to keep the Queen and others that escaped hidden under a shield incantation. So he put a spell on me that would let my wolf know where Queen Merrie or any of her descendentʻs were should that shield ever be broken or compromised. I guess someone f***ed up. Now to head to my pack to gather more men and weapons. We are gonna finish what we started.

                “Johnathan and James! Be on the ready. Gather up what warriors you can. We are headed out

                  on a hunt.”

                “Father! I am not in the mood to accompany you on any more of your forays!”

                “I am not asking you boy! I am f***ing telling you!” my father growled through his mind link.

                Something has gotten under my fathers skin and he is out for blood.

                “Yes father” both James and I reply.

        Getting ready for battle I can see that James is not comfortable. He has no war experience except for the training heʻs had at the pack house. He is in for a big surprise. Especially when he seeʻs how barbaric our father can be.

                “James are you okay?”

                “I guess Iʻm ready as Iʻm ever gonna be.”

                “Youʻll be fine, just stick with me. Follow my lead and stay behind. Donʻt try to be a hero. We

                  donʻt know what kind of enemy we are up against.”

                “Jonathan, thank you for being such a great brother. I know I donʻt tell you enough but you are.”

                “Stop talking like that, it's bad luck! Youʻre already talking like youʻre dead! Stop being a

                  d**khead. This is neither the time or place. Got it?!”

                “Sorry! Whatʻs up your ass?!”

                “Father, that's who! Him and his malevolent, vindictive cutthroat ways, I hate it! Always killing.

                 For what? We already conquered so much and still his lust for power blinds him to what should

                 be important and right in front of him. He is such an a**hole!”

                “Iʻll never want to rule like him, Johnathan.”

                “I know James. That why Iʻm promising you today, that when I am finally Alpha of this pack, Iʻll

                 be gifting you your own piece of territory to rule as Alpha as you see fit. And Iʻll always have

                 your back if you ever need me.”

                “Thank you brother, that means a lot. Iʻll make you proud!”

                “You already do James, you already do.”

        As we head out, father says half the army will be shifting and the other half will be going in human form. We will be surrounding the neighboring territory and heading toward the center. This is the territory where Blueman bush is located.