Best Friends Mate

Chapter 19

Ryans POV

I was in the field again, the field with long blades of amber grass. The wind blew them and they danced like waves in the ocean.

"Ryan "

I knew that voice. I turn and there she is. The moon goddess. Another dream.

I walked towards her but she stopped me. It was like a force field in front of me. I tried to step forward again but couldn't.

"What now? What riddle do you have for me this time?" Clearly I was annoyed.

She looked sad. "Ryan, you must take your place as Alpha of the silvermoon pack. You cannot run from your destiny"

This is what she had to tell me? Release me from this dream and let me go back to sleep.

"and Kiara must accept hers. She must bring forth the heir"

Whoa whoa whoa. hold up. what is this talk about an heir. The goddess smiled knowing she got my attention but it quickly returned to sadness.

"what is to happen between Kiara and I" I asked?

she turned her head looking at the sky in the opposite direction. she looked back at me and her eyes looked like golden fire.

"You and Kiara have a very special connection and purpose and for the sake of the packs, you must protect eachother. Michael is coming Ryan. I'll see you again soon when the time is right"

She began to disappear like an apparition.

"wait. is she my mate? and what about Michael and the hunters?!"

I hear her softly say "not yet" then she finally disappears. If I hear "not yet" one more time...

What is that awful ringing?!

I wake up, my eyes jolting open. My phone was ringing. Its 3 in the f*****g morning. I looked and it was Craig. He had called Dustin when we were at Garrisons. He had been following the hunters. I opened the call because I knew it was important.

"hey man just a sec" I whispered and slipped out of bed attempting not to wake the beautiful blonde beside me id just confessed my love to. I silently slipped outside onto Kiara’s porch.

"whats going on?" I asked

"oh you know, just laying here atop mt lemon with a group of hunters sighted in. This cold ridge is rather comfy" I hear him say with sarcasm on the other line.

Sighted in. That meant Craig brought out Ronda. Ronda the name he gave his model 110 sniper rifle 338 Lapua. I gave him so much hell for that stupid name. He was doing what a former sniper does, well part of it, the first half. He was watching the group of hunters and their camp.

"hey, its better than Iraq right?" I said

"yeah, f**k that place " he laughed.

"so how many?" I asked

"Six I overheard a werewolf s**t bag having a little chit chat with our hunter friends here "Theyre recruiting and faster than what was originally expected but good news is, most hunters dont want to help werewolves at all, even if it means getting to kill more than theyre helping "

Craig informed me.

His time as recon marine served him well. He is a fantastic tracker and an even better shot.

"humans are stupid dude" then I caught what I said and quickly corrected myself

"no offense"

I heard Craig laugh on the other end.

"None taken"

I filled him in on the recent developments. The Redwoods and Silvermoon were pretty much ready to go and my father along with Alpha Ethan were talking to a couple others. I asked him about when he'd be showing up and if he'd seen Michael, his father.

He was silent for a moment. He hated his father. I would too if mine murdered my mother and then tried to kill me too.

"No recent developments on Michael. I suspect hes having his beta and gammas do his work for him and hes staying well hidden. He's hiding behind the hunters, using them as an element of surprise. Luckily for us they dont know our scouts have been watching.

As for when Ill be there.. when is Dustins baby reveal thing?"

"not this weekend but next" I informed him.

"im going to track and gather as much info as I can before heading that way but ill be there"

"be careful brother and keep me updated" I said.

"always beside you" he said and hung up the phone.

Never above you. Never below you. Always beside you. Marine special forces motto.

I walked back inside to see Kiara was walking out of the bathroom. She didnt look good.

"are you ok?" I asked.

"yeah im good. I think I just need to eat something. I felt you get up from bed but when I went to check on you I felt nauseous. Im good now"

I wrapped her in my arms. I should have known she would wake up. We're trained to sleep light, listen close and be aware of anyones presence around us.

"lets go back to bed" and I picked her up bridal style. When I laid her down I staired at her for a moment, just taking her all in.

"what?" she asked.

"you know.. I was just thinking.. I kind of miss the bottle cap glasses, messy tangled hair and clothes that were too big on you. Maybe you should adopt that look again." I teased her and a playful laugh escaped my mouth. I hadnt laughed like that in a while. She punched me, laughing and said "yeah, screw you"

I just wrapped my arms around her again and drifted off to sleep. No dreams this time.

Kiara’s POV

It felt good sleeping in. After Ryan got up to go to training I kissed him good bye and went back to sleep. Sleeping in for me was 0800. I made my way to my Keurig and found a note from Ryan

"Have a good day beautiful. Be careful and Ill see you later. Love Ryan" it read. I just smiled reading it as I grabbed a coffee k cup. I made my way to the packhouse to grab breakfast managing to avoid any unwanted interactions.

I walked for hours when I came across a valley full of wildflowers. Hues of purple, orange, and yellow covered the floor and in a distance I heard the laughter of a child. I peered in the direction to see the faint sparkles of a lake. It was Luna Ana and her son Joshua! By the looks of it, the Luna was picking wildflowers while Joshua practiced hitting a tree with a stick. He was a cute kid with his mothers hair but fathers eyes. I made my way through the field of flowers to say hello.

"Hi Kiara" Luna Ana gave a high wave.

Joshua continued hitting the tree, making swift sweeps alternating sides. He had a very serious look on his five year old face and couldn't be bothered.

"what are you doing all the way out here". Ana asked me not looking up from her basket of flowers.

"I was just exploring the territory..." I was silent for a moment. "Its beautiful out here. What lake is that?"

"Its Shasta lake. Great swimming and fishing. This is my favorite place to go on such warm sunny days like this" She smiled

"I can see why." and I walked towards her leaning down to pick flowers myself. This is something my mother and I would have done when I was a kid. I had a handful of wild roses and daisys in my hand when Ana yelled for Joshua.

"Hey Joshy.. its getting warm. Lets take a dip" but Joshua either couldn't hear her or was choosing to ignore his mom.

"ill go get him" I volunteered. I walked towards the tree and leaned down to watch him, observing his technique.

"hey buddy, change your grip a little bit and twist your hips. Put your whole bodys power behind it."

"like this?" he said jabbing and swinging his little homemade staff.

"yeah good job" I high fived him. "now come on, your mom is calling ya" then I watched him run towards his mom. We swam in the water for what seemed like an hour. Joshua and I were splashing eachother when I heard twigs snapping. I held up my hand to Joshuas mouth as he had been giggling. I looked over to the Luna as she had heard it too.

I put my finger to my mouth and swam over to her. I looked around us, eyeing in on the banks of the lake and the heavy woods behind them. Thats when I heard it again. To my right I caught the flash of black and brown fur and Luna Ana saw it too. As if she knew what I was thinking we swam in the opposite direction landing on the bank to our west.

Ana sniffed the air.

"theyre not ours and they're not regular wolves"

We began to slowly climb the bank making our way to the woods when we heard a growl. Two wolves stood staring at us maybe 30 feet away. I grabbed Joshuas hand.

"hey buddy, see that tree just right there" and I nodded to a pine about ten feet away to his left.

"yeah?" he said clearly scared.

"I want you to run as fast as you can and climb it when I say go. Do not come down until me or your mom get you". I looked up at Ana who nodded.

We both kept our eyes on the two wolves who had their claws dug into the Earth. I looked at her and said.

"mind link Alpha Ethan. Ill get the one on the right "

She just smirked. "but I wanted that one" and as she barely got her last syllable out they charged at us. I watched Luna Ana shift into this beautiful black,grey and silver wolf. She was truly majestic and though she may have seemed meek and mild, she reeked of significant Luna strength.

We charged at them, Ana and the black wolf directly impacting and standing on their hind legs. I see her land a blow to the black wolfs face leaving a cut across his face, pouring out blood. Before I made contact with the brown wolf I jumped, flipping in the air and grabbing the wolf by the neck mid air. I held it in an over the shoulder choke hold until it finally passed out then snapped its neck.

"It" was a she wolf and she seemed not much older than me. I turned to look and Ana and the black wolf were rolling on the ground. This one was bigger and from what I could tell by how he was fighting, he was experienced.

I had to get to my bag I thought. I always packed silver knives. I had learned to throw them over the years taking lessons from a human, a navy seal who like many others came to Washington for SERE training. I had wrapped the handles in thin string so that I could hold them without injury.

I ran towards the bank where I had originally dropped my bag before our swim. Reaching in carefully I pulled out 3 knives, still in their leather holsters. Running back I keep my eyes set on Luna Ana and this rogue wolf or whatever he was. There was blood everywhere and I couldn't see who it belonged too. Appearing by the Lunas side, I tackled the bigger wolf as he stood on his hind legs ready swipe his powerful claws at her. Grabbing him I yelled "get Josh and run!"

Josh could ride on her back and get back home faster with her than me. On the ground he flips me over him and I land on my knee with one foot behind me gripping into the sand so as to prevent me from sliding any further.

Surprisingly enough, the wolf didnt look back to finish me. He had his eyes set on the Luna and the young future alpha. Its as if he knew and they were intentionally his target. I ran after him as he chased after Ana and Josh. We had reached the woods when I could hear Alpha Ethan, his beta, Dustin and Ryan. This wolf was weaving in between the trees making it difficult for me to get a clear shot. What I did see was that he was catching up to Ana and Josh. Finally, the boys come into view but theyre still too far, this rogue was too close. I pulled out my knife, anticipating his next turn and checking the wind speed and direction, I aimed for the back of his neck and threw it but it hit his shoulder.

He faltered and slowed but kept going. This gave me time to grab my second. With more accuracy, I threw my second silver throwing knife where it found its home in the neck of the wolf. He dropped instantly. I ran towards the wolf but the boys had beat me there. Luna was comforting a visibly shaken Joshua.

The guys looked down at the body and then looked at me. Dustin comes running towards me, sweeping me in his arms followed by Ryan. Over Ryans shoulder I see Alpha Ethan pick up the wolf by his right arm.

"is he still alive?" I asked.

The Alpha stared at me but finally looked down back at the rogue.

"yes he is, he's very gravely injured though. We'll be taking him back for questioning ". I watched him leave the body and walk to his mate and son, kissing them both on the forehead.

I walked up to the wolfs body and see a marking on his left ear, like he had been branded. It was a circle with an X in the middle and two smaller triangles on each side but pointing in opposite directions.

I looked at Dustin and Ryan who were also staring with a grave look on their faces.

"what are you not telling me?" I asked.

Dustin and Ryan looked between one another and finally Dustin spoke.

"its a symbol of death. Its Michael Emersons pack symbol"

Michael. He had sent two wolves to attack the alpha and luna of redwood. He was so close. I couldn't help but wonder if my pack was safe.

"Come on, lets get him back" ordered Alpha Ethan then he turned to me saying

"thank you Kiara" before returning to Ana and Josh. Ana turned over her shoulder and smiled at me. "Hey Kiara,can you teach me that knife thing?" and laughed as she hugged her mate and son harder. Dustin, Ryan and the beta were picking up the wolf when Dustin looked at me with a raised eye brow and teasing voice.

"uh yeah, you and I are gonna have a talk sis"

Ryan turned around and mouthed "I love you". I mouthed it back and followed the boys home.