Renegade luna

scouts

NOVA POV.

Arlo changed into his wolf form seconds after telling me who had attacked some pack members. I watched him and I didn't freak out. I followed, falling onto my russet paws, with less thought than the last time and only a minor twinge. I could hear Arlo in my mind, barking orders at various pack members.

I had to work hard to keep up with him.

As we approached where we had left our clothes, he changed back to his human form in one smooth motion, it stopped me in my tracks. The ease of transition, the flow between forms natural. I had never thought of the fact the wolf is truly a part of you. Perhaps because I spent my life resisting it, shunning it, denying it, hiding it. I had never truly considered embracing it.

He didn't wait for me, he kept moving, running back to the pack house.

Less gracefully, I changed back to my human self. I slipped my dress back on and made my way back to the pack house.

As I approached the fear, the panic rushed through me. I stumbled back, shaking my head, trying to clear it. Around me, wolves and humans were rushing about, blood stained the front steps. I stood frozen, unsure of where to go and what to do, and paralyzed by fear.

My breath came in thick sobs. Tears were streaming down my face.

A nimble brown wolf approached me, fast at first, but suddenly slowed as I stepped backward away from it. The wolf transitioned and Holly approached me, hands held up in surrender.

"Nova, it's me. Its Holly." She stopped just in front of me.

"Deep breath in, slow it out." she cooed, demonstrating, trying to get me to follow. But my eyes were stuck on the chaos behind her. "Don't look at that, don't feel into that, I know you can sense it through Arlo. Just look at me okay?" she cupped my face, locking eyes with me, instructing me to breathe in and out. I followed and slowly my hyperventilating settled.

"Help me, Holly, please" I begged her.

"Anything." she nodded.

ARLO POV

The pack house was frantic when I returned.

Bloodstained our front steps and halls. Dr Fell was treating the casualties in the foyer. Lucas explained. A group of young wolves had been enjoying a night out in the city when the scouts from the illuminated found them and hassled them. It escalated quickly and they didn't stand a chance.

Lucas was already assembling our best defenses to man the boundaries. We couldn't underestimate the illuminated. Yet, something didn't sit right. We were far from their territory and any of their alliances. Why were they in mountain ridge?

"ALPHA!" Holly's voice screamed in my mind.

"WHAT HOLLY!"

"DID YOU FORGET SOMETHING?!" she snapped.

I looked around in a panic. Nova wasn't behind me or with me.

"FIND HER HOLLY!"

"I have! She's having a full-on panic attack at the sight of the front entrance."

I looked around me, people calling my name, young wolves lying on the floor, families panicking, but out there Nova needed me.

"Alpha, we've lost another." Dr fell said Solomly as a young girl wailed and grabbed the lifeless body.

"Holly, Help her, I can't."

I looked at the remaining survivors. One I recognized, Nick, was sitting to the side, bruised and swollen, watching the frey. I approached him and knelt in front of him. He looked up at me, glassy-eyed.

"Nick, tell me everything."

"They came onto us, harassing us." he swallowed then continued. "They said they were looking for someone on behalf of the high Alpha."

I didn't want to delve into that business, but I couldn't be sure they wouldn't pay us a visit.

"Did they say anything else?"

"They insulted you, said you were a weak Alpha, without a Luna." My eyes widened in rage but then panic.

"You didn't tell them about Nova, did you?"

"I didn't, but Aiden did." he gestured to one of the now-deceased wolves lying in the foyer. "They said they might come and see for themselves", Nicks' voice trembled.

I left Nick and raced out front to find Lucas. We were not prepared for this. I only hoped Holly had Nova safe.

NOVA POV.

Holly's eyes were honest. She would help me. I had avoided those scouts for months, always hot on my trail. The last time I had seen them, it was a narrow escape, managed only by the fact I had a full stock of Elixir, and some other wolves had been around and thought I was merely a human in trouble. If they saw me now though, they would know.

"I cannot tell you why, just trust me, if those scouts are coming here, they cannot see me." she tilted her head.

"Arlo and the pack will protect you, Nova... I mean you're only a new wolf. We don't expect you to fight."

I shook my head. She didn't get it.

"I cannot look how I am." realization dawned on her and she nodded. Grabbing my hand.

"Come with me. I'll take you through the back so you don't..." she didn't need to finish. I understood. We ran, hand in hand, around the back of the pack house to the service door to the kitchen. Inside was empty. We slipped in and Holly locked the door behind us, cursing under her breath at the cook's stupidity.

We made it back into the foyer, just in time to see Arlo race out the front door. My eyes strayed to the sheets on the floor. Holly pulled me away towards the stairs.

"are they..."

she nodded.

"It's a harsh reality in this world, Nova. As peaceful as we are... other packs aren't the same and I know you know that." it was the first time I had heard Holly sound vicious, not her cheery, go-with-the-flow attitude. I gave her hand a squeeze, she squeezed it back and continued dragging me up the stairs towards her suite.

She flung open the door, pushed me inside, and set to work. She locked the door, bolted it, then pushed the dining table up across the door. Then she shut all the curtains, checking that all the windows were locked, before shoving me through to her bathroom.

Inside the bathroom, she locked the door, then relaxed somewhat.

"You've done this before." I locked eyes with her.

"My old pack was not like this one." She opened a cupboard under the vanity and started pulling out hair dyes, tossing me up a deep chocolate brown.

"its a start" I mused.

"It's better than nothing, now sit." she snapped, and I sat on the side of the tub whilst she got to work on my hair.

She worked in silence, then sat down on the floor with her back to the door, whilst we waited for it to process.

"I know you know." her voice was soft, weary. She was staring at the ceiling.

"know what?"

"We were coming back from meeting Alpha Alaric over in the western ranges. It's our furthest ally. It was a big deal. We had stopped at a truck stop, when we came across some scouts, harassing a human."

I exhaled.

"When did you realise?"

"After you punched Candice. It clicked, then she smirked.

I smirked back. Thinking back to the night Holly remembered me from. I had stopped at the truck stop, to refuel and grab some snacks, I was in the middle of a full night drive to cruise on through contested territory, when a couple of guys at the tavern started coming onto me. They did not hide their wolfiness. I knew instantly. I shrugged them off and played it cool whilst internally panicking. But, one of them followed me back to the van, not taking no for an answer, so I punched him. It made things worse, but thankfully, a welcome stranger came to my rescue, jumping on him. I had gotten into my van and raced off without ever saying thank you.

"That was my brother that helped you. Arlo and Lucas were inside and just a couple of moments too slow."

"Arlo was there?" I didn't remember him being there.

"Yes, I would say you would have been in the same room and not even known each other existed because of that little potion you had."

Arlo had told me it was fate, that he and I would be together. I thought it was just a matter of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

"Holly, why was he in mountain ridge the night he found me?"

"That's the thing... That night, out of the blue, he decided to go out. party, pick up, you know, distress. He was really... frustrated. So the guys thought, why not? He never relaxes or has fun. Then he came home with him."

My heart fluttered and then sank. He had told me the truth from the get-go. Yet I hadn't, and I was going to be the death of him and this whole pack, who only meant me no harm. Holly didn't pry, but I know she saw the tear slip.

"Pack. Prepare yourselves. Scouts from the illuminated pack will be here immediately."

Arlo's voice broke the silence in our minds. Holly cleared her throat.

"We had best get this washed off then," she said, turning the tap with trembling fingers.