Luna Catalina (ENG)

Chapter 18

-“What do you mean, someone has taken Lily?" I exclaimed, "When? Who?"

-“We don't know anything," Ian replied. “There was a warning this morning that rogues were attacking the eastern border of the territory. Kayden and I went there. There were only two rogues, so the problem was quickly resolved. When we returned, the house was full of scents of werewolves that did not belong to our pack. We followed the scent and it led us to Lily's room. Everything was broken and jumbled, as if there had been a fight, and Lily was gone. Since we found out she wasn't there, we've been getting constant rogue attacks on the borders, which we're trying to contain."

Instantly, my head began to work a mile a minute, trying to figure out what had happened and what our next steps should be to find Lily.

-“Where's Kayden?" I asked. 

I wanted to go talk to him. I was upset that he hadn't told me about the rogue attack or Lily's disappearance. But I didn't just want to throw that in his face, I wanted to actively participate in Lily’s search. I looked at Ian and realized that he seemed overwhelmed by the situation. 

-“Kayden's out of his mind," -he replied, visibly annoyed. –“I've taken charge of the situation.”

-"Good. I'd like to help you." I said. 

-“Catalina... I know you and Kayden haven't talked about it yet, but he's recognized you as Luna from his pack. That makes you the person in charge when Kayden's not around..." Ian said. He was clearly uncomfortable with having to ask me to take on the role of Luna when Kayden and I hadn't even discussed it. “Obviously if you don't feel ready, I can be the one to take the responsibility and lead...".

-“I'll take over Ian, don't worry," I cut him off. There was no time to waste, and I was used to taking charge. –“I want you to assemble the best trackers and all the werewolves who, while not the best, are good at tracking in the dinning hall. I want the rest of the warriors on the border of the territory. I don't want a single inch of the territory unguarded. No one is allowed in or out until Lily is found. I want all the old men, children and women with no defense skills in the safe havens. Meet me in the dining hall in five minutes. Bring a map of the territory and another with all the abandoned houses and buildings where they may have hidden her."

Ian nodded and left. I sent my warriors to the border of the territory to reinforce the defenses, except for Miguel, Cas, Luis and my brothers, whom I summoned to the dining room. I ran down to my room. There, I put on my uniform, braided my hair into a braid, and grabbed my daggers and bow. I decided to go downstairs to see Kayden before going to the dinning hall to meet Ian. I opened the door to his office without bothering to knock. I was shocked at the destruction I found there. 

Kayden had literally destroyed his entire office. Not a single piece of furniture had survived. The wall was full of holes from the blows Kayden had put on it. In the midst of the destruction was Kayden. His eyes, as black as night, were immediately fixed on me. Normally, Kayden didn't scare me, as he did on most werewolves. However, in that instant, I felt real terror. Mainly because I knew that in that moment, Kayden was not in control of himself or his actions. I didn't let the fear I felt transcend, and I kept my cool. Deep down I knew Kayden would never hurt me.

-“I'm going to start a search party for Lily. Are you coming?" I asked, trying not to let him know I was intimidated by him. 

-“Are you aware that she's been taken from the next room to where you were?" he asked, his tone so calm it made my hair stand on end. The calm before the storm. 

-“Right now, I'm not going to stop to analyze how she was taken or whether it's my fault. The only important thing now is to find her before it's too late," I replied. 

Kayden didn't say anything. He just continued to stare at me with his pitch-black eyes. He looked like he was ready to kill at any move. My heart was pounding at the thought.

-“Well, if you change your mind, look us up.” -I merely replied.

I left the office and went upstairs to the dining room. I couldn't wait around for Kayden to regain control. When an Alpha loses control, it was very difficult to regain it. Kayden wasn't capable of making sensible decisions at the moment and we had to find Lily as soon as possible, so I couldn't waste time waiting for him. Waiting for me in the dining room were Ian, Mark, Kate, Bela and the Blood Moon warriors, as well as Nico, Juan, Miguel, Casandra and Luis. The latter, like me, equipped with their silver daggers and bows, ready for war. 

We studied the map of the territory and began to form different groups. In all these groups, there had to be an expert tracker. We managed to form a total of 20 groups, to which I assigned different tracking areas. As Bela and Kate had no training beyond what they had received in the previous two weeks, I left them in charge of the elders, children and women. When all the groups, except Ian's and mine, were crushed, I checked the map to see which areas we were each in charge of. 

Just as we were about to leave, Maximo, one of Kayden's two warrior chiefs, appeared, accompanied by Amanda. Seeing them together made me realize something I hadn't noticed before. There was no doubt that Maximo was Amanda's father. 

-“Beta Ian," Maximo said, turning to Ian and ignoring me completely. –“We came as soon as we heard about it. Amanda and I would like to help in the search for Lily.”

-“Maximo." I interjected. I was in charge of the pack at the moment, and I intended to make that clear. I wasn't going to stand for disrespect. "Your help will be most welcome on the northern border, where rogue attacks are being suffered. However..." I said, turning to look at Amanda, "Amanda has no training in fighting, so she will have to go to the shelters with the rest of the women.”

-“I'm sorry, but I don't think you know who you're giving orders to," Maximo said, looking at me with superiority. Amanda smiled in delight at her father's intervention and looked at me mockingly. –“My daughter is the future moon of this pack. Therefore, you have absolutely no right to give her orders. She will intervene in the search for her mate's sister if she so wishes."

Ian's face transformed into a mask of anger. Before Ian could speak, however, I waved my hand at him, forcing him to shut up. I fight my own battles. 

-“The situation is simple," I said, putting on a cold tone and approaching Maximo. –“Right now, your Alpha is not available to take charge of the situation. Therefore, the person in charge of the operation to find Lily and protect the pack is me. I know perfectly well that you know why the person in charge is me, as I have been notified that Alpha Kayden has informed you. Therefore, I am not going to waste time discussing that right now. I have not been informed that Amanda is or will be taking Luna's position. Therefore, she is just another civilian, so she will go to the shelters with the rest of the civilians."

"You, on the other hand, will go to the northern border. That's an order. That said, you can obviously choose to disobey my orders. Though I'm sure Alpha Kayden will not be pleased to hear that his army chief has disobeyed direct orders during the search for his sister. And may I remind you, Maximo, that disobeying a direct order from a superior is a crime punishable by execution."

Ian smiled at me with satisfaction. In contrast, Maximo was trembling with anger. He knew I was right and that he could not disobey my orders, especially since Kayden had recognized me as his mate. He nodded and started walking towards the door. Amanda, however, didn't seem so deterred by my words. In three large strides she stood in front of me, arms up in the air and glaring murderously at me. 

-“How dare you talk to us like that, you f*****g b***h," Amanda said, unable to control herself, "Kayden has recognized you as his mate, but he hasn't officially recognized you as his Luna. I'm his Luna! He chose me!" she shouted hysterically before lunging at me. 

I easily dodged her move, grabbed her and pushed her against a countertop, pinning her arms behind her body, pinning her down. 

-“Jacob," I called to one of the warriors in my group. –“Accompany Amanda to the dungeons, so she can think about her attitude. Catch up with us as soon as you're done.”

With a gesture, I ordered the rest of my group to follow us. Ian and his group also left. It had fallen to us to survey an area of the forest, close to a river. Our group was led by Thomas, one of Blood Moon's best trackers. Soon after we began our search, Jacob joined us, confirming to me that Amanda had been held in one of the cells. 

After more than an hour of searching, the warriors began to lose heart. I contacted all the other groups, but none had any news. A while later, Ian contacted me to let me know that Kayden had joined his group. On the one hand, I was happy, because I knew he would have regretted not looking for his sister. On the other hand, I felt a twinge of disappointment that Kayden hadn't decided to join my group. 

-“Luna Catalina," Thomas said, interrupting my thoughts. –“I've picked up a scent.”

We all followed him to the river, where the trail was lost.  

-“The trail is lost here. They've probably crossed the river. What do you want us to do, Luna?" Thomas asked me. 

I studied the river. It was quite wide, and the current was flowing strongly. Also, on the other side, there was a large area of mud before we could set foot on dry land. 

-“We'll transform in our wolfs and cross. Try to jump as far as possible.” I indicated. 

I undressed behind a tree. I tied my clothes to my bow and dates and transformed, letting Electra take control. We grabbed the clothes and the bow with our fangs, and ran swiftly to the river's edge, jumping hard. I noticed out of the corner of my eye how the rest followed me. We landed almost on the other side, so we only had to swim a short distance. However, that was the easy part. The mud was deeper than it looked, making it very difficult to move forward. When we finally made it to solid ground, we were all tired and muddy.

Thomas sniffed the ground and started to move forward. We all followed him. We ran for a couple of miles, until we came to a huge clearing. In the middle of the clearing, there was a gigantic man. He was bald, very burly, wearing no shirt, revealing his muscular, tattooed chest. To his right, Lily was standing. She was perfectly fine, though she was sobbing in fright. The man smiled broadly as soon as he saw us.

-“Finally, Catalina," he said, in a deep voice. –“I thought you'd never get here.”

I looked at him carefully, studying him. That man knew me and had been waiting for me. He hadn't hurt Lily, which made me think the poor girl had been nothing more than bait to lure me in. I quickly transformed into my human form behind a tree, putting my uniform back on and drawing my bow, ready to strike. I was covered in mud, which made rubbing against my clothes uncomfortable, but I had no choice. 

-“Stay in your wolf form, stay alert and attentive to my instructions," I ordered my group. 

It was the first time I was going to face an enemy unaccompanied by Miguel, but it had been necessary to separate us in order to achieve a better level balance in the groups. I would have to make do with the five warriors I had. I moved forward slowly, my bow always ready to fire and surrounded by wolves. It was when we were only a few yards away that I noticed that his body scent was not that of a werewolf. The scent we had followed to find him was not his, it was a false scent. It couldn't be human, because he wouldn't have been able to evade our defenses. So, what was he?

-“Who are you?" I asked, putting his heart in my sights, in case I needed to shoot him. 

-“My name is Ozias," he answered, as he studied me. 

-“Let go of the girl Ozias, and you can come out alive," I said. 

Ozias began to laugh uproariously at my words, as if he had been told a hilarious joke. The wolves around me growled, furious, baring their fangs menacingly. Lily started screaming my name, frightened, begging for help. 

-“I don't think you're in a position to make demands," -Ozias said, smiling broadly. –“I'll make you a fair offer. The girl for you."

I shot my loaded arrow without a second's hesitation. However, the arrow did not hit Ozias, but crashed into an invisible sweep. I shot at least ten more arrows, with the same result. Ozias must be a wizard. Furious, I threw down my bow and arrows and walked closer to Ozias. The warriors followed close behind. I stopped where my dates had fallen. I reached out my hand and felt a faint current of electricity run through my body. 

-“I advise you not to try to pass, the current will electrocute you in a second," Ozias said, with a proud smile. 

I was frankly frustrated. How could I rescue Lily if I couldn't get close to her or manage to attack Ozias. 

-"Don't you find my offer more attractive now?”-Ozias said, looking first at Lily and then at me.

-“Very well, I accept the deal. You'll let my warriors take the girl and I'll go with you," I said. I didn't see any other way. I would see in the future how to escape from Ozias. That was a problem of the Catalina of the future. "How do I know you will keep your word?" I asked. 

-“We’ll make a blood oath.” he said, pulling a small dagger from his pocket. “I will promise to deliver the girl to your warriors, unharmed, and you in return will promise to come with me, without resistance, and that you will not try to escape," 

A blood oath was not a fool's oath. When two creatures took a blood oath, the price to pay for breaking it was one's life. But I saw no other option. 

-“Don't do it, Luna Catalina, please," said a voice behind me. Thomas had regained his human form and was looking at me with concern. 

-“We have no choice, Thomas," I said, resigned.

-“Alpha Kayden wouldn't approve this, Luna. He'll be furious when he finds out what you’ve done to save his sister." He said, worried. 

-“I know, Thomas. That is why I am ordering you to take Lily and do nothing to try and defend me. It is a direct order from your Luna, so, you cannot disobey it. That is what you will tell Kayden that happened." I said, glaring at him. 

-“Luna, I'm sorry, but I can't let anything happen to you. You’re our Luna, we must protect you with our lives." Thomas said agitatedly. The rest of the wolves howled in agreement with Thomas' words. 

-“I thank you very much, I really do. But as your Moon, I must be the one to make the hard decisions and not you. You will take Lily, and I will handle it. That's an order. There's nothing more to discuss."

I held out my hand to Ozias, who passed me the dagger. I made a shallow cut on my right palm and looked at Ozias. 

-“I promise that if you deliver Lily safely to my warriors, I will leave with you, without resistance and without trying to escape," I said, handing the dagger back to him. 

Ozias made a cut on his right hand as well. 

-“I promise that if you come with me, keeping your promise, I will hand Lily over to your warriors, and they can all leave unharmed," Ozias said, holding out his hand to me. 

Satisfied with his promise, I held out my hand, shaking Ozias'. A current of magic coursed through my body. The pact was sealed. I squatted down and held out my arms to Lily. The little girl ran to me, and we melted into a tight embrace. It was a huge relief to know that she was and would be okay. Lily was crying and I comforted her, drawing small circles with my palms on her back. 

-Enough," Ozias said, "It's time to go.

I nodded and stood up, carrying Lily in my arms, and walked over to Thomas. I held Lily out to him, and he took her in his arms. 

-“Take care of her with your life," I ordered.

Thomas nodded, and started walking, accompanied by the rest of the wolves. When Lily saw that I wasn't going with them, she started crying, kicking and screaming my name. Thomas didn't let go of her at any point, however, and they continued walking. 

I sighed and turned to Ozias, ready to go.

-“Leave all your weapons here, you won't need them. I can detect them with my magic, so don't try to trick me, you'll be breaking the pact and die." he reminded me. 

Resigned, I began to pull out all the daggers I had hidden in my clothes, including the two daggers in my boots. When I finished, Ozias smiled with satisfaction and held out his hand. I looked at his hand first and then into his eyes. He was crazy if he thought we were going to walk out of here together hand in hand. 

-“Give me your hand so we can leave," he said. I looked at him without understanding what he meant. Ozias sighed, beginning to lose his patience. –“I have to explain everything to you... We're going to teleport. Come on, give me your hand.”

I looked at him in surprise but held out my hand. Ozias grabbed my outstretched hand. Immediately, everything started to spin around me. I felt dizzy and felt like throwing up. My ears were ringing.

At least I knew how Ozias had gotten in and taken Lily without anyone knowing. 

Magic.