The Mate That is Just Out of Reach

2

As our wolves are still looking around for the source, they hear another twig snap. This time much closer. Juniper and Emerald become tense as they wait for whatever is making the noise to reveal itself. The longer we sit here, the more endangered we're gonna be. I hear Lexi's voice say in my head. The Bloodmoon Pack never runs from a fight. Lexi, just be ready for when it charges. Our wolves look around to see if they notice any movement. Juniper hears another twig break and as soon as she looks over, a large black wolf is lunging at us. We swiftly move out of the way and pounce onto the wolf's back. Juniper sinks her teeth into its neck and locks her jaw, making sure not to let go. The wolf starts whimpering and jumping around trying to get her off, but neither her jaw or her body budge. She finally bites down harder, killing the wolf. The large wolf goes limp and falls to the ground, hitting it hard.

Are you ok? I once again hear Lexi in my mind. Yea, I'm fine. But I don't think he is. I tell her as my wolf looks back at the dead body that is now human. As soon as I saw it's human form, I knew he was from the Brightmoon pack. He was a large toned man with dark brown hair. He looked to be about my age, 18. Why would they send such a young wolf to scout our pack? They must have known this would have happened. We don't let trespassers off easy. Especially if it's from a pack my father has no alliance with and an ongoing feud. I personally have no idea why my father hates them so much, but it isn't my place to question him.

We had better head back and let my father know what just happened. I told Lexi through mind-link. Her wolf nods in agreement and we both turn to run towards the pack house. The run back was quiet. I could tell something was on Lexi's mind but I didn't want to bother her. She seemed lost in thought. It was best to let her think. We finally reached the treeline and split off to the same trees we shifted at. After I shifted back, I put my clothes back on and walked out from behind the tree to Lexi. "Do you want me to just go talk to my father alone?" I asked. She looked at me with sadness in her eyes and nodded. "Ok," I smiled gently at her, "I'll catch up with you later." With that, I gave her a hug and we walked our separate ways.

My mind was still stuck on the boy that I had just killed. He was so young. Why did they send him and not a more experienced wolf? I was pulled out of my thoughts when I ran into someone. I looked up and saw my brother, Alec, standing in front of me. "You ok, Boo Boo?" He asked me with a concerned look on his face. He has called me Boo Boo for as long as I can remember. Ever since we watched the Yogi Bear movie. Alec and I have always had a special bond. We are like two peas in a pod. People that don't know who we are have always asked if we were twins because, like me, he has jet black hair and deep ocean blue eyes. Although Alec is 5 years older than me, he still looks like he's 18, hence all the questions about us being twins.

"Yea, I'm fine. Lexi and I just had an encounter with a scout from the Brightmoon pack, that's all. I was on my way to tell father about it", I explained to him. His face went from concerned to angry in 1 millisecond flat. "Are you ok? Did he hurt you? Let me see." He starts showering me with questions all while holding me and looking me up and down to make sure there are no bites or scratches. I push him back a bit so he stops, "Yes, Alec, I'm fine. He didn't even touch me. I killed him before he got the chance." He started to relax once I told him that. "But there's something I don't understand, Alec." He looked at me confused. "They sent someone that was my age to scout us. Why would they send someone who's life has barely even started? On his own, without any help from a more experienced wolf. Knowing what would happen if he got caught."

I looked up again to see Alec thinking of an answer. After about a minute of him thinking, he finally responds, "I wish I could come up with something that would make you feel better, but I can't. All I can say is that people work in mysterious ways. Ways that nobody but themselves will know." I nodded in response and looked down to my feet. "I guess I should go let father know", I said before starting to walk off. Before I could take another step, Alec grabbed my arm, "I'll let him know. You should go relax for a bit before lunch. Father wants to talk about the mission tomorrow with everyone that is going".

I nodded at him and continued walking, entering the pack house. Instead of going straight down the hall to my father's office, like I had originally planned, I went left and started walking up the stairs. Once I reach my room, I shut and lock my door so I don't get bothered while I take a bath. Before going to the bathroom, I go to my walk-in closet and slip off my tennis shoes, placing them back on the shoe rack. I leave my closet and go to the bathroom and start running warm water, letting the tub fill up. While the bathtub is filling up, I start getting undressed, putting everything into a hamper. I looked into the large mirror sitting above the sink.

As I was looking in the mirror, I noticed dry blood sitting at the corners of my mouth. I quickly turned on the faucet, wetting my hands and cleaning the blood off. Tears started to well up in my eyes. Why do I want to cry? He attacked me, not the other way around. I was defending myself. But I can't help but feel sorry for him. I took his life away from him. I took someone's mate away from them. I push back the tears and get in the tub, turning off the water. While I'm sitting in the tub, my mind keeps racing and the tears come back. This was the first time I had ever killed someone. Yes, I've been trained to kill, but I have never had to do it until now. By now, the tears are rolling down my cheeks as I'm thinking about what I've done. I shouldn't have killed him. I should have injured him a little bit and let him go back to his pack, back to his family. Let him go back as a warning to stay away or they will get killed.

After sitting in the tub for a while, I finally decided to get out. Just as I stood up, I heard Alec's voice in my head, Ali, where are you? Father is about to start talking about the mission. He needs everyone here. Crap, I forgot about the meeting. I'll be down in a minute. I quickly responded and threw a towel around my body. Leaving the bathroom, I go straight to my closet and grab a dark beige tank-top and light blue jean shorts. I quickly put my clothes on and slipped some sandals on. Leaving my closet, I grab my phone and slip it into my back pocket. I quickly left my bedroom and went downstairs to the dining hall where the rest of the pack was waiting. I looked around and noticed that there are more people here than there should be. Why would he need so many people for a simple warning mission? At least that's what I was told it was.