Moonlit Valor

Return to Town

Anna and her mate immediately begin to run away from the border, closer to where their pack members are. Ulrika pushes them to go as fast as they can as the sounds of the rogues draw closer to them. They nearly reach the clearing when warrior wolves from Moonlight Harbor race past them, heading to defend the territory. Anna breathes a sigh of relief when suddenly a large werewolf slams into her side. She rolls aggressively for a few yards before she is able to get back to her feet. She turns to see who attacked her, but she is not able to tell. The entire forest is now an ocean of swarming werewolves and she can’t recognize who belongs and who is trespassing. Our mate, where is he? Ulrika asks in a panic as they realize that they no longer smell his sweet scent. They stand for a moment, looking this way and that, trying to find him. Werewolves surge all around them, knocking into them on their way to and from the fight. Anna suddenly feels the call of the Alpha in her mind All first-time shifters, back to town! It is an order and one that Anna will have to follow. She hopes that her mate will meet her back in town and not get lost in the chaos of the battle. They turn and run, heading back to where their pack lives among its human civilization of buildings and homes. There are other wolves joining her, having been summoned as well. She looks ahead to see that the ones who have already reached town are shifting back into their human form, grabbing clothes from the safe boxes that are located all around, and then sprinting towards the town square. As she reaches the start of the buildings, she finds a safe space behind the nearest shop, slightly away from the other werewolves, and stops, attempting to slow her breathing.

Fear starts to rise in her stomach as Anna remembers how painful it was to transition. There is even a bit of hesitation in her heart as she realizes how disappointing her human body is in comparison. We must shift back, our pack needs us. It will be painful, but you will survive, and now you have my strength to carry you through, Ulrkia encourages. With a deep breath, Anna allows the transition to take over and once more, she feels her bones reforming, cracking, and mending at an alarming rate as her body returns to the one she is most familiar with. She can’t help but let out a cry as the pain blinds her, but soon enough she realizes that the pain is dispersing and she can think clearly again. Standing up, she sways slightly on her two feet, forgetting, for a moment, how to move as a human. She quickly steps towards the village center and just as quickly crumples to the ground, her leg burning in pain. Anna sucks in a breath, cradling her leg for a moment and allowing the feeling to settle. To her disappointment, the pain never seems to end. “I should have stayed a wolf,” she mumbles to herself. Anna can feel Ulrkia moving in her mind but she remains quiet, not having anything to comment. Slowly, Anna pulls herself up, realizing that she has taken longer than all the other first-time shifters. She is alone and needs to hurry to catch up with the others. Working to rediscover her gait, she limps hard toward a safe box. Reaching it, she quickly retrieves a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie that is closest to her size and does her best to pull them over her naked body as fast as possible without falling down. Once dressed, she begins to walk as fast as her feet will carry her toward the center of town.

She comes up on the large mass of people who are listening to the Alpha speak. Tension is thick in the air as the upset pack listens to their Alpha’s announcement. “...these rogues are taken care of. The warriors are rounding up the ones they were able to capture and the rest have fled back beyond our borders. All of our first-time shifters have been accounted for and thankfully, no one from our pack has been injured in this attack.” Anna frowns at his words, had they forgotten to count her among the first-time shifters, or had they known she was outside of town, just a bit slower than everyone else?

One of the pack members spoke up, angry and upset, “My child could have been killed tonight. And on his first shift. Where were the warriors who were supposed to be guarding the borders? How could this have happened?”

“I understand that you are upset,” Alpha Victor said, holding up his hands. “We will be doing an internal investigation to discover what went wrong and how this happened…My son was out there, just as well as yours. Your anger is justified.” A general hum grew from the crowd as everyone began to speak, trying to air their own grievances. Alpha Victor held up his hands again and slowly everyone fell quiet once more. “Let us use our emotions for the betterment of our pack. Everyone has a job and a place here. The sooner that we are able to return to our stations, the faster that I can start our investigation. If any of you have any knowledge that could help expose what happened here tonight, please schedule a time with Beta Reed to meet with us and discuss it. Gamma Justin will remain here for any further questions. Goodnight everyone,” Alpha Victor steps away from the center of the crowd, making his way back through everyone before he shifts into his wolf, his shreds of clothing falling to his feet, and sprints back towards the border.

Anna looks back to Gamma Justin who had been standing behind Alpha Victor, beyond her line of sight. “You heard him,” Gamma Justin says. “Remain here if you have questions, but everyone else, disperse.” There are many grumblings among the crowd, but soon, everyone turns and moves on, back to their homes or places of employment. Anna heads back to her home, but as she walks, she looks through the crowd, trying to find her mother. She nearly reaches her home when her mother steps off a side street, having come from the town center on a different path than Anna.

“Mom,” Anna says opening her arms as her mother rushes into them.

Her mother quickly envelopes her into a hug and showers her cheeks with kisses, “Oh my sweet girl, I’m so happy that you are alright.” They gather into a deeper hug and it is then that Anna is able to smell her mother with her new wolf nose. She smells like fermented grapes and freshly baked bread. They head into their home, her mother lending her an arm to limit her limp.

“Do you know if Dad is alright?” Anna asks, allowing the worry to surface. Her mother bit her lip in thought, “I haven’t heard from him since he raced off to the border. But in this case, no news is good news, especially with what Alpha Victor said.” Anna nods, trying to allow her mother’s words to soothe her worried heart. “But never mind that, for now, let’s sit,” her mother’s voice brightens. “You must tell me all about your first shift!” Anna smiles at her mother’s excitement and allows her to help her over to the couch where they settle down to discuss the wonderful night that she has had.