Amaya’s War

Arrow’s Warning

Amaya’s POV

My feet are pushing off the ground with such strength I didn’t even know I had. I feel branches and briars catching on my fur but I don’t even care. I’m dodging tree roots and boulders every few steps. I close my eyes and take a whiff of the air around me, I smell the honey suckles, the stream, the squirrels. As I push off a root into a leap I smell something, something strange yet familiar. I open my eyes and see a bear in front of me. I land and pause waiting to see if this bear is going to walk on or attack, when suddenly it shifts.

Arrow.

My father’s best friend.

He’s wounded, it looks like wolf fang marks on his leg.

“Amaya. Sweet girl, you need to go back and warn the others. Xander is hunting his survivors, if he finds even one of you he’ll destroy you all. Go, stay far away from here.”

I nod to him and try to mindlink to respond, but clearly he’s made the decision to go rogue. Once you make that choice, you break all ties with your pack.

“Tell Belle that I’m sorry, that I love her. One day we will be together again.”

I turn to run back, I have to warn my father. I get a few strides in when I feel like I’m being followed, I turn east away from my pack in case this person is trouble. I keep pounding my paws into the ground leaving clear tracks so this person follows me away.

It’s definitely a wolf, I’m supposed to just run if there’s trouble. I’m the future of the pack, but I still have some of that rage in me and the idea that this could be a member of the Shadow Pack is just fueling it. I decide to make my move, I twist to change direction running head on for this wolf. I see the outline of it, my vision clouded by my emotions. I pounce, my fangs ready to tear it apart when I get the familiar scent in my nose and the wolf falls to the ground submissively. I slam my mouth shut, but cannot stop my jump at this point. I collide with him, landing right on top of him. Pine fills my nose as the fur on his back presses against my nose.

“Tate, WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?” I snarl as I back off of him.

“I’m so sorry, Amaya. I was worried about you, I heard the healers say you took off and just couldn’t stand the idea of you being out here alone. I’m so sorry. I’ll leave. I’ll just—“

“Stop. I’m sorry, you have nothing to apologize for.” I start to feel this pull towards him so I start to close the gap between us. I stare at him and his beautiful coat, those cloudy eyes staring into mine.

“Amaya, I-“ I lean in to nuzzle him when we both hear paws approaching, we quickly increase the space between us in response.

“There you two are, everything okay?” Luca said as he approached us.

“Yes,” I responded, probably too quickly, “I saw Arrow. He had a warning, we need to get back.”

We all take off back towards the packs territory. All of our paws thundering against the ground, yet my mind was racing quicker than our legs were.

Why was I so drawn to him? I just met him. Luca is the only one I’ve ever been close with and it’s never felt like that before. I know Luca thinks we could be fated mates, but what if he’s wrong? What if Tate..no. No, I can’t think like that. I push all of these thoughts to the back of my mind and focus on pushing my legs to go faster. I dart ahead of them, I’m back to the flying speed I was going before I saw Arrow.

I push through the tree line and make my way into the pack. Slowing down as to not startle everyone else, I instantly start looking for my dad. Somehow, he found me first.

“May, are you okay?” He nuzzles my back, knowing the state I was in when I left he must have been so worried.

“Dad, I need to talk to you and the elders.” My dad’s look changes from worrisome to outright concern. He knows I’d never pull the elders in unless it was something serious.

As we’re walking to the healers field, I see Tate and Luca coming through the tree line. I lock eyes with Tate, those cloudy eyes so hypnotic, when I pull my gaze away I notice Luca looking at me the same way that I was looking at Tate.

When we enter the field my father excuses the healers and howls his low howl for the elders. They all come quickly, the six of their paws causing vibrations against the ground. I spot Belle amongst them, Arrow’s mate, I know this is going to hurt her even more than she’s already been hurt. Her father was also taken from us by the Shadow Pack, moving her into his spot on the council.

“Thank you all for coming so quickly. Amaya has something to tell us.”

All of their eyes looking to me made me nervous, but I know I had to be the one to tell them.

I take in a deep breath before I start,

“On my run, I saw Arrow-“ Belle takes a step forward, her ears pinned back in concern, “he was wounded and I couldn’t mind link him. He broke his ties with the pack-“ at this point I can only look at Belle and the tears falling from her deep brown eyes, “he shifted and gave me a warning. Xander is hunting his survivors-“ the gasps from everyone cause me to pause, “Arrow said that if he finds one of us, he will destroy us all. I don’t know how, maybe he has a witch on his side,” I look at my father, knowing if that’s the case it is Julianna, “but if that’s true and if Arrow is being pushed out this far to get away from them, they will find us here. We either need to move or we need to fight, but we have to make the choice and soon.”

Their voices start echoing around me, “we have to go”, “we have to fight”. All of them saying different things, but it all tying back to those two decisions. When suddenly I hear Belle’s soft voice over everyone else’s, “where did you see Arrow?”

Everyone’s voice got quiet as she stepped towards me, “across the stream, just outside of our territory.”

“He was wounded?”

“Yes, fang slashes down his leg.” I answer quietly, knowing what she’s going to say next.

She turns towards my dad and locks eyes, “Alpha Kristopher, I denounce my membership in this pack. This is no longer my home, my family, my pack. I do all this in good or ill will,” she pauses for a moment knowing her denouncement is complete as she starts to sob. When she catches her breath she looks up again to my father, “he’s alone, he’s hurt, I have to be with him. Wolf form or not, he is my mate.”

My father approaches her and lays his head on hers, “you will not go alone, Amaya, Luca, Trion and Berklee will go with you to find him. Tate is a member of this pack now, we will find those from his pack who fled and any other packs they’ve taken. We are fighting these bas**rds and we are taking back our home. For Arrow and Belle, for Matthew, and for Elaine. This is a war they are going to wish they never started.”

Each of them howl the warriors howl into the now night sky, I join in louder than all of them.

This is for you, mom.