Fated to the war general

Familiarizing

Delilah's POV.

I feel ashamed for expecting some show of affection from the general. It's like I haven't learned my lesson from what happened last time. Remembering how I begged him to accept me in the punishment room still makes me cringe.

It's afternoon already and Cecile is taking me down to the stream to have a swim. The afternoon sun is scorching.

"Put this on," She says, passing me a hat.

I collect it from her and place it on my head. We walk out of the Alpha quarters and into the woods. I've just woken up from sleep a few minutes ago after a light meal.

For now, I've decided to take my mind off the war happening in the Blood Moon pack. I'm a bit scared of what might happen to the general. He can very well take care of himself but I can't help worrying about him.

I don't know what it will be from here. Do I take the chance to escape? Or just wait for him and see if my hopes about building my bond with him aren't crushed.

Hoping too hard will only get me hurt, so I keep my options open.

"Ever since we came here I've been scouting these woods for good spots. I'll show you a few I've found. The first one is just ahead, not too far away."

I nod with a smile and follow behind. We get to a really big tree having red apples hanging from it. The wind here is cool despite the sun.

"Were here!" Cecile announces happily and we both glance around the place.

"This tree makes good shade and a good snack," I say, pointing up at the apples.

"Yeah, but there's more, listen," Cecile says.

All the sounds of nature are toned up in this place; the birds, the rustling of leaves, the wind, and the creeping of animals over the ground.

I find it soothing.

"Do you hear it?"

I nod, "yeah."

"So your wolf is active huh?" Cecile says with a smirk and folds her arms.

My mouth hangs open when I realise I've been caught. "I... Uh... I never said my wolf was dormant."

"No, but I asked about you before you came. So how did you do it? What changed?"

I pursed my lips, finding it extremely hard to talk about my mate bond with the general. Now I come to think of it, I've never examined our bond in the context of what people would think. Maybe because I never really cared. But now I do, and I realise how absurd it would be that a wolfless sentinel shared a mate bond with the second in command to the Ultima. That's way higher than being a Luna.

"I was attended to by the Pack's doctor. I stayed locked up and received treatment for some time. I don't understand what really happened but I started having my powers back."

"That's great. You can join my sessions with the pack's healer. I've been meeting with her since I turned twenty."

"Thank you, I'd love to."

"You're welcome. Now let's go to the next best spot. Oh wait! Let me collect some apples to snack on on our way there."

She plucks six apples and gives some to me. The next destination is a cliff. From the top, we can see other parts of Avalon, most of which haven't been claimed by any pack.

"I come here whenever I want to clear my head," Cecile says, looking onward.

The sight is mesmerising and has this neutrality that seems peaceful. The wind is loud here and plays in Cecile's hair. I've tied mine in a ponytail so only the free end dances around in the breeze.

"Back at the tree I sit there to play the violin. Mum always complains that it's noisy so I go out there and do it. It helps me calm down."

She pauses, letting the silence stretch between us.

"You know what a red spirit she-wolf is right?"

I laugh at her question. "You must have the wrong impression of me. I know a lot about the werewolf world. I was once a lead sentinel in the Silver Crest pack before I lost my wolf."

"Oh..."

"Yeah... So I know about the different spirit types. I guess music is your own way of calming yourself down since you're a late bloomer."

"Yes... But my family doesn't understand. Okay, let me be more specific, my mum doesn't understand. She always complains about my loud playing. But she prefers when I use the piccolo which is milder. Sometimes I wonder how she's so calm and collected all the time."

I chuckle at her complaining.

"Mums can be like that. Mine was always on my neck about having a mate. She complained that I was too involved in the military."

"Was?"

"She passed on years ago."

Cecile turns to me with a sad face and comes to hug me. "I'm so sorry to hear that," she says while patting my back before letting me go.

"Thank you. But it's fine, I'm fine, " I reply with a shrug.

"Let's go for a swim, okay? That's the last spot I want to show you."

She takes me to the river and begins pulling off her clothes to get into the water. She stops abruptly and turns to me.

"Did you hear that?"

I shake my head, but listen carefully. That's when I hear it, a growl, low and dangerously close.

Cecile turns around immediately towards the sound. Her claws grow out of her fingers. My eyes dart frantically through the woods in search of the wolf growling.

Then I see it, the brown fur of a rogue. It exposes its teeth to us as its growl comes out deep and threatening.

It rushes towards us, and Cecile quickly runs towards it. I expect her to transform into a wolf but she remains in her human form. It all happens in a flash; she and the rogue get into a scuffle. She fights it off with an unhuman strength and speed.

I stand aside almost feeling helpless. I'm tempted to use the gun that has been strapped to my thigh underneath my gown. Cecile brings out a knife and stabs the rogue until it's bleeding and it falls off her body. She rushes to it and slits its throat, killing it.

Immediately, she stands back up.

"I thought there weren't any rogues in Yuletide."

"Apparently not. But if one has breached. We should certainly expect more," she replies while putting on her gown.

"Come on," she says and pulls me by my hand, along with her. My heart races in my chest as we run back to the Alpha quarters.