Warriors of Blue moon

I woke up the next morning, stretching my arms and legs in my sleeping bag, I rubbed my eyes, then they suddenly flashed open as I remembered what I was supposed to be doing today, or more so, who! even saying in my head “I’m seeing Heath today” felt so strange.

I quickly got up and put on some shorts and a strap top and my boots. I left the cave and took my leather armor and ran down to the stream not far from the cave. one by one I started to wash each item in the water, once it had all been scrubbed, I did my usual… cover it with Lavender. I had no idea how I smelt now, and it made me feel a bit embarrassed to think id stink like a typical rogue. I headed back home and hung all my stuff in the tree outside as the sun shone brightly above me so I knew it wouldn’t take long to dry.

I decided to check all my traps as I hadn’t done it yesterday, luckily, I had caught two rabbits and a squirrel. Today I’ll cook one of the rabbits I thought. The cooked meat melted in my mouth as I ate it with some pear that I had collected. It made my stomach full as I laid back and rested under the sun, I breathed in the warm spring air as crickets chirped in the grass around me.

My eyes flickered open a while later and I realized I must have dosed off. I took a slow walk back home and changed into my armor, it was starting to get slightly hot now during the day with all my leathers on but of course with blood ruining all my clothes. I didn’t have many items left and I wanted to save them for the height of summer when it would be too unbearable to wear all of this.

I could see from the position of the sun in the sky it was time for me to head towards Heath’s territory. I took my time walking, so I wouldn’t pick up sweat, I also wanted to keep my senses about me, my ears listening out, to make sure I wasn’t being followed.

I reached the boarder and waited, taking in my surroundings. I decided to walk in a bit further to where the fight had taken place. If it wasn’t for the faint smell of blood that still lingered in the air, you wouldn’t have thought a bunch of dead and bloodied bodies had been sprawled across here only yesterday, there was no trace of flesh or trails of blood anywhere. I was too busy looking around, when a comforting and familiar scent wafted around me. I looked up from the ground to see Heath walking toward me with a big smile on his face.

“You came! I kept thinking you would change your mind and never come back"

I rolled my eyes as I smiled and tutted “I kept telling you I would... I couldn’t NOT come back knowing you were so close by”

“I know, I know... so where are you staying then, if its close by?”

"Mmm, it’s not THAT close... but close enough that it doesn’t take too long to get here...speaking of which how far did you say it was from the blue moon pack to yours?”

"About a two to three-day drive”….

“ahh” I nodded

"Whyyy?"

"Oh, it doesn’t matter, just thought I was a lot further away than that, but I suppose I’ve gone in so many different directions I didn’t know where about’s I was”

"Understandable! The forest is huge in all directions, anyone could get lost in here. So anyway, are you going to show me where you live then?” he asked as he gave me a cheeky smile

I scoffed shyly and nodded “Ok, come on then"

We walked through the forest as he asked me questions like what I’ve eaten, how did I survive in the colder months, It felt as if the walk only took mere minutes as before I knew it we had come up to my cave.

I pointed as I walked toward it “over here"

He looked a bit unsure as he followed me. I pulled back the boulder and lead him inside. I sat down and motioned for him to sit in front of me.

He looked around taking it all in and I could see the pity that sprung in his eyes before he removed it and tried to look optimistic

"well I mean its big… it’s a good size and I suppose its cosy. Just strange to think of you living here all this time”

"Well, I haven’t been just here, I’ve moved around. When I was first out here, I literally went from tree to tree" I chuckled but Heath just looked at me in concern.

“Stop looking at me like that”

“Like what?”

"Like you feel so sorry for me”

He sighed ”Well I do... I’m going to, I hate that you’ve had to be out here all on your own, away from all that you loved. I can’t believe they even sentenced you to this ridiculous banishment. I mean, did they not even look into the situation first and give you a fair trial?”

"Well actually, the Senior alpha and Luna were away they didn’t know anything about it, at least I don’t think they did. It was Layton that banished me”

Heaths eyes widened and his lips parted as he just stared at me in shock ”but... but I thought he grew up with you and your family? I thought you all were close?”

I shrugged my shoulders ”obviously not… to be honest I think that’s one of the reasons I haven’t gone back. I don’t think I could forgive how easily he casted me out”

“I understand that… I do.. but I do also think you should at least let your family and your friends know your alive and ok”

I shook my head ”no... I… .I’m staying away, they have their lives, I have mine”

“So, you’re just going to live out here forever?” he looked at me as if he thought I was crazy for thinking it was a good idea.

"Maybe... that’s my plan so far. The thing is Heath, you have to understand, this place is like a bubble to me, it’s like I forgot that anything outside of here even existed. I visited a human town once but even that was so long ago now, to me this is the world, this is life and I’ve become so used to it, I had to change so much and so quickly to survive and the thought of trying to live among people, in a civilisation just feels so odd and to be quite honest... a bit scary actually, I’ve been alone for so long I don’t know how I’d cope being around people all the time”

“Well, what if I contact your family, I’ll tell them your alive and I’ve seen you for myself and that your ok, I can explain why you haven’t gone back and…!”

“No” I cut him off “Just please, not yet Just seeing you has blown me away, the moment you tell them where I am they’ll all have an opinion, I can’t listen to all those voices at once, not when it’s been just me and my wolf I’ve had to listen to”

He sighed deeply then stayed quiet as thoughts ran through his mind, then his eyes flashed from the floor to me as his eyes widened, he let out a shaky gasp “Wait, Lelanna… Is that why I had so many missed calls from you all that time ago?

Just am that memory flashed in my head, I nodded sheepishly

“shit” He whispered, “I did think it was weird at the time, but I just figured you were pissed at me because I’d been so neglectful!”

I shrugged “I guess I was hoping I could just come to you and be in your pack”

“Fuck” He rubbed a hand over his face and through his hair “Lelanna, I’m so fucking sorry, honestly, if I had known, of course I would have made you come here... FUCK!”

I took his hand from his face and held it gently “Heath, it’s ok, It is what it is, you weren’t to know and it wasn’t your problem”

His brows frowned “Not my problem? Lelanna, I care about you, I always have, I’m just so sorry I wasn’t there for you when you needed me the most”

“Look, I’m alive and I’m ok, we can’t change anything from the past and if it makes you feel any better, I’m not angry or feel anything like that towards you… ok?”

He nodded in agreement as he took in my words, but I could still see the look of regret in his face. His gaze turned thoughtful as if he was mulling over everything that was spinning through his mind “Ok, I wasn’t there for you then, but I can be now, I can help you”

“What, how?”

"Well, you can come and visit my pack, I can show you around, but we’ll do it at night when there’s not really any one around and then maybe another time, I can introduce you to some of my guards and warriors. Then eventually if you felt comfortable enough to sleep there, then you could stay in the palace… I mean its huge, it’s certainly big enough for you to have a room away from everyone else, so you don’t feel too trapped or overwhelmed”

I listened to him as I thought about it, I didn’t really want to be around other people but I also didn’t want to go back to being completely alone again ”I guess… maybe, that might work… I suppose it would be nice to see where you’ve lived all this time as the big Mr Alpha” I chuckled to hide my conflicting doubts.

Time passed as we kept talking, I kept trying to ask him about his pack and how he managed with taking over as Alpha, but he just kept asking me questions about my life to the point where I felt we exhausted the very subject. I mean there wasn’t much to say, wake up, eat, walk, run, eat again, maybe kill a few rogues, sleep, wake up and repeat.

I got up to my feet ”come on, it’s going to get dark soon we better get you back, I don’t want your men thinking I’ve kidnapped you or let something happen to you”

He chuckled as he got up “they’re all a bit on edge now actually with the attack" he said as we left the cave. I put the boulder back and we walked back to his pack.

"Did you get much information from any of the survivors?” I asked

He shook his head as his lips spread into a thin line, he looked annoyed and frustrated ”no! no matter what we do to them or how much we threaten, they’re all keeping quiet. I mean my men haven’t taken it easy on them, they don’t take any shit, but the bastards aren’t giving anything away”.

"Hmm, well before the fight one of the rogues who looked to be in charge had an altercation with one of the other men... this guy refused to fight, saying they were just being used as bait, something about them only being there to take the hit, and if THEY really wanted your pack to be taken down, they would send EVERYONE”

“who’s everyone?”

"I don’t know...he said they were just there to take the fall...I don’t know why or what for, but the leader wasn’t having any of it, kept calling the man a pussy. the other guy claimed they were all just being used as puppets”

Heaths eyes frowned as he was in thought, so I tried to point him in the right direction

“Look… whatever is going on, we know those men we killed yesterday wasn’t the real thing… we know there’s more where they came from and there is someone leading it all and set up the attack, we just need to know who and why”

He nodded ”thank you Lelanna, that’s actually really helpful, so I need to find out then! ”

“We!”

“Huh, we?” He looked at me in confusion

"Yes we! Heath, I live in this forest and I’m good at tracking, I’ll see if I can figure out where about’s they came from”

“Seriously? you would do that?”

"Well yea of course, why wouldn’t I?”

"Wow, although I don’t know how I feel about you literally looking for trouble”

"it’s ok, I can handle myself and I can handle the enemy”.

He looked at me for a moment as if he was thinking of something he wanted to say or ask as his lips parted then suddenly closed again and he held back.

“I’ll see you soon Heath, ok" I told him as we reached his territory

"Wait what? not soon! tomorrow! I want to see you every day Lelanna, I know it sounds silly, but I need to know you’re ok”

I laughed slightly I smiled “ok”

"Wait, why don’t you come and meet my best guards tomorrow, it’s only the guys you’ve already met. they’re my best fighters, so they’ll be in on all of this, it’ll be good for you all to get to know each other and work together”

I chuckled ”I see what you’re doing Heath... We’ll see, I’ll meet you here tomorrow at noon, you tell me if you have any new information or ideas, and we’ll go from there”

“ok” he agreed and smiled. I smiled back then turned on my heel to leave, when he then grabbed my hand and pulled me back into his big hard body as his arms wrapped snug around me...

"Sorry, I know this all might be a bit much for you, but I’ve been wanting to hug you again since yesterday and I just had to”.

I just nodded my head that was pressed against his chest, I loosely allowed my arms to wrap around him. He kissed the top of my head and still held on ”it really has made me so happy to see you again Lelanna”

“I know" my voice came out in a mere whisper as what he said made me feel warm inside “I feel the same" that’s all I felt I could say right then, my throat seemed to block, and I couldn’t voice anything more on what I was actually feeling.

He finally unwrapped me from his arms, we gave each other a warm smile and I turned and left.

I decided to jog back home, and thoughts of Layton kept flashing into my mind… “wohhh, Layton?... no, I meant Heath...Heath”! I don’t know why his name popped into my head, when it was Heath, I wanted to see, Heath that I was thinking about.

I got home and pushed the thoughts away...a big part of me didn’t want anyone around me and I wanted to be left alone, I just don’t want to let myself get carried away or rush into being around people only to feel so different and dejected from them all.

After all it seems I don’t really know what I want anymore.

*******

I was waiting near the tree line just as we had agreed, it was now noon and I could see Heath, Trey and three other men approaching.

Trey ran to me, picked me up and twirled around ”herrreee she issss... our amazing little fighter” he had the biggest smile on his face as he lowered me back down and enveloped me in a big bear hug... “it’s so good to see you again Lelanna”

I hugged him back and took in his fresh clean scent, a soapy minty smell... and it reminded me again of what I must smell like to them… I dare to ask! I rubbed his back ”I know, it’s so nice to see you Trey, I missed you when you both left blue moon”

"Well from what Heath told me about what happened I wish we had stuck around longer and bought you with us”

I just smiled at his protectiveness for me. Maybe he didn’t know that I had planned to come here! I could only look at him and smile ”Well I definitely would have had more fun I think with you two in tow”

He laughed at this and playfully flicked my arm as Heath came and stood next to us smiling.

“Lelanna”. he put his arm around my shoulders as he kissed me on my head “I’d like you to meet my best warriors and guards”, he pointed to the first man who was as tall as Trey with blonde hair that was cut short with lines shaved on the sides. “This is Mitch” Mitch nodded and extended his hand for me to shake, to which I responded “nice to meet you miss, Alpha Heath has told us a lot about you, it’s nice to finally meet you properly, and if I must say that was some excellent fighting you did”

I smiled ”thank you, nice to meet you too”

Heath nodded to the next man ”This is Danny” The man was tall and had a very firm look with a neat beard and moustache, his black hair was tied back, he took a step forward as he too held out his hand for me to take. I smiled at him and shook his big rough hand. ”Miss, do you recognise me?”

My smile faltered as I tried to think of who he was, I shook my head “I’m sorry, I don’t think I do”

“Well miss, when we were fighting the rogues, you came out of nowhere and practically saved my life, three rogues were just about to maul me but you took them all out before I could barely blink. I just saw you as if you fell out of the sky and you ripped them apart. I saw it all, you barely even broke a sweat killing them. I was just there on my knees, and I thought, you were some sort of angel dressed in black come to save my life” Danny held softly onto my hand as he spoke. and all I could feel was a sense of genuine appreciation and kindness. I gulped as I smiled, I wasn’t expecting this kind of greeting, to feel so welcomed.

"Well, I’m glad I know who you are now Danny and your welcome. I’ll take down any rogue that kills mercilessly”

He smiled nodded and let go of my hand.

Then Heath pointed out a third man “and last but not least is Yen”

I smiled and shook Yen’s hand; he was athletic build but still muscly his warm Korean skin and short black hair made him look handsome and serious with his sharp features he was rugged and manly. “Miss, it’s nice to meet you”

" It’s nice to meet you too” I shot a grin at Heath then back to his men, “and thank you for all being so kind, I know I’m technically classed as a rogue, but I hope you can all understand that’s not how I view myself or how I live. I’m not like them”.

"of course, we know” they all said in unison, which gave me a wave of relief that they weren’t branding me as a disgraceful outcast.

“right” Heath spoke up ”now that were done with that, let’s get down to business. Lelanna, one of the rogues we were interrogating finally broke, he was only about eighteen years old, so we bargained with him. In return for sparing his life. We’ve also moved him into a better more comfortable cell but he’s still heavily guarded. Anyway, he gave up information in return, he claims that he doesn’t know much but that him and about twenty odd other rogues were commanded to threaten our pack.

They had to attack and take down as many of the strongest warriors as they could, even if their lives depended on it, not to retreat. They were told they had to fight until they had succeeded in taking some of our pack down. He said it felt like more of a suicide mission, it was clear to a few of them that they would be massively outnumbered, but apparently, they were told if they didn’t fight, they would face much worse fait under their hands, than ours.

The boy said he never met whoever is in charge, but the rogues he was with seemed very afraid of who it is. The attack on our pack was nothing to what’s coming next... it’s something bigger that they’re preparing for. It’s some sort of revenge. But the boy doesn’t know when or how it’ll happen”.

I nodded my head to all the information before I spoke ”you know, I really want to track that man that left, the one who said they were all puppets”

"Yes, I filled them all in on what you told me yesterday”

“Ok, I remember he headed west so I’m going to head that way too and see if I can pick up a scent or tracks, although I can imagine he would have fled as far as possible so he wouldn’t be found by whoever is leading all of this, but it’s worth a shot, he might be angry enough at them to spill any information he has”.

“Ok I’ll help you”

I Looked at him in worry ”Heath, I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to leave your territory in case their planning to attack again any day now, you need to stay with your people”

“she’s right”, Danny spoke up ”I can accompany her”

Heath agreed reluctantly but he knew we were right ”ok you go with Lelanna, I’m going to contact all neighbouring packs and warn them, just in case they plan on attacking elsewhere. I’ll also double our patrol across the border and have warriors scanning the edge of the forest, in case any pass by”

“Ok” we all agreed.

"Stay safe” Heath warned as he looked at me sternly, then looked to Danny, “DO NOT leave her side!”

Danny chuckled ”oh I won’t be, I’m counting on her to not leave my side while were out there”

I nudged his arm and chuckled as Heath sighed “Ok, be back no later than evening, I don’t want you both out there when its dark”

"Ok, Alpha, we’ll be back by then” Danny reassured him.

Heath gave me one last heavy look and a thin smile when he turned to head back to his pack, I quickly went over to him and grabbed his arm to face him toward me,

“What? What is it?” he asked worriedly

"Heath, when you said you’d contact neighbouring packs, does that include Blue Moon?”

"Well, yes of course, I know they’re a bit far but they’re one of our allies we need to make sure they’re aware, it’s protocol Lelanna, they’d have to do the same if it was them in this situation”

“ok” I nodded anxiously “I understand, just please don’t mention my name at all”

“Ok, but I’ll have to explain how we know so much information and what our plans are”

"Right, umm… ok, if you have to give a name, just give the name May, ok?”

He gave me smile as he nodded in understanding. ”of course, sweetheart, I promise I won’t give any other name but May”.

I gave him a thankful smile then turned and went back to Danny.

“You ready little warrior?” he grinned at me

“Always ready" and gave him a cheeky wink as the corner of my lips tucked up into a smile.

Me and Danny had no success in tracking the mystery man, we had returned to Heath at dinner to which Heath tried to convince me to eat with them in the Palace. I ever so gently refused his offer, only to have Heath, Trey, Yen, Danny and Mitch insist on eating with me. Trey and Yen went to the Palace and bought back large containers of freshly cooked food, we sat on the ground just a few yards from his pack land, inside of the tree line as we ate, around a small campfire and swapped stories and laughed...laughed a lot actually. I couldn’t help but think of how lovely and kind these big burley men had been to me they couldn’t believe it when they asked me how many rogues I had killed, and I told them I had lost count, but it was well over one hundred, that there had been so many it had just become second nature to me now.

I told them of the first time I had to kill rogues, what the dirty bastards said to me and how they leered at me like I was a plaything, so I had to quickly learn to live and kill without fear. I did notice Heath squirm numerous times as I told them all the story, but then all the men took in turns to talk about the first time they came face to face with a rogue for the first time.

Mitch showed us a long deep scar from his shoulder blade all the way down the right side of his back. He said one attacked him in front keeping him distracted while another lunged at him from behind in wolf form clawing him straight away. Mitch said he threw the rogue in front of him against a tree causing his spine to break while he turned to face the wolf, he stuck his hands in his mouth and ripped his jaw apart till it snapped. He said he couldn’t tell if he lost any fingers at the time cos his hands were completely covered in blood. Unfortunately, his scar didn’t heal because the wound was left open for too long before he made it to the pack doctor. He said that was when he was only seventeen, his first ever fight when he was a member in a different pack, he wondered by the tree line on his own when they snuck up on him.

The stories kept us all intrigued to hear each other’s experiences and lives. As we had long finished our food, we realised it had gotten really late, Trey telling us it was now 1am, so we all packed up and headed back. They insisted on me staying with them but when I refused, they insisted even harder on three of them walking me back to my home. I finally gave in and accepted their offer. We jogged back as they took in their surroundings, so they could remember and track their way back to the pack. It was Trey, Mitch and Danny that bought me back, their eyes widened in shock, and I think a bit of pity when they saw my home was in fact a cave.

They kept asking if I was sure I’d be safe, if I’d be ok out here on my own, I guess they don’t fully grasp I’ve been fine for three years. I had to keep reassuring them my cave door was filled with traps and I always slept with my weapons by my side.

They finally accepted it in the end and bidded me goodnight as they took off back home. I led in my cave, trying to go to sleep, my head filled with what felt like excitement, a touch of happiness maybe as I smiled thinking of all the funny jokes and stories they told.

When I was with them, I had actually forgotten who and what I was, they made me feel normal. I could feel myself becoming eager at the thought of seeing them all again tomorrow... stop it stop it!! I scorned myself you can’t get too comfortable your better off alone!

I tried to think of a new plan. Now that tracking that man didn’t work, we needed a new idea but where do we start looking? We couldn’t just go around trying to scent rogues or a group of them cause this forest is way too vast for us to get anywhere that way and there’s too many rogues out there for us to get through them all, it would be needless and time wasting. Maybe the boy might remember a little bit more if he’s pushed to remember! There must be something… something that we can lead on.

As much as the thought of entering Heaths pack worried me with all the homely and familiar family smells that would surround me, I knew I needed to get the answers myself... I wanted to know for my own peace of mind if he had given every bit of information that he had. So that was what I decided on, I’ll meet Heath at noon, and I’ll question the rogue myself.

Heath's POV:

I don’t think Lelanna could ever comprehend how much I hate seeing her out there on her own. I felt as though someone had knocked the wind out of me when I saw it was her under that hood and mask, I have never been so shocked in my life, but that was until she told me the reason for her being here in the first place! I knew Lelanna and I knew just how much she loved her home, loved her people, so when I had to leave the Blue moon, it would have been pointless me trying to convince her to leave and come with me. But just like Trey said, if we had stuck around a little longer, we could have bought her here with us anyway, or if I had just answered my damn phone, she would have been safe, she would of had a normal life. By the time I tried calling her back, it always went straight to voicemail, so I had assumed she was done with me and cut me off. I think I’ll always hate myself for not being there when she truly needed me, when she needed a friend.

I can see the old Lelanna is still there…. Somewhere, wanting to come out, wanting to be safe enough to let down that massive wall she’s built up around herself. That tough exterior but it’s still the same beautiful Lelanna, still the same green mesmerizing eyes and long dark hair… although now it’s even longer which just makes her even more beautiful, with her now Sun kissed tanned glowing skin. When she told us she’d lost track of how many rogues she killed I couldn’t help but feel angry and hurt for her. She laughed it off as if it was nothing. My heart still ached for all that she’s had to deal with all alone. How scared she must have felt.

But her strength she has now… her determination for survival! When we had to fight those bastards, although I was busy trying to maim them all, I caught flashes of the hooded fighter all in black, that swung a sword so effortlessly, threw dagger so on point it killed them instantly. She moved so fast and easy; her whole body moved in sync like it knew how to strike way ahead of anyone else.

I had taken down one rogue at one point when I looked to check on my men, I saw she was just swiping through them, from here to there. Kicking them so hard they’d fly through the air and slam so hard on the ground it would daze them long enough for us to finish them off, but even though I knew she had trained and was already a good fighter I couldn’t help but feel sad that most of her skill had probably come from all the rogues she’s had to face. No wonder not one of them managed to get close enough to her to even leave a mark.

When I made all the phone calls to the neighbouring packs, I purposefully left Blue moon till last. I knew it was Layton the moment he spoke, I had been informed over a year ago he had taken over as Alpha. His voiced seemed dull, empty at first but when I told him of the attacks and the information we had so far, he took charge and seemed like a clever and reasonable Alpha, it was hard to think he was the same man that cast Lelanna out the way that he did.

When I told him we had outside help from a warrior and he asked me the name, a part of me really wanted to give Lelanna’s name, just to gauge his reaction, to know if he actually cared about an old member of his pack or if he’d forgotten entirely about her, if he did or didn’t feel any guilt for his unjust punishment toward her.

I really wanted to tell him all that she had been through, to rub it in his face at how strong she was now, ”if only you could see her now" I thought because from what I’ve seen so far of her fighting and just her manner, she literally is the best of the best, anyone would want her by their side in battle.

The woman has no qualms on her own life, but more a protection for others, even for my men who she’d had never met. But as much as I wanted to, I didn’t, I had to respect her wishes now that she was choosing to trust me, so I did as she asked and gave her middle name ′May′ instead, although with little satisfaction. Of course.

Layton asked questions on where she came from, exactly who she was. I didn’t give much away only that she came when we needed her and that I trusted her with my life and that of my men too and was a very valuable asset to have on our side. I want to help Lelanna, so desperately, I want to help her see how important it is to go back to her family to let them see her alive and well, even if she decides not to stay at least they have that comfort of knowing she was safe.

But something was bugging me… a selfish part of me wanted Lelanna to stay here with me. Seeing her after all this time was amazing and it bought back memories of the wonderful times we had together and how much I had felt for her. all I wanted to do was spend time with her, cuddle her, kiss her just like we used to. Since I came here, no other woman had turned my head, many of them tried of course, but I knew most of it was just down to my status as Alpha and none of them were ever tempting enough to give the time of day to.

I’m not going to lie, after a while I did stop thinking about Lelanna and I suppose you could say I forgot about her. I knew we weren’t in love back at Blue moon but what we felt was something strong and we did find it hard to part ways. The thing is what we had wasn’t enough for her to leave her life behind. But here she is, back in my life so unexpectedly and under completely different circumstances. Maybe this time things might be different, maybe we could go back to what we were and fall in love and she’d live here with me. I know I’m getting ahead of myself, but I can’t help but feel hopeful to what it could lead to... perhaps a second chance and this time for keeps.

Right now… I can’t wait to see her again tomorrow and I can’t wait to chip at that wall she has built up around her and to help her see it’s safe to be around us and to allow us into her life and her world.