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"I know we've never had a heart to heart before," I said. "But you are the other half of my soul."
My wolf chuffed out his agreement.
"We both care for our mate. We love her, and want to protect her, but we won't be able to do that unless we work together." I reached up to touch my forehead, not feeling anything, but remembering how Rosie said the crescent moon symbol of the Wolf Moon's gift rested there. I wondered if I would eventually get the same marking as her. "We have a responsibility, not just to our mate, but Mother Moon herself. Our mate has chosen us to share the burden of the Wolf Moon's gift with us. We have to do everything in our power to see that it never falls into the wrong hands."
My wolf crept closer before sitting a foot away from me, his tail looped over his front paws as he watched me, listened to me.
"Please fight beside me. Share your strength with me, and I will do the same. Let's protect our mate together." I held out my hand, waiting to see if my wolf will reciprocate with me.
My wolf studied me for a long moment, then at my outstretched hand. There was a moment where I thought he'd reject me, but instead, he got up and took the necessary steps to nudge my hand with his snout. I grinned and ran my hands over his thick fur, amazed how soft to the touch it felt. The heartwarming moment was short lived as my wolf stiffened, seeming to sense danger lurking.
"What is it?" I asked in alarm.
His gaze was heavily trained over my shoulder. Snapping out of our mental connection, I looked behind me to see a large wolf slowly creeping through the clearing, its teeth bare in a snarl.
Another intruder?
I rose to my feet, making sure to stand in front of the Moon Dial. If this guy wanted to get his hands on it, he would have to kill me first. My initial instinct was to shift and rush in to tackle him, but Raph's words of patience cleared the fog surrounding my judgment. Study my enemy first, then react. I got into fighting stance, not shifting until the right time, but opened the connection for my wolf to assist me. The wolf didn't seem to have much tact to his movements. He simply spotted a target and jumped.
Amateur.
I braced myself for impact, grabbing hold of his front paws before it could push me to the ground, my feet skidding through the grass as his sheer weight pushed me back. The wolf went to take a bite to my face, but I ducked down so I can stay pretty then pushed back against my fur-faced enemy. Falling to its back, the wolf righted itself instantly. Ready for round two, I crouched low, keeping myself in front of the Moon Dial. My wolf partially shifted my body, letting me share his eyes and claws. When the wolf lunged for me again, I retaliated with a swift uppercut clocking him under its muzzle. It yelped and recoiled back. Not wanting to waste a second longer, I let my wolf take over and shifted all the way. My clothes exploded into shredded fabric as I tackled it to the ground, grabbing its throat with my teeth and pulled. My grip on it wasn't solid enough, and the wolf maneuvered around, forcing me on the ground with him on top of me.
Oh no, you don't,I mentally growled. With maximum effort, I pushed the wolf off me and delivered a headbutt to his side. We both toppled and rolled around in the grass, fighting for dominance. If he got ahold of my throat, it was over for me, so I fought to make sure that didn't happen. Whoever this guy was, he sure was tough, but there was also something that rang familiar to my senses. I didn't know why, but it wasn't the time to worry about that. When I found myself on my back and the wolf looming over me ready to deliver the final bite, I rammed into his soft underbelly and shoved him back. Both of us back on our paws, we started circling around each other, waiting to see who would make the next move.
I didn't think I was doing too bad, but another one of Raph's words of wisdom came back to me. End the fight as soon as possible. The longer the fight prolongs, the more your energy wains from exhaustion and the weaker you become.
I needed to end it now.
Before the wolf could make a move, I dove first. It likely wasn't smart, but I was relying on the element of surprise. I knew I fucked up when the wolf swerved to the side before I could grab hold of him. In response, he tackled my side and went for my throat. Thinking fast, I rolled over and swiped at his face, feeling my claws slicing through something. The wolf yelped and backpedaled with blood dripping from its face. It took three seconds for me to see that I slashed through its left eye. I took that as an opening. I maneuvered to his left since that was now completely blinded to him and jumped into action. My mouth latched onto his throat again, and this time I held down his front paws with one of mine, and the other pressed down on his ribs. Growling, I pulled with all my might until I felt a metallic explosion filling my mouth. The wolf stilled under me as I ripped out his throat, killing him instantly.
I backed away and shifted back into my human skin, hunched over with my hands on my knees and panting profusely to steady my racing heart. My mouth was completely red with blood and tailed down my neck and chest. The adrenaline high I was on was wearing off, but thankfully I was still alive. Now that my mind wasn't on fight or flight mode, I looked at my fallen enemy in front of me, assessing if I really knew who it was or not.
Though I couldn't tell who he was in wolf form, the familiar floral aroma that clung to his fur struck home with me.
The smell of roses.
He was a pack member from Kingsrose.
"Shit," I breathed. If this guy was from Kingsrose, then Pierce must've found us. Or he'd now be looking here for Rosie now that one of his pack mates isn't coming back. I had to get to Rosie, to warn her. I didn't know what was going to happen, but I didn't like the odds.
ROSIE
Leaning against the rails, I had my earbuds in listening to KPOP music, all while wondering if Kao was okay. It didn't seem like anything in particular was wrong, but he did take off right after dinner without saying where he was going. Raph assured me he was fine, so that set my mind at ease some. He and Kao spent more time together training, and he spoke of his progress with pride during dinner. For a moment, things were calm. If not for the many dangers approaching, or that several of our family members were still MIA, it could've been considered a normal, peaceful day. But it wasn't.
I missed Kai and Joaquin, and the urge to look for them was becoming too much to ignore. My knuckles were turning white with how hard I was gripping the rails. If I pulled any harder, I would probably end up splintering the wood. This was ridiculous. Why was everybody around me making all the sacrifices while I hid from one place to the other? How was that fair to them? We were supposed to be in this together, yet it felt as if I wasn't contributing in the slightest.
"Keep frowning like that, and you'll end up with wrinkles on top of wrinkles." I whipped my head to the sound of Sabina's voice. She and Roxanne stepped out of the cabin to join me, while Grandma and Javier were inside having their moment to catch up. Caleb and Raph were on patrol, and Rowan was inside, probably wondering why he ended up with a house full of strangers. That part made me feel bad.
"Hey," I said lamely, yanking off my earbuds and tugging them into my pocket.
"Hey yourself. What's going on in that pretty little head of yours, your majesty?" Roxanne asked, adding a sarcastic tone to the royal title.
"Don't say that. I'm not a queen, or whatever."
"We've been over this, Rosie. You're the current Queen of Wolves, chosen by the Wolf Moon." Sabina sighed, sounding annoyed to repeat herself.
"Some queen," I grumbled. "I haven't really done much while everyone else is risking their lives for me."
