Kissed By The Moon

CHAPTER 31: This Is Betrayal

I'm in the heat of battle. I know I don't have to shift to gain the upper hand, but I know that if I do, it'll make things go much quicker. But I'm holding back for some reason. My pack knows I'm different, they know I'm the Selene but I'm not yet ready to show them what that really is. I'm not ready so I tell myself that they are the ones not ready. That I'm holding back for their sake. To protect them.

Despite this, it doesn't take much for me to take a rogue down. My claws are razor sharp and in one precise swipe I can sever a head or slit a throat depending on my force. The rogues keep pouring in in such great quantities that it evades sense. How long have they been plotting this scheme? How many innocent wolves went missing after becoming rogues just to find themselves trapped somewhere with other rogues just like them?

I mean I had anticipated a surprise attack, that's why we had two lines of attack, but I had not expected a second wave to hit as massively as it did. When I heard the howl, my heart sank thinking of Charlotte, but I had to trust that she'd be okay. That she was ready for this. Especially after how hard she'd been working.

As I fight, I don't realise that I've temporarily turned off my mind link in order to focus. I'm reminded when thoughts of my mate make clear the fact that I can no longer hear her updates. I don't really need to hear much from anyone. Every front is stationed with my most trusted people. Brie and Mo are on the West Front. My parents are on the East. Charles and Tim are leading in the South and I've put the Gammas with Charlotte, as well as Deidra, who I trust to look after my mate, since she'd been doing it so well from the beginning.

The battle is only taking a long time because the rogues are many, but we definitely have the upper hand. We have the advantage of coordinated attacks, whereas the rogues, although working under some form of unity, are individualistic, therefore easier to kill.

I decide to turn on the mind link for any updates. There isn't a lot going on, so I ask the Gammas to update me on my mate.

She got injured and limped off the battlefield with that Deidra girl. Her injury wasn't too bad, she should be back by now, but we don't see her.

I know this a normal report, but a part of it seems off. I have a strong feeling of unease but I try to push myself to keep fighting and stop being so paranoid.

Amari stop goofing off and shift, we need to go find our mate. Eres instructs.

She doesn't force me to shift, but she doesn't have to. Whatever reservations I had before are long forgotten and I shift without giving it a second thought. I tower over all the other wolves with my white fur and giant claws. I'd shifted privately, with Char, quite a lot since the first time, so I'm used to this form. I'm used to the power it makes me feel and to the terrifying aura it emits.

Both Eres and I are in control, working together to cut the battle short. I ignore the shocked looks on the faces of my warriors and instead tell them all through the link to keep fighting and not to get distracted. Seeming to accept that this new wolf is me, they shrug off their shock and continue.

I did pretty well in human form, but as Eres, I'm unstoppable. Killing two to three rogues at a time. Tearing through them like they were rodents; scattered, multitudinous, but no match. In no time, their number are greatly depleted, and our victory is not far off so I leave the rest to the warriors and run back towards our pack so I can look for Charlotte.

The battle with the second wave is still at its climax, but there are less rogues here so it doesn't take long for me to significantly reduce those numbers. The Gammas point me in the direction of where Deidra took Charlotte, and one look there and I know exactly where to find her. My skin crawls. Surely Deidra could not have known what lies in that direction. She must have innocently taken her to rest there.

This is the way to the secret place I shared with Denzel. I make my way into the forest and find the entrance to what looks like a cave. It's not. It's actually a tunnel Denny and I found that led to a small cabin. We put up a wooden seal to give the tunnel the appearance of a cave so that no one else would find that cabin. There's a lever that you pull to open the barrier, but I elect to break though it. This was a secret I shared with a friend, there is no longer a need to protect that secret because the friend has become the vilest type of enemy.

I see the old cottage some distance ahead of me, and it's surrounded by warriors from Blue Moon Pack. That's that perve Jackson Keller's pack! Is he working with Denzel? Whatever the hell for? Disgust washes through me at the thought of our last encounter that ended with him being thrown out a window. Why the hell would Jackson be working with Black against my pack when just a few months ago he wanted to be my mate? When Blue Moon is an ally to Silver Moon?

There's a nearby box and I open it to find some old clothes I had put there so many years ago. No one ever came here so the clothes here were never changed or replaced. I used to do it when I came here with Denzel. I find my old shorts and a plain shirt and I put them on after shifting. I bare my claws and head towards those treacherous warriors. I don't mean to kill them, but when I smell the faint scent of my mate, I can't help thee rage that takes over. I kneel down next to the last of the warriors I just killed and wipe my bloody claws on his light brown fur. I guess an old me would feel bad about this massacre, but they have my mate, likely weak and dying in there, so all is fair in love and war.

I smell five people, but that doesn't make sense. The fifth smell doesn't make sense. I'm likely losing my edge because of the blood bath, so I shake off their presence. I focus on the scents that make sense. Deidra, alive, waiting to betray me. Jackson and Denzel, knowing I'm out here, waiting to make their grand reveal. And my mate, weak and bleeding. I don't think her wolf is able to heal and the aconite I'm smelling may be the cause of that. This seemingly innocent looking purple plant can really weaken a wolf. It's only effect is in incapacitating the wolf, but if they are injured and injected with the stuff, they will heal like a normal human, which, given the gravity of the injuries we tend to sport, is basically not at all.

I don't want to go in guns blazing, in case I put Charlotte at risk. So, I retract my claws, open the old wooden door and walk in. My eyes instantly glow red from the sight I see before me.