La Lune // Bastille (ON HOLD)

- 5 -

Lukas

"Dad!" I yelled across the center of the village, my voice echoing slightly through the wooden houses.

"What do you want, Lukas?" I saw his tall frame straighten itself out behind one of the bushes.

"Is Mason back yet?"

"Why?" I could hear the sigh in his voice as his ears flicked back.

"I want someone to practice with!"

"Go find Dylan or Chris, they'll fight you."

"But, if I'm really going to take over after you, I need someone more advanced than me to fight with. That's why I want to fight with Mason!"

"Lukas. Mason isn't back yet. Maybe you can go fight with one of the Elders. They should want to fight with you," Dad snapped unnecessarily harshly.

I stayed silent, not wanting to anger my father even more. That's the problem with being the alpha's only son, you get shit on practically your entire life. Maybe that's why I took Kelsey's betrayal so hard, harder than the rest of the Pack. Harder than her own father. I mean, it's not like he was much of a father to begin with.

Kelsey and I had a special bond. It was stronger than any other bond the other members of our pack that were our age had with each other. Maybe even stronger than the adults and Elders had with each other, even their mates. But we weren't mates. I didn't feel that way at all, and neither did she.

That's another problem with being the most likely candidate for the future alpha of the Black Moon Pack. There's no one else in this goddamn pack that thinks the same as me.

Our pack has a nasty reputation as the most feared pack in the world. During the First Great War, it was us against all the other packs in the world, there are simply too many to name. We won. We defeated all the other packs in the world. Granted, some other packs changed sides and fought with us. But that was only because they saw that we would destroy them. Those packs had mercy on the others in battle. We didn't. It was kill or be killed. More often than not, it was kill. It was awful, from what is taught. We wiped out entire packs that stood in the way. Just hearing this history makes me sick.

I think that's why Kelsey was so rare. She had emotion. She had compassion. She didn't want to kill for sport, like everyone else. She believed in giving someone a chance to explain themselves if they accidentally wondered into our territory instead of slaughtering them on-site. Maybe it was because she was half-human.

When she left, I was suddenly alone in this world. Being fourteen at the time she left, I couldn't wrap my head around how special our friendship had been. She must have been eleven the last time I spoke to her, but that was the most mature and wise eleven year old ever. Call me crazy, but looking back on it, there might have been something about her that should've told me she was special. I don't know. It's been eight years since the last time I saw her, eleven years since the last time we spoke.

I'll never forget that last conversation with her, either. That's when I knew she was supposed to be the true alpha, not Dad. She would've been a great leader, a fair and just one. She had all the traits. Some even more prominent than Dad did.

"Kelsey, what's wrong?"

"I hear something."

"That's impossible, we're miles from the camp. How could you hear something?"

"Someone's close, I can tell. I hear footsteps."

"Are you sure?" I asked, just as a branch snapped.

"Hide," she whispered harshly, teeth elongating. That's when I knew it was serious, she was rarely ever seen with her wolf traits. I nodded and silently slipped underneath the waterfall, behind the wall of water, just out of sight.

I watched as she silently slipped into the tree line. I strained my ears to hear what was going on. Sniffing the air, I caught a familiar scent drifting in the slight breeze. Mason, her terrible father. I held my breath, fearing he was pissed. But then, I caught the scent of fresh blood. Human blood, so I knew it wasn't Kelsey. He must be coming back from a patrol where he found some intruders.

"Kelsey," I hissed under my breath, knowing she'd hear me.

She came trotting through the trees, meeting up with me. "I have to go, Mom might be in trouble."

"Stay safe."

"I will, you too," she smiled and hurried off, there was no sound. Not even her footsteps against the dry leaves made the distinctive crunch. She was able to stay completely silent when she was tracking something. That terrified me, but I knew she would never use that to harm someone who didn't deserve it.

That was the last time we talked. Not too long after that at all, she and her mom came crashing through the trees, the Pack chasing after them.

The last time I saw Kelsey, I was forced to go on a search party with Mason. That son of a bitch had been stalking her for three years before they finally thought it was a good time to strike. Our party had surrounded their hotel in Oregon, waiting for them to come out so they could strike. Thankfully, they never attacked. I don't know what it was that made Mason not attack, but that was the last time I saw Kelsey. It's been eight years since that night, but I still have hope.

"Hey, I'll practice with you," Trevor walked up to me, shaking me from my memories.

"Oh, okay," I replied, hiding my disappointment. Trevor has always been out for my throat. He's almost the same age as me, just a little younger. But, he's always had this crazy idea that he and Kelsey were mates. Totally not true. Trust me, Kelsey was his worst enemy. She hated him.

"I know I'm not Mason, but it'll be okay," Trevor shrugged. The only reason why I liked practicing with Mason so much was because I hoped to catch him off guard one day and rip his heart out. Harsh, I know, but it's one of the only ways to kill a wolf without silver.

"It's okay, you're good enough," I shrugged as we started towards the Arena. My thoughts couldn't help but drift back to Kelsey.

One of these days, I'm leaving. I'm going to go find you, even if it's the last thing I do. My hand balled into a fist as anger flowed into my veins.

* * * *

sorry about the really boring filler chapter??? one of my friends asked for some info about kelsey's life before and the pack... soooo.... yeah.....