Werewolf Academy

Chapter XIX

Brian has no trouble keeping my pace as I storm through the pack house and into our bedroom. I run my hands through my already knotted hair, irritated about the attack my past companions had lead. What bothers me most is what I couldn't see. The traitor.

The shame settles in, making it hard for me to breath. I was a skilled liar. I know a rat when I see one. So why don't I know who it was that told them? Why was I turned blind when I came here? Why do I have to walk downstairs and now question every face I see? Because I wanted a family. People I can trust. People who trust me.

I feel Brian loop his arms around me. I shrug out of his grasp. While I would normally lean into him without question, my mate's touch did nothing to calm the flames of anger within me now.

"I've always been told that love is a weakness. It blinds us. If you walk in somewhere and let your heart be the weapon the people you meet can turn against you...I lead them here, Brian."

"Don't blame yourself, Adalynn." Not even the pain in his voice can stop me.

"No. This is because of me. I found you and I was so selfish. I hadn't thought about mates since I was a child. When The Hunt came and you shifted, when you and Jake and Nathan found me in the woods and you told them to trust me, I thought I was safe. I guess I never will be."

He sighs before kissing me. "No one will ever be safe, Adalynn. Some are just luckier than others. Get cleaned up and come downstairs. I'm calling an immediate pack meeting. You are the Luna of this pack. I need you at my side."

Because while an Alpha and Luna lead as equals, the Luna is shown more respect in a way. A pack is a family, and the Luna is the heart of that family. It's why the the pups naturally look to her after their own mothers. It's why most wolves will look to me as a crisis is striking and hope I'll say we can pull through.

I walk to the closet, finding a pair of jeans and a tank top to slip into. After tossing my hair into a ponytail, I walk downstairs. Luckily, the fight had been kept outside and everything was as spotless as it always was. While the house was clean, the people inside were in complete chaos.

The adrenaline was long gone and the panic of the recent events had set in. I grit my teeth, meeting my mate's eyes. He knew exactly what I was thinking. What if I had ignored the letter? What if I had never thought about revenge? Hell, what if his father had never slaughtered my pack and the rivalry could be over when Brian and I met at the Academy. His sister could take over the Nightshade pack and he could come to mine if my parents never had another child. Female Alphas are rare, but not unheard of.

I cross the room swiftly, my time as an assassin teaching me how to move through a crowd unnoticed. My only worry before I had reached my destination was that someone would recognize the slight scent of Brian that his mark had left on me. I stop at his side, leaving only an inch between us. His right hand falls to the small of my back, his conversation with his father not halting.

"It's your job now. I handed you my title. You need to calm your pack. I will stand at your side, but leadership is a responsibility that I have passed on. Don't disappoint me."

He grimaces at my contact with his son, still not approving of our mating. "Alpha James," I greet stiffly.

I see the wheels turning behind his eyes. He didn't know how to acknowledge me. Especially with my position as Luna. I was family by name, an enemy by blood. He wanted me dead a decade ago and had thought I was for a long time now. The truth was, he still wanted me six feet down, but he knew the risks of harming me.

You only have one mate. There is no second chance. Once you find that person you can't go back whether you reject them or not. To interfere, to try to manipulate someone into rejecting their other half was worthy of the wrath of the moon goddess herself, as she paired us all from the moment we were born.

"Adalynn," he finally settles with. His attention is quickly turned though. "It's time you start that meeting, son."

"Yes. Adalynn and I should be making our way over, shouldn't we?" His jaw is clenched tightly as his father walks away. "I swear, if he insults you again..." he growls.

I rest a hand on his chest, kissing his cheek. "It doesn't bother me, Brian. Relax. You don't want an already worried pack to see you irritated over a few rude words, do you?"

He huffs. "Let's go." We step up onto the slightly raised platform so the whole pack could see us. Silence immediately falls over the spacious room. "As you are all aware, just over an hour ago we were attacked. A large group of rogues broke an exposed border. The odd part of it all is that the rogue wolves were lead by humans. Human men that your Luna has spoken to."

He shifts slightly, still at my side, but signaling me to step up and speak. Looking over the pack I spot a few familiar faces. Children and mothers mostly as many had wanted to see me after the ceremony. Those that catch my attention most are the six towards the front. Jake and Rachel, Hannah and Nathan, Alysandra and Jack. They held onto one another, grateful that they wouldn't return to their mate's bedside in the infirmary as others would do tonight.

I then think about the lives lost and all of the injured downstairs. Children that were out playing and couldn't be found or didn't run fast enough would be have a funeral in a matter of days. Some of our warrior wolves are barely breathing and were being tended to frantically by healers who would have to hear Brian and my speech from another person's lips.

"The attack wasn't a long one as you all know. They came, took innocent lives of both warriors and children in this pack. This family. And they were gone. We can no longer gauge their attacks. There is no inside voice on our side. We don't know what is going to happen, what they're planning. What we do know is that this pack will be safe."

"Which brings us to the next point," Brian steps in again. "As a measure of precaution, all wolves that have not been assigned a patrol will follow the set curfew. Everyone is to be inside their houses before nine o'clock. No pups should be out playing without supervision after sunset. They attacked us in broad daylight. Safety is our first priority. With that, individual questions can be asked and answered. You all have permission to leave.