LUX

20. Let's Plan a War

The room is silent after I make my demand to the temporary Alpha of this make shift pack. His eyes dark as the night sky, he isn't taking too lightly to this challenge. This wolf will never be able to hold the pack. Not so long as I am the wolf I am. The beast will never give up, not on all of the territory that is rightfully hers. The wolf in front of my is trying his hardest to keep his cool, he thinks I'm not a threat but he doesn't know the fight I've put up to earn my title.

"What makes you think I would just hand my pack over to you, Lux?" he asks with a sneer.

"Because it's not yours." I have no need to explain in detail to this wolf why I deserve the pack and why he doesn't.

"It has been mine, though, hasn't it? My people have been living in great prosperity for years now. Why would I put them through the hardship of just handing them over?"

"Nothing has to change, they will live exactly how they do now. No changes except me being the Alpha and free-range through all of my territories." I tell him the truths that I have decided. "There are two ways we can do this, Triston. You can hand over what is rightfully mine, or I fight. I'm going to fight for what is mine and that is going to put your people at hardship, Triston. That and nothing else. I appreciate you holding the pack for me while I learned who I was supposed to be, but now that I am that wolf, it's time to give back what is mine."

The growl that comes from him is intense, trying to break the will of those around him. What he fails to understand is that I am no ordinary wolf. I am a beast.

"Your wolves will be safe with me, Triston. They left my father because they thought he was unfair, that he was wrong in his actions. It means that they have faith in what the moon wanted for me. Fight with me, Triston, not against."

The wolf looks conflicted. He looks back to his mate, who he must have been aware of her whereabouts this whole time. She gives a tiny nod as if to give the wolf permission to hand it back over.

"What of my kids?" He asks.

"They get trained and when they have the skills, they sit at my table." I tell him.

"No, not Layla. She is a kind soul, dedicated to the moon. She doesn't like violence, she stays away from that." It warms my heart to hear him speak so highly about a daughter that is not his.

"Do we have a deal then, Triston? Will you fight with me, by my side?" I ask.

"Yes, Lux. I will fight by your side. I'll fight with you for what is truly yours." He says. "However, you will only regain this pack if, and only if, you beat your father for good."

A sad sight that a once best friend can ask only for the death of his best friend. But then again, death is what I wish upon my father since the day I was born.

~**~

I head back to the Emmerson pack late that night after the Luna insisted that I stayed for dinner. It was a lovely evening spent with good wolves. I left with the promise that their wolves would be trained for the call they will get. Everyone will be ready for a battle of what needs to be done.

When back at the pack I get the chance to roam the overgrown gardens that I love so much. I walk up and down the path for a long time. I love the nature, it gives me a chance to just breathe and unwind. I think about what is to come in the next few weeks, how it will all be different.

It is a given about my father, but there are so many other unknowns. Will I have to kill my own brother? What about my mate? Will I have to kill all the wolves that have ever wronged me?

Or do I just have to make one example? My father.

Those wolves have to learn who their new Alpha is, whether they like it or not.

Before I can think even more about the looming doom that I have to face, a good distraction comes along.

"You're going to create a rut if you keep walking back and forth like that." He teases, sitting of the swing. He pats the cushion next to him and a sign to come. With a huge smile on my face, I make my way over to the wolf that has my interest.

"How are you feeling?" He asks me. It's hard to concentrate because his fingers are circling into the skin of my hand.

"I just have a lot on my mind," I tell him honestly. "It's coming up so soon and I have so much to think about."

"Tell me about it?" He offers. He slides the slightest bit closer and I feel his body heat so much closer. I never had the chance to feel like this with my mate. Have someone besides me who genuinely cares. Though it's hard to think about a future with him because of everything he was to my sister.

But I tell him everything because I trust this wolf. I tell him my partnership with the Belair pack, about my worries of having to kill my brother, my mate. How do I kill the man that marked me? I ask this question and Emmett stares out the garden. Does he understand that this is what keeps me up at night?

"If it comes down to it, you won't kill him. Not with that mark on your neck. If he attacks you, Lux, I will kill him. Be prepared for that. Your father, I will keep that for you but if you kill anyone else, you're going to despise yourself and I can't let that happen. My wolf has chosen you, Lux. He has chosen you to be his. If you'll have me, I'll be yours too, after all of this is done and only then. But for now, we fight for you so you can get what is yours. You can't fight an entire war by yourself, remember that."

I can't help but smile at the words that come out of this male, but I'm hesitant beyond his words. My gift from the moon doesn't want me, I can feel that by the constant pressure I have to feel. His love to me he spreads to everyone else. I despise the weaker wolf but at the same time I have a longing for him like no other.

"I know." I smile. "Thank you for all your help, Emmett."

"We've got a war to win. Let's get started." And with those words, the two of us start making plans of attack on the wolves who have only known me as filth.