Epilogue 2

Zelena.

With my head on Tobias’s chest and the warmth of his body washing over me, his steady heartbeat was slowly lulling me to sleep.

That peace was broken when a group of wolves came running through the village, stopping at the bottom of the porch steps. I stood up and walked to the railing, only for Tobias to push me behind him and growl down at the gathered wolves. The largest of the group, a brownish orange wolf, changed form and stood up. I recognise this guy, he’s the same age as Gunner and me, and a friend of Gunner’s. He had been making his way up in the ranks over the past few months. Daniel, I think his name is. I stepped around Tobias and looked down at the muscular Were. His blonde hair sat in a shaggy mess of curls atop his head, and his dark hazel eyes looked back up at me. He was quite tall, with a slim frame sporting a lot of defined muscles.

“You’re Daniel, right?” I asked him. He bowed his head and placed his hand over his heart.

“Yes Luna. We were briefly introduced once before. I am a scout, but I’m in training to become a commander” he said before he stood back up again,

“Yes, I remember you. What's going on?” I asked as I gestured to the rest of the wolves that also started to change back to their human form. We had attracted a lot of attention around the village, and a small crowd was beginning to form. Among those was Lunaya and the Alpha Hina.

“I bring important news, Luna. Where is the Alpha?” Daniel said quickly, a slight spark of panic filled his tone, though he tried to hide it. I could feel the urgency from him, this must be important.

“In his office. Come" I said as I turned on my heels. I stopped short and turned back around. I ran my eyes over Lunaya, and made a snap decision.

“You too” I said pointing at her and Alpha Hina,

“Both of you, come”. With that I turned and headed into the house. I didn’t bother to see if they were following me, I just assumed. I got to the closed door of Gunners office and knocked once, pushing open the heavy door before he had the chance to answer. Gunner was sat at his desk, leaning back in the large chair with his eyes closed. He flew up right and snarled. His angry expression quickly dropped when he saw me walk in,

“Zee?” he said confused, then his eyes turned to the group that was following behind me. I looked over my shoulder to see Tobias right at my back, Daniel right behind him, and Lunaya and Alpha Hina not far behind him. Gunner stood up, placing his hands on his desk and letting a hard expression envelop his face.

“What’s the meaning of this?” he asked firmly. Daniel stepped forward, he had snagged a pair of sweatpants from somewhere, thankfully.

“Alpha” Daniel said with a bow of his head,

“Daniel, what are you doing back? You're meant to be scouting for another week” Gunner asked him curiously. His firm voice had dropped, and he took on a more friendly tone.

“Good to see you too man” Daniel chuckled and crossed his arms over his chest. Clearly unimpressed by Daniel’s casual display, Gunner frowned and growled lowly,

“What’s going on?” he asked, bringing forth a little more Alpha with his question. Daniel straightened and dropped his arms,

“Right, sorry. We were up near Noatak National Preserve in the north of Alaska, looking for the Red Dogs pack, when we ran into some scouts from a pack in Russia” Daniel began,

“Russia?” Alpha Hina piped up,

“What are Russian Weres doing in Canada?” she asked.

“They were looking for the Triple Goddess” Daniel answered. This brought on a deathly growl from not only Gunner, but Tobias and Lunaya as well.

“And what did you tell them?” Gunner growled at his scout,

“I told them we were doing the same thing” he said confidently,

“And?” Gunner pushed for more information,

“And, they said that they heard she was somewhere in Canada, but not sure where exactly. We played dumb, pretended that we didn’t know that, and then manipulated them into telling us more” Daniel said smugly.

“And what did they tell you?” I asked him as I moved to perch myself on the edge of Gunner’s desk.

“There have been attacks on multiple packs popping up around the central and northern regions of rural Russia. Quiet packs, in the middle of nowhere, keeping to themselves. And then boom, wiped out with no survivors and no idea who is doing it”.

“Hunters” Lunaya growled lowly. The distain in her voice was thick and filled the air of the office. I have obvious reasons not to like hunters, I was tortured by one for eighteen years. But I couldn’t help but wonder where Lunaya’s deep seeded hatred stemmed from.

“Maybe” Daniel nodded,

“What else do you know?” Gunner demanded gruffly,

“If it is hunters, they must have some sort of new weapon. The Russian scouts said that the Weres had died of suffocation” Daniel answered him without hesitation.

“All of them?” Lunaya questioned,

“All of them” Daniel confirmed with a nod,

“You’re sure?” Alpha Hina asked him.

“No, I'm not sure, this is only what the scouts told us. We wanted to bring the news back here, before venturing into Russia” Daniel told her over his shoulder. I looked at Gunner who was deep in thought, then at Tobias, who was also contemplating the new news. Lunaya’s eyes were cast down to the floor, but I could still see the pensive expression on her face. She was worried. As if she felt me watching her, her gaze lifted to meet mine and for the first time, I didn't look away. We stared at each other for a moment, each of us trying to read the other. Her eyes lit up with hope as I stared at her, but the deep worry lines on her forehead told a different story. She knows something, maybe something about these attacks. But why isn’t she sharing it? Isn't it in all of our best interest to share the information, to work together to figure it out. Why would she be holding back.

“What do you know?” I asked her firmly. She held my gaze for a moment longer before answering,

“Nothing” she said softly.

“You’re lying” I snapped and stood up straight. Gunner made his way around the desk and slipped his arm around my waist.

“I am not lying to you sweetheart” she cooed quietly,

“Don’t call me that, you haven’t earned the right to call me that” I snapped angrily, I fisted my hands and dug my nails into my palms. I could feel my own anger rising.

“Zelena” Gunner growled lowly. His grip on my hip tightened and I winced. I looked up to him and saw the black whisps of smoke, swirling around his eyes. Whatever darkness was still left in him, it was feeding on the anger I was exuding. Tobias ripped me from Gunner’s arms and a thunderous growl roared from between his sharp teeth. Lunaya jumped forward and placed herself between Tobias and Gunner.

“Stop! He needs calm, this is only feeding the beast” she pleaded, her voice level and yet still firm. Alpha Hina grabbed hold of one of Tobias’s arms and snapped her head to Daniel,

“Give us a hand here scout” she growled at him. Daniel was no match for Tobias, neither was Alpha Hina, but still they both grabbed hold of him in an attempt to drag him from the office.

*Go please, you’re not helping!*

I flashed as I looked at him with sad eyes. Tobias’s glare shifted from Gunner to me, and he softened. Reluctantly, he conceded and let himself be dragged from the office. Once the door was closed behind them, I whirled on Lunaya. I took a deep breath and swallowed down the anger that I so desperately wanted to unleash on my supposed mother. Be calm, I told myself. I forced a smile and glared at the she-wolf.

“I’m sorry” I gritted out. I walked past her and curled myself into Gunner’s side. His head dipped down, and he brushed his lips to the top of my head. His hand once again found my stomach and he rubbed the area in a slow circle, something I have realised brings him comfort.

“You don’t owe me an apology. If anything, I owe you one” she said calmly, offering me a sad smile. I could see that my actions were hurting her. And that’s not what I wanted to do, at least I don’t think it is. Maybe deep down I want to punish her. I was alone and hurting, even though I know what happened to me isn’t really her fault. Tobias is right, we need to talk.

“Lunaya, I think it’s time you and I have a long talk” I said adamantly.

“Yes, I agree” she answered with a curt nod.

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Authors Note 

Here we are folks, the end of part 2.

I'm assuming you have realised by now that another book is coming. 

Part 3, Twin Moon, will begin uploading soon.

In the meantime I'd love to hear your thoughts on what the future holds for Zelena and Gunner, also Zelena and Lunaya. Where do you think part 3 will take you?

Please leave your comments and thank you for reading.