As Long as We Are One

*Jaedon’s POV*

“You’re saying war?” My best friend and Beta, Peter Normandy raised his eyebrows at me. Peter and I had met when we were children. Our pack, Snow Creek, had taken over his own pack Everforest. Now, the remaining joined us and pledged their loyalty. It hasn’t been a terrible thing for them though. We didn’t have to kill anyone. Their Alpha had been sick and the sickness was spreading. He asked us to take over the healthy of their pack so it wouldn’t have to die off. Our Alpha at the time obliged.

My hands were sweaty and I brushed them off on the red velvet armrest of the chair I was seated in. The room was a large meeting room in the pack house. Peter was swishing around the dark brown liquid in his glass. It was bourbon. He carefully poured me a glass and handed it off to me. I could see the confusion in his eyes as he finished his glass off and set it down.

“You’re married, too?” Peter leaned against the wall, running his hands through his shoulder-length blonde hair. “Who is the lucky lady?”

I quickly took my bourbon like a shot. “It’s Allie-Jean Dire of Blood Moon pack. Formerly. She’s here right now. We aren’t going to have an official feast and wedding. We both just kind of agreed we’re married. Her family heard me say it, so there were witnesses. Her brother Shaun Dire, Alpha of Blood Moon married an original and tension is high.”

A mind-link came through to me. ‘You needed to see me?’

‘Yes.’ I linked back.

It was Bailey Richard, one of the best women warriors I had ever seen. She was head of training for our females. “Bailey is coming,” I told Peter. “We are all going to have to train every day from now on. I expect her to watch out for Allie-Jean. Allie-Jean has never learned combat before.”

“Wait a minute. I’m still stuck on the whole war part.”

“Like I said; Tensions are high right now. Shaun should have married Winnie Dawn. She is Alpha of Twilight Village’s daughter. He didn’t. They have married into originals for two generations now. All of the other packs think they’re weak. I believe in them though. Shaun’s mother Summer was a great Luna before his father disappeared somehow.” The story of Dread Dire haunted every pack in the land. No one knew how he had died and no one found his body. “I’ve promised Shaun that I would marry Allie-Jean so that our packs can be bonded. We will be their Allie’s forever and fight beside them.”

Peter’s eyes widened. “Why? Why would you do that? Isn’t that a death sentence for all of us?”

“I don’t think so,” I said. “I trust them. Shaun is a great leader and I trust myself . . . And you.”

A knock at the door stopped our conversation and I nodded at Peter. He went to open the door and there stood Bailey. She had her fighting suit on, which was a fitted silver material. Her hair was long and platinum blonde. Her eyes, however, were as dark as the night sky. She nodded at Peter and followed him inside.

I stood and she bowed at my feet. “Rise.” She stood, looking back and forth from Peter and i with a sense of worry. “You might wonder why I called you here. I’m very proud of the progress you’ve been making with our women. We have some strong warriors now, thanks to you. I just came from Blood Moon, where Alpha Shaun chose his Luna. It was an original.” Bailey’s face went pale. “I know and we understand that they might be in danger. It may come as a surprise, but I have married Shaun’s younger sister, as she is my mate. I have vowed to be their allies.”

Bailey let out a chuckle. "Alpha, that doesn't shock me in the slightest. You're kind and brave. You helped Rogues. Of course you will help your mate's home pack." She smiled wider. "Former."

Peter laughed, too.

"I need you to spend extra time with Allie-Jean. She has never learned combat and I'm afraid all of us are going to have to use it shortly. I am putting her under your expert watch. We will have to be training the pack every day, both in human and wolf form. We can't be too careful."

"Of course." Bailey nodded. "Who else knows?"

"No one else knows right now," I told her. "I need advice from both of you. Do you think I should tell everyone or train them hard until someone asks?"

Peter looked down at his feet, but Bailey was quick to make a suggestion. "You need to tell everyone. Our lives could be in danger. Now is the time to test their loyalty, especially all of the Rogues that we have been bringing in. If someone is not willing to work harded and protect the well-being of the pack, I think that we should know right away."

I hadn't thought of that before. Slowly, I paced around the room with my hands stuffed inside of my pockets. I almost should tell everyone, huh? She was right about testing their loyalty. There were many Rogues that we had just taken in and we didn't necessarily know about their stances on loyalty. They had left their packs or had been thrown out. What would make them want to fight for us? On the other hand, telling everyone could throw the pack into mass hysteria and fear. I had made my decision.

"Tomorrow morning I will tell everyone. I will announce the plans for daily training. It will begin at five in the morning and push on until lunch time. Peter. I need you to go to our armormakers and stress the importance of making sure everyone's been fitted for armor and that they have it. Give them a deadline of three weeks, if possible. We need hearty meals for our pack and an early curfew. Say, nine at night. Everyone must be in their quarters."

Peter and Bailey nodded and looked at each other.

I could see fear in their eyes.

In my own heart I felt it, too.

______

*Allie-Jean's POV*

Jaedon had called a pack meeting so early in the morning. The bells had gone off. We had been sleeping by each other and he was quick to wake and ordered me to get dressed and head to the pack's dining room. He seemed bothered, but I didn't feel confident enough to ask him what was going on. I figured I would know soon enough.

I slipped into jeans and a black T-shirt. Jaedon had left the room almost immediately after waking me. I quickly threw my hair up into a bun and slipped on my tennis shoes. I was glad that I saw a guy around my height, his blonde hair messy at his shoulders and a lopsided waddle walking ahead of me as I left the room. I wasn't completely sure where I was going yet. "Excuse me," I called after him. He turned around, his blue eyes wide. "I'm not exactly sure how to get to the pack's dining room yet."

He relaxed his demeanor and smiled. "You must be Allie-Jean. My name is Peter. I'm Jaedon's Beta. I'll walk with you to the dining room. It's a quick walk."

I fell into line next to him and we were both silent as we made our way out of the pack house and down a simple stone road. It was warm and sticky, the sun beaming down on me with intensity. I shielded the sun from my eyes and sped up, trying to keep up with Peter. I was surprised he could walk so fast as he wasn't much taller than me and his legs were pretty stumpy.

When we arrived, Peter opened the door for me. Inside it was brilliant, tons of pack members gathered together. It was loud, with many conversations taking place at once inside the brilliant dining room. What seemed like hundreds of silver tables sat in rows. The building had seemed so much smaller on the outside, but inside it was like a giant dome. Brilliant silber lights hung from the ceiling. "You can come sit up at the head table with me, sicnce you are the new Luna." Of course he knew that. I followed him up the aisle in the middle of all the tables and looked around at everyone. They all seemed to like each other, friendly banter going on all around me and almost no one was seated alone.

I sat next to Peter and my face immediately flushed red as I noticed several eyes on me and a hushed whisper falling around the room. It grew eerily quiet as I watched Jaedon walk to the front podium, his head and shoulders held high. I was amazed at how quickly he was able to silence the room. He was highly respected by his pack.

"I want to thank you all for coming this morning. I understand it's really early. There are a few things I need to fill you in on at the moment." Jaedon quickly told the pack about the war that was coming and how he had inserted himself in it by befriending Shaun Dire and Blood Moon pack. There were hushed whispers when he mentioned my brother marrying an original. With a quick 'Enough!' Jaedon silenced the room again and went on. "I promised to help them because I have always stayed true to my oath that I would be a strong leader who helped others who need it most. Shaun and his family are wonderful and kind people. I believe it's okay to marry an original as an Alpha sometimes. You cannot stop who you love. As for me, I have chosen my Luna." Everyone began to whisper again, but Jaedon didn't stop them this time. My face was hot with embarrassment. "Allie-Jean Dire, Alpha Shaun's younger sister is my destined mate and your new Luna. Please stand, my love and meet your pack."

I stood up, my legs as shaky as jell-o. I didn't say anything. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to. Jaedon smiled and I akwardly waved at everyone. I was going to kill him for pulling this one on me. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do or if I should say anything. The pack said together suddenly, "Allie-Jean, Luna of Jaedon Lyle. We vow to protect and cherish you. May you rule in honor as long as you and Jaedon live as one."

Immediately, I broke out in a smile and a rush of what felt like love surged through my body. I felt that I had a responsibility now to protect these beautiful people. The room erupted in cheers and I sat back down to Peter.

"Now, we must prepare for our allies in the Blood Moon. If they are to be ambushed, we will be there to fight alongside of them. A war may be coming and we must be ready. From now on, we will be training from five in the morning to noon. I know it's long hours, but this will be a time to master your skills and learn new things that you want to. You must push each other and look out for the good of all. If anyone is against this, please say so now." No one said anything. Everyone stared straight at Jaedon, a determined look in their eyes. "We are strong because we stick together and know we have no weakness. We will eat good meals and have curfew by nine at night to gain energy and be ready for any moment. You will all go off to training right now. Male warriors Triton, Isaac and Marc will take the men into groups and female warriors Bailey and Xenia will take the women. There will be a hearty meal here at noon. Go now." Jaedon clapped and the sound in the room rose again, everyone rushing towards the exit.

Jaedon came to me and grabbed me in his arms. He lowered his head onto my shoulder and sighed. I could feel him shaking beneath me. "Were you nervous?" I asked in surprise.

"Yes," he said. "It's hard to be strong and I hate speaking in public, too."

I didn't know this about him. I gently rubbed his hair and he stood tall again, kissing me softly on the top of the head. My heart flipped.

A very tall woman with long, platinum blonde hair walked up to us. "This is Bailey," Jaedon told me. "She's the best woman warrior that our pack has. She will be watching you closely and helping you train."

With that, Bailey bowed down to me and then led me outside. I saw everyone shifted into their wolves and take off across the hills. My wolf instincts were bouncing off every wall in my head. They had been very quiet since all of this had started and I was worried. I realized that I just wanted to go for a run and be free for awhile.

As my wolf form took over my body, I felt the wind rushing through my fur as I took off down the hill. Lush green grass was crisp and damp under my feet. The smell of dew wafted through my nose and I closed my eyes as I followed the rest of the pack. It was amazing to run with them. Blood Moon had never allowed our women to train. I was excited to get started.

When I reached the bottom of a large valley, the pack stopped and waited for instruction. There were fighting rings set up everywhere, along with a running course that ran around the entire training field. It was amazing!

Looking around, I saw that most of the pack's wolves were white, tan and black. My wolf was the only one who shone bright red in the early morning. Almost all of the girl wolves were staring at me, a look of wonder in their eyes. I wasn't sure they had seen a wolf so red before.

"I'm going to pair you gals up," Bailey's voice rang out. "We have a lot of work to do."