Declarations

*Allie-Jean’s POV*

I had no experience in combat. I had never fought in my wolf form or even in my human form. All of the other girls had been trained since they were younger, instead of schooling as my home pack had done. We believed that we were safe. We were relatively peaceful, so our men being trained would be enough. Now, we weren’t guaranteed our safety and I worried for my home pack, who hadn’t ever really taken combat training seriously.

“Allie-Jean. I’m going to pair you up with Kassie.” Bailey wasted no time. There were quiet giggles from the girls and I looked around until a small wolf came out of the crowd. Kassie looked young and her eyes darted nervously as she made her way to me. Her fur was fluffy, an obvious tell that she was young.

She didn’t smile or introduce herself, just looked down at the ground as Bailey paired everyone up.

“Okay!” Bailey shouted. “We’re going to just get right into it. It’s important for you to learn your weaknesses and strengths. I’ll be going around watching you each spar. There are no rules here, much like there won’t be any when fighting against other packs. Do anything you want. Push each other. Begin!”

My heart started pounding. That was it? I had never fought before! What was I supposed to do? There’s no way this little wolf could even hurt me, though.

Looking at her, I saw that she was standing as tall as she could on all fours, her brows furrowed and teeth snarling. A low growl emitted from her throat. Panicking, I stood still, trying to figured out what she was going to do.

All of a sudden, Kassie lunged at me. I ducked out of the way and she landed behind me on all paws. Quickly, she turned and lunged again, swiping at my face. I was forced to roll out of the way again.

“Hey!” My mind linked with hers but there was no answer.

Instead, she lunged even quicker and connected with my body, pushing me to the ground and pinning me down. I tried to get free, but she grabbed my neck with her sharp teeth. Pain shot down my body and I let out a yelp. She was fast and had large bursts of stamina. I waited for her own neck to be free before grabbing hold of it and throwing her to the side. She was almost half my size and easily rolled backwards. I stood up and anger bubbled inside me. How could something so small hurt so much? She seemed out of control, though. Almost as though this was a fight to the death for her. I took no time attacking, jumping towards her and swiping at her face. I saw a scratch fork on her snout. She tried to get me back, but I landed on top of her and snarled in her face, stomping my paw onto her neck. She squirmed under me, but couldn’t get free. I was simply holding her down instead of fighting and she soon started to pant, out of breath from the energy she was using quickly.

“That’s enough.” Bailey was by our side soon enough and I stepped back, letting Kassie up. She scrambled to her feet, glaring at me and I noticed that it was eerily quiet, all of the girls staring at us. “You’re stronger than expected.” Bailed nodded towards me. I saw that Kassie’s snout was bleeding and so was the area above her right eyebrow. “Kassie. You use up all your energy at once. With your size, it will be hard for you to attack right away. Instead, focus your energy on tiring out your enemy. You tired yourself out instead and AJ was able to use that against you.”

At being called ‘AJ’, I stared at Bailey in shock. I had never been given a nickname before, not even by my own family. I couldn’t tell if it was something out of endearment or to belittle me. Finally, I settled on the fact that I was finding somewhere I belonged and people were finally respecting me.

For the rest of the day, Bailey showed us techniques and split us into different groups. My wolf was as big as the biggest ones that were there and I worked on strength and blunt attacks. Kassie was in a group with younger wolves who worked on their agility and swiftness. I didn’t tire easily. Having two brothers made me strong and durable.

As I switched back to my human formed and we were given uniforms specially designed for us and our wolf form, some of the girls came up to me and told me that I was a natural.

I was excited to learn more and as I walked back towards the pack dining hall, I was even more excited to eat.

_____

*Jaedon’s POV*

Everyone was pretty quite as they made their way back to the dining hall. I spotted Allie-Jean quickly. She looked more lively than ever and I was a bit confused. I was sure that combat training would take a toll on her. She went confidently up to the head table and took a seat by me after I had sat down. We hadn’t shown each other much public affection and I was taken aback when she kissed my cheek softly and offered me a bread roll. I watched her carefully butter the roll and set it on my plate.

“You look happy.” She smiled up at me and my stomach fluttered when I looked back into her green eyes.

Allie-Jean filled me in on how combat training went. She spoke with a brightness I had never seen before and I was excited that she felt at home and was coming out of her shell. “All the other girls said I was a natural! Bailey said I’m strong.”

I but into the bread roll, warm butter coating my mouth and the warmth of the roll settling onto my tongue. “I’m glad you feel more accepted. I was thinking that we should take a visit to see your brother this following weekend.”

Allie-Jean’s face lit up. I studied the way her soft lips curled up into a smile and how her cheeks flushed a rosy pink. I had to look away because one thing was crossing my mind that I wanted to declare to her: I love you. I couldn’t possibly tell her right now, could I? We had already connected our souls together. I could imagine the way her body felt warm up against mine every time we finished making love. I WAS in love with her. She was beautiful in every way and thinking about her soft sounds as we moved together as one was making me excited.

I was glad we were sitting down. My manhood grew hard at the thought of her and I could barely contain myself. As we continued to eat, I had to keep trying to control my urges to pick her up right then and there and have my way.

“Sir.” Peter was reading over a piece of paper. I hadn’t realized that he had been given something from one of our messengers. Finally there was something else that I could focus on. “A letter arrived from Blood Moon.” Allie-Jean glanced at me in worry. “It’s nothing bad.” Peter noticed her nervous glances and smiled warmly at her. Her face relaxed. “They hope that Allie-Jean is loving her newly married life and want to come and visit.”

What were the odds of that? “I was just telling her that I’d love to go and visit her family soon. Amazing. Well, let’s send them back a message that they are more than welcome to come and visit us. We’ve already been there and I’m sure they’re wondering what goes on here.” Peter nodded at me and stood from the table, quickly trying to find a messenger to relay to. We continued to eat. I had never seen Allie-Jean eat that much.

When we finished, we made our way back to our room. “How about a nap?” I asked Allie-Jean. She obliged and took my hand. I felt young and in love as we walked outside in the warm summer air. It was important to enjoy the sun as our region would be covered in snow in just a few short months. I didn’t dislike the winter, but I was worried about what Allie-Jean would think. I wasn’t even sure she’d ever seen the snow. I asked if she had.

“Snow?” She looked puzzled. “I’ve heard of it. I guess I knew that it snowed up here, but I’ve never seen it before. It’s warm all throughout the year in Blood Moon.”

I smiled down at her. “You’re adorable. I’m sure you’re going to love seeing it for the first time. Next winter, probably not so much. It DOES get tiring after some time. I supposed I’m just used to it by now. It will be lovely to learn to appreciate it again through you.”

I opened the door to the pack house and Allie-Jean followed me in. My heart was whole. When we entered our room, I watched her change from her combat outfit to something more comfortable. She was still kind of shy around me, so I didn’t make it noticeable that I was in awe. She slipped her pants off and I noticed two dimples above her behind as she pulled her shirt over her head. Her long, red hair fell down her back.

I felt unable to contain myself anymore. “Sleep by me like this,” I told her as I walked over and hugged her from behind. Her body melted into mine like a puzzle and she nuzzled her head into my arms. I gently took in her scent, a fiery hint of cinnamon that made me go crazy. I placed my hands on her hips and dragged them up towards her waist. Her skin was warm and velvety. I felt my manhood stiffen and she must have felt it, too. She giggled shyly at the feeling of it on her back.

She turned around to face me and I gently tilted her chin up towards me and she closed her eyes before I kissed her, taking in her sweet taste. I made my way onto her cheek, her chin and down her neck. She let out a soft sign before I picked her up. She wrapped her leg around me and soon we were feverishly kissing each other in passion. I carried her to the bed and laid her down. Carefully, I pulled her panties around her hips and down her legs. She blushed and smiled up at me. I helped her to unhook her bra and slowly took it off, throwing it to the side.

She was beautiful and my heart was beating almost out of my chest. “You’re all mine,” I growled. She allowed me to take her body as mine.

When we finished making love, we laid by each other, our hands intertwined. I was tired and felt like sleeping. When a knock came at the door, I stood up carefully and dressed. I saw Allie-Jean start to doze off. Opening the door every so slightly, I saw Peter standing there. “What’s up, man? Can it wait?” I asked.

Peters’s eyes were serious.

I slipped out of the door and quietly closed it behind me. I felt and immediate pang of worry as Peter started pacing in front of me. He was never really anxious. “Peter. C’mon, man, what’s going on? Are you okay?”

He stopped pacing. “I’m okay, but Blood Moon isn’t.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked. Fear pulsed throughout my body. “We JUST got a letter from them today. Are they not able to make it now or something?”

Peter shook his head. “They’ve been attacked.”

“By whom? What are you talking about?”

“We’re not exactly sure yet. We had spies stationed there. I’m sorry I didn’t ask you before sending them. I figured it would be a good idea.”

“That’s fine! Just tell me what you know.”

“They killed Allie-Jean’s mother, her younger brother and almost half the pack. The rest of the pack is fleeing together, led by Allie-Jean’s brother Sean and his Luna. I’m not sure how far they are, but I’ve sent another messenger to try and find them and tell them to come here. That’s all I could think to do!”

I started to pace now. My mind was racing. There was only one pack that would do this so suddenly. It had been only a week since Sean chose his Luna. I knew that Twilight Village had to be the ones behind it. “What do you propose we do now? I know we promised to help them, but why were they attacked that quickly? If it was Twilight Village, all of the surrounding packs are going to realize that. Do you think they would act so fast? How were they already prepared?”

It HAD to be Twilight Village . . . Right?

I knew I would have to tell Allie-Jean what I had just learned. It would only get worse from here. I knew the reaction she would have: one of anger and revenge or one of utter sadness.

“The most important thing is that a good number of them have survived,” Peter said. “If it was Twilight Village, they acted alone and out of anger and it will cost them. They didn’t THINK. I’m not sure exactly who it was, but Twilight was the most upset about everything. About Sean marrying an original. Vincent’s daughter should have been Luna.” I shot Peter a look. “That’s not what I think should have happened. I mean, who cares who Shaun chose? What their pack does isn’t anyone’s business. I’m just saying that Vincent Dawn HAS to be behind this. I’m just confused because now he’s put his whole pack and his allies in danger.”

The door creaked open and Allie-Jean walked out. She was dressed now and there was still sleep in her eyes. “What’s going on?” She asked.

Peter and I looked at each other uneasily, but just for a moment. I knew I was going to have to tell her as soon as possible or her brother would show up and tell her himself. I had to prepare her and the rest of our pack NOW. War was now declared.

So I told her.