Cade The challenge was supposed to see how you work as a pack. It was a simple game of capturing the flag. I knew it would be a challenge for Cresent Moon. They only had three people here, and that was only if Saka would be participating. They would have one hour to hide their flag, and then whoever brought a flag back of someone else would win. There was no third place or second, only one clear winner. "Cade, I don't know this game," Len said. "It is simple. You just hide the flag, have someone guard it, then the others go find the others and take their flag." Len looked at Kimi. I knew they must be mind-linking. "When does the event start?" "In an hour. They are giving everyone an hour to strategize." "Kimi, I am going to get Saka." she nodded. "Cade, can we hide the flag anywhere?" "Yeah, anywhere is fine. The goal is to use all of your senses to find it." She nodded. "Where is Kaya?" "She went with Robert to make sure George had everything he needed. She insisted he stay in th
Kaya"Robert, do you hate watching me?" I mind-linked Robert. I had been curious about this. He had been watching over me for a while now, and I wanted to know how he felt about it. When Cade told me I needed a guard, I thought it was ridiculous. I still did, but I was curious about his feelings. "It is an honor to be the Lunas' guard." "But it is all you do. Don't you find it boring?" "No, you talk to me a lot, so it is not like I have no one to talk to. Not to mention, you almost always have someone around you to converse with. I am getting to learn to hunt being with you all the time, and I am learning sign language, and your friends are teaching me your native tongue; I have not found anything too boring yet." "Well, that is good, I guess," I said over the mind link. I wanted to ask about his mate but didn't know if it would be painful for him to talk about. He must have read my face. He signed, "You want to ask me something." I nodded. "Ask." "Your mate, Cade, told me she died b
Cade It was like Kaya said her friends hated being in the clinic. They sat there and left as soon as the doctor saw them, not caring about what he said. It was totally disregarded as they ran out of the clinic and went to find something else to do. Helen, Mark, and I returned to the packhouse. I knew Kaya was in the kitchen, and when I walked in, several people surrounded her. They were all laughing and looked to be having a good time. They were all taking shots except Robert, who looked to be the only one not drinking. Kaya saw me and got up. She ran to me and threw herself at me. She smiled at me, then mind-linked, "My hero returns." I smirked. "What have you been drinking? You smell like a distillery." "Vodka, and you know what? I think I like it." Her smile got bigger. "Are you drunk?" She just shook her head but stumbled a bit. The people behind her laughed. "Alpha, Luna can drink a lot." I knew that to be true. In the north, they had that potato liquor from fermenting wild po
KayaI woke up with Cade next to me. My head felt fine, but I remember being drunk last night. How I practically threw myself at Cade. I can't believe I did that. I looked at the ceiling. Cade had been a gentleman and had not slept with me in that state. I would not have minded if he did, but he wanted to respect me, which was fine. I stretched my hand out and stroked his cheek.Cade's eyes opened, and I read his lips, "Kaya." I felt myself smile. I wish I knew what his voice sounded like. My smile faltered a little bit. "What is wrong?" "Nothing." I mind-linked. I continued, "Sorry about last night." "Don't apologize; you were fine; you were more than fine; I was very much amused." I laughed. "What are we doing today?" "It is a break day; everyone can do as they please, within reason. The fights start tomorrow, and today is rest and recovery before that.""Do you have to do anything?" "Yeah, we must meet with the other Alphas and Lunas." I nodded. I was dreading that. If they all tal
Cade The room was oozing power with all the Alphas and their Lunas crowded in. Robert followed behind Kaya, who, based on the look on her face, didn't like being in there either. I wonder if it was the power or the smell. I mind-linked her, "Are you okay?" "Yeah, just too many people in too small of a room. The stench is overwhelming," Everyone took a seat around the table. Robert stood behind Kaya. Jack started to speak. "My daughter Annalise has chosen her mate; she has decided on Howi of Daybreak pack. I looked at Howi, who was smirking. "I don't plan to step down for a while, but I wanted to say this tournament has been successful, at least for my daughter, so Thankyou Alpha Cade. Another Alpha said, " So we are meeting to discuss the fights tomorrow." "Yes, I personally want to see Luna Kaya fight." One of them said. They all looked at my mate, who was sitting there calmly. I quickly voiced my concerns. "It would be strange to have just one Luna fight. If Kaya is required to f
Cade The last day of the tournament was here. We were to have fights until dinner and then have a ball at the end. Kaya was wearing spandex shorts and a tight-fitting tank top. Her long black hair had been braided and kept out of her face. It was snowing outside, and I worried she would be cold. "I won't be cold; I will be moving, and it will keep me warm." She mind-linked me. When we arrived outside, Helen and Mark approached us. They looked at her, and I knew they thought today would be a long day. It was my first thought when I woke up. Almost all of the pack was there to watch the fights, except for the warriors I had stationed around for security. When we moved to where the fights were to be, I was not surprised to find both Len and Saka were shirtless and in shorts. Kimi dressed the same as Kaya, who quickly jogged to meet them. Mark turned to me. "The snow will favor them all, I bet," Helen added. "Without a doubt. They won't be slipping and sliding. If they were in their wo
Kaya I was exhausted after dinner. I had been fighting all day. I had not lost, but I was sure I had some broken ribs. Most of the opponents were more significant than me, and I had to evade being hit, or I would have had much more damage than a few broken ribs. But dodging punches and blocking was just as tiring as hitting someone. My legs were sore from the amount of kicking I had to do. All the people I fought were taller than me, and hitting them on the back of the head to knock them out meant I had to get a running start to jump. But I also had a lot of people that were slower as the snow began to pile up. Without their slow movements and sliding, I could have beaten all of them as the day wore on; I had become utterly exhausted. Luckily, the day had made the snow deeper and the fights easier. While eating, Kimi, Saka, and Len came and sat with Helen, Mark, Cade, and me. "How did your fights go?" I mind-linked Kimi. "Good, the snow made people sloppy. We didn't lose a single fi
Kaya Kimi and I got dressed for the ball again with Helen. This time, I insisted my long, straight-black hair flow down my back. The dress was not low on the back like my last one, and I wanted my hair down. Tonight would be the awards, and I knew the North would take first and second, and third would be shadow pack. I was proud of my friends. Len had won the last fight of the night, and Saka had been anything but a sore loser. He was happy Len had won. As was Kimi, and even Cade. I wore a light cream-colored dress with sheer fabric sleeves and intricate beadwork. It was not low in the back but showed off a fair amount of cleavage. My makeup was much lighter than last time. I told Helen she looked beautiful every day, but I could not put the makeup on as often as she did. Which she totally understood. The three of us really did look amazing. Cade wore a black suit that made him look all the yummier and made me think of the first night we met and I found out he was my mate. I was so
KayaI lay there in the bright light and sat up suddenly. A woman was standing next to me. She was beautiful. Her long white hair was to her feet. Her white skin had a glow. And her white eyes were looking right at me. "My daughter Kaya." I could hear her. "Yes, in here, you can hear and talk. Try it." I opened my mouth and thought about what I wanted to say. "Who are you?" It took me back to hear my voice. The women smiled. "You are in my home." I looked around. It was pure white. "I also frequent the land where all my children go when they die, you know, as the Garden, but this is actually where I live." "But who are you?" "I think you already know the answer." "You are the Goddess." "Yes I am, I am named Selen." I smiled. She had a name. "Do you know why I brought you here instead of the garden with the other wolves who died?" I just shook my head. "Well, I wanted to talk to you." "I wanted to thank you for uniting the North and the South. I always wanted you both to be friends.
CadeWe were running, and I felt it. Kaya was off the link. I tried to mind link her but she didn't respond I let out a roar that shook the trees near us. "Robert." I mind-linked. "Alpha, she is dead." "What happened?" "She, I had to cut the baby out, and she just died." I could feel his emotion over the link. What do I even do? She was gone. How had this happened? She was the strongest wolf I knew. I roared again. I was going to kill Howi, which would be long and drawn out. He had killed my mate. If she had been left alone, she would have been in a hospital. She would be in comfort snuggling our newborn. I didn't know if even the baby would survive. The north, though, was warmer now because of the season, but it would still be cold. There was still snow on the ground. I knew the rest of the pack felt that she had died, and Mark's mind linked me. "Cade." "What?" I yelled through the link while I continued to run. "I am sorry." I snapped my jaws at him. I would not hear about her. No
Kaya I landed just fine. The snow was so much deeper than I thought it would be at this time of the year. Not to mention, it was powder and not hard like ice or packed snow at all. It didn't seem natural. This had to be the Goddess's doing. She had to have made the ground better for falling into. I looked around and Saw Robert lying in the powder. I ran to him. He was lying there limp. I sniffed him. He was still breathing. He needed to be mended. I looked around frantically. There was not much around me. I saw some trees in the distance. There had to be something there. I used my snout to feel around until I felt blood on his shoulder. I used my paw to roll him and saw it went straight through. He would be okay. I didn't know why he was still asleep. They had to have given him something else besides shooting him. The wound was nasty but it could be mended. Maybe they had drugged him again while I was passed out. I tried to mind link, Cade. "Kaya, what is it?" "I was taken. I am, w
Kaya I woke up, and Robert was lounging in a chair. He looked like he had something on his mind. But he seemed like he always had stuff on his mind these days. I was sure it was because I was on bed rest. "Robert." I mind-linked him. "Can we go out to eat? You know the place by the river and eat outside. I want to go hiking, but I know I am supposed to be in bed and I don't think going out to eat counts as breaking the bed rest." "Luna, we need to stay home." My face fell. "Well, then, can I have some moose?" He nodded, and I followed him into the kitchen, where I immediately sat down. He pulled some out of the freeze, immediately put it in the sink, and turned on the water to defrost it. He sat down at the small table with me. "What is it?" I signed. He didn't respond, and I knew something was wrong. "Tell me," I commanded over the link. "Cade mind linked. Howi knows the pack is in the North. No one was there when they went to fight. Howi also knows you are not in the North and is
CadeWe had the spray made. There was so much made that everyone sprayed themselves down. Then, we decided to stagger our movement. So some left already with some deltas. Then another set went yesterday. Today, I was moving out. The people already in Howi's pack had started to set traps. When I got there, I would also set traps. It would take about two days until we were ready to set fires. It was a risk doing it in days as we could get caught. I knew Howi knew we were already coming. When he set his message, it told me he had eyes on us like we did for him. I tore through the woods, my wolf running at a steady pace. I had my bag attached to my back leg with clothes on it. We could not set the traps and fires in wolf form. But fighting we would need to do in wolf form if possible. We are more robust in that form. I ran all day. Stopping at night to rest, then getting up and running again. It was a two-day run to Daybreak pack. Howie had moved his pack to Jack's ho
CadeWe finalized everything. The plan was in motion. The woman who made the perfume had stayed behind with her mate; their oldest son had taken their youngest to the North. Both wanted to stay and fight for the pack. She had agreed to make a spay of skunk, and I, for one, was glad it was not me. I knew that was going to be a stinky job. Robert gave me a report on Kaya after they went to see the OBGYN. He had said she wanted to be left alone and was in a bad mood. But Robert gave me the rundown of what was said. I knew Kaya would be upset, and I wanted to comfort her. She should not be going through this without me. But we had a plan now. We had an idea of how to win. Once the scent was made and we could spray ourselves, we would move into position. It would be a process over days, but I was sure it would go fast once everything was in motion. But we would have to wait until the spray is ready. I hurried off to the training field. It was after lunch training session. T
Kaya Robert and I waited in the OBGYN room. The place was so different from the clinic back at Shadow Pack. I got several looks from the other women waiting. I didn't know if they were staring at me or if they were looking at Robert, who was burly. He resembled a bear. He mind-linked me. "This place is ridiculous, a bit pretentious much?" I cracked a smile. I had been thinking the same thing. I sat there playing with my fingers. "Kaya, they are calling you." I stood and Robert with me. The woman led us back, making me get on a scale and take my height. Suddenly, the woman stopped and turned to me. "I am so sorry. I didn't realize you were deaf, and here I was talking and not looking at you." I read her lips and then looked at Robert. "It is so nice that your husband here can help translate for you." I began to frantically sign that Robert was not my husband. "Oh well, you guys are not married. Not everyone has to be to have a baby. I bet you two are excited." My ange
Cade The morning came, and I waited for Kaya to mind-link me, which she did every morning when she woke up. Even before she left, I noticed that she had started to sleep in later. Growing a werewolf was a lot of work. It was no surprise to me she slept a lot. Today, I would meet with a few people, and we would strategize the best way to take out Howi. Kaya and I reviewed some ideas yesterday, and I liked her suggestion of setting a fire. But that would not be enough. I was eating breakfast with Mark, neither of us talking. In fact, no one in the packhouse was talking. I knew it was because they all missed their loved ones. Everyone, including me, was sullen. I felt Kaya's mind link me. "Cade, good morning." "Good morning, love. Did you sleep well?" "Yes, I wish you could see my toes." "What about them?" "Robert and I went to the aquarium yesterday and got pedicures after lunch. I had them paint them bright pink. It is so cute." I couldn't help but crack a smile." "Oh, and
Kaya Robert and I had met the neighbors, and I felt they already hated me. That or they just didn't understand me. Humans never did understand facial tattoos. I mind linked Cade as soon as I got up. "Cade." "Your awake." "Yeah, did I worry you?" "No, of course not. I figured you were asleep when I tried to mind-link you earlier, but Robert told me you were sleeping. He also said you are going out today." "Yeah, I was going to go out and just wander around the city." "No place in mind?" "No." Being here just a few days was already getting boring. I needed to get out of the house. "Have him take you to Sheels; you liked that place. You could also go to the zoo again or even the aquarium would be fun. Then maybe go get your feet rubbed at a nail place." "Who would rub my feet? That does not seem like a thing." "No, it is. You pay them, and they will wash and rub your feet." "Okay, I will ask Robert about all of that." "Good." "So everyone left this morning, right?" "That