I stand back and watch as members wrestle around with each other, working on their technique. I feel Jason come up beside me as his eyes move over the fighters as well. I glance over at him to see the dark skin pulled tight as he flexes and relaxes his muscles. I can see that he's itching to say something, but we keep silent. I've told him what I plan to do, and he's already voiced his disapproval about our attacking first. The tension between the two of us is noticeable to anyone and the tension needs to dissipate so we can focus on the task at hand.
"I won't say that I disagree with this again, because you already know that I don't think it's smart to attack them on land we don't know…" he starts. I can't stop my eyes from rolling.
"You just did," I point out as I focus my attention back on my pack. I hear him sigh and out of the corner of my eye, I see him turn fully to me. I can see the battle in his eyes. "Jason, if we attack them away from this territory it will decrease the casualties to our pack. I won't let people get hurt that aren't fighting. I would much rather Dylan have to deal with that instead of us." I know that's awful, to want them to have to worry about innocent lives getting killed in this fight, but I'm not the Alpha refusing to back down when this war is completely avoidable. If he wants to risk his pack members' lives, then so be it.
"I'm not going to fight you on this because it is ultimately your decision and no matter what anyone says to you, you aren't going to change your mind. I just wish you," he sighs and shakes his head. "How many people are we going to take with us?" he asks instead as he turns his attention back to the fighters. I glance at him, my best friend since childhood, and I hate that we can't see eye to eye on this. But he's right. It's my decision.
"As many as we can without leaving the territory unprotected. We're big enough and strong enough that we can take the majority of our fighters and the pack will still be fine. Plus we have the support of at least Ace. We'll be fine." I'm not sure who I'm trying to reassure more, him or myself. I can't let the pack see my hesitance towards going into this battle, they need to believe this plan will work flawlessly… but it's hard to trust in a plan that is leading you into unknown territory to try to kill an Alpha who refuses to stop. If I could just get more intel on Blue Bloods territory it would put me at ease. It's just hard to do so without getting my people caught.
"Mason, you're my best friend, so you know I'll back you no matter what you decide… but as Beta of this pack it's my job to let you know when you're potentially making a stupid decision." I glare at him but he keeps going. "Can I ask you something, and you give me an honest answer?" I watch him for a few seconds before nodding my head. I don't know what he's going to ask, but I've known him long enough to know that even if I don't tell him yes, he'll simply ask anyway.
"Are you having us take the fight to them because you only want to protect the pack, or because you don't want your mate near this fight?" His voice is low enough that only the two of us can hear. I look at him and shake my head in disapproval. Of course I want Alaina away from the fight, but he has some nerve to accuse me of not doing everything in my power to keep this entire pack safe.
"I'm doing this to protect the pack!" I growl lowly as I turn to him. "Alaina is the Luna of this pack so she will be protected as well. But our first pup is growing inside her right now, and I refuse to risk a fight being too close to her. I don't want anything to happen to either of them, I wouldn't be able to live without them. And with Dylan hell-bent on trying to take her back, I will not risk it." I watch his green eyes soften at the news of his Luna being pregnant, but thankfully he doesn't say anything. He simply nods his head and moves away to help with the training.
Everyone is keeping busy with their partners, taking breaks when they need to. I work with the younger fighters, helping them with their footing and proper techniques. While I am showing a young girl, newly shifted, how to properly take down her opponent if they are bigger than her, her beautiful voice rings out inside my head.
'I miss you,' Alaina speaks softly. I can hear the smile in her voice and knowing that she's happy, even with all this shit going on around us, makes both me and my wolf happy. I smile and then realize that the young girl is staring up at me expectantly. She smiles but keeps quiet as she waits for further instructions.
"Sorry, that would be the Luna talking to me," I explain quickly. "Just use their own weight against them. If you can get them off balance then you can get the upper hand. Strength and size can make a difference in a battle, but the fighter who fights smarter always wins. Stay focused, pay attention to your opponent, and always remember that you have an entire pack behind you to help."
I watch her face as she takes in my words before nodding her head. The boy she's training with is bigger than she is. I watch her as she slowly moves around him, studying his movements. When he lunges for her, she's quick to sidestep and land a solid jab against his ribs. I smile and nod my head as she takes the opportunity of his loss of balance to sweep her leg and just like that, he falls flat on his back. She jumps and wraps her hand around his neck before smiling.
"Good," I compliment before moving on to the others.
'I miss you too, Red. I've been helping one of our fighters work on her technique today and it looks promising,' I reply back. I walk around observing as I wait for her response. We've been at this since I left the meeting this morning. It's almost six in the afternoon now. I look around again and figure it's time to wrap this up for today. After another five minutes of not hearing from Alaina, I decide it's time to go home.
"Everyone!" I yell, catching all the members' attention. "I appreciate you all showing up this morning and working until this late. The more we can prepare for this battle, the better and faster this should all go. I will see you all back here tomorrow morning at eight. We will continue training and I will explain how this attack is going to go. You're all dismissed, go get some rest. There won't be much time for that in the near future so get it while you can."
They nod respectfully before heading toward their homes. Jason gives me one last look of disapproval before heading off towards the woods. I watch as he jumps into the air and lands on four paws as his light red wolf takes off for a run. I sigh and choose it's best to let him blow off some steam before I try to talk to him again. I know this isn't the best plan. I know it's safer for those staying back, but also extremely dangerous at the same time for everyone. I want the attack to happen soon, but I will not rush the planning.
I turn and head towards our house, still waiting for Alaina's reply. Normally, she'll answer almost immediately, especially since she reached out to me first. My concern heightens, but I push it down as I try to talk to her again. 'I'm on my way home to you now, my love. I'll see you in a few minutes.'
Still no response. I shrug it off and pick up the pace so I can see my mate.
The house is quiet when I walk through the door. Brandon is sitting in the living room staring at his phone while Aiden watches TV quietly. I don't see Alaina but I can smell her close. Brandon and Aiden both glance over at me and nod their heads in greeting as I head towards the kitchen. She has her back to me, busy cutting vegetables and placing them in the pan beside her on the stove. She stops for a few seconds and glances over her shoulder before going back to cutting.
"Hey, Red. What are you cooking?" I ask as I walk over and wrap my arms around her waist. I rest my hand against her belly and I can't help but smile. In five short months, we will have another life in this house with us. A part of us that we made together. She shrugs my arms off and moves towards the sink to rinse off the knife she's using. I stare after her in confusion. "Alaina, you okay?"
"No," she whispers as she keeps her back to me. My wolf whimpers as she doesn't move toward us. I want to move forward to comfort her, but I know she'll only push me away right now. "Who were you training with today?" she asks when she finally whirls around to look at me with tear-filled eyes. Screw giving her space, I lunge forward and frame her face in my hand as I inspect her for injury. Why is she about to cry? "Mason, just tell me who you were training with today! Who was she?"
I let out a breath of relief as my body relaxes. That's what this is about. I told her I was training with a girl and given my past, she must have misconstrued the situation. She glares up at me and I can't help but smile softly before I pull her into my arms and hold her against my chest despite her struggling.
"Oh, Red," I whisper as I bury my nose against her hair. She finally quits fighting and buries her head in my chest as she wraps her arms around my waist. "I know what you're thinking, but it's nothing like that. She was young, fifteen, and newly shifted. She's small and I was showing her that she could use her opponent's size against them. That's all." She relaxes completely and I feel her huff of air hit my chest. "Did you think it was something along the lines of Nikki?" We haven't spoken her name in months and I can tell that was still too soon because I feel my mate bristle at the name.
"I know you weren't doing anything, but I couldn't help but think the worst. You told me you were training with a girl and I missed you today and you were gone almost all day," she rambles, still hidden against my chest. I sigh and hold her tighter as I scold myself for my past yet again. I hate that she even has a reason to doubt me. I know she trusts me and I know she knows that I would never do anything… but Nikki will forever loom over her head. My not waiting will forever loom over her head.
"It's my hormones!" she continues, pulling me from my dark thoughts. "I know I'm being stupid, but I can't help it. I'm all over the place today. Just ask Brandon and Aiden. We were watching a movie earlier that wasn't even sad and all of a sudden I was in tears! Brandon and Aiden didn't even know what to do, so they pretty much just sat silently and let me get a grip on it." She sighs and pulls back to look up at me. I try to fight my smile because in the state she's in now, it'll just piss her off. "This baby is messing with my head, Mason."
I can't stop my chuckle this time.
She glares at me as she pulls out of my arms and crosses her over her chest. I shake my head and smile as I say, "Don't look at me like that, Red. I know you're having a hard time with it right now, but the fact that we have a pup growing inside of you right now that we will get to meet soon is amazing. I'll take your mood swings and emotional days if that's what it takes to be able to see you holding our child."
"I want that too, but don't laugh at me," she pouts and stomps her foot lightly. My eyes lock on her mouth, completely ignoring her little stomp. Unable to resist myself, I lean down and pull on her lip with my teeth lightly. Her eyes shut and she moans quietly as she leans against me. I pull away, not wanting our guests to hear us, and smile down at her. She smiles back and goes up on her toes to peck my lips quickly before walking back over to the stove with a little more pep in her step. "I'm making fajitas!" She glances over her shoulder at me with a soft blush. "I wanted fajitas so I hope that's okay with you."
"That's fine with me. Do you need any help?" She shakes her head as she dumps more vegetables into the pan. "I'm going to go make some calls in my office. If you need me or anything just come get me." I kiss her cheek before heading toward my office.
"Mason," she calls after me. I turn and look at her to see her smile gone as she bites her lower lip. "Later, after dinner, I want to talk to you about the plan you're working on. If you're planning on attacking them there, then you'll need more intel on the territory than the scouts can give you. I used to live there. I may not be able to help in the actual battle, but I can help with this part."
God, I love this girl. The fact that I know she hates being left behind and out of the fight but is still willing to help out in any way. That's what a true Luna would do. I couldn't be more proud of the woman she is. I can see her hesitation, and her worry as she fears me keeping her in the dark about this entire situation.
"We'll talk after dinner when we're in bed," I promise. She nods her head and smiles again before turning back around. I stand there for a minute and listen to her humming as she works. I can see her now, belly heavy with pregnancy as she moves around the kitchen. I know most Alphas want their first pup to be a boy, to pass the title on to… but I can't help but want a little girl who looks just like her mother. I want to hear her running around the house giggling as me and her mother chase after her. And if she's even half the woman her mother is, she'll be able to run this pack with an iron fist.
Our life will be great.
We'll all be happy and together.
We just have to take care of this stupid prick first.