Chapter 128 - Draw a circle

Hopes pov

The sun had barely risen when I woke up, Callum was still fast asleep next to me. I could feel Luna stretching in my head. *"Up for a run?"* She woke up immediately.
I snuck away without waking Callum and when we shifted behind the house we both felt the need and set off into the woods. Our thoughts went to Zandra, we could only assume she was safe and Ambrogio was still alive, shouldn’t we have heard anything if that was not the case? Last night Luna shared my memories with her, about my dream with Selene, could it have changed something? We could only hope.
“I know you must have had a good reason for letting me wake up alone…” Callum’s newly woken voice sounded in my head.
“Good morning handsome, yes, we needed to run and clear our minds a bit. Coffee in the kitchen before training?
“I can think of something else to do before training, but it is required that we meet here in bed and not in the kitchen.” A pleasant feeling spread throughout my body, I understood exactly what he meant.
“Mmm, don’t tempt me...We need to be at the training, the pack needs us there to motivate them before the attack. And then we have to talk to Anton.”
“I know, you’re right. Let’s be Alpha and Luna today, but tonight you’re not getting away.” I laughed and turned to get back.
After a rough make-out session in the kitchen interrupted by Greta, we ate some breakfast and set off for training. We could hear in the distance that something was not right and hurried to get there. It was a big fight, Callum dove right in and started roaring to separate people. What could have triggered this? Luna was as confused as I was and wanted to throw herself into the cauldron of screaming men and women, punches and kicks. But I held her back. *"Let him take this, it will be over soon."*
“(((THAT’S ENOUGH!!!)))” Callum’s roar made the ground beneath me vibrate, my insides too, they were still not calm after our moment in the kitchen just minutes ago. Most calmed down, but not all. I wondered how that was, no one should be able to resist their Alpha’s command, especially if he was as pissed off as he was right now. I moved closer and soon things became clearer. *"Luna, you can step in now."* She was quick to answer, she shifted and growled loudly, everyone fell silent. The fight was between the pack members and those who were saved from the hunters, they weren’t sworn into the pack so they didn’t have to listen to Callum. But they had no choice when it came to me and Luna. She bared her teeth and continued to growl as she walked around the groups of wolves and men. Everyone could feel her disappointment and everyone bared their necks. I opened a link.
“I don’t know what this is about, I don’t know if it’s the testosterone, the upcoming full moon, or just bad behavior. You don’t have to like each other but remember that when you need help during the attack tomorrow, you don’t want enemies among your own.”
I looked at the newcomers, I understood that they wanted to be there after what the Sons had put them through and I wasn’t going to deny them that. I also looked at the pack members, they had their own revenge to claim. The sons had taken their Luna right in front of their noses, something they could not forgive.
“If anyone has a problem you come to your Alpha or me, you don’t gang up on each other, this is neither a football game nor a schoolyard. Is that clear?”
“Yes Luna!” The answer was unanimous.
“Good, let’s start!” I handed over to Callum again who scratched me between the ears and kissed my nose before turning to the embarrassed crowd.
The training was hard and lasted for hours. Olivia had the Quick shift part,she was almost as good as Kevin now , Reese had Hunt and Attack. Callum and I shared Stealth and Climb. Although I had a group with Callum, I kept an eye on the other groups, one individual in particular. Patrick. Quick shifting is not for him, even if his wolf is making progress he will never be able to shift quickly on command. My own group, Stealth and climb work a bit better for him, at least the climbing part. His long muscular body could pull him up and over any obstacle he was put in front of. However, chasing and attacking is where he was best suited. He was incredibly fast and if he gets hold of someone, they don’t stand a chance against his size or strength, the only way to escape him was to be more agile and not get caught. During the last break, he came up to us, or rather, his wolf. He crouched down to be lower than Luna and whined a bit so I backed off and let Luna meet him. He whimpered a little submissively and I could feel the love, respect and gratitude he has for her. She has spent a lot of time with him on the subconscious level, helping him heal mentally and dare to trust others again. She buffed him a bit, fooled around and played a little.
“Look at that monster, he’s not even one of us anymore, he is a freak.” The comment came from one of our own pack members, one of the older warriors and Luna saw red.
“LUNA! HOPE! WAIT!” Callum didn’t have time to stop her before she attacked. *"Luna, calm down girl."* I tried to take control but she had had enough. She flew at the man who tried to shift but the wolf in him backed off. Her large paws pushed him to the ground as her claws dug into his shoulders. She growled and her saliva dripped down on his now pale and horrified face, her aura focused only on him. Beacon took over Callum and came forward, whined a bit and buffed her but her roar made him and everyone else back away, including me. She grabbed the man’s neck, hard, but not enough to hurt him, and then began to drag him away. He cried, screamed and apologized but nothing helped. She released him right at the edge of the forest and he stayed still so as not to make her more angry. With her paws, she dug a circle in the ground around him.
“Strip!” Her command was short and harsh and he looked surprised for a few seconds before pulling off the rags of his clothes that had been torn as he tried to shift under her attack. When he was naked, he huddled together to cover himself.
“You are not allowed to leave the ring, you are not allowed to shift. Is that clear?” He nodded slowly and shyly, painfully affected by her aura.
“You are only allowed to eat or drink other then what Patric serves you, and he is also the only one who can let you out of the ring. Is that clear?”
“I’m sorry…he whispered as he nodded. She snorted, turning her back on him and we returned to the group. She looked around, frustrated and disappointed that everyone still couldn’t agree.
“I have no problem digging more circles in the ground!” With those words, she turned and left the training area. *"Girl...are you okay?"* I understood her frustration, she knew that during the attack tomorrow, a number of her children would be injured, a number would die...seeing them treat each other badly before a battle pained her.
Greta met us on the stairs with a large bathrobe and when I shifted back she wrapped me in it. She didn’t let go of me right away but held me for a while.
“Fundamentally, they are good men, they are just tense and trying to piss and mark their territory.” I nodded, tried to smile but felt exhausted so it became a weird grimace instead so I left her arms and went up to the room.
I woke up to knocks on the door. I didn’t remember moving from the couch to the bed? A red rose on the pillow next to me gossiped. Callum. Another knock.
“Come in!” Maya poked her blonde head in, after her came my mother and..Cathy! Cathy was home! I jumped out of bed and ran forward and took her in my arms.
“Cathy, I didn’t know you were coming home! What are you doing here?”
“What am I doing here? The attack is tomorrow, Low Falls is participating sooo…James is here and I came along.”
“Will you stay? After the attack I mean?”
“Er..Sure...or, well, maybe James needs more help...I’ve helped him a lot, I know a lot of the pack members, that makes it easier. I might need to go back with him for another week...or two.” She tried to look nonchalant and businesslike but I saw right through her. Plus Luna sent me pictures of a prancing Freespi who only had one thought, mate, mate, mate!
“Regardless, I’m glad you’re here!” I hugged her tightly.