Dearest Readers,
Thank you so much for reading! I hope you are all doing well and staying safe! Now onto the story :)
XOXO Ally Layne
Bad Moon Rising
Chapter 10: Battle of Two Wolves
It didn't even take a second for me to realize that the scream had come from me.
I also realized that I had unleashed Aegis from where it sat upon my wrist, and it formed into a large shield, protecting my body from a massive weight that struck into it, forcing me back onto my heels.
The wolf that he turned into had red hair and dark brown eyes, eyes that matched his own. They were largely expressive, and I could tell he was shocked and took a few steps back that I could feel from the ground given just how large he was.
His wolf was nearly the size of Mrs. O'Leary, and she was a full-grown hellhound.
I blinked, before unsheathing my sword and stood in front of him in a readied stance.
He let out a low whine at the sight of the tear in my skin on my left shoulder that disappeared right before my shield took the cover of the rest of my body.
I lowered my shield so he could see more of the wound, and he took a few more steps backward, his head bowing in shame.
"I'm fine, see?" I offered, even though I had no idea why I was trying to talk to him while he was in wolf mode. Was he even able to understand me? "And I can heal this easily if I had some water, or even if I went back out into the ocean-"
His growl cut me off, and I looked over to see his eyes staring at something behind me, barking out at whatever came my way. The hair on his neck was sticking straight up, and I barely had time to duck as another large wolf came vaulting out of the thicket.
"Shit!" I yelled, tucking under the shield, Aegis, barely avoiding being shredded by the large claws of the dog. "What in Hades's Underpants?"
A large silver-gray wolf was now standing in front of Jake, who had put himself forcibly between the newcomer and me. Jake's wolf had quite a few more pounds on the other wolf, but they were both so much larger than the one I had swerved to avoid the first night I arrived here.
Jake snarled toward the newcomer, and I gripped my sword steadily.
Who was that wolf? Were they a part of the pack? And enemy?
"Andie, get over here!"
A quick glance to the side, and I saw Embry and Sam standing there with grim features. I looked back over to where the silver wolf had now attacked Jacob, and had to tuck and roll to avoid being slammed into.
I decided they probably weren't wrong that I should get out of the way.
After getting up from the roll, I kept my eyes on the two wolves who were trying to bite pieces out of each other.
I looked back to Sam and Embry in confusion as soon as I stood at their side. "Are you just going to let Jacob-"
"It serves him right," Sam snarled, his eyes harshly following after the two wolves that disappeared after Jake swiped the silver wolf out of view and sprinted after it.
I blinked. "So… you guys are a bunch of wolves, then?"
Embry and Sam shared a look. Sam pursed his lips before nodding. "The legends of our people are not just legends."
"Most legends exist because of something in truth," I agreed.
Their eyes were then drawn to my large shield and sword. "It seems we are not the only ones with secrets, Andromeda."
I grinned sheepishly. "You're not wrong."
Sam nodded again. "I feel like this should be a pack meeting," he decided, before turning to Embry once more. "Gather the others, I will be taking her home with me, and we will talk there."
Embry nodded, but before he turned to leave he paused and looked back over at Sam. "And what should I do about Paul and Jacob?"
Oh, so the silver wolf is Paul…
I guess it only fits that he would bait the other man like that and start a fight. He definitely seemed like the type who was always down for anything.
Especially if it kept the target off someone else's back. The guy really helped me out, I realized. I had no idea how pissed off Jacob was, and if he was going to shred me up any more than he already did.
I grimaced down at the laceration on my shoulder.
"They will come around when they're done," Sam remarked. "Gather the others, we will meet you there."
After Embry left, Sam looked down at my wound with disdain. "He won't be pleased to see what he did to you."
I sighed. "Just get me near some water and I'll take care of it."
His eyebrows furrowed. "You'll clean it out?"
"Oh, I'll be doing a lot more than that, wolf-man."
.
.
.
.
.
After making it back to Sam and Emily's house, I was immediately steered right into the kitchen where Emily always seemed to be. And from the pallor of her face and the gasp that left her mouth at the sight of my shoulder, I had a feeling I knew exactly how the other woman obtained the scars on her face.
I accepted the wad of paper towels to place on the burning wound, and let myself close my eyes as I focused on my breathing and tried to control my pain management. I refused to let her try and help with the wound, knowing that I was going to need it as proof later when the rest of the pack showed up.
They weren't going to believe me and my story, I already guessed, so I was going to have to show them what I could do.
Starting with something as easy as this.
"Is there anything I can get you?" Emily fretted. She was wringing her hands together in worry, and I smiled softly at the maternal nature. "Coffee? Do you need something to drink?"
Sam watched our interaction with slight apprehension, which led me to be on my best behavior. "I don't think that'd be smart," I admitted. "Coffee and my ADHD don't mix too well."
Emily smiled. "Hot chocolate it is."
I shifted in my seat awkwardly under Sam's intense stare that showed up again when Emily turned her back to us. I know he was confused about what exactly happened earlier, and why I was so calm about everything.
And, quite frankly, I think he was surprised I hadn't passed out from pain or shock.
"What exactly are you?" Sam asked, his voice low enough for it to be disguised from Emily's ears. "And how did your… sword and shield, dear god, disappear so quickly?"
I shrugged, wincing at the pain it caused. "Well, I think that's something we're going to have to talk about with everyone, isn't it?"
"Is it really that long of a story?"
I sighed. "It's probably more than you think."
Sam opened his mouth to retort, but was cut off when Emily walked back over to us with a steaming mug of hot chocolate, topped with some whipped cream.
I felt my mouth water at the sight.
"You looked like you needed something extra," she admitted.
"Thank you," I offered, and it was accepted with a wide smile.
"Don't mention it, you're probably going to be around here a lot," she said, gesturing around her as she eyed Sam knowingly. "And we treat people around here like they're another member of our family."
"Or pack," I muttered, before taking a sip of the drink.
Emily's ears picked up on the comment, and her eyes went wide. She looked at Sam. "Does she-"
"Do I know?" I finished, putting the mug down on the counter decidedly. "Yeah, I found out."
Her eyes went down toward my shoulder. "And did one of them hurt you?"
Sam sighed and walked around the counter to take her in his arms. "She's fine, Em. She knows, and she's fine."
Emily placed her hands on his chest. "Was it him?"
Sam's answering nod made the color drain from her face. "Oh no, where is he now?"
"Jake's off busy trying to murder Paul," Another voice answered, as more pack members walked in.
I grinned back at Embry, who had come to stand where I was seated. "Sup."
He tilted his head. "You okay?"
I nodded, leaning back into the stool to try and find a comfortable position. "Yeah, are you?"
Quil let out a laugh. "Are you sure she just found out?"
Jared's eyebrows furrowed. "I was expecting more of a reaction, myself."
"There's a lot more to the story than what I told you, sorry guys," Embry admitted.
They looked between each other in confusion. "What do you mean?" Jared asked.
Sam walked over to the others, placing hands on both of their shoulders. "We should go sit in the living room." He looked over at me knowingly. "There's some things we need to talk about."
Embry and Quil hurried over to the living room, claiming spots on the couch, and I scooted out of the chair to follow. "Are you sure you're okay?" Emily asked from behind me. "You don't need to-"
I shook my head. "Actually, part of the reason they're here is because of something I did," I told her. "You can come listen in, too," I offered.
Emily looked over at Sam, now in complete confusion. "What is she talking about?"
Sam sighed. "You'll want to listen in on this one, Em."
We walked into the living room, and I took a spot on a lone chair, opting to stay away from the others, wanting to avoid another issue occurring by being too close to them while explaining just how I was able to defend myself.
"So, does anyone want to explain what's going on?" Jared asked, looking toward Sam while posing the question.
He must be the Alpha of their pack.
"Jake shifted by Andie," Embry started, gesturing to my wounded shoulder. "He took a chunk out of her in the process."
They looked over to see the long wound, which had already stopped bleeding even without my water healing powers. The joys of being part god, I mused.
"Then why the hell is she here and not at the hospital?" Quil exclaimed, jumping up from his seat and hurrying over to me. "You need to go and get help-"
I slapped his hand away from where it neared the gash. "No, I don't need any help," I told him sternly, before getting up and tossing the wad of towels into the garbage and grabbing a few more to keep pressure on the wound. "This is not something I haven't dealt with before."
Quil blinked where he was still standing by the chair in shock. "What do you mean, not something you haven't dealt with before? You're not that danger prone-"
"I think what she means is that there's something she hadn't told us before," Jared butted in, fixing his eyes on mine with a hidden intensity. "Is that true?"
Before I could answer, the door to the house slammed open, and a shirtless Paul jogged in and hurried over to where I was as he checked out my shoulder. "Well, that's not as bad as I thought it was going to be."
I grinned. "I can take a few hits, Lahote."
He let out a huff of air. "I can see that."
I pushed past Paul and sat back in my seat, allowing my body to relax at the soft cushion beneath me. "You almost hit me too, you know," I said, looking at him with mock anger. "This could've been two-fold."
Emily groaned and ran a hand down her face as Sam grabbed her hand.
"You didn't, Paul," Jared scolded.
He shrugged. "The prick was asking for it."
That was something I could agree with. "He definitely was, even I can admit it."
Jared looked at me as though I had grown two heads. "How are you handling this so calmly?" He looked over at Sam. "Is she in shock? I think she's in shock."
Paul ignored him and crossed his arms as he gave me another once over. "But I won't apologize for keeping him away from you, kid. You did a good job in riling him up."
Sam agreed. "You really could've gotten hurt, Andie."
"Uh, hello! She already did!" Quil exclaimed, gesturing down at my arm. "I still don't know why you won't get any help-"
I rolled my eyes, deciding to ignore him. "The dickwad was practically asking for it."
Paul shrugged. "Touche."
"Even though I was there, I do have to admit that Jared's right," Embry spoke up. "You're handling discovering our wolfy secret a lot better than how I thought you would."
I sighed. "What did you expect me to do? Call the cops?"
The pack looked amongst each other, before nodding. "Well, yeah, something like that," Jared admitted. "Kim, when she found out, definitely tried to kill me and hit me over the head with a metal bat."
I blinked. "Who's she?"
"His girlfriend and imprint," Paul grunted. "Which is something else we are going to have to explain to you."
I tilted my head. "Does she follow you around like a duckling or something?" I asked Jared. "Or is it the other way around?"
The guys all burst out into laughter. "Oh, it's definitely the other way around," Embry joked, ducking to avoid the smack on the head Jared tried to deliver.
"There is a lot more involved with an imprinting bond then that," Sam explained, leaning into Emily slightly as she curled up into his side. "But it's not exactly our place to explain it to you."
I blinked. "Well, who's place is it, then?"
The door slammed open again, and I winced at the sound as another hulking figure bolted into the room.
Jacob stood there, breathing heavily, as his eyes searched the room, stopping only when they landed on me. His eyes were wild with something I couldn't quite place as he hurried over to my side and fell onto his knees in front of the chair.
Before I could do or say anything, he moaned as he saw the wound on my shoulder. Immediately, his head fell into my lap and his long arms moved to wrap around my waist. "Dear gods, what did I do?" His voice was muffled, but even then I could tell it was full of pain.
Subconsciously, my hand lowered from where it was holding the towels to my shoulder and I started to run my fingers through his hair.
He froze after the first stroke of my fingers, and looked up at me with such gut-wrenching sorrow that I frowned deeply at the sight. "I am so, so sorry, Andie."
I raised a brow. "You keep apologizing."
Jake's eyes started to soften. "Maybe it's just my common sense coming back to me."
I rolled my eyes as he took my face in his hands, and started to look closer to check for any other injuries. I slapped his hands away with a scowl.
"Well, if you do anything like that again, Black, I'm not gonna hesitate to bring you to the pound."
He leaned back with a blink in shock. "Uh, yes ma'am."
The laughter that spewed from everyone else in the room at our words did wonders to soothe the tension that lay between us. His eyes softened even more, and filled with a fierce determination.
He held my empty hand with one of his own. "I promise to never do something like that again."
I raised my brows. "You won't blow up at me without any reason ever again?"
He nodded, his puppy-eyes in full effect.
"Somehow I doubt it, but I appreciate the sentiment," I said, and watched as his form wilted slightly at my words. "Well, if you want me to trust you, then you'll have to prove it."
Jake nodded insistently. "Anything," he practically begged. "I'll do anything."
I felt a small smirk cross my lips. "I'll start with a glass of water."
