Ananya returned to the pack with Oscar hand-in-hand. Wordlessly, they kissed again, and at Karsten’s call, Oscar released her and shifted, rushing toward the border. Ananya watched him go, the wind combing through her hair as she observed the men crowd together in an orderly fashion. They all howled, reciting a phrase in a language that Ananya didn’t understand or had ever heard before (though she assumed that it was Latin) and the pack howled with them. A cheer rose from the crowd and all the wolves shifted, disappearing through the gates and past the border into the forest, advancing for the first and last battle to free Bourdier from June and Dafowick.
“You took a while,” Samiya noted, coming to Ananya and wiping her hands on a rag. “What did the Alpha have to tell you?”
Ananya shrugged, praying that her blush wasn’t noticeable. “Nothing serious,” she said. She picked up the box of gauze and resumed measuring the lengths. “How are things here?”
Samiya sighed. “We have improvements, though there are some still in critical condition,” she said. She sat on the stump next to Ananya and took the second roll of gauze. “It’s the humans that I’m worried about. Their immune systems are weak - no offense - and we don’t have the proper medication to heal them. I’m hoping that the Alpha finishes this fight quickly so that they can get the help they need.”
“I hope so too. And no offense taken,” Ananya agreed. She regarded her phone, which lay on the stump, and subconsciously realized that she hadn’t been called by Rutuparna in a while. Then, remembering their confrontation, she deflated.
Right, I don’t think she’d want anything to do with me anymore, she thought, and though she should have been relieved, Ananya found herself feeling saddened. She blamed it on the schedule she’d gotten used to following from the time she was a toddler. Rutuparna would check on her every day, morning, afternoon, and night, and now when Ananya was finally free from her controlling hands, she felt lost, wondering if she had done the right thing.
Samiya studied her. “You did the right thing,” she said softly, and when Ananya fixed her with a look of perplexion, she smiled and tapped her head. “Mind-link. After the Alpha marked you, we have access to your mind. Don’t worry, nobody looks at it apart from the Alpha now and then. I’ll teach you how to put mental blocks up.” She approached Ananya and laid a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “You did the right thing, Ananya. I know it may not seem like it right now, but if you think about your future, could you live the rest of your life under somebody’s hand?”
“No,” Ananya admitted through pursed lips. “I don’t think so.”
“Then you were right to run. I understand why you’d be upset, though.” Samilya smiled sadly. “No matter what, family is family, and even if they’re not the kindest, a part of you will always be reminiscent of them.”
The younger girl nodded, reflecting Samiya’s gloomy smile. “You’re right,” she said, counting the blades of grass absently. “I…I’m glad that I can think for myself, but it feels…odd. I’m not used to it, and honestly, I keep wondering if I’m doing the right thing.”
“What makes you think that you’re doing something wrong?”
“Nothing yet, but what if I mess up along the way?”
“Then you fix your mistake. You’re not expected to be perfect, Ananya, not here.”
“But…I’m supposed to be the Luna…”
“Being the Luna doesn’t mean that you have to do everything right.” Samiya gave a short laugh. “I can’t tell you how many times Cai and the Alpha have let their mischief out of hand. It’s okay to make mistakes. It’s natural”
“Really?” Ananya’s heart skipped a beat. “It is?”
“What’s it?”
“Making mistakes is natural?”
“Sure it does, at least to me.” Samiya took the empty box and tossed it in a nearby trash can. “It means that we can change, and if you can’t change, then you’re a robot.”
“That makes sense.” Ananya lifted her head and felt her lips turn. “Yes, that makes sense.” A renewed sense of resolve settled in her stomach and she pumped her fists. “Okay! I’m going to do my very best!”
Samiya merely smiled. She held onto Ananya’s arm and settled herself onto the stump with a relieved exhale. “Good,” she said quietly, resting her hand on her belly.
Ananya frowned. “Are you okay? Is anything hurting?”
“No, no. I’m just tired. I think I may have overworked myself.” Samiya blushed.
“That’s not good.” Ananya watched her rub her belly gently. “Can I get you anything?”
“Nothing right now. Maybe some water later.”
“If you don’t mind me moving slowly, then I’ll get you the water.”
“That’s fine, thank you.” Samiya continued to stroke her stomach, murmuring to her unborn children now and then. Ananya resumed measuring the gauze, though her mind was elsewhere, specifically thinking about Oscar. She hoped that he was okay, and even though she didn’t consider herself to be a very religious person, she prayed to all the Gods who were awake that he would be safe.
She noticed every time she’d look up from her work, that the injured humans would occasionally stand and stretch, and their heads would turn suspiciously toward the border, as though planning to make a run for it. They never moved, however, their eyes remained on the border, as if observing something that Ananya couldn’t see from her vantage point.
“Ball!” A chorus of squeaky voices shouted. “Ball!”
“I’ll get it!” The stuffy, familiar voice of a young girl proclaimed, and before Ananya could react, she was shifting into her wolf form and bounding through the pack toward the Southern Border.
“Ah, hey, wait!” Ananya dropped the gauze. “Don’t go that way!” She looked helplessly at the pups, who stalled when they realized where their friend was going.
“We can’t let her go there,” Samiya, who had been previously dozing, murmured. “It’s not safe. Ananya…can you…?”
Oh, right, there are only nurses, children, wolves, and humans who can’t fight in the pack. Why did Oscar leave this place unattended? Ananya slid from the stump. “I’ll go get her.” Her arms trembled; she wasn’t comfortable with the Southern Border, where Oscar had mentioned multiple murders had taken place, but she gathered her wits and followed the path that the pup had left, weaving through cots and barely nodding to wolves who would question her destination as she passed them.
“Hey! Slow down! Wait!” Ananya called after the girl, whose pace had dropped as she began to search for her ball. Ananya approached her, crossing over a pale yellow line in the grass that she assumed was for directional purposes, and she stood behind the girl as she rummaged through the bushes for her ball. “You can’t run off like that, sweetie. Something can happen to you.”
“But…my ball…” the girl pulled her face out from the bushes, and embraced in her small arms a rubber yellow ball. “I couldn’t let it get away.”
“I understand, but if something happens to you, then the ball will be the least of our worries. Your parents would be very sad if you got hurt,” Ananya explained gently.
“Why would I get hurt?” The girl tilted her head. “I’m still in the pack.”
“Are we?” Ananya looked around. “I don’t know.” A chill passed through her wrinkled clothes and she hugged herself. “How about we get back inside the pack first? I know your ball is important to you, but if it crosses the pack borders next time, then how about we ask a patrol wolf to get it for us, okay?”
“Okay. Sorry,” the girl bent her head.
Ananya flushed. “Oh, I’m not scolding you!” She waved her hands in front of her frantically. “I-I don’t want you to get upset, sweetie! I was just worried about you…I don’t want anything to happen to you…” another shiver passed through her and she felt like she was being scrutinized. Can a child scrutinize me? “Um…how about we go back and play some catch?”
“Mm, okay,” the girl agreed, and just as they were beginning to, she stopped. Her nose twitched and she inched toward Ananya. “Luna…” she whimpered.
“What is it?” Ananya touched the girl’s head, her heart spiking. “What is…” she stopped when a sharp object prodded the nape of her neck. Oh darn…
“Turn around, and I’ll slit your throat,” a voice growled. It was a low, almost masculine sound, but Ananya heard a tiny lift in the voice like the person was straining their vocal cords to sound different. The sharp object pressed into her neck and Ananya stilled, shakily holding her hand up, keeping one protectively on the girl who hugged her leg.
“You’re the Luna, eh?” The voice continued, still low, but getting tighter with unbridled emotions. “This is new. We rarely have humans in such a high position, not to mention a crippled one.” A laugh escaped them; a cruel, devious sound. “Look how scared you are; your legs are shaking! Oh, how I love fear. I can’t wait to see your dear Oscar’s face when he finds your body.” The knife slid down Ananya’s back, trailing directly over the scar on her spine, and she winced. “That hurts, does it? Interesting.” The knife pressed into the middle of her back and Ananya bit her tongue to keep from shouting. “Good girl, you know how to be quiet. You’re complacent. You’ve done this before. It’s the same song and dance to you, isn’t it? Yeah, it is. I’ll make this quick for you and the little brat, then I’ll finish off everyone else.”
“Who…who are you?” Ananya fisted the young girl’s hair, holding her tightly, uncaring (at that moment) if she was pulling too hard because all she wanted to do was make sure that the child didn’t leave her side.
“Haven’t you guessed?” The voice changed, becoming adenoidal but distinctly soft. “Don’t you remember me? I was at the party with your dear Mayor…”
“June?” The name slipped past Ananya’s lips.
June cackled. “You’re a smart one…or maybe you’re just lucky. No, I don’t think you’re lucky. Your precious Alpha left you unguarded, and now you’ll die. Isn’t that tragic? He’ll come back to see his pack in shambles and his mate dead. He’ll return from being duped, and everything he loved will be gone.”
“But why Oscar?” Ananya’s voice shook. “He didn’t do anything to you-!”
“What bullshit!” June slashed the back of Ananya’s shirt and the cold air bit her skin. The knife was directly against her scar, now, and Ananya’s knees trembled dangerously. “What fucking bullshit! He’s already manipulated you, I see, but I’ll tell you the truth. Oscar’s no different from his daddy, you hear? He’s the same fucking bastard and I know he will be! His dear papa killed my daughter, and now, I’ll kill him! I’ll kill them all! I’ll make them suffer just like I did! And I won’t stop there. No, you’re either with me or against me and once I have this bastard out of my way, I’ll go higher. I’ll get rid of all these pompous brats who think they can tell me how to live my life!” The tip of the knife sunk into Ananya’s stiff spine, which was still semi-numb from the surgery she’d undergone years ago, but despite this, she still was able to feel the icy blade in her skin and she yelped, the sound releasing more like a whimper.
“Ah, what wonderful sounds,” June sighed. “I’ll have you screaming as I cut you into pieces. Oh, I’m so excited for this!”
She’s insane! Ananya could see her face, but she was sure that June was grinning.
“Hey!’ The young pup that was once at Ananya’s side escaped her grasp and hit June’s leg. “Let go of the Luna! She’s not mean, she’s nice!”
June snarled. “Is she?” She kicked her leg, sending the pup flying into a tree. “What brats. All of them are. If you manipulate them early enough, they’ll be your clone.”
Ananya’s jaw clenched. “No, they won’t,” she seethed. “They have their own free will. You can’t tell them what to do!”
“And who says that?”
“I do because I know what that’s like.” Ananya withdrew her raised hand, then, creating a right angle with her crooked arm, shoved her elbow behind her. It collided with June’s stomach, sending the woman lurching and stumbling.
“Fucking bitch!” June quickly regained her bearings, though she still held onto her stomach. The knife clattered to Ananya’s feet, but she didn’t have a moment to consider how to grab it before June pounced on her, throwing her to the ground. Ananya’s body hit the dirt with a thud and her head just narrowly missed a stone.
“Agh!” Ananya cried out as pain rippled through her sensitive spine. She struggled to keep June’s hands away from her neck, and at that moment was thankful to have a double chin hiding her throat.
“I’ll finish you off without that useless thing!” June screamed, unsheathing her claws. She slashed Ananya’s cheek and fought to grip her neck. She didn’t expect Ananya to be strong, though, especially in her arms, and she found herself struggling to push Ananya’s elbows into the dirt, as the girl was able to match June’s strength for a while.
Darn it! I’m losing my strength! Ananya felt her shoulders begin to push back, stretching more than they could, and another wave of pain crashed in her stomach, like the beginning of an avalanche of destruction. Oscar…where are you…?
“Hey!” A shout came from the trees and a flash of black and red jumped on June, prying her from Ananya. “Long time no see, bitch.”
I know that voice…”Dhrys!” Ananya tried to raise herself onto her elbows but collapsed. “Dhrys!”
“Hold on, Ananya!” Dhrys straddled June, his fangs elongated as he pinned her to the ground. She struggled below him, clawing his face, but like most vampires, Dhrys’s skin grew back immediately.
“Luna!” The pup rushed to Ananya’s side, her chubby hand brushing the older girl’s cheek. “Luna!”
“I’m okay,” Ananya assured her through the aftershock that shook her body. “Don’t run off. Stay here. We don’t know what’s happening in the pack.”
“I…”
“Ananya!” New voices came. Ananya could make out Cai and Samiya, but there were also two others.
“Stella?” She attempted to lift her head again. “Soley?” She heard Stella’s wheelchair crunch the grass, followed by Soley’s heavy footsteps.
“Ananya!” Soley’s arms came under her armpits, and Stella rolled herself in front of Ananya so that when Soley brought her to her feet, Ananya could lean on the handles of Stella’s chair. “Are you alright? Did you get hurt anywhere?”
“Not really,” Ananya lied, though her voice and body were trembling. “I-I’m fine.” She rested her weight on Stella’s chair. “How did you guys…?”
“Oscar asked us to patrol the area while he went to Bourdier,” Soley explained. Her chest was puffed proudly. “He recognized our potential!”
“I’m glad.” Ananya smiled weakly and regarded Dhrys, who was still fighting with June, although he also had Cai’s help. “She’s strong. They can barely hold her down.”
“That’s what happens when you’re angry.” Soley picked leaves out of Ananya’s hair. “That bitch has been tormenting the humans in Bourdier, from what I’ve heard, and Dafowick’s been her slave. I think he likes it, though, because she’s keeping humans and wolves separate.”
“It’s clear her prejudice lies with the wolves, though,” Stella added. “She’s been killing the ones she could find in Bourdier. Humans have locked themselves in their basements.”
“Luckily, she hasn’t discovered the tenth district yet,” Soley said. “Or maybe she did and she just didn’t care.”
“Probably.” Ananya glanced at the ground. Wait a second…Her heart picked up its pace and her head whirled. “Where…where is she? The pup…”
“Here.” Samiya came behind Ananya, holding the girl in her arms. “She’s fine. She has minor bruises. You on the other hand…I’ll need to patch you up in the hospital.”
“Now?” Ananya was incredulous. “While they’re fighting?” She jerked her thumb at Dhrys and Cai.
“Not now,” Samiya agreed. “There’s more in the pack. They attacked us when you went after Vicky.”
“Vicky?”
The pup smiled shyly. “I’m Vicky!” She said, raising her hand like one would do during roll call.
Ananya smiled, weakly stroking her hair, and felt a laugh bubble inside her throat. “You are,” she murmured.
“We can’t go back to the pack,” Soley said again. “There’s a siege going on. We’re doing our best to help, but we’re outnumbered. Right now, I think we should retreat.”
“I can’t leave the injured wolves and humans there,” Samiya said. “They’re my responsibility.”
“You’re going to overwork yourself,” Stella warned her softly.
“I don’t care. My job is to protect them!” Samiya fumed. “I’m so tired of you all worrying about me! I’m perfectly fine! I have a job to do-!”
“You do,” Ananya interrupted her with a nod, still leaning on Stella’s chair. “Your job is to take care of the wolves in the pack…”
“Thank you!”
“But your job is to also take care of the pups you’re carrying,” Ananya finished. Samiya’s victorious smile faded. “Look, I’m not saying that you haven’t been taking care of them, but overworking yourself won’t help them. The more you weaken your body, the more you weaken theirs.”
“I…” Samiya was at a loss for words.
“HI-YA!” A roar came suddenly from behind them, and with a rush of wind Ananya caught streaks of blue rushing into the fight.
“Kathie?!” She exclaimed. How many people are needed to take this wolf down?
“TAKE THAT!” Kathie smacked June over the head with the back of a chair, hitting her repeatedly with a sense of vigor that Ananya didn’t know Kathie could possess. “THAT’S WHAT YOU GET FOR MESSING WITH MY FRIEND!”
Stella blinked. “Well…I guess it’s working?”
“I think so…” Ananya caught the metal poles in Kathie’s hands. “Oh, it’s silver! The poles are silver poles…that must be why it’s affecting June.”
“Are they? They look artificial,” Soley said, squinting.
“They’re real silver,” Samiya said with a nod. “She must have gotten it from the patrol wolves, but those things are usually locked in the cellar and only the Alpha has the key…unless…”
They exchanged looks, and as the meaning behind Kathie’s weapon computed in their slow minds, a chorus of howls arose from the pack.
“They came back!” Samiya exclaimed. She began to move toward the border. “Come on!”
“Let’s go, Ananya!” Soley pulled her and Stella began to move her chair, but Ananya hesitated. She looked back at June, who was struggling under Kathie’s assault.
“I…” she met June’s gaze, and when the woman - whose face was streaked with blood - spit on the ground, Ananya’s gaze hardened. She glared at June, and although her body was still shaking, she raised her head with confidence. “Don’t kill her, Kathie,” she told her friend coldly. “Keep her alive. Let her suffer behind bars, then she’ll see what true control feels like.”
“Aww, but I wanted to be a hero,” Kathie moped, slamming the head of the chair on the side of June’s head. “Can’t I?”
“Kath.” Ananya smiled weakly. “You’re already my hero. You too Dhrys, and you, Cai,” she added after a beat.
“Yeah, well, that spoiled it,” Dhrys muttered, though he was smiling. His talons were unsheathed, dripping with blood just like his fangs.
“It’s better than nothing.” Cai grabbed June by her scruff and lifted her. “You’re lucky the Luna is being lenient with you. If it had been the Alpha, you’d be dead.”
June’s eyes narrowed and she spit again. “I know,” she taunted. “He’s the son of a murderer, after all. Like father, so son.”
“Banastre was never my father.” Oscar, his clothes torn and his skin covered in streaks of blood, strode over the yellow border and past Ananya so that he was facing June. “Banastre was a killer. He was my enemy, and he did nothing but make my life a living hell. His actions don’t coincide with mine, and whatever he’s done are things that I never want to be associated with.” He was face-to-face with June. “You attacked my pack. You almost killed my mate and a child. Your sentence should be death, and I should kill you with my own hands.”
“Then do it!” June exclaimed. “Kill me! Prove to everyone that I was right.”
Oscar’s lips thinned. “Killing you proves nothing, and I won’t kill you because I want you to suffer.” A glint appeared in his eyes; a devious, wicked glint that suggested he was going to do something worse than killing her. “Cai put her with our dear friend Egon. Show her what happens when you betray your kind.”
Cai nodded, and he and Dhrys picked June up, their heads tilted back to avoid her kicking, punching, and shrieking.
“What happened to Egon?” Stella, who didn’t leave with Soley and Samiya, whispered.
“I don’t know,” Ananya said with a shrug. “I thought he was just imprisoned.”
“He killed himself.” Oscar turned, peeling the last bits of his shirt off. Sweat glistened on his body, shining like a topcoat of paint over the blood on him. He approached Ananya and put his hands on her elbows. “Being in that cell, alone with his thoughts, was too much for him. It’s a shame, really. I had hoped to put him in rehabilitation, but that’s not an option for June.”
“That is sad,” Ananya mused. Her body swayed, the events of the past hour finally developing and computing in her system. Her knees buckled and had Oscar not been holding her, she would have fallen. “Ugh…”
“She hurt you.” Darkness bled into Oscar’s eyes. “She fucking hurt you. She could have killed you.”
“Could have, but she didn’t.” Ananya tried to remain positive while her strength seeped. “I was able…I was strong…”
“You were.” Oscar held her against him and kissed her forehead. “You were strong, my darling.”
“I’m gonna throw up,” Stella muttered. “It’s sickening how cute this is.”
“Oscar!” Karsten ran up to them. His uniform was ripped and just like Oscar, blood-streaked his exposed skin. “Dafowick’s come with backup! They’re back to fight!”
June came back to pick a fight with Ananya, but is the war over yet? What will the humans do?
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