“Oh no.” He smiled. “Another friend? Don’t you girls already know everyone in the werewolf community?”
“Not Sloane; she’s Alpha Weston’s mate. This is her first gathering as a Luna,” Dominica said smartly. Thatcher chuckled and grabbed my arm, welcoming me. “She’s fascinated by our mating.”
“Isn’t everyone?” Thatcher laughed. Valentina and Dominica leaned into his sides, relishing in his warmth as his arms wrapped around their waists. “It’s lovely to meet you, Sloane.”
“You as well.” I smiled back. Rush’s arms circled my waist and spun me the other way before he began walking. “I guess I’ll see you later!”
The girls and Thatcher laughed as Rush carried me away, swinging me from side to side. Duncan walked beside him, still discussing things from when they were boys.
“The gathering is about to officially start,” Duncan declared, calling to all the wolves to meet at the back of the house. There was a large open field where a few tables were set up. I stood next to Rush, watching the Alphas, Lunas, Betas, and Warriors filtered through. People of all shapes, sizes, races, and ages stood in a circle around Duncan, waiting to hear his opening speech.
“Welcome,” Duncan called loudly, spreading his arms in a show of goodwill. “As you probably all know, I’m not one with words, and instead of me standing here giving you all a grand speech, I figured I would keep this brief. This threat of human hunters is affecting us all, and if we don’t put a stop to it, our race may cease to exist. These humans don’t know what we’re capable of, they don’t understand us, and they don’t know us. They think we will just die out and leave them this planet for them, but they couldn’t be more wrong. We will put an end to this, we will end this war, and we will come out on top even if it means we’re the only race left.”
A low murmur of agreement settled amongst the Warriors and pack officials, testosterone, and adrenaline pumping through the air like a gust of wind.
“Are we just going to kill them all?”
Everyone looked around, and their eyes settled on me, although I was confused about why. Rush’s hand squeezed my hip, not harshly, but enough to call attention that I was the one who had spoken up. My eyes went wide. I had a habit of saying things I was thinking of without knowing it, and I cursed myself for letting it happen then.
“Luna,” Duncan smiled, walking slightly towards us. “Our packs are at risk. We need to do whatever it takes to keep them safe.”
I nodded and lowered my head, embarrassed that my quick tongue had once again gotten me in trouble. Duncan was smiling still, allowing the ambiguity of the situation to disappear.
“We’re going to do everything we can to make this go smoothly,” Rush promised in my ear. “Now, you little spitfire, will you just listen and relax?”
“Probably not,” I said honestly.
He chuckled. “Thought as much.”
We dispersed into different groups; Warriors, Betas, Alphas, and Lunas, all set in our task of protecting our packs. The women gathered in the foyer of Duncan’s packhouse under the exposed wooden beams and nearly steel walls.
Cherry linked her arm with mine and pulled me towards the twins and a few other women. They welcomed me wholeheartedly, and once all the Lunas had arrived, we moved out into the front of the house for more room.
“Ladies,” Cherry called loudly, letting my arm go. “I know that often we are overlooked in the aspect of war and fighting, but I would like to change that. We know well and good that men and women fight differently, and I think we should use this to our advantage. Protecting our packs does not mean we have to give up our humanity.”
“Luna Cherry makes a wonderful point.” Valentina echoed. “Luna’s are built for healing, but we are also capable of fighting.”
“What do you mean, ‘Lunas were built for healing?’” I murmured softly to Valentina. She looked at me a little shocked.
“Our healing powers,” she dragged out. My blank expression shocked her even more. “Luna Cordelia hasn’t taught you anything, has she? When a wolf becomes a Luna, she is given certain healing abilities. We have all been working on them for years now, you need to start too if you want to be able to help your pack.”
I was astounded and looked around the group wildly, wondering what these women could do. Valentina laughed at my curiosity and rested her hand on my arm.
“We’ll teach you everything, don’t worry.”
Valentina kept good on her promise and roped Dominica and Cherry into my education as well. While the other women were talking about defense strategies and pack safety, the women taught me the basics of our abilities. Cherry fished a small book out of her bag and gave it to me to read. The book was filled with old ink and listed the history of Lunas, the practices of healing, and other anomalies.
Cherry’s mate, Francis, pulled her away to discuss a possible strategy for their pack, leaving the twins and me to mull over Francis’ grandmother’s writing.
Rush and Thatcher found us on the porch for dinner, covered in sweat, and pushing each other over playfully. They had taken off their suits and dress shirts and exchanged them for tee shirts and athletic shorts. I set the book down and smiled as Rush bent down the kiss me, his moist skin brushing against mine; I cringed away.
“What? It’s just a little sweat!” he defended himself.
“A little?” I giggled, wiping my cheek where his skin touched. “You’re dripping.”
He rolled his eyes and pulled me to my feet from the rocking chair. “We’ve been running attack drills for hours now, we found the easiest way to kill a human is to go for either the throat or the stomach, they can’t do much after that point.”
I looked away from him, shrugging my hand out of his.
