Chapter 2. Attack

When we completed our training, it was already 8 am, and my body was aching everywhere. “Aadhya, put the weapons in the arsenal,” gamma Alexander ordered me. I started doing what was said and Layla and Matt also joined to help me.

“So, any plans for tomorrow,” Matt asked me curiously, and Layla rolled her eyes.

“I just wanted to sleep the whole day,” I said to him, and he rolled his eyes while Layla gave me a proud look. “And eat lots of delicious food...” I spoke with a dreamy look. After a few minutes, Matt snapped his fingers in front of my face and shook his head in disappointment.

“Don’t give us these looks. Food and sleep are the first love of our lives” Layla supported me, and we walked inside the arsenal and placed weapons in their respective places.

“Come on, Addy, tell me what the plan is. It’s your twentieth birthday, and I wanted it to be mind-blasting” I rolled my eyes at Matt’s enthusiasm on my birthday while Layla snorted.

“Then just put a bomb in her head and light it... you will surely be successful in blasting her mind,” she commented sarcastically.

“Oh, shut up, Layla. It’s because of you that she has become so lazy. You are the one who supports her in this shit,” he scolded her, and she looked at me proudly. Well, he is not wrong. He loves to party, but we both are the opposite of him. So, majority of his party plans fail because we always want to stay indoors

“I am proud that she finally learned something from me,” she remarked while Matt looked at her in pure irritation.

“I am giving you time till evening; plan something on your own, or I will plan everything according to my likes,” he said with finality and gave us the pointed looks, “and none of you can decline that.”

“We will talk about it later” Layla said to him and waved her hand in dismissal. I was about to say something when I noticed uneasiness on her face.

“What happened, Layla?” I asked her in concern.

“There is something wrong with my wolf. She is uneasy and is continuously pacing in my head from yesterday,” she said, and Matt looked at her in shock.

“Now, what’s with you, Matt?” I asked him.

“My wolf is also on edge from yesterday,” he said, and they both shared nervous glances.

“Does it mean something bad?” I asked both of them.

“Generally, our wolves behave like that when they sense some danger or something unusual,” Layla told me nervously.

“But if something bad is going to happen, then don’t you think that alpha Aiden’s wolf had also sensed something” I suggested to her, and she nodded slowly.

“It’s nothing, guys; we are just overthinking. I have to go now. I am patrolling the eastern borders with others in case you need me,” Matt informed us, and we nodded. He ran towards his house while we exited the arsenal.

“Mom invited you for breakfast today,” she said, and I smiled. Delta Delilah, Layla’s mother, was my mother’s best friend. After my parents’ death, many things changed along with my rank in this pack, but she always treated me the same. After mom and dad’s death, Alpha Aiden wanted to shift me to the human settlement, but Layla’s parents talked with him and convinced him to let me stay in the pack. I lived in the pack’s orphanage till I turned 16, and after that, I got a small room in the pack house. I looked at Layla, who was looking at me expectantly.

“I don’t think Beth would like that, and I think gamma Alexander would surely have some work for me” Bethany is 17 years old, Layla’s younger sister, but she doesn’t like me.

When I turned 16 and shifted in the pack house. Alpha asked me in which manner I would like to perform duties as omega, like cleaning, cooking, gardening, or some challenging tasks like learning the basics of medicine and helping in hospitals or helping in training grounds. So, I chose the training grounds, and we got paid for these duties. Many people here thought that I would go to human settlements and live with them, but I didn’t have the heart to leave the world where I was born, and except for my friends, no one knew that I wanted to be one of the warriors of the pack, that’s why I train harder than any werewolf in this whole pack.

“It’s my parents’ house, not Beth’s. Alpha called me at his office, so I am going there. As soon as I am free from there, you are coming with me to my home; now go and take a quick shower,” she told me sternly, and I nodded. Then she went towards Alpha's house and I walked towards the pack house with a smile on my face.

 When I entered the pack house, I heard noises coming from the dining hall, and I smiled in victory. It’s good that they all are there, or they will surely try to give me a little hard time. I ran into my room and took a quick shower. I changed into skinny black jeans and a white hoodie and ran downstairs. I was running fast when my foot got caught in something, and I was about to fall to the ground when I tilted myself in time. Finally, with a loud thud, my side came in contact with the cold floor, and I screamed in pain.

For a few minutes, only blackness and pain consumed my thoughts. When I could finally see things, I slowly got up and found everyone laughing at me. Here everyone means our to-be-alpha Ethan smith, Max Moore (to be beta), Sam Carter (to be gamma), Ethan’s girlfriend Stella Wilson (her parents were beta of red moon pack, they sent her here five years back for studies as our pack has best education facilities for werewolves in nearby packs) and her minions, Annie and Belle.

Slowly I forced myself into a sitting position and tried to get up. Ethan came towards me but stopped midway. I raised my head and looked at him; his eyes were not focused, which meant he was mind-linking someone. After a few minutes, he sighed. “I have to go, guys. Dad is calling me in his office” with it, he kissed Stella and looked at me “you all can continue your fun” he winked at his friends and ran towards his house.

I stood up and winced as I felt pain on my side and turned towards the kitchen. “Where do you think you are going, weirdo?” Stella screeched.

“Outside,” I told her with a blank face. They all are the same age as mine, Sam is Annie’s mate, and others have not found theirs till now. They are my bullies from childhood, but they don’t have the guts to lay their hands on anyone because of Alpha Aiden, but it doesn’t mean they can avoid a few ‘accidents’ like this.

Ethan and Stella have been dating each other for three years now. Everyone in the pack was fortunate that they would surely be each other’s mates, but when they turned 18 and nothing happened, everyone got disappointed, but this did not stop them from dating each other. Truth be told, I feel sorry for Ethan’s and Stella’s mate. How can you date or sleep with someone when you are sure that there is someone special who has been waiting for you all his life? But then again, who am I to judge them?

“What is with that poker face weirdo? Don’t you know how to talk with the to-be-luna of the pack? ” Does it mean that Ethan has chosen her as his chosen mate?

Generally, if a werewolf cannot find his mate until he is 25, there are high chances that he can go feral, so there comes the concept of a chosen mate. Such wolves choose some other wolf as their mate and mark them as theirs, but there are very few cases of this. Generally, a wolf chooses a mate when his fated mate is already dead because it is tough for a wolf to accept someone other than its better half. Ethan is only 20, so choosing Stella as his mate is something I think alpha Aiden will never allow but again, who am I to say anything in their matter.

“You should learn to give some respect to your future, luna. Let’s start with bowing,” she said to me. I tried hard to keep my mouth shut but I am not bowing to someone who is not worthy of it. She waited for me, but I didn’t do anything. “Ah, our weirdo is not in the mood to bow, no problem ... let me help you in it” she took a deep breath and commanded me with authority, “bow to me”.

I was expecting some force, but when I did not feel anything, I looked at others. Sam, Annie and belle are bowing to her while baring their necks while Max is clenching his jaw clearly trying to fight her command.

After a few minutes, Stella gave up and looked at me in anger. She was about to lunge at me when I quickly took a step towards my right, and instead of me, she got max on her hold. She again turned towards me; her beautiful face was so red with anger that I was afraid soon smoke would start coming from her ears. Before she did anything else, Layla came toward us while laughing loudly.

“Come on, Stella, you can’t expect your command to dominate her. Demoting her from beta to omega cannot replace the beta’s blood that is running in her veins. Only Alpha Aiden’s, Luna Olivia’s, or Ethan’s command can work on her,” she said smugly and looked at me.

“Let’s go,” she said and dragged me with her. I stopped myself from wincing in front of her, but finally, I gave in and winced in pain when we exited the pack house. “What is it, Addy?” she dropped my hand and looked at me in concern.

“Had a little ‘accident’ with Ethan,” I told her, and she clenched her jaw. She knew very well what kind of accidents happened to me. She turned towards the alpha’s house, but I stopped her “Where do you think you are going?” I asked her.

“What do you think, Addy?” she snapped, and I shook my head.

“You already know he is not going to listen to you. You will be just wasting your energy, and don’t forget he is our alpha.”

“To-be-alpha,” she cut me off with a growl. I chuckled at her behavior.

“Yeah, to-be-alpha, and you are supposed to be the delta female of this pack, don’t ruin your relationship with him because of me,” I told her, and she opened her mouth to say something, but I cut her off. “You already know Layla; we are grownups now. We are not his friends anymore,” I told her pointedly, and she dragged a labored breath.

When my parents were alive, Ethan, Layla, and I were best friends then. At that time, he didn’t have any problem with me being a human. Even after my parents’ death, he was good to me, not like the best friends that we used to be in the past, but at least he was not rude to me, but then with time, he changed, and his friend circle changed. He started hating me, and as Layla never left my side, he cut his ties with her too.

“We are going to the infirmary first,” she said with finality and dragged me with her.

When I removed the hoodie in front of the doctor, I saw a fresh bruise forming on my right side and arm. At these times, I always envy werewolves for having awesome healing abilities. I can’t say that the doctor was too pleased to see the bruise, but she did not question us. She gave me aloevera gel to apply on it two times a day and a few painkillers. Layla’s mood became sourer after watching the bruise, but neither she said anything nor did anything. We went to her home, and as soon as we opened the door, we came face to face with Beth.

As soon as she saw me, the beautiful smile that was on her face earlier transformed into a scowl. I smiled at her and said ‘hi,’ but she ignored me and went outside. “I don’t think she will ever like me,” I told Layla, and she snorted.

“Think,” she scoffed. “I can bet that she is never going to like you,” she said, and I smacked her arm, “truth is always bitter, sweetheart” I rolled my eyes at her statement, and we finally entered her home.

“Layla, is it you, darling?” We heard her mom’s voice from the kitchen.

“Don’t act like you have not smelt me even before I entered the house, mom,” Layla commented, and I chuckled..damn werewolves.

Mrs. Black came out of the kitchen with a pointed look. “Layla black, you are not allowed to use your stupid sarcasm with me,” she said to her, and Layla chuckled.

“Don’t act like you don’t love it, mom,” she said and hugged her from the side. Mrs. Black tried to keep her face stoic, but within a few minutes, she melted and smiled at Layla and then at me.

“I am hungry, Mrs. Black,” I told her and hugged her from another side.

“Come on then, let’s have breakfast,” she said and went towards the dining room, where bacon, pancakes, and syrup were already on the table.

“Where is Mr. Black?” I asked her while taking a seat, and she looked at the clock.

“Connor went to Alpha’s place in the morning, but he mind-linked me that he will be home within a few minutes,” she said, and Layla rolled her eyes.

“He is always at alpha’s,” she complained, and Mrs. Black smiled at her.

“He is delta, Layla. We can’t expect him to ignore his work and spend time with us,” Mrs. Black explained, and Layla huffed.

“Hey, Layla, you have not told me why alpha called you to his office?” I asked her while eating the pancakes that Mrs. black served us.

“Same shit. He wanted to know whether I had found my mate or not. He is concerned about the future of the pack. Max, Ethan, and me, none of us found our mates, and we are supposed to take the charges from our dads in coming years,” she said with a mouthful of food.

“But Ethan is choosing Stella as her mate.” As soon as these words came out of my mouth, Layla choked on her food while Mrs. black looked as if she had seen some ghost. I passed water to Layla while rubbing her back, and both of them took time to digest the news. I know it is shocking, but I was not expecting this type of reaction.

“Who told you that?” Mrs. Black asked me in a timid voice.

“Stella,” she shook her head in disappointment.

“Aiden will never allow Ethan to do that,” she said with pursed lips. “Kids these days... don’t understand anything, having physical relations with the person who is not your mate, and now they will go against the will of the moon goddess,” she mumbled angrily, but her expression suddenly changed, and she went towards the door. I looked at Layla in question.

“She just smelt dad,” she said, and I smiled. We continued eating our breakfast when Mr. and Mrs. black came.

“How are you girls?” he asked us cheerfully while taking his seat at the dining table.

“I am awesome, dad,” Layla replied

“I am also good, Mr. Black, but you look tired. Everything’s alright?” I asked him.

“Yeah, my wolf is giving me a little hard time from yesterday; other than this, everything is alright” as soon as he said that, Layla and I looked at each other.

Layla cleared her throat, and I looked at her nervously. “What happened to your wolf dad?” she asked him.

“I don’t know, sweetheart; he has been constantly on edge since yesterday,” he said.

“Strange” this time, Mrs. Black said, “my wolf is also behaving the same,” she said in confusion. “Did you talk to Aiden about it?” she asked him in concern.

“Yeah, but his wolf is fine. I also asked Olivia, but she said everything is fine,” he answered. Layla looked at me in question as if asking what to do, I gestured to tell them everything, and she nodded.

“Mom, dad, my wolf is also behaving strangely, and Matt also said the same thing in the morning. Do you think something bad is going to happen?” she asked them, and Mr. Black took a deep breath.

“No, sweety, everything is fine. Aiden’s wolf is alpha; if there is anything wrong, then he would have been the first to sense anything, not the delta or warrior wolves,” he said, and we all nodded.

“So, Aadhya, tomorrow is your birthday,” Mrs. Black said, and I smiled. “Do you have any plans for tomorrow?” she asked me, and Layla rolled her eyes.

“Nothing till now,” I said to her, and she smiled nervously.

“Would you mind if I asked you for something?” Mrs. Black asked me, and I nodded. “You already know that our wolves are acting strange. My wolf considers you the same as it considers Layla and Beth, so she just wanted her children near her. If you don’t mind, can you spend a few days with us?” she said nervously and to say I am shocked is an understatement. I opened my mouth to say something but again closed it. I actually don’t know what to say. She just told me that her wolf treated me like her own, like her daughters, which was a huge thing. My throat was constricted with emotions, so I just nodded and continued eating the food.

“So, what does Aiden want to talk to you about?” Mrs. black asked Mr. black.

“He is planning to organize a mate ball this year in our pack,” he explained.

“So, he is seriously concerned about our children’s mates,” Mrs. Black asked.

“Yeah, he is, especially for Ethan. He thinks that Ethan is going to mark Stella,” Mr. Black said while laughing, but when none of us laughed, he looked at all of us. “Is that true?” his question is directed toward Layla and me.

“No idea, dad, but if we take Stella’s words seriously, then yes, he is planning to mark her,” Layla told him, and Mr. Black pursed his lips in dissatisfaction but did not say anything. After breakfast, Layla and I went to her room while Mr. and Mrs. Black continued to talk about the other pack matters.

“Tell me bitch, what do you want on your birthday?” she told me while she jumped on her bed.

“Nothing,” I said and lay on her bed.

“Just tell me whenever you want anything,” she said to me and closed her eyes. I hummed in response.

We lay there silently for a few minutes. “Layla,” she hummed “What does your wolf think about the whole mate thing?” I asked her, and she made a thinking face.

“She is both excited and nervous about it,” she told me truthfully. “You got emotional downstairs,” she stated, which instantly made me chuckle.

“Yeah, I am used to being called an outcast, but when your mom said that she considers me as her daughter, that made me feel a little emotional,” I replied, and she smiled.

“You are one of us, Addy, and you are not an outcast. You are just different, and people never accept someone different, no matter how much awesome that person is”

“Did you just tell me that I am awesome?” I teased her, and she rolled her eyes.

“I called you bitch earlier, but you didn’t point that out,” she said and smacked her pillow on me, and that’s how our pillow fight started.

Matt joined us at night as he is staying at Layla’s place today. I don’t think Mr. Black is pleased about this idea, but I cannot blame him. No dad who has two unmated daughters at home would like it if an unmated wolf would come and spend a night at his home.

Beth went to sleep just after we had dinner, but Matt, Layla, Mr. and Mrs. Black sat with me till the clock struck midnight. I cut my birthday cake Mrs. Black baked, and Matt gifted me a cool black leather jacket.

Matt and Layla were making further plans for my birthday when Mrs. Black interrupted us and told us sternly to go and sleep. Layla tried to argue, but one pointed look from Mrs. Black, and we gave up. Matt went to the guest room, and I went to Layla’s room with her. I was half asleep when suddenly Layla sat on her bed with a jerk.

“What happened?” I asked her, but as soon as I saw blank expressions on her face and her eyes were unfocused, I knew she was mind-linking.

“Shit,” she cursed and grabbed my hand. “We have to run, Addy get up,” she shouted, and we came out of the room. Matt also came outside the guest room while trying to wear his t-shirt. Mr. and Mrs. Black came out of Beth’s room, looking alarmed, while Beth followed them, looking a little scared.

“I have to report at eastern borders,” Matt said and hugged Layla and me. “Take care of my mom, don’t let her go anywhere until everything is sorted out,” he said to us, and we nodded.

“Don’t let any stupid rogue claw your face, don’t forget you still to find your mate,” Layla said, and he chuckled.

“Stay alive,” I said timidly, and he smiled at me and ruffled my hair.

“I will meet you guys later,” he said and ran out of the house.

“Delilah, take all of them to the safe house.” He said and kissed Mrs. Black, and with that, he also ran away from the house.

“Fast girls, we have to take everyone to the safe house,” Mrs. Black told us, and we all ran behind her. I don’t know why but I am getting the feeling that my birthday is going to be a disaster.