"Hey," A voice calls to me from the other side of the SUV, which was following the route away to disappearing. As it cleared away completely, a smile rose when I catch sight of Hunter, wearing his same boyish grin as I had left as that day outside of the church when he was taken away.

"Great to see you," He hugs, pushing his giant black bow aside, drawing himself closer. He was in a black Adidas shirt with matching black sweats, that made him look younger than usual. "You look certainly different."

"Thank you. Ive never been more happy to see you," I say, "but honestly. I don't know if I should apologise first or say thank you."

"For?" Hunter asks without the slightest bit of clue of what I was saying. He still had a bruise on his left cheek which was still in between the healing process with a bit blackness still under both of his eyes -most likely from a black eye, which I've seen plenty off when you growing up in a household with 3 guys.

"Apologise for Damon taking you away and me not saying a word to defend you. You have no idea how awful I feel and thank you for saving my life that night of the appearance," I said with the guilt slowly starting to fade.

"Being taken wasn't your fault and besides, haven't you heard. Let bygones be bygones, so forgot it." He said without a word of anger. "How'd you find out about the night of the appearance?"

He began a slow pace towards what looked like a running track- which had a couple of people doing all sorts of exercises on the grass in the middle. A wide variety of equipment littered the grass with minimal people there to use, so most half of the stuff was abandoned.

Crossing my arms and looking ahead across the horizon I smirk. "Leila told me. She said hot gossip flies faster than the service in this Pack."

I flip over to look at him, shaking his head tiredly while running his hand through his hair. "She wasn't lying about that. How is she anyway? Last I saw her, she had lost over 2 litres of blood, her body wasn't healing and her breathing was near to none."

I watched as his expressions went from lazy everyday to extremely dead serious at the mention of the her injury, in under 30 second flat. If the mention of her name made sparked something; perhaps she does have a chance after all. "She's good now. Walking without help. But you really should've taken her to the hospital instead of abandoning her to bleed to her death, rather than come running to deal with me."

He lowered his eyes in remorse. "Believe me when I say I've never regretted a decision more in life. I know it was wrong to leave her in that condition but when the Alpha called all the Warriors, my wolf, well, sort of took control and made me obey. It's not a excuse, trust me. I even wanted to make it up to her but-"

"But?" I leave the word hanging just as he did.

"It's hard." He chewed his lower lip, and squeezing his bow hardly with his clammy hand while looking off in the distance.

"Hey Hunter, what's that tower over here?" I gesture with a flick my head, looking at the front of tall, circular cement structure, built in front of the track, with a metal patio -maybe an observation deck, that had several men with clipboards, in-which they were writing away as they stole glances to look overhead in between writing. My arms were still wrapped over my arms, in a manner to preserve body heat. Why was I so cold?

"That's the head assessing tower Luna." He said over a minute of silence, looking at it gravely. "That's where the Gamma, or the Gamma's assistants, watch and assess the training from. They hardly ever talk to us. Instead they watch, make a report and finally, send the progress to both the Gamma and Alpha for inspection. Every region has its training center. This one is the main for the Pack."

"So, you're the Luna," Another figure appeared, cocking his eyebrow his eyebrows questioningly. He seemed rather charming for being someone dressed in a grey Adidas track suit, that was a similar shade of grey to his washed out eyes. He had dark stubble growing over his jaw and mustache region, the same colour as his hair that was smoothly brushed to his right.

If I hadn't had a Mate, I'd probably consider adding him to my list of hot celebrities -just for the sake of it. I mean he was extremely good looking but Damon was different. "You know, Im really starting to grow old of that question." I frown at him but raise my lips when I add sarcastically, "And you are...Santa Claus?"

I don't know why but my guts told me, wasn't going to like him any better than the others.

He doesn't smile, but instead glares at Hunter, compelling him to bow and leave without another word. After his departure, he began."I'm the Head Gamma, Gamma Jace. Great to finally meet you Luna." He doesn't bow, but instead straighten his posture.

"Heard a bit about you over the past few days, grown quite a reputation for yourself. Always finding someway to end up in the hospital," he paces around me as if he were inspecting my structure. "Hope your restful hospital days are over and we can begin with some real stuff."

Yup, definitely gonna hate him. I cock my head before whirling around, with my chin high.

"They certainly are Jace, and don't worry. I needed to stretch my muscle." I flex my elbows back, making my chest rise forward into the spotlight. His eyes stay with mine, and don't bend down like thought.

Maybes he's gay, June suggest.

I doubt it, I reply unlikely, but who knew?

"50 laps around the track nonstop for your warm-up. No stopping, no socialising, no breaks, no walking or else you can start over and don't try to mess with me because I'll know." He stalks away way before he even finishes his sentence.

I think my level of patience and hatred has just dropped past the tipping line, June spits with me strongly agreeing.

I unwrap my headphone, tugging on the cord with burst of anger and muttering curses in French. The laps were no big deal. I've done plenty back home but playing my patience was a completely different story. Damon's played with it too long, so I didn't need another "Damon" in the picture.

Scowling tightly and shoving my headphones back on and phone back into my hidden pocket, I begin the laps with a mild jog while stretching my neck side to side.

I was on my 10th lap before my third song and that was when my mind began exploding with the conversation of a nearby gang of bare chested no good jocks whose eyes were staring attentively at me, especially one, very specific region.

'Damn, whoses that hot chick, jogging in the black bra and tights?

'She's the Luna isn't she?' One dude in golden brown hair whistles, his back leaning against the bleachers.

'Yeah man, can you believe it the Alpha got her?'

'She looks different from the appearance doesn't she?'

'Forget that, look at those legs man. Wonder is she's mind sharing a piece of her body with me.'

'She's the Luna, you moron.'

'Whatever. I wonder if shes happy with him cause if not, I won't mind, even the slightest in helping-'

Geez, do you kiss your mother with that mouth? And FYI, yes, I'm a happily married women, so please give up with the mindless eye raping before I have Damon remove those very eyeballs you're eye raping me with, June taps into the conversation, making me nearly stop in my tracks.

One guy chokes on his water while another nearly falls over the edge of his seat. I suppress the urge to laugh at the sight of their dumbfounded faces. God June, you had too didn't you?

Yes! You weren't doing shit. It was about time to take matters into my own hands! She scolds in an overpowering voice.

How did you even know you could do that? I mean, how did you tap into their convo?

Easy enough if you know the benefits of the mark, June murmurs under her breathe. Lucky guess, bite me.

With that she blocks me. The guys disappear before I could start my 30th lap around. Focusing back into my present, I block all noises, all except for the pounding sound of Ariana's high note coming from by my ears.

About another 10 mins, I finish my 50th lap without the need of water and without breaking a sweat. I flex my elbow, the one that I had injured during the attack, giving it a good stretch in very direction possible. Wolf healing was a pure bliss, I swear.

Walking over to the grassy clearing in the middle of the track, I stop midway when I catch sight of a familiar high pitch laugh from nearby. With my eyes darting around, I spot Stephanie in her neon green training bra and booty shorts fairly quick. I mean, she stood out like a highlighter in a pencil case full of black and white pencils but you know what I mean.

By the looks of it, it seemed as if she were stretching her hamstrings but the mischievous glistening in her eyes and view of her ass, told me another story.

I couldn't see the face of the person she was flirting with because of his body being turned away from mine. He had muscle straining under his own skin and being shirtless, gave a very, clear view. Maybe even too clear. He seemed so engrossed in his own business, doing pull-ups on a metal bar twice the size of himself to notice Stephanie's flirtatious remarks.

With closer inspection and with the aid of my wolf vision, I spot the wireless Airpods clogged in his ears.

Poor sap. I mean, I don't blame him if he's caught the attention of a pig with that hulk of a body but what can you do? June tsks. I shake my head tiredly at her as she blocks me again. Readjusting back to my normal sight, a smirk rises to my face as I face the lonely soccer ball to my right questionably.

Do it, I dare you, June returns with a fire rattling in her voice. I dart my eyes between her and the ball several times before actually reaching for it.

Gathering all my anger and frustration, I kick it, praying it hit crack her big fat nose but instead ends up punching her in the stomach, making her go tumbling back, groaning in pain.

Shit, missed, I curse, with June face palming herself.

You had one job, She shakes her head. One job! Next time, you quietly hand over control, understood?

The guy jumps off the beam at the sight of a groaning Stephanie and directs his cold, swirling eyes in my direction. I don't hesitate when in returning the favour with my pulsing eyes flashing in his direction. I hear him suck in his breathe, making me restore my eyes to normal within a blink as if I had snapped out of a trance.

"YOU! You little bi-" "Oh suck it up! I wasn't even trying and besides. I clearly missed," I hiss without a thought. I knew this wasn't mine but June's words firing out of my mouth.

Her face darkens to a shade of red. "If you think you missed, why don't you just challenge me in front of the Gamma himself, so you fix that?"

"She's the Luna," Jace murmurs, to her harshly, "You can't simply just challenge her and not expect to face Damon's wrat-"

"I accept." She grins and rises without the help of Jace. I was inches away from her at this point, and I could see the freshly cut grass stuck in her hair.

"What are you thinking!" Jace grabs my arm but I pull away. "You haven't even started training and you're already challenging some of the-"

"Not some. One, last time I checked," I correct but he carries on regardless.

"Some," He repeats, frustration clearly visible on his face and audible in his voice. "-of the best Fighters we have. Do you really want to fail in presence of the Pack? Is that how bad your rivalry with her has become in these past few days? That you'd be ready to degrade Damon's image behind his bac-"

"This isn't about him or his prestigious little image he's gained," I whisper furiously with anger rising in my voice. "This is about me. You asked if I was the Luna when you first met me, didn't you? Well, I want to make a statement here, as of right now for the others. I want people to know Im the Luna, not ask."

I reel away with disgust flooding my judgement, into the circle drawn with white chalk -to where she stood. Silently watching while prodding around the edges of her side with her shoes and socks removed for some odd reason. Her now short hair was tied back into a stiff ponytail behind her back, still continuously swaying.

I hand over authority to June with high hope she succeeds. Like her, I never, ever accepted failure well, so this might work. Reviewing Xavier's words of hand-to-hand combat, I study her with a calculating eyes while pacing the edges of the circle, awaiting the first move.

"Rules are simple. No stepping out the circle and no help whatsoever. First person to call it off, looses while the other stands victorious. Best of luck to both competitors. BEGIN." Jace instructs, roaming over the edges with his hands in his pockets. Bystanders start crowding the edges, keeping a good distance away from the circle and from Jace himself as they watched the show before their eyes.

Like anticipated, she jumps forwards, making the first move with a swing of her legs outstretched in my direction. I block with my arm, throwing her back when she strikes again with her other leg.

It glazes pass my upper arm with a following burning sensation erupting afterwards. I step back, grabbing my skin in a protective manner and staring in wonder at her toenails. Like claws, they were sharpened to the point with my blood was painting the nails. How did I not see this coming?

"What a nice shade of Luna blood," She purrs, eyeing her nails in delight with the girls in the crowd snickering. I catch Hunter's concerned filled brows narrowed at the sight of my bleeding arm. Im fine. Honest. Praying he somehow hears. She takes the advantage of my lack of attention to send another blow of her claws at my face.

June growls, grabbing her wrist just in time, with her claws digging into her skin making sure it left a mark. Stephanie grimaces but soon focuses back, using her legs as a method to escape, but I kick them back, resulting in her legs to fall in an awkward position.

She gives a yelp of pain, falling completely onto the ground with her legs bent under but it doesnt stop here. She still tries to pull away, using her other hand to scratch at my face as a distraction, so I twist both her wrist backwards with my eyes burning.

"Time for a trim," I say softly but aloud enough for the others to hear. It suddenly becomes dead silent and thats when Stephanie utilises that to her benefit. She swings her legs, brushing me off my feet and as I fall helplessly backwards, here she was beforehand, ready to climb onto me, and ready to attack.

I don't waste a second in flipping her over, so Stephanie was under me, with me on top before I gave her the opportunity to pin me. I levitate my body some more before taking her pinned arms above her head. "Give. U-up," I breathe, gasping in between for air.

"N-never," She spits. I was suddenly growing old of this charade. Twisting both of her arms some more, she finally releases a growl before kneeing me in the groin. My hands slip and she takes the opportunity to tackle me over, shoving my face into the grass.

"Give up Luna?" She whispers by my ear, similarly as I had done. I struggle under her grip when my eyes start to burn.

'She's the Luna? She cant defend herself even! What will she defend us!'

'Why couldn't the Alpha make Stephanie the Luna. They even know each well."

'Id rather take Stephanie as Luna than her. At least Stephanie can fight like a Warrior.'

Xavier's word ticks off as a long forgotten reminder in my mind. "You're Mrs. Nora Faith Romano; the only Luna of the RedBlood Pack. No one could've handled that position better than you."

Only if he knew. Only if he knew what a failure I had become, I cry shamefully.

He wasn't lying, you know. June chides solemnly.

I know he wasn't, I sniffle.

Then lets show them then. What are we waiting for, for real? Our Mate to come save in shining armor? Lets show them all, what we're made of. Especially MS. FOOT FETISH HERE-who thinks she can overrule us with her big fat, obnoxiously repealing nose!

You seriously love insulting her nose dont you? A laugh slipping from my mouth.

"Wow, laughing at your own failure. People do weird things when they fail, I guess," She tightens her grip, "I wouldn't know anyway. Never failed in my life."

"Not for long," I whisper with my new found power, throbbing life into my eyes. I suddenly fall limp under her grip, but not for long. She relaxes her restraint a bit as soon as she feels my energy degrading. I take her misconception as an advantage point, as I seize her hands from behind and fling my skull back into her face.

She's pushed off, and while shes busy on the ground, I lunge towards her face with my fist. She again rolls away and stands with her hands rolled in ready position. I rise before she sends a strike meant for my stomach, to which I defend and shove behind her, making her stumble right into my head lock.

"Guess, Ill help you change that right now," I growl by her ear with an odd eerie vibe to my voice. "Submit, now!"

She was too busy choking, to speak so I release her entirely after awhile. She goes landing onto the ground, rasping for air. Her words nearly go amiss. "I-I sub-submi-t."

'Yo, her eyes.'

'You see those eyes?'

'Bright gold. They were gold.'

What are blabbering about? I ask cluelessly to June -who has always, disappears when I need her the most.

My eyes weren't golden. Because of my eyes naturally being dark brown, my wolf eyes were still brown -but a more vivid, metallic bronze shade. Or as if Ive been told by people. It was impossible for them to be golden.

"The Winner, our Luna," Jace steps into the ring, rushing to Stephanie after eyeing me gravely. There were no applauds.

What are you all waiting for huh? June yells through the mind link, making everyone bow their dismissal.

I asked you something, I said, starting to walk away from Stephanie's little moment of glory of being huddled around by a dozen of shirtless guys.

It's the Mate bond, she hums. In drastic measures, or more like in our case, -we, us both, technically, have the ability to borrow strength from our mate.

What do you mean by 'our case'?

Well, in an Alpha-Luna relation, the power to borrow that strength is more likely. We don't need to be dangerous, life threatening situation to take some of that power, she states like it's no big deal. Like she were assuring a child who was about to receive a shot for the first time, saying it wouldn't hurt, when, clearly it would.

So, you're saying we can take Damon's strength whenever we wish and that's how you beat Stephanie!? With his power!

You worry to much! It's not considered cheating. You're just overreacting, She falsely assured again.

You used-you know what? I give up. Do whatever the hell you want, I exclaim, with me being the one to block her this time.

I was about to look for Hunter when my nostril caught the most deliciously sweet aroma of pine cones and expensive cologne. Turning in very direction possible, I find a pair of darkly amused eyes, twinkling in the distance.

Sucking in my breathe, I somehow, am faced with the urge to smile back. I brush my hair behind my ear turning away, my blush reappearing. He was leaning over the ledge of the assessing tower, alone, smiling in my direction.

Who put him in a good mood? I wonder.

Who wouldn't be happy if their Mates was stripped down to nothing but their undergarments? June returns with a cheerful ring to her voice.

I'm not in my undergarments, I frown.

Bra is still considered an undergarment! She pointed.

Can you just- I was mid way when June immediately forcefully pries her way into my mind, seizing my control and body, as she twirls me around and makes me a kick a soccer ball, which was flying right at us.

It goes soaring back the second my feet mets it. Soon after, I hear some bone breaking following along with the screams of some wailing female.

June adjusts my eyes for me, and my eyes almost drop at the sight -of Stephanie on the ground with blood oozing out of her nose.

Yes! Goaaallllll!!!!!

You're so mean, I exclaim with my eyes widening at the sight of her blood pooling even more beneath her hand.

As a response, my mind soon bursts to shreds with another's laughter. Unlike June high pitch squeals, this was a more finely textured deep but husky laughter, ringing in the back of my mind. Unlike the last time, where I fought against it - I, this time, willingly allow the smile to brighten my face. ..... Hey Owls, You all might be happy we finally get to see more Damon, I know I certainly am. I promise to get him more involved from now.

Tyler Hoechlin as Gamma Jace..?¿



The Author; xbookgirlx15