Chapter 26
Auri pulled her hair up into a ponytail and stripped down into a sports bra and the leggings she was wearing. I knew she was older but she was stunning, even for a werewolf. Her eyes were a stormy grey and her hair was white. It reminded me a little of my mate's hair. Hers looked natural though and I wondered just how old she really was.
She was small but the amount of muscle packed into her was shocking. I pulled off my shirt as well and tied my sweats tighter. As she stretched, I did as well. We had run all the way up here so I was already warmed up but I still made sure I was loose.
Not saying a word, she reached out and waved me forward to attack. I took her signal and raced forward. However, I held back as I threw my punch. It wasn't until I saw her face inches from mine that I knew I fucked up. My feet left the ground as I flew back from her punch. Landing on all fours, I coughed and tried to catch my breath but she had hit me so hard, all the air in my lungs was gone.
"Holy..." Owen, from behind me, mumbled.
Getting up, I staggered for a couple seconds before righting myself. I was glad I did because she appeared in front of me. My hands came up instinctually as she punched me and the power alone made me lose my footing and stumble back. One after another, I tried to block and sometimes she would get in a hit that would send me flying. My mind raced as I tried to get on the offensive but every time I tried to take a step forward, she pushed me three steps back. She was a master and I felt like a child.
"Auri, now you're just being rude. If you aren't going to teach him something, don't hold back." Bryan, who was actually leaning against a cane, called out.
I had gained some distance between her but my eyes widened as I looked at her. A smirk played on her lips. She shrugged.
“Come on. We've got dinner in thirty minutes and you promised to make soup."
Auri nodded and then as soon as I blinked, she was was gone from my vision. I looked around in front of me but not even a full second later, I felt myself flying forward, a kick landing squarely in the middle of my back. I almost fell exactly where she was standing before. I managed to stay upright but a knee connected with my ribs before a foot connected with the front of my face. I didn't feel anything else as I lost consciousness.
"I think our little Alpha here is walking up."
Squeezing my eyes together, I opened them and blinked a few times. Jolting up, a hand pressed on my chest.
"Woah, hold on there. Not too fast. Alpha got you good in the face." My eyes adjusted and I realized I was looking at the female younger wolf of the circus group.
"What...what happened?"
Hector walked by and handed me a glass of water which I took. "Our Alpha laid you out, is what happened. Honestly, I didn't think she would aim for your face."
"You're still very much bruised but I made sure that your nose, cheeks, and jaw were all aligned so that they would heal correctly." The young wolf smiled. "Oh! My name is Lucy, I'm the pack doctor."
"Pack doctor?" I looked around the tent. I had seen it when I came up but I didn't realize just how big it was. It was a mini pack house. There were even flaps that lead to other rooms. A table was set up in the center with seats for everyone as well as a mini kitchen and bean bags in the corner for lounging.
"We might not look it, but we are a pack." Lucy smiled. "Hector, is our Beta, Bryan is the Gamma. AJ and Jax over there are our head warriors, I'm the pack doctor, and our Alpha put her foot in your face."
My eyes widened as much as they could with the bruising. It definitely hurt too. "The wolfless blind woman is your Alpha?"
Lucy started to laugh and so did Hector. The two young male wolves groaned and got up from the pile of bean bags. "Fuck. I could have sworn they would have known who we were. We fucking introduced themselves."
They both slammed hundred dollar bills on the table. Bryan added another and Auri came over from the kitchen where she was standing and gathered the money, shoving it in her pocket. I looked at them, confused.
"Goddess, he really doesn't know." Lucy shook her head and left my side. "No wonder they have been treating us like shit."
"Shall we reintroduce ourselves then?" Hector smiled, leaning against the table.
"We'll start." One of the head warriors smiled. "I'm AJ, Jax is my older brother. We are known more in the mercenary community as The Bloodblades."
Lucy chuckled. "The only reason they are called that is because they don't clean up after themselves, let's be honest."
“Ha ha, very funny." Jax chimed in. "She is Dr. Lucy Steele. Also know as Dr. Shelley, after Mary Shelley, author of Frankenstein. Her knowledge in medicine and all things doctoring are mind-blowing."
"Aww...guys, that was really nice."
AJ chuckled. "Her attitude could use a little work."
A mug flew across the tent and hit AJ on the shoulder. He rubbed his shoulder and wrinkled his nose. "Doctors are supposed to heal, not hurt. Goddess, Lucy, get it right."
I had a hard time not smiling. This group was a pack for sure. Probably one of the closest families I had ever seen within a pack.
"I am Bryan Steele. Lucy is my daughter. I also was Beta to the previous Alpha King, Logan Everfell, of the Harvest Moon pack." Bryan smiled, he was leaning on his cane. "I am now Gamma and head strategist of our band of merry men."
The color drained from my face but I looked over at Hector. He was laughing. "I was Gamma to the previous Alpha King as well. I am now Beta to our pack."
Auri came over and sat on the edge of the cot I was laying on. There was a soft smile on her face. She had a bowl of soup in her hands and she held it out for me.
I bit my lip and shook my head. I realized she couldn't see that and sputtered, "I...no...thank you though..."
"You should eat. One, you won't regret it. Her food is literally from heaven. Two, you need the food to counteract the healing accelerant I gave you." Lucy pulled out one of the chairs at the table and sat down. "We already ate while you were passed out. She's been keeping it warm this whole time."
Tentatively taking the bowl from her hands, I felt bad. Placing it in my lap, I took the spoon and sighed. Putting it in my mouth, instantly tears came to my eyes. I could taste it. It didn't taste like ash. I could taste the soup, the bacon and cheese, the potatoes and the cream. I could taste it all.
"Wow, I mean, I know it's good but I didn't think he would start crying..." Lucy said but her dad smacked her leg with his cane. She whined but didn't say anything else.
Auri looked up at Hector and smiled. Hector nodded. "You've been tasting ash lately, haven't you?"
I looked from him to Auri. "Yes. How did you know?"
She smirked and shook her head. Her eyes met Hector's again.
"Ah! Yes, we forgot to introduce our Alpha. How silly. Do I need to say all of it?"
Smacking his leg, she nodded.
“Alright alright. Sometimes you don't like to be introduced in full." He took a breath. “This is our Alpha, Auri Meadows. She's is the Luna Queen, mate to the previous Alpha King. She also is more well known as The Huntress."Text content © NôvelDrama.Org.
I choked on some of the soup. Her hand came up and rubbed my back as I coughed. "The Huntress?"
She smiled brightly and nodded.
"The vampire you saw, he's out collecting some information right now but he is Morgan Russo, the Italian Mafia vampire boss. Also Auri's adopted Dad. So you will rarely ever hear us refer to him as that. Usually it's just Dad or Uncle." Lucy added and I looked at all of them, shocked.
"You might have thought we were a joke, but the High Council decided the your pack needed the best. You got the best, no matter how we may look." Bryan added.
Shaking my head, I looked down at the soup in my lap. "I'm so sorry. I didn't realize...I mean we should have never judged you by how you looked anyways...but I apologize for my, and my packs, behavior."
Auri touched my cheek and lifted my head up. She shook her head and brushed away the stream of tears that was from when I first tasted the soup. Her smile was still on her face and I realized she already knew exactly what was going to happen and how we were going to react to them. She never held it against us.
"I'm so sorry."
Leaning forward, Auri ruffled my hair and shook her head. She got up and headed back to the small kitchen setup.
"Yes! Cake!" Jax and AJ pushed and shoved each other to the table and sat down.
"Come finish your food at the table, Alpha Ezekiel. You can have a slice of cake with us after." Lucy had a smirk on her face.
Her dad whacked her again in the leg. "Don't offer cake without the warning, Lucy. It's rude. He's not from our pack. Poor guy has to go back to his own house after this."
She huffed and turned around at the table. Hector came forward and grabbed the bowl from my lap. He smiled, “Just in case your legs don't work the first time."
I swung my legs over and stood up. To his prediction, my legs started to give out and I swayed, catching myself on the chair that Lucy had been sitting in next to me. Taking a breath, I took a step and it was far less shaky. Slowly, I was able to get to the table and sat down. Hector placed the bowl in front of me before taking his place at the table. Auri served everyone cake and they all chatted. She smiled and seemed to be chatting with them but she still hadn't said a word.
"She's mute." Lucy leaned over to me just as I finished my third bowl of soup. "There was an attack on our pack. Vampire nearly killed her. His nails went through her neck and destroyed her vocal cords. She is group mind linking and then sometimes she will sign if she knows the person can understand it."
I looked over at the woman who I had been told stories about as a kid. She was the one who helped my Dad keep our pack lands when he was young but I knew back then she was still in her teens. She also had brought down the BloodHunter coven, fought in wars, her skills were legendary. Here she was, siting at the head of the table, smiling, laughing, and serving everyone as though they were a normal family.
Lucy smirked and held out a plate for me. "Want some cake?"