Commander (A Luna Chronicles Novel) [Completed]

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

Tabitha

I spent the morning unpacking, before making a quick lunch and exploring the territory. It was beautiful; luscious green forests, small delicate streams and wide clearings perfect for shifting. I'd seen most of it when I'd gone for a run with my mates, but there was a nice aspect to just talking a slow jog in my human form.

As I neared back to the house, a soft layer of sweat forming on my forehead due to the heat, I heard a voice call out. "Hey, you, new girl!" a voice shouted at me. I turned to see a girl running towards me.

She was tall, and willowy, with short spiked hair. Despite the heat, she was wearing tight black jeans and a large leather jacket. She sauntered over, her eyes looking me up and down as she advanced on me. "You're Devon's mate, right?" she asked.

"Tabitha" I smiled, offering my hand for her to shake. She looked down at my outstretched hand and ignored it.

"I just came to warn you".

I blinked in confusion, "warn me?"

"To stay away from Ramone". Her eyes darkened – a look in them that was bordering on fury. My own anger spiked at how she warned me away from my own mate.

"And why would I stay away from him?" I put my hand on my hip and narrowed my eyes. I needed to make sure that she knew I wasn't scared of her. I didn't have much experience with other Werewolves, but I knew the dominance game from spending years inside model changing rooms – with more models than mirrors. You didn't get a mirror if you didn't Alpha the other models into submission.

"He's mine" she growled at me, rising to my challenge. "You have Devon, and that is fine. You can have him, but just stay in your lane and make sure than he is all you have".

"They are both my mates" I retorted.

She was silent for a moment, processing that information, before her jaw set and her eyes glistened with obsession and anger. "No. He is not yours. Ramone is mine".

"Really" I snorted, "because he has never even mentioned you". She didn't reply, as her hands tightened into fists at her sides. I looked over her, trying to keep up my mask of dominance, before tutting at her. I turned to walk away as someone else came into view in the distance.

I squinted, noticing it was Chris – the guy who I had met on the first day I met the Pack. His mate, Javier, was close behind him. Both of them were incredibly good looking and I couldn't help but admire them. Although, they didn't hold a candle to Devon and Ramone – but, then, I was biased.

I was so wrapped up in thought, that when something tackled me to the ground. I yelped, more in surprise than pain, as I hit the dirty ground. My body reacted before my brain, grabbing the attacker and throwing them off me.

My brain quickly caught up, as I dived back to my feet – turning to see the girl barrelling towards me. She hit me and we went down again, but I was expected it the second time and as we fell I grabbed her by the neck. Her eyes, dark with madness, widened as my thumb pressed down on her windpipe.

I heard Chris and Javier shouting, and the sounds of their pounding feet, as I pushed her back. She made a choking sound, as I pressed down on her windpipe, before I pushed her to the ground and jumped to my feet.

"You bitch" she shrieked, one hand grabbing at her throat in shock. She looked genuinely upset that I had defended myself – as if I should have just let her beat the crap out of me and not fight back.

"I don't know what your problem is, but Ramone and Devon are both mine and you need to leave them both alone". My voice was low, and hoarse, and I realised that if I got much angrier I might be forced to shift. Due to my mixed heritage I didn't have as much control of my shapeshifting, so if my emotions were too much then I often lost control.

The girl – whose name I hadn't even found out yet – jumped to her feet and charged at me again. She dressed like a badass, but her fighting was pathetic. It was like a toddler who was fighting their older sibling, just charging at them trying to tire them out.

That was my first mistake – underestimating her.

She charged me again, but I held strong not allowing her to intimidate me or to knock me to the ground. We clashed, our body tangling together in a mesh of limps and body part. I raised my arms to knock her back, but searing pain pierced my body.

I staggered back, confused, until I saw the knife in her hand – dripping with scarlet red blood. My hand went to my stomach, just above my right hip, as white searing pain shot through every nerve ending of my body.

I never expected to be stabbed, not by another Werewolf either. To me, that was cowardly. We had super strength and speed, bring weapons was weak and pathetic. That was how humans fought, not how Wolves fought.

My legs turned to jelly as I staggered forward. "Holy shit" a low, male, voice hissed as Javier and Chris reached us. I looked up at them, in shock and pain. As their eyes widened. I could feel, and see, the blood seeping out of my wound and over my hand.

Chris grabbed for me as I fell, my legs giving in as the pain became too much. I vaguely saw Javier fighting with the girl, before my vision began to blur. "Tabitha, do you remember me?" Chris asked, slowly, as he knelt beside me. I gave a soft nod. "You need to shift. The body change with heal you".

"I-I" I breathed out, swallowing the lump of fear in my throat. "I can't".

He offered me a sweet, but nervous, smile. "You can, you'll be fine. Just picture your body growing and changing. Start with your toes, imagine them stretching and growing. Imagine your nails extending into claws".

He kept naming body part, talking about imagining them changing. I closed my eyes as followed his instructions – picture every body part and how it looked as a Wolf. I pictured my other form; my dark fur, my large eyes and my muscled legs.

"Good, good, you're doing great" Chris assured me, as I drifted in our of lucidity. Slwoly, piece by piece I was shifting. It hadn't been painful for years, but as my stomach began to stretch and prepare for the final phases of the shift – a white hot searing pain, like being stabbed all over again, hit me.

My head flew back as I screamed, my deformed hands – half Wolf, half human – dug into the ground and pulled at the dirt. "Keep going, don't fight it" Chris spoke calmly and cautiously. "Take a deep breath and just try to push through the pain.

"I am" I hissed out, getting annoyed with him. I didn't mean to get angry with him, but I was in so much pain that I lashed out at him. But, he remained calm and sweetly carried out talking through me.

Finally – after what seemed like hours, but was likely only a few minutes – the pain left and my shift was completed. I collapsed onto the ground, my tongue lolling out the side of my muzzle.

"What the fuck happened?" a deep, achingly familiar, voice called out. That voice was like love and warmth and kindness – and exactly what I needed in that moment. Ramone. A long whine came out of my mouth before I could stop it.

A second later, Devon knelt down next to me and ran a hand through my fur. "Hey, baby, you're alright" he cooed. I could hear Ramone shouting in the distance, but I shut him out. I didn't want to focus on anger or aggression right now. I just wanted to focus on love.

My eyes began to close as fatigue began to overwhelm me. "You just have a relax, Tabby Cat, we'll be fine. Absolutely fine".

I fell into unconsciousness as Devon smile lovingly at me, as Ramone screamed and shouted behind me.

A/N - I know my updates have been sparse lately but I have been super busy with a new job. I am continuing with this story and will try and update more regularly