The Shadow of a Luna
Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Chapter 13

TESSA POV

After Tyler had to leave for that warriors meeting where they were discussing going to war with my old pack and killing Matthias and my father I still stayed in the room. I knew that talking to Tyler was a good start for us to try and rebuild whatever it was that we had before and it felt like a weight had been lifted off of me. But there was still something weighing me down. Something deep down weighing my down that I just couldn’t shake. I stood at the window looking out at the forest and longing for the woods.

’Why don’t you try to shift.’ A voice in my head said.

’Shiloh. Is that really you?’ I asked shocked.

’You bet. It’s been a while.’ She says.

’I can’t believe that you’re back. I guess all that wolfsbane is finally gone.’ I say.

’It wasn’t just the wolfsbane. You were shutting me out. You weren’t meaning too. But you did. I guess you had to to survive. You didn’t want me to attack your father otherwise he would have killed you.’ My wolf said to me.

’It is so good to hear you’re voice.’ I say.

’Me too. It’s good to be heard. Now, it’s time to get down to business.’ She says.

’What are you talking about?’ I asked confused.

’There are people in a dungeon below this house that need to be taken care of. We both know it. They are going to be executed anyway. We both know that. And you are the one that should do it. You are the only one that deserves to do it.’ She explains.

’What if I freeze up when I see them. They tried to kill me. They tortured me. They did a lot of stuff to me.’ I say trying to come up with reasons not to do it.

’Tess. I am your best friend. I have been since you were 11 years old. We’ve always been on the same page. And you know that I’m right here. I’ve been watching you, Tyler, everyone. You just didn’t know. No one will hate you for being the one that kills them.’ Shiloh says.

’You want revenge.’ I say.

’You may not have been able to talk to me or hear me. But I saw everything that they have done to you. I want them dead as much as you do. You know what to do.’ She says.

I turn around and go to the wardrobe where one of my bags was and I reached up and pulled it down off the shelf. It still had a blanket and other Nik knacks in it. But I pulled out a black case and I grabbed it out and sat it on the bed.

I opened it to reveal the black revolver sitting in and it was unloaded. I always kept it unloaded. So I grabbed the bullets to load it. I slowly stood up from the bed and I listened against the door but when I heard no one out there I opened it and walked out to the hallway.

I went towards the backstairs because I knew that there would be people in the foyer area and kitchen. I knew that they would notice me immediately. And I didn’t want anyone seeing me. So I went down the back stairs and I was at the back part of the packhouse.

I had been here before but hardly anyone came out here. It was mostly storage rooms and stuff like that. So I found my way to the living room and I peeked my head in and was relieved to see that no one was there. But I could hear a lot of people in the kitchen. So I snuck to the basement door and I quietly opened it and closed it so it was just open a crack.

I walked down the stairs and it smelt of mould and dirt and it was disgusting. I walked down the hallway looking in all the cells but I couldn’t see them anywhere. I could smell the coppery scent of blood so I followed that and I finally found some cell’s that were in the worst shape. No beds or anything. Levi and Lochie were on my right and Rachel and Mason were on my right.

"Wow. You really are one tough bitch. How the hell are you still alive?" Lochie asked but I just looked at him. Mason sat up and I saw cuts all over his body that weren’t healing and Rachel was definitely looking the worst I have ever seen her.

"She must have a death wish if she came down here. If we get out of these cell’s then we will finish the job." Levi says. So I reached into my jacket pocket and I pulled out the gun and I pointed it right at him without hesitating or saying anything.

They backed up on the initial site of the gun but then Levi started laughing.

"Yeah right. She doesn’t have the guts to do it. She knows what will happen to her. She’ll get a death sentence too. Especially if she does it while we’re in a cell and unable to defend ourselves." Levi says.

"I am the Luna of the Blue Moon Pack. No one will give me a death sentence for killing the worst scum of the earth. They’ve already voted. You have been given the death sentence. They just don’t know how they are going to do it. Hanging, silver in the heart, or torture over many many weeks." I say.

"You’re lying. They would have told us about that." Lochie says.

"Maybe I am lying. Maybe I’m not. But they won’t punish me for this. Tell them Rachel. I won’t get punished." I say. But Rachel didn’t say anything. I then turned to look at Mason.

"Why me?" I asked. And he looked at me confused.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Why did you start raping me when I was 8? Why did you choose me?" I asked.

"Because your father said we could. That’s the only reason. You were nothing special to us. Just a kid to torture." Mason says.

"And we enjoyed every second of it." Levi says. So I turn back to him and he had a wicked smirk on his face. So I raised the gun again and without thinking twice or hesitating I pulled the trigger and shot him in the forehead. I then immediately turned the gun to Lochie and I pulled the trigger and shot him in the head too.

I turned back to Mason and Rachel and they were both looking at shocked and were backing up against the back of their cell’s.

"What the fuck have you done?" Rachel asked. And I heard people running down into the basement but I didn’t turn to look at them.

"You killed them. How could you do that?" Mason yelled.

"I am taking my life back. It’s mine and you will never have control of it ever again." I demanded through gritted teeth. And I pulled the trigger a third time hitting Mason in the head as well and he slumped forward on the ground.

Tyler’s scent then wafted to my nose as he approached me slowly from the side. He slowly put his hand up and, on the gun, to take it off me and I released it immediately. I wasn’t going to fight him on that. And I looked at Rachel.

"Don’t think this gets you off the hook. They didn’t belong to this pack so they didn’t deserve a trial. But good luck to you when everyone finds out that you’re the traitor." I glared at her before I left the basement.

I walked upstairs and past all my friends, Aria, Bella, Wyatt, Ethan and Tobias. Tyler, Cade and Carter were the only ones that went into the basement. And I went straight up to the bedroom and shut the door.

It wasn’t long before Tyler walked in and I noticed that he didn’t have the gun anymore but he sat next to me on the edge of the bed.

"Am I going to be tried for their murders?" I asked.

"No. You were right. They weren’t part of this pack so they didn’t deserve a trial. They committed an act of war. Besides, I would have pardoned you anyway." Tyler says.

"I don’t know if I deserve that." I say. So Tyler got on his knees in front of me so that I would look at him.

"Tess. There is only one reason why they were still alive. I was waiting for you to be well enough to deal with them. To tell me what you wanted to be done with them." He explains.

"What?" I asked shocked.

"Their punishment was going to be your decision. That’s the way it was always going to end. And you did exactly that. You are the one that sentenced them and then carried out that sentence. And no one is going to hate you for it...You were right. You were just reclaiming your life and they were never going to take it away from you again." Tyler says.

"You heard that?" I asked.

"I did. And I didn’t realize that you thought that they stole you’re life. But they can’t do that now. You can start living again." He says.

"Baby steps." I say and he smiles while he nodded. I slowly lifted my hand up to his cheek and I don’t know what came over me but I leaned forward and I softly and gently pressed my lips to his in a slow and passionate kiss.

I knew that he wanted more. But he was taking it slow for me. He was using all of his patients that he could use. And when I pulled away I saw that his eyes were changing color as he was fighting his wolf for control.

"I spoke to my wolf today." I admitted. " For the first time in about three years." I say.

"Holy shit. Seriously?" He asked.

"The wolfsbane kept her locked up. We couldn’t even communicate. But she started talking to me today. I missed her voice. And you probably don’t want to hear this, but we think a lot alike." I say. And Tyler started laughing.

"Yeah. That’s a little scary." He says and I smiled at him.

"Is it safe for me to leave the room and people are not scared of me now?" I asked.

"We’re werewolves. Almost everyone in this house has killed before. Usually in battle or serious conflicts. But most have killed. They aren’t going to be scared of you." He says.

"Okay. I’m not ready to go out just yet. I just needed to know." I said.

"They will all welcome you when you do come out of here." He said.

I lied back on the bed and Tyler lied down next to me but this time I actually faced him and I rested my head on his chest. I could hear his heartbeat speed up a bit and I smiled at that. He was a little nervous about it but he started running his hand around my back in circles and it was a very comfortable silence that we stayed in. We didn’t say anything. We didn’t need to talk about anything. I was really comfortable lying there with Tyler.

We ended up falling asleep like that and it was the most peaceful sleep I had gotten in months. Probably even longer than that. It wasn’t plagued with Mason’s face or them attacking me. Or me relieving my childhood or anything like that. I felt at peace. For the first time in so long.

When I woke up the next morning I felt completely different. Tyler was still asleep and I sat up and I got up and I had a shower. Not a bath, and I got dressed into a pair of jeans, a blue sweater and black boots.

I went down to the kitchen and there was no one there so I looked at the clock. It was only 5am so I made a coffee and I sat outside in the sun drinking it and looking out into the woods.

I would see the occasional patrol guard run past in the tree line but other than that, there was nothing. It was quiet and peaceful and I grabbed my cigarette’s and I lit one.

"How many times have I told you to quit that shit." Ethan says behind me and I almost jumped out of my skin. I didn’t even hear him coming.

"Asshole. Don’t scare me like that." I snapped.

"Sorry. I saw you and couldn’t help myself." He says.

"Do I need to get you back for that?" I asked. And he put his hands up in surrender.

"Please don’t?" He asked and he sat at another chair at the table. " You look good today." He says staring straight at me.

"I feel different. Not like yesterday." I say.

"Closure. You did what you needed to do. You ended it. That’s what needed to be done." He says.

"I know. Is that going to haunt me now? I’ve never killed anyone before." I say.

"That’s only because you’ve never been in battle. But we’re going to change that. You are finally going to start living your life. I promise you that." He says.

"So, I hear Bella might be staying here." I say.

"You know about her and Cade?" He asked.

"Yeah. And since he’s the Beta here, he can’t really leave." I say.

"I know. Which means I’ve lost you and my little sister to the same pack." He says.

"But you know this pack isn’t bad. Their good people." I say.

"Yes. They are. I like it here." He says.

"When’s the attack happening?" I asked.

"I don’t know. That’s really something you should ask the Alpha. Who is coming up right behind you." He says.

"I know. I can feel him." I say. And Tyler wrapped his arms around me from behind.

"Since when do you smoke?" He asked.

"Since I was 14. On and off. I just really needed one this morning." I say.

"I’m not judging." He says.

"Thank you." I said. And he kissed me on the cheek.

"It’s so good to see you out here." He says and he lifted me off the chair that I was sitting on.

"Oi. I was comfortable there." I say while I was still in his arms. But he sat on my chair and placed me on his lap. "Yeah. I guess this is just as good." I say and he chuckled.

"What were you guys talking about?" Tyler asked.

"I want to know when the attack is happening." I say.

"When we have a rock-solid plan." Tyler says.

"Alright. Just don’t underestimate my father or Matthias. They always have shit planned. And there’s a tunnel under the packhouse." I say.

"What? I didn’t know that." Ethan says.

"I know. They only put it in about two years ago. It’s an escape route in case they get attacked. You’ll need to have people stationed at the exit to that tunnel. So they can’t escape." I explained.

"Damn I am so glad that you’re here." Tyler says kissing me.

"Do you know where it is and where it comes out?" Ethan asked.

"Yeah. I’m not supposed to. But yeah, I know. I was going to use the tunnel if I needed to run away in a hurry. So, I made sure that I knew where it was." I said.

"Well, there’s a few matters that need to be taken care of before we attack." Tyler says.

"What’s that?" I asked.

"People are wanting Rachel’s trial to go ahead before anything else happens." Tyler says.

"Yeah. I wouldn’t mind seeing how that goes. Who would be on the dais?" I asked.

"Usually the Alpha, Luna, Beta and Gamma." He tells me.

"I think this should just be you three. I’m a little bias on the subject. And a witness to testify what Mason told me." I said.

"Yeah. That’s what I was going to ask you about. If you wanted to testify?" He asked.

"I will if I have to. I don’t want to. But I will." I said. And he kissed my cheek and pulled me closer and squeezed me a little tighter.

"Everything will be alright. She’s the last one." Ethan says.

"Are you sure? What about the other people in the cells. Weren’t they the ones helping her?" I asked.

"Yeah. But they didn’t know what she did. I interrogated them under Alpha command. They honestly didn’t know what she was hiding from. So they are sitting in the cell’s until I decide to let them go. That’s their punishment." Tyler explained.

"Okay. Damn, it’s a good thing I didn’t choose to kill everyone down there." I breathed out. And Ethan snorted at that trying not to laugh.

Not long after that people started coming downstairs for breakfast and almost all of them were surprised to see me sitting outside with Ethan and sitting on Tyler’s lap. Not that I had much choice in that matter. But they all greeted me except for Aria and Bella who both almost knocked me off of Tyler when they bowled into me to hug me.

"It’s so good to see you down here." Bella says.

"It’s good to see you too. I’m sorry that I haven’t been here while you have been." I say.

"Shut up. Don’t you dare apologize." She demanded.

"Yes, ma’am. When the hell did you get so demanding?" I asked.

"I thought that was just who she was." Cade says coming out and kissing her cheek.

"Never." I say.

"She’ll probably fit in around here if she keeps up that attitude though." Tyler says.

"Probably." I said.

"Would you people leave me alone. My best friend was almost killed. Of course I am a little grumpy." Bella says. _{fr\eewe.bn(o)v\el.c(o)m}

"I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. Did you really think I wasn’t going to get past it?" I asked.

"No. I knew you would. It was just taking longer than I thought." She says." But it’s awesome having you here now." She says hugging me again.

"I’ve missed you. It hasn’t been the same without you hanging around all the time." I say.

"I know. The same back at home. It hasn’t been the same since you left. I didn’t have anyone after that. The kids at school still treat me like I’ve got the plague. What’s the school here like?" She asked.

"No idea. Haven’t been yet." I say.

"Are you still planning on graduating?" She asked.

"Yeah. I’ll get back to school as soon as I can." I say.

"Alpha." Carter says running out to the terrace.

"What is it?" Tyler asked.

"It’s Alpha Matthias and Beta Daniel." Carter says.

"I’ll take it in the office." Tyler says standing up and he put me back on the chair.

"No Alpha. They’re at the border. They want to talk in person." Carter says. And I stood up.

"You can’t let them on pack lands. They’ll be checking out your defenses. They’ll learn everything they can to win next time they attack." I said a little more panicked than I intended. So Tyler cupped my face and kissed me.

"Don’t worry. They’re not stepping foot on our land. I will see what they want and then turn them away. If they won’t go, the warriors will be on guard ready to attack them and kill them on the spot. I promise." He says.

"Alright." I says hesitantly. So he kissed me again and he left with Cade and Carter. And I sat back down and lit another cigarette.

"They’ll be alright. Tyler knows what he’s doing." Aria says.

"Matthias would have felt their tether snap. Mason, Levi and Lochie. He knows that their dead. He’s the Alpha, he would have felt the tether to the pack snap the second that they died." I said.

"And Tyler will never say that it was you that killed them." Ethan insists.

"Definitely not." Aria agreed.

"So, why would they be here?" I asked looking at Bella.

"They could be here for us." Ethan suggested.

"I doubt that. You’ve been gone for over a week. They would have come sooner." I say.

’Hello daughter.’ My dad’s voice flittered through my head. I wasn’t marked and mated to Tyler yet which meant I was still connected to my old pack. And I could still mind link with them.