The Summer Moon
Chapter 15 -

Tyrese

I raced through the woods at full speed until I reached the battle. We were just off the edge of the border, and rogues were launching themselves at my pack members who were desperately trying to defend our borders. I immediately recognized two warrior wolves, George and Henry; they were older members of the pack. They must have been patrolling the borders tonight. We'd been having more and more rogue attacks ever since Jordan disappeared. I couldn't help but think they were somehow linked to that first attack on the night of his disappearance.

Suddenly, a new wolf launched himself across the border and towards me. I jumped up to meet him in the air and our bodies collided. We collapsed towards the ground, and he viciously snapped at me. But I was stronger. I quickly overpowered him, rolling us so I had the advantage and sunk my teeth into his neck. His body went limp beneath mine and I retreated, turning my attention to the rest of the forest.

I lunged at the other wolves who attacked and continued to fight beside my pack. This was where I was meant to be. Before I was alpha, I was a fighter and by far one of the best. This is what I had trained for. In fact, this was the only time I truly felt like I was in control, like I could be an alpha.

A few more pack members had responded to the howling, coming to fight at my side. We fought off the rogue wolves until they retreated back into the woods, recognizing their defeat. I shifted back and quickly threw on a pair of shorts. We had clothing hidden all over the woods just in case of times like this. Henry and George nodded their heads towards me, then ran back along the border in the other direction, still in their wolf forms. I watched as John, Malia's father, shifted back into his human in front of me.

"John, what are you doing out here?" I questioned him. He was a tracker, not a fighter. It was rare I ever saw him in a fight. My mind drifted to Malia, suddenly feeling more protective over John. If he got hurt, Malia would be hurt, and that was the last thing I ever wanted.

"I was out trying to pick up Jordan's scent, your father thought he caught it earlier today. I think your old man might be going crazy with his old age," John rolled his eyes and I nodded my head. My father truly had lost his marbles a bit since Jordan disappeared. This wasn't the first time he had thought he caught Jordan's scent. And every time, John and the other trackers would run the entire border of our territory, through all the forest area, but they never found anything. "I heard the howls and figured I could lend a hand," he added.

"Thanks John, good work," I extended my hand out to shake his and he grasped it firmly.

"You too, Alpha, you surely haven't lost your touch," he chuckled at me. We stood in silence for a few minutes. I watched in the distance as the sun began to rise, we'd been out here longer than I thought. "These rogue attacks seem to be getting more common around here," John broke our silence.

'I'm going to have to call a meeting with the warriors, increase our border security. As long as we keep the attacks at the borders, we can defend ourselves. We can't let them in, there's too many defenceless people in town," I mumbled, pushing my hands into my pockets. I wondered what Jordan would do in this case. He always knew the right thing to do.

"Good plan. And you be careful, Tyrese. Your father would be devastated if he lost you too. In my opinion, that was always your brother's downfall. He was too confident." I was actually a little surprised about John's response. No one ever said anything bad about Jordan.

"I think my father actually might be a little grateful. I think he'd rather Jared be the next Alpha," I looked down at the ground.

"You'll grow into the position, I think you'll surprise him and yourself," John said as he wrapped his arm around my shoulder. I was doubtful of that though. I didn't respond and instead just enjoyed the rustling leaves around us. I couldn't talk about the alpha position anymore, or my dad, or Jordan. I was so sick of it all.

"Actually, John, are you going to be around tomorrow afternoon? There's something I need to talk to you about." I turned to face him, holding my head up and trying my best to show confidence. Beneath, I felt nervous though. Would John consider me a good mate for his daughter? I was an Alpha, which meant she would be my Luna, she would have a good position in the pack and I would take care of her. Being an Alpha's mate also brought danger though, and what if this wasn't the life he wanted for his daughter?

"About my daughter?" John smiled at me knowingly.

"Uh yeah," I said nervously as I shuffled on my feet and looked off into the trees.

"She's your mate?" John asked and I actually widened my eyes a little, but quickly hid it. I had suspected that John knew that I had already met Malia, but how did he know she was my mate? I thought back to the morning I dropped the maps off at John's. I thought of Malia's lips on mine as she desperately kissed me while we hid in the bushes outside of her house. She was beyond perfect.

"Yes," I said, my confidence suddenly returning. John couldn't separate us even if he wanted to. Ultimately, it would be Malia's choice to be with me, but I still craved his approval. I didn't want to break relationships with the few people in the pack that actually believed in me as an alpha.

John nodded back to me, then surprised me with a slight smile. "I had a feeling. Even if you weren't Alpha, I've known you for so long. Your scent is in my memory now, and it's been all over her since she arrived. Plus, you're not the type to be messing around."

"Sorry," I said sheepishly. "I promise I'll take good care of her John, she'll be happy with me," I said honestly. I would give anything to make her happy.

"I have no doubt you will. You're a good man Tyrese, and you will be a good alpha." I smiled at John's comment, it felt so good to hear that. "But we do still have a lot to talk about, come on over tomorrow afternoon. Savanah is taking Malia shopping, and I think it's better if this is just between you and me for now." I nodded my head in agreement. John had just confirmed what I had feared. Malia doesn't know about the werewolf world. Now the question was, would she accept it when she found out?