The Summer Moon
Chapter 89 -

Malia

Ugh," the bed shook suddenly and I jumped awake. "Sorry," Ty whispered but by the tone of his voice I knew something was wrong. His thoughts were foggy and I couldn't make sense of them, then the sudden harsh smell hit my nose. Blood. "Ty," My eyes went wide and I jumped up to look at him."Are you okay?" I was practically screaming, instinctively reaching down to press my hand over the reddened gauze Ty was holding over his bicep. His eyes were closed tightly"What happened?" I stuttered out.

"I'm fine, just another rogue attack. It's just a scratch," Ty said, pulling the gauze back to show me the red gash down his arm. I was relieved to see the wound didn't look too deep. I jumped from the bed and ran to the bathroom to retrieve the first aid kid then was back at his side in an instant.

"You didn't even tell me you were leaving," I scowled at him, sitting on the edge of the bed beside him. Pulling the gauze back once more, I gently wiped around the wound to clean the area with a fresh piece of gauze and noticed the edges already pulling together as it healed.

"I didn't want to wake you," he replied and I rolled my eyes. I could so smack him right now, and I probably would have if he wasn't already hurt. Who cared about sleep when there was a rogue attack, when Ty was out there fighting, and Ty was getting hurt. The tears burned in the back of my eyes but I held them back. "Lia, I'm fine," Ty's hand came up to my cheek obviously sensing how I was feeling.

"And what if you weren't? What if you were out there dying and I'm just here sleeping because I didn't even know anything was wrong?" My voice broke as I spoke, the tears now coming in a steady stream down my cheeks. All the built up fear from the past attacks spilling out in front of us as I did myself to pull myself together. But it was too late, Ty was sitting up and his arms wrapping around me to pull me into his chest. My head fell to the curve of his neck and I felt myself settle a little, soothed by his touch.

"Nothings going to happen to me, I promise," he said while rubbing his hands around my back, but he couldn't promise that. We both knew he couldn't, because I'm sure Jordan would have promised the same thing to his mate and we both knew where that had ended up. Ty took a deep breath, "I'm a better warrior than Jordan, what happened to him won't happen to me," but as much reassurance as he could give me, that wasn't what I wanted and he knew that. "Wake me up next time," I demanded and he sighed.

"Counter offer," he suggested and I waited to hear it. "I will wake you up only if you promise me you will not go into the forest. You stay in town, you hide when you need to, you stay safe. I will keep my mind open so you'll know what's going on and you agree to the same. You will start training tomorrow, and I'm sorry if you don't want to but Malia I can't have you here helpless. I need you to be able to defend yourself because I need you and I sure as hell will never be okay again if anything ever happens to you," The alpha tone rang through his voice and I knew this topic was not up for discussion, and a small smile crossed my lips. He may not have been born the alpha but he definitely was one now. "Yes alpha," I giggled back to him, running my lips down his jaw. That was definitely something I could agree to. I knew going into the forest would only cause Ty more problems since I wasn't properly trained, but at least I would be able to hear his thoughts and know that he was okay.

Ty flipped us over, pressing his lips to mine then pulled back. A smile rest on his lips but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "I like the sounds of that," he said, but I knew something was wrong. He was holding back about something, or maybe just lost in thought but why couldn't I hear what he was thinking about? What was he keeping from me?

I ran my hand along his cheek and his eyes followed mine. "You should get some sleep," he whispered, and although that was the last thing I wanted to do I felt the pit in my stomach telling me that Ty will talk to me when he's ready. Remembering the deal we had made back in New York felt like a lifetime ago, but he promised he would tell me everything and I had to trust him. So I rolled over in the bed to my own side then rest my head on his chest and curled into his side.

The room was quiet for a while, but we both knew that neither of us were sleeping. I only felt myself getting more and more anxious with Ty lost in thought. Until finally the silence broke when Ty sighed.

"Lia I have to tell you something," he started and I felt my heartbeat pick up in pace. His voice was flat, unable to read and when I turned back to look at him his eyes were glued on the ceiling. "I think you're right," He started slowly, "I think I am the target." My heart dropped in my chest, my biggest fear coming true. Ty was in danger.

By the next morning my anxiety still hadn't passed, it felt like I had finally just fallen asleep when the sun began shining through the window to wake us to a new day. Ty had explained the entire attack to me last night, the wolves that lunged at him, the way they chased him as he ran. We both knew what it meant.

I spread my arms out across the bed only to be met with cold sheet so I shot up quickly. Where did Ty go now? I looked around the room, his car keys sitting on the desk in the corner so he had to still be here somewhere. I climbed out of bed and heard the water running for the shower as I walked by the door, a wave of relief washed over me. He must've gotten up earlier.

I grabbed my clothes for training today then rushed into the bathroom, craving his touch. I turned to see him through the glass shower door, his hair wet and matted to his face as he leaned against the wall watching me carefully. "Join me?" He raised an eyebrow at me, a smirk playing on his lips, and I couldn't imagine anything better as I breathed back, "Yes." Slipping my clothes off first, I stepped into the shower and in one swift motion Ty's arms were around me lifting me up and pressing my back against the cold tiles. Ty's touch set fire to my skin while the water washed away the troubles between us.

"You're wearing that to training?" I said eying him over. Damn, he looked good wearing a pair of sleek jeans and a button down shirt that he had rolled up to his elbows. While I totally approved, this was definitely not the type of thing I'd imagined training in.

"Nope, I'm going to the office today. We have some cameras in the forest, so I'm going to review the footage from all the past attacks and see if I can replace anything to confirm what we think," He explained as he slipped his shoes on then began gathering papers from his desk.

"Oh, I just thought we were training today?" I asked. Had he already forgotten about our deal last night? I was actually kind of excited to spend the morning training with him.

"I can't train you, I'll be totally distracted the whole time," Ty winked at me and I smiled feeling the playful side of him coming out, but it only lasted for a moment until that same serious look was back on his face. "I can drop you off at the arena or you can take your car. I'll probably be in the office all day today though, so I won't be able to pick you up," I nodded my head, it seemed like I didn't have much choice but to take my car. Not that I minded, but something had felt off this morning and I was really hoping to spend more time with him today than this.

"But wait, who's going to train me?" I asked, already feeling disappointed. "Liam," Ty tossed my car keys in my direction and I fumbled to catch them.

"You're kidding right?" My eyes went wide, there was no way I could train with Liam.

"Nope, Liam's a good warrior. Plus, I had to pick someone you wouldn't be afraid to hit," Ty laughed a little and I had to join in. That part was true, and I guess at least I would be able to finally catch up on what's going on between Liam and Alana considering I hadn't heard from either of them since she found out about the wolves.

So I put on my best fake smile and followed Ty down the stairs and out to the drive way. He dropped the papers onto the passenger seat of his car, and I couldn't help but think that's where I should be sitting. Ty turned to me and sighed, his arms snaking around my waist as he stepped closer. "I'm sorry," he gave me a sad smile then pressed his lips gently to mine. He pulled back all too soon and opened my door for me. I slid into my seat and started the car, then just as Ty went to close the door I stuck my hand out. I wasn't starting my day like this, with things so tense between us for no reason.

"Lia?" Ty asked his eyes widened slightly. I reached up to grab the collar of his shirt, pulling his lips down to mine and kissed him with everything I had. His lips melted against mine as he leaned into it and I could feel the negative mood that had been circling him all morning finally easing off. He pressed between my legs, lifting me up to sit on the hood of the car. Neither of us wanted this moment to end as I clung to him desperately. But as we pulled back, knowing we had to start our days eventually, we were both breathing heavy and that glorious sparkle in Ty's eyes had finally returned.

"Have a good day," I whispered to him and he broke out in a smile.

"I love you so much," he shook his head at me, helping me off the car and back into my seat. Now closing the door, I felt much better about the day ahead of me. Ty climbed in his own car while I headed down the driveway and away from this house, already looking forward to continuing that make out session tonight.

When I got to the arena, Liam was thankfully outside waiting for me since I had no idea where I was going or what I was doing. We walked through the front doors together and into an area that reminded me of your typical gym for working out. Liam showed me a few exercises that I could practice on my own with the weights, as well as some cardio routines but I was fairly certain I could do cardio on my own. It would be nice to get back into running since I used to do it all the time in New York.

Next he led me out of the gym room and down a hallway where we stopped with a door on either side of us. "This is where you train if you want to practice in wolf form, although most of us just train in the forest," he gestured towards the room on the left, then led me into the room on the right.

"What are we doing then?" I said looking at the room around us. It was mostly empty, with only a few large mats scattered across the floor.

"Human combat training, you've gotta learn to protect yourself in human form first since that's when you're most vulnerable. Fighting as a wolf is easier because wolves always have good instincts, but in human form not so much," he explained. Together we walked over to the mats and Liam demonstrated a few moves for me, many of them reminding me of the self defence moves my mom had taught me when I started taking the subway on my own. Next we moved onto fighting, which was actually a little easier than I thought it would be. Liam was definitely going easy on me but I got a few shots in, even if he was just letting me boost my confidence. As much as I had been dreading training with him, my day was actually turning out pretty good. Liam was actually really easy to talk to and it was nice to have someone keeping my mind off of everything that was going on with Ty. Especially since he continued to keep his mind closed off to me, a fact that was becoming more and more irritating by the hour. Every time I tried to keep my mind closed off to him it took so much concentration and effort, how was it so easy for him? Or maybe it wasn't easy, maybe what he was hiding was just that bad. A chill ran down my spine out of fear of what it might be. He had already opened up to me last night, what else could there be?

I turned to Liam deciding that I needed to keep myself distracted as the pit in my stomach started to grow with worry. "So you and Alana?" I wiggled my eyebrows at him and Liam shot up instantly from where he had been lying on the mat. "What did she say something about me?" His eyes were wide, reeking of desperation. I stepped back a little surprised by his reaction.

"Uh no, why what happened the other night? You guys didn't get it on?" I looked at him confused. I had been so sure that they were finally connecting that night, and Alana was hardly a prude. If she was interested in Liam she definitely would have made a move.

"Get it on? Lame Malia, but no. Things were perfect, going great. I even kissed her, and she kissed me back and just when things were getting hot and heavy I, of course, had to fuck it up and tell her she's my mate. Now she thinks I'm a total creep, something about not letting someone else make decisions for her, and now she's avoiding me again!" Liam groaned exasperated, flopped back down onto the mats.

It made me laugh to see him like this, I bet it wasn't often he struggled to get a girls attention, and I bet he'd never had to try this hard before. I could see Alana being a little pissed off about the mate bond though, she definitely liked her independence and to be told she's supposed to be with this one person forever probably seemed like her worst nightmare right now.

"She'll come around, she's just stubborn. I've known her basically my whole life, and she's always been a little stubborn, but give her some charm Liam. I know she'll cave eventually,"

"Yeah I guess," He mumbled.

"As much as you don't let anyone else see it, you're actually a pretty nice guy. I mean you've done a lot to help me and Ty over the short time I've known you. So if there's anything we can do to help with Alana," I offered and he smiled back. "Okay come on, 20 more minutes and we can quit," Liam jumped up to his feet then reached a hand out to help me up which I gratefully accepted. Liam and I went back to sparring and just when I was replaceing my rhythm I heard the faintest echo of Ty's voice in my mind. My mood instantly perked up, knowing his mind must be opening up to me again. Finally, I breathed a sigh of relief.

And then I heard it, the reason behind his sadness, the thought that was changing everything. The blow that came next to my side didn't even compare, feeling like someone had just brushed me with their shoulder as I crashed down to the ground.

"Fuck Malia I'm so sorry, I swore you had that one," Liam rushed to the ground in front of me, pure terror on his face as he realized what had just happened, but he didn't know the half of it. "Malia," Liam tried again, but I still stayed quiet. Lost in my own mind as I stared up to the ceiling. "Fuck Ty's going to kill me."

As if on cue I heard Ty's voice in my mind next, "Malia are you okay?" But we both knew I wasn't, and it wasn't because Liam had just hit my side and knocked me to the ground, but because Ty was the target, and without my input, had just decided we needed to stay apart.