Gone (Book Two of the Dark Lycans Series)
Chapter Thirty-One: The Dark Forest Pack

"Damn, why are these things so heavy?" Hailey asks as we drag the massive moose we killed.

"Stop complaining and just help me move it. It isn't heavy, just akward," I sigh as I readjust my grip on its front legs.

"Easy for you to say, I'm not as strong as you," she huffs. I roll my eyes and groan when I see we still have a mile before we reach the edge of our territory.

"Maybe we should have chased it closer, then killed it," I say.

"Ya think?" Hailey snorts. I glare at her and start to drag the moose again.

"If you don't stop whining I'll make you take my bag too," I snap. I had my bag over my shoulder, carrying 4 rabbits, 2 ducks, and a goose we caught by the mountain.

Her eyes widened and she quickly shook her head.

"That's what I thought," I smirk. We drag it a dozen more meters before I decide I've had enough.

I growl in frustration, and think. I realize something, and I let out a loud whistle. Hailey covers her ears and glares at me.

"You could have warned me. You whistle really loud," she whines rubbing her ears.

"So I've been told." I look into the trees and my ears pick up the faint sound of running. A minute later, Luke bursts out of the trees with a few other Lycans.

"Whats wrong?" He asks in panic.

"We can't get this back to the territory," I explain pointing to the moose.

"Holy shit! That thing is big, we will have a feast tonight!" He laughs. The men with him help Hailey and I drag it back to the territory quickly.

I see that they have made a huge bon fire in the center of the clearing. We drag the moose near it, and start the long process of cleaning all of the meat.

"Who knows how to properly clean and cook meat?" I ask the group forming around the fire. Three women walk up to me.

"Alpha, we used to be cooks for our pack," one woman says. They seem to be the same age as my mother, but ages are hard to tell with Lycans and werewolves, since we can live for hundreds of years and age very little.

I give them a nod and ask for their names. The two brunettes are sisters, Faren and Diana, and the blonde is Jackie.

"Well then you can help me clean the moose, and Jackie, can you clean up the other animals we brought?" She gives me an eager nod, and I hand her my bag.

I quickly find the knives someone collected from the wreckage, and give them to the three women. I didn't even have to do much because Faren, Diana, and Jackie all work very quickly and efficiently.

In the end I just sat back and watched with Hailey as the meat roasted over the roaring fire. Night was starting to fall, and the sun was nearly set.

We all ate the meat, and stored the leftover in containers we found. I grabbed my silver dagger from my bag and stood next to the fire.

I called over Hailey and Luke to stand next to me. The sun had gone down now, and the moon shone full in the sky.

"We will now begin the initiation ceremony. Let us join hands around the fire," I announce, and we all stand in a massive circle.

I take my silver dagger and slide it across the palms of my hands. I pass it around and everyone does the same before joining hands.

Our blood mixes and I say the ceremonial words in Latin.

"Iungamur unum fasciculum servite ut totum tueri. Nil requirit servire pack, donec mea sanguinem, inquinavit terram," I say. The rest of the circle repeats after me.

Then, I step into the circle next to the fire.

"Animam meam ut alpha votum. Omnia custodire et sarcinas, et ducam usque dum moriar," I say, taking my vows as Alpha. I nod to Luke, who comes to stand beside me.

My hands are now healed, so I take the dagger and cut my hand once again. Luke does the same before placing his hand in mine.

"Repeat after me, Ut pravis Beta votum, usque dum moriar. Meum sequar alpha explicari salute animae meae et ducendo sarcinas," I tell him. He does, and I feel the power start to radiate from him.

Next I nod to Hailey, who takes Luke's place. She cuts her hand again and joins it with mine.

"Repeat after me, Donec ut votum non potest quantum pack. Serviet mihi omnis potestas sanandi mypack utar, usque dum moriar," I say. She does and I see her face glow with happiness.

I let go of her hand and she returns to her place in the circle. I raise both of my hands in the air.

"We are now the Dark Forest Pack!" I announce with a grin. Everyone yells and throws their fists in the air.

I laugh when Hailey runs up and throws her arms around my neck. I hug her back and kiss her forehead.

"Come on, we can sleep under the stars tonight. Let some others have the houses," I tell her. She nods and we find a clear spot in the grass by the fire.

I take some of the blankets and lay them down. I lay on my back and watch the stars appear in the sky.

Hailey lays down next to me and I hear her sigh.

"This is much better than at my old pack, I wasn't very happy there," she tells me.

"Who was your old pack?" I ask.

"The Shadow Moon Pack." I stop and think for a moment before I start laughing.

"At the Games I almost killed your Alpha. He got in a huge fight with the Green Mountain Pack's Alpha, and to break it up I had to fight both of them," I chuckle.

"Seriously? I wish I could have seen it, that would have been much nicer than being in the Arena. What pack are you from?" She asks sitting up on her elbow.

"A few months ago I joined the Silver Bloods Pack. The Alpha, Blake Redthorne is my mate. I was actually born a rogue, then I became a Hunter," I try to explain.

"How were you a Hunter?" She snorts. Move my hair to show her my silver chain tattoo.

"Apparently I was taken when I was a few years younger than you, and I got my memory erased somehow. The Hunters messed with my memories so I thought I was born a Hunter. When I was sixteen I shifted into a wolf, and then I assumed my father was a Hunter, and determined my mother must have been May Blackwood," I tell her. Her eyes widen and she nods for me to continue.

"A few weeks ago when I got to the Arena, I found out that my father was actually Fenrir Corvinus, a Lycan. And that my mother was also a Lycan." I pause to make sure she can keep up.

"Your father was the one that tortured us?" She gasps. I nod my head sadly.

"Yes, that's why I killed him. He was the one who scratched my face, and crushed my shoulder," I explain.

"At least your mother isn't a murderer," she says.

"Yes she is. She was the one who planned the attack on the original Dark Forest Pack. She was better than my father, yes she tortured me when I grew up, but she did it all for a reason," I sigh.

"She tortured you?"

"In a way, my cousin Shadow and I got hurt a lot. We learned every inch of the maze in the mountain by experience. Our mothers would take us to a random part and we had to find our way back."

"How did you get hurt?" She asks sitting up. I look at her and put my arms behind my head.

"Once I fell and got a compound fracture in my leg and cracked my skull. Another time I got stabbed by a knife when Shadow and I were practicing throwing. It was some kind of test so I wouldn't flinch, and Shadow hit my arm," I smile at the memory.

"Sounds like fun," she rolls her eyes sarcastically. I give her a playful glare, before going back to watching the sky.

"Why isn't your mate with you? Wouldn't you be the Luna of the Silver Bloods Pack?" Hailey asks suddenly.

I sigh heavily, and look over at her.

"When I met Blake, it was before I had shifted into my Lycan. My Lycan is a severe threat to Blake, especially since I actually took his place as Alpha. So his Lycan didn't recognize mine as his mate, only a threat to him. He tries to kill me, and I almost killed him a few times," I chuckle.

"How did you almost kill him?" Hailey asks.

"Do you remember that lion? Well I have other animals that are connected to me in the same way. One is a cheetah, and she actually has kits. Blake lost control of his Lycan and killed one." Hailey gasps, covering her mouth in horror.

"That's awful, what happened?"

"Well I am connected to the cheetah and her kits, so I felt it. But one of Shadow's animals must be the father because she felt when the kit died too. It hurts like hell so Shadow and I were angry and in pain. Our mothers had to use tranquilizers to keep us from killing him," I admit with a frown.

"You seem to be the source of anger, pain, and trouble wherever you go," she decides. I think for a moment, and nod.

"You're probably right. After all, only a few days ago Shadow and I got thrown in jail," I laugh. Hailey laughs too, and we talk for most of the night.

I tell her about some of my missions, and many more things about my life. She listened intently, asking questions sometimes, and learned things about me only Shade knows.

I'm not sure when, but at some point I fell asleep with Hailey resting her head on my shoulder.

***************

The far off sound of footsteps had me awake and standing up in a flash. My eyes snapped back and forth watching the treeline.

Everyone around me was suddenly alert, waiting for the intruder to appear. I see my mother and Lily come barreling through the trees, eyes panicked.

I raise up a hand to stop my pack from hurting them, and Hailey explains who they are. I walk forward to meet them halfway, worried about what has them so freaked.

"What happened?" I ask firmly. Lily hands me a letter.

"Shade's been shot."

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