Isabel's Choice

Chapter 12 - Isabel

When my cousin brought me to the Southern River border, I quickly realized that many of the unmated females hated me.

The young Alpha had slept with a large fraction of them and some had hoped they would become his chosen mate and Luna. It must have been unnerving for those she-wolves that an orphan female with no pedigree was suddenly their leader. They were disrespectful and they ganged up on me during training and whenever the opportunity presented itself.

Now, my wolf was young and inexperienced, but she was larger than most of those older ones and, as I quickly discovered, surprisingly strong. Even if most of the time she was playing by the ear, she eventually showed those females who their Luna is. 

She showed it to them so well that Owen banned me from wolf form training. He said I was unable to control my bitch and he couldn't afford to have his border control unit almost neutralized and out of order for weeks.

I didn't formally protest at him taking away this duty from me, but I told him that if any of his groupies attacked me in either wolf or human form, I would kill them on sight. They didn't bother me after that.

I kept having a decent relationship with the mated she-wolves because they lived by the pack's mantra and knew what was good for them - in their case listening to their Luna. And I even managed to maintain a relationship that resembled friendship with a warrior named Nura.

She had accosted me the day Owen banished me from his training field and told me that she was open to sparring with me.

I didn't want to disobey the Alpha, so we didn't have formal training sessions. But sometimes, when we went for a run in the woods, her wolf accidentally attacked mine, forcing Willow to practice defense moves.

And sometimes, Willow accidentally took out her frustration over a bad day on Nura's gray female, thus practicing her attack moves.

Afterwards, we went for virgin margaritas together.

***

We had planned to have a little not-training session tonight, but much to my embarrassment, Willow refuses to come out.

"Why can't you shift, Luna? Are you with child?" Nura questions me, worry tugging at the corner of her lips.

I pause, considering how to best answer her question. Even if Owen's thorough efforts of impregnating me have been successful last night, I should still be able to shift for some weeks, so that is not the reason my wolf is hiding from my command. I have a hunch that she is doing it because of the intention the Alpha has voiced, to get Smasher to bond her.

By her canine logic, if there is no wolf, there is nothing to claim.

Willow's reasoning is good, but it leaves me in a very delicate and vulnerable position, where I have to explain to this shifter female why her Luna cannot shift anymore.

"No, I don't think so...I had a very long night yesterday, I am probably tired," I mutter, stretching for effect, "Shall we have a coffee at the River Border?"

"Coffee is great, I also had a very long night," she winks, and we walk under the psychedelic summer sunset towards the coffee shops close to the Ferry terminal.

"Why, did Knox make it up to you for being away on raids all last week?" I ask casually, hoping her mate was there when Owen met his Moon Gift. There is something that irks me about his story. Having additional information from a neutral source would help me accept it better.

"Away?" Nura opened her eyes a little wider. "He was here all the time...the Alpha hasn't called a raid this month."

My hand reaches way too quickly for the base of my throat, rubbing it slightly and begging it not to close with the anxiety Nura's words had triggered.