[Seventeen]

*Lana*

March 12th, 2014

Landon and I walk into the house to see Trent and Natalie passed out on the couch. Trent's sitting at the end, his head thrown back against the cushion with his hands resting on Natalie's legs that are placed on his lap. Her head is resting on the arm of the couch on the opposite end of Trent. Beauty and the Beast's ending credits roll as Trent softly snores.

I smile. He has always hated Disney movies. However, he would watch hundreds of them for Natalie. He is a such a softy when it came to her. Trent is a sucker for her puppy face, along with everyone else in the pack.

Landon loops his arm around my shoulder and pulls me in, placing a kiss to my forehead. "He's perfect for her." Landon whispers. I arch my eyebrow, surprised he thinks so. Sure, it was true, but I expected him to be a little hostile about the whole situation. "Trent will be what she needs. She needs a friend and a guardian from him right now, and clearly that is what he is." He motions to the two snoozing on the couch. I smile, nodding my head. "When the time comes for them to be mates, I am sure he will be a good one to her as well."

"I'm starting to think you're not blind." I whisper, turning to gently trace the scars around his eyes. Landon chuckles and circles an arm around my waist, pulling me close to him.

The way Landon walks around the house, knows where people are standing, and knowing exactly where the furniture around the house is, is mind-blowing. I manage to run into more doors and tables than he does and I have perfect vision!

"Trust me, baby, if I wasn't blind, I wouldn't be in my wolf form as much as I am." Landon says, resting his forehead against mine. Our noses brush against each other as a smile stretches across both of our faces. "In fact, I'm sure I'd never be in my wolf form."

I scoff and playfully push on his shoulder, turning to head into the kitchen where I find Meggy, Tami and Rachel working on lunch. Meggy adorns a large smile when she sees me, walking over to wrap her arms around me. "You smell like the earth." She says bluntly. I laugh, running my hand through my forest tangled hair.

Tami and Rachel giggle to themselves and I know they find this amusing. I arch an eyebrow and walk over to grab a piece of cheese Rachel just cut. "Something funny?" My voice is hard and cold. Rachel's green eyes widen as she shakes her head quickly, her mouth gaping open.

A smile twitches at my lips. I didn't understand how Landon could do it. Maybe it's because he's a true Alpha. And maybe it's because I was born an Omega, that I will never be authoritative towards my fellow pack members.

I nod, grabbing another piece of cheese before I exit the kitchen, giving Meggy a pat on the shoulder. Landon is still standing by the kitchen table but Trent is now awake. They are quietly talking to each other, keeping sure no one is eavesdropping.

"....Castor will kill her if-" Trent cuts off when he feels my presence, giving me a wide smile. He's a good act. I know exactly what he was saying to Landon and he just pretends it was never said. "How was the forest floor?" He asks, reaching over to grab a leaf from my hair.

I pop the piece of cheese in my mouth, giving him a glare as I chew. "As comfortable as one would expect." I turn and face Landon. His face is pulled down into a frown and I immediately want to murder Trent. Why must he bring up Castor so soon? Landon just got over his curse and now Trent is dumping Castor's threats on him. "He won't touch me." I tell Landon, praying that I sounded convincing.

"You were right. We are going to need help if we want to defeat Castor." I feel my jaw drop at his words. I don't think I've ever heard someone say that to me before...

"Landon..."

"It was wrong to ever doubt you." I wasn't expecting him to say that... "I will contact our neighboring packs and ask for their aid. Roughly how many members are in the Cossitt pack?"

"Two hundred strong warriors." Trent answers. I feel my heart squeeze tight at the number. I knew the Cossitt pack was large... But I didn't know Castor trained so many warriors. Landon runs a hand through his hair.

We barely had thirty strong warriors. Granted there were much more four years ago, but after the battle with the Prowler pack, it has been a long road to recovery. Landon has done his best to revive the pack, but not many wolves survived. He basically had to start from scratch.

"I would like for you, Lana and Jesse to teach us the ways Castor and his men fight. You are the only ones who know." Landon says to Trent. I shake my head even though he can't see me. Trent casts me a gaze.

"I never fought, remember? I wouldn't be of any use in that department." I speak mostly to myself. Landon turns to face me, a frown on his face. 

"You lived there your whole life, Lana. It's alright that you weren't a warrior. You were an Omega... So you watched. You know their fighting techniques like the back of your hand." Landon wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me close to him, placing a kiss to my forehead. "You are exactly what we need."

I can't help the smile that plays at my lips. What Landon said was encouraging and thoughtful. It made my confidence triple. I was ready to take on Castor right now with the words he spoke to me.

"Lana, do you mind gathering everyone into the yard. We begin now." Landon dips his head down and places a strong kiss to my lips. "I am going to contact the other packs." I watch as he detaches from me and heads into his office. 

Trent lets out a low whistle and throws an arm around my shoulders. "Kind of scary... Never thought the day would come when I am taking orders from my sister." I roll my eyes and step away from him. 

I contact the pack, informing the warriors to rally outside immediately.

Jesse, Trent and I stand side by side, watching as all the men and women eligible to fight gather. "I am sorry to pull you away from your families. But I have news. As you know, Trent, Jess and I are from the Cossitt pack. Trent was a Theta, a high-stationed warrior. I snuck out in the middle of the night to find my mate, leaving without consent. And for that, I am so sorry. Alpha Castor has an army of wolves. He is moving to strike against us with nearly two hundred warriors." Members gasp, looking at each other with fear and anxiety. I understood. We are nowhere close to having the numbers to stand against Castor. 

"Landon is contacting neighboring packs. I am sorry to have brought this war upon you-"

"We are proud to fight for our Luna!" Someone shouts in the crowd. His declaration stuns me, striking my heart with this new-found love. Tears well in my eyes as I smile. 

"Trent, Jess and I are going to teach you the ways the Cossitt pack trains." I look over at Trent, nodding my head. He gives me a lopsided grin as he steps forward. 

"The Cossitt pack is ruthless. They don't honor the code of surrender. They mean to kill and they will only leave when every last Shadow member is killed." Oh, well that isn't dark... "That being said, you will need to shift and partner up." 

Everyone does as he says and Trent looks at me the same moment Blondie and Jenny jog over. "You have impeccable speaking skills." Blondie says to Trent. I laugh, shaking my head. 

Trent ignores him, meaning business. "Jesse and Lana will demonstrate!" I feel my eyes widen as I look over at him. 

What are you doing? You fight. I don't want to fight.

You have to fight. Trent argues.

I don't want to.

You have to. I have to remain human to instruct them. I don't have the connection like you do. Trent explains. Even though he had a very great argument, I still didn't want to fight. 

I let out a sigh as I shift into my disgraceful wolf, ripping my clothes into pieces. I watch as Jesse is already her dark gray wolf, significantly smaller than me. 

You've grown. She says. Becoming Alpha gave my wolf an obvious growth spurt. I was still much smaller than Landon, but I was larger than all the other wolves. 

"I want you to watch. Watch how Jesse strikes." I had never fought before and I was horrified, knowing Jesse could beat my ass. I didn't want to look bad in front of my pack. 

I feel my claws dig into the dirt as I lower myself slightly, letting out a growl as Jesse gears up. She lunges, her jaw open wide and aiming for my throat. I feel her teeth latch on in a vice grip, however she doesn't hurt me. Pinning my to the ground, she pretends to tear at my throat. 

"An easy way to get out of this grip is for Lana to place a paw on her bottom jaw and snap forward to sink her teeth into her upper jaw. With a swift movement of jerking down and pulling her head up, she will snap her opponents jaw in half." I do what he says, however I don't go to the extremes and snap her jaw. Jesse lets up, following my half-hearted actions. 

I roll to my feet and look to see all the wolves staring at us with gaped mouths. I didn't know what they were thinking. Were they disgusted? Impressed? The truth is, I am disgusted with the way the Cossitt pack fights. But it sure does get the job done. 

"Another tactic is going for the front leg. Snapping the bone in half to paralyze the opponent and then go for the kill." Trent says, looking over at me. I let out a sigh and face Jesse again, lunging forward to tackle her to the ground. We wrestle for a moment until I get a good shot at taking her leg in between my teeth. I bite down, causing her to let out a fake cry of pain. 

"Now, the Cossitt pack relishes in pain. They will step back and watch as you lay, clutching your leg in agony. They only way to survive this is when they go for the throat. It means your have to be strong, to push away the fact that you want to die. When they lunge forward, your best option is to roll away. The element of surprise is key. They will be momentarily confused, allowing you to do what needs to be done." Trent looks at us again. 

I release Jesse and step back, staring down at her. She curls her paw against her chest, watching my every move. She calculates the placement of my feet, the coil of my spine as I surge for her throat. She rolls out of the way, standing on three legs. I nearly eat dirt. I raise my eyes to see her razor sharp teeth going for my neck. Without time to react, I am practically dead. 

After the demonstration is over, we get to our feet, panting. Again, the members are just staring at us with awe. 

"Alright... Now practice with your partner." Trent says, dismissing the pack to their training. Mason walks over, patting my head. 

"Wow. That was intense." He says. I flinch at his touch, stepping away from him. Jesse trots up and tackles him to the ground, licking at his face. I roll my eyes, feeling the hair on my back stand up. I look behind me to see Landon in his wolf form, running towards us. He lets out a low growl, rubbing his head against my shoulder. 

How did it go? I ask him. Landon turns, watching his pack train. 

Mason and Jenny both look over, listening into our conversation. 

Only the Rose pack is with us. That gives us a good sixty more fighters. I let out a sigh and hang my head in defeat. That isn't even half of what Castor will be delivering to us. 

What can we do? I ask, projecting to both Landon and Trent. My brother looks over at me, a serious look on his face. I knew he had an idea and I was curious as to what he said. 

"I have an idea. But I don't think you will be too fond of it." He says to Landon. My mate looks up at him. 

At this point, we're desperate. I transfer the message to Trent considering he can't link in with Landon. 

Trent gnaws on his bottom lip as he looks at Jenny and me. I shake my head as his idea seeps into my mind. He is an idiot. Don't say it. Please don't say it. "The Prowler pack." 

Landon didn't hesitate to go for the throat.