Scouts Salute Aot Novels & Stories

The driver spoke up, a corporal by the name of James Smith who, despite being out here under scorching temperatures and trying conditions, had never browned beyond a sickly cream colour nor gained any muscle. "Corporal?" Kade answered back. "ETA is five minutes." Kade nodded, silver eyes still watching the barren road as he picked up the radio handset. "This is alpha leader to all scouts. ETA less than five minutes. Man the scopes and keep your eyes out for any bogies, over." A chorus of 'copy' was returned quickly, the lieutenant putting the receiver back into the cradle before banging his fist on the roof of the armoured patrol vehicle.

"Ignatius is coming tonight, isn't he?" Phineas stood before the floor-to-ceiling mirror, his voice a flat rasp that barely carried over the hum of the air conditioning. He didn't look at Jax, who stood by the door. He looked at the heavy black silk of the tunic draped over his frame. Silver embroidery crawled up the collar like frozen vines. It felt like lead. "The scouts picked up movement three miles out, sir. Armored transports. Blacked out." Jax adjusted the strap of his rifle, the nylon webbing creaking in the silence. "Aurelius thinks this gala is a coronation. Ignatius thinks it's a funeral."

The scout was caught just past the southern ridge, moving carefully, dressed in neutral colors but carrying the scent of Blood Moon beneath it all. They dragged him in alive and he just stood there, calm, like a man who had already accepted the outcome. I dismissed everyone except Rafaello and two guards. “What message did he carry,” I asked. Rafaello held up a sealed strip of dark leather, marked with the Blood Moon insignia. “Read it,” I ordered. He broke the seal and his eyes darkened as he scanned the words. “Well?” I demanded. Rafaello swallowed. “It’s a formal declaration.”

Scarlet reaches out and squeezes my hand, silently reassuring me, before I focus on my grandfather. “When you’re ready, Sloane,” he says. “I, Alpha Sloane Hartwell, to hereby swear my loyalty to this pack. I promise to love, honor, and protect them for all of my days. I will be their strength when they are feeling weak. I will be their shoulder when they need to cry. I will be their sounding board when they need to vent. I will be a leader they can respect and will willingly follow. I swear this before you, Alpha Waylon, your pack, my family, friends, witnesses, and the Moon Goddess herself,” I say.

Even the doubters watched. “I won’t promise perfection,” Tristan said. “I won’t pretend this unity won’t be tested, but I will stand here, beside my Luna, beside my son, and say this, we will not fall back into the old ways. We will build something worth passing down to our future generations.” He raised his glass again. “To the United packs.” And they echoed him. “To the United packs.” The fire roared higher. The music began. Wolves shifted into their other forms and danced beneath the moonlight in celebration. But at the edge of the crowd, one scout stood still. Watching the woods. He turned to his commander, voice low.

I say, standing to my wobbly feet, snatching all the monitoring wires off of me. "Then off we go. Fighting the world together, one bad guy at a time.." She says intertwining her fingers with mine. "That's my girl." I say, nuzzling my nose into her neck. Our marks are shining, almost glimmering in the hospital room lights. "Soon even in our wolf forms you will bear the mark to show the world you belong to me." I whisper in her ears as I walk beside her out of the hospital room. **TALON**

How could I be Alex the Delta when all my life I’ve been trained to be Alex the Alpha? I shake those thoughts off my head. It was in the past now. “I know,” I reply, “So, when should I start? Who am I going with?” “For today’s scouting mission, you will be joined by Avery, Oliver, Jason, Matthew, and Leslie, along with my Gamma, of course. Only seven people, just scout the pack territory, the riverbanks, and return,” My father advises me, “If you see any humans in the Lunar woods, do not engage. Make your way straight back home and notify me so we can go into vigilant mode. If you meet a wolf from another pack, greet them, identify yourselves and go on in your way.”

I gripped it tightly, feeling the weight of responsibility. The Master of Ceremonies spoke again. “Do you, Lena, swear to protect this pack with your life? To serve with honesty, to rule with fairness, and to honor the laws of the Moon?” I took a deep breath and answered firmly, “I swear it.” The crowd responded with a loud, “So be it!” Then came the Marking of the Seal. An elder approached, carrying a small silver stamp, engraved with the pack’s crest—a full moon surrounded by four stars. The stamp was pressed gently onto my inner wrist, leaving a faint but permanent mark.

(Major Colleen) Still Standing, with her shouts everyone in the room including the 5 ministers on the stage put their hand on the chest and bow 45 degrees. In Aeternum there are 2 kinds of salute were teach to the citizen, 1. a right hand on the heart was the normal salute, for everyone that is superior ranks and the 2. right hand on the heart and 45-degree bow was only for one person, His Majesty The President. For Special Forces members, this is the first time ever they ever did the salute, and the very first time they will be meeting the man himself.

The pack members nodded solemnly, their commitment to upholding trust resolute. Aurora concluded the meeting by leading the pack in a symbolic unity ceremony. Each member stepped forward, placing their paw on a communal emblem—a representation of their shared commitment to unity and strength. The air was filled with a palpable sense of solidarity as the pack united their energies in a powerful moment of connection.