The Girl with Two Wolves

Chapter 1

Aurora wished she had died that day. She only remembered snap shots: getting beaten up, her dad putting her in the car to save her, her mom bleeding and trying to drive them to the hospital, and some loud popping sounds. After that she woke up in the hospital her whole body wracked with pain. Her face was still swollen, and she could only open one eye. Breathing hurt no matter what she did and though they had her on pain medication it was not enough. Worse than all that, she was alone. 

When she asked the nurse about her mom, the nurse looked sad and told Aurora to wait for the doctor and her dad. The doctor showed, her dad did not. The pain of hearing that her mom had died nearly threatened to take her with. The doctor pulled some strings and got her dad on the phone for her hoping to pull her out of the dark. She didn’t blame her dad for not being there, the mate-bond was pulling at him because of losing his mate. Her father was in just as much misery at the loss of his mate as she was at losing her mother. She looked just like her mother and it was too hard on her dad to be around her. So he kept himself working. 

“So much for a happy shifting 14th birthday, she sighed out loud.” Once she had been released to the pack hospital the doctor had been concerned that the trauma had severely weakened her wolf and delayed the first shift. He wasn’t sure if she would ever shift. The thought of never shifting, of never realizing her wolf was an all new level of depression. What would she do if she never shifted, she thought. She had no one she felt close enough to talk to about it; so this ran circles in her thoughts. Doctor Gene had no answers and she didn’t want to talk to her friends about it. She didn’t want pity, or to be made fun of, to not fit in. All of that somehow made it feel even worse. Kids were always cruel to anyone different, and wolf packs even more so.

When she was finally released home she spent her time alone. Her dad was burying his nose into his work on border patrol and hunting. It was still too hard for him to look at Aurora and he felt keeping busy and working would keep him alive and supporting his daughter. The two of them developed a system of back and forth notes on the fridge for check in and needs. Her fathers absence was still a heavy weight to her loneliness.

At first Aurora spent her time reading every book in the house, she wasn’t comfortable with encountering any of her friends. She didn’t want to talk about what happened and she didn’t want to talk about the fact that she hadn’t shifted on her birthday as all her friends that have had their birthday’s had. The books ran out before she thought they would and she understood much more in some of the books than she thought she would. Once the books ran out, she needed to find something else to do with her time. 

Aurora started going on hikes and explorations of the area around their town. She would find hidden valleys, meadows and fields and bring picnics to the places. On occasion she would run into a patrol which made her feel safe about the area. The Spring Valley Pack was located where there was lots of hot springs in what used to be called the Rocky Mountains. The waterfalls were snow melt and freezing, but they would meet hot springs coming up from the earth and make the perfect relaxing spots. Aurora found many of them and took her time enjoying them. She mapped out each location so she knew when to go to the best ones at what time.

A little more than halfway through the summer Aurora’s best friend Jenny started begging Aurora to spend time with her. Jenny was the only one she messaged, and even then it was not very often. It finally got to Jenny’s 14th birthday and she wouldn’t let up about Aurora coming to celebrate with her. Aurora was nervous because she still hadn’t shifted and didn’t know if she would ever be able to. She didn’t want to become the one all the others picked on. The party would end with everyone who could shift running into the forest till the sun came up.

“Awe, please Aurora? Please come to my birthday? I’ve missed you so much all summer.” Jenny begged.

“I don’t know, I’m still not all the way healed, I don’t want to be a bummer when you all run through the forest,” she replied. Not exactly honest but she didn’t want to tell Jenny that she couldn’t shift yet. 

“The bummer would be you not being here. I won’t give you a hard time for not running through the forest with us? You can leave before I shift if you want.”

“Are you sure you won’t be upset if I leave early?”

“I promise! I miss my best friend.”

Jenny sounded so excited that Aurora couldn’t resist anymore, she even smiled at the idea. Maybe it would be good to be social she thought. The loneliness had been starting to get to her. She thought she was starting to hear voices, but that also could be her wolf trying to talk to her. Either way it might be a fun time. 

Aurora picked out a pretty blue sundress, just in case she did shift it was easier to pull off and carry around for when she shifted back. Then she braided her long rich red hair, never one for make up or fancy hair styles. Simple and easy were her favorite even if it made her seem more plain. She grabbed her money stash to pick up a quick present on the way. Jenny always loved sunflowers so she picked out some pretty sunflower earrings and headed over to Jenny’s place. 

When she got to the front door her instincts made her anxious and she felt paralyzed. She started pacing back and forth, somehow not able to knock on the door and talking to herself under her breath trying to get the nerve up to knock. She was so engrossed in it that she jumped with Marie, Jenny’s mom, opened the door for her. 

“Aurora! Jenny will be so happy you came. Come on in, they are in the back telling stories while we wait for pizza.” Marie said with a smile. 

“Thanks,” Aurora said shyly and went out back where the other girls were.

As she approached the group of girls, the uncomfortable feeling intensified and she became more anxious. Jenny jumped up when she saw Aurora and dragged her over to sit next to her. There was an unexpected vision of a wolf thrashing around in her head, angry at something and making her feel more uncomfortable. It seemed her wolf was upset at something and though they had not yet spoken, she was understanding and thought soothing things to calm the wolf down. It seemed to work. Aurora was a little surprised that she was starting to sense her wolf. 

After the slow breathing and soothing thoughts Aurora noticed a new girl. She seemed familiar but was definitely not someone she remembered meeting. Aurora’s wolf bristled at the sight of the new girl; and then the new girl looked directly at her. There was recognition in the girl’s eyes and a barely noticeable micro sneer on her face when their eyes connected. It seemed the feelings were mutual. 

“Hey, what is the new girl’s name?” She whispered to Jenny.

“Angelica, she arrived about a week into summer. She’s traveled a lot and has so many fun stories to tell.” Jenny whispered back.

“So, my mum was human and had hooked up with my dad. It wasn’t ever anything serious. But then he found ‘the one,’ and bailed on my mum before she even knew she was pregnant. Mum raised me fine until my 14th birthday when she learned that I was a werewolf. I mean, can you imagine the shock! So she tracked my dad down since she didn’t know how to handle me or even anything about werewolves.” As she spoke the sneer on her face was much more pronounced. “My dad refused to take me and his mate attacked my mum and killed her. The pack found some adoptive parents for me.” She finished up her story.

Aurora felt like some of that was not true and her wolf was furious at the story, but having no proof she kept it to herself. Everyone else there seemed spell-bound to it and she didn’t want to be speaking out against a new girl, it would have come across as rude. She was also gone for most of the summer and didn’t want to start off as pushy or ill tempered. 

“Hey Aurora! Glad you are back,” Amelia said. “So what really happened? All we have is rumors.”

“I don’t remember much, and no one told me more. You might even know more about it than I do,” She tried to joke and hoped it would derail the conversation. 

“Didn’t your mom die in a car crash though?” Amelia pushed.

“Yes,” Aurora whispered, “but I don’t want to talk about it yet, it still hurts.”

Jenny cut in, “Hey look! Pizza is here, let’s all grab pizza and cake! The sun will be heading down soon, I want to be full and find a good spot in the woods first.” Aurora smiled her gratitude for the redirect.

Jenny and Aurora both loved pineapple and mushroom pizza so they took extra since no one else liked it. Jenny kept close to her making her feel more welcome even with Angelica’s dirty looks.

“Angelica seems to have made fast friends,” Aurora whispered to Jenny, while watching Angelica buddy up to Leah. 

“Yeah, with everyone including Nick. I suspect they will start dating soon,” Jenny said in a low voice back.

“Really?! I figured he would hold off dating since we never know who our mate’s will be. Dating before is always drama.”

“Angelica didn’t grow up being taught about our ways, I think some things are stuck in her mind from human ways. She thinks there is no reason to hold back. Nick has been reluctant but I think most of that is Alpha Brandon trying to talk him out of it.”

“I guess I understand not knowing our ways or hearing the stories. Just seems like heartbreak for someone.” Changing topics I said, “I guess it’s good she is making friends fast.”

“She pulls everyone in with a good story. I’m sure some have embellishments but over all they are still good and fun to listen to,” Jenny said.

“Sounds fun,” Aurora said, faking a smile, she couldn’t help that the girl made her uneasy.

After everyone ate Angelica called Jenny over, Aurora wanted to keep a distance and it seemed that Angelica didn’t want her to join. 

“Jenny, let’s pick a perfect sundress for your shift real quick,” Angelica conspired.

Aurora watched them head into Jenny’s room as Leah seemed to slither over.

“I don’t know what that girl sees in you. You’re just a weakling who will never shift. You are the lowest of the low here and I’m going to make sure everyone knows it,” Leah said quietly. The cruelty in her eyes almost glistened in a sickening way. Then Leah turned on her heel and walked away looking proud of herself.

The next moment Jenny came out of her room and glanced sadly at Aurora. Angelica followed with a sinister gleam in her eyes.

‘Leave now!’ a voice inside Aurora’s mind called out to her.

Jenny started getting restless and pacing, everyone was sure she would shift soon. Aurora tried to pull her aside for a moment to give her gift and leave but Angelica never gave her a chance. Aurora really wanted to give the gift to her friend and decided to follow them out to try to get it to her even as the voice inside was pulling at her to leave the group. 

“Guys, I found a great clearing that would be amazing for a first shift,” Angelica suggested. Everyone nodded agreement and followed her into the woods. 

Aurora didn’t want to go into the woods with the group but she felt it was the only way she would get to give the gift to Jenny. She resolved to wait till Jenny shifted and leave the gift with her clothes before taking off. 

As the group headed up a winding trail that was very hard to see Angelica slowed her pace to come up beside Aurora.

“I know who you are, I know you can’t shift and that you will always be weaker than me. I am first. Your friends are now mine and if you fight me on this I will kill you.” Angelica spoke in a low tone so Aurora was the only one who heard. Angelica’s eyes turned black showing her wolf as if that made everything she said even more true. Without warning the evil she-wolf sprinted forward to lead the group into the clearing.

Aurora was ready to leave right then, she could give the gift another time and felt foolish for coming this far. As she was trying to back away from the group Leah bumped up behind her and Jenny started shifting. 

Aurora had never actually seen someone’s first shift so the pain and gore was frightening and a surprise. She heard Jenny scream as bones cracked and popped, her spine lengthening and reshaping along with the ribs. Light brown fur started sprouting through her skin as it seemed to tear off of her. Jenny’s wolf eyes were a rich chocolate brown much like her human eyes and as she shook out her fur for the first time you could see the delight in her wolf smile. The rest of the group started to shift as well, everyone except Angelica and Leah. Jenny jumped around like she had springs on her paws enticing all the wolves to run with her and took off into the woods as though there had been no pain in the shift.

Leah put an arm around Aurora’s neck as Angelica slammed her fist into her gut. Aurora sagged from the punch and the sudden pull put more weight than Leah was expecting and she dropped Aurora to the ground. Leah then swung her foot back and kicked Aurora as hard as she could and Angelica joined. The two girls were stronger than her since they had both shifted and had access to their wolves’ strength. Aurora was sure she was going to die there being kicked to death by these two when a surge of strength and energy overtook her and pushed her to sprint out of the middle of the two she-wolves bent on killing her. Her instinct was to let the presence in her take over and get her to safety so she retreated and cried inside. 

The two girls were faster than her but she was smaller and was more able dodging trees and roots. She used them to slow the two she-wolves down. They chased and played shifting into their wolves and treating her as prey but it was more like they were bored and cruel rather than hungry. 

She ran until she got to a small waterfall where the ground became treacherous. Not sure how she got to behind the falls she stumbled into a cave. She looked out past the waterfall and could hear that they had lost her, so she backed further into the cave and felt a wall shift. With a gasp she landed on her butt and quickly covered her mouth to keep herself quiet; not that anything would have been heard over the sound of the waterfall. Pain burned down her lungs from the run and she was covered in small scratches and cuts. 

The two she-wolves showed up on the other side of the waterfall but having lost Aurora’s scent they howled in frustration and finally retreated. 

When she caught her breath Aurora wandered through the cave system trying to get as far away as she could from all she knew. There was no reason for her to go back there, she lost her friends, her mother, and even her father didn’t seem to want to be around her. The tears just streamed down her face now and her mind spiraled to the deepest, darkest thoughts she had ever had. She wasn’t even sure if she wanted to exist anymore. 

The dark cave sheltered her as she cried her heart out from her losses. All the reading and exploring she had been doing was distracting her from the pent up sadness since her tragic birthday. Her shoulders shook from the deep sobs that she finally released from her aching heart. Her mind replaying every moment and the pain in her body from the beating she just took adding to her misery. Time had no meaning as she finally wept the sorrow that had been heavy in her soul, she wept until there was no more to feel. She finally trudged her way out the other end of the cave.

Her mind numb, she wandered through a meadow, completely oblivious to the beauty around her. Aurora found a light path and absently followed it until she found herself at a large hot spring pool that was fed by a nearby spring. She felt her wolf push her to enter the water. She had no fight in her and followed the push.

At first the water stung the cuts and scrapes. The heat made the forming bruises throb. Then it started to feel soothing like it was absorbing the pain out of her body and she felt like she was healing. Usually shifting into wolf form will heal all of the injuries, but this hot spring was doing the job just as well. She stayed in the water letting the heat sooth her tears and broken heart as well, drifting into near sleep.

She had nearly forgotten the full moon when she saw the reflection in the spring. The light seemed to fill the pool and all she could see was white surrounding her glowing a loving feeling and warmth she had forgotten existed. An opal shimmering white wolf walked up to her and spoke in her mind.

“Aurora, I give you this magic meadow and healing spring to protect and keep for me. This is sacred land, be careful who you trust to bring here. The knowing is now with your wolves, you have two since the day of the accident. My guardian melted into you and your wolf gave permission to share. It took time for them to learn how to combine which is why you haven’t shifted yet. When you wake your wolves will be revealed, merged. It will hurt but if you stay in the spring it will soothe the pain more. You are not alone, though it will seem so for a time. Find the one you imprinted with, you have a destiny together.”

The white light shrank back to a moon sized reflection in the pool. She still felt a heat burning hard over the whole surface of her body, almost like a blow torch. Her muscles started to ache and spasm, pain rendering her mute. She arched over keeping her face just out of the water as her skin began to bubble and blister. The skin started to shed off her which was different from when she saw Jenny. Her muscles warped and deformed pulling her spine out of shape, snapping and cracking. As the peak of the pain thrust her nervous system into overload, numbness took over. Still writhing a new sensation burned through her as her skull reshaped and she felt a duel pulling of shapes, first one wolf shape, small and stocky, then a second wolf shape long and lean muscles. The two wolves pulling back and forth to meld into one well balanced blend. The fur finally grew out and completed her first shift.

She pulled herself from the hot spring exhausted which surprised her. Most shifts she had heard about involved a run through the forest afterwards. Even Jenny seemed to be full of energy. But Aurora only felt ragged and was panting from the effort. She shook out the water as best as she could and looked into the reflection of the pool. 

Aurora was much larger than she expected, larger than Jenny she thought. The fur on her body was white, almost as pure as the moon. Her ears, nose, paws, tip of the tail, and around her eyes were black as midnight. She had a red crescent moon on her forehead. All that seemed strange to her but her eyes shocked the most. Her right eye was glowing honey gold and her left eye was glowing lightning blue. What the white wolf said started coming back to her. She had two wolves that merged as one had been a guardian. She had been killed the same day as her mother, was it her mother?

“No sweet girl,” a voice said. “I was only able to join Lotus, your wolf, because we shared the same birthday and time and had yet to shift. My human was tragically killed by accident in the same crash. But no matter, you and I were meant to be bonded in some way. The Moon Goddess always finds a way. I am Hope, guardian of this healing meadow and now you too are its guardian.” 

“We will always be with you, but we cannot always talk yet. It is hard and we are still learning with the merge,” Lotus said. “It is easiest to speak to you here in this meadow.”

“I don’t understand, how is all this happening?”

“Study the Moon Goddess,” both wolves said in unison. “You will find many answers and support from unexpected places.”

Shaking and scared she splashed the reflection in the water and took off running in her wolf form. The wind blowing through her fur calmed her and the awareness of her new senses distracted her from the emotional turmoil and she started to explore the meadow valley. She could see as clearly as if the sun was out and she could smell all the flowers and creatures that shared the meadow with her. She found the perimeter of the valley and followed it around to see that there seemed to only be one way in or out. There was an arch on the inside of the valley that seemed man made but by the way it was aged just as the rest of the stone perhaps if it was it happened long before people lived around here. 

She explored the cave entrance and meandering tunnel to see the move-able rock that blocks the entrance which is behind the thick babbling waterfall. She wasn’t ready to leave yet so she turned back and out of the cave to roll through the flowers and stalk small animals testing her new senses. She was so excited to have finally shifted that she was thinking about the fun she would have running with Jenny and Amelia.

Then a painful reminder that they were not her friends anymore stabbed her heart. Angelica and Leah had beat her up, took her friends and left her alone. With already being bullied for her “weakness” she knew she would be bullied even more for her strange looking wolf. She decided it would be safer to conceal her ability to shift and only change in the meadow where she felt safe. Better safe than beat up for one more oddball thing. At this point her wolves were done thinking human thoughts and took over playing in the meadow the rest of the night. 

She woke by the hot spring back in human form. When she put her sundress back on she noticed that it fit her differently. Her human body had changed some as well. She would have to dress in loose clothes to hide the changes. She needed to head home and clean up. Then she planned to go to the pack library and start reading up on the Moon Goddess as her wolves suggested. She wondered if the Moon Goddess had spoken to other wolves.

There was a note from her dad on the fridge when she got home. “I hope you had a good time with Jenny, glad you got out with your friends, Love Dad.”

She wrote back, “Sure did. Thanks Dad. I love you too.” No need to worry him.

Chapter 2

The wind bristled through his near black fur and shadows danced around him which hid him from plain sight as he ran though the forest trees. The sun was on it’s way down and twilight brought the night life awake as he pushed the run faster. His wolf was in control and all senses were focused on the run. 

He could feel almost happy here, running through the night, not thinking of anything other than the wind, the little creatures stirring, and no demands of his time. Brandon wished he could stay like this forever, basking in the moonlight and living in his wolf senses. Though eventually his wolf would get tired and he had responsibilities as the future Alpha of the Spring Valley Pack. He could not run away from his life, no matter how much he wished to since that fateful day. Brandon didn’t know what kept him going, he felt like he had lost everything that day. He felt like he was constantly fighting to slip out of the void and he didn’t even know why he was fighting so hard.

Brandon had completed the exams and ranked fights to come out as the Alpha, just as everyone expected. It was one of the best moments he could remember. Brandon worked hard to keep his strength and skills up, his parents were both so proud of him. The pack leaders only announce the next leader after the exams and fights, the rest are announced at graduation.

Brandon’s parents took him out to a celebratory lunch in Ouray, the quaint little mountain tourist town in the old Rocky Mountains. The pack owned the town but kept their wolf identity from the humans that visited. Brandon ordered his favorite steak sandwich at Billy Goat’s Gruff Biergarten. Halfway into his meal it felt like his heart had stopped in wonder. A scent of lilacs on a cool spring wind wafted towards him. Setting his sandwich down he looked around for the source of it. His eyes fell on a girl about his same age with strawberry blond hair, and blue eyes like a melting glacier. ‘Mate’ his wolf almost growled in his head. He hadn’t even seen any more of her than that before their gazes met and locked. The rest of the world faded away for the two.. 

“H-hi, I’m Rose,” she said blushing, somehow coming out of the trance before him.

He smiled at her gentle sounding voice; it was like angels singing to him, “I’m Brandon, the next Alpha to the Spring Meadow Pack.” He couldn’t help the bit of pride in being able to call himself the next Alpha.

Rose’s eyes widened at his being the next Alpha. She never expected to be paired with an Alpha, let alone one of such an influential pack. Brandon’s baritone voice soothed her in ways she could never have expected either. 

Brandon’s Parents, Alpha Derion and Luna Heather smiled knowingly and encouraged them to go for coffee to get to know each other. The mate-bond was hugely celebrated event for all wolves and if possible it was good to get to know one’s mate before the animalistic instinct took over. 

The young wolves headed over to the town coffee shop, Mouse Chocolate and Coffee. The sun was still shining and the weather was perfect, warm with a cool summer breeze. Rose ordered a hot chocolate and Brandon had a black coffee. Neither ordered any food because the butterflies in their stomachs would not allow them to eat. 

The couple gushed about all their favorite things, colors, and flowers. She loved brownies, the color green, snowdrops, and hummingbirds. He loved ice cream, the color blue, columbines, and running through the woods in the moonlight. They also shared memories and tried to get to know everything they could, even though they had a life time to know about each other. They were so excited that they didn’t want to wait a lifetime. Every moment they spent with each other, they fell deeper in love. It was fast, but the mate-bond usually was. As legend spoke that the mate-bond was to connect a wolf to it’s other half.

Their hands came together and sparks erupted though their skin at the contact. It was like they knew everything about each other, like they are made for each other. With the mate-bond they were. Her hand fit so perfectly and her smile made him melt. They leaned in, looking into each other’s eyes like looking through to their matching souls. Before they realized how close they had gotten, their lips touched causing more sparks to radiate through and warm them to their core. Time stopped as fireworks spread through them both. Neither wanted the moment to pass as they felt like they were melting into each other. 

When they pulled apart it seemed a little cooler and the distance too great. They moved their seats closer to each other and smacked heads. Bursting out laughing the moment had fled and they turned back to talking. Rose was from the neighboring Twin Mountain Pack and was touring the town on a hike. She was just on her way back when she decided to grab a bite to eat. Who could have known their paths would cross like this. Rose didn’t expect anything like this because normally she wouldn’t know her mate until she turned 18. Alpha’s are able to sense their mates as early as 16 which is why they were able to sense the bond.

“I remember at the cascade falls there was a rainbow of light from the mists; it was one of my favorite visits there,” Brandon described the whole hike and solitude he enjoyed. “Though, I think taking you with me would make the hike even more beautiful.” Brandon’s eyes sparkled.

Rose giggled, “there is this beautiful hot spring meadow with columbines and snowdrops…” She was cut off when a car jumped the curb and slammed her into the brick wall behind them pinning her. Brandon’s heart and soul shattered in a million pieces as Rose died instantly, her heart also crushed.

Brandon had been cold for days, haunted by nightmares of that single moment losing his mate. His heart felt like a hole opened up in it and he wanted to get lost in the void. 

Onyx, Brandon’s wolf, suddenly stopped running which pulled Brandon out of his thoughts. ‘Hey, you are supposed to stop thinking about it,’ onyx growled. ‘That’s why we’re out here running remember.’

Brandon felt chagrined. ‘Yes, I know. It’s so hard to not think of her, you know.’

‘Yes, but we have to keep going. The pack will need us and I know there is something we don’t understand yet. I feel like there is something more. Let’s just head back,’ Onyx growled.

Brandon nodded, his head wasn’t in the run tonight, just like so many nights since her death. His mind still replaying the event. It was like he could never get a break or find rest. 

“You’re back from your run early,” Brandon’s sister Liliana said.

Brandon just gave her a nod, a slight hug and headed up to his room. Talking was still too much for him. Lili watched him with worry in her eyes. She loved her brother and had heard stories of wolves following their mates to the next world. But she would not push him to talk like their parents had. Lili knew that he would talk to her as soon as he was ready.

Brandon had been this way for half the summer now. Not talking to anyone, barely eating. He was still training vigorously but that was because he couldn’t think and train at the same time. He considered going to train now, but he was already too much into his head. The moon was barely up but Brandon laid down in his bed and tried to sleep anyways. 

He tossed and turned, replaying the accident in his dreams again. Sweat was pouring down from him as he thrashed in his sheets. 

The car slammed into his Rose and his heart broke again, just as he was walking over to the driver side of the car a scent caught him. It was cinnamon and chocolate, somehow very familiar to him but this wasn’t the smell at the time. Once he turned there was a shadow wolf the same outline as his own wolf though he knew it wasn’t his wolf because his wolf was right beside him, just as confused. The shadow wolf had a grim expression of sadness in his eyes. He looked from the tragic scene of the dream and back to Brandon. The strange shadow wolf turned and started walking away from the scene, Brandon started to follow and when he looked back to the accident scene it was gone as was the town. When he turned back to the shadow wolf it was walking up a hill but fading into nothing. ‘Wait! Who are you?’

Brandon shot up from his bed. Looking at his clock it was just 2:13 am. He would never get back to sleep after that. His heart still aching from his loss and his mind confused in the shift of his nightmare. Who was that wolf and where had it come from. It seemed so real.

He showered to get the nightmare sweat off of himself and changed into some workout clothes. The gym in the pack house would be empty so early and Brandon had to get out of his own head.

Brandon was so caught up in the punching bag that he didn’t realize when the sun started to peak up. It was a shock when his best friend and future Beta Nick tapped his shoulder.

“Hey! Good to see you,” Nick said.

Brandon jumped, “Oh, hey.” His voice caught from not speaking for so long. He looked down, still not ready to be around others in the pack.

“We’ve missed you man.”

“I know, I’m sorry man. I’m still just not ready.”

“You’ve got to come back to us man. You are needed and it’s better to be with your pack than try to endure alone. We’re all here for you.”

Brandon nodded though he still didn’t want to be social. Yeah sure, his guy friends in the pack would all be supportive. But the females of the pack would all be jumping at a chance to make him feel better by trying to get down his pants or something. “I gotta go, I’ll try to come hang soon,” he said as he headed out the door towards the pack house and to his room.

With nothing left to do to keep his mind from wandering his thoughts started to spiral down. He dwelt on the loss and loneliness he felt; the empty part of his heart and soul since his fated mate was gone. The pain was like a knife stabbed into his heart, the burn spread up into his throat and constricted his breath. He tried to scream but no sound would come out as he dropped to his knees. Both hands clenched at his heart as the pain throbbed within his ribcage and tears overflowed and stung his eyes. After what seemed an eternity he finally gasped in a ragged breath and fell over to his side. His body shook and heaved from the sustained lack of air and the pain that raged through his being. The dryness consuming his throat as he gasped for breath while his heart felt crushed all over again. The pain spread into his head and throbbed with his heart beat, he grabbed both sides of his head and began to rock. 

An invisible voice in his head whispered, ‘You’re not even whole, you couldn’t even do anything to save her. You’re useless and the pack would be better off without you.’

The words rang true to him. He isn’t whole anymore, he couldn’t do anything to save her. How could he lead a pack when he couldn’t even protect his other half. How would he help anyone else when he couldn’t even hold his heart together after the loss and he broke again. 

‘Who’s voice is that,’ Onyx spoke to Brandon, alarm radiated through his wolf’s body. ‘I don’t know where that came from, you are exactly who this pack needs. We have a purpose and I know we are here for a reason.’

‘I just want the pain to stop, I just need to stop feeling the pain Onyx,’ Brandon clutched harder at his chest feeling his claws sink into the skin. The physical pain seemed to act like a pressure valve slowly releasing the internal pain of loss through his skin while blood seeped from the claw marks. 

‘It will fade man, you will see. I don’t think all is gone and we need to be here for something or someone,’ Onyx soothed.

Brandon crawled into the shower and turned on as hot as he could stand, as he let the tears flow down. The heat of the water seared into him which gave him a numbing sensation over his skin. The water on his face took the sting out of his tears and relaxed the muscles that had tightened from the effort of crying. The water washing away the blood from his healing claw marks on his chest and tinging the water pink. Scars now shown in the marks having been reopened daily for half the summer already. After a few minutes he only felt the tight restriction on his throat as the only sign that he had cried and even that had begun to fade. Hot showers were his reprieve from the ache and he savored every ounce of hot water until there was only cold coming down from the shower head, he had been in the shower for at least 2 hours.

He pulled himself back together and got dressed, the cry had been cathartic and soothed him. He also felt drained, like there was no more energy left to feel sad or to feel anything or even to do anything. Though he was drained and tired he couldn’t sleep, he laid in his bed and just stared at the wall.

“Knock, knock big brother,” Lili startled him.

He looked over at her, still not up for really talking.

“So I know you are not up for much but I was wondering if you could help me. I don’t need you to talk, I just need some tall person help. I’m making some cookies and can’t reach all the stuff I need.” 

Brandon’s face softened and a smile shone from his eyes even if it didn’t make it to his lips. He nodded and pulled himself up from his bed, followed her out of his room and to the kitchen. Lili talked to him about being excited to start secondary school and how she started training with Mr. Victor already. She didn’t expect him to talk back or add anything and that made it easier to be around her. He felt included, loved, and respected by his sister. Though he didn’t speak while he helped Lili, he did feel as though he had purpose which eased some of the darker thoughts from his mind. 

Brandon went back to the pack gym looking for Nick. He was right, it was time for Brandon to come back and spend time with his pack. It was getting to the point that time spent alone only gave the spiraling thoughts an opening to drive him to desire death. A call of the void or l’appel du vide. He still didn’t know where that voice had come from but he was going to do what he could to avoid it.

Nick was with several pack warriors working out. A couple of promising trainees were sparring in the ring. Brandon watched the match taking note of the strengths and weaknesses of both fighters to relay to Beta De Luca, who was also the pack fighter trainer. 

“Hey Brandon!” Nick called out. 

Brandon waved him over. “Hey Nick, I’m taking you up on what you said earlier. You’re right, I need to get back involved with the pack.”

“Great! You are sorely missed.” Nick shoved his shoulder in a mock punch.

“Oh? What have I missed then?”

“There’s a new wolf in town, she’s a little hottie. Smart and sexy. And then this weekend is Leah’s birthday party.”

Brandon cringed at the sound of Leah’s name. She had been trying to date him since everyone learned about mates. His wolf could never stand her and that is not likely to be any better, especially now. “Oh, that’s a bit much for me man. No party, but we could do a lunch in town.”

“Billy Goat’s?”

“Yeah, steak sandwich sounds amazing.”

“Some things don’t change,” Nick chuckled.

“Oh, hey Nick, can we keep the reason for my absence under wraps?”

“Yeah man, I got ya. Pick you up or meet you there?”

“I’ll meet you there. In case I need to leave early.”

“Later,” Nick tried to mock punch Brandon again and headed out of the gym to gather up their friends.

Sean, Tyler, Dominic, Gabriel, Zander, Zane, Leah, Amelia, Jenny, and a new girl were all at Billy Goat’s Gruff Beirgarten when Brandon arrived. Brandon nodded his head, Nick was a good friend. Kept it to a small group although he wasn’t so pleased with Leah being there. Since it was close to her birthday Brandon would not make an issue out of it this time though. As much as she was difficult to be around she was still a member of his pack. 

Nick got up and bro hugged Brandon as he noticed his entrance.

“Oh Nicky, who is this handsome hunk,” the new girl asked.

“Angelica, this is our future Alpha Brandon,” Nick almost growled. Nick really liked Angelica and her calling Brandon handsome made his jealousy flair up. He also knew that Brandon did not want much female attention right now. Since Angelica had not grown up in a pack she did not yet know the body language of when to shut her mouth. 

Brandon looked between the two and saw that Nick was infatuated with Angelica and he didn’t like the way she had flirted with Brandon. She had a regal beauty about her, her long strawberry blonde hair with icy blue eyes and full lips. She hadn’t been training her whole life so she didn’t have the muscular build of most she-wolves her age but that would change. No matter her looks, Onyx hated her immediately. His wolf sensed that she was fake, like there was another side to her that she kept hidden.

‘Watch that one, she is not trustworthy.’

‘What do you see Onyx?’

‘Her wolf hides from her in fear, there is cruelty and malice.’

‘I will watch you can help.’

Angelica kept trying to flirt with Brandon, and he suspected it was because he was the highest rank there. That was the same reason Leah was always pursuing him. It was never going to happen for either of the girls, though he was a little surprised that Leah took back seat to Angelica’s flirtation.

It was hard for him to keep Onyx under control and push a neutral and indifferent attitude. Even if he had interest in her, he wasn’t ready for that kind of connection to people. After him ignoring her advances Angelica finally got the hint and stuck to leaching off of Nick.

Brandon wanted to tell Nick to back off of her, but there was no proof that the girl was a bad person, just a feeling. While it seemed that everyone here was caught up in calling her amazing Brandon wondered if she had some kind of spell on them. It seemed as though if the sky opened up and dumped buckets of rain, she still wouldn’t get wet. Maybe it was just that she was new and had traveled to other places most of the pack had never even heard of. The pack didn’t get new members like this often, it was usually from new mates and pack life was fairly consistent. He resolved to talk to Nick about dating before mates again. It was just a bad situation every time.

Brandon had been trying to ignore the flirting between Nick and Angelica when his ears perked up in another direction. 

“Her mom died in an car crash this summer,” Jenny said.

“Didn’t she almost die too?” Amelia asked.

“Yeah, she was pretty close. Someone was there that knew CPR. Dad said that if he hadn’t been there she would have died.”

Brandon froze and the car crash flashed through his mind again. The surroundings started spinning and his stomach dropped. 

“Hey Brandon, you okay man?” Nick put his hand on Brandon’s shoulder.

“Huh? Oh, yeah sorry. Guys, do you mind if we don’t talk about gossip and keep it lighter?” Brandon said. 

“Oh, yeah no problem Alpha Brandon,” Jenny said and looked to Amelia.

“Sure! What do you want to talk about?” Amelia joined.

“Anyone start training with Mr. Victor yet?” Brandon asked.

With the conversation diverted to training and fighting Brandon let his mind wander a bit.

‘You saved her life, you are still good for this pack,’ Onyx said.

‘I saved only one out of three.’

‘You couldn’t save her mother, she was gone. That is not on you,’ Onyx reasoned. ‘You are an asset and when the fates reveal themselves it will be better understood.’

‘I can only trust in you my friend, my wolf.’

‘For now.’ Onyx had a wolf smirk on his voice.

Brandon decided that he would work harder at getting out with his friends and pack to enjoy the last half of the summer. The weather in these mountains does not stay for long. It is often said if you don’t like the weather here, just wait 20 minutes.

Chapter 3

After the beating Aurora received she drifted away from her friends. They were always hanging out with Angelica, and Leah never really liked her so she expected that to be a problem. It wasn’t much of a blow to lose some of her supposed friends, she knew they were superficial and only thought she had inside info with her mom being a warrior wolf. They always begged her to tell stories of her mother’s adventures but the thing was, she never had any stories to tell. Her mother didn’t tell her those kinds of things. The hardest hit was Jenny though. They had been best friends since they were six. Jenny never stopped the teasing or bullying, but she didn’t join in. Aurora felt that standing by it was still an act of condoning the treatment so she didn’t feel any hope for her friend. 

Aurora tried a few times to give the earrings to her and eventually just left them on the porch one night and hopefully she would get them. Angelica and Leah had never beaten her up around Jenny so there was a chance that she didn’t even know how bad it was. Aurora had no place for hatred in her heart or her head. Her mother always told her that Hate was a poison you drink hoping the other person would die. No matter what Aurora would keep the lessons from her mother close. She felt sad for the paths that her former friends were choosing, and lonely for how her path had changed.

Zander and Zane were among the biggest contributors to her pain, they were barely pack wolves. Their father went rogue when he found his mate among a Romani pack. Their mother was abusive and angry that she was left to raise the unruly boys on her own. With such a lack of guidance they became cruel. They took the torment to near sadistic levels including grabbing at her private areas. Aurora resolved to never wear skirts or dresses to avoid making anything easier for the brothers. 

Each night as the clock would tick on she felt the loneliness swarm over her. It seemed sometimes that the walls were closing in on her and the only thing she could do is get outside for a bit. But that was also always a gamble. She could be seen by someone and targeted for more beatings. Sleeping often brough terrible dreams, some of the car accident, some of what happened at her first shift. There were also some dreams that didn’t seem to be about her, but about another girl. 

Aurora chose to spend most of her time at the Pack library reading about the legends of the Moon Goddess. It was quiet and no one would pick on her around the pack’s school tactical teacher Mr. Victor, whom also ran the library. She went through legend after legend but there weren’t any stories that talked about the Moon Goddess speaking directly to anyone before. She did appear as a shimmering white wolf in most of the legends so that fit. She also spent time at the Ouray Library when she got a chance to slip away unnoticed. She wanted to learn more about the history of the area and the town as well as explore the maps. None of them had the location of the healing spring meadow; they all just showed a mountain. She also got into geology to understand how the hot springs formed. Her mind was a sponge soaking up anything that kept her loneliness at bay. 

About a week before school started she was at the pack library nose deep in a book when she felt her skin crawl with heat, rage blasted at her back. She slowly turned around to see someone with long blond hair walking past. Her first though was Angelica, but she didn’t see the person clearly and tried to brush it off. Her mind circled on the thought though, did she feel someone else’s emotions? Is that really possible?

“Hey hun, got to close up for the day,” Mr. Victor said, startling her from her thoughts and causing her to nearly drop the book she was holding.

“Oh yes sir, I’ll just put this back.” She said shelving the book in her hands. 

“Aurora is it?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I wanted to thank you for always picking up and not leaving a mess. You are so respectful, you are always welcome here.”

“Oh thank you sir, I love books and I know you work hard cleaning up after others and training us kids. You get enough trouble I don’t mind helping where I can.” Aurora smiled up at him and headed out the front doors.

Unfortunately for Aurora she had dropped her guard and didn’t notice till it was too late that Angelica and was waiting for her outside. Leah, Zander, Zane, and some of the others that liked to pick on her were also waiting for her to exit. Even faced with the probable beating she was overwhelmed with the waves of emotions coming from each of them. Angelica was pure hate and rage, Leah was a mix of hate and jealousy, the others were all malicious sport. Still a little lost in thought she was slow on the get away, but was she really weak and that was why the picked on her? She didn’t feel weak except when she was beaten.

The whole group lunged at her at once and all she could do was tuck into a ball and try to cover her head. She felt punches and kicks to the ribs and all the emotions felt like physical hits to her tender body as well. The pain spread through her and she noticed the world going black.

“Hey! What are you all doing!? Get off her you feral heathens,” she heard Mr. Victor shout. The blows finally stopped, when she tried to open her swollen eyes it was too much and she was slammed by a black wall.

Aurora’s eyes burned as she tried to open them, they were heavy and swollen. She gave up for the time being. It was like déjà vu all over again, she knew she was waking up in the hospital by the sound of the beeping machines. She could hear Mr. Victor talking to a nurse.

“I’m sorry Mr. Victor, we can’t see any reason she isn’t healing quickly. Do you know if she has shifted yet?” the nurse asked. 

“No, I don’t know. She doesn’t talk much, just comes to the library and reads most of the days.”

“All we can do is keep her here for a bit until she is well enough to walk out. You are welcome to visit as you brought her in, be we won’t be letting anyone other than her father visit. Based on your report it would be better to keep her away from anyone for now.”

“How long do you think?”

“Shouldn’t be more than a week, depends on her healing really though.”

“Very well, thank you Nurse Lorelei.” He said.

I could smell the old books and a hint of sage as he walked over to me. He was radiating concern and a fatherly feeling. 

“Ah, waking up a bit, that’s good,” Mr. Victor said with a smile coloring his words. She studied that qualities of the concern radiating off of him, it felt like a warmth that wrapped around her heart. He seemed to really care about what would happen to her.

“Yes, sir.” Her voice was hoarse from dryness and non-use. 

She felt a straw appear at her lips and assumed Mr. Victor was holding a cup of water to her. “Do you think you would be okay to answer a few questions?”

“I’ll try,” Aurora said after taking a drink.

“Why are you getting jumped?”

A tear squeezed out of her swollen eyes stinging some raw places, “All I know is the new girl hates me,” she said wincing with a deep breath. “I don’t know what I did to her as I only met her in the middle of summer and she already hated me.”

“I see, well it looks like you will be stuck here for the last week of summer. Would you like me to bring you some books to read?” She could hear the smile and care in his voice.

“You don’t have to trouble yourself; I don’t want to be a bother.”

“It’s no bother hun,” Mr. Victor said as he got up to leave.

The next time she woke up her eyes could open most of the way. She saw a couple of books next to her bed; a large old one about the Moon Goddess, and one with the basics of self-defense. She smiled that he left her one about defense, she knew he taught the fighting classes at school and this would give her some good insight. At least she could figure out how to keep from being put in the hospital again.

The self-defense book had a huge amount of anatomy and pressure points. It showed how to best fall to avoid injury, where to protect from hits. It also had body language reading to know when and where the opponent would move next. She figured it could also be helpful to watch the adults train and see how they implemented the techniques or if they were. If she could find a good hiding spot to watch them she planned to.

Next she looked at the book about the Moon Goddess. It was one that she hadn’t seen on the shelves in the library. Mr. Victor must have kept it in a restricted section or somewhere to protect it. It was old and weathered and looked fragile. She skipped around the text looking for the things that stuck out to her. There was a section on blessings from the Moon Goddess such as empathy, healing, call of nature, and destructive force. These were usually given to the guardians. 

That struck a chord; didn’t the white wolf say that she was now a guardian of the healing spring meadow? What Aurora experienced sounded like Empathy. She read as much as she could hoping to learn how to control it better. It wasn’t as helpful, but she knew there were other books on empathy so she would look into it when she was able to move around again.

She found a detailed section of the Mate-bond and something rarely seen or recorded called Imprinting. That was another thing the white wolf said. Find the one you imprinted with. The first part of the imprinting was brief and only had initiation, especially if either of them had not yet shifted. When the two come back together they will feel a draw similar to the Mate-bond but more protective and less sexual. There wasn’t much in the book about why imprinting happened but it also looked like some pages were missing. It did say that once the imprinting was complete then they would be as close as a Mate-bond pair though more so. They will share memories and a mind-link that has no distance boundaries. If they are also a Mate-bond the pairing will be both blessed and faced with challenge though with each other they will make it through anything. They are mean to protect each other and help fulfill the tasks given by the Moon Goddess. 

Aurora didn’t see anything about sacred lands or healing hot springs. Nor did she find anything about the Moon Goddess talking to any wolves. She wished that she was out of here and free to return to the meadow and shift to think about the gifts of the guardians and hear her wolves. With them still trying to figure out how to exist in a space meant for only one wolf, they were weak to speak to her still.

Mr. Victor stopped by after library hours with a couple new books. It was nice to have a visitor and not feel quite as alone as she normally felt.

“Hey, how are you doing Aurora?”

“Feeling a little better, still hurts to breathe deep though. The pounding in my head has stopped.” She tried to smile but the expression made her face hurt. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Sure thing kid, what do you want to know?”

“Why are you coming to see me?”

“Oh, well now, I’ve always liked kids and especially ones that like to learn. You remind me of my little girl Valerie. Well, she’s not so little now; she found her mate with another pack and moved off. I don’t get to see her much now.”

“Oh, I see.” It made Aurora feel a little better that he was getting something in return for spending the time with her. She could see the sad smile when he was talking about his daughter. 

“My turn?” He asked her.

“Sure.”

“The nurse asked me a question yesterday and I didn’t know. You were pretty ragged and I didn’t want to press. But have you shifted yet?”

Heat rose to her face coloring her cheeks, “yes, once in the middle of summer.” 

“But you haven’t since then?”

“No.”

“Okay, I will let the nurse know.”

“Wait! I don’t really want anyone to know.” She was scared and knew her wolf was different. 

“Why not? It might help you to not get bullied.”

“No it won’t help.”

“How can you be so sure?”

She sighed heavily, “My wolf is different, I don’t think it will change and I don’t want to share that with anyone that is not a friend.”

Mr. Victor raised an eyebrow, “I will keep it to myself.” He got up to go.

“Mr. Victor, can I ask you one more thing?”

“What’s that?”

“Will you stop at my place and leave this note on the fridge for my dad? I don’t want him to worry.”

“Sure thing hun, get some rest and here are a couple new books,” he said, grabbing the other two on his way out.

He left her a book of the town history and the second self-defense book. She was tired though and decided to read later, she rolled over to try and sleep.

As she lay on the hospital bed she heard very quiet steps of a small animal. Being so out of the ordinary she looked towards the sound and saw a beautiful siamese cat walking through the corridor and looking at different things. The cat looked up at her and stopped in it’s tracks for a moment, it seemed surprised to see her there. It looked at her warily and then turned and left.

‘Huh, that was kinda weird.’ Aurora thought to herself.

The rest of the week was the same. She would read all day, Mr. Victor would stop to see her and leave new books for the following day. That strange cat would wander in and stare at her before walking away. One night it got up and purred, sleeping on her chest before wandering away. That was the best sleep she had been able to have since her mother died.

She was excited that she was getting to go home on Saturday which gave her a little time home before the school year started. Aurora was a little disappointed that the cat had not visited her on the last day of her stay in the hospital. Her dad had left her a new note hoping Aurora had a good time on her trip, she hadn’t told him she was in the hospital. She wrote a quick note back and went up to her room to figure out the class schedule and think about all she learned during her hospital stay.

As the sun started to set her wolves were getting edgy and wanted to shift. Aurora thought it would be an excellent time to head out to the meadow and feel the joy of the last nights of summer before she would be too busy for it after school started. She also knew there was always a big party tonight as there was every year before school, and anyone who was anyone would be there. That meant they would be too busy to hunt her down and beat her.

Chapter 4

The last week of summer was odd for Brandon. He usually liked to start meeting with Mr. Victor after he closed up the library to train. This year he wasn’t able to meet up because Mr. Victor was helping a girl in the hospital. He had really been looking forward to the excuse to get away from Nick since he was always with Angelica. Nick brought her everywhere and she not only got on his wolf’s nerves, she also hadn’t grown up in a pack; she had little in the way of pack manners. Brandon was short tempered around her and Nick had to jump in often to deflect his outbursts. She thought it was funny which made it worse, Brandon could have handled it if she seemed remotely interested in learning pack life. 

Worse yet for Brandon was that the information that he had lost his mate got out somehow, so every girl would throw themselves at him especially Leah. Sure Leah was pretty, maybe even beautiful but she was stuck up, power hungry, and her scent was almost nauseating to him. The most common reason for a scent like that was that they were related in some way, but he wasn’t sure. Leah’s attitude would turn him off faster than Angelica set off his temper and that was really saying something. It was partly because Leah knew better. 

Nick really was Brandon’s best friend but he was feeling like he was losing him to that girl. He couldn’t even understand why he was so interested in Angelica, most shifters might mess around before finding mates but never dating because it always caused complications. Brandon worried that they would actually start dating. Maybe Angelica was Nicks mate, and maybe not. No one knows for sure until it is revealed by the Moon Goddess. 

“Hey Brandon,” Nick called out startling Brandon from his thoughts. “Big bash at the lake house tonight, when are we heading out?”

“Oh, yeah, I’m not going this year. I promised to help Lili out since it is her first year.” Brandon lied. He pulled out his phone to text her to cover for him, he knew she would. She really was the best sister he could ask for.

As much as he looked forward to the end of summer party it didn’t sound as much fun with girls throwing themselves at him or putting up with Angelica or Leah. They were obnoxious and irritating sober, drunk was something he never wanted to see. He still missed his mate and wrestled with the emptiness having barely got to know her before she died. None of the girls that pushed themselves at him had any real appeal to him no matter how cute or sexy they might have been. Really he was weary of being taken advantage of while he was still mourning and as a future Alpha he couldn’t risk the wellbeing of the pack to allow just any she-wolf to try to take that spot. 

Brandon didn’t tell anyone but he was still having nightmares of that day and he still had to fight the spiraling depression that kept trying to consume him. It was like an entity was draining him of his will to live; echoing thoughts that he was not an adequate wolf to be Alpha. Onyx was the best wolf he could imagine since the wolf was always on standby to help him through. 

Once he got home he headed straight to Lili to see how she was getting ready for the year, which made his lie a bit less of one. He answered any questions she had and even helped her pick out a first day outfit. Lili always stood out on her own in the pack and didn’t need her big brother to stand up for her, but behind the scenes she was not as confident as people thought. Brandon was one of the extremely few that knew that about her.

After helping Lili he decided he would go for a run through the woods instead of the lake house party. It had been awhile since he let his wolf run free, he knew Onyx would love to get some hunting in before the school year kept them really busy.

He shifted the moment he hit the trees and let his wolf run off the anxiety. They bounded through and up the mountain woods, dodging trees and stones, following trails of wildlife. They came up to a waterfall that smelled delicious, and went over for a drink. As his head dipped to the water he saw a glimmer of light coming from behind the falls. When he carefully padded the treacherous slippery stones to get to the back he saw a hidden tunnel. When he stepped into the tunnel the smell of lilacs and orange blossoms hit his nose. It wasn’t his mate, but it was similar and made his heart pound. Once on the other side of the tunnel he saw a sweet meadow in twilight. Once the columbines and snowdrops were obvious he was sure this was the meadow Rose was telling him about when she died. The thought made him lose his smile and become more somber. 

He walked through the tall grass and wanted to feel all the sensations and revel in them for the memory it brought of his mate and the small time they had together. The meadow was in a shallow bowl so the breeze was light but never strong and the meadow was greener than any he’d ever seen in these mountains. He could hear small wildlife moving around living their little lives. The colors of the multitude of flowers were beyond his imagination especially so late in the season. It seemed like spring here. He couldn’t even name all the flowers blooming there. He laid down to rest under the stars that were just blinking on and fell into a sweet nap. 

He first dreamed of his mate and saw her running through the flowers and smiling and spinning around in awe of the beauty here. He tried to follow her around but had lost her and when he tried to look for her again the shadow wolf appeared to him. This time he saw the wolf more clearly, though still not solid in form. He looked identical to his own black wolf, though his had little gray tinges on the tips of his fur. Again turning his back to Brandon he walked up the hill to an old family cemetery and led him to a darkened grave. He couldn’t make out any details, it was fuzzy, just the date showed through the dream. He looked at the shadow wolf who let out a mourning howl that resonated deeply in Brandon’s heart. His own Onyx lifted his head and let out a long mourning howl in communion with the shadow wolf.

He started awake at the shift in wind that brought a familiar smell. It was the lilac and orange blossoms that seemed to lead him here. His hazed brain took a little longer to connect the smell to someone being here now, then he heard a blood curling scream that suddenly cut short. That cleared the rest of the fog from his brain and he leaped up to find the source of someone hurt. 

He had been right that someone was there, he didn’t know why there was a scream but when he looked over to a spring he saw the largest she-wolf he’d ever laid eyes on. She was mostly white with black ears, nose paws, and tip of the tail. When her head turned towards him he saw her eyes and froze. She had black around the eyes like eyeliner and she had one glowing royal blue eye and one golden honey eye. Brandon almost couldn’t move or breathe at the sight of her staring towards him. Something had moved near him which nearly gave him away. When he looked up from the movement she already dove into the pool of water. 

He ran to the spring and only saw a shadow move under the water but couldn’t see her anymore. He decided to wait to see if she would come back up. As the night wore on the mysterious white and black wolf started to seem like his imagination. Huffing a little in disappointment he padded off to the tunnel entrance to leave. It was a slow introspective trek home from the meadow. He’d had another dream of the shadow wolf and was not sure what the graveyard even meant. Then he saw a wolf that seemed like it came straight from a legend, but not one he remembered. Was she a ghost wolf? Maybe she was a guardian; he vaguely remembered stories of guardians that protected sacred land. But he didn’t remember much about it. He would have to ask his mom. 

When Brandon got to the door of his house he realized he hadn’t shifted back and ran back to where he left his clothes so he could walk in looking normal. He didn’t really want to talk to anyone. Then he looked up to the clock and knew the whole house was asleep. Padding to his bed he was still drowning in thoughts of the night.

When Brandon finally fell asleep he tossed and turned with repeating dreams of the strange wolf in the meadow. Some dreams were her as a guardian of the spring, others dreams were of her as a warrior by his side. Then the dream shifted to her being surrounded by wolves trying to kill her with Angelica coordinating the attack; he tried to jump into the middle to defend her when the whole dream turned white and surrounded him. A shimmering white wolf walked from a mist and linked to him. “Find her, and protect her. She is yours, imprinted, and will change the fates,” then the white wolf faded as the whole place faded to black and a scene of battle and war opened before him. It was a gory scene and he could see that it was many packs of wolves along with other creatures in what looked like a free for all. The smell of copper and iron permeated the air around him seeing several wolves that looked similar to the white and black wolf from early leading. 

Brandon sat up in a full sweat with the sun shining directly on him. He could still feel the fear that had washed over him seeing the battle through the blackness of the dream. ‘Find her,’ he mused. How would he find her, find who, and how did she belong to him. He had already lost his mate. He might get a second chance mate someday but that usually is much farther in the future in these cases. Imprinted? He couldn’t remember where he had heard about imprinting and wasn’t even sure if he remembered what exactly it was. Changing the fates? What even could that mean, the fates were what decided things and they don’t change. Questions just kept spinning in his mind and he was sure that he would have to ask his mother, Luna Heather. She was the one who studied and taught all of the Moon Goddess stories and legends. 

Brandon made his way down to the pack house kitchen in hopes of finding his mother. He ran into Beta Jonathan from the neighboring pack Twin Mountain Pack.

“Hey, Beta Jonathan, have you seen my Luna Heather?” Brandon asked.

“Nope, sorry man, she is out with Alpha Derion. There is some trouble brewing on the borders and some men are trying to take land from us, I came to request help from your pack.” Jonathan said as he helped Liliana reach the dishes on the top shelf.

“Oh, and she is the peace keeper?”

“Yeah, you know how Alpha Derion gets with pompous human tactics.”

“Yeah, thanks man.”

He had slept late and had a lot to do before school started the next day, and now he was adding a trip to the library. He hoped Mr. Victor was there and could help. Brandon grabbed a sandwich Lili had made and took off out the door; Lili scolded after him as he jogged out of sight.

The library looked a little somber and lonely today, no one was around. Most were getting ready for the first day of school and some were training with Beta De Luca for border patrol. It was likely that training increased due to the recent border issues. Rogues were one thing, human invasion was something else. 

Brandon headed in and started browsing until he found the section on the Moon Goddess. He looked at each title and as he remembered each story he would pass by. He looked for ones that he didn’t remember his mother telling him. There were so many that he really didn’t know where to start. He saw a girl with dark red hair shelve a book and look through the titles until she found one she wanted and walk off. She seemed familiar to him but he couldn’t place her. He went over to the book she put back and saw it was one he didn’t remember. 

“Hey, what are you up to Brandon?” Mr. Victor said startling him. “Anything I can help you find?” Mr. Victor chuckled slightly at his jump.

“I was looking through the Moon Goddess Legends. I had some strange dreams last night,” he started fidgeting. 

Mr. Victor’s eyebrows rose, “interesting, follow me Brandon.”

“What is interesting sir?”

“This is the second time I’ve pulled this book this week is all, I usually keep it locked up because it is old and fragile.” He said handing Brandon a beat up, handwritten, leather bound book.

Brandon grabbed the book gently, “why did you pull it before?”

“The girl in the hospital that I helped take care of had been reading a lot of old legends before she landed there. I took it to her to read while she recovered since she was so interested.”

Brandon’s spine tingled a bit, it seemed like something important. “Who was it?”

“Sorry son, I’m not allowed to release that kind of information,” he said with a sad smile. “Please bring the book directly back to me.”

“Yes sir. One more question, do you know if the Moon Goddess ever spoke to anyone? Like in a dream or something?”

Mr. Victor chuckled, “I’m pretty sure that all the legends of the Moon Goddess come from someone saying they saw her so the story gets written down. Some of these may be false because someone wanted to feel important, but as long as they fit with the basis of her purpose for us they are always recorded. Why do you ask?”

“I was just curious,” he lied. He didn’t want to share what he had seen in his dream yet. “Thanks for letting me read this.”

Mr. Victor smiled and walked off to continue to shelve other books. 

The book Brandon started looking through was different from all the ones on the shelves. It wasn’t legends or stories in the same sense that the other books had been written in. It was more like a breakdown of the actual beliefs of the Moon Goddess and the Fates. The stories were as the Moon Goddess and Fates were interacting directly. In one section it detailed a disagreement between the Moon Goddess and the Fates.

The Fates became angry at how powerful the werewolves had become and they felt like they would overpower the other beings in the land. So as cold and cruel as they could be split the wolves in half and only allowed them to obtain their potential as long as they found their other half. The Fates wanted only two wolves to be drawn together in a union and only be able to be with that one other wolf. They would die if the other did and there were no other options if they rejected each other they would slowly die apart from each other. 

The Moon Goddess said that would breed too much weakness into her wolves. Celine wanted to imprint clusters as sub-packs that would have a love for each other and insure better cooperation and strength within the whole pack. It could help bring all the packs together in better coordination allowing for better peace treaties and less war between her children. A war raged between the Fates and the Moon Goddess and by the end the Moon Goddess had to step back and allow the mate-bond as the primary partnering for a time. The concessions were that a wolf would not die from the mate dying, there would be second chance mates if deserved and the mind-link would be created within each pack to ensure better communication.

Angry at the fates for harming her children the Moon Goddess Celine asked for her mother Artemis’ help to allow the werewolves to eventually be able to become whole again that they may bond in the groups she intended to help her children thrive. Artemis granted her the Mate-bond so that wolves may find their other half and advised that each half could become a whole on their own should they honor the world and the packs. At that time the mate-bond would become a signal of the best match for the strongest children to be born.

The next section was on imprinting. The Moon Goddess was allowed to initiate imprinting for those that would need more protection and a stronger bond to keep sacred places free of abuse or destruction. Each Guardian would have an imprint group to help guard the sacred places and one would also be the guardian’s mate-bond. The imprinted mate-bond was so strong that they had each others memories and a complete telepathic link that knew of no distance. Often the death of one Imprinted Mate-bond would lead to the death of the other if they do not initiate others into the imprinted group.

If the Guardian died before being able to pass on the guardianship to their pups then the sacred place would seal until the soul was reborn. Because of the difference in mate-bond with a guardian they imprinted a sub-pack to ensure better protection and survival. 

The imprinting bond was similar in the mate instinct but had several stages of development. Usually a tragedy would initiate the first phase of the imprint where one saves the other’s life. The second phase is the when both wolves reach full physical maturity. The third phase which is only if they share a mate-bond is at mating and marking where not only the special mind-link would develop but they would also share each other’s full memories. The other imprinting of the sub-pack would happen one by one in the sacred grounds which would not share full memories but would link the ability to feel each other’s pain and emotions similar to the mate-bond. All of the sub-pack would share a matching mark on their body that would only show under full moonlight.

Brandon noticed that there was a page missing from the book right after that section. It skipped on to wolves being gifted abilities from the Moon Goddess especially the guardians and the imprinted sub-pack. Some of the instincts and gifts go dormant when wolves go rogue, which is part of the reason the wolves scent changes when they leave a pack. The next section had an index about what happens with bloodlines merge and when interbreeding with humans either in a mate-bond or out of mate-bond. 

“Hey there young Alpha,” Mr. Victor said.

“Mr. Victor?”

“It’s time to close up, you all finished?”

“OH, wow I didn’t even realize the time go by. I have so much to do before tomorrow. Can I come back and read more of this later? I think I should know more since I will be Alpha soon.”

“Sure thing Brandon; it is usually the Luna that does the book work but you are always welcome and it never hurts to know things first person. I have the only key to get it out so I’ll have to be here when you are looking at it though.”

“Great! Thanks Mr. Victor. Are we going back to Tuesdays and Thursdays after school practice?”

“Of course! You are one dedicated young wolf, you’ll make an amazing Alpha. See you at school.”

Brandon left the library with even more on his mind that he had before. He had to push his thoughts aside when Nick linked him saying he was on his way to Brandon’s place. School would start the next day, two more years of full school with the young ones of the pack, then more training off site of the school.

Chapter 5

The school year started out just as rough as the summer did for Aurora. She tried to smile and connect with friends from the previous year, but they would shove her away like trash. Jenny ignored her and kept a distance, she seemed to enjoy being part of the popular crowd and that is not where she would be if she hung out with Aurora. Since Aurora didn’t have any secret information from her parents being top warriors she didn’t maintain any kind of popularity. Aurora couldn’t understand what made Angelica so popular either. Angelica seemed like a normal, though cruel, teenager. Not the most beautiful, but certainly not ugly. 

Getting jumped and beaten up became Aurora’s life. Leah or Angelica always led the beatings until Zander and Zane started harassing her as well. The two would step in to torture Aurora any time Angelica wasn’t available for any reason. Zander and Zane were twins and difficult to tell apart, their cruelty matched each other as well as Angelica. The only thing that really kept Aurora out of the hospital was the training books that Mr. Victor had given her to read. She knew exactly how to protect the most vulnerable parts of her body and how to fall so she didn’t get as hurt. 

Throughout the day Aurora observed her fellow students and noticed that Angelica had seemed to attach herself to Nick at the hip. Where ever he went she was right on him. At one point the cruel she-wolf caught Aurora watching and gave her an ‘if looks could kill,’ so Aurora tried to observe less obviously. Since Angelica had grown up human for most of her life she didn’t seem to understand that werewolves didn’t really date seriously because of the mate-bond. Many would experiment and even have full flings but the emotional connection was usually saved for when one would find their mate.

The last class of the day was fighter training with Mr. Victor. Aurora had been both dreading and looking forward to the class. She was afraid that she would have to actually fight some of her classmates which she didn’t want to do, but also excited to get to put to practice what she had read. 

“Alright class,” Mr. Victor said. “For the first semester of fighter training you will learn proper form against a dummy as well as basic workout training for strength and endurance. I know some of you have been training extensively, but many have not trained at all yet. So this will let me see what you have. The second semester I will pair you up with someone that is of the same level as you in order to keep the fighting balanced. All fighting for the first year will be in human form, a weak human means a weak wolf, any questions?”

“Wait! We don’t even get to fight each other until next semester?!” Zander shouted out. 

“That’s correct Zander, first you learn form, then you can practice with each other.”

“That’s crap sir, we fight better with real opponents,” Zane yelled.

“Perhaps so Mr. Carver, but what I say goes and each person needs a chance to get the basics before standing up against either of you boys.” Mr. Victor was no stranger to the vicious battle tactics the boys shared. “Keep in mind that your standings here are the beginning to your eventual pack rank. If you want to be in the warrior squad or even a hunter then you need to work hard in this class. You will be evaluated for fairness, cooperation, and competence as the most important aspects of your pack rank.”

The doors slammed open and future Alpha Brandon strolled into the Gym. “Sorry I’m late sir.”

“On the contrary, perfect timing Alpha Brandon; First thing is first, we will begin with how to fall down. Brandon, please join me to demonstrate proper falls.”

Aurora watched intently, even though she had the demonstrations showed in the book, the live demo was much better to learn from. All the students formed 2 lines and as they got to the front of the line they practiced how to fall in each direction then moved to their separate mats for independent practice. 

Following our practice falling Alpha Brandon and Mr. Victor went over proper punching and kicking techniques and how to wrap for kickboxing. Once the whole class had the demonstration the two walked around to each and made corrections as they practiced on the dummies.

When the end of class bell finally rang everyone was dripping sweat including the oh so mighty twins. Part of Aurora felt great after the hard work and another part was exhausted. She was sure it was her wolves that were so pleased with the fighter training.

 “Miss Aurora,” Mr. Victor called out. Would you please stay behind?”

“Yes, sir?”

Mr. Victor noticed Angelica and her groups sneers and watched them begin to tease Aurora for getting stuck behind in class. “I have a book you requested in my office.” He added not taking his eyes off of Angelica.

Angelica’s face fell and she glared daggers at Aurora. Aurora could feel the hatred in waves of nausea. She figured she could expect getting jumped after school. She started thinking about how to avoid the group when she left since she wouldn’t be leaving with the rest of the students and they would probably wait up for her.

“Which book?” Aurora played along until they were out of hearing range.

“Actually, I wanted to see what your schedule was after school?”

“Oh, well I don’t really have much, just homework and staying out of other’s paths.”

“I see, would you like to work at the library on Tuesdays and Thursdays and then meet with me for extra training on the other days??

“Really?! That would be amazing sir. Are you sure it’s okay to train me outside of classes?”

“Yes, Alpha Derion will allow anything that makes the pack stronger,” Mr. Victor said with a big smile. He was glad that he could brighten her day as she was looking a bit down. “Want to get started training today?”

“I would love to! I am a little worried about the walk home if I stay too late though.”

“Not a problem, I can walk you home after we train.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want to keep you from anything.”

“It would be my pleasure,” Mr. Victor said with a smile.

Aurora was grateful to Mr. Victor, she now had full access to the library for hours on end and was getting personal training on defending herself from the regular attacks by other students. 

Training was fairly standard, Mr. Victor had Aurora start by running with him for 5 miles first. He told her that this distance would increase as she became more accustomed to running. Next he got back to the lessons from the school day with kickboxing. 

“Aurora, you need to keep your wrist stacked. I’ll tell you what, today we will tape it up in the proper alignment so you can feel what it should always feel like. Next time you need to try to do it without tape.”

“Yes, sir. Thank you,” Aurora didn’t enjoy the idea of hitting a person but as long as she kept thinking she was just hitting a bag it was easier for her. The tape definitely helped her to keep her wrist straight and she kept in mind to keep her thumb protected. She figured she was going to have to find a way to keep practicing outside of school. Aurora thought about setting up a little training area in the meadow. 

After working on form Mr. Victor had her cool down with slow yoga which he said would also help increase her balance. What she felt like she got from the yoga was really some small amount of peace. She focused on breathing and slow methodical movement through the pose while following Mr. Victors instruction. 

Once the training was over Mr. Victor walked Aurora home. He noticed Zane Morgan’s truck at the side of the road on the way. Something he would keep note of and report to the Alpha. All pack members were to be protected and cared for, it was important for survival to be unified. Aurora had also noticed the truck and was very grateful that she was not walking alone. 

The second day of school was really the same. Aurora avoided empty halls and bathrooms, was on time to each class and kept her head down. She looked forward to fighter training though. She knew that at least for the first half of the year she would not have to be partnered up with another and it was a relief for her to get real practice with form.

Her first evening at the library was slow, it seemed that even though school had started the library was relatively quiet. She wasn’t sure what she wanted to do for a job when she finished school. Being at the library gave her access to so much information and she loved to read, but getting to do private training sessions was the big bonus. She could learn to fight better and keep from being the weak wolf that others thought she was. She already knew she wasn’t weak, and her wolf was larger than most she had seen, but she had a strong aversion to violence. 

Working at the library was very easy, she found herself pulling a couple books to read and every hour she would shelve books left at tables. None of the books were to be checked out unless it was a special order of Mr. Victor or someone from leadership. Really all she was at the library was a maid. It didn’t bother her at all though, it was peaceful and calm.

Aurora had just pulled another book of a legend of the Moon Goddess to read for the next hour and was diving in when she was startled by a customer.

“Excuse me, is Mr. Victor in?” The sweet sounding voice said.

Aurora looked up to see Luna Heather smiling at her. “Oh, no he has me holding down the fort on Tuesdays and Thursdays for him. He will come by to close up though.”

“Oh, yes. He is training, I forgot he does extra training during the school year. Been so busy I forgot school started yesterday.” 

“Can I help you with anything Luna Heather?” Aurora kept her head bowed in respect for the pack Luna.

“I’m afraid not, I need a book from the private section and only he has the key. I will come back another time. Thank you.” Luna Heather looked at the book Aurora was reading. “What are you reading?”

Surprised at Luna Heather’s interest she took a moment to breathe. “I’ve been reading the legends of the Moon Goddess.”

“I see, are you enjoying it?”

“Oh yes, I have always enjoyed when you read the stories to us as kids,” Aurora flushed, “I still hear the words in your voice as I read the ones I remember you had read to us before.”

“I’m glad, well I should head off for now. More meetings, glad to have met you…?” Luna Heather trailed off indicating that she wanted to know the girls name.

“Aurora ma’am.”

“Glad to meet you Aurora,” Luna Heather turned and thought that she would have to start watching the girl. It was not common to find teen wolves interested in the legends. 

On Friday Aurora had another terrible encounter with her bullies. She had left the lunch room quietly and stopped in the closest bathroom after eating. Just as she was washing her hands the bathroom door had slammed open and in strutted Angelica and Leah. If looks could kill she would have been eviscerated where she stood. Before she could even react Leah had stepped forward, grabbed her by the throat and pinned her to the bathroom wall.

“You little bitch, stay the fuck away from Alpha Brandon, you hear!” Leah shouted, spraying spit in Aurora’s face.

“W-what are yo-you t-talking a-about?” Aurora tried to gasp out. She started to feel light headed and dizzy from the lack of air. 

“You know what I’m talking about you slut. Alpha Brandon is going to be with me and if I catch you so much as looking at him I will pulverize you into next week, that is if you survive it,” Leah dropped Aurora and kicked her as hard as she could.

Aurora felt a rib crack from the kick, pain seared through her. She had already been trying to gasp for air after being choked in the air, but now the attempt to gasp just caused her unfathomable amounts of pain. The only thing she could do was slump to the ground and let the pain wash over her. She heard the bathroom door close and the laughing of the two girls fade away as they left her. She wasn’t sure what to do, it was going to be awhile before she could get herself up and that mean she would likely miss class. With her head pounding from lack of oxygen and the pain in her ribs that didn’t allow for her to breathe deeply she finally succumbed to blacking out.

She wasn’t out for too long just long enough to miss one full class. Next was fighter training though and she knew she wouldn’t be able to really train. Her only real option was to head to the nurse and be excused to go home. At least the others would all be in class and she could get home safely.

“Can I help you dear?” The school nurse asked.

“I-I’m n-not feeling s-so well,” Aurora couldn’t help stuttering out the words. It was too hard to breathe.

“You don’t look so well either, did you want to just rest or go home since its just fighter training?”

“I-I’d like to g-go home.”

“Sure thing, I’ll send a note to excuse you.”

“I-I also m-missed last class g-getting sick in the b-bathroom.”

“No problem hun.”

Once she pushed through her front door she only got as far as the couch before she laid herself down. It was just too much to go upstairs to her room after the difficult walk home.

‘Great first week of school,’ Aurora thought sarcastically to herself. It was hard for her to keep going, she felt so alone. If it wasn’t so painful right now she would try to go up to the meadow and at least be able to spend some time with her wolves. As she thought that she could feel a warmth of love coming from them. They may not have been able to talk to her yet still working out how to exist as two in one space but they loved her and wanted her to know it. The warmth led her to fall asleep.

I loud knocking woke her from her sleep, the jerking motion made her wince in pain. Aurora rolled off the couch to her feel slowly to see who was at the door. She looked through the side window and saw that it was Mr. Victor. 

“Hello Mr. Victor,” Aurora’s nap made it easier to talk normally now.

“Hey there Aurora, I missed you in fighter training and after school.” He showed a look of concern.

“I’m sorry Mr. Victor, I was jumped in the bathroom after lunch and I’m pretty sure they cracked a rib,” she didn’t need to hide it from him. “They caught me off guard.”

“I see, I’m sorry Aurora. Did you report it?”

“No sir, I’m pretty sure that it would just make the retaliate more. I will just need to be more careful about it.”

He sighed heavily, it was not something that he could force. Mr. Victor felt that she needed to take control back on her own for her to get to a good place again. “Would you like to do some mental training then?”

“What is involved in mental training?”

“Well, we could go observe the adult training. We could also watch some great fighting movies, and with either we watch and discuss the body language for each move.”

“That would be great, I think I would rather stay in with the movies though. It still hurts to breathe and my wolf is not able to heal me very well yet.”

“Sure thing,” Mr. Victor pulled out a movie, “let me introduce you to Bruce Lee.”

Chapter 6

Brandon was having a hard time staying interested in school. He kept wandering into thinking about what it would have been like to get to have lunch with Rose, or even who the strange wolf in the meadow was. He had tried to go back to that meadow again but he couldn’t find it, the cave didn’t seem to go anywhere anymore. He wasn’t sure if the whole thing was a dream or not. 

While he battled his mind to keep focused on the classes he was also kept preoccupied fending of Leah and several other girls that flirted relentlessly. Brandon even got to one point that he flat told all of them that he was not interested in dating anyone and to leave him alone. It only worked on the surface though and as the future Alpha he could still feel the longing each she-wolf directed at him. Angelica had fully backed off trying to date Brandon, but she loved to press his buttons. One day she had gone way too far about how he needed to just let go of the grief and give Leah a chance. Thankfully Nick stepped in before he snapped and hurt the girl, Nick took her completely out of the room which was probably all that saved her life.

Just after they lift he picked up the smell of lilacs and orange blossoms which perked Onyx up. Brandon glanced around the room as the scent was fading. He only caught the back of a girl with long dark red hair leaving the room. He couldn’t see her face as he was going to get up to follow her Leah had stepped directly into his path.

“What!?” He nearly snarled, not liking being interrupted from what he was doing.

“Oh, so sorry Alpha,” Leah tried to act coy. “I was just wondering what you were looking for.”

“Nothing, just observing my pack, not that you have any place to ask. Do you mind?” Brandon gestured for her to get out of the way. He knew he was short with her, but between what Angelica had recently said and her intrusion it was lucky she didn’t get a more physical reaction from him.

“Of course Alpha, I’ll let you be,” Leah looked down and showed her neck in submission.

He was relieved that at least Leah could take the hint and behave appropriately, unlike Angelica. That didn’t mean he liked her any better though. Brandon made his way to the door that the girl with red hair left through, but the delay Leah had caused made him miss the chance to see who she was. Brandon was infuriated that he was interrupted and Onyx was ready to take over and put both Angelica and Leah in their places. It would have been bad form though, instead he looked forward to training with Beta De Luca that evening to let down his anger and frustration. 

As he was heading to class he started feeling nauseous. Something wasn’t quite right but he couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary. As he sat in class the feeling of pain radiated through his ribs and made it difficult to breathe. ‘What’s going on Onyx?’

‘Someone is hurting, its not you and I can’t do anything to help.’ There was a deep sad feeling coming from his wolf.

Once the class bell rang the pain finally started to subside and he was able to move on to is final class of the day. Strategy was really a history class which Brandon parly enjoyed and partly detested. He was expected to pay the most attention in this class to be able to lead his pack through political issues as well as warfare. 

He did special training with Mr. Victor on Tuesdays and Thursdays but he also had special training with Beta De Luca on Fridays. Mr. Victor was working with him mostly on observation, focus, and awareness. It was less of a physical work out but it really honed his senses and reflexes. His training with Beta De Luca was more physical. One day he would be able to take on Beta De Luca and win, but so far it was the best challenge of skill next to his father. They were nearly matched in strength and speed, a good training session would certainly land a few bruises.

“Hey there Brandon!” Alpha Derion shouted.

As Brandon turned his head De Luca managed to get one more punch in on the distracted youth.

“Ow, hey what the hell.”

“Gotta stay focused till the fight stops sir,” De Luca laughed. 

Alpha Derion chuckled, “he’s right son. Anyhow, tonight I’m going through finances, I need you to shadow so you can learn our businesses more and meet some of our finance officers.”

“You guys planned that,” Brandon almost pouted. “Sure thing father, let me get cleaned up and I’ll head to your office.”

“Actually we will be meeting in the conference room. I’ll see you there shortly. Also, if you see Mr. Victor will you please ask him to meet us in the conference room at 6pm. Beta Jonathan needs a meeting about the troubles at his pack.”

“Sure thing.”

After his shower Brandon headed up to the pack house from the training grounds. He saw Mr. Victor leaving a house on the way.

“Hey, Mr. Victor!” Brandon shouted. The door he came out from shut abruptly.

“Hi Alpha Brandon, what brings you this way young sir?”

“My father said we have an important meeting at the pack house at 6. He asked me to let you know that you are requested at the meeting.”

“Oh? Anything in particular?”

“I’m not sure sir. I know I am shadowing the finances before then but all I know is that Beta Jonathan from the Twin Mountain Pack requested it.”

“Ah, I see. Probably has something to do with my daughter, Luna Valerie, then.”

“Oh! I didn’t know your daughter is a Luna sir,” Brandon couldn’t keep the shock off his face. Something he would have to work on as a future alpha.

“Yes sir.”

They walked in silence together towards the pack house. Beta Jonathan had been staying at their pack for the last few weeks while Alpha Derion and his head warrior Caleb plan what to do. Brandon really liked Beta Jonathan, he was calm and quiet but also stood with confidence and strength. He was a true Beta wolf. Brandon also noticed how well he treated his sister Lili. 

Brandon met all six of the finance officers and they each gave him a breakdown of their role in the company as well as a portfolio. One by one they explained to him what they meant and how to read them. The first five of the finance officers really didn’t stand out to him in any real way, but the sixth one set off some hairs on the back of his neck. His name was Dale Wilson and he was one of the only two that were human. Something seemed to slither out of his voice and every so often as he went over the numbers a few false notes in his tone stood out. Brandon glanced at Alpha Derion to see if he noticed it as well and his father just had a barely discernible nod. The humans wouldn’t have caught on to either movement as it was too fast for their eyes. This guy would be investigated quietly. 

Once the finances were done and the humans were off the land, Alpha Derion called the meeting for Beta Jonathan. Mr. Victor walked in and took a seat along with most of the higher ups of the pack. Beta De Luca, Gamma Caleb, Delta Wesley, and Doc Summers were all present with Derion and Brandon for the meeting.

“Thank you all for being on time, we are anxious to get the updates. Beta Jonathan you have the floor,” Alpha Derion spoke with a regal but important tone.

“Thank you and I want to thank you Alpha Derion for you assistance with our troubles.” Alpha Derion nodded and motioned for Jonathan to continue. “I arrived the middle of this summer because we were having some territory invasions of the humans from Old Colorado Springs. Alpha Nathanial sent me to request assistance from our allies and your pack being the closest I came to you first. In the short time I have been here the invasions have gotten worse and we are starting to find that some of our pack have gone missing. I would like to request two things.” Beta Jonathan took a sip of water as the group absorbed the information. The group was murmuring in worry to each other.

“The first thing my Alpha would request is that you send a few warriors and trackers to help us secure our boarders a little better and see if we can find the missing pack members. So far it is only two people but we do not want to risk not being pro-active.

The second thing my Alpha requests is to hold a summons for the King in Old Colorado Springs. We would like to call it a “Peace Meeting,” but the reality is we need a measure of this guy since he is trying to take our land both legally and underhandedly. Our pack is quite cut off from towns and your pack is right on top of one. It would be easier to control the surroundings and keep a good eye on the humans if we did so in Ouray,” Beta Jonathan finished and sat with his hands folded on the table. 

The group started talking animatedly about the options and the requests. Wolves being violent and quick to fight made this meeting look like a battle between the animalistic urge of their wolves and the calm logic of their human state. 

“How can we possibly have a peace meeting with missing wolves. We need to attack!” Caleb said. 

“Always quick to

“How could we have those people here in our territory. It invites more risk and would alert them to our home town,” Gamma Caleb growled.

“We cannot allow them to take over the Twin Mountain Pack lands, we would be next anyways,” Alpha Derion said. 

“Then we start a kill on site order, they are not using diplomacy, why should we?” 

“Caleb, its more than diplomacy, it is espionage, it is intel gathering. We will make them answer for everything. But we need to know what we are up against so we have a solid plan of attack. We also need to bring in other allied packs for support,” Beta De Luca tried to remain calm. 

“I can’t agree that a kill on site order would be helpful, we need to find out where the missing pack members are,” Mr. Victor was not thrilled with the rash attitude Caleb had. “What if it was someone you knew, what if it is someone’s mate here and they haven’t met yet? Would you deny them their life by letting them rot in some kind of human hell?”

As the tensions heated up about what t

xyxyxyxyxyxyxyxyxy xyxyx xy xyxy xy xy xyyyyy xyxyxyx yxyxyxy x yxxyyxyxy xyx x yx xyxyyyx yx yxyxyx yx yxy xyxyyyy xyxyxyhe humans were doing Luna Heather walked in with some plates of dinner and a soothing presence that helped all the men in the room get control of their wolves. 

“I believe you boys all need to have something to eat before you make any rash decisions,” Luna Heather smiled warmly with an unexpressed laugh in her tone. 

Alpha Derion smiled warmly at his Luna, she was perfect for him and an excellent Luna for the pack. She always knew when to intervene and provide a much needed break. Once all the the wolves had finished eating they had a fresh mind for the challenge. 

“Beta Jonathan, we can send 20 to help secure your borders and rotate 10 in and out after the issues are resolved with the humans. As for your Alpha’s second request we will see what we can set up we will obviously have to be present for the meeting and if we bring guards we must allow the same. I will follow all of the laws that everyone arrive and leave alive,” Derion stated and glared at Caleb to make sure he didn’t contradict the decision.

“Understood Alpha Derion,” Beta Jonathan gave a slight bow in recognition to Alpha Derion. “Mr. Victor, Luna Valerie sends her love and ask that you be part of the selection team for those that are sent if Alpha Derion agrees to help.”

“Certainly Beta Jonathan, I am sure our Alpha will accept my placement on the committee for this purpose,” Mr. Victor spoke as Alpha Derion nods. 

“Thank you all so much, I promised Miss Liliana to assist with cookies again this evening. Please accept my gratitude for your assistance on behalf of my Alpha and Luna as well as my own. Also please excuse me for the evening that I may keep my promise,” Beta Jonathan bowed his respect and left the conference room to seek out Liliana. 

After Beta Jonathan left, the group started to leave when Alpha Derion held them up, “Before you go, Gamma Caleb, I need you to stay behind for a word. Doc Gene, can you check our hospital stock, if we are headed for conflict I need it to be well supplied and some real back stock in the panic room tunnels.”

“Yes, my Alpha, it will be done,” Docs formality making the room more somber.

“Beta De Luca, will you please initiate the conflict training schedule for all adult wolves? Non-fighters will be in self-defense practice and fighters will have daily training with a rotating schedule for those on border patrol.”

“Yes Alpha Derion, I will make the announcement first thing tomorrow morning.”

“Delta Wesley, please also stay behind we need to talk about tracking options.”

“Yes, sir.”

After Beta De Luca and Doc Gene left Brandon was nervous about witnessing any discord between his father and Gamma Caleb. But he knew it was important to see how it was handled.

“Delta Wesley, you are our best tracker and we need to help them find their missing pack members. It’s only a matter of time before this spreads to all our communities.”

“I can put together a small team. How many do you want to spare for this?” Delta Wesley was reserved and quiet since the death of his mate. 

“I need you to take at least a team of 3 with you. I want your second best tracker left here so that we have ourselves covered. I don’t want the Twin Mountain Pack to think that we don’t value their allegiance.”

“On it sir. I will take Daniel Evans, Darren Shultz, and Alina Bell. You will have my sister Sierra in my place. Will that work sir?”

“Perfect. Thank you Wesley inform your team to meet up with us in the morning to create our plan.”

“Yes sir,” Wesley bowed and left the office. 

“Caleb, you are one of my best warriors. Your immediate jump to fighting and killing can be very helpful in surprise attacks and rogue encounters. You need to reign it in for matters that deal with politics. The council will not allow war with other species without proof. Jumping to war puts us at risk of disbandment of our pack and I can’t let that happen.”

Caleb showed the chagrin and submitted, “Yes Alpha. I am quick to temper, what do you suggest I do to manage it?”

“Honestly we don’t have the time for one on one training right this moment. I suggest that you ‘act’ as a guard at the school particularly in the civics class. Brandon, do you have a student that could use a guard for any reason?”

“Yes father, there is a girl named Angelica, she puts my wolf off and insincere but I have no proof. He could keep an eye on her and report back, you could call it a student audit to keep suspicions low,” Brandon offered.

“Perfect. Brandon, give the information on Angelica to Caleb and he will report back. Caleb, I commend you for asking for guidance, it shows your loyalty to our pack and it’s safety. Do you accept the option to shadow this student in secret and learn more from the civics course?”

“Yes Alpha, I will do so. Thank you for making this appear as a warrior job and not as a punishment,” Caleb was relived. It really helped him to ask for help to learn. His Alpha would not publicly disgrace him. 

“Thank you Caleb, you are dismissed and I will see you in the strategy meeting tomorrow evening. Please listen closely during the strategy meeting and only if you have helpful information should you contribute. Understood?”

“Yes Alpha, thank you for your grace.”

With that Caleb left the office.

“Father, I really liked how that went. I thought he would be punished.”

“Brandon, he is being punished but because he asked for help I gave him the grace to keep his warrior status and learn. Gamma Caleb is a strong wolf from a strong line, it would be a waste of our strength to dismiss him so easily. Though if he fought with me on it I would have,” Alpha Derion said. 

“I learned a lot at these meetings, things that aren’t taught in schools.”

“That is why I bring you son. You will be an amazing Alpha one day,” Alpha Derion looked down at the contacts on his paper. “I will have to check with your school schedule to see if it can be interrupted to bring you with me to a few allied meetings. I need you to be silent and observe all in attendance at them. Be my eyes while I ask for their assistance. I need to know if anyone else is in on this or shows that they too are having issues with the humans in Old Colorado Springs. King Francis has a real hatred of Werewolves passed down generations.”

“I will do my best father. I should head to bed now though, I have training early tomorrow.”

That night Brandon tossed and turned with dreams. At first he saw the car coming at Rose and himself as usual, but just as it would have hit her the car swirled away as a mist and revealed a redheaded she-wolf being ganged up on and beaten. The girl resembled Rose a little but more red hair and a stronger build. The ones around her beating her were mostly faceless but one seemed a lot like Angelica, her face of pure hatred and black smoky tendrils around her form. He also saw a shadow of a large wolf on the ground next to the red-haired girl. As He watched he saw that the wolf wa blocking the hardest and deadliest blows and aiding her in speed to dodge where she could. It looked somewhat like a calculated response to the attack, no matter how vicious the attackers were. Brandon snapped to the situation and tried to jump in and stop them, but Leah stepped into his path. As she blocked the way she tried to touch and caress him like a lover would. He shoved the girl back and snarled trying to run towards the battered girl curled into a ball. He leaped over some of the attackers to land beside her.

The Floor next to his bed slammed his head and he snapped awake.

“Brandon, dear?” Luna Heather called out to her son.

“Hmmph, I’m okay mom,” He mumbled back to her.

“Can I come in dear?”

“Sure, but I really am fine.”

She silently entered into his room keeping the lights off and sitting on the edge of Brandon’s bed. Brandon pulled himself up from the floor and sat next to her feeling the cool satin-like sheets. 

“I do believe you are alright son. I also know you had a nightmare and it seemed different and serious. You are concerned.” 

“How..?” Brandon trailed off.

“My family has a gift for vision, you are old enough to start getting messages and dreams are usually where it starts. Here is a dream journal, write down what you see and how you feel, anything that happened recently that pops into your mind. At the very least it will get everything out of your head so you can sleep. Please come see me in the morning. I know you will be leaving soon and I want to spoil you for breakfast.” Luna Heather beamed at her son before slipping quietly out of his room. 

Brandon did as his mother suggested, he wrote every detail of his dreams and more. He started to see a pattern of information but before he really could process it sleep took him again from exhaustion. No dreams plagued Brandon the rest of that night, his mind too tired to have them. 

Brandon woke a little earlier that morning feeling more refreshed than he had since before the accident. He had just enough time for his mother’s breakfast. Tonight they would head out to an emergency pack alliance meeting to request help from other packs as well. I would be gone most of the rest of the year. 

One thing Brandon had decided after the dream and reading over what he wrote is that he wanted to put limits on how much Angelica was around him. He would speak to Nick that she would only be around him for school related social events, but not for anything of pack business. He didn’t trust her for as far as she could throw him, and Brandon being the next Alpha it would take far more than Angelica could muster to even move him. Brandon also decided that Leah would only be present for whole group gatherings, he was sick of her flirting with him. She would never be his chose mate, he could almost smell her overzealous ambitions, that and he was sure she was hiding something.

Chapter 7