Chapter Two

“I can’t wait to show you off to everyone!” Emma’s laughter spread like wildfire within the Van.

“I’m so nervous!” I exclaimed as I avoided more pot holes on the dirt road. 

“Oh don’t be! They love a she-wolf! Everyone there will be like us. Its very exclusive!” She stated matter-of-factly as she braced herself against the front dash as we got tousled from side to side, due to the dirt road. 

“I’ve never met others before, I’m not sure how to act.” I admitted as a little wooden sign, almost invisible in the dark appeared on the side of the road. We are almost there. 

“That is still crazy to think!” She exclaims. Emma and I had gone out for coffee after I finished at the post office earlier that day and ran into her again at the college. She showed me around and we went to a cafe on campus and chatted for hours, then we went back to her dorm while she got ready and now here we are! 

“The boys will fight for your attention for sure, you just gotta ignore them. Unless your interested! Eh! You could have some fun tonight!” she threw her head back in a howl of laughter, something I'd never heard before. 

“Uh, definitely not in-interested.” My short stutter was not confident enough, it only left Emma howling again in her seat while my entire face turned bright red. What was I getting into? 

“Turn here” She pointed to the edge of the woods. If she didn’t point out the turn I would have driven right past it and never noticed a thing! There was no indication of an opening in the woods besides a few tire marks showing someone had gone this way recently. It was a steep enough slope down that my van wouldn’t make it. Only a truck could. 

“I don’t think I can go down that.” I stopped the van to take a closer look. 

“Oh your right! I always forget how steep that first incline is, I always take the truck or in my wolf.” She sighs and huffs. “Well! Lets park over there and walk down. It's not too far. We can probably see the fire already too!” 

I nod my head as I followed her instructions. As I parked the van and unbuckled myself, I called over my shoulder, “Just a moment!” I quickly opened my closet and grabbed out a brown over-sized pull over sweater. Quickly putting it on. I then make sure all the doors on the van are locked as well as the windows and then jump out locking up the last door on the way out. Placing the key in my hiding spot. I met up with Emma at the entrance to the road. 

“Alright, let's go!” Taking my hand, Emma led the way, sliding down the small road into the forest.

“Do you have a pack?” I blurted out as we walked into the night. The moon above us gave off a little light as it was only half full. So our eyes glowed yellow, relying on our wolf senses to fully see around us. 

Emma smiled and nodded. “Yes, of course! The pack is called The Crescent Pack. I was born into it. It’s small but we are lively!” she jeered at me.

“Do you think they will be okay with a rouge like me?” I asked.

“I wouldn’t really call you a rouge. I can sense a pack connected to you, I just don’t know which one. Maybe our Alpha will know? I can always introduce you!” Excitement reached a new peak inside of me. I had a pack? The thought trilled me to the bones. Maybe I still have some family out there? Maybe I wasn’t actually alone?

“Yes! I would love that!” I couldn’t help but smile from ear to ear as we practically skipped down the road together. 

As we turned the corner, I stopped in awe. Infront of us, the road took a sharp turn left then slopped in a curved downward spiral into an opening, a blaze with a bonfire. A stunning lake lay behind the clearing that the moon shone brightly in. The lake lit up the entire valley, and covered everything with a slightly silver tint.

“Stunning isn’t it.” Emma tugged on my hand, pulling me down the road towards the clearing, towards her pack. The different scents filled my senses as I recognize a few of them are familiar. 

“Emma!” A girl waved her over! She was wearing a short mini skirt, and a very loose tank top under a jacket that didn’t go with her outfit at all. 

“Felix!” Emma excitedly greeted him back. “This is Melody! The she-wolf we scented around before! Turns out she's going to college here in town.” She gestured towards me. I gave a shy smile and a short wave as the rest of the group around the fire fell silent. Being the center of attention didn’t land well. I quickly looked down, not sure what to expect next. 

“So you're the one causing all the trouble!” A tall man stepped towards us, his eyes were green but had a yellow tint to them in the dark. His hair was cut short on either side and left long and styled neatly on top. He was huge compared to me, left me feeling like a tiny ant under his gaze. 

I looked over to Emma, who was still smiling. She caught my worried look and laughed, bringing me forward towards the man in front of us.

“This is Ronnie! He’s the Alpha’s son.” She explained while gesturing towards him and the girl now hanging off his arm. “And this is Felix! His girlfriend.” 

“It’s ni-nice to meet you.” I stumbled out as more of the crowd came around us. 

“Typically if someone from another pack is coming to our territory for school, they contact us ahead of time,” Ronnie mentioned as he took his free hand and rubbed his chin questioningly. 

“That’s the thing, Ronnie! She says she’s never met others like us before! She's been alone.” Emma piped up in my defense. 

“But I can feel her pack connection.” Ronnie broke free from Felix and brought his face to mine. I froze in place. I could feel the amount of power he held. Maybe this was that, Alpha energy fan fiction talked about? He took a deep breath, then stood back up. 

“Intriguing.” He thought for a moment. Another man who looked similar stood next to him, not where near as big but still bigger than me. 

“What yea thinking boss?” he asks as he crosses his arms, eying me up and down.  

Ronnie smiled and raised his hands in the air, turning to the crowd. “She’s harmless, all yours.” The crowd laughed and cheered as a few of the men stepped forward. 

“What’s happening?” I looked at Emma for answers. She laughed, grabbing hold of my arm. “Well, you're a she-wolf. Some of these men may want you to… stay long term.” She giggled, pulling me closer to the fire. 

Growling and snarling broke out behind us. I struggled to see what was happening. It looked like five or so of the boys had turned into wolves and were now growling and biting at each others feet and tails. 

“Our pack mostly seems to be full of men. Girls are just not being born, so when a she wolf is around they all seem to lose their heads.” Emma explained as we found a place to stand next to the fire, Felix joining us.

“Yes, they can be with humans too, but a she wolf will always give stronger wolf children.” Felix added. “Are you planning on staying?” she asked.

“Oh uh, I’m not sure. I would like to find my pack if I can.” Finding my family if there was one was all I ever wanted to do. I dreamed of finding them, it was like I could hear them calling out to me in my dreams.

The girls nodded and turned to the fight at hand. It looks like they figured out who was the winner among them. Turning back, they were fully naked. I felt the heat rise to my cheeks as I looked them over from the other side of the fire. The one that looked to have won was shorter than Ronnie but built much the same. His blonde hair was left mostly messy but stayed back when he ran his hand, threw it. He caught my eye and smiled. I quickly looked away, the embarrassment plastered on my face.

“Justyn won, figured.” Felix mentioned. 

“Melody,” Emma pulled my attention to her. “He will come over and talk to you, because he won. You do need to at least talk with him, but you don’t have to do anything else.” Emma informed me. Talking, I could do that right? 

“Liked the show?” a male voice whispered into my ear, startling me. Justyn had made quick work getting over to me. I moved my mouth but no words were able to come out. I had never been this close to any man that looked this good. 

“I’m Justyn.” He extended his hand out to shake mine. “Me-Melody.” I took his hand firmly, trying to regain a little confidence. 

“You gave us quite the chase the other night.” He jeered, taking his place between Felix and I. 

“Sor-rry, I was startled.” I managed to turn my focus on the fire that was burning high. The warmth felt nice as the night air felt rather chilly. 

“What pack do you belong to? I can’t make it out.” He asked, putting a hand on my hip, pulling me in closer.” I instantly felt like I was on fire. My cheeks burned with a force they never had before. My eyes stuck straight onto the fire, not daring to look toward Justyns sleek muscular body.  

“I’m not sure, I was separated when I was younger.” I managed to get out after I built up enough courage. “I’ve grown up in foster care since I could remember.”  

Justyn took my hand in his free hand and brought it to his lips. “To grow up without a pack….” He went silent. I hesitated but looked towards him. I could make out the pain in his eyes, the pain he had for me. Pulling my hand away, I crossed them over my chest. 

“I’m fine. I’m sure they have been looking for me, I moved around a lot.” I stated. “I’ll find them, I’m going to meet with your leader and see what he knows.” I huffed. A little more snippy than I would have liked. Justyn monstrous laugh echoed off the lake. 

“Alpha, he's an alpha, not some cult leader.” Justyn managed between breaths. 

“Thats what I meant.” I huffed again. 

“Justyn, don’t be mean.” Emma scoffed, hitting him on the shoulder. 

“Hey now, we are just having some fun.” He winked at her, pulling me closer to him. I wasn’t sure how I felt about him. He didn’t seem terrible. He was super strong to have beaten those other guys. And he was amazing to look at too! 

“Melody, do you have any questions?” Emma asked as she squished her way in closer to me; moving Felix, who was speaking with Ronnie, not paying any attention to us. 

“Ummm… I have so many questions honestly.” I laughed jokingly. 

“I would assume so.” Justyn joined in.

“Maybe start at the beginning? How is it possible we can turn into wolves?” I asked, looking towards Emma. 

“Oh, that's a perfect way to start!” Emma bounced back. “Well, you see it all began with the first Luna. She was a goddess of the primitive world. Who happen to fall in love with a wolf demon. Or so they say in our history class at the pack school,” Emma said. 

“They had children and that turned out to be what we are!” She added. 

“Your missing majority of the story, Emma.” Ronnie joined in. “The Goddess was banished to the primitive world from here, and her wolf demon she marked followed. Which is why, to this day, she-wolfs get to choose their mates, and why us men have to stay strong and protect them and their pups.” Emma rolled her eyes in annoyance. Acting almost like she was being lectured by an adult. I watched Ronnie as he spoke more about how we came to be. 

“The other gods were not only jealous of Luna’s ability, her family, and her new world, but they hated it and they hated us. We have many enemies out there that hunt us down. Not as many in the human world where we are from, but in the primitive one, there are thousands.” He explained. 

“Wait, so there is another world out there? Like another planet?” I asked. It would be so crazy to think we were sort of like aliens! 

“No, there's not another planet, its more like another dimension? I guess?” He said. “Its kind of hard to explain. But only a Luna can guide her pack through the door to this world.” 

“Oh, how do you know if your a Luna?” I asked. 

“Luna's can only be born from her blood line, according to our legends. There's most likely thousands out there. Most packs will have at least one who leads them, with the Alpha.” Justyn chimed in. “And the strongest man-wolf gets to mate her.” He squeezed my hip at that last part. 

“Alpha’s and Luna’s from the Goddess blood line are said to have blue eyes.” Felix added, smiling up at Ronnie, who just so happened to have blue eyes, much like myself. 

Ronnie smiled down at her and then back to me, “Looks like you may have some Luna blood in you.” Shocked, I shook my head. A laugh escaped my lips. “Me? A Luna?” I spat out. “No way.”

We all laughed a little before another fight broke out across the fire. This time, two of the guys were in a hand-to-hand combat with each other yelling profanities.

“And it looks like I’m needed.” Ronnie smiled as he waved a little goodbye to us before breaking up the fight.

“Did you want to take a run?” Justyn suggested.

“OH A RUN!” Emma yelled excitedly, “lets gooo!” she grabbed my hand, leading me into the forest without waiting for a response. Justyn having already torn his clothes earlier, turned back into this wolf with a pop and a crack of his bones. He then followed closely behind us.

Away from the group, the three of us stood in the cover of the forest. Emma started taking her clothes off while Justyn sat waiting.

“Uh…” I was not comfortable at all with taking anything off with him here. It seemed like he didn’t get the picture. “Could I have some privacy?” I managed to ask. 

He made a scuffling sound and bounced to his feet at once, turning and leaving. Emma laughed along with his scuffle.

“He forgot, most of us have already seen each other naked. He didn't think about it, I bet. Don’t hold it against him.” She added while sliding her skirt down. 

“Right.” That was something I wasn’t sure I could get used to. I made quick work of taking my clothes off and folding them neatly on the ground. Once I felt the cold air hit my exposed skin, I knew it was time to change. The wolf pelt would keep me much warmer than those clothes. Changing took only a second, my bones bent and cracked. My skin ripped and grew. It was a very painful process at first, and still is, but it happens so fast that you hardly feel a thing anymore. When I first started to shift, I remember that it took a few days for it to really go. Most likely because I didn’t know what was happening at all. I just laid in bed in total agony for what felt like forever. I thought I was going to die. 

Running through the forest with others felt so different. We pounced on each other, chased, nipped at our tails. It was such a blast. Emma’s wolf reminded me of fudge ripple ice cream. She was white and black but the black just kind of looked like it had been combed into her fur. It was really stunning. Justyns Wolf was also white, but was sandy red, almost like a fox. It really brought out his green eyes.

Resting under a nearby tree, I watched as the sky slowly moved over us. The stars were so bright out in the woods, you could see everything. Justyn slid in behind me, resting his head along my shoulder blades, while grooming whatever he could reach from that position. Something I have never felt in my wolf form before. The affection from others around me was really a lot, but it was nice. I felt like I was home. Almost…

“We should go meet the Alpha in the morning. See if he can help find your pack.” Emma had turned back to her human form and sat next to us. I grunted in response, too lazy and at peace to change back into my human form to speak with her. I wonder if mind links were something that existed or was that also just in stories? I will have to ask later.