Aaron: Back At Home

Aaron

“So, you heard the news, huh?” Alex spoke on the phone and heaved a sigh, “Yes, there was an attempt, but like always, we blocked them.” He replied to my question. I called my mother first, being a Luna of the Pack. She is always busy, so I reached my second best source, my youngest brother, Alex. I asked him if everything was okay because I heard the news of a disturbance in the northern region of the country.

I didn’t reply to him. There was an itch in me that would only be satisfied if I knew how they blocked the attack and who were the attackers, but I didn’t want to know the details. It would only provoke my suppressed wolf. I don’t want to visit my wolf side. I know my human side was exposed to my wolf years ago, but in the last ten years, I have mastered controlling it and keeping it at bay. I have never met my wolf before. I don’t even know how it looks, and even when its absence is a painful reminder that it exists. I am worried that if one day my wolf ever appeared, I would not be the same man I am today. I know how to suppress it, but I don’t know if I will be able to do it again once it appears and takes over my human side.

There was silence from both sides. Alex decided to break it with a sigh because he knew I would never do it, “How are you, Aaron?” Alex asked softly. I could hear the helplessness in his voice.

I left when he was only 8 years old. Now ten years later, he is 18, and I feel bad for missing all of his childhood. He was the closest to me growing up. I still remember how much he cried the night before I left. He was so upset with me leaving that I had to leave early in the middle of the night when he was sleeping.

I softly smiled and looked out at the city from my penthouse in the skyscraper. The sun just recently set. The sky was fading from orange to darker shades of blue, which eventually turned darker until there was nothing to see in the sky. Since it had been raining for a few days, the sky was overcast. I had just come home from work. I was still wearing my clothes from work. I had undone the buttons of my shirt and now it was loosely hanging over my body, exposing the front of my naked chest.

“I am fine. I was just worried about you all,” I spoke the truth. They all know I care for them. I just don’t care for the life I was living there. I don’t believe in all the traditions and beliefs of the werewolf community.

“I know you are. Do you think you will ever come to visit us?” He asked.

“You know the answer to it, Alex, and I think it is better if I don’t come. It is not like I will be welcomed there,” I sniggered.

“That’s where you are wrong! I know everyone misses you here. I know Dad and the other elderly of the Pack say that they don’t want you back, but I swear I know everyone misses you. You are next in line to be Alpha after all,” Alex tried to rationalize it, but he and I both knew that was not true.

I smiled and changed the subject. I don’t want to hurt him more by rejecting his plea to come back. He is my brother and I love him. I hate hurting him. “Anyway, what’s new with you?” I asked.

Alex paused for a few seconds. He gave up and sighed. He knows it is useless to talk to me about it all. I refuse to be an Alpha or be related to the werewolf community. It is better for everyone this way. If I were still living in the North, I would only be hurting the community by challenging all of their beliefs, customs, and values.

“Well, everything is still the same. I have been busy with school and training my wolf,” he replied.

The werewolves are set to find their wolves when they get to their pre- or early teens. I know Alex found his when he was 13. Now that he is 18, he must be trained to take part in wars. The thought made my heart drop. I don’t think he should be focusing on wars, he should be focusing on his studies. He will gain nothing from wasting his time training the wolf and being involved in useless wars with the other neighboring packs like a bunch of dogs. But I can’t tell him that. I know how passionate Alex is about his wolf. I know he wants to be a fighter, like Dad and my younger brother (and now next in line for Alpha) Jake.

“Oh, and I found my wolf’s crystal, by the way,” he added. “Everyone’s pretty excited.”

Ah, the wolf’s crystal. According to the myths of wolves and witches, each male member of the ruling family with pure blood (Alphas by blood) is awarded by the Goddess for healing and power. I never found mine because I never let my wolf take the power. It is your wolf that finds the crystal. Once you find it, the man has to wear it on his body. I don’t think it is more than just a bogus belief. My father used to get mad with me when I would question the community’s faith. “You will understand the power of it only when you find yours,” he used to say to me. I wouldn’t argue with him about this. I was already hurting him by defying the value of our community.

“Now they are all waiting for me to find my mate,” he chuckled. Even when I am strongest against this custom and religious rule of finding a mate that has been selected for you, I can’t help but smile. I couldn’t see him but I am sure he was blushing.

Mates. The most outdated belief of this community is that we all have soulmates assigned to us by the Moon Goddess. I don’t get to choose our partners, no – we are forced to be with the one they believe the Goddess chose for us. I have seen broken hearts because of this useless custom. Young people don’t get involved with anyone because they are scared that they will fall in love, and end up not having them as their mates. I hated it.

From the very beginning, I knew I would not be falling for this sham. When I was younger, my mother would tell me how mates make each other stronger and how mates complete each other. She believes that without mates, werewolves are just as good as humans – powerless and mediocre. She would tell me how there is not one failed mate story on the face of the earth. I believe it is because the members of this community fulfill the ritual for religious purposes. I believe mates get used to each other, rather than truly falling in love. But of course, I never debated with my mother about this. Her beliefs when it comes to the blessings of the Goddess are pretty strong.

Every werewolf is brainwashed into believing that finding a mate will be the most exciting thing that will ever happen to them. They tried it on me as well, and as a child, I believed it, but luckily, I fazed out of this scam. I would rather find someone to love on my own than be forced to be with the one chosen by the Goddess (if there is anyone to start with).

Alex and I talked for a while. He told me that everyone was doing well in the community, even when I didn’t ask about the others. He never fails to mention my old friends. Many of them are not parents and are actively contributing to the Pack. He even started to mention Arla, but I cut him off. I didn’t want to hear about Arla. She is just a painful part of my past. I don’t want to think about her. “She is doing fine, you know. She visited the Pack with her father a few weeks ago,” Alex started, but I cut him off.

“I have some work to do. I will talk to you later, brother. Tell Mom I called. She always complains that I don’t call her enough,” I told him before we ended the call.

Arla… I heaved a sigh. I wanted to curse Alex for bringing her up again. I pinched the bridge of my nose and blew my cheeks out. For the first time in weeks, I thought of her. It has been a while. Her face from ten years ago is still fresh in my mind.

Luckily, the next minute, I got a call from Kendrick regarding one of the clients. I was soon engrossed in work, even when I had just returned home. I didn’t mind. I don’t mind working. It keeps my mind off all the useless and baseless matters.

I only wish to focus on work and only work. I don’t want other distractions – be it my reality, my past, or Arla…