The Crescent Winds

My wolf had been quiet in my head the entire flight, everyone was quiet, and it was strange. I seemed to have more time to think, but then I just ended up wasting that time wondering why no one was talking. I hate the silence, so I was ecstatic when our plan finally landed but what I didn’t prepare for was it being this cold. When I stepped off the plane, I was hit by the bitter northern wind. It was like nothing I'd ever felt before. There was fresh snow on the ground and a lot of it, something I had never seen before. It occasionally snowed back home but it was a light dusting, maybe half an inch, but nothing like this. My wolf, Lasaya, was running laps around my head wanting to get out and go for a run. 

I glanced back at my father, shivering, he just smirked at me and draped his arm around my shoulder. “I know, Grizz wants to run too.” Grizz was my father’s wolf, a massive beautiful gray wolf, the biggest I’ve ever seen. I smiled at my father warmly, hoping that it would give a little comfort in this weather as I walked with him to a black truck parked nearby with a man standing nearby. I stuck close to my father, though I knew what we were doing, I still felt so small around him, and he was still my alpha after all.

“Alpha Gabriel.'' The man smiled and shook my father’s hand. I lightly sniffed the air. The man was a wolf, not an alpha or beta, but still strong. He was probably a pack warrior, since the pack gamma would be near the Luna if they had one. I innocently glanced up at my father as he took the man's hand and gave it a firm shake. “And this must be the future Alpha Ume.” He said, drawing my attention. I smiled politely at him, shaking his hand.

“Yes. It has been a while, Brandon.” My father replied with a hearty laugh as Brandon opened the car door for me. He then glanced over at me. “Ume, this is Brandon, the Crescent Winds pack manager and Alpha John’s cousin.” He informed me. The pack manager would make sense of his scent, and from an alpha line. That could be the reason for his strong aura as well. 

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” I smiled, sliding into the back seat of the truck with Kreon following me. I was quickly shoved to the middle as the guard we brought from home entered the truck on the other side of me. Brandon and my father took the front seats. “Is there always snow here?” I asked, casually leaning forward to the front to get closer to the heat vents as the truck started to pull away. 

“Most of the season,” Brandon quickly answered. “We are pretty far north but we do have decent summers. I wish you guys could have made it up for the first snow, it’s a special time for the Crescent Winds.”  He added as he drove. I looked across Kreon and out the window at the fresh piles or snow that lined the little road we were on. Now that I wasn’t freezing, I could appreciate the beauty of it all. 

“Are we meeting Alpha John today?” I asked, turning back to face the front seats again. I knew we had a lot of ground to cover in a short amount of time if we were going to be home before the full moon celebration, but I honestly didn’t know my father’s full agenda.

“Yes.” Surprisingly, the answer came from my father. “We are only spending the day here. We will meet Alpha John and his new Luna and leave in the morning.” He explained. “The crescent winds are still busy preparing for the Alpha and Luna’s marking ceremony. We are here to offer our congratulations and introductions. We wouldn’t want to burden them for long so close to the big event.” He looks back toward me and gives me a wink.

“A new Luna. How wonderful,” I exclaimed. I had always loved attending the marking ceremonies, though I could never picture myself being in one now. When I turned eighteen, I was hopeful that Kreon would be my mate. It would have been so easy to be mated with my Beta but that wasn’t the case. Now I just feel like I won’t have the time. “Congratulations to your pack.”

“Thank you, Miss Ume,” Brandon said, making a turn in the truck and pulling onto yet another snow-covered road. “Luna Feng has been amazing since she arrived. Alpha found her on his trip to meet with a pack from China.”

“That foreign alliance that we discussed at the last Alpha meeting?” My father interrupted with a question. I vaguely remembered some of that. I knew that it was discussed among some of the Alpha's, I didn’t know that it was acted upon.

Brandon had a huge grin on his face. “Yes, and he is very grateful that you and the other alphas trusted him to go put out feelers.” He said with a little laughter in his voice. You could tell that he was happy for his alpha and new Luna. “Guess the Moon Goddess really does know what she’s doing. Hope she will hurry up and send me my mate.” 

My father looked back over at the pack manager. “You’re only nineteen, Brandon, you still have time. How old is your cousin now?”

“Twenty-Six” he replied. “Though he never really went looking for his Luna. Thought he didn’t need one, but now if you ask him, he couldn’t even imagine living his life without her.” Brandon just had the biggest grin on his face. It made my eyes roll internally. 

“Don’t do that! We need our mate.” Lasaya was running laps around my head just at the mention of finding a mate. I shake my head to try and drown out the sound of her voice. She really wanted to run. “Stop ignoring me, Ume.” I rolled my eyes again and smiled a little at my sweet wolf. “If it happens, then it happens, but I am not going to waste our time searching for our mate. We have a pack that we have to get ready to lead.” This seemed to calm Lasaya down a little.

“Everything okay back there, Ume?” My father asked. I just smiled at him and leaned back a little. “Yes daddy.” I answered. “Lasaya just wants to run in the snow.” He laughed out loud. “I know the feeling, little one. Grizz loves running in the snow as well.” He replied then looked back at me. “We will have time to run tonight, Lasaya.” My dad reaches back and pats me on the top of the head, which makes Lasaya purr with acceptance. My wolf was just as much of a daddy's girl as I was.

We rode down snow-covered, winding back roads for what seemed like two hours or more. My legs were killing me from being squashed between the two large men on either side of me. Finally, we reached what I assumed was the city. A large stone wall with an iron gate. There were torches lining the top with patrols canvasing all around. We stopped at the gate briefly, letting the guards open them for us. As the gates slowly opened, I gasped. “A fucking castle.” Lasaya shouted in my head, running laps again. The stone structure we were driving toward was massive. It looked as if it were plucked from the pages of a fairytale. Massive columns that were built from stone, four towers, one on each corner of the building. It even had a river that ran around it with a large wooden drawbridge that was being let down for us to pass over. The sun was setting, picturesque being the west tower. 

As we pulled up to the front of the castle, we passed a few lovely cottages on the front of the property and beautiful gardens all filled with beautiful blue flowers that looked as if the snow was cleared from them regularly. The truck finally came to a stop and some, what I assumed, were Omegas, opened the doors for us. I was swept up in the frigid northern air once more, but we were shown inside rather quickly. “The Omegas will take your things to your rooms.” Brandon chimed in. “Alpha John has you in the east tower for the night. He only wanted the best views for his guests.” He smiled with a cheeky grin and extended his arm to gesture at us to enter the foyer ahead of him. 

I smiled, eager to step in from this bitter cold. How did northern packs survive the winters here? I wondered as I waited for my father, Kreon and our guard, Liam, to join me inside. Brandon stepped in front of us extending his arms in a welcoming gesture. “Welcome to Castle Crescent Wind.” I looked around the large room. There were staircases in front, on the left and right both leading to a small landing, then extending upwards in a grander staircase. The floors were marble, pure white as snow and marbled with flakes of gold. I bet the sun looked fantastic in the mornings from here. The walls were beautifully cut stone and in the middle was a massive fireplace that was burning hot. It was my favorite part of this room. There were big floor to ceiling windows on each side of the door and a few pieces of artwork hanging on the wall. And two sets of double French doors, one to the middle left of the room and the other set on the right opposite, both were closed, and I wondered what was hidden behind them. “This way!” Brandon motioned to the left. I guess I will soon find out.  

The doors opened and light, music and laughter flooded us. My eyes squinted a little as we stepped into what seemed to be the dining hall. Again, with the same white and gold speckled marble and stone walls. It was quite different from our hall back home. It was filled with round tables, each with a little fire in the middle, and at the head of the room a long table with four fires evenly spaced along it. All the tables were filled with wolves, chatting, and laughing as they enjoyed their dinner. Brandon led us up to the Alpha’s table where I saw Alpha John. I’d met him before at Alpha meetings in the past. He was a bit older than me, tall, long light brown hair that he had tied back and deep blue eyes. He was a very fit and handsome man, who looked to be cut from stone like this amazing castle. He had stubble on his face looking like he hadn’t shaved in a couple of days, but I thought it made him look older and wise and about ten times sexier. The man was very attractive. I’ve thought so since I was a pup. I remember when I was small and he was a teenager, we would go to Alpha meetings and while our fathers did their thing I would sit outside and watch him toss around a football with the other kids. Back then, I would pray to the Moon Goddess that she would mate me with him. Thankfully, that didn’t pan out, the Moon Goddess must really know what she’s doing. I later learned that he thought he was the Goddess's gift to women, and it just wasn’t an attitude I was interested in. For his new mate’s sake, I hope he grows out of that.

“Alpha Gabriel, Ume, Kreon. Welcome to Crescent Wind.” Alpha John’s voice was loud yet welcoming, its boom filled the room, and his smile was to die for. He had a smile that toothpaste models would envy. The other wolves in the room started to welcome us in as well as we made our way to the table. Some of the people I knew. His Beta Rob and his little sister Jessy and their baby brother Cody. 

Jessy was my age; we would always hang out at Alpha meetings and camps and stuff. She was about a foot smaller than me, but that girl was lethal. At Alpha training, I watched her take down wolves triple her size. They would underestimate her, due to her size and timid nature and it was always funny to watch. She had fair skin and pale blue eyes, dark blonde hair that danced just below her shoulder and a slick smile that could steal hearts in a second.

The youngest, Cody, is quite a few years younger than his sister. I didn’t know much about him except for the fact that he was quiet and liked to read. He looked a lot like a younger version of the Alpha, yet his features were a little darker. His hair was long too, and he was a bit shorter, but likely still growing. I was sure he would turn into an outstanding wolf. 

The women sitting next to Alpha John I didn’t know. She was Asian, so I suspected that it was his new Luna. She was quite beautiful. She was small, like Jessy, with short dark hair that turned around her chin and mesmerizing dark eyes. She was smiling down at us kindly, and she looked extremely happy being here, which made me smile. I have heard some horror stories where men would unwillingly snatch a girl without their consent and force them into mating, though I never thought Alpha John would be that way.

“Come, join us for a meal and we can catch up, friends.” Alpha John motioned again, and we all started to head up to the front table. Maybe this trip could be fun, and I would be able to meet new people and learn how to better lead my pack. 

Suddenly, I stopped in my tracks, all the color draining from my face and a low growl echoed off the walls. The hall fell so quiet that you could hear a pin drop and a voice filled the emptiness with a single word. “Mate!”