Moonlight

"I guess this is the part of the story where I come in", I tell the camera. 

"Like Ember, I'll also take you back to the beginning. Seth and I's beginning. I think you will understand more about just how complicated things were when Ember came into the fold." 

Carter Moonstone

I could feel my wolf stir. Something was up. I only wish sometimes I was able to talk to it, but that was a thing of fantasy books. In reality, our beasts are just an extension of us. We control our beasts, but sometimes it does feel like they have a mind of their own. I guess that's just our wolf nature. Let me give you more insight into who we are. 

My best friend, Seth Lightwood and I, were currently going over paperwork for our pack. We are both alphas of the Woodstone pack, just as we are co-owners of the number one restaurant in all Florida, Moonlight. Yes, you heard that right. Co-alphas and co-managers. Crazy, right? I know that when you read in fantasy novels, typically, a pack only has one alpha, and those writers are actually not far off, but Seth and I are different. We have always been different. We were known as the Ying and Yang. Twins, but not related at all. We were both born under the blue moon Eclipse 26 years ago to date. I'll let Seth explain why the blue moon is so special, since I don't want to take up too much time here. 

Anyways, like I said before, we run things together. Our families at the time, the Lightwoods and the Moonstone pack, ran two of the smallest packs in the southern part of Florida. Florida was divided by the north and the south packs. Our enemies controlled the north. Eighty years ago, when they made their move to invade the south, the two smaller packs of the south, which were our packs, banned together to drive them away. Ever since, our grandfather's combined our packs into one, running it as co-alphas. They had their differences, since this also came with two Lunas as well, but they made it work. After the losses we had suffered from the war, our grandfather decided to create a peace treaty with the north. No matter the losses we suffered, we knew the north had taken just as much damage. Had we invaded right then and there, we may have been able to take over the North completely. 

When we asked grandfather why he didn't die before he died, his only response was, he had a vision. It was not his to take, but ours. We still didn't even know what he meant by that at the time, but with the events that followed, we soon understood. 

Growing up, Seth and I shared everything. When I say everything, I definitely mean everything. Rooms, sports, even women. Sometimes, though. That's how we knew. If we ever ended up mated, we would most likely have the same mate. It was not a guarantee though, but we are almost one soul under the moon, so to think we would have the same mate isn't far off. I can't wait to find our mate. Seth, however, is kind of against the idea though. That's his story to tell. 

Seth and I split our duties daily. He goes through pack business, and I manage our restaurant, as well as the other restaurant chains throughout Florida. Chains being other restaurants we own with the same name throughout different cities. We pride ourselves of being number one, as the restaurant and the pack will be our legacy we leave behind to our children when we are gone. Werewolves such as us have a longer time span than humans. We age slower. We move a bit faster. We see things clearly. 

We also pride ourselves on our mating. We stick to our own kind, as crossbreeding with humans was known to be forbidden, according to the prophet of our back. Only the chosen few would be able to breed with humans. It is said that a spawn of some humans and wolfs can, in rare instances, create what is known as a Lycan wolf. Lycans and werewolves are alike in most animal instincts, but Lycans are far more complicated. Unlike the average wolf, they can run on their hind legs, and extend their claws farther. They even actually have the ability to speak to their wolves, and their wolves speak back to them. Sometimes, the wolf persona can be so strong, it takes over the person completely if they can't control it. This happened a few hundred years ago, and the Lycan destroyed most of its own family. It took ten alpha wolves to take the Lycan down for good, as its strength was much more than the average wolf. Our scientists have never found why breeding with humans causes much more powerful wolves to be born, but from that day on, only chosen few would be mated to humans. Chosen only by the moon goddess herself. I honestly wouldn't mind if we were mated to a human, but I know my best friend feels different. 

Seth and I are smart. Two of the brightest students in our school. Always at the top. We excelled at our university, majoring in business, and minoring in culinary arts. The business side was to teach us to be better leaders. I never minded the business courses, but I always looked forward to the culinary art courses. Cooking, I feel like it is a gift I was born with. I was always in my element when I was in the kitchen. That's why I focused more on our restaurant chains, though I still fulfill my alpha duties to our pack. Sometimes, though, the workload can suffocate us both, which is why we actually put out an ad for a special kind of person. This person would be a top chef at our restaurant provided they can cook to my liking, which is very specific. They would also help Seth and I as an assistant with pack related details. Just the workload we can't finish ourselves. We sent the flyer to all of our closest friends and have received many applicants, all werewolves, of course. The human world knew nothing of the existence of our kind, and we liked keeping it that way, which is why only our kind can see the flyer. We were looking for that diamond in the rough, and we hoped to the goddess we would find them soon. Our wish came true later on that day, but it came in the most unexpected way. It came in the form of Ember Maze.