Outside Perspectives

Naya

From the first moment I saw Kamari in class on Tuesday morning, I knew we would be friends. The way she stood up to Olivia that first day showed me she didn’t stand down from a fight, and if Kamari were a werewolf, she would have been an alpha for sure. She had no scent, which meant she was human, but I sometimes wished she was one of us. It would make things easier. My wolf Sienna howled when she saw the look on Olivia’s face in class.

“Oooh, did you see that, Naya? This girl is feisty! I like her.” Sienna howled in my mind. Sienna doesn’t like Olivia much, and the fact that up until last April, She was training to take over the squad and pack made her blood boil.

It didn’t seem like a job when Ther asked me to get close to her and check her out. This past week, getting to know her, though, almost felt wrong reporting to Theron and Reed on my findings, which could have been more helpful. She wasn’t telling me much about herself or her past. The way she almost flinched around Reed and when I spoke about Theron made me think something terrible happened to her in LA, but that seemed more personal than pack business.

It pained me when she spoke about joining the dance squad in the next round of auditions. I didn’t have the heart to tell her we hadn’t had auditions in close to ten years. We’ve all been training together our whole lives, not to mention that getting into the squad had nothing to do with your dance skills but how well you fought in a ring. The dance squad is a front for what we really are: a small battalion. The Phantom Moon Pack has always been known for our fierce warriors, and even after we ceased fire and signed the peace treaty 25 years ago, we’ve all still been secretly training just in case. Our dance squad is an elite group of female warriors, with Ms. Swan as our sergeant. We just added dance for the show, which helps keep us flexible for training.

Theron said he thought she had something to do with the rising tension between the packs, but I sensed he had other reasons for his interest in her. Theron has been different since he broke up with Olivia last semester. Before Olivia, he was a lady’s man, testing the waters, trying to find his mate. Still, ever since his break up, he hasn’t had any interest in females. I had thought he may have given up until Kamari showed up out of nowhere, but now that we know she’s human, she can’t be his mate, so now I don’t know what to think.

Theron is like my brother, and I worry about him and Reed not finding a mate. I’m only 19 and still have loads of time, but it can get dangerous for an alpha without a mate; his aggression will start to take over. I hope he finds his mate soon before he takes the title of Alpha next year. I will admit he was acting a little weird tonight at the game. I kept catching him glancing at Kamari, and I know Olivia noticed, too. I don’t know what he’s doing since he knows she can’t be his mate; I just hope he knows.

***

Reed

When Naya informed me she had pulled up to Kamari’s house and was heading to the game, I relayed the message to Theron, who seemed to be a little on edge since returning from the meeting. He said he would tell me the details about it tomorrow after the game because he wanted us all focused on beating WestMoon.

They were the third largest pack in the region, right below ours, the Phantom Moon Warriors. We had to beat them tonight to go up against our real rivals in a couple of months, the Red Fang pack. They are the largest pack in the region, led by a ruthless Alpha, Zander Black, who was also supposed to be at the meeting. Our packs used to fight the old-fashioned way. Around 25 years ago, a massive battle claimed many lives of all the packs, including Theron’s uncle, the original Alpha of our pack, naming Theron’s dad Zane, the new Alpha. The battle also claimed Alpha Zander’s sole son and Heir. The Alphas called a ceasefire with the elders, and they all decided to keep the peace another way, through football.

It was ruthless enough to get aggression out without killing and too much bloodshed. Every pack agreed besides the Red Fang Pack. They say something cracked in Alpha Zander after his son died; he wanted blood for the death of his Heir, but since all the other packs outnumbered them, he had to concede. Ever since the Red Fang pack has ruthlessly won the championship every year. Except this year. This year, we were determined to take the tournament.

Theron was also tense due to the newcomer in our town and wanted to keep an eye on Kamari. For some reason, he was convinced she was a part of the rising tension between the packs and whatever happened at the meeting. I had told him she had no scent and was human, but he wanted to get a read on her himself.

“See if Naya can get the new girl to the after-party tonight.” He asked after the halftime show. He showed more interest in Kamari than any girl in the past six months. Still, I knew he wanted to keep the pack safe, so I understood his assignment for my sister.

I hope Kamari didn’t find out Naya was secretly trying to get her to go to these places for us because even though she started talking to Kamari for the pack, she began to like her as a friend. She yelled at me Thursday night when I told her she was to befriend and stay close to Kamari for the time being till we knew more about why she and her mom were here.

“Of course, I’m going to do that because she is a really cool girl. Don’t make me feel like this is a job, Reed. You may be the upcoming Delta, but I’m still your sister; I don’t like being pushed around.” pushing her finger into my chest as she stood on her tippy toes to yell in my face. My sister was taller for a female but still had to reach to get to me. I was the second tallest male in the pack, standing at 6′2.5". The only other male taller than me was Theron, who was 6′4".

“This is from Theron Naya, so if you have a problem with it, you can bring it to him.”

“Oh, I will. Ther may be Alpha soon, but he’s still like my brother; I don’t mind giving him a piece of my mind. Besides, we already learned how they were able to come here. Shay told you her mom received a letter from the Ostyn priestess asking if we could help a family friend in a transition. Seeing as how she was the one who put the shield around our town, we almost had to oblige.”

“We didn’t HAVE to, we wanted to. Please don’t make me remind you of Allies 101. The Ostyns are an ancient ally of ours, and we wanted to help. Besides, she assured us there would be no danger, and the shield wouldn’t allow anyone else who wasn’t in the family.”

After I told Theron that Kamari would be going to the bonfire, he announced through the mind link to the team and squad to be on our best behavior as we had an outsider coming to the party. The team ran into the locker room, hollering and howling our win. Everyone quickly got changed and ready for the party. Arkyn and I were excited for tonight’s bonfire to drink and have fun with the boys after a challenging game. We were one step closer to claiming the championship, and my brother from another mother was finally home. Once Theron realized Kamari wasn’t a threat, he would get hammered tonight to help him let loose and relax from the rough week he had away.