More students began to shift when they reached the parking lot of the school, and it was scary. There were brown, gray, and white wolves everywhere. When they finished shifting, they’d sniff the air and all run in the same direction.
“R-Christopher, they all just darted away,” I stuttered.
Christopher nodded and pulled me by the hand towards his car. Why we were going to the car, I don’t know.
“They sniffed out the intruder, or intruders. We don’t know if there’s a pack of them or not,” he answered.
When we reached his car, he quickly unlocked it and put me into the passenger seat. Then he buckled me up and looked me in the eyes.
“Diana, listen to me. I don’t want you leaving this car. You will stay put.”
He was commanding me. He was commanding me to stay in a car while he went to go hunt down rouges.
“B-but Christopher! Do you really think the car is the safest place? For all you know one could come here and-“
He held up his hand to silence me. “Do as I say Diana. If you got hurt- just stay put. Promise me that you will.”
“I-I promise. But Christopher-” I was about to counter his argument, but he stepped away from the car, shut the door, then locked it.
I looked at him with pleading eyes through the window, but he just shrugged me off. Instead, he did something I didn’t expect to see.
He shifted.
His form began to deform and grow hair. Then he grew to a massive size, bigger than the car I sat in. He was literally the biggest wolf I had ever seen.
His furry coat was slick black with a patch of white hair on his forehead. His eyes were a glistening silver that somehow showed power.
My eyes widened. He was magnificent. He was beautiful.
He took a step from the car then released a ferocious howl. It echoed through the school grounds, most likely heard throughout the whole town. Then he darted, away from the school, and away from me.
I pressed my hand against against the window.
“Christopher…”
‘It’s for the best,’ Sofia said. ‘Its his duty, he’s protecting us and his town. It’s what an alpha has to do.’
I shook my head. “But I have a feeling I should go with him.”
Sofia grunted. ‘Well you’re wrong Diana. We must listen to our mate.’
“But,” I whimpered. “Remember the feeling I had in our village, when I felt those rouges in the forest, but I didn’t trust it. Our pack died because of me, because I didn’t tell anyone about my feeling. Maybe we should start listening to it now, so no one else dies.”
I didn’t realize I was crying until I felt tears hit my hand that was in my lap.
‘But you’re the luna,’ Sofia stated. ‘Lunas don’t fight.’
“Our luna died fighting rouges, she died to protect her pack!” I snapped.
My wolf sighed. ‘Diana-‘
“No!” I screamed while unbuckling my seatbelt. “I’m going to go help! I’m not going to run away again!”
‘I wasn’t going to try to stop you, you’re right. We should be with our mate.’
I gave a small smile as tears continued to spill freely. Then I unlocked the car, opened the door, and hopped out.
‘Are you ready?’
A nodded as I slipped my backpack, shoes, and dress off and tossed them into the car, (no one was here, and I didn’t want to rip my new things) then I was left in a sports bra and undergarment shorts.
“Of course,” I finally answered.
I began to focus. I haven’t done this in awhile. I don’t even remember what it felt like. Was it painful? Was it just like a sharp pang, like a cramp? Or was it just easy going? A walk in the park?
I shook my head and began the process.
I was shifting.
My bones popped and cracked, making a painful whimper escape my lips. I grew a snout and patches of fur erupted from my body.
When I finished, I looked at my reflection in Christopher’s car. Even through the black shine of the car, I could see my electric blue eyes. And my fur, white with patches of black.
I shook my hairy head. I can’t focus on my reflection, I have to help Christopher.
I lifted my head and began to take in various scents. I wasn’t looking for the rouge’s scent, I was looking for Christopher’s. I knew his would be strongest to me.
A moment later, Christopher’s smell hit my nose. It was captivating, threatening to put me in a trance.
I shook my head and and followed the scent, running as fast as I could.
I ran through the abandoned streets and past empty cars. But I was running faster than I had ever in my entire life. I was gaining speed, and I was gaining it fast.
Soon the growls of a thousand wolves hit my ears.
My pack.
I followed the sound and ended up in a soccer field. The pack stood there, snarling and forming a large circle.
I could barely see past the wolves, but I caught a tiny glimpse of Christopher’s wolf in the middle of the circle.
Christopher, I thought.
‘We’ve got to push past the pack to get to Christopher,” Sofia stated.
I nodded in response and ran to the pack. Then I began to push through.
Most of the wolves ignored me, but some made cautious growls. But I just kept pushing until I was in the middle.
Christopher stood there, snarling and growling at a scrawny, light brown wolf. Both of them took no notice to me.
The brown wolf whimpered while it’s body shook ferociously.
It was scared.
If Sofia could gasp in my head, she did.
‘Diana,’ she said so quietly I could barely hear her. ‘Doesn’t that wolf look familiar?’
I looked closely at the brown wolf.
It had green eyes that pleaded for help. It’s light brown coat had one patch of dark brown hair on it’s side.
That wolf was more than familiar. I knew exactly who it was.
Christopher barked and stomped his enormous black paw at the wolf, making it jump back with fear.
I had to stop this now.
I quickly linked Christopher.
‘Stop!’ I screamed in our link.
He stopped what he was doing and confusion swept over him.
‘Diana?’
I nodded, even though he didn’t see me. ‘Of course it’s me. Now please, leave that wolf alone.’
I could sense his breath hitch.
‘You didn’t stay in the car. Where are you?’
‘I’m to your right,’ I whimpered.
His head shot towards me. His silver eyes showed confusion, hurt, and maybe a tiny bit of betrayle.2
‘Why, why didn’t you stay in the car?’
I whimpered. ‘I couldn’t. I felt like I was needed here. And I am, and I see why now.’
He cocked his head. ‘Why are you needed here?’
I shook my head. ‘I’ll explain, but first, step away from the wolf, and let me talk to it.’
He yelped at me. ‘No! Rouges are dangerous! It could hurt you!’
‘Just trust me, please.’
His eyes showed that he wanted to argue, but he backed away from the wolf.
Christopher backing away made the pack’s growls go silent as confusion swept over them. But then their thoughts popped into my head, which was a first. I guess it was something a luna could do.
‘Why is the alpha listening to her?’
‘So now he listens to anybody?’
‘Is that his, no, it couldn’t be.’
I ignored their links and began to walk slowly to the scrawny wolf.
The wolf whimpered as it’s body shook ferociously. It looked at me with pleading eyes, as if begging for my mercy.
Okay, I thought as I took a deep breath. I can do this.
I sent it a link.
‘Grace?’
The wolf’s shaking ceased and it’s whimpers died down, but it’s green eyes widened with fear.
‘How-how do you know my name,’ she asked, fear evident in her voice.
‘Because I know you.’
I took a step forward, but she took a cautious step back.
‘N-no one knows me! I’m a rouge! Everyone I knew is dead! I even tried to save my friend, but she died!’
I shook my fuzzy head. ‘Look, it’s obvious you’re scared, tired, hungry, and exhausted. How about you transform back into a human. I’ll take care of you and make sure none of these big, bad wolves hurt you.’
She whimpered. ‘Why do you want to help me? I’m a rouge. I could kill you any second.’
A rumbling came from my chest. It wasn’t a growl, more like laughter, if that was even possible.
‘That’s why. You don’t want me to trust you, that’s my indication of why I do. So just shift back, please.’
She was hesitant, but then she nodded.
Her bones began to shift and pop, her snout shrunk into a nose, and her hair turned back into skin. But the sight of her made tears prick my eyes.
She was just skin and bones. It looked like she hasn’t eaten in years. Her long brown hair was mostly split ends, and her hazel eyes with a green tint had dark circles underneath. But what threw me off the most was that she was wearing the same exact dress (for some reason it didn’t rip like mine did when I shifted) from the festival, the day we were attacked. Except it was stained, tattered, wrinkled, and ripped.
She stared at me, waiting for what I would do. So I did the the only thing I could think of, I shifted.
The process wasn’t as painful, but it hurt so much that I released a silent whimper.
When I was back to human, I was surprised to see that my sports bra and undergarment shorts weren’t ripped.
And to think that’s why I took my dress off.
I looked at my long lost friend Grace and saw that the color from her face had drained.
“W-Diana?”
She crumbled to the ground and tears began to spill from her eyes.
“Y-you died! I went back to where I left you, you weren’t there! I-I thought they killed you!”
I quickly ran to her and dropped to my knees, embracing her in a hug and rubbing her back to comfort her.
“I went back to the village. I’ve lived there for three years and I just got here.”
Her crying began to make her breathing stutter.
“I-I-I was so afraid to go back! I-I-I thought they were still there.”
Tears began to fall from my eyes.
“I’m so sorry Grace.”
She hugged me, holding me tight like I would disappear from her life again.
“I’m not going anywhere,” I cooed.
Two hands grasped my shoulders and I looked up to see Christopher giving me an apologetic look. Then I looked around and saw that the whole pack had shifted back (still in their clothes because they didn’t rip).
I looked back up at Christopher and smiled, but it soon faded when a masculine voice spoke up.
“So the new girl is a rouge?”
The pack broke out into whispers until Christopher spoke up.
“No she’s not. She was a survivor of a rouge attack. I brought her here so that she wouldn’t be alone anymore.”
Someone else decided to speak up.
“So wait, are we taking that rouge in now?”
I stood up and turned to the pack.
“She’s not a rouge! She survived with me, but we got separated.”
The pack began to murmur.
“Silence! You will treat these two with respect,” Christopher shouted, using his alpha voice. That was the first time I heard it, and it scared me.
The whole pack quieted down, and Grace stood up, clinging to my arm.
“I don’t think they’ll ever accept me as their own,” she whispered.
“They will, trust me. Wait, I’ve got an idea.”
I mustered up all my courage I had and stepped forward.
“Look, I know we weren’t born onto your pack, but we know how to be civilized. We will learn and obey your rules, I promise that-“
“How are you civilized if you’re standing in a bra and underwear,” a girl shouted.
A blush crept up my neck and I immediately stepped back.
“I-I-I-“
A moment later Melanie emerged from the pack and ran to me with a jacket and with Brent trailing her like a puppy dog. When she reached me, she draped the jacket over my shoulders and winked. I couldn’t help but smile.
“She is civilized, and you will treat her with as much respect you treat me. Because,” Christopher said then looked at me.
That’s when I realized it. He was going to tell the secret. The secret of who I was to him.
He smiled then looked back at the pack. “Because she’s my mate. Diana Jones is your new luna.”