THE REJECTED LUNA: CLAIMED BY THE ALPHA PACK

FIRST SHIFT

The golden light of the wards was flickering, its protection dying. I turned looking for my phone when the window behind me shattered. Felix landed in my room in a crouch, his usual mischief completely gone from his face.

"Change of plans. The wards are failing. We're going now!"

I scrambled backward, knocking over a box of books. Art supplies scattered across the floor, pencils rolling under the bed. The bedroom door exploded inward and where my RA should have been stood something else entirely. Something definitely not human. Something with red eyes and too many teeth and fur the colour of soot, a wolf the size of a grizzly that leaked dark oily smoke from its mouth.

Felix shoved me behind him, standing between me and the monster in my doorway. "Last chance to use the door peacefully, Derek."

The creature snarled as if retorting.

"Give us the moon-blessed." Its gold-red eyes flickered to me. I gulped in fear.

"Yeah, that's not happening." Felix's voice changed, gaining a growl of its own. When he turned his head his eyes were glowing amber and I had half a mind to push him away from me too. "Luna. Jump. Now."

I looked out the window, my nerves getting the best of me. I hated heights. I shook my head. "No way. I can't."

"Luna, trust me." Felix assured me, inching me closer to the window sill, his eyes still staying on the monster. "I'm excellent at catching."

Derek lunged through the doorway. Felix met him halfway, his body rippling and changing mid-leap into something my eyes refused to believe. A freaking wolf. Where the cheerful skateboarder had been, a massive wolf with golden fur now snapped and snarled.

I felt the bile rise in my throat and my vision swirled from the adrenaline but I knew I did not want to be in that room for another second. I jumped.

The ground rushed up and strong arms caught me before impact. I blinked and looked up, only to see grey eyes looking down at me. Ash set me on my feet like I weighed nothing, his eyes blazing gold in the twilight. I took a step back, my mental alarms warning me that if Felix was whatever he was then Ash was most likely the same.

"Run," he ordered, already turning toward the building. Above us crashes and howls echoed from my room but my feet wouldn't move. My skin felt too tight, my bones aching with a familiar pain I had been ignoring for months.

"I can't," I gasped as another wave of pain hit. This time not from the growing fear in my stomach. "Something's wrong."

Kai appeared from the shadows, his usual smirk replaced by concern. "Ash, she's shifting. First time."

"Not here," Ash growled impatiently. "Not now."

"Little late for preferences." Kai caught me as my knees buckled. "The moon's rising. She can't hold out much longer."

He was right. The full moon peered over the horizon, calling to something inside me that was clawing to get out. My vision blurred, shifted, sharpened. Sounds and smells overwhelmed me all at once, forest pine, Ash's cologne, blood from the fight above. I screamed, wanting this pain, this feeling to stop.

"Luna, look at me." Ash cupped my face, forcing me to meet his gaze. "Don't fight it. Let it happen."

"What's happening to me?" My voice broke on a sob as tears ran down my face.

"You're becoming what you were always meant to be." His thumb stroked my cheek. "We've got you. You're safe."

The pain crested like a wave and I felt myself falling into gold-flecked darkness. My head thrummed and I felt my body contort in odd angles. The last thing I heard before I passed out was Ash's voice, soft but firm.

"Welcome to the pack, Luna."

When I opened my eyes the world had changed. Everything was sharper, clearer, alive with scents and sounds I never knew existed. I tried to rub my eye but I couldn't raise my arms. I looked down and my eyes widened at what I was seeing. Was that fur? I moved around in a circle, panicking when I saw what was supposed to be a tail wagging behind me. The hell? Was I a wolf?

Around me stood three wolves. One black as night with familiar gold eyes, one sleek and grey, and one with golden fur nursing a few wounds but looking pleased with himself.

"Can you hear us?" A voice echoed in my mind.

I went low to the ground and looked around frantically, not over the fact that I was now a wild animal but I was also hearing voices. Had I gone mad?

"Relax Luna. It's me." The voice said just as the black wolf got closer to me. I straightened and looked at it, realization dawning on me. The dark wolf was Ash.

"How..." I asked with my mind, unable to finish my sentence, not sure it would work.

"Pack bond," Kai's mental voice was smug. "Told you she was one of us."

"Guys?" Felix interrupted. "Hate to break up the moment but we've got company."

Red eyes gleamed from the shadows of my room and more appeared in the tree line. Derek and more like him, coming to claim their prize. Me.

"Run," Ash commanded. "To the sanctuary. Don't stop for anything."

I obviously had no idea what was going on but I knew one thing for sure. Ash, Kai and Felix had saved me. If anything, I needed to be with them if I wanted to survive the night. As soon as they began to run I joined them, not waiting to find out what would be done to me if those other wolves caught me. And although my life was in danger, as I ran with them, for the first time since my mother passed away, I didn't feel utterly alone.