The Blood Moon Luna

It was the night of the blood moon, and my friends and I decided to go to the clearing on the hillside to see the moon at its peak—at least, that's what I said was the reason we went. Usually, only those 18 years old and older go to the clearing to find their mates under the blood moon. I convinced Charity and Silvie to go on the pretense of ‘seeing the beauty of the blood moon better.’ My real reason was Frankie; I wanted to see if he had found his mate. Frankie is the Alpha's son. He's 6 feet 4 inches tall with broad shoulders and muscles for days. His brown, almost black hair hung to his shoulders, and his eyes were so blue that I felt as if I were staring into the sky on a sunny afternoon. Not that Frankie would ever notice me. My dishwater blonde hair and brown eyes were ordinary at best. I was short and barely a B cup; I did have a little junk in the trunk, though. That didn’t stop me from praying to the Moon Goddess that Frankie wouldn’t find his mate tonight, and maybe she'd save him for me. “You know, Nikki, most people don’t make this ridiculous climb up to the clearing until they have their wolves and can find their mates?” Silvie said. Silvie was whining again. “Silvie, I told you I just want to see the blood moon closer. Don’t you think it will be more beautiful higher up than it is from below?” I said. “Nikki, it is probably more beautiful from the clearing because people find their mates there. It’s romantic. Silvie and I are only 16 and a half, and you’re only 17 and a half,” Charity pointed out. “Maybe you’re right, but we are almost there, and I just want to see if it is different,” I said. We were starting to get closer. I could hear voices up ahead and smell the bonfire that had already been lit. “Come on, guys, it should be just past these trees,” I added. Once we got past the next bunch of trees, I could see that there were at least 40 people up here on the hill. I hadn’t realized that there would be so many unmated wolves in our pack. “What the f**k? Who invited the pups?” Sidney sneered. Ugh, Sidney, she is such a b***h and believes that she will be the next Luna alongside Frankie. “Shouldn’t you girls be at home playing with your dolls and having tea parties?” Sidney taunted. “Stick it up your nasty, skanky ass, Sidney. We are only here to get a better view of the blood moon. No one is bothering you,” Charity scoffed. Charity, I do love that girl. She says exactly what is on her mind. Do you know that whole good twin-evil twin thing? That is Charity and Silvie. “Who are you calling skanky pup?” Sidney snarled. “You, SKANK! The warrior's pet she-wolf,” Charity goaded. I watched it unfold slowly as Sidney pulled her fist back and threw the first punch. Except it was me, she hit as I pushed Charity out of the way, and Sidney’s fist connected with my eye. I don’t know why I did it, other than I have had a year more of training than Charity has. But boy, it was worth it! “Knock it off, Sidney! Why are you hitting pups?!” Frankie shouted. Frankie was in front of me, offering his hand to help me get up from the ground. SWOON! “Are you okay, Nikki? Do you need to see the pack doctor?” Frankie asked. I couldn’t focus on anything other than the rich baritone of Frankie’s voice. I had no idea what he was saying to me. “Nikki? Nikki? Can you hear me?” Frankie asked again. I could see his lips moving; oh my goddess, can I just lean in and see if they are as luscious as they look? Right before I almost made a fool of myself, I snapped out of it. “I am sorry, what did you say?” I said. “Are you okay, Nikki? Do you need to see the pack doctor?” Frankie asked again as if he were talking to a mental patient. “Nnn- No. I’m fine. It hurts, but it will heal,” I stuttered. “It will take longer since you don’t have your wolf yet. I don’t see any blood on the outside of your eye, so hopefully, when the swelling goes down, it will be okay,” Frankie replied after looking a little closer. “Why are you girls up here anyway? None of you are 18 yet,” Frankie added. I bit my lower lip and just stared for a moment. “I just wanted to see if the blood moon was prettier higher up,” I finally answered. I stared at the ground, hoping he wouldn’t tell us we had to go back. When I looked up, I could see Frankie thinking before he spoke. “Well, make sure you stay out of the way. The moon will be at its apex in about 30 minutes. And if things get… complicated, you’ll have to head back down,” he said, a bit skeptical. We knew what complicated actually implied. Two blood moons ago, Allison, Sidney’s sister, dropped to her knees and gave her newly found mate a blow job. I heard it was pretty gross for all to see. “We’ll stay out of the way and leave right after the apex hits,” I told him. Frankie shook his head and walked back over to his friends. “Come on, guys, let's find a place to sit until the moon hits its apex, and then we can go,” I said to Silvie and Charity. “Frankie sure is cute. I wouldn’t mind-blowing that if he were my mate,” Charity murmured. I looked in the direction where he was standing and just grinned. “Mom says you shouldn’t talk like that, Charity. Besides, sucking d**k is gross,” Silvie said prissily. “As if you’d know, Silvie. You probably think the stork brings babies, too,” Charity mocked. While they argued back and forth, I just watched Frankie and his friends. They were drinking beer, and Frankie was laughing at something Tatum said. That guy comes up with some crazy s**t. A few growls had me paying closer attention to what was going on. There are about eight new sets of mates. I sighed in relief and silently thanked the Moon Goddess that Frankie wasn’t one of them. “Come on, guys. I told Frankie we would head back down right after the apex,” I said, once I saw that all the mate pairs were done. We got on our feet and started back down. We had been walking for about five minutes when we heard a sizeable collective growl and then a howl. “s**t! We’re under attack! RUN!” I screamed. As we took off down the wooded hillside, my heart was pounding, and I was trying to think of how to get somewhere safe. Charity, Silvie, and I don't have our wolves yet, so that we won’t be of any help; instead, we’re a liability. The thundering of paws against the ground was ominous, making it difficult to think clearly. The warriors were charging towards us, heading for the clearing, and we needed to get out of the way. “Over there, a boulder! 100 feet to the right!” Silvie called out. That would get us out of the way of the warriors coming this way. So we dashed to the right and ducked behind the boulder just as the warriors ran and leaped past. As we quickly caught our breath, I said, “We still need to hide somewhere safe until everything is clear.” Charity was bent over, hands on her knees, huffing in and out, then looked up and said, “What about the old mine? It’s at least out of the way, and most people forget it is even there.” “Good idea, the foreman's office is just inside. Hopefully, the door still works. Come on, let's go,” I replied, running off in that direction with my friends right behind me. It’s difficult to see in the woods in the dark without wolf vision, but I remembered it should be about 50 yards from where we were behind the boulder. I could hear the snaps and snarls of wolves fighting, and I was running as fast as my legs could carry me. Then I saw the mine coming into view, and my singular focus was making it to our destination. That’s the only explanation for what happened next. Twenty feet from the entrance, my body flew through the air, and I landed with a bone-rattling thud. Then darkness claimed me.