The Lady By the Moon

The Headmaster

Jacob had always been the star child. He began training in battle when he was only 5 years old, and had made a name for himself as one of the most brutal warriors by the age of 15. His mother was always very proud of her son, and tried to show him as much love as she could. Jacob’s father on the other hand, was never proud of him… some might even say disgusted. He believed Jacob was not capable of ever leading anything, even though his position as the Alpha’s Gamma was inherited, Jacob’s father would have put him in the lowest position possible. His father was the only one who thought so low of Jacob, every girl was fawning over him and every boy was envious of him.

Even with all of the attention he received, Jacob was very humble as a child. He loved his mother and his siblings, he volunteered to help with pack activities, he took his studies in school very seriously, and most importantly; after defeating an opponent in sparring battles he always showed his opponent what they did wrong so they could learn from it and progress. Everything was going well for Jacob; in fact the pack was hopeful that Jacob would be the best Gamma they had seen. Jacob wanted to be that, the River Stone pack was second only to the Ultimate Alpha’s pack. Jacob wanted to be remembered, almost more than he craved the recognition. Everything changed though, once Jacob met Sarah. Sarah was everything Jacob wanted to be, she was carefree and wild. He could not be those things as he had to worry so much about everyone’s impression of him. Sarah brought Jacob out of his shell, and showed him there are more things in life besides responsibility. The summer before his 18th birthday flew passed as the late night skinny dips, and parties with Sarah became routine. He was having fun, and most importantly, he was beginning to fall in love. “Do you think we will end up being mates?” That dreaded question had finally fallen upon his ears. He felt a stir of emotion in his chest as he stared back at Sarah with eyes that were scared to know the real answer. He finally sighed and took her hands. “Sarah… when I am with you, I feel like I don’t have to question everything I say or do for the first time in my life. I can actually be myself, and honestly before we met, I didn’t even know who I was.” He pauses for a second and slides his hand slowly away from hers, he brings his hand up to her face and gently tucks her strawberry blonde hair behind her ear. His glance falls back into her eyes and for a second he forgets where he is and just admires her. “I am in love with you Sarah, I do not want to spend my life with anyone besides you. If we are not mates, I would be willing to go to the Ultimate Alpha and ask him to wed us anyways.” Upon hearing these words Sarah smiled and a tear rushed down her cheek. “I love you too Jacob, of course I accept, I could not imagine another making me as happy as you have.” She replied.

There were other plans in store, however. Everyone was preparing for Future Alpha Silas’ shifting ceremony. Jacob was busy helping prepare the decorations, as he saw Silas approaching. His dirty blonde hair illuminated his crystal blue eyes, and even with his hardening features he still looked approachable, friendly, and diplomatic. It stirred something in Jacob, he could not help comparing himself to him and taking note of all of the areas he was lacking. He pushed this feeling aside and greeted Silas with a big smile, “There’s the birthday boy” He gave Silas a nudge on his shoulder. They had been best friends since before they could remember, it is custom to keep the hierarchy of the pack as closely as possible when they are children, it helps with the functioning and closeness of their relationships. However, Jacob thought often that even if they were not made to be close, they still would have been, it was destined. Him and Silas talked of the party, and about any concerns Silas had, Jacob ultimately just wanted to make him feel more confident—not that the young Alpha was lacking. “How are you and Sarah?” at the mention of her name Jacob’s heart begins to race. “She’s the one Silas” Silas smiles and punches Jacob in his arm “Don’t go getting all soft on me now Jacob” He teases.

The ceremony seems as if it is flying by, and for some reason Jacob has a sinking feeling in his gut that he simply cannot shake. He keeps trying to brush it off as nerves; maybe he is nervous about his best friend shifting, because it means he soon will be too. The night goes by with dancing, food, and catchy music. Soon the music stops and the Alpha steps forward. His blonde hair has patches of grey shining through, and his once hardened features are beginning to soften with age. “We are all gathered here tonight to watch my son transition from a pup to a wolf. I have high hopes that he will be one of the greatest leaders this pack has seen. Now we begin preparing him for his shift.” After the Alpha spoke these words his aura pressed into everyone’s skin giving them no option other than to bare their necks. Jacob sat like this for what seemed like an hour as the sun slowly set and the moon raised high into the sky.

The ceremony went from catchy music and laughs, to the sound of bones breaking and Silas screaming. His screams were gut wrenching; the whole pack could sense his pain and low whines began escaping their throats. Jacob felt fingers interlock with his and he went to pull away, however the familiar scent of rain and daisies flooded into his nose and he squeezed her hand. ‘Sarah’ even thinking her name made his heart flutter, he felt her warmth radiating through his hand and he couldn’t help but smile. In the next few moments, the friendly blonde haired boy no longer stood in front of them. In his place was cashmere colored wolf, his eyes glowed in the night like they had lights behind them. A loud howl cracked through the air and everyone shifted their neck towards the moon in response, following the lead of the Wolf. The wolf suddenly stopped and paused for a long while, sticking his nose up in the air and sniffing. Suddenly, his gaze fell right on Jacob. The wolf let out a low growl that seemed as if it was a warning. Before Jacob had time to react the wolf jumped and landed directly in front of him. Sarah grabbed Jacob’s arm and squeezed as tight as she could. This is when Jacob realized the wolf was not looking at him, but Sarah. “Mate” the wolf said in a possessive tone. Jacob instantly felt his heart shatter, this was the worst pain he had ever felt. No weapon could bring him this much agony, he struggled to catch his breath as he felt the world around him spinning.