The Sun and The Moon

Chapter 1 Tempest A gust of warm humid air hit me as I stepped out of my car in front of the post office. I could barely contain my excitement. Today is letter day! The sun shines brighter and the grass looks greener on letter days. “Morning Tempt.” Marianne calls to me as I wave and push open the door to the tiny lobby full of mail boxes. She gives me a knowing look and wiggles her eyebrows at me playfully. “Letter came for ya, girl.” I knew Moon’s letter would come today. The man has never failed to send letters at least three times a week, and I wrote him back each and every letter. I’ve only been writing to the man now for the last decade and have a good idea of when his letters will arrive. “Met him yet?” Marianne’s whisper causes me to cringe inwardly a bit. She’s one of the few women I can call a friend in my pack, but my Moon’s letters were sacred. I’ve never let anyone read them, his words are just meant for me. Like he is meant for me, I hoped and prayed every night to the moon goddess. Please, please let Moon be mine! I understand she’s just curious but when I have to explain Moon to anyone, I always get looks questioning my sanity. I know it’s a weird situation but that doesn’t mean it’s not real to me. I believe by his letters Moon’s just as invested in me as I am with him. We always just dance around topics or questions that will make the bond between us more real, more tangible. I don’t want to be the first to say the L word or even ask about the direction of where this heading because I fear the answer. I ignore Marianne as she almost wedges herself to my side in an effort to be nosy. If she was merely curious I wouldn’t have got an elbow to the ribs as she scooted in closer. I looked at my regularly used PO Box and licked my lips nervously. Would today’s letter be the letter that would bring Moon to me? I grip the key tighter in my palm and hope this is the letter that truly unites us. I slid the key in the lock and chewed my lip. Marianne exhales loudly behind me causing her to chuckle and me to flinch. I take a long cleansing breath and turn the key. Marianne scoots in like she’s decided to wear me all year round and I throw an elbow or two myself. She chuckles as I start turning red from the attention we are drawing but backs away a bit. “Tempt at least tell me you’ve met this man or that he’s sent a picture or something!” She whispers sternly at me and I know she’s going to ask all the questions I have no answers for. I see my letter sitting there welcoming me and I can’t stop the stupid grin from spreading again. I don’t even make an effort to stop myself from bringing the envelope to my nose as I have done countless times. I sniff and smell his cologne but no personal scent. Moon! My heart just races at the thought of him. I wish I could catch the warm scent of his skin but I doubt I’d ever know if he were truly my mate. Marianne grabs my elbow roughly and pulls me away from the few people walking in. She tsk as she guides me from the front door to my car, letter still clutched in my hand. Standing about four inches taller than my five foot two self, she pats my head like I’m a child. I’m not a child, I’m twenty but to hear Marianne talk about me I’m not only runted I’m also stunted. That is a very nice nasty way for a pack member to say I’m small, wolfless, and clueless. I admit to not being the towering giants most she-wolves are and I’ll admit to not having my wolf yet, but I am far from damn clueless. I get why she would think that because of the whole Moon situation, and I know she means well but why the hell can’t she just mind her own damn business. “Tempt.” She begins and I already know exactly where this is going. I sigh in frustration as she traps me between her larger body and my four door sedan. Maybe I should crawl through the door and just keep running till she finally gives up. I did that once at sixteen, but the next letter day Marianne was at it again. “Listen, little one. My boy has always had his eyes on you since you were just wee pups.” I groan and blush but she continues. “I know you haven’t seen this boy Moon. I know you haven’t even spoken to this young man, but you speak to my Gavin all the time.” I knew it! Wait till Gavin hears his mother is selling him out of the post office. I wonder what one irritated beta brother of mine would go for on the open market? Wonder if we could get more if Aaron and I put Gavin on the corner in a mini skirt? I snicker as Marianne pulls her best long suffering face. Now this is Marianne’s normal face with me. I take a breath and try explaining again only after a few hundred times before. Maybe I should rent a billboard and post the exact same conversation we have every time on it. The texts from her alone over the last two years read like I’m chasing Gavin and torturing him slowly. “Marianne, you know I love Gavin. He’s my brother. He’s been my brother for over fifteen years now. He’s one of my best friends.” I took her hand and squeezed it softly. I knew this next part would upset her. “I asked Gavin bluntly did he have any feelings for me other than a brother and your son said no, Marianne.” I swear moon goddess I’m trying to keep my temper with this lady but now she’s starting to cut into my letter reading time. My Moon time. Marianne gives me that way too damn familiar Are You stupid look I’ve gotten too familiar with over the last two years. Moon’s been writing to me since I was ten. Ten! Mine and Moon’s relationship has been rock solidly all on paper for ten years. “Sweetie.” Yep, Marianne goes ahead and hits me with guilt because I know when she starts calling me things like sweetie and dumpling she’s doubling down. “My letter…” I start and she cuts me off with a huff. I cram the letter in my pocket, keeping one hand on it for emotional support. I can almost imagine Moon here with me holding my hand. “You don’t even know if that man is a wolf! You don’t even know if he's a man! He could be a woman! Or he could be an old alpha who just wants young girls to breed.” Marianne hisses the last part at me and I knew Gavin was going in a headlock for this. I’d offer to choke Marianne but I doubt that would even keep her quiet. “Catfishing!” She roars in the quiet parking lot and the five people milling around over at us. Great Marianne, thanks for the fresh wave of embarrassing bull s**t. Love that stuff! “Marianne I’m not being catfished!” I growl quietly at her. Explain that one to me, Moon goddess! Why can I growl but have no damn wolf? Gavin and Aaron once told me it was literally wind blowing across my asshole and lady parts, that was the reason I could growl. I was twelve and believed them. I f*****g believed my best friends and brothers who were sixteen at the time. Now that was a catfishing experience. “Don’t you take that tone with me missy!” She growled right back at me. I just wanted the damn conversation over with. “My boy loves you. No, he wouldn’t tell you because he’s worried you’ll ignore him for your fake boyfriend! My Gavin would mark and mate you and you’d be the beta’s wife!” Marianne practically stomps her foot with each clipped syllable and I just stand quietly waiting for her latest blast of nice nasty to plow right into me. “I’m already the beta’s daughter.” I tell her calmly just like I have almost weekly for two years. Thank the goddess Marianne is reaching her crescendo. “What you are is a selfish, ungrateful, wolfless, mateless, and famililess brat! You are the adopted daughter of the beta and his mate! If they hadn't taken you in you’d be dead! Most members of this pack are scared of you girl!” She hisses at me and I feel her spittle hitting my face. I count to ten twice before she states again. “Mating my Gavin will make you an actual part of this pack. You can’t do any better than my Gavin and let’s be honest with ourselves, you’re just too different to mate. I hate to tell you this child but no one will want you looking as you do.” It shouldn’t hurt, not after all the times Marianne and other pack members smacked me down with their hate speech. I used to wonder if she stood at her bathroom mirror in the mornings and rehearsed this spill. Just standing there in a cotton robe and hot pink curlers muttering to herself about what an undeserving creature I am. Maybe they all meet at the packhouse on alternating Tuesdays at midnight to plan the best way to humiliate me. Truthfully, I have no clue what any of them got out of this unless you counted the pain it caused me. “I don’t mean to say you're ugly, girl, just stubborn!” Marianne said with a coo. This is where she pets me like a kitten and warns me not to involve Gavin or Aaron, her future alpha. “Let’s just consider this your elder giving you some good advice. My son and the future alpha are too busy to be bothered with this. Don’t be a busy body, Tempest!” She coos like she never said the things she did. She always does this. “Sure.” I tell her softly and open my car door. “Just throw the damned thing out and stop writing him, dumpling. You’ll see my Gavin is your only choice.” She purred and I wanted to vomit as I climbed in my car. I have never understood why this woman is the way she is because her son Gavin is nothing like her. Even her own mate, Gavin’s father, would never say such things to me. He mostly just ignored me or avoided me. In all fairness, most of the pack avoided me and I’ve never been sure why. I know I look a bit different from everyone else but I’ve never judged any of them based on their appearances. It looks like a pack I grew up in from around the age of five would remember I was blooded in and that I’m still a member of this pack.