Midnight Moon's new Luna

Chapter 5 - Wolf

Vera

After walking around in the city for a bit, I arrived at the park. It was beautiful, and it was nice to spend some time in a place with less concrete. The smells of medicine at the hospital had been burning my nose, and the city streets stank of car exhaust and urine. This park was large enough that the air felt much cleaner, and I could actually smell the fall season. I hadn’t realized how much I'd missed nature.

Strolling around in the park, I suddenly felt a presence in my mind. I knew who she must be. I’d been waiting for this moment my whole life.

Vera, hi!

“Hello?” I whispered. Of course, I knew I didn't actually have to speak out loud, but I was unfamiliar with speaking to another soul, hiding somewhere in my head.

I’m not hiding.

I jumped as the voice appeared in my mind again. This was going to take some getting used to.

“Um, hi…” I thought, trying to ‘speak’ inside my own head. “You’re my wolf, right? What’s your name?”

I’m Nadya. It’s so good finally being able to speak to you.

“So you’ve been in my head all this time? Just unable to speak to me?”

Not really. It was more like being asleep. I was never really conscious, but I was still always almost aware. It’s hard to explain. But I feel like I just woke up from a long-ass coma. I can’t wait until we shift, and I can finally run and stretch my legs.

I smiled at the eagerness I felt from her. I crested a small hill and saw a pond a few minutes away and headed in that direction.

“Remember we can’t actually shift until the first full moon after today. And by then we’ll probably still be here in the city, so…”

We would have to shift. For that first full moon, there was no choice. But since we were in the city, we would have to stay in the hospital, in a locked room by ourselves. It sucked, but there wasn’t anything we could do about that. I was just happy it was a hospital for supernaturals. The staff had already told me there was a room I could use, and had assured me I would be safe there. You were in a very vulnerable state during your first shift.

Oh, man! That’s not fair!

“It’s a small price to pay for mom’s health. She hasn’t been able to shift for a long time either.”

But it’s our first time! We should be free!

“I know,” I sighed. “I’m disappointed too.”

We had reached the pond. It wasn’t very large, but it looked so pittoresque. Sunlight glittered on the surface and dragonflies zipped back and forth through the air.

Oh, look at them, Nadya said wistfully. They are free to move about, follow their instinct and do whatever they want. Even though they live here, in the middle of the city.

“I’m sorry. If we get stuck here for long, I promise we’ll find a way to leave the city for a short time. Just so we can shift and you can ‘stretch your legs.’ But for the moment being, we’re stuck here.”

Yeah, I know.

I hated how let down she sounded and I could feel her disappointment. It was so odd, feeling someone else’s emotions in my mind. It was confusing and…

A breeze blew in from behind, and it brought a smell with it. Hot chocolate, fire smoke and sandalwood. Warm and comforting. It stunned me.

Mate..!

I turned and found myself looking right at Alpha Caleb. We just stood there for a long moment, looking at one another. There was no mistaking that scent. And Nadya was practically howling in my head.

Caleb quickly walked up to me. He reached out a hand but let it drop when I took a step back. I was still in shock, all I could do was to look up at him, at his dark brown eyes.

“I take it you didn’t expect to find your mate here either,” he smiled at me.

“...You?” was all I could manage to say.

“Disappointed?” He said it like it was a joke, but there was a hint of worry in his voice.

I shook my head, as much to clear it as anything else.

“So, what do we do now?” I asked.

“I guess a good start would be to get to know one another a bit better. Let's talk as we head back to the hospital.”

He took my hand and I felt sparks at his touch. I gasped softly and pulled my hand from his. He looked down at me, but made no attempt to touch me again.

“Let's go.” He said in a dark but soft voice.

“So what do you like to do in your free time?” Caleb asked me. “You like to read?”

“I used to. But I haven't done it much lately,” I said. “If I have time to be by myself, I like to do something more active. I get nervous if I sit still for too long.” Wasn’t finding your mate supposed to be more exciting than this? All we did was walk and engage in awkward small talk.

“So, then what do you do?”

“I practice archery if the weather is good. If not, I might paint or cook. But I honestly don't have much time for that either. For the last… oh, six or seven years I’ve been too busy working.”

“Six or seven years? But you turned 18 today!”

“Yes. I would go from school to someone’s house to clean. Or to the nursing home, or the restaurant. Mom was getting worse and worse. And this hospital isn’t cheap.” I said defensively. “I was lucky enough they were willing to help and cut the cost wherever a penny could be saved.”

It wasn’t just that, of course. First my father had disappeared, and then, a few years later, my mom fell ill. It didn’t take that long before she was too sick to work. I was the one who had to make sure the bills were paid and we had food on the table. I’d also been my mother’s caretaker. I dropped out of school at sixteen to be able to manage it all. But he didn’t need to know all that.

We’d reached the hospital again, and I turned to him to say goodbye before heading back to my mother. He’d told me he’d spoken to her, and she wished to see me.

“How soon can you be ready?” He asked when I looked at him.

“Ready for what?”

“I’m returning home today, like I told you. Now that I found you, I want you to come with me.”

I was dumbfounded. This came out of the blue, and it took me a minute to wrap my head around what he was saying. Was this his way of asking if I wanted to come with him? Why the hell would I be going to a strange pack with someone I’d just met, mate or not, and leave my mother all alone in the hospital?!

“I’m not going anywhere with you!”

“Why not? We're mates. The Goddess has clearly decided we’re a good match, and we need to give this a chance. It’s not just luck we met here; it's fate!” He said. “Besides, your first shift is coming up.”

“Fate or not, I’m not leaving my mother here alone. Her treatment is very aggressive. It will kill the cancer for sure. The question is whether or not it kills her too. For now, it’s touch and go, and I'm not leaving her to face that alone!”

I was getting angrier by the moment. The gall of this man! To assume I would go with him, basically a complete stranger, because of something that was out of my control. Was he really that presumptuous, or was he just an i***t?

“Vera, please-”

“Don’t use that voice, as if you are speaking to a child!” I snapped. He was sounding soooo patient, which just set me off even more.

“So what will you do about your shift? The full moon’s tomorrow night!”

“I’ve got a room reserved. I plan to go inside that room and lock the door.”

“You mean to go through your first shift alone?!” He was starting to raise his voice too. “You can’t be serious. Your first shift isn’t like anything else in your life. You can’t do that alone!”

“Why the hell do you care what I do! And why-”

‘He strains to hear a whisper who refuses to hear a shout’ Nadya quoted.

She was right. I drew a deep breath to calm myself. When I spoke, I kept my voice low and deliberate.

“There are three things you need to get through that thick skull of yours. One: You may be an Alpha, but you are not my Alpha. You have no right to order me about. Two: You have no right to worry about me. I’m not your problem, nor am I your friend. Three: You have no idea what I can and cannot do. I’ve been taking care of myself since childhood. Everything I’ve done in my life, I’ve done alone. This won’t be any different.”

“You’ll be in too much pain to defend yourself. More vulnerable than at any other time in your life. A locked door isn’t enough.” His tone was calmer too, but he held his fists clenched by his side. “Vera please, see sense.”

“We’re in a hospital. Not a warzone.”

“It doesn't matter. The world is filled with horrible people of all races, just waiting for an opportunity to strike.”

“I can handle myself.” That was the end of it, as far as I was concerned. I spun on my heels and walked away. Nadya whined in my mind. I could tell she was conflicted. She hated arguing with our mate. But she had pride too.

“Don’t worry, Nadya,” I told her. “We’ve got this.”