Howl At The Moon

L- "Wolf problems"

Ozwald's pov:

It was lunchtime. I was about 15 minutes late and the gang had to be outside in the parking lot by now. Waiting for me near my car. That's where we all seem to meet up nowadays. My mind has been in a weird place ever since speaking to Helena. We hadn't really spoken since we were children. It was hard to maintain a friendship with "the help" and my mother always used to tell me I was only distracting Helena from her chores whenever I begged her to play with me. Then, after a while, I started school and made new friends, and one day I just stopped asking. Eventually, Helena became a stranger to me as well as I did her. I'd see her around the pack house but she was always cooking or cleaning something. I usually say hello and goodbye every time I see her to make sure she remembered she was a person and she was acknowledged, but one day that stopped too. When Ivy and her family of humans joined our pack, things began to change. Ivy didn't like Helena and targeted her since she was the youngest servant around. Ivy had made it her sole purpose to make Helena's life hell. Pushing her downstairs, tripping her and even locking her in the servant's restroom. No one ever intervened, not once. It wasn't our place to do so. Wolves protect themselves and if she was a wolf she would. I liked her when we were kids, but now she acts so weak and pathetic, letting the whole pack just walk all over her.

I wanted to be her friend but she was more baggage than I can handle right now. And my friends would never let her in our group.

As I walked up to my car I could already spot my buddies Desmond and Jackson getting into a heated debate over something as luke and kamora played tongue hockey on the hood of my car behind them. And Ivy was sitting on the trunk re-applying her makeup. As I grew near, I saw Ivy spot me in her mirror, closing it shut before hopping off the car with a big smile on her face as she rushed over to greet me by wrapping an arm around my left arm, locking it as she clung to my side.

"OZWALD!!" Ivy shrieked, running over to place an arm around him.

"Ozz!" "WhatsUp Oz!" "Where have you been man!" His friends inquired.

"Oh, I was just in the music room practicing on the piano", Ozwald quickly lied.

"Ohh, that's right " Desmond agreed. Jackson nodded in acceptance.

"That's funny, I swore I checked the music room, and you weren't in there," Ivy called him out.

"Must have been when I went to the bathroom", Ozwald shrugged her off.

"Hmmph.." Ivy said, deciding not to pry.

"Ready to go?" Jackson asked as he motioned towards the car.

"Yeah let's get some burgers and floats," Ozwald said while unlocking the car.

"SHOTGUN!" Desmond called out before reaching the car.

Desmond called shotgun, so he sat in the front while Kamora, Ivy, luke and Jackson piled in the back. Ozwald shifted the car into reverse as he pulled out of the parking lot. As he passed the high school sign he noticed Helena sitting on a bench reading as she took a bite of her sandwich and turned to the next page. She didn't notice him passing by but Ivy noticed. She watched Ozwald staring directly at Helena as he drove slowly past her and it made her blood boil. She didn't say anything, just turned her head and looked out the window quietly the whole way to the diner. When we pulled up, the place was packed full of hungry students and some truckers at the far end of the diner sipping on some coffee. We entered the restaurant and noticed a group of girls was currently seated at our usual table. Ivy walked over and said something to one of the girls that made all of them get up and immediately abandon ship. I'm not sure how she does it but if Ivy wants something she gets it.

Once we were seated, our waitress made her way over with some menus we didn't even need. We always ate here every day and we never ordered anything else but our usual burgers and floats. Ivy would have a salad and hardly finish any of it as we all stuffed our faces with meat and barbeque sauce dripping from our chins and elbows. It's the only way a true wolf would eat.

"Hi! I'm Charlotte, And I'll be your waitress this evening" said Charlotte, our peppy blonde waitress with a short black skirt and white blouse stained with soup and ketchup.

"Hi, Charlotte!" Kamora greeted her back matching her energy.

"Hey" We all awkwardly greeted her in unison. Ivy stood quiet looking over her menu with an arm crossed.

"You guys seem like you are having a good day! What are we celebrating?!" Our waitress Charlotte asked.

"HUNGER! We are not celebrating anything!" Ivy yelled out.

If looks could kill, I'd say charlotte was as good as buried.

"Damn! Ivy! .. What did the waitress do to you!?" Desmond asked.

"RIGHT!"... "She practically chewed her up and spit her out!" Jackson added.

Kamora and Luke laughed. As the poor waitress just stood there waiting for the laughter to die down again.

(Ahem)

"Is anybody ready to order?" Charlotte asked sounding a lot less cheerful.

"1 -House salad no nuts

1- water with 3 lemon wedges

5- burgers

1 without cheese no pickles

5 Floats, extra cherries

5 fries and one cup of ketchup"

"Now run along...chop! chop!" Ivy said as she shooed the waitress away.

"She's gonna go cry in the supply closet" Desmond joked while watching the waitress walk back into the kitchen a little broken-spirited.

The whole table was engulfed in laughter.

"Shut up!" Ozwald hollered in between laughs.

5 minutes later and the food was brought out, the teens finished their meals, all except Ivy. Now it was time to head back to school. Ozwald covered the check with his daddy's credit card as everyone else began to pack up and head toward the car. Once Ozwald was done, he hopped in the driver's seat, checked his rear mirrors and proceeded to back up. Kamora and Luke were busy arguing in the back seat about how many times they had both been out to eat at that dinner or not. Desmond and Jackson were unusually quiet, staring out of their open windows as the car pulled off. Ozwald looked over at Ivy and noticed she looked to be deep in thought. She was never one to be quiet the whole ride, so you could tell something was bothering her. He would have asked her what was wrong, but he decided he would rather just enjoy the silence for however long it lasted. Not long before, Ozwald's car was pulling back into the high school parking lot. Taking over the same abandoned spot he had always used. As he parked the car, everyone hopped out and began walking to their next class, parting ways with the promise of meeting up later. Ivy and Kamora headed off to cheer practice as Desmond, Jackson, and Ozwald walked to Gym class together.

The girls went down one hall and the boys the other. As Ozwald and his friends turned down the corridor leading to the gym laughing and sharing jokes, he happened to look up while passing the junior's science lab and noticed Helena sitting in the back row with her head in a book. He stood there for a second just to watch her as his friends continued walking on without him.

"Hey! Ozz!, You coming?!" Desmond yelled behind him.

"Uh, yeah!" Ozwald replied, turning back to sneak another look at her, but by the time he looked back over, Helena was already looking back at him. She looked at him with her big beautiful deep blue eyes reflecting off of the light. And for a second their eyes met, lingering for just a second before Ozwald was able to pull himself away. He took off running to catch up with his pals.

"Ozz! Ozz! tell him! Tell Jackson what I was doing this weekend!" Desmond said, hopping up and down, he was so excited he could barely contain himself.

"What?".... "Ohh, yeah that's right. Father started his pack training over the weekend", Ozwald confirmed.

"WHAT!!? No way!!. What about me?! I'm a much better fighter and everyone knows it", Jackson argued.

"Hey! What exactly is that supposed to mean?!" Desmond said, feeling insulted.

"It Means! They should have considered me first before wasting time on such a waste of space! Like yourself!" Jackson roared.

"Hey! You wanna take that back? While you still can!?" Desmond asked while taking a step further, getting in his face.

"NO! No, I don't!" "Even Ozwald agrees!" Jackson pointed out.

"Oz! Is that true, man? Do you think he's better than me?" Desmond asked, letting Jackson toy with his head.

"Ha ha, You two are something else!" Ozwald laughed, brushing off the question.

"Oz! OZ! Say it ain't so MAN! " Desmond pleaded.

"Desmond, remember if you could let Jackson get into your head. Imagine a real battle. Will it be that easy to knock you off your game?" Ozwald said, shooting Desmond a serious look.

The boys reached the gymnasium, pushed past the gym doors and maneuvered around their teammates on their way to the locker room. Once everyone was dressed in uniforms and sneakers, the coach blew his whistle, calling all the guys' attention.

"Alright, boys! What we're going to do today is practice some drills! Desmond and Jackson! You two! , over here with me!

Ozwald, Henry! Over there! Max and Corbin! Run a lap! The rest of you run a lap!" Coach Peters yelled.

"Man! Today is going to be rough!" Desmond whined.

Half an hour later, the boys were busy practicing drills with each of their assigned partners while Coach Peters leaned up against a wall with a clipboard in his arms. The others continued running laps around the gym while the Sparrers practiced defense and blocking tactics. Coach peters was a wolf and a member of our pack put in place to train the young wolves for combat and rescue missions, but being that Rose Metal High mostly consists of humans rather than wolves, Coach peters still has to train his human students too, just not as hard. Half the time, he had no idea what to do with them. So he'd assign laps or jumping jacks and rope climbing. Anything to keep them busy and out of his way.

Gym class was almost over. The humans were now jogging the rest of the track, while things were getting a bit heated in the center of the gym with our sparring wolves. Desmond against Jackson on a day like today of all days was bound to be some trouble. After all, Jackson was passed up for the position of beta and had just recently been informed of the decision he had waited for since we were young pups. Some things like titles and status mean something around here. It was considered an honor if someone in your family were granted a high title in the pack, such as beta. A Beta is considered the alpha's right-hand man. His number #2. If the alpha needed something done around the house, he'd call on an elder, but if an alpha needed help in battle, he calls on his beta. If something needs looking into or the pack members get out of line, the beta is there to check them and train them to be the perfect warriors his pack needs. The role of beta isn't that complex. The beta's duties are equally compared to that of a best friend. It's the same loyalty and trust behind the role but also having the brains and intelligence to know when to diffuse a situation and when to attack in order to protect the pack.

Jackson was none of these things and Ozwald knew that. That's why, when it came down to a decision between his two best friends, Ozwald told his father his decision was to promote Desmond over Jackson. Because of the simple fact that Jackson had an uncontrollable temper, it made him almost impossible to predict what his next move would be. Jackson was a hot head and when things didn't go his way he lashed out. Desmond, on the other hand, was loyal, trustworthy and honest. He was a natural born leader and the perfect beta to lead the pack to victory alongside his alpha. If there ever was a time the alpha gets hurt and isn't able to protect his pack, his beta would do so in his place. This is why Ozwald had to make the difficult decision of choosing between friends. And no matter who was picked over the other, the one pushed aside would have no choice but to challenge the one chosen for his role. It was a constant for warwolves to battle over who feels who deserves to remain on top. Violence is in a wolfs nature. And a wolf with a grudge could prove dangerous if not handled thoroughly.

Jackson's rage was getting the best of him. Desmond threw a kick swiftly, launching his foot straight up in the air. As he turned around, he then handed a spinning kick right to Jackson's perfectly chizzled face. The force of the blow echoed throughout the entire gymnasium, causing even the human students to stop running just to see what was happening. I could hear the students gasping as they began forming a crowd behind us.

Jackson recovered from the blow almost instantly as he shook his head aggressively, shaking the pain off. As he raised his head back up to look at his opponent, I noticed the glow in his eyes as he brought his wolf forward. Giving his Wolf Kahn full control. He knew this was cheating, but as I said earlier, a wolf like Jackson wasn't one to be trusted. He would do anything to get what he wanted. No matter the cost. See, Jackson knew that pulling his wolf out around humans was forbidden. But it was just like Jackson going against the pack rules for his own gain. He was stubborn and selfish and that is why he could never be considered for a beta or gamma position.

Jackson flashed a sly grin before he lunged forward at full wolf strength, knocking poor Desmond to the floor with one punch nearly taking his jaw with him. Desmond didn't know what hit him, he was down on the ground staring back at me with a confused look on his face. Jackson threw both arms in the air with balled up fists, inciting cheers from the crowd. He was walking around the crowd slapping fives like he was "the man".

I looked back at Desmond who was still on the ground trying to figure out how he had been beaten. He looked over at me and as we made eye contact I could see the rage boiling up inside him as he began to rise to his feet. I linked into his mind ,Quickly projecting my voice into his thoughts.

"Desmond!. Relax!.. Not here!" I commanded him to stand down.

"He cheated! Ozzy! There is no way!!" Desmond shot back.

"I know, but this isn't the place for the settling of any Wolf business!" I told him.

"He cheated!..he..he had to have!..MAN! THIS IS NOT RIGHT!! ..HE CHEATED!" Desmond roared back through the link.

"I SAW IT DESMOND!!... calm down!" I Roared using my Alpha tone.

"BUT!" Desmond tried to argue.

"We will settle this back on pack grounds! NOT AMONG THE HUMANS!" I warned, this time projecting my voice through all of the minds connected to the pack, so everyone was informed at once.

Desmond nodded while looking me in the eye. He knew me best, and I was always a man of my word. This incident won't go unpunished. Jackson had broken the rules of the pack. Maybe they weren't my rules, but my father made the rules and each member of this pack vowed to honor each one. If a member of this pack was to break the rules and disrespect the whole pack like that, my father, their alpha, would have their heads ripped off and placed on a pike to be on display as a warning for every and any other wolf who finds themselves brave enough to challenge him. And if I don't straighten this out immediately, I will prove my father right. He's always thought of me to be too weak to surpass him. He has already been making threats recently talking about how he should rethink his decision to step down as alpha and hand over the reins. I'll have to make an example out of Jackson showing the pack just how ready I am. It wouldn't hurt to prove it to my father as well.

After gym class, we had algebra. The walkover was eventful, to say the least. Jackson started bragging on and on about putting Desmond to sleep during training. He was definitely showing out for Ivy and Kamora. As they hung on to his every word. He made up a few parts of the story, I guess to make it seem more interesting. It was pathetic really. Desmond was lugging behind us slowly and I could tell it was getting to him. I would have let him handle Jackson and his big mouth already if it hadn't been for the annoying number of humans around us all the time at this school. Our old high school on pack land was destroyed in a fire last year, forcing all of us wolf kids to have to transfer over to the human school along with the elders and servant wolves who already attended here. Elder wolves and servants were only allowed to have basic human education and once they graduated they would immediately be granted a position in one of our pack houses or facilities and given private sleeping quarters in the residence or facilities that hire them. No one knows what started the fire that burned down our school building. Just before anyone could react to the flames, it was already too late. The whole building was engulfed in flames within seconds. By the time anyone had reached the building, all that they could do was stand back and watch it burn. It was so surreal, the whole pack just stood in silence as we watched a piece of our town be ripped away from us. That building was hand built from the blood, sweat, and tears of our ancestor wolves who claimed this land after a vicious and glorious battle with a neighboring pack whose alpha wanted it for himself. The school was built in memory of the late alpha's wife who was murdered by the other pack during the war. She was my great-grandmother. Murdered young at the age of 23, leaving behind a husband and two sons. My grandfather Elliot and his brother Erick.

This land has a lot of history behind it and if I was going to be alpha, I needed a beta and gamma that would bring honor to their roles and positions. Otherwise, what type of man would I be? If I couldn't even keep my soldiers in line, how could I possibly run a pack? I mean, look what I have to work with.

Algebra was boring, as usual, Ivy sat next to me in the back row with Desmond to her left and me to the right. Kamora and Luke sat in the two chairs in front of Ivy and me, while Jackson sat upfront in the first row, sitting next to his human crush Maria. The class goes by fast when you're staring off into space, and that's what I've been doing all period. I was trying to decide the best punishment for Jackson before the time came and I had to make something up on the spot. I had to make sure that whatever it was it was just. Or else I could be accused of playing favorites. Or worse, I could be considered as weak in the eyes of my own people. The decision was weighing heavy on me because, no matter what, these two are my closest friends and even though they do wrong, I hate to be the one to have to bring down the hammer.