A Luna's Awakening

S1 E2

River's POV:

My paws crunched through the leaves as I ran through the forest. My morning runs were always important to me. It helped clear my head.

"River!" I heard my name yelled in a soft yip and I slowed to a stop. The dark gray wolf ran up to me and stopped. I growled a soft warning and he flinched softly. "Apologies alpha, but we just got word that a bunch of humans are going to be on a trip to our forest today." I let out a long breath. How troublesome.

"Get the scouts together for a meeting. Find out what their purpose is." He nodded and rushed off again. I shifted softly in place. I looked down at my snowy white paws among the colorful leaves. Might as well head back early then. I swished my tail softly in annoyance as I turned to head back to the forest entrance.

Why were humans coming here? The pack would be restless. We have had enough trouble lately. Werewolf numbers in the state have dropped. It was getting harder for unpaired wolves to find their mate. I myself had yet to find my luna, and it made the entire pack uneasy to see their alpha mateless in general. If things continued to get bad, I would have to select one to take on the role even if we weren't fated. I tried to forget about that for now as the pack house came into view. I ran up to the back door and pushed it open softly. I ducked into the side room and shifted.

"Alpha!" I heard a voice call for me as I was getting dressed and I sighed. Could I not even have two minutes of peace today? I threw on my T-shirt and stepped out. I ran a hand through my tousled black hair to get it to stop hanging in my face. I needed to have it cut soon. I looked at my beta as he shifted uneasily. His human form was small and scrawny compared to his dark gray wolf. Light brown eyes and hair made him look pretty uniform. "I didn't expect you to return right away." I frowned at him and raised an eyebrow softly.

"You expected me to ignore something like this?" My deep voice rumbled in my chest at my agitation and he flinched softly.

"Of course not!" I rolled my eyes softly and shook my head lightly. There was no point getting annoyed with him. I glanced at the wall to see the pictures of previous alphas in wolf form. I looked over my own black-and-white wolf form next to my father's photo. Would he be proud of the alpha I had become? I had his gray eyes. Like a smooth river rock, my mother would say. Hence, my name. I shook my head softly. I kept getting caught up in useless thoughts.

"What did you find out?" I asked as I started to head for the meeting room.

"It seems the group is from an art college out of Hartford." I scrunched my nose up at that. Art seemed like a useless skill. Especially for a pack of wolves. As we were passing the clinic, I stopped. The woman inside looked up as she was sorting her supplies.

"Did you get everything you needed?" I asked as I looked over the box she was sorting. She smiled softly.

"Yes, alpha. I am fully restocked and ready for any injuries." I frowned at that.

"Well, let's hope we don't have too many." Her smile faltered for a moment.

"Ummm alpha?" I looked up to meet her bright green eyes. She brushed a hand up to tuck her strawberry blonde hair behind her ear. "Did you have a date for the fall festival?" My gut clenched softly.

"You know I can't go with a date unless they are my luna or fated, Maddie. Not to a festival for the moon goddess. Not as an alpha." She deflated softly. I knew she was vying for the spot as my luna, but we were not fated, and I still had hope I would find my mate. "Grayson doesn't have a date though," I said, pointing towards my beta, and he smiled softly at the she-wolf. I knew he had a crush on her, but they were not fated either.

"I'll consider it." She said, and I could tell how Grayson wanted to jump for joy. It was the first time it wasn't a full rejection. Good for him. I didn't want to have to pair him up with someone. We weren't that desperate yet.

"Well, I have something to deal with, but let Gray or I know if you need anything else before the winter season." She nodded as I turned to leave. Grayson was practically giddy as we walked towards the meeting room. "Good luck to you with that Gray, but focus for now." He nodded and collected himself. When it came down to it, Grayson was one of the best wolves in the pack. When you needed him to be serious, he was. I allowed him to act, however he wanted, outside of his duties. I wasn't an alpha like that.

As we entered the room, the four wolves at the table stood and gave a short bow to me. I waved off the formal greeting and motioned Gray to speak.

"Humans from Hartford are on their way to spend a day in our forest." I watched the scout wolves all bristle in annoyance. I put my hands down on the large conference table.

"We will not engage with them. Human or wolf. Observe and corral if they get too close to the heart. Understand?" They all nodded their agreement and I frowned softly. "Where is Zeke and his two shadows?" Zeke was my biggest rival in the pack. He was also my oldest friend. We had been raised together as pups. He hated that I had beat him out for alpha, and he tried to get under my skin whenever he wanted. Still, he was one of our best scouts. With his pure black fur, he was nearly impossible to spot in the shadows. He had two younger wolves that followed his every whim like lost puppies.

"He didn't think the meeting was worth his time. He's on break in the grove." My she-wolf scout said, and I sighed and ran my hand down my face.

"Inform him of the situation then, when you go to switch with him." She nodded. That would be fine. No humans ever wandered that far anyway. "Are the two young ones with him?" It was often they would join him for his breaks. She nodded once more. "Tell them to come back to the pack house in human form then, just in case the humans are here by then." They didn't have as much experience in their wolf forms yet, and she nodded once more. I turned to leave.

"You are all dismissed," Grayson said to the room behind me as I left. Today was already a headache. I wish I had stayed on my run after all. "I can check the territory after the humans have left if you like?" His offer to relieve the work from my shoulders was appreciated.

"No. That's my job. I'll take care of it." A young wolf ran up to me. She had just recently started to shift.

"Alpha! I was training my shifting and I smelled humans." She said in a slight panic. I reached out and patted her head softly.

"We know, young one. Good job though. Go see your mother and stay inside the pack house for now." She nodded and rushed off. I looked at Gray and he nodded. They were here.