The Little Luna

Destiny Calls

Vespian’s POV

There’s nothing like running in wolf form. Because of our speed, the wind whips through our fur like we’re driving in a car with the window down and our head sticking out of the window, ears flapping and tongue out. I guess that’s why dogs stick their heads out of the window, to simulate that feeling of running even when they’re trapped.

“Vesp” I hear my beta Leo’s voice in my mind through our mind link. “Your father wants to speak with you, he says it's concerning the treaty with the Blood Moon pack.”

“Why didn’t he just link me himself?”  I can’t help the exasperation in my voice, my wolf has been begging for a run for the past two days, but I’ve been drowning in pack business. My 18th birthday was 2 weeks ago and with it came the status Discipulis Alpha, or Trainee Alpha. The term kind of sounds derogatory but it basically just means I am of age to officially help my father run the pack and by learning at his side for 2 years I will learn what I need to run our pack efficiently. Being as how our pack is one of the largest in our country and we are connected via treaty to most of the other packs within 1,500 miles of us, there is a lot involved in keeping everything and everyone running smoothly.

“He said that he tried but that Eli was blocking him.”  Of course, Eli was blocking him.

“Alright Leo, I’m on my way back, tell dad I’ll be going to my room to get dressed and be at his office in 5 minutes.”  With that, I closed the link to Leo and confronted Eli. ‘Elijah! You can’t block my father from contacting me! What if the pack was under attack? What would have happened if I was needed and unable to respond!”

“Calm down pup, everything was fine. As you just heard I didn’t block everyone, I left our link to our Beta open in case of just such an occurrence, but we needed a break. You haven’t shifted in almost a week due to accepting the Discipulis Alpha title, we are just as important as you learning to run our pack, our bond needs to be strong for us to lead efficiently. Besides, we will never find my mate if you continue sitting behind a desk day in and day out, we have met every female in this pack and she is not here…”  As Elijah’s voice trailed off I couldn’t help but admit that he was right on every account. 

We did need to be strong and our bond only grew when we spent time together, which we hadn’t done, I’ve been pushing him to the back of my mind, thinking that I didn’t need him for such business, but he was just as much Alpha as I was, he needed to be there to learn and help me make discussions for our pack.

Flipping off of the closest tree I turned my body to land facing the way I had come, not losing a beat, my paws picked up running as soon as they touched the soft earth, within minutes I’m back on the front lawn of the packhouse. Our packhouse is outrageously big, if it didn’t have so many functions within it would almost be a waste of such a huge space. Four stories tall with 4 big columns holding up a balcony on the third floor and white with blue shutters and a huge red double front door it looked like something straight out of a movie, which it kind of was. My mother had a thing for movies and she’d heard the color scheme in a movie and fell in love with the idea, and since dad was hopelessly in love with mom and made all her dream come true, it became our reality.

The first floor housed our common rooms for the pack. A large industrial kitchen, a large formal dining room, 3 separate living rooms, and 2 conference rooms for things such as treaty signings or pack meetings. The second floor was basically where orphaned pack members were housed and raised, with rouge attacks and wars between packs orphaned pups were always a risk and mom and dad felt any pup who lost their parents defending the pack became their son or daughter, I planned to continue this tradition and prayed to the Goddess my mate would feel the same. The third floor was for the Beta and Gamma and their families while they served the pack, when they retired they were given a home near the packhouse so that they would be close enough to continue offering support and guidance. The fourth floor was for the Alpha family, it was where I currently am living with my mother and father and my brothers and sisters, when I officially take over as Alpha in 2 years my mother and father will step down and move to a house nearby with any of my siblings who remain at home.

Running across the well-manicured lawn I make sure not to dig my claws in too far, my mother has reddened my ears a few times with lectures over holes in her lawn. “The groundskeepers work hard to keep our home looking nice! Respect their hard work by not making it harder for them!” I love and respect how much my mother cares for every member of our pack and their hard work, it's one of the many amazing things that make her such a great Luna, I just hope my own Luna can live up to her one day.

“Are you daft? Of course she will… she will be perfect, and loving, and patient with every member of our pack, she will outshine them all and be graceful while doing it.”  Eli’s offended voice fills my head again as I wipe my paws on the mat at the side door and push the door open with my snout taking the side stairs up to the 4th floor and my room. “If we ever find her that is.” Now he’s huffy. Eli is of the mind that as soon as I turned 18 I should have been out looking for our mate, no matter how far away she was or how long it took. But as future alpha I couldn’t abandon my post, it's my duty, and my honor, I wouldn’t run from it, I was sure that the Moon Goddess would bless us with a mate when it was the right time. 

“We will find her when we are meant to, no sooner and no later, calm your self and focus.”  I told Eli, I felt his pain, my soul cried out for her as well.

Once I was in my room I shift back to human form and grabbed some jeans and a blue button-up shirt from my dresser. Blue is my mother’s favorite color on me, she said it made my blue eyes pop and look like the ocean while enhancing my olive complexion and shortly clipped black hair, she constantly tells me I look like Prince Eric from The Little Mermaid, and that she hopes my mate is redheaded to complete the fairy tale. Pulling on a pair of brown work boots I shoved my fingers through my hair to try and make it look presentable while I jogged down the hall to my fathers' office. After 3 light raps on the door, I turned the handle and walked in, closing the door softly behind me. Leo was there beside my father, along with his father Alex, the current Beta, and Leon, the current Gamma. Since Leon never had kids he didn’t have a son or daughter to pass his title too and I would have to choose my own Gamma, which I hadn’t done yet.

I could feel my face scrunch up some from surprise and curiosity, why were they all needed here? 

“What has happened? Was there an attack?” Worry colored my voice as I stepped forward to my fathers’ desk and sat in one of the chairs across from him.

“No attack, nothing has happened, we just need to discuss your future.” The tone of my fathers' voice and the look in his blue eyes that matched my own told me another story though, something was going on and my father was nervous to tell me. Clearing his voice he decided to barrel on. “I know we said you could finish your senior year here at home so you could focus on your alpha training but Blood Moon pack has added a condition to the treaty, they want their future Alpha to learn under me for the rest of this school year, so you will be switching places with him. You will be going to Liberty for the duration of this school year son.”

I knew my mouth fell open in shock, but what else could I do? “You're sending me away for almost half of my 2 years of training?! I don’t want to leave our pack, I don’t want to go to some school hundreds of miles away. What happens if the pack is attacked and I am not here to help??” 

“Calm pup, this feels….. right, somehow. I don’t know how to explain this but my whole being is saying this is the right way for us.”  Eli's soothing voice filled my head, calming my beating heart.

“Are you sure? How can leaving our pack be the right thing for us?”  I felt what he meant though. Once I calmed my frantic heart and mind, my soul said to go.

“I am sure Vespian, our destiny is in Blood Moon pack. At least for now.”  This time Eli’s voice was sure, steady, filled with resolve. We were going if he had anything to say about it. But I didn’t feel the need to fight it anymore, he was right, destiny was pulling us there.

Just as my father was starting to argue with me I raised my hand to silence him and took a deep breath. “If this decision keeps the pack safe, then it is where I am meant to go, I will do so with pride. I will represent us well father.” With that, I saw pride swell in my fathers' eyes and proud nods from his Beta and Gamma. Looks like I’m moving to Liberty Florida.

2 days later:

I moved into the Blood Moon pack house the next day and immediately needed time alone in the forest the pack was situated near. The moment I had entered the house it was like every unmated female in a 20-mile radius had descended on the premises. As a future Alpha, I am already considered a catch, as the heir to the Golden Moon pack I am basically considered a Prince to werewolf kind. Not many packs have even a fourth of the resources or funds we have, my Luna would basically be a Princess until she was sworn in as Luna, then she’d be a queen in our region. This made the position deeply coveted and put a target on my back for girls and women who wanted power, not that it mattered, my mother had raised me to respect the mate bond over all else. 

At 18 most guys had lost their virginity and even slept around a bit, for werewolf’s it was generally no different, with the animalistic side we were very attuned to our s****l side and most of us were, well, for lack of a better word, promiscuous. I, on the other hand, had chosen to wait for my mate. I hadn’t so much as kissed a girl because I wanted all my firsts to be with the girl I’d spend the rest of my life with, and while my friends jokingly picked on me about it, I could tell they also respected my position on the matter. This also brought me and Eli closer together, because the wolf side of us was programmed to only want their mate, and no others, Eli greatly appreciated me not making him suffer through the touch of another who was not our destined.

The forest here was lush and so green, leave it to Florida for everything to be green, even the water at most of the swimming holes I had already run past were a greenish color. When I began to tire from my run I came across a secluded spring, it resembled a large swimming hole with a huge deep hole at the center, the hole most likely went down into caves under the ground I was walking on, filled with water from the underground spring. Walking up to the sandy edge of the spring I dipped my muzzle to the water's edge and lapped up some of the water, to my relief the water was cold and surprisingly delicious, maybe a nice swim would help cool me down in this Florida heat, it was October and still a very humid 80 degrees out. Pausing I listened carefully to the forest around me, I heard birds chirp and squirrels running along the brush, maybe a rabbit or two as well, sniffing the air all I smelled was wildlife and the fresh smells of the forest trees and flowers, no human within range. Taking a deep breath, I envisioned my human form and after a few steps back I ran and jumped into the icy blue depths of the spring, morphing from wolf to human just as I was about to hit the water. Icy was the right word because this water was freezing, a major difference from the heat above it. Coming up and breaking the surface I took a deep breath and ran my hands down my face to clear it of water, I laid back and floated on the water, closing my eyes so that the sun could kiss my naked body. It was an odd sensation feeling the heat and icy cold on my skin at one time, but it just made the beauty of this place all the more magical.

Hearing a crunching of leaves I perked up, trying to cover my naked body in the water, not a very good plan seeing as how the water was crystal clear, but better than my groin on full show above the water. Glancing at the forest edge I saw a young woman walk out, she couldn’t be much older than me and I was guessing without sniffing the air that she was a wolf as well, seeing as how she was naked as a newborn baby… or as naked as me. She was beautiful, resembling what I would assume a fairy would look like, her long white-blonde hair fell over her creamy white shoulder blocking her breasts from my view, but her groin was in full view and I blushed as I tried to avert my gaze.

“Hello, Prince Vespian.” Her voice was soft and sounded almost bell-like, bright, and ringing, her full lips held a soft, knowing smile while she looked me over. “Glad to see the rumors are true, you really are… breathtaking.”

“Vesp is fine, I’m not actually a prince as I’m sure you know. What do you need?” I held the nervousness out of my voice as I watched her eyes trail me. I did not need her making advances, it was always awkward turning down s****l propositions, though with the number I had gotten in the last 2 years you would think I would be used to it by now.

“Sorry Alpha Vespian, I forgot my manors. Alpha Darius wanted me to let you know that your first day of school starts in one hour.”

“Understood. I will be there soon, now leave me please.” The girl bowed her head in submission before turning away from me and transforming into a golden yellow wolf, who disappeared into the forest within seconds. 

The first day at a new school, halfway through the first trimester, in another pack territory, let the fun begin.