Suddenly I Knew

Chapter Nine.

"Melody, did you feel that too?"

"Yeah, I do, and I don't like it. I also didn’t like how you treated our friends."

"Well, they lied to me. I don't ask for much, but I do ask for honesty," I told her. As I opened my bedroom door, I smelled something unfamiliar. Again, I didn’t like it. Walking over to my vanity, I saw it. There was a small box. Using Melody's sense of smell, I checked if it was dangerous or poisonous, but it wasn’t. I slowly opened it and saw a music box, a necklace, and a card. The music box was made of black stone with light purple details. It looked old and expensive, just like the necklace. But what caught my attention was the card—specifically, what was written on it. Whoever sent this knew a lot about the music box and the necklace.

The card read:

The music box was from my mother, and her mother before her. It has been passed down through our family for generations. Treat it the way you want to be treated. The necklace is a symbol of the pack—the pack you will hopefully lead one day. I’m sorry for the fact that my decisions made your life difficult. I only wanted you to be safe. Wear the necklace with pride, and we will meet one day. Love, Dad.

As if today wasn’t emotional enough, now he decides to show he cares. The necklace was beautiful. It was a black stone with a purple howling wolf on it. On the back, it was engraved: For my one true love. Black and purple are the colors of the pack.

I put the necklace around my neck and noticed how well it fit. I was getting ready for bed, and before my head hit the pillow, I was out cold. Before I even had the chance to feel like I had slept, my alarm went off, like some sick joke. With a groan and a sigh, I got up to get ready for the friendless day ahead. Despite everything, I picked out my clothes: a black dress with a hood, purple boots, and tights. Once dressed, I took a deep breath and walked downstairs, noticing I was alone. Good, they had respected my wish to be left alone today. Not the way I wanted to celebrate my birthday, but I’d rather be alone than with people who had lied to me. As I got my breakfast, I noticed a note under one of the magnets on the fridge:

"Happy birthday, Little Spitfire. If you need anything, text me or my brother. We will respect your wish to be left alone today, but please don’t celebrate it alone. At least talk to Musa. That’s the only thing we ask for."

There were two sets of phone numbers written at the bottom.

"Good morning, Luna. I made you coffee. Since we all had a pretty rough night last night," Musa said.

"Thank you for the coffee, but please don’t call me that. I don’t think I’m ready for any type of title, so just call me Vi for now."

"Sure, Vi," she said with a side smirk and a wink. She noticed the note in my hand. "Huh, I never thought I’d see the day Caleb would pick up a pen to write a note. Guess there’s still a surprise today." As we were done eating breakfast, we walked to the car, and Musa made a funny face, which made me giggle. Musa is the type of person who can make you laugh when you're feeling down, and right now, I need it. But it was still my birthday, and I was still 18, so I wouldn’t let the lack of friends ruin my day. Screw them. When we were inside the car and had put on our seatbelts, Musa drove off, and I was thinking of a way to ask her the best way to ask my questions. But I couldn't figure out how, so I just blurted out my question.

"Can you tell me more about pack life?" I asked Musa. "That way, I won’t offend anyone, and I think it will come in handy for the future."

"Sure. To be honest, I’m surprised you even asked. But then again, you won’t be the Luna for no reason," she told me.

"Can you explain what a Luna is? Because that’s something I truly don't understand."

"Well, let me explain it in the best way possible. The Luna is like the mother of the pack. If there’s an attack, it’s your job to make sure everyone who can’t fight is safe in the panic room. You’ll keep them out of harm’s way. If the Alpha is away, the Luna is the one in charge. She’s equal to the Alpha, which means everyone has to listen if she gives a command." As she explained, I noticed we were almost at school. Any other questions would have to wait until lunch break or after school.

“Musa, do you want to hang out with me after school so we can finish this conversation? I don’t think it’s useful to have it now,” I said to her.

“Sure thing, Vi. I’ll see you at lunch,” she replied.

“I’ll see you then.” As I got out of the car, I saw Rose looking my way. I didn’t miss the hurt look on her face, but I was too mad at her to care right now. When I entered the school and reached my locker, I saw it was decorated with balloons, garlands, and a sign that said "Happy Birthday." That was probably Rose’s doing before I got mad at her. When I opened my locker, I was almost buried under a bunch of red dahlias. So it couldn’t have been Rose. Inside my locker was a note that read:

Happy Birthday, Little Luna. I hope you like the flowers. They reminded me of you. -Damien.

It was sweet of them to keep their distance but still wish me a happy birthday. Feeling a little better about the day, I grabbed the books I needed and walked toward my class. As soon as I entered the classroom, some of my classmates were looking down at the ground.

“They’re recognizing you as their next Alpha. Submitting to you,” Melody told me.

“But how? Last time I checked, I wasn’t an Alpha, right?”

“You weren’t of age yet, and you didn’t know your biological father was an Alpha either. I think you need to ask Musa about this during lunch. Maybe get some answers,” Melody explained. As soon as I was done talking to her, it was like something told everyone it was okay to look up again.

“That’s a little bit my fault. I don’t have my aura under control yet,” Melody said, a bit shamefully. Thank the gods, I wasn’t the only one still learning all this.

“Well, yeah, most wolves are older than me. You’re my first human, okay?” she said, a little offended, which made me snicker. Then the teacher walked in, and the class started. I tried to pay attention, but something was bugging me. I don’t know what, but I couldn’t keep my focus on the lesson. As soon as the lesson was over, I looked around and saw what had been bugging me. Or should I say, I was bugging someone? Stefanie was looking at me like she hoped I would just drop dead, her face red, which didn’t match her foundation. Not that her foundation ever matched her face, but hey, who am I to talk s**t about her? Wanting to ignore her, I gathered my things for my next class. As I was about to get up, someone stuck a foot in front of mine, and I fell flat on my face. Melody was paying attention to who it was, but I wasn’t surprised when it turned out to be Stefanie. I rolled my eyes at her. I got up and struggled to keep Melody at bay so she wouldn’t kill Stefanie for this show of disrespect.

“What do you think you’re doing, Stefanie?”

“Oh, just showing you your place.”

“Really? Because last time I checked, I have a higher title than you.”

“You little b***h, you will pay for that.”

“When? All you do is talk s**t but never take any action,” I asked her when I walked toward her and stood right in front of her, and Melody was almost out of control, yelling in my head to kill this b***h and make an example

of her. That was the last straw for Stefanie. She tried to punch me. While she tried, I dodged and laughed in her face. But soon, it was getting boring, so I showed her how to do it the right way. When she tried to punch me one last time, I grabbed her hand, twisted it behind her back, and kicked her in the knee cavity. She growled at me, but Melody wasn’t having it. With one low growl, Stefanie submitted to us, her neck bared.

“Let’s make this crystal clear. You and I are NEVER on the same level. Try to come for me again, and you won’t be able to walk away. Do you understand that?” I asked her.

“Yes, Alpha. I understand,” Stefanie said.

“Good. Let this be a warning to you all. I will not take s**t anymore. From nobody,” I told the bystanders. And then the most random thing happened. It seemed like my pack members were proud of me for defending myself. They started stomping on the ground, chanting my name. With my head held high and a new feeling of pride, I walked to my next class. I knew by the end of the day, I would be the talk of the school—and of the pack, too, I guess. But I was fine with that. Let them know I

wasn’t some lone wolf they could mess with. That Damien and Caleb had a capable mate, even if I didn’t want to admit it just yet.