Autumn Moon

Silverlight Pack

Marcus watched quietly from his balcony as the young warriors and trainees ran the perimeter of the training grounds, his Gamma Christina blowing her whistle and shouting to the young wolves, threatening an extra lap to the wolf who took the longest to finish and promising seconds of desert to the wolf who finished first.

Christina was the smallest pack member, but an absolute force to be recjonned with. She had challenged the old Gamma right after Marcus had taken over Silverlight, and laid out a man twice her size and fifteen years her senior because he didn't take her seriously. He had laughed at the small gift, only to be taken down quickly. The old Gamma's eyes had burned with rage as she tore into his large brown wolf, and didn't seem to expect Christina to phase into her wolf, just as large and much faster. His father's old Gamma hadn't had a clue. Women weren't allowed to train then. He had no idea Marcus and his newly appointed Beta Oscar had never agreed with the sentiment and took Christina under their wing as preteens, relaying their Beta and Alpha training to her every night after they were sent to bed.

Marcus rubbed his throat at the memory of the quick work she had made of the cruel old Gamma, while a small girl with red hair halfway back in the pack of warriors pushed the willowy redheaded boy next to her playfully and began inching her way towards the head of the pack. Whether she won or not, He'd ask Christina to keep an eye on the girl.

He had seen in the last few months that she and her brother, the girl didn't even have her wolf yet and was flying by quite a few warriors he had grown up with, and on a second look, her brother was not far behind her. They had plenty of brute force within their ranks, but speed was always a wonderful asset on any team.

He smiled to himself as he watched the training turned race, almost missing helping with it, but knew his presence made some of the newest pack members nervous, many having come from a pack they had moved on after finding out the actions of their cruel late alpha. His aura, while kinder, was still dominant and unsettling for so many fresh from the inhumane treatment of their old home. He would give them time to get comfortable with Christina and their new brothers and sisters before taking over.

He reentered his room just as someone knocked on his door.

"It's 5AM." He barked out, not in a bad mood, but honestly enjoying his alone time this brisk morning.

"5:30 actually," mused Oscar as he pushed his way through the doors with a smirk on his face. He sank into the deep chair by my fireplace and stretched, his elbows popping as he did so.

"Well, 5:30 then. What do you need?"

"Nothing really. I just wanted to let you know I was home and see what happened while I was gone and check in. I came across the wolf who made those tracks last month."

His eyebrows raised. The month before, they had scouted out just beyond the territory lines to check for any rogue behavior. They came across prints in the dried mud, large but with hardly any scent, a few days old at that time. They might have mistaken them for a dog if they weren't almost as large as my own.

"Oh? Did they give you any trouble, and were they alone? You don't seem torn up." He felt his wolf stir in the back of his head, and felt the prickle of nonexistent fur stand across his broad shoulders.

"No, I just watched them. I almost approached but didn't even seem to notice me there. I almost wrote them off as an actual wolf until i followed them to a car, and i don't know many rogues, or wolves for that matter, who drive Hondas."

"They are not from here. Do you think they will be an issue?"

Oscar yawned again, "doubtful man, she shifted and was just a teenager. Maybe a family pack in town, I wouldn't sweat it. It was gorgeous out last night, she probably just wanted to enjoy the winter."

Marcus nodded and took a mental note of the smaller family packs living in the nearby town, three that he knew of and they were all under Silverlight's protection but not actual members. They opted for the family life and job opportunities of the human world while having access to the pack hospital and amenities. All three families kept in touch with us and hired teenage pack members in the summers at their small businesses, but he didn't recall any of them having a teenage daughter. He'd would just check their files later that afternoon.

"Well, that's one less worry. How did things go with Abby?" Oscar's cousin had become the Luna of The White Rose pack in Northern California.

"Terrified, ecstatic, she looked wonderful. Mom and Aunt Veronica cried the entire time. You know how they are. Abby is as nervous as ever but she will do fine. She spent enough time shadowing us during your alpha training that i'm sure she may just run the pack for her husband." They both chuckled at the thought of tiny, anxious, yet ferocious Abby staring down her behemoth of a mate and barking out orders in her high, musical voice.

"She was sad you couldn't make it, Vincent too, although they have invited us to visit for the new year. I will say, hunting in those mountains was amazing." Oscar yawned again and relaxed further in the chair.

"We'll have to see man. Are you heading to your room?"

"Why would I? Your fireplace is already lit." Oscar mumbled, half asleep already.

Marcus rolled his eyes at him, but knowing he had opted to run home, let him have this one. He threw a blanket from the other chair over his Beta and quietly exited the room, hoping for a hot coffee before starting his duties for the day.