The Wolfless Luna

CHAPTER 4- THE NEW MOON GATHERING

GRACE

“Who?” I turned around to look at the owner of the box only to find out that no one was there but still, the boy was pointing his finger in the same direction.

“There! Don’t you see him standing over there?”

And again, I looked towards the door, no one was standing over there. when I thought of going outside to check but before could do Professor came and started teaching.

I took the box and kept it under the desk.

After the class was over, Eva asked me what was this to which I replied that I didn’t know. She asked me to open it but I refused to open thinking that it might be for someone else but the boy might have given me by mistake. So, after the weekend I can meet the boy and return the gift.

After class, we all talked about Daniel finding his mate and how I came up with the most idiotic yet helpful scenario to keep Rosie close to him. Daniel had to go somewhere for work, so he left early and we three stayed for a while talking about colleges, projects homework, and also our plan for the night out.

I saw the time, it was almost time Elijah would be here waiting for me at the college gate to pick me up. I should leave.

“Hey Grace want to join us we can give you a ride home before that we can grab something,” Eva asked.

“Umm, no actually you know na Elijah is already waiting for me outside the college to pick me up. I should hurry or he will scold me again. See you all next week during classes.” I ran towards the exit gate but was halted midway.

“Hey, are you not meeting us tomorrow?” Eva shouted from behind.

I looked at her, thinking, 'Why are we meeting tomorrow?'

“What are you talking about?” I asked Eva, confused.

“Don’t tell me Grace you forgot what is tomorrow!” Eva exclaimed making a shocked face. I immediately started to recall all the dates I could remember.

Eva’s birthday is in December same as Jared's, Paul’s birthday is in June. And as for Daniel’s birthday, it has already gone. My birthday is also not tomorrow. As I was recalling dates, Jared came and smacked me on my head playfully again, this was the second time in a day. I’m going to kill him if he hits me again on my head.

“Ouch!! It hurts Jared. Don’t you know you should not hit on heads otherwise you will become stupid?” I said while rubbing my head.

“Which you have become since you forgot what is tomorrow.” He said while putting his arm around Paul.

“What is it tomorrow?” I asked again.

“The New Moon Gathering!! How can you forget such an important event Grace?” Eva said in an exaggerated voice.

“OH, MY GOODNESS!!” I can’t believe how I can forget that. I exclaimed, slapping myself on my face.

“You know this is all because of Jared, he keeps hitting me on my head, and now I’m starting to forget things.” I looked at Jared accusingly.

He just laughed it off while pulling out his tongue. What is he a four-year-old child?

“See you have such good friends who will always remind you of important dates. Where will you get such good friends.” Paul said while patting himself on his back and Jared and Eva followed his action.

“You all are such a precious gem I don’t know what I did to deserve you all,” I said in a sorrowful tone while wiping my fake tears.

We all laughed in unison and then I remembered I had to hurry down otherwise sure I’m getting a very good lecture from Elijah.

I waved my goodbye to them and ran towards the parking lot, weaving through the crowd of people. I could already see Elijah waiting for me outside his Audi Q7.

Elijah was one of my cousins but I considered him like my brother and I was so happy to have him but I would never admit it on his face. He always came to pick me up from college because grandfather didn’t want me to go alone or come alone since he thought something might happen to me on our way which was so unusual what would happen to me not like someone would kidnap me and even if they did what will they be able to gain from me.

“You are late,” Elijah growled at me while looking at his watch as I reached near the car. He was a big fan of cars and he always treated them like his own children. Boys and their love for machines is something I will never understand.

“Sorry, I was talking with my friends after class. Good thing you know they reminded me of something very important which I almost forgot. And you know what happened today at college?” I answered excitedly while taking a short breath since I ran fast to not get late even though I got late.

“OH, so what did they remind you of?” Elijah asked with a laugh thinking that it must be something trivial.

“The New Moon Gathering, which is tomorrow. I completely forgot about that.”

He only asked about the first part and not the second part.

“Seriously Grace, how could you possibly forget about that?” Elijah looked at me shocked.

“Well, it’s the first time that we are gathering for the new moon. We usually only gather for the hunter’s moon, not both. It’s not my fault I forgot a break in tradition, especially when I am usually kept out of the loop, anyway.” Honestly, could he blame me? Since my eighteenth birthday, most of the pack acted like I didn’t even exist. If it wasn’t for the monthly allowance and tuition, I would think that Grandfather had forgotten about me as well, but I guess he could just be having his secretary handle it and not even know what’s going on.

“Okay, my fault. Come in let’s go.” He said climbing into his car as I followed and sat on the passenger side with a smile.

“By the way what happened at the college?” he asked finally the second part. I told him everything about meeting Daniel and then the encounter with Rosie. And when I told him about the lie which I told to Rosie he laughed so much that tears were almost there in his eyes.

The thing I like about Elijah is that he may seem strict and cold-hearted from the outside but he cares for me a lot. Even when I was strictly tutored by my grandfather Elijah would always fight with him for me. He was like a protection stone for me during my difficult time and made me realize that no matter what happens he will always be there for me and I can’t possibly ask for any better brother than him.

“Why is there a gathering tomorrow, anyway?” I asked him while he was driving out of the city and toward the pack territory. Now I say it as the territory because that is what the pack calls it, but the truth is, it’s just a gated community where a large number of pack families lived.

The territory of Silver Moon was built at the border of a traitorous jungle and is truly an architectural wonder. Its charm is matched by the backdrop of an abundance of hills which have helped shape the territory into what it is today.

Bordered by a tall mountain range to the North, a small river to the South, rough beaches to the East, and fjords to the West, the territory mainly lives off business which is led by the family of Alpha.

The territory itself is mainly covered in uninhabitable mountains and has a wet climate, which has led to a freely spread population, despite the number of people, which means most of them live in small places.

The resources these hills brought were of great importance, but they were also influential when it came to architectural designs, as the vast majority of buildings follow the flowing round shapes of those very same hills and continue the overall aesthetics.

The territory’s landscape is delightful; mellow rivers and green forests and mellow rivers are just a sliver of the hidden treasures it has to offer, which is why the people in the pack don’t want to leave the place but many leave as they grow old to live freely with their mate just like Paul and Eva.

Our house was located in the upper area since grandfather was previously the Beta for the former Alpha. From the outside, this house looks intimate and cozy. It has been built with burgundy bricks and has oak wooden decorations. Large, octagon windows add to the overall style of the house and have been added to the house in a mostly symmetric way.

The house is equipped with an old-fashioned kitchen and two modern bathrooms, it also has a small living room, five bedrooms, a small dining room, a sunroom, and a small basement.

The apartment is shaped like a Rectangle. The two extensions extend into overgrown wooden overhanging panels to each side.

The second floor is bigger than the first, which creates a stylish overhang on two sides of the house. This floor has roughly the same style as the floor below. The roof is high and triangular and is covered with dark ceramic tiles. There are no chimneys. but there is one window on the roof.

The house itself is surrounded by paved ground, with a small backward at the back side and various potted plants all around the house.

“The gathering is always on full moon but this time the gathering has been organized for Alpha because he has yet not found his mate and he needs to complete the mate circle otherwise his brother, George will take over since he is Alpha’s brother and second in line. And since they can’t just invite the unmated werewolves, they are also inviting mated ones in a way it would be a great time for them to spend on the weekend.”

As I listened to him, I got the explanation as to why Eva and Paul were also going as they are already mated. But then I thought why am I going? Like it’s no way possible that I’m going to be the mate of Alpha, and since I don’t have any wolf there was no way I would be able to feel the mate bond. This question kept ringing in my head and I decided to ask Elijah.

“Hey Elijah, why am I going to the gathering, like it’s nearly impossible for me to be mated to the Alpha or anybody else? I don’t even have a wolf so I don’t think I would even be able to feel the mate bond.” I asked Elijah looking outside as he was busy driving.

“You don’t know Grace; you can’t reject a mate bond and even if you don’t have a wolf, it doesn’t mean that you are not a werewolf. Just give yourself time your wolf will come.” He said with a smile and hope in his words.

He was right though even if I’m not a fully grown werewolf I still have the enhanced abilities that were helpful to me to live a little good life compared to a normal human being but still, it’s been eighteen years and I have still not got my wolf so there is no chance I will have a wolf. Earlier, I used to get so mad when I was laughed at by other pack members when they teased me for my nonexistent wolf but then I couldn’t get mad at anyone since I didn’t have my mother whom I could question nor I have seen or know who is my father. There’s nothing I can do except accept the reality.

Elijah is always the one who pushes me to think positively and see the bright side. Even when my grandfather used to be strict with me Elijah would always fight with him for me or beat the pack members who laughed at me. William on the other hand would handle the matter differently, he is not a very aggressive type but he still has his way of showing his love for me. But still, that doesn’t make me forget the fact that I am neither a human nor a wolf.

“Still Elijah you and I both know that no one would accept a mate who is wolfless.” I sighed

“Grace what if the moon goddess has chosen someone for you? You know, no one can resist their mate bond.” Elijah sounded shocked by my words.

“Oh, I know they would surely reject me, either they will go unmated for the rest of their lives.” I laughed as I said.

“And yeah, in this way they can start the first generation of Buddhist monk wolves. What do you say it’s not a bad idea?” I chucked as I completed my sentence.

“What if the Alpha is your mate, he can’t choose to be unmated for his life and choose to be a monk you know he has a pack to handle with lots of responsibility.” He said teasingly.

I looked at him unbelievably at this point if he would have told me that flying pigs existed, I would have given it a thought because in this way at least we can get free portions of bacon if they get stuck by lightning or get cooked in the sunlight but what is this bullshit.

“Alpha….” I laughed so hard that tears started to come from my eyes.

“Of all people please, you had to use Alpha’s name as an example. That’s not funny Elijah.” I growled at him.

“Even you thinking that you don’t have a mate is also not funny.” He retarded back.

We both sat in silence until Elijah spoke.

“You know Grace, there’s always a reason for everything happening, there must be a reason why you have not yet gained your wolf. Just be patient and see what the future holds for you.” He said while smiling softly towards me and patting my head.

I smiled at him and hoped what he was saying might be true.

Quote of the day:

"Self-care is never a selfish act--it is simply good stewardship of the only gift I have, the gift I was put on earth to offer to others."