The Alpha's Blood Moon Witch

Enchanted

-Lane-

Sitting in my bedroom at the packhouse I can hear the bustle of life around me. I know the house is full of the packs elite going about their lives, working on pack business. I look out my window and I can see my parents house, the house I grew up in down the street. It's contemporary roof slants down to one side and the front of the home is mostly made up of logs. I remember as I kid I always felt like I lived in a log castle, and now as an adult I see that I really was not that far off. The houses front is mostly glass revealing it's 3 stories separated by vertical logs held up by tresses. The home looked like something you would see in a west coast architecture magazine, but my parents have never been pompous about it. Our front door was always open, welcoming any member of the pack that wished to enter. I have fond memories running down the halls as a child, playing with my best friend Lucas. I feel a pang of sadness remembering the night my parents told me I would be moving into the Alpha suite in the pack house. There is nothing wrong with the pack house, it is beautiful in it's own way, but it really doesn't feel like home. I still haven't officially taken my oath, but everyone knows that me moving in can only mean that my oath is on the horizon. 

Sitting in my reading chair I look at my hardcover 2nd edition of Oliver Twist sitting on the side table. Despite my father's objections about an Alpha who would rather read than train, I have always managed to juggle both. I am strong, reaching at about 6'7 tall and weighing over 230 pounds. My family line has some of the original Lupin blood, so both my father, who is 6'8, and I are unusually tall. The majority of the men in our pack range between 6ft and 6'4. I don't really know much about the original Lupin blood line, but I do know that it means my father will be expected to sit on the Lupin council after retirement. As a kid I always tried to get answers about my family history, but both my mother and father pushed it off telling me to focus on pack business. After placing my book back on it's shelf, I got dressed in sweats and a t-shirt heading down to get ready for training. Passing through the hall I heard a small noise behind me and turned to see Lucas pouncing at me from behind. Using my quick reflexes I grabbed him from under his arm, remembering my training, I flipped him around to the ground, pressing my knee into his jugular. Looking up at me with a smile on his face, Lucas started laughing as I removed my knee, helping him up with a pat on the back. "One of these days I will get you" Lucas laughed with a sparkle in his blue eyes. We had been sparing together since we were children, but Lucas was never able to get the jump on me. Since I had moved in to the pack house, Lucas had moved into his father's old suite on the floor below me. I had already spoken with the council and it had been agreed that once I moved into my father's position as Alpha, Lucas would move into his father's position as Beta. I know his family was proud to pass down their lineage, and I was proud to have my best friend as my right hand man. 

As we moved through the halls I watched as the Omega's prepared for lunch. I was always proud of my pack, we treated all members with dignity and respect. I know some packs treat their Omega's like slaves and I never really understood why that was. Without Omega's the pack house would not run as smoothly as it did. I left Lucas and stopped in the kitchen,  stealing a piece of toast from a pile on a plate, just as I was about to put it in my mouth a felt it ripped from my hand. Frowning in front of me was Laura, our house cook, who had helped take care of me since I was a small pup. "Not until after training, you know you will get a cramp!" I laughed as I stole another piece and ran out of the room as fast as I could, catching up with Lucas on the training field. 

Our territory resided in the northern west coast of Canada. Looking around I could see the beautiful trees and wildlife that existed around us. This area had been enchanted by a local coven, protecting it from the human world. Most humans who passed through this area hiking believed it to be an empty field in a massive wildlife reserve in the Yukon territories. What they didn't know was it actually housed 900 Lupin werewolves, a shopping mall, 10 schools, a hospital and a completely functioning roadway. Despite the infrastructure, we always ensured that our pack maintained the natural environment around the buildings, and used as much non-invasive and natural materials as possible to build our homes and city. Like many packs, our wolves needed to be in nature so they could run and be free. Our pack was just one of many that existed within national parks all across North America.

 After being thrown around during training for a few hours, I was starving so Lucas and I headed back into the packhouse for breakfast. Looking around I found myself trying to take it all in because I knew that today would be my last day for a while seeing everyone like this. I loved my life in the pack, but I knew I wasn't ready to be Alpha. It isn't that I didn't want to be, I had wanted this my whole life. It is more that I know my life with the Green Meadow Pack had been sheltered. Reading stories of the world, I had always wanted to explore it, and I also know that as an Alpha, I won't be able to protect my pack, if I don't know what I am protecting them from. I have had my bag packed for the past week, and I had contacted a friend of mine who lived on the outside world. His name was Gage and he had stayed with us for awhile as a kid, when his own pack had been invaded by Mages (An unfriendly group of warlocks). Gage lived with us until he was 16 and decided he wanted to live in the human world. A few years older than me, Gage had already been to university and  currently lived in Whitehorse as a police officer who also secretly helped with local pack affairs that might affect the human world. We had always stayed in contact through email and when I told him my plan, he helped me get ID's and start to collect some money. I wasn't able to stay with him because my parents would know right away where to look for me, so Gage had set me up with a friend of his from college who lived in Vancouver. 

That night I grabbed my bag and left a note for my family. I knew my parents would blame themselves so I wanted them to understand that I was doing this so I could be a better Alpha. "Mom and Dad, I'm leaving the pack for a time so that I can experience the world. I know that as an Alpha I will need to be able to protect us and I don't think I can do that unless I understand what it is I am protecting us from. I know the human world is dangerous for our kind but I promise I can take care of myself. Please don't look for me, I promise I will come back when the time is right and when I feel like I can really be a true Alpha." I left the note on my desk in the office and went to the window. Climbing down the balcony, I walked slowly down the main road. not wanting to draw attention to myself. Once I got to the right spot I sprinted for the gate that I knew lead to the un-enchanted forest beyond our borders. The enchantment was created to keep people out, but they never really thought they would have to try and keep people in.