The Light of Night

Lumina was a tall, slender beauty with chocolate brown hair and deep blue eyes. She liked to keep her hair resting on her shoulders and never had the need to wear make-up. Lumina loved to play sports and rarely paid attention to the pack gossip. Life is to short to be bothered with petty words meant to cause drama. Lumina excelled in the pack, being a natural leader but a better follower of command. She always thought it ridiculous when a pack member questioned the Alpha's leadership. Just down right stupid if you were to ask her. With her athletic build and charismatic personality, Lumina was often the target of jealous attacks from the other girls, but she didn't care. She was friends with everyone, classification was unimportant to her. After all, what did it matter if you were a nerd, dork, or a jock? Everyone was equal under the alpha as it should be. When Lumina was eighteen, her life was turned upside down by the arrival of Orion. Oh, he was extremely handsome with defined muscles and dark curly hair. The attraction between the two was immediate and the two became inseparable. Lumina and Orion accepted their fate and were married under the first full moon of the year, the Wolf moon. It was later that year that Orion was chosen to be the Alpha. Life for Lumina and Orion was perfect. The choosing of the next Alpha is made by the current Alpha with the disposition that the chosen can not be genetically related to him. This procedure ensured that decisions wouldn't be made in favor of an heir. The Choosing has worked well in the decades since it was imposed. There was no competition, no fights, no arguing. Lumina and Orion settled in to the married life as well as the pack life. They were young and full of ideas and full of love. Everywhere the pair went they radiated joy and happiness, it was just natural for the pack members to gravitate toward them. Of course, Orion's best friend, Theron, was named the second in command and naturally mated with Lumina's best friend Stella. Life changed when there were rumors of a wolf hunter roaming the forest. The arrival of the wolf hunter signaled that everyone in the pack needed to exercise caution in wolf form and even more cautious in human form. In human form, a wolf has certain characteristics that stand out. The uni-brow is the most obvious and annoying of these traits. The constant plucking and shaping of the brows was a common complaint amongst the younger wolves. The pups are taught a young age to keep their nails short and clean, as a wolf's nails naturally curl into a claw shape. Almost all wolves keep their hair cut to their shoulders or longer because the ears on wolves are placed a little lower to the shoulders. All these traits are very manageable and it becomes easy to blend in with normal society. But wolf hunters have a keen eye and they know what to look for. Orion ordered the members of the pack to always travel in pairs or a group and set a strict curfew. This caused some contention at first because young ones are very hard to control during a full moon and need to run and release their energy. After all, wolves are not intended to be confined. The order to shelter in place was also very hard for the women who were expecting. When pregnant, it is only natural to have the urge to bath in the moonlight and feel the dew gathering on the grass during the night. Normal pregnant women crave pickles in ice cream and pregnant wolves crave the night air. Lumina was very pregnant and due any night. Orion had been spending so many nights away from her with other members of the pack, patrolling and scouting trying to keep the pack safe. It was a night in late September when Lumina went into labor. Autumn was on the cusp and the night air was crisp and teasing the senses with camp fire and hot cocoa. The moon was full and Lumina stepped outside for just one moment to feel the grass between her toes and to soak up the moonlight. The pups were restless kicking her ribs and constantly moving. Lumina had started humming to soothe her babies, the moonlight was making her sway, evoking a trance known only to wolves. Suddenly Lumina stood still as her impeccable hearing picked up the slow steps of unknown feet. Lumina sniffed the air cautiously searching for the scent of a member of the pack and finding a strange new scent...the hunter. At this very realization Lumina felt a warm rush of liquid flow down her legs as her water broke. Orion's camp was only a short distance away and she needed him NOW. Lumima jolted to the forest path that would lead her to Orion. The wind was starting to pick up and the hunter's scent was blending with the scent of an impeding storm. Her hair whipped around her face, her belly inflated with her pups on the verge of being born. Her bare feet barely brushed the moss-covered path as she moved as fast as she could, but the contractions were coming faster and faster. Lumina just needed to reach her mates' camp before the pups arrive. The pain was becoming unbearable as each contraction increased. Suddenly she fell to her knees screaming in agony. The pain was not from the pups but from an arrow that pierced her shoulder. As Lumina looked at the wound with blood rushing over her nightgown she willed herself to change. Her mate is the alpha, if she could just change into her wolf self she knew that she had a chance of her mate sensing she was in agony, she was nearly to his camp. Her hackles raised as another arrow raced past her head, her wolf eyes adjusting to the night to seek out her attacker. The first pup was crowned and Lumina knew she had no chance of surviving as her eyes met the wolf hunter's eyes. Then the arrow left the bow and imbedded deep into her heart as her last thought left her being sent to her alpha to save their babies. The hunter knew his aim was strong and sturdy and the arrow stayed true. He ventured over to the body to confirm his killing. He kicked the body and muttered "dirty mutt". Parker had been hunting wolves since he was a child. This, however, was a special kill for Parker. He had managed to successfully kill a pregnant wolf. His brothers will be envious. Parker reached down to prepare the body to take home as his prized trophy, and he heard the soft whimper. Surely the arrow to the heart killed this wolf. Parker drew his knife and frantically searched for a pulse. The whimper was getting louder and stronger as Parker dropped to his knees as he brushed the leaves aside. Then suddenly the unmistakable animal's eye shine peered at him through the forest debris. They were the lightest, bluest eyes that he had ever seen. Parker picked up the half human half pup and his heart melted at this child nuzzling the palm of his hand. How could he kill such a precious and unique being? Parker made a decision then and there that he would take the child. Parker gently wrapped the babe in his jacket but what made him run was the blood-curling howling that suddenly surrounded him. Orion and his pack followed Lumina's scent. Theron was the one who found her body on the path. Lumina was almost fully transformed into her wolf self, her belly swollen with the lives lost inside her. Orion yelled "let me go to her!" as the others in the pack held him back to shield him from the sight of his beloved with an arrow in her heart. "No, no, no...not you my love", Orion bellowed into her mane. Theron motioned for the others to stay back, as second to the alpha, this was his moment to take control of the situation, as Orion mourned. Theron gently placed his hands on Lumina's swollen belly looking for signs of life, and there was none. "Orion, the pups..." Orion's head snapped up and said "NO!" before Theron could finish. In his twelve years by Orion's side as his second and best friend since they could walk, he had never seen Orion cry. 'What have I done', Theron thought as he witnessed his alpha, his leader, weeping uncontrollably for his lost mate and children.