Making A Luna

THE DETECTIVE

Theo

“Theo you promised” Esme screamed at me having just pulled me out of a fight. I didn’t know how many times we had been here before, but it wouldn’t be the last. She didn’t understand. When dad died she had never mourned him, not really. She had been too busy trying to take care of mum, making sure she was okay. Always putting others before herself, that had always been Esme’s biggest flaw and it hurt her time and time again. I still remember the day we were told, the day he was taken away from us. Esme hadn’t shed a tear. It’s not that she was heartless, that’s the last thing she could ever be. “We have to be strong for mum” she had constantly told me. So I had been. Granted, it probably wasn’t in the way she had wanted or meant, but it was the best way I knew how. “Esme it’s none of your business what I do. You’re not my mother so stop acting like it” I shot back, agitated that she had got involved once again. She could never just leave me be, stay out of it. I couldn’t deal with this right now, not today. That punk had got what was coming to him. It didn’t take much for me to get into an altercation on a good day but he had kept pushing and pushing. I had become known as the problem child, the one who was angry at the world because his father had died. They were right, I was pissed. I was pissed that someone had thought they had the right to take him from us, I was pissed that we still didn’t know who had done so and I was pissed that nobody had cared enough to find out. “Sometimes terrible things like this happen but we will get through it” alpha James had said. My father had bent over backwards for that man, and that was all he had to say. He could try to act like my father all he wanted but he would never be able to fill his shoes. All I wanted from him was for him to have at least attempted to find out who had killed my father, maybe even why they did it. But nothing. I stormed away from Esme now, not wanting to deal with her right now. “Theo get back here” she shouted, but I was already disappearing through the pack house doors. She didn’t understand. All it had taken was for one person to mention my dad one day and get me to retaliate. Ever since then, people would try and pick fights with me knowing that I would fight back. But yet I was the troubled one, the one that couldn’t keep his fists to himself. So much had changed since dad died. I used to be the kid who had a few close friends, who was seen and not heard. I kept to myself mostly and never caused any trouble. “Golden child” people had always told my parents. Well look at that golden child now. I slammed my bedroom door behind me, making sure to lock it. Esme would have to break my door down if she decided to follow me. “Theo open the door” Esme demanded as she hammered on my door. Right on schedule. “Really Esme you’re becoming so predictable. Do you not get bored of harassing me” I mocked. If she was going to insist on wasting her time I didn’t want any part of it. Pulling open my bedside drawer, I grabbed my earphones and plugged them into my phone. If I couldn’t hear her then it would almost be like she isn’t there I thought as I placed them in my ears and started blaring music.

-

I stared at my alarm to see that it was 6am. I pulled myself out of bed and grabbed the clothes hanging on the back of my chair. This was the best part of my day, getting out away from everyone and everything. I chucked my clothes on before picking up a bag I could keep them in when I got outside. I quietly closed my bedroom door, and began to sneak my way out of the pack house. Not many people were up and about at this time usually, and the ones that were wouldn’t bother me. I made my escape outside and continued on towards the forest. “Theo!” Her voice came from behind me. I turned around to look at her, agitated that I had been disturbed. “What do you want Olivia?” I muttered, hoping she would take the hint and leave me alone. Olivia had been nothing but a nuisance to me, she was completely obsessed. Not that I didn’t like the attention, but I had always kept things casual between us. One hookup had turned into another and we’d ended up in a continuous cycle, always ending the same. It wasn’t that I didn’t like the girl, I just had more important things to be focusing on right now. “Are you okay? I heard about the fight yesterday, I’ve been worried sick!” She questioned pulling me into an embrace, squeezing the life out of me. Of course she had. “Olivia I’m fine” I sighed, I had things to do and she was the least of my concern right now. “I’ve got to go I’ll see you around” I promised, pushing her off of me before walking away, not giving her a chance to say anything else. I admit to myself that I should have never let things go on this long with her and I often feel terrible for it. It would be a lie to say that I didn’t have feelings for Olivia but it wasn’t the right time, there was more important things I had preoccupying my time at the moment. As I removed my clothes getting ready to shift I let myself think back to the conversation she and I had last week. “I can’t wait until we are 18, I know you will be my mate” she had smiled as I had walked her home from school. Everyone was so bloody obsessed with mates, who their mate would be, how they would meet them. It’s not that I didn’t believe in them, I did. Growing up, my parents had been inseparable and really showed me and Esme how special the mate bond could be. But then dad died and mum hadn’t been the same since. I didn’t know if I wanted a mate if it meant losing them could make my life like that. Look what the mate bond had done to Esme, she’d been left broken hearted by Mason. So I had decided a while after dad died that I wouldn’t spend time searching for my mate, it was something I could live without. “Right, finally” I muttered to myself before shifting into my wolf. Finally I was free, just for a while.

-

I wandered into the pack house dining room after showering and getting ready for the day ahead. I took my seat next to my mother who looked exhausted and forced a smile. She was getting worse as time went on without my father. “Morning darling. Did you sleep okay?” She asked turning her attention to me. “Yeah mum I did. Are you okay?” I replied, worried at how tired she looked. “Of course, just a little tired this morning.” I knew that she was lying, she wasn’t okay and she was more than a little tired. We repeated this same routine every morning and I couldn’t help but wonder if she would ever be okay. I knew that the mate bond was strong, and the bond between my parents had been one of the strongest I’d ever seen. Everyone says how sometimes after losing your mate you get a second chance but I knew this wouldn’t be something my mum would ever get. Even if she was lucky enough to get a second chance mate, it was unlikely that she would accept them. My parents had known each other from a young age, they were childhood sweethearts. She had never known a life without him. I looked down at my phone to see that it was already 8am. Where had the time gone? I grabbed a croissant from the table and stood up. “Sorry mum I have to go I’ve got a meeting with my teacher” I lied as I excused myself from the table. Lily couldn’t know the truth about where I was actually going, nobody could. I ran to my room to get my bag and snuck my way out of the pack house. The truth was I never attended school on a Tuesday, it had been that way for months now but luckily Lily had yet to find out. I hoped I could keep it that way. I continued up the path towards the bus stop. I pulled out the loose change that was hanging in my pocket as I reached it and counted it in my hand. Perfect I thought to myself as the bus came into my sight. When it came to a stop in front of me I handed the change to the driver and walked towards the back. It was busier than usual today and was nearly at full capacity I noticed as I took my usual seat. I scanned my surroundings, watching people as they went about their business. An old lady sat in front of me, clutching onto her bag whilst a teenage girl sat near the front with her eyes glued to her phone. I wondered what it must be like to be able to have not a care in the world, to be able to be a normal teenager. This is how I often passed the time on these bus journeys, evaluating people and picturing what their lives must be like. As the bus came to a halt I looked up and saw that we were already in the town and got up to make my way to the door. I thanked the driver and set off on foot to my destination. I walked through the village, where people were rushing around. I loved coming here, to see people going about their everyday lives, to hear the conversations people would have. As I neared the cafe on the corner, I checked my phone again to see what time it was. 8:24. As usual, I was a little early so I walked in to get myself a table. A pretty blonde waitress approached my table and I shot her a smile. “What can I get for you?” She asked, her notepad and pen ready in her hands. “Just a tea please” I requested, handing over the money. “Same for me too please.” Stanley took a seat opposite me, nodding at me in acknowledgement and handed his money to the waitress. “Perfect, I’ll go get that sorted for you” the waitress responded before turning on her heel and walking towards the counter. I looked up at Stanley in hope, getting a shake of the head in return. “Really, nothing again?” I asked agitated. I had met Stanley by chance one day when I had been skipping school and had been meeting him every Tuesday since. “Sorry buddy, nothing. Whoever did it hid their tracks very well” he said gravely. “We’ve been doing this for months now, how can there still be nothing” I sighed as the waitress set our teas on the table. We both thanked her before turning our attention back to our conversation. “Look, you’ve got to be patient. You don’t want people knowing you’re sniffing about, it will only bring more trouble to your doorstep. From what I’ve heard your pack is under enough threat as it is” Stanley informed me as he sipped his tea. He was right, we had been hit by 4 rogue attacks just in the last fortnight and each one was harder to fight off than the last. Everyone at school was talking about it. I didn’t say anything, knowing that there was not much I could say. “I know you want to get them, but it’s not that simple. There’s strategies, there’s rules that need to be followed” he continued. “You call yourself an investigator yet you’ve not had a single lead on my fathers murder. How much longer do you expect me to wait” I snapped, annoyed that once again we had the same outcome. “Patience boy, patience.”