The Triplet Alphas's Christmas Gift

Chapter 43 - A date with Matt.

Teira's POV

We stepped into the museum, and I looked around in open-mouthed awe. The floor plan was open with displays lit up by soft lights beaming down from the ceiling. Pack members went from display to display, looking at the descriptions and pushing a button on the signs.

I looked at Matt curiously, but he just smiled and led me over to the information desk in the corner. The woman behind it smiled gently at us. She was older, late 50s or so, but you never could tell with werewolves, with short gray hair and gentle blue eyes. She bowed to us slightly as we approached, "Good morning Alpha, how may I help you today?" she asked kindly.

Matt tugged me forward gently, "Good morning, Rebecca, this is Teira Harris. We're here for the grand tour." he stated confidently. She smiled brightly as she turned to me and bowed, "Nice to meet you, Ms. Harris, I'm Rebecca Turner, the curator and historian of the Pack Museum. I understand that you are interested in history?" she said as she came around the desk.

I nodded shyly, still not used to talking to pack members I wasn't familiar with, then I stopped for a second and gawked at her as her name registered through my brain. "Rebecca Turner, not THE Rebecca Turner?! The renowned expert of nearly all the races and packs in the world?!" I asked, stunned. She laughed gently, "Not all races, but I'm getting there." she said as she took my outstretched hand.

I looked from her to Matt and blushed, "Dr. Turner, it's an honor to meet you. I had no idea you ran the museum in our pack. Your book on the hierarchy of the ancient werewolves was amazing!" I gushed. She smiled, "Thank you, Ms. Harris. Now, I'd be glad to talk to you more, but for now, the Alpha has requested you get the grand tour. We start with this level, it explains how the world came to be, as far as we know, and the history and theories we have." she stated as she led us over to a display depicting a picture of a light shining down on a few figures. One was much larger than the rest and seated, while the others were smaller kneeling at the figure's feet.

Dr. Turner took us from display to display, giving insights on certain theories, as well as facts that hadn't been put in our history books. I absorbed all of it, I had loved reading her books in school and usually did well on tests in social studies, thanks to her. Matt also asked questions about the information, especially about certain battles between wolves and humans and other things that I hadn't thought of. We held hands the entire time, or he placed his hand on my side when I would look closer at one of the displays as we toured the museum.

When we came to the floor specifically about werewolves, Dr. Turner turned and smiled at us, "This floor doesn't need me to explain much about it, but we have an interactive tour for you to take through each display. We haven't opened it to the public yet as we're still doing some renovations, but you are to be given a first look." she explained as she gestured to an archway covered by a dark curtain.

I looked at Matt, who grinned, "I thought you'd enjoy this." he said, trying to look nonchalant. I smiled, noticing his blush, then turned back to Dr. Turner, "That would be amazing. Where do we start?" I asked. She smiled and motioned to the curtain, "Just step through here and stand still. The walkway will move you through the room and pass the displays explaining our history. It's slow, so you don't have to worry about it. Just watch your step, and please enjoy." she said, and I squealed softly as I grabbed Matt's hand, and we walked through the curtain together.

It was dark, so dark that I couldn't see my hand in front of my face. Matt chuckled beside me and squeezed my hand gently as I bounced excitedly on my heels. Lights shone down on displays, and the floor beneath our feet began to move forward gently, "Hello, and welcome to the Dark Moon History Museum's History of the Wolves tour. Please watch your step as the walkway stops at different displays, no flash photography, and please enjoy your stay." A gentle female voice stated as we came around the corner to the first display and stopped gently.

The display was a large figure of a woman dressed in silvery white holding her arms out lovingly to a pack of wolves at her feet. The voice spoke gently, "During the chaos of the clash of the races, humans and elves fought viciously over who was the superior race, these battles were harsh and bloody causing several to flee into the woods. They cried out to the gods for mercy and peace, but no answer came until the war reached the forests."

"The forests were the domain of the Moon Goddess, Selene, as her beloved children dwelled there. When the war reached it, the humans burned the forest to the ground and killed the creatures, great and small, certain that the elves had learned to disguise themselves. Selene, furious that her beloved creatures were killed in cold blood, punished the warring humans and elves by stripping them of the magic they were born with and cursing them to never be allowed to enter her forests again on pain of death."

"Heartbroken, Selene took the spirits of her children and placed them in the sky so they would always be with her, then she disappeared from the world for a time. Centuries passed, and the other gods managed to convince Selene to emerge from her solitude in the heavens by making a pact. The other races would stay away from her children unless her children revealed themselves and she could have her children be reborn to live and thrive as they pleased so long as they didn't go after the other races. Selene agreed, and the werewolves were born."

The walkway moved again towards the next set of displays, this showed Selene instructing her children on their different duties and explaining about the mate bond she had created for each specific child. Matt leaned in at that, "I wish more people would realize the sacred power of the bond instead of being impatient." he whispered, and I nodded.

The next set of displays showed the different roles of the pack members, the hierarchy of the wolves, and other duties. I kept noticing a smaller wolf in the corner of the displays and was curious about it, but the narrator didn't mention it until we came near the end of the tour.

The display we stopped in front of showed Selene again, but this time, she was speaking to a small, dark wolf. "Despite making a pact with the other gods, Selene was scarred by the atrocities of the war centuries before and having to watch her children be massacred. To prevent this, she spoke to a smaller wolf and instructed it to keep watch over her children and be the first line of defense for them should the other races decide to come after the forests again. This wolf would lie in wait and, if need be, eliminate the threat to her children before it could become a full-blown war."

"The wolf understood her mission but grew worried about being seen. She was weaker than the others and would surely give her life to save them but would be killed by stronger enemies. Selene understood and blessed this wolf with the ability to blend in with her surroundings as well as the ability to outrun her enemies if needed. She called her Shadow and used her as a spy for hundreds of years."

The walkway moved to the last display, showing the wolves fighting each other and a small wolf disappearing into the background carrying a young pup in her mouth while surrounded by others. "Soon the world grew peaceful, Shadow had proven to be an excellent spy and scout and had warned her kin of danger multiple times. The other races learned to fear going into the forest as a dark presence would kill those who ventured too far. The werewolves grew complacent and, in some packs, greedy. They began to fight each other for territory and try to bribe Shadow to spy on other packs. When she refused to get involved, they tried to kill her and her children. Her mate, given to her by Selene herself, held off the attacks while she disappeared deeper into the forests with their children, giving his life for his family. Shadow, angry at the loss of her mate, disappeared, never to be seen again."

We walked out of the tour, and Dr. Turner smiled, "What did you think?" she asked as she led us away. "It was amazing," I gushed, then looked a bit solemn, "The end was a bit sad though. What happened to Shadow and her children?" I asked. Dr. Turner shrugged, "Unfortunately, we don't know. There aren't any other records of her in our history. Selene punished the packs for killing Shadow's mate by limiting when they could shift into their wolves as well as making the shifts painful for them so they could experience her pain, but Shadow never reappeared There have been stories of others who could do what Shadow did, but they weren't wolves, and they only ever made a brief appearance in history before disappearing again." she explained.

I nodded, and Matt chuckled, "I thought you'd enjoy this. Thank you, Dr. Turner." he stated, and she smiled bowing. "It was my pleasure. We'll continue the tour after lunch." she said, looking at a nearby clock, and my stomach took that moment to growl loudly. I blushed while they laughed, "Sorry, learning about all this history makes me hungry." I said sheepishly, and Matt smiled, "There's a restaurant next door." he said, and I thanked Dr. Turner again as we headed out.

The rest of the day went quickly, and I loved every minute of it, "This was amazing, Matt, thank you so much." I gushed as we headed home later. He chuckled, "Anything for my treasure, I'm glad you enjoyed it." he said, and I nodded.

We walked into the packhouse hand in hand, talking and laughing, then paused as we got out of the elevator on our floor. Val and Sarah were facing each other while Kyle stood between them, trying to separate them. Ryan stood beside Val, trying to get her away from Sarah, and Tyler leaned against the wall just watching the show.