As the Moon Teaches

First Meeting?

Loren stood still, a bowling ball gripped tightly in his hand, as he felt like he had been struck by lightning. The air felt heavy and smelled of rain. It was a pleasant smell that had Loren envisioning a damp field that he could just roll around in. It hurt, but was oh so sweet at the same time.

Carleigh egged him on, trying to get him to throw the ball, but he barely heard her over the thrumming in his ears and along his skin. He turned around, looking about slowly. Something told him it was a person, someone around him, that caused such a crazy mix of excitement and fear.

His sights set on another teen across the alley from him, who was also stopped in place, staring back. Loren could barely breathe as Zeala howled inside him. Electricity seemed to spark in the air, and there was a sound floating gently around him. It sounded like a very faint howl, but was so different from Zeala’s.

Across the room from Loren and his group, there were three teens that smelled of wolves. Two were dark haired, the one in the middle was lighter haired. It looked brunet because of the lighting, but Loren could tell it was a dirty blond. He could barely tell features of the other two, but he could tell details easily for the center teen.

Gray/blue eyes, hard chiseled features that gave him elegant proportions, shoulder length blond hair brushed back wildly. Loren could hardly afford to blink, with how eager Zeala was. His breathing was slow as he waited for something to snap him out of this daze.

Those gray eyes were set on him, watching him with the same surprise that he himself had. Loren had no idea what to do, but he felt the urge to go to the other teen as well as run the other way.

Gregory just stared at the other young man across the room from him. Green eyes that drew him in, slim but muscular build obvious below the loose t-shirt and baggy jeans. Pelian would drag Gregory there if the wolf could. He took in the young man, eyeing every detail he could from the distance.

His head was shaved except the top, which had long blond and brunet dreads hanging down, kept in a braid. A few piercings on his ears and two on his bottom lip. He was someone who looked like he hung out with the stoners and lazy students.

A growl deep inside himself surprised him. Was Pelian upset at that assessment? It very much seemed like it. Gregory felt himself drawn to the other, especially when the others around him started poking at him to continue bowling. Feet moving on their own, Gregory led his two friends over to the small group.

“Hey Gregory, why we going over there?” One of the two pups with him asked, not sure why Gregory looked so concerned and focused.

Of course they had seen the other group at school, but they had never really spent any time near them. Three of them were of a different pack, specifically the leading pack of Brookeside. The boys looked from Gregory to the teens of the group. Hopefully this went well.

Loren barely caught himself as his grip started to loosen on the bowling ball when the other started to make his way over. Quickly setting the ball on the return, he turned to Carleigh and Marcus, trying not to concern Eric and Kaity. Eyes wide, he felt as if he was having a hard time breathing.

The sensation only grew stronger as the blond man approached, that distance closing. Loren pleaded with his sister, wanting to know what he was feeling. Unknown to him, neither Carleigh or Marcus could feel what Loren felt. He was alone in this venture.

As the gray eyes settled on him once again, Loren swallowed thickly. Hopefully this was not how fights started. He really did not want to be the source of a rift between the Morningbrooke and Darkstone Packs. Zeala could not seem happier as the young man grew closer.

“What’s up?” Carleigh watched the growing concern on her brother’s face. She noticed the boys from Darkstone approaching. “Do you know them? Things okay?”

“They keep their distance usually, this is odd.” Marcus shook his head. He knew Gregory, he had second period with him. “That’s Gregory Jr., Alpha-in-training for the Darkstone Pack. Not sure why he’d be coming over here.”

Loren turned back to stare at the source of his discomfort as the distance closed to five feet. Zeala pushed at him, wanting some form of connection with Gregory, it seemed. Something in that tingling sensation led him to walk towards the blond young man. It was when he could not stop himself from reaching out to grab Gregory’s hand and bring it to his face, rubbing his cheek on the inner wrist, that everyone kind of froze in awe.

Eyes wide, Gregory just stared at Loren, who seemed to just realize what he had done. Loren let go of Gregory’s hand like he had been burned. “Aaah, uhm… Sorry, not sure what the h**l I just did!”

“Dude, that was really weird!” One of Gregory’s friends, one that Marcus recognized as Max, started laughing. He ran a hand through short brown hair as he doubled over. “That’s some silly s**t!”

“Max, shut up…” Mitchell snapped quietly while waiting to see what Gregory would do about it.

Normally, Gregory would not put up with pranks, and that is what he was going to call this, but all he could think to do was turn away. “I don’t know why we came over here. Let’s leave… now.”

Without looking back, Gregory left, not waiting for Max or Mitchell to follow. He just wanted to get away from that tingling, electric feeling that made him want the boy with dreads to do that weird hand thing again. He figured best to just get away.

“Must have been a weird way he’s been brought up or something… Submit to an Alpha!” Max hollered as he followed Gregory. He barely missed getting thumped on the head by Mitchell as he laughed out loud.

“Yeah, just like your weird upbringing that makes you obnoxious.” Mitchell snickered when Max stumbled a bit but then grinned. Brown eyes narrowed a bit as Mitchell tried to recall any time he had seen the boy with dreads in anything more than just passing. Had they ever interacted before?

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“Okay, so explain the sensations, everything is important.” Winnie Welsh, the Morningbrooke Pack Witch, asked Loren. She was asked to help determine a ‘strange encounter’ he had with a  boy from another pack. She wondered who, but he had yet to inform anybody who it was.

Alpha Caspian sat next to her, awaiting whatever Loren could regale them with. From what he had already pieced together, Loren was very highly affected and ready to know what was happening. He watched the young man play with his nails, fidgeting to stay calm.

“Lightning, rain, fresh cut wet grass…” Loren counted out things he could remember. “It was like… electricity running along my skin. Like I’d touched one of those bulbs with colorful lights attracted to your finger when you touch the bulb…”

Loren could see that he was not really getting anywhere with that analogy. He sighed and rubbed his face in distress.

“Okay. It was like I was struck by lightning. I was frozen, and I could only smell rain and wet grass. I felt like I was frozen, looking at these three guys from the Darkstone Pack. Then, they headed my way. I swear, if I could have, I would have hid behind Carleigh, I was so on edge!”

Caspian raised an eyebrow at the way Loren was explaining it. It was definitely an interesting way to handle the situation. He would have to remember about the fact they were from Darkstone, something to cover later on.

“I mean, when they got close enough… I swear I don’t know how it happened… but I walked over and took his hand, like we’d known each other forever… and I rubbed my cheek on his wrist!?!?” Loren suddenly felt like he was dying of embarrassment to explain this not only to the Witch, but the Alpha, too!

“You rubbed your face on his wrist?” Winnie stared at the young man with a sad smile, trying not to think him a little daft. “Like, ‘hey, how ya doin?’ or like ‘hey’... I got nothing else.”

“How about more like ‘hey, like me?’” Alpha Caspian smirked a little knowing smile.

“What?! Why would it be like that?” Loren gasped out loud.

“I think this may be your own strange little wolf’s way of connecting to its partner… its mate…” The older man gave a soft nod before laughing at the looks of surprise from both the young wolf and the Witch.

“So, like a really strong reaction to his wolf’s guiding spirit. Okay, I can see that. Still don’t know why he’d rub his face on someone’s wrist… but okay.” Winnie nodded, trying to understand. She had dealt with a lot of others explaining and questioning their mate connection, but this was a little on the extra side of things.

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“Your mate!” Carleigh sounded giddy when Loren recounted what he had talked about with the Alpha and the Witch of their pack.

“Shhh, shhh. I haven’t told mom, I don’t think…” He did not get to finish that sentence before the door to Carleigh’s room flew open.

There stood their mother, Michelle Whitaker, a simple beauty with a huge smile. “Who said mate!?”

Loren sighed and buried his head in his hands. He had hoped for Carleigh’s help in investigating his problem a little more before their parents found out and wanted to make a big thing of it.

“Loren may have met his mate! I can’t wait to see how this works out!” Being the helpful big sister was only part of her role. Carleigh also loved to tease and torment her little brother when she could.

“Mom! It’s nothing. I’m serious, it is nothing big. I’m not even sure they’re my mate.”

“Have you felt tingly all over, like someone is a powerful storm that’ll protect you from the outside world?”

“Huh? That’s… actually very similar… How’d you guess that?” Loren looked very lost. Alpha Caspian and Winnie both seemed a little surprised with how explosive the sensations had been.

Michelle smiled a gentle smile and reached out her hands, one to each of her children. When they took hold of her hands, she gave a little squeeze. “Your father explained his connection to me in a similar fashion. Tingly with a bit of storm. Said I was his shield from the world.”

“Awwwee.” Carleigh sighed. She had been waiting a year to find her mate, so while she was happy for her brother she was still a little lonely. “That’s sickeningly sweet, mom.”

After another half hour of talking, Loren retreated back to his room. Sunday was going slow, but he really was not looking forward to school for the next few weeks until he graduated. Laying on his bed, the young man gave a tired groan. He closed his eyes and drifted off to thoughts of the one they all claimed was his mate.

He knew a couple same gendered couples, but he never really thought about how it would affect him, the gender of his mate. He decided to think of how he viewed others.

Winnie was attractive with long ginger hair to her hips. Her pale skin dotted with beige freckles, almost like someone splattered her with paint. She always had red lips and red eye liner that made her green eyes even more vivid.

Her husband and mate, Tim Welsh, was an attractive man. He had short black hair that curled a little, especially on top of his head. Brown eyes that were nearly amber, tan skin that looked sun kissed. Attractive physique that anybody would approve of, and a great personality.

Then there was his family. Carleigh was pretty in a simple way. She had straight blonde hair that hung to her mid back, and hazel eyes that glittered green occasionally. She was more homely than most of the girls her age, but that was because she focused on being eco-friendly, rather than worrying about makeup.

Their mother, Michelle, was gorgeous in her own right, with short honey colored curls. She was a little pudgy, but who could fault her after two kids? She was a creamy caramel color, which played into Carleigh and Loren being light tan. Green eyes that could carry you to the sanctity of a tree house above and beyond your problems. A mother’s gift, they theorized.

Now, Kristian, their father, was pretty simple looking. He was not attractive like a model, but he was not ugly. He just had simple, soft features that made him look calm and collected. Loren always noted him to look like a banker. Non-threatening, barely noticeable banker. Brown eyes, brown hair, no noticeable markings.

Loren felt he could easily judge appearances, that he had only been attracted to females. Why was his possible mate male? He wished Zeala could explain it all.

‘Pelian,’ was the word that popped into his head. What did Pelian mean? Why did Zeala decide to give that word for an explanation?