As the Moon Teaches

Tingles? Part 2

Two days until Loren was eighteen. Two days! The teen was excited and ready to work on fully controlling his powers, his wolf. He could hardly wait the two days, two weeks had dragged on like a snail.

It wasn’t a surprise that he was feeling like a caged animal. He could not stay still in his seat, teachers were trying to tolerate as he became fidgety. Loren was barely concentrating on classwork the last couple days. His excitement was about more than just being considered an adult. He would hopefully meet his mate soon. He could settle down with the person he was meant to be with, and they could just worry about finishing high school and then joining the pack hunting party.

His sister, Carleigh, had been an exception to the basic rule of ‘meet your mate when you come of age.’ Their mother stated that it was probably one of those rare times that the mate was younger and Carleigh would just have to wait for them to come of age. Loren shook his head, he felt bad for his sister, but he hated the thought of that happening to him. Carleigh had already waited a year for her mate.

Loren waited out the class, ready to head to the library for his lunch break as usual, because he could not wait to smell the baker girl. He knew he had better eventually get her name, but his hope was that she could somehow be his mate and he would instantly connect and names would not matter to start.

Zeala sneered a bit at the thoughts the young boy had. It was like he thought the connection would magically teach him stuff. The wolf huffed at the boy and startled him a little out of his own musings.

Giving his own huff, Loren played with his pen while waiting for the bell. As soon as it rang, he was out of his seat and loading his stuff in his bag to get out as quickly as possible. He made his way to a vending machine in the lunchroom, getting something small to snack on. He was just about to leave when the tingling sensation hit, and hit hard.

That ringing in his skin was twice as powerful as before. Like it was magnified, he turned to look around. What was causing that sensation? He stared at three wolves of the Darkstone pack that had just entered the cafeteria. They were nearly on the opposite wall to him, and he felt as if they, or at least one of them, were right next to him.

Gregory stopped mid step into the lunch room, his two pack mates bumping into him as he did. They mumbled and grumbled a little, as his body was pretty solid from the year of weight lifting he had done for bodybuilding competitions. They missed that their friend was basically frozen in place and staring across the room.

He had not really felt the tingling much, except the occasional passing sensation that he could never pin down. Now, it was back in full force. He had noticed that as of the last week, a few short times, the tingling had been stronger, but now it was like his skin was vibrating against his bones.

He stared directly at a pair of green eyes that were staring back at him. He snarled a little at the way the sensation rocked him. He could not tell if the sensation was good or bad, but with how strong it was, it was definitely a warning of some kind. Was this kid an Alpha? He had thought that Morningbrooke kid was the next Alpha, so that could not be it, could it?

Loren stared at the three wolves, confusion starkly written on his face. He and Zeala felt pinned under the gaze the biggest of the three gave him. He wondered if those three could feel the tingling, actually more like buzzing. It could not just be him, right?

Zeala could give no answer, it was a new sensation for them as well. It had to be a warning that the others were stronger or something. Would he always feel this way around other wolves that were stronger? He did not feel like this around Marcus or his parents, the current Alpha and mate.

Slowly, Loren backed away from his position, eyes still locked across the room on the three wolves of the ‘cousin’ pack in the area. The two packs were not really allies, but they definitely were not enemies, so why would he be worried about them in a danger-sense kind of way?

He managed to find the door and escape the lunch room and quickly made his way to the library. He really wished there was just a book on how to deal with things like this. There should be a guide book. He would have to talk to the pack Witch again, see if she could tell him more this time.

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By the end of the day, Loren was in no better a situation. That tingling had left his skin on the razor's edge. He could feel the sensation even though it was a dull memory of it. He had not even managed to enjoy the smell of his crush in the library. So, he finished the day off sad and on edge. Not a fun day.

Carleigh met up with Loren as the younger wolf grabbed stuff from his locker, ready to leave. She noticed that he was not his usual bright self, and could not help but wrap her arms around his shoulders and bury her nose in his shoulder.

“What’s wrong, pup? You seem down.”

“It’s that d**n sensation again.”

“I thought that went away…” Carleigh raised her head, curiosity in her eyes.

“I thought so, but now it is back and stronger.” Loren shrugged out of Carleigh’s hug and put his backpack over one shoulder. “It’s almost painful, Leigh.”

She sighed and followed her little brother as he started walking. She was not used to him being less than vibrant, but she sure would find a way to help him feel better. She did not know how yet, but she was going to.

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Gregory had a terrible time the rest of the day after lunch. He felt like his skin was on fire, like it was splitting open and exposing him raw. There were a few times the pain lessened, but the sensation of tingling was still horrible. It was like pieces of him were missing, leaving him wanting them back.

His day was slow, but when it finally came to an end and he was headed home with pack mates, he could feel the sensation lessening the further they got from the school. There must be something in the school making him react that way.

As they walked, Gregory could feel Pelian pace, almost like the wolf was listless. He half listened as his pack mates talked about stuff to do over the weekend. They had several ideas, but none that interested Gregory. He was definitely going to try and figure out this sensation that was driving him and his wolf insane.

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Friday came and went with little interest. Loren managed to talk to Winnie, the pack Witch, but she had no set answer for him. He had the possibilities of: being able to sense wolves more directly than others, sensing his mate, or even just being extra sensitive to someone’s aura. She could not say for certain, and this left him still quizzical.

Saturday though, Loren completely forgot about his quest for answers, because it was his eighteenth birthday! He was already feeling more and more connected to Zeala. It was like being high, but without the loss of awareness. In fact, his awareness seemed to be heightened now that his body was melding with his wolf more.

The day was spent with the pack Betas, the Duponts, and learning a bit of how to connect with Zeala better. Loren learned about his senses, how to dull them a little so they were not overbearing. He spent time with the hunters of the pack, learning about tactics they used when guarding the grounds.

By evening, he had spent time with most of the different segments of the pack. It was when he met with the Alpha and his mate that Loren learned something he was not certain how to take.

Alpha Caspian Morningbrooke and his wife, Cordelia, instantly recognized something in Loren that was difficult for most to detect. It was something about the power of an Alpha that let Caspian sense it.

“Loren, you may appear as a Gamma to others… but I can sense otherwise. You are an Omega. You will most likely find a mate that is an Alpha.”

Loren did not really know what an Omega was, but he knew if it meant finding an Alpha for his mate, that he might have to leave the pack. There was no way that Marcus Morningbrooke was to be his mate, which most likely meant finding someone from another pack. He felt a bit of a loss. Would he really have to leave his pack? His family?

Caspian patted Loren on the shoulder, understanding the stress going on in the young man’s head. “If you’d like, we’ll not say anything until you find your mate.”

“Yes, please.” Loren nodded. He thanked the Alpha for his discretion before heading off to find his family. At the moment, he needed time with his parents and sister. Who knew how long until he found his mate and might have to leave.

The day seemed to go slowly, but once the moon was in the darkening sky, Loren found Carleigh and Marcus. They headed into town to meet up with a couple friends at the bowling alley. They were going to have a small get together to celebrate Loren’s coming of age.

They spent most of the evening laughing and bowling. They ate pizza and danced to the music. Overall, Loren was able to forget about his unrest at being an Omega. He was having fun, enjoying time with his closest friends.

That was until it felt like lightning struck. The air felt like it was buzzing, the scent of rain wafted about. It was as if a storm had hit and that he was at the center of its anger.