As the Moon Teaches

New Moon Gathering. Part 4

Loren slowly woke up, feeling content in his sleepy haze. He almost did not want to wake up, but the need to pee was definitely making itself known. Opening his eyes, he propped himself up on his hands, yawning as he pushed up to sit. That was when he noticed Gregory positioned next to him.

Eyes going wide open, Loren shifted away from Gregory slowly. As he did, Gregory’s hand reached out to follow. Loren barely remembered Gregory coming to his room last night, but could not remember much after the Alpha entered the room.

“Gregory…” Loren complained when the other’s hand landed on his hip. “I need to get up.”

It took a moment before Gregory pulled away and gave a groggy sound of affirmation. Gregory rolled over to his back and stretched out. A yawn escaped the young man as he slowly opened his eyes to watch Loren.

“Did you sleep well?” The Alpha asked as Loren got up out of the bed.

Loren ignored the other young man as he left the room to go to his separate bathroom. After relieving himself, he stared at himself in the mirror for a moment. His eyes seemed to be a brighter green, his skin seemed a little brighter. It was like he had the best sleep and rest that he had had in weeks.

Returning to the bedroom, Loren went to his bag to find his toothbrush, again ignoring Gregory. He returned to the bathroom to brush his teeth, making sure to take his time. He was hoping that when he returned to his room, that Gregory would be elsewhere.

Gregory seemed to take the hint, and went to his own bedroom. He did his morning routine before getting dressed for the day. As it was another day to honor the moon, he wore dark slacks and a neutral button up. He then headed downstairs to get some breakfast.

Loren soon joined him in the kitchen, dressed in loose fitting jeans and a nice green tee-shirt. He headed to the fridge to look for food, but was stopped by Gregory’s hand on his arm. He slowly turned to look at the man, wondering what was going on.

“All that we have for breakfast is toaster pastries.” Gregory held out an unopened pack. “We can shop for groceries tomorrow.”

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Arriving at the clearing, both young men looked around at how people grouped up. So far only about a third of people were there, but they definitely stuck to their pack niches. Loren did not see Carleigh yet, so he looked around to find Lucy or Marcus. Once seeing Marcus, he said a farewell to Gregory and went to his friend.

Gregory was not so happy about the separation, but he went off to find his pack. Until there was more between them, Loren and Gregory still had separate lives. Finding Max and Mitchell, Gregory joined in their conversation about welcoming the Moon Goddess back.

This time apart was filled with slow glances to make sure where each other were. Even though Loren refused to acknowledge it, he wanted to know where Gregory was most of the time. Gregory was not shy about how he watched Loren occasionally, he blatantly watched his mate while he wandered.

Later that morning, Loren finally found Carleigh. She had arrived with Lucy and two young men. Loren made his way to his sister, hugging her before giving the two girls a very strong, questioning look.

“Loren, this is my mate, Oskar.” Lucy introduced her red haired partner. His hair obviously dyed.

“Hello Oskar.” Loren nodded, then turned his attention to the other man, waiting for Lucy to introduce him. It was Carleigh who surprised him.

“This is my mate, Ellis Weir.” Carleigh sounded extremely excited.

It had been over a year of waiting and looking, but it seemed Carleigh finally found her mate. Loren was shocked for a moment, before he gave Carleigh a very tight squeeze. He smiled openly at Ellis.

“I’m ecstatic that Leigh finally has her mate! Welcome to the family, Ellis.” It took Loren a short second to let go of Carleigh and then shake Ellis’ hand.

Loren and Carleigh talked for a quite a while about their night. Carleigh and Lucy had stayed out late at a diner to spend time with Oskar and Ellis. They had spent the entire night talking so that Carleigh and Ellis could get to know each other.

Inviting Carleigh to see the place he was to stay with Gregory, Loren wanted her approval on the place before he thought about more than just spending the night there. Gregory’s suggestion of shopping the next morning felt too domestic for their situation. He wanted a second opinion.

Loren explained about Gregory giving him the two bedrooms to use as his own. He told her how he would use one for his work room, where he could sit and whittle little figurines. Carleigh was decent enough to not point out how Loren sounded like he had already moved in with Gregory.

The day dragged on as pack members arrived and went about preparations or hanging out with their friends. As the sky darkened, everyone slowly started gathering at the largest bonfire pyre, which had yet to be lit ablaze.

The Alphas of each pack gathered at the pyre, ready to begin welcoming the Moon Goddess back. The stars barely lit the sky with no moon light to help, thus the need for the bonfires. As songbirds went to sleep and the crickets woke up, the sounds of the woods changed and every pack member grew tense while waiting for their Alphas.

Lighting the bonfire, Alpha Morningbrooke started the prayer for the Moon Goddess’ safe return. He asked for guidance for the packs, that each should stand strong with her as their light. Alpha Andersen and Alpha Garrett followed with their own prayers and wishes for guidance. Howls filled the night as the Alphas finished.

The feast settled down not long after the Alphas gave their speeches. Gregory found Loren again and asked that they leave. Pelian was growing impatient and was ready for time with its mate. In the privacy of their home would be better than in the clearing of the woods.

Loren did his goodbyes to his friends and family, already tired and ready to head for a warm shower and his bed. They walked in silence until they made it to the house. Gregory once again let Loren unlock the door and enter the house first.

Loren kicked off his shoes after entering. It felt right for some reason. Feeling at home was easy already, and Loren was too tired to question it.

“I need a shower, if you don’t need me…” Loren yawned as he headed up the stairs.

Gregory did not respond right away, he just watched Loren move to the upstairs bathroom. He watched until the bathroom door was shut and he could not see Loren anymore. That is when Pelian demanded they follow.

When Gregory made it up the stairs, he stopped to listen at the door to the bathroom. He waited until he heard the water running and then listened longer, for the tell tale sound from Loren as he stepped under the warm water. This is when Gregory entered the bathroom quietly.

He silently stripped, dropping his clothes on top of Loren’s discarded laundry. He moved to the shower stall and gently pulled the curtain back enough to slip in. He waited until Loren’s head was tilted back under the water before entering.

As soon as Gregory was in the shower, Loren startled at the feel of his presence. He went wide eyed and pulled back from the other man, which nearly sent him tumbling. Gregory grabbed his arms to steady him.

“The Hell are you doing in my shower!?” Loren yanked his arms free once he was stable.

“I need to be close, Pelian wants more than that…” Gregory left that open ended for implication.

“Hell no, get out! I can tolerate the touches,” Loren nearly hissed as he yelled at Gregory. “There is no way I’m tolerating you being in my shower.”

Gregory sighed and leaned against the shower wall, “can we just stand back to back? I promise that’ll be it, but Pelian is getting hard to ignore.”

Loren was quiet for quite some time. He was mulling over the fact that Pelian was getting more aggressive with its desire to be mated with Zeala. Loren was actually having his own issues ignoring Zeala’s whines and whimpers for the Alpha.

“This once, but this is really pushing it!” Loren snapped before he turned his back to Gregory, just wanting to ignore the other wolf.