Blue Moon Luna

Chapter 3

Thursday June 5

BLUE POV

It’s 11.30pm and I’m wide awake, sitting on the edge of my bed, preparing myself to head outside in preparation for my first shift into my wolf.

My aunt was already in bed asleep, but had explained what would happen, and what I should do. I have seen wolves shift throughout my whole life, so even though I’m alone, I know what to expect, and my aunt can’t help with the pain of the shift, so here I go, solo.

I remove my clothes and pull on a robe. I don’t have many clothes, so I don’t want to rip and destroy the few I do own when I change. I quietly sneak out of the cottage and headed over to the tree line on the opposite side of the road. I make my way through the darkness and head towards the sound of the stream. Being a she wolf, my eyesight in the dark is almost as good as it is in the day, so navigating isn’t an issue. Time ticks by, I check my phone, 5 minutes to go. My wolf is anxious, I can feel her pacing.

We settle down in a small clearing near the steam and I remove my robe. The crescent moon shines from above, illuminating the clearing.

12 o’clock strikes and pain sears through my body, my bones crack and distort, my canines and claws elongate. It feels like a lifetime, but less than a minute has passed. I pick myself up off the floor, and walk to the stream precariously. I stare into a small pool of water that is calm and observe my reflection.

A mix of emotions overcomes me. I did it. I’m finally like everybody else. Kind of.

I continue to study my reflection. I’m white with my usual piercing blue eyes. Most people’s eyes remain the same colour as their human form when they let their wolf come forward, but honestly, in all my 18 years, I had never met a white wolf before. Urgh, I still feel like an outcast even as a wolf.

My wolf senses my concern and lets out a small growl. ‘Run’ she commands in my mind.

Without a second thought, we leapt across the stream and bounded through the thick, dense woodland.

I knew these woods like the back of my paw, I grew up climbing these trees, paddling in the stream, camping and creating art, but as a wolf, it was like a whole new world.

My aunt was right, my senses were even more acute, I could hear crickets chirping, owls hooting, even forest deer scuttling through the grass in the far distance.

This small section of trees, which I’d entered opposite our cottage, sprawled for around 5 square miles. It was a literal blob of trees in the shape of a square, if viewed from above, on a map.

It encroached on the academy grounds to the south, backed onto the children’s park near the town centre to the west, our cottage was to the east, and to the north of the woods was Lycan Gardens and Lycan Manor, where the rich people, Alpha and Luna lived.

Their Manor House was also the pack house where the whole Alpha’s family lived, along with his Beta, warriors, and high-ranking pack members.

I had never been in the pack house, or to any of the large houses that sat within the gated community. I had only viewed it from afar, whilst sitting on a branch in a tall tree, when I was a young girl.

As I raced through the woods in a north westerly direction, I became aware of a new and unusual smell.

I was almost at the edge of the woods now. Wolves can move at such a speed, that covering 5 miles can be done in under 2 minutes for a newly shifted wolf.

I came to a stop, lifted my nose and inhaled deeply. I held the scent for a few seconds before releasing it.

The smell was like nothing I’d ever experienced. It was earthy but also sweet. Like a mix of honeysuckle and petrichor, which is the earthy smell you get before it rains. But the sky was clear.

It seemed to be coming from the gated community of Lycan gardens.

Did all rich people smell this good? Did poor people smell bad? Did I smell bad?

I shuddered at the thought of Cara bullying me all this time because I possibly smelled bad. My wolf growled at me, and practically begged me to scale the fence to go investigate.

She was very excited.

Absolutely not! I don’t need any more drama or after-hour abuse. I get enough of that at school.

I stood for a few minutes longer, taking in the memorising smell before I forced myself to turn around and head back home. I did have one last day of school left and didn’t want to look tired and give anyone any more reasons to attack me.

I sprinted back to my robe and shifted back. I got back to the cottage, jumped straight into the shower and lathered myself up in the most fragrant shower gels and moisturising body wash I could find. I really didn’t want to smell bad now that my sense of scent was so well developed and now that I knew what the rich community smelled like.

I towel dried my hair, and spritzed on some floral leave in conditioner and some body spray, before I climbed into bed and slipped into a deep sleep.

CREW POV

I was in my room finishing up a late night work out when it hit me. The most delicious smell imaginable. It was light and floral, Jasmine and moorland heather, fresh and intoxicating. I had no idea who it belonged to, and no true idea of where it was coming from. I opened the double doors onto my balcony and stepped out into the night. My wolf was frantic. If it were up to him, we would have jumped straight over the balcony and risked landing from 5 stories up. That wasn’t an option, not with so many upcoming events we had to be in one piece for.

I ran back into my room and stripped into a pair of plain grey joggers. I headed through the hallway and down several flights of stairs.

I snuck out of the side entrance of the manor, into the night air. I inhaled deeply and was frustrated that the scent wasn’t as strong. Devastated, I shifted, and headed towards the distant trees where I suspected the scent had come from. I dashed through the trees, picking up hints here and there, but nothing that was strong enough to track with certainty.

I came to a small cottage on the opposite side of the woodland. The scent was lost. Flowers, honey, lavender and camomile oozed from the occupants of the house, but the scent that had driven me and my wolf wild was lost to the wind. I headed back home defeated, but there was no denying it, the smell could only be one thing. ‘MATE’ my wolf howled. It was her.