Longing For A Luna

Chapter 8: Dinner For Two I of II

“Yes! Put that in your stupid butter sucking mutt hole and smoke it!” I yelled at the computer screen.

Ben burst out laughing at me, “Fred, what does that even mean?”

“Shut up!” I grumbled back, “I meant to say something else and got tongue tied. Don’t act like you don’t spout nonsense when you get in the zone.”

Ben’s laugh softened and he took a deep breath, “Oh, I’ve missed you, Fred. I’ve always loved this side of you. Tiny, but frightening and cussing like a sailor.”

“Who are you calling tiny?” I grumbled. “Maybe you’re just freakishly big.”

He chuckled at me again, “I’m simply a typical werewolf male. Blame the Moon Goddess for making you a bite-sized she-wolf.”

I shot my middle finger up at the screen.

“I know you’re flipping me off, Fred.”

Before I could snark back at him, Ana got my attention.

‘Mmm, I smell the garlic bread coming down the hall. Food’s here.’’

‘You are the most smelling-est wolf ever,’ I observed.

Ana huffed, ‘I think what you meant to say was “Thank you for telling me so the garlic bread doesn’t get cold and gross,” my ungrateful human counterpart.’

‘You have a point,’ I replied. ‘Thank you, drama queen, for saving me from cold bread.”

“Ben, the food I ordered is here. You ready for a break?”

“Sure thing. Let me warm-up some leftover pizza and then we can eat together.”

I took off my headset and grabbed the food from outside our apartment door before sitting back down at the computer.

Ana moaned, ‘Well, if this isn’t a little slice of heaven.’

I was about to make fun of her for moaning over food but she was right; it smelled downright heavenly. I started to dig in while I waited for Ben’s video call. It finally popped up on the screen.

“You started eating without me!” Ben mockingly gasped. It sounded hilarious in his deep voice.

“Nothing will ever get between me and a loaf of fresh, garlicky cheese bread, Torres,” I answered and pointedly took a huge bite,

“Hmmm, garlic bread with cheese. So, that means you ordered a large Greek salad with grilled chicken and tiramisu for dessert?”

I grinned, “Yep. Sticking with what works. Let me guess: you got pizza with pepperoni, onions, and jalapeños…and extra spicy hot wings?”

Ben held up his plate, piled high with food, to show me I was right.

“I’m not sure how you still have a stomach lining, Ben.”

He pointed a wing at me, “And I’m not sure where you put all that food, Fred. How can such a tiny girl put away so much?”

“Again with the ‘tiny’ comment. I will have you know that I am 5’4”, which is the average height for an American woman.”

He shook his head and laughed lightly, “You’ll always be small compared to me.”

“Almost everyone is small compared to you,” I countered, “And before you say it: no, you are not the size of a standard werewolf. You are freaking huge and you know it.”

I don’t know why he wouldn’t just admit it, but Ben was larger than most werewolves. He had always been tall but he hit a growth spurt right before the summer of our senior year and shot up several inches. Then he continued to fill out his formerly lanky frame throughout college. By the time he came back from his study-abroad program for our college graduation, Ben was a solid wall of muscle.

Others in the pack often spoke about his skills as a warrior and apparently, Ben could be an unrelenting machine when fighting. To me, though, he was still my same kind, funny, and thoughtful friend.

We chatted while eating and did some general catching up. I told him about turning down Luna Emily's offer, expecting him to be disappointed since he worked for the security division and had been pushing the past few years for me to join them.

He barely showed a reaction, “A year ago, I would’ve begged you to change your mind, and to work for the Luna. I could really use someone with your skills there when we’re out in the field. But after everything that’s happened with the Rebirth, I think you’re making a smart decision.”

I had noticed he had dark circles under his eyes. They had been less apparent when he was smiling, but now that his face had turned somber, they stood out.

“What’s going on, Ben?”

“Just a second,” he said, and got up and walked away from the computer. I heard him jiggle the door knob; he must’ve been making sure it was locked.

When he sat down, he looked even more serious. My sweet, funny friend looked completely devoid of any joy at the moment.

“None of this has been easy since the Rebirth. But this one was bad. Really bad, Fred.”

“Ben, you know if you want to talk about it, I’m here to listen. I’ll take it to the vault.”

He nodded, “This pack completely imploded. There was a group of male werewolves who didn’t want to lose their wives and girlfriends to fated mates, so they conspired to take over the pack house so they could live in there, isolated from everyone else. They barricaded the pack house and kept everyone else out, including the Alpha and the Beta of the pack. The Gamma had tried to stop the group. They killed him, then threw his body on the front steps. Some of the women had not gone into the packhouse willingly; they screamed out of the windows for help and some kept trying to escape. The Alpha took a group of warriors loyal to him through a secret underground escape tunnel and tried to infiltrate the pack house to retake it. But we think the warriors inside already knew about it and were waiting for them. Nobody’s completely sure what happened, but there was obviously an altercation where things got out of hand. At some point a gas line was broken and it caused an explosion. The pack house burned to the ground and all but a few of the women and children who were stuck inside perished.”