Longing For A Luna

Chapter 2 - Alpha's Birthday I of II

As soon as we stepped off the elevator, we were accosted by Nick’s – and possibly the world’s – loudest coworker.

“Evans! I was wondering when you were gonna get your ass here,” Murphy barked out, entirely too close to Nick’s face, clapping his hand on his shoulder harshly, “We were talking about point spreads for the weekend and needed your opinion.”

Nick just grinned at his obnoxious behavior; he’d had a soft spot for Murphy ever since they’d gone to law school together.

“Murph, you remember my wife, Danielle?” Nick gestured to me. I held out my hand to greet him.

“Ah, yes. The beautiful Mrs. Evans,” he clumsily reached for my hand and moved to kiss the back of it; it was apparent he’d taken advantage of the open bar.

‘Ew,’ Ana said, ‘don’t let his lips touch us. He smells like a frat party.’

I quickly pumped his hand a couple of times in an awkward handshake, then pulled away. Fighting the urge to wipe my palm on my dress, I gave Murphy a tight smile.

“It’s Mrs. Fredrick, Danielle Fredrick. I kept my last name when we married.”

“Oh yeah, I think you told me that before,” he slurred, his gaze wandering down my body.

Nick put his arm around my waist, pulling me against him. I’d always disliked displays of possessiveness before meeting him. The whole “this is mine” mentality was a turnoff for me, and I cringed whenever seeing other werewolves doing it. But with Nick, it was different. It was like he was reminding others we were a unit, two halves of a whole, instead of treating me like his possession. It was one of the things I loved about him.

“Murphy, we have a few more people to say hello to, so I’ll catch-up with you later,” Nick started walking the two of us toward the tables where others were congregating. I stole a glance at the skylights above; this had to be the fanciest banquet hall in any pack house, anywhere.

The Blue Moon pack owned this building, and it served as both the pack house and the home for pack-run businesses. In addition to the law firm, they also had private security, cyber security, private investment companies, and a daycare housed in offices throughout the building. There were condos for the higher-ranked wolves and employees of said companies as well. Nick and I had considered moving there a couple of years ago, but decided we liked our space away from the pack. It worked out for the best, considering the amount of drama the Rebirth had brought about, especially in those first few weeks.

The pack had erupted into complete chaos when wolves started growling, “Mate!” and making out, and sometimes more, in public with coworkers and neighbors. There were constant fights and even a few times when wolves shifted in public due to anger over a lost spouse or partner. The pack leadership was overwhelmed with trying to cover-up incidents so humans didn’t get involved while keeping peace between pack members.

No one knew what was going on at first. For weeks, everyone in the city assumed something was in the water supply and it was some type of biological warfare. The frustration continued to build when, even after having bottled water shipped in and having the pack’s doctors do all sorts of blood work, these strange behaviors continued. Other packs scattered across the globe reached out, reporting the same things were happening to them.

Then some of the elderly wolves, ones in their 80s and 90s, recalled that as children they heard a few couples in their grandparents’ age group calling each other mates and talking about fate. Once they shared those memories the historians and academics came out of the woodwork, eager to share their knowledge of the past and pulling dusty old books out of pack libraries to research.

Goddess-selected mate bonds had become the subject of legends long ago. Their sudden reappearance managed to nearly capsize werewolf society by affecting our free will to choose who we love. What happened in Blue Moon was apparently mild compared to what other packs had to endure. The historians said fate-bonds were supposed to be a gift. If that were true, who would want a blessing such as this?

-

Looking around the hall, I thought about how much had changed in the past eight months. There were people here with new spouses or partners while some were newly single, thanks to the Rebirth. One thing that hadn’t changed: Marianne.

She’d been married for 30 years to our Beta, Richard, who was also one of the senior partners at the law firm. In what had to be a one-in-a-million chance, Marianne and Richard turned out to be fated mates.

‘The Goddess at least got that one right,’ Ana had quipped back when it was announced. ‘No one else would want either of them. They’re both so vulgar.’

Richard was kind of crass and aggressive, but that had served him well in his profession and as the Beta of a large pack in a city. Marianne was…well, I don’t know if I’d call her vulgar. She hid her nasty persona behind refined manners and designer labels.

Ana called out a warning, “Heads up! Viper at 12 o’clock, coming our way.’

Marianne was walking toward me, as if I’d conjured her from my thoughts. I plastered on a polite smile and gave Nick a side glance. He better not go anywhere until she’s gone.

“Oh Danielle, that dress is amazing!” Marianne drawled out. “It makes you look pretty.”

I felt Nick stiffen beside me. He had to tread carefully since this was the wife of his boss and our Beta.

“Dani would be gorgeous in a paper sack,” he replied, looking at me when he said it. “I’m a very lucky man to have a wife with so much natural beauty.”

‘Oh, snap! Was that a swipe at Silicon Barbie?’ Ana cackled. ‘We are going to have to give him and Riker some extra special lovin’ tonight.’

I fought back a nervous giggle and rewarded Nick with a big smile.

Marianne fixed her soulless eyes on my face and quickly zeroed in on my mouth.

“You know,” she said, her voice cool, “If you ever want to fix that scar, I know a doctor who can work miracles. Such a shame for a young girl like you to have that on your face, of all places.”

I had to act fast, before Nick, Riker, and Ana tore apart the Beta’s wife and got us executed. She wasn’t worth it.

“Actually, Marianne, the scar doesn’t bother me. I feel it makes me unique and is a reminder that there is beauty in imperfection. Thank you for the offer, though.”

Marianne just took a sip of her cocktail and then walked away, calling out to her next victim.

Ana had gone quiet, seething in anger. She didn’t like what had just happened, but realized that attacking Marianne would end badly for us. I looked up at Nick and saw his usually easy going demeanor betrayed by rage in his eyes; Riker was fighting to come out.

I grabbed the sides of his face and brought him down to me for a kiss. He nuzzled my hair, taking deep breaths and inhaling my scent.

“Let’s go get something to drink, okay?” I pulled him with me toward the bar, looking for a distraction.

We would have to talk about this later at home. Werewolf hearing was too strong for a conversation here about that harpy Marianne and the Alpha didn’t want us communicating over mind-link during these dinners. He felt it was prudent after a few incidents where people had too much to drink and accidentally blasted inappropriate comments and gossip to everyone in the room. People still did it, but if you were caught with the telltale sign of your eyes glazed over, you faced punishment from the Alpha.

Alpha Phillip was completely different from the Alpha in the pack I grew up in; he had always been so laid back and chill. But the Rebirth brought challenges that tested every Alpha’s leadership to the limits and he reached his capacity for drama. He had always hated being the “bad guy” and tended to pass off hard decisions to his subordinates, but he couldn’t do that for the past eight months. So now, Alpha Phillip was known for coming down hard on those who disobeyed his orders; he gave no second chances.