Saving His Luna

II

*Charlie*

I open the door to find seven adults crowding the hallway. I knew this was going to happen. But they don't want to know, not really. I've tried before and it always ends the same. They don't believe me, so I gave up trying. I stopped going to church when my belly started growing with Callie. June never complained. She told them I was grounded and getting into a lot of trouble. Truth was, I was dealing with the fallout of Trey in court. My mom denied that anything happened since he's her favorite foster child. She told the courts that I went out and got myself pregnant with one of my little boyfriends from school. They still removed Trey from her care though since he admitted to having s*x with me claiming that everything was consensual. And I was grateful. The blood test confirmed that Callie is Trey's when she was born, and I was assigned a social worker because I was so young. They kick Nona, Ash, and June out of the room. And the interrogation begins.

"What was your dream about?" Dale asks.

"Nothing. It was just a dream," I shrug but even I don't sound convinced of my own voice.

"No," Melodie says. "Stop all the lying Charlotte. The next words out of your mouth better be the truth. It's okay to be scared with all the freak accidents-"

"It’s Charlie. I'm not that scared. I already told you, it's a stupid dream. It doesn't mean anything." I interrupt. I can't believe they brought that up. The truth is, I'm terrified. Something bad is going to happen. Every death looks like an accident, but I have this pit in my stomach that tells me otherwise, but I have no proof. I think he's trying to find us. Richard. Mom still denies anything ever happened, but she still ran with us. He beat us, molested us. He always came into our room to touch our private parts and then made me and June touch and lick him until he came. I still have dreams about that too.

"Just know that if you ever want to talk to us, you can. We know something's wrong." Sherrie says. She is the only one who sort of believes me as she has dealt with other kids as a foster parent and can read the signs of trauma.

"Look, nothing’s wrong. Can we unpack now?" I ask. My secrets will stay behind my walls from now on. And it hurts knowing no one will ever believe me.

They let my bunkmates back in but tell June that she and Erica are switching rooms since Erica is having issues with Hannah. Erica gives me a giant hug as soon as the door closes behind them. I tense. I don't do touch very well.

"You okay?" she asks.

"Yeah." I nod tensely.

"You can still call him," Nona tells me. "She has stuff she wants to be kept quiet too, like the Mary-Jane in her bag.”

We change quickly for the first night of service. It’s chilly up here in the mountains so I grab a sweater before we head out to the chapel with the rest of the girls from our church. Before the service starts, we pick out our activities for the week. Nona, Ash, and I choose to dance and choir. The first day is uneventful and soon we are back in our dorms getting ready for bed.

*-*--*-*

*Charlie*

I watch the sunlight seep in through the window. I couldn’t get any sleep despite taking a sedative. I tumble out of bed and get a quick shower before everyone else wakes up. I pull on some jeans and a loose AC/DC shirt over my matching black lace bra and boy-short underwear. I do my make-up with my bunkmates after they get up and dressed for the day. We meet up with our church group at breakfast.

“We will eat breakfast together every morning but lunch and dinner you can eat with new friends you meet today,” Dale tells us. He passes out our activity schedules. Nona, Ash, and I have the same activities and our rec groups are the same while everyone else is spread out between different groups. June has the same rec group as us though.

Rec time is right after our morning group bible study, which goes by peacefully. I know everyone is still watching me. I can feel the eyes, even from Trey. But no one talks to me and I don’t talk to them. Lunch goes pretty much the same as breakfast, everyone sits together but me, Nona, and Ash.

Jordyn is our dance teacher, she’s blond with blue eyes and looks to be in her early twenties. She’s fun and energetic, I already like her. She shows us an African dance that she is going to teach us so we can perform it on Friday night. Our next activity is choir. We learn One More Light by Linkin Park and perform it on Friday night as well.

It is free time next, where we can do all sorts of activities but all I want to do is talk to Dylan. I make my way back to my dorm and grab my phone from under my pillow. I already see a new text.

*Good morning My Luna Angel.*

I call him.

“Hey,” he answers.

“Hey.” I sigh. My racing mind calms instantly at the sound of his voice.

He laughs, “You miss me that much? We talked last night love.”

“I know. I’m just feeling antsy. It's like I can’t shut off my mind.”

“What do you mean? Is it like a voice in your head?” he asks.

“No just random thoughts. Why?”

“Sometimes, if you start to hear a voice, it’s your wolf. It means you’re about to have your first shift…”

“Dylan,” I sigh. He really thinks I’m a wolf. “I’m not anything. I’m not going to turn into a wolf. Plus, wouldn’t it need to be a full moon for me to shift?”

“Not necessarily. For late shifters, it can happen anytime.” Great.

“I still don’t think I’m a wolf Dylan,” This is getting tiresome. I look at the time and see I have fifteen minutes till dinner. “I need to go and get ready for dinner and the service tonight.”

He sighs. “Okay baby. I love you. If anything, like I told you, starts to happen, for you or Ash, you need to call me. Dreams, whispers, or voices in your head, tell me.”

"Jeez, okay. I know you told me before we left. I promise I will tell you if anything happens.”

“Thank you, I love you. Go get something to eat and call me later.”

“I love you too,” I smile into the phone. “I will, later babe.”

I put my phone back and change out of my sweaty clothes. Jeans and a thin, long-sleeved shirt that’s green. I decided to take my phone and just hide it in my inner jacket pocket and head to the mess hall. I find myself just wandering around, thinking about what Dylan said. Everyone in his pack has said I don’t smell human, so I must be supernatural. They say I smell like a wolf, but my scent is all weird like I’m not just a wolf but a hybrid, a mutt. By the time I make it to the mess hall, I am late for dinner. The line isn’t long so I can see what’s for dinner. Hamburgers.

“Hi,” Jordyn says. I jump, startled.

“Hi,” I squeak out.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. You’re Charlie, right?”

“Yeah,” I nod.

"Do you know who I am?” She asks.

“Yeah, you’re the dance teacher. Jordyn.”

She looks quizzically at me like she’s trying to figure me out. Nona and Ash run up to me frantically.

“We gotta talk,” Ash says. Nona starts to pull me outside while Ash is pushing me.

“There is another pack here,” Nona says as soon as we are out the door.

“Are-” This is not good. We are not supposed to be here without our Alpha, especially with another pack around. “Are you sure?”

They nod. They look like freaking bobbleheads. s**t. I’ve got to tell Dylan; he needs to get here really freaking soon. I hand my name tag to Nona and have her get in line to get my food. She knows what I like. I walk a ways away and hide behind a building. Time to call Mr. Alpha, Dylan’s dad.

“Hello,” he says.

“We have a problem Alpha.”

“And what is that?” He asks.

"There is another pack here.”

“s**t. I knew he should have gone with you.” He screams for Dylan. “The earliest I can have Dylan there is tomorrow night. I won’t be able to spare him till then. A small pack of rogues decided they wanted to try their luck. Dammit.”

“I think we’ll be okay until then. We’ll make sure that we stay together—”

“Charlie, you have to be careful. None of y’all are mated. Nona will probably go into heat since she’ll be around unmated males. Ash could shift at any moment, and you could too.”

“I know.”

“I’m gonna get Dylan there as soon as possible. Just hang on.”

“Okay. I’ll let you know if anything happens.”

"Good,” he says and then hangs up. I go eat.

*Dylan*

I hear my dad call me as I finish locking up the rogues in the dungeon. They decided to attack when I had the girls outside playing. I want to kill them for putting my pups in danger. But dad said to lock them up instead. I walk into my dad’s office as he hangs up the phone.

"What’s up dad?” I ask.

“We have a problem. Charlie called,” He runs his hands through his hair in agitation.

Is he irritated with our mate? Kaizen asks.

No, this is something else. He loves Charlie. I answer.

“There is another pack at her camp.”

“Shit.”

“I’m going to call the Alpha in that area and have him take them under his protection. Maybe his pack is the one at the camp already.”

“I need to get there,” I say.

“I can’t spare you right now with the rogues' attack. I know you were supposed to leave this morning, but I need you till tomorrow evening.”

“My mate is in possible danger and you want me to stay here when you have plenty of warriors—”

“Enough! You are not Alpha yet. You will obey me. I will take care of it and make sure they are safe. I need you here. You must learn how to prioritize. We have an alliance with the packs in that area. I will arrange protection for them.”