His Moonlight

Chapter 7

Nerina's POV

"Finally," I gasped out, irritated as I walked into my room.

What a f*cked-up day! I was p*ssed out of my mind!

I should have stayed in bed as I had planned. I should have ignored and disobeyed everyone. Bloody hell, who ever cared about what I wanted or needed?

I shoved my bag onto the bed with force, as if that would fix the issue.

Who needed to go to school anyway?

It's torture on its own!

I looked down at my clothes which were stained by some orange drink that was poured over my head... no, not one of Dustin's pranks that had failed or exploded, but rather the school’s queen b*tch, who had decided that I was some threat to her relationship.

I still don't know what that was all about... F*ck! I growled under my breath, recalling the events of today in the cafeteria.

I was sitting at my table like any other day, minding my own f*cking business when the school’s Queen Sl*t walked from her table, followed by her click, and poured her drink over my head, with no warning or any word.

The cafeteria had gone silent as I got up and looked her straight in the eye. I had to control my temper and made sure not to slip up and give Zira any control.

"What the f*ck Joan? Are you f*cking kidding me?" I lashed out, balling my fist.

She sneaked behind her hand, " It suits you well! It gives color to your life."

She seriously has guts. If it wasn't for me being restrained from fighting, I would have killed her there and then.

"What the f*ck did I do to you?" I roared, keeping my aura contained. I knew she would pee herself should I just release a drop of my aura... the whole cafeteria would.

"Stay away from my boyfriend," she warned through clinging teeth.

"What?" I asked, confused, "Which one?" I hit back.

"Tim!" She growled.

"I have no idea what you are going on about?!" I growled between the drops running down my face.

"You heard me!" She said and turned on her heels, with her click following her out the cafeteria as if nothing had happened.

Joan knew and so did the rest of the school know. I wasn't allowed to fight back... not while we were on the school grounds...

This wasn't the first time that something like this happened... and because of that, I was prohibited from fighting at school ever again...

My last fight ended in me sending Dan down to the infirmary, with a broken arm and nose, and a concussion...

Mom and dad were called into the principal's office... a few times because of situations like that.

Never once did I tell any of the three adults that I didn’t start the fights...

My mind raced back to Tim, and I scrunched my eyebrows together. I knew Tim was one of the jocks that played for the school's football team. I can't even recall talking to him ever before... He wasn't even my type, and I had no interest in him...

So why would Joan go all b*tch on me?

"He recently shifted..." Zira cleared my confusion.

"Still..?"

Zira rolled her eyes at me as if I was missing the obvious. "You helped calm his wolf..!"

"What does that have to do with Joan acting out on me?" I asked.

"Maybe she is jealous of you because Tim's wolf likes you better than her..?"

"Huh, what?" I gasped out, how was that even possible?

A few weeks ago, Tim and a bunch of other guys in our class had shifted for the first time and everyone who was everyone had attended the shifting in the clearing.

It was custom for the new wolves to have a run with the Alpha so that the Alpha and Ranks could get accustomed to the newcomer's scent.

We all do our first shift in the clearing for safety precautions... well I wasn't that lucky, my first shift happened unplanned...

But in any case, we do this for a reason, and a very good reason at that.

You see, some wolves are newly created by the Moon Goddess, and others have had the privilege of walking the earth before.

Now new wolves are the dangerous ones and they usually act out. They get over-excited, scared, aggressive, and can even panic. When that happens, the wolf will have enough space to escape from the crowd and run towards the forest and not hurt anyone. It then gives the new wolf spirit a chance to get accustomed to having a host... well that is how Gran explained it to me.

Everything went well, the others had shifted one by one to their new wolves. Excitement was clearly in the air, that was until Tim shifted. He struggled the worse.

I could hear and feel the agony the poor wolf was in.

In our culture, we believe that the longer and more painfully the shifting, the stronger the wolf...

We all watched in awe as Tim took shape, his girlfriend in the front row.

But when the excruciating sound of bones cleared from the air, Tim's grey wolf got up, shook his massive head and pounced towards the crowd, and pinned some pack members to the ground.

Tim was adamant about ripping the poor soul apart. He refused to let go!

Dad tried to use his Alpha command on Tim's wolf, but that didn't work.

When it came down to the warriors to constrain Tim, trying to save the member under him, I casually walked over to his wolf.

I was compelled to help his wolf to calm him down.

I wasn't scared or terrified, my main focus at that time was on Tim's grey wolf...

I remember members of the pack screaming for me to get out of the way, but I ignored them as they ignored me.

Someone tried to pull me away, but I fought them off... sending him or her towards the other side of the clearing...

When I finally reached Tim's wolf, I slowly stretched one hand out and pulled my hand through the beast's soft long grey fur.

The wolf let go of the man that was pinned between the beast's legs and sat back on his hinds.

He turned his head towards me and waited for my command.

"Everything is okay," I said, as I rubbed behind his ear, and a small grin appeared at the corners of my lips. I knew he wouldn't hurt me. There was so much trust and respect reflected in his eyes.

"Shift!" I commanded, and took a step back, giving the beast a chance to decide if he should obey or not.

Tim threw his wolf's massive head back towards the moon and let out a howl as he took back his human form.

"I'm telling you, Tim's wolf, Don, has more respect for you than his human has for his sl*t, Joan..."

I shook my head at her and opened my school bag. I was considering starting my homework now or just ignoring it till tomorrow and taking a nap...

Not that would help... on the contrary, I most probably would end up more annoyed when I needed to get up for tonight's ceremony.

Mom and dad have decided that I will have to go through the formalities like anyone else and attend the shifting ceremony in front of the pack.

I sighed.

It wasn't necessary...

Everyone in our pack knew that I could shift from the age of five. It wasn't a secret.

Well, nothing can be kept secret if your child shifts into a wolf at a kindergarten birthday party...

I can't recall what had triggered my early shifting that day, and if there was a reason why it happened, but what I could remember was the terrifying screams from pack members as they ran from me, chanting that I was cursed...

Dad and Luna Rosalie had called Gran to help me shift back, as they tried to help me, but I was too scared.

I felt ashamed.

Gran arrived a few hours later. She helped me calm down and was very supportive... Not once did she give me the idea that she would reject me because of my early shift or that there was something wrong with me...

She told me I was special... and never to give up hope.

Well, the pack, on the other hand, saw my early shifting as something unholy... They believed I was cursed... Everybody stayed clear of me, treating me like I had some disease...

That I could handle, but the non-stop whispers and the gossip made me uneasy...

I hated myself and my life before I turned 13.

Gran had come to the rescue again... she told me it was a family secret that certain Royal pups could shift earlier... she then told me that my father and Luna Rosalie were two pups that had the ability. They two had shifted at a very young age and I shouldn't be too worried about it.

To them, my family, it meant that my wolf was strong... very... very strong...

Gran had taken me to the gardens and had sat down at the fountain with the four wolf species surrounding the Moon Goddess.

She told me that I should learn to ignore the gossip of other people and focus on what was important...

Easier said than done...

How did she expect me, a child, to be happy when I was so lonely and treated like an outcast?

I sighed, as I picked up my towel and walked into the en-suite washroom. I seriously needed to get my hair washed. It had dried and was now lying in hard sticky strings around my face.

I shook my head to try and forget about Joan and her click as I opened the tap of the shower to let the water run warm...

Another breath escapes my lips as I walk into the shower...

I took a minute and allowed the piping hot water from the shower spray to dance on my skin as I patiently waited for the water to cleanse my broken soul...

It would be nice to stay here tonight. The thought crossed my mind... here in my room, where I could sulk in peace and not be forced to follow formalities... and be judged by other wolves...

I rolled my eyes at that... what were the chances of me getting my wish?

I huff in annoyance as I take my shampoo and start to wash my sticky hair...

Dad will drag my ass out of here down to the clearing!

Dad and his rules and formalities...

I guess that's what Alpha's work is... creating rules that everyone needs to follow...

I wasn't too fond of these rules and formalities...

I would rather take Zira for a much-needed run alone... and feel the wind blowing through my fur and listen as the earth calls my name...

I rinsed the soap off my hair and body and made my way out of the shower, grabbed my towel, and started to dry myself.

My mind wanders back to Zira... my wonderful, strong-headed wolf.

I have grown up with Zira in my mind, so I never understood how it would feel like to be wolf-less, or have a silent mind.

Zira has accompanied me from day one...

I wonder how it would have been if I was normal.

Would I have understood better?

Would the pack members accept me more easily?

Would I have had more friends?

Questions, questions, questions!

No bloody answers!

Urgh! I moaned, some days I wish I could just... just...

"Nerina, you are normal," Zira chanted in my mind. She was always the optimistic one between us, me the pessimistic one...

"As normal as I can be..." I hissed back at her. "Why can't I just be like... any other wolf's normal?" I asked, throwing my hands in the air.

That took Zira aback and she made soft whimpering sounds in my mind.

"Sorry," I said, "it's just hard to be the outsider..."

"I understand... but see it like this... you are stronger, more dominant than most..."

"Yeah, a blessing in disguise..." which wasn't, according to me, a much-appreciated blessing.

Maybe one day, my aura and strength will come in handy... Maybe one day I will be accepted and even loved..?

My heart stopped and it hurt... even my mate didn't want me... to choose someone else... I will never be able to have a loving family of my own...

"You have a loving family," Zira growled in my mind, "you just don't see it! Stop feeling sorry for yourself! We will have a mate!"

"Easy for you to say! You're not the one who has to deal with the human side of us!"

"Who says that is what you have been created for?"

"I don't follow..." I gave her a confused look.

"Maybe our destiny doesn't lie on our human side... maybe it lies at our wolf's side..."

I shook my head at her, not understanding what she was on about...

When I was finally finished with my routine in the washroom, I made my way towards my wardrobe, searching for something decent but old.

I wouldn't destroy my decent clothes for tonight’s shift as they would end up in rags...

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