Fire Moon

Chapter 3

    Today was his Nicky’s eighteenth birthday.  Mine was coming up next. I will be eighteen on Thursday.  The day before the Summer Solstice.  Talk about cutting it close.  I still wondered what was going on with him.  He’s never ignored me.  And surely, he would have at least sent me a text when his mom told him to do so.  I am so incredibly sorry for just standing there watching everything go down on Friday. I was a terrible friend but we can get through this.  I hope we can.  It’s not like anything Luke said was true.  Nicky and I were friends.  Almost like siblings. There was no romance going on between us.  I would have sensed that or I thought so anyway.

    Maybe he did like me as more than a friend?  No.  No way.  One time his parents made a joking comment like that and we both got uncomfortable.  There was nothing romantic between us at all.  Nicky and I were just friends.  Best friends.  What happened to my best friend?

“Gramps!” I shouted as I was coming down the stairs looking for him.

“What?” he shouted back.  

    He was standing in the main living room talking on his phone.  After trying to reach Nicky several times and even calling his mom I was left with no alternative than to talk to my grandfather about it.  Maybe he could summon Nicky.  There were some perks of being the alpha’s granddaughter.

“Thanks, I will call you back if I find out anything,” he ended the call and then looked at me.

“I have been trying to get a hold of Nicky but he won’t answer and today is his birthday,” I said.

    I was trying to tread lightly because I didn’t know how much everyone knew about what happened on Friday. 

“His dad said Nicky didn’t come home last night,” my grandfather said and I could tell he was trying to sense me.

    What?  He didn’t come home last night?  Oh, no.  No.  No.  No.  No.  My head was spinning.  I started to picture crazy things like Nicky jumping off a bridge or lying dead somewhere or being attacked again by Luke.  Gasp.

“Luke!” I guess I said that word out loud.

“Luke?  Luke Osbourne?  He was the one that knocked him around, wasn’t he?” Gramps asked. 

    Of course, my grandfather already knew about what happened.

“Yes,” I admitted to him. 

    My grandfather took a deep breath in and exhaled.  Lee, Luke’s dad, came jogging into the room from the south hall. He was probably in his office when my grandfather summoned him telepathically.  That was one of the perks you got when you pledged yourself to the pack, being able to communicate with your packmates telepathically through a mindlink.  Although, it only worked when we were in wolf form unless you were the Alpha.  Most Alphas or wolves with Alpha blood could do it in while in human form also.  In this case, for Lee, it was like a one-way radio.  He could only listen to my grandfather summon him but he isn’t able to respond unless he shifted into his wolf form.

“Yes, Alpha,” Lee stood up straight.

“Where was your son, Luke, yesterday?” Gramps said just getting straight to the point.

“He was training early yesterday with the cadets,” Lee said.

“And where was he yesterday evening?” Gramps asked.

“At home, at the house with me and the rest of my family.  Why do you ask?” Lee had to have some idea why my grandfather was asking.

“Luke got into a fight with Nikolai Hote on Friday and now no one has seen him since Saturday morning and today is his birthday.  His parents are starting to worry. Luke wouldn’t have had anything to do with his disappearance, would he?” 

    Things were getting a little tense.

“No, Alpha.  I am telling you that Luke was home.  I give you my word,” Lee stared at my grandfather and then looked me in the eyes too.

    Even if Luke did have something to do with it and Lee wanted to cover for his son, he wouldn’t be able to.  He would not dare lie to his Alpha.  My grandfather would be able to tell if did, I’m sure.  It was something special my grandfather had.  He had an uncanny ability to sense when someone in his pack was lying.

“Alright,” my grandfather said and he walked over to one of the sofas and sat down.

“Now what do we do?” I asked him. 

“There’s not much we can do, Jordie,”

“What do you mean?  We need to go look for Nicky!”  I was starting to get angry because my grandfather was still sitting on the couch and didn’t seemed bothered that my best friend was missing.

“He is eighteen now, maybe he didn’t want to pledge into the pack but he couldn’t tell anyone,” Gramps seemed almost casual about it now.

“Luke probably went after him again!  Gramps!  He wouldn’t leave and not tell me!” I was mad.

“Jordie, do not yell at me.  Luke was home last night.  Lee was not lying to me,” he said as my eyes started to water.

“Gramps!  We need to find him,” I pleaded.

"Jordie, enough.  Now, calm down.  I know he is your friend but you have to realize that becoming an adult can be different for boys and girls.  You add turning into a wolf on top of that and its a lot for some," my grandfather continued.

"His body will start to change as his wolf instincts mature.  His inner wolf will want to find it's mate and will be restless leading up to the solstice.  On top of all that he will have to choose to pledge his loyalty to our pack and choose a career path or leave.  Hopefully not the latter.  I don't think he would choose to become a rogue wolf as he was born and raised in Fire Moon."

"But, Gramps, Luke humiliated him and hurt him..." I whined.

"I know.  Nicky will be back so don't worry.  He's smart and this is his home." he said.

*

    School was finally over.  It was a short week with our last days.  My birthday was tomorrow and then the following day was graduation and the solstice.  I am so stressed I am not sure I am going to make it to Friday. 

“Are you sure you don’t want a little get together tomorrow?  Marie and I could still make it happen,” my grandmother said. 

    She was a people person so she didn’t mind parties.  It’s a good quality to have if you’re a Luna.  I did not want a party or any type of attention, though.  I was still depressed from Nicky being gone and upcoming events had my stomach in knots.  I did not feel like celebrating anything.

    My family was excited for me to be the next Luna one day and turning eighteen meant it was getting closer to that time.  I have to carry on my family’s Alpha line.  There is a bit of a gray area here though.  I am the daughter of an Alpha and my grandparents want me to be the next Luna but they won’t let just anyone be the next Alpha.  It has to be a male wolf with Alpha blood.  It can’t be a Beta, Delta, Gamma or any other line of wolf.  The Alpha has to be the biggest and strongest in the pack and those genes are required.  If our pack was ever challenged by an outside threat, he would be the one leading us through it.  The Alpha definitely had to have brains and brute force. 

    When it comes to finding a mate, as a werewolf, we don’t have much of a choice.  Some people start to feel a natural pull towards their destined mate when they become an adult.  Sometimes you feel a certain energy after you shift and your wolf will seek out its mate.  It’s the Moon Goddess and her way of making sure the world doesn’t go extinct of werewolves or so legend says according to my grandparents.  It’s a beautiful thing actually, because you get that person for life.  You form a special bond with them and after you accept them as your mate then they immediately become the most important person in your life.

    And then of course sometimes you don’t find your mate.  Which doesn’t mean you can’t form a relationship with someone else but it’s not very common.  Why risk the chance of marrying someone just for them to find their one true mate later?  They would have to be with their mate.  It’s incredibly hard to live without them once you find them.  

    So, going back to this gray area that my family keeps tip toeing around.  If I don’t find my mate or if he is not a wolf with alpha blood, then I won’t be the next Luna.  If my mate wasn’t from an alpha bloodline then I would have to choose between them and my pack.  Whether to live without my mate and marry a wolf just for his alpha genes or I would have to give up my claim and our pack would be left without leadership.  My family had no other heirs.  Our pack would be open for an attack from someone wanting to grow their own pack’s numbers.  If it all became a reality the best we could for would be for our pack to merge with another pack at the discretion of my grandfather.  This was a lot of pressure filled with unknowns.

“Jordan, honey,” my grandmother said snapping me back into the moment.

    Oh God, I hated these conversations but here goes nothing.

“What if I don’t find a mate, Gran?” I hope she understood me.

“Jordan, relax, you will find your mate and together you both will lead our pack.  I told you the Moon Goddess is in control.  Everything happens for a reason,” she said.

    What kind of ominous crap was that?

    My anxiety kicked in and I just nodded and agreed with her.  I missed Nicky.  I could use him right now. Even if it was just to sit around and eat some junk food.  I looked at my phone.  Still no messages from him. 

    My grandfather ordered a search over the entire reservation for Nicky.   His mom and dad found some things missing from his room.  It appeared that he packed his backpack with some clothes and things.  He ran away.

    I was still struggling to accept it.  I didn’t believe that he just snuck away from the only people he knew and ran away for good.  I kept hoping he would return.  I thought that surely by the Summer Solstice he would come back.  He wouldn’t want to risk shifting for the first time around humans.  Please, let him return.

*

    After talking with my grandmother, I went outside to sit by myself.  Normally, I would have went to my room to chill out but being outside felt nice.  It was peaceful and smelled so good…  Oh!  It did smell good.

    Were my wolf’s senses starting to kick in?  Maybe Nicky was right.  I realize now why he wanted to sit out in the courtyard at school during lunch.  Heightened smell, hearing, and vision were some of the things that came with being a werewolf.  My grandfather walked up next to me while I was still outside.

“Hey there, Jordie.  How ya doing?”  He said.

“Fine,” I was not fine but I didn’t really want to talk about everything.

“I see.  Well, Saturday I have arranged a training call-out and I expect you to be there.  Okay?” 

“I get to go to training?” I asked.

“Of course, you do!  You’re my granddaughter,”

    I stared at him with a puzzled look on my face.  Very few females got to go into physical training.  I was going to be the next Luna, not the Alpha, why did I have to go?  As if my nerves could handle any more stress, training was not something I planned on doing.  I wasn’t a physically active person at all.  I knew I wouldn’t be able to handle training and probably just embarrass myself in front of the people I may potentially have to lead one day. 

“Oh.  I, uh, I just didn’t think I would be able to go since I am a girl,” 

“Non-sense.  I’m hopeful that there will be some more girls that join you Saturday.  You might make a friend,” he said.

    Those words stung a little.  Was he trying to push me out of my depressive state I was in since Nicky had left?  Now, that he was gone I needed a new friend and to stop moping around, I guess.  It was not going to be easy to just make a new friend.  The training call out would be for graduating seniors from my class.  I knew these people already.  And since it was a ‘training’ call out it would mostly be the jocks that showed up.  The people looking to elevate their physical skills they already possessed. 

“Okay, I will be there,” as if I had a choice.

“Great!  The call-out starts at 7 a.m. and try not to be late,” he said in a cheerful tone and walked into the house.

    Gramps seemed happy that I didn’t put up a fuss about going to training.  To be honest, I didn’t have the time or energy to even worry about the training call-out right now.  I still had my birthday, graduation, and first shift stressing me out.  It was nice of my grandfather to try to help take my mind off of everything even for a second.