Wolfe's Blind Moon

6 ~ Alpha's Command

Wolfe watches her smile sweetly in his direction, with a smidge of a rosy hue on her cheeks before going back inside her home.

He feels a rush of protectiveness and worry seeing no light inside her house but quickly shrugs it off.

Of course, there is no light.

She doesn't need it.

She is light herself.

"Look at you, going all poetic mush over mate." Howl snickers.

Wolfe rolls his eyes at the other side of his coin, his conscience, his confidant, his…idiot wolf spirit.

"Look who's talking. Who was it again who was sobbing to the moon last night howling like a pup and cursing the moon goddess for the unjust fate of his poor blind mate?"

"I wasn't cursing the moon goddess! Stop saying nonsense, she could hear you, you know!" There was a little bit of panic in the wolf's voice.

Wolfe laughs silently as he walks the perimeter of the house.

"Oh, so you don't deny the sobbing?" He teases. "Only the cursing?"

Howl growls but says nothing, deciding to take the higher road.

"Were you…too overcome with emotions, pup?" Wolfe teases some more, not ready to let it go.

It's funny now…when no one is too emotional to wreak havoc on everyone and everything.

Last night, Howl was so overwrought finding out that Tala is blind and he had to run away to clear his head.

Taken completely by surprise, Wolfe wasn't able to stop him from taking control.

Howl couldn't understand why the moon goddess would punish his mate, and deprive her of the sense of sight when there is so much beauty to see in the world around her.

Wolfe knows better than to question the Moon Goddess but he was upset as well and letting Howl out made them both feel a little bit better.

"Continue pissing me off and I swear I'll be singing nursery songs in your head while we're mating with Tala for the first time." Howl threatened.

It only made Wolfe laugh and snort. "As if you'd be able to do anything but pant with your tongue hanging out when we see her naked. I mean have you seen her? It's like the moon goddess moulded the perfect girl for us. I love how tall she is…just the ideal height that she won't look like a child beside us. And from the looks of it, she trains every day. She's perfectly proportioned. Even fully covered she's like a goddess."

"You're disgusting." Howl snarled, but there was a hint of amusement in his tone.

"Tell me you're not thinking the same thing. Come on, I dare you." Wolfe snickers.

"Of course, I am not." Howl replies with a haughty lift of his furry head.

Wolfe snorts again. "Bollocks."

"It's true! I'm thinking about so much more but…unlike some greenhorn here, I'm not saying it out loud. Tsk! Amateur!"

Their bickering gets interrupted by Scout's arrival.

"Hey, Wolfe! Alpha's looking for you. I'm here to take your place until you get back."

Howl whines inside his head, loathing the idea of leaving his mate.

This is probably why the alpha sent Scout there first instead of simply mind-linking them to come, knowing only an Alpha command would make them leave Tala's vicinity if it means leaving her unprotected.

He would've followed the order, sure, there's no denying it after all. But he would have hated every second of it and it would show on his face and make it awkward for everyone.

He has no filter.

Luckily the alpha doesn't abuse his gift.

He doesn't like forcing anyone if there is a way to get around it or avoid it altogether.

Wolfe rolls his eyes. "Scout will be here, Howl. And it's not like she's defenceless. We saw her with that thing she deceptively uses as a walking stick. She can shishkebab you in two seconds." He said out loud, also as a way of warning away Scout in case he gets curious ideas.

Scout laughs, getting the hint but remaining good-natured as always. "I heard about that. Fang said they told him at the tavern that almost all the village men are scared of her. She is supposed to have been trained since childhood and has proven she can make a grown man cry and lose consciousness in under a minute, less when she's pissed."

Wolfe grins. "That's my girl. See?"

Mollified, Howl reluctantly agrees to go.

He jogs away, towards the temporary camp, which was only a few kilometres away.

The camp is a busy hive as always. Everyone is doing something, even the few pups.

The pack travels around a lot and they have to be on the move at a moment's notice so everything must function like clockwork.

Wolfe goes directly to the alpha's tent, not even bothering to knock or ask for permission to enter.

Wulfric, their pack's alpha, is discussing something with Elder Grey as they look at the maps, conversing via mind-link. They both look up when Wolfe comes inside the tent.

"Elder Grey." Wolfe nods to the old man, who smiles at him and bows to Wulfric before leaving the tent.

Wolfe raises an eyebrow. "What's with all the secrecy?"

Wulfric, his twin and older brother by ten minutes, sighs. "What secrecy?"

Wolfe rolls his eyes. "Alright, keep your secrets."

"No secrets, brother, just wondering where we'll be heading next. This is a relatively quiet village but we've noticed a group of hunters that could be a potential threat to the pack. I don't know if they've noticed us yet but it's too risky to stay for long." Wulfric says in a resigned tone. "The pups are growing fast and... they tend to wander."

Wolfe pales. "But…no… We're leaving!? I just found her!"

"Then you better make your moves fast and convince her to come with us if you have no plans of rejecting her."

"I AM NOT LEAVING WITHOUT MATE!!!" Howl took control before Wolfe could reign him in.

Wulfric's eyes glowed a bright blue as his wolf Shadow took offence and stepped forward, his aura exploding with his anger that made Wolfe and Howl fall on their knees before their alpha.

Shadow's fury is so strong, that a few weaker wolves outside the tent whine in fear at the sudden onslaught and display of furious dominance.

"WE LEAVE WITH OR WITHOUT YOU. THE PACK COMES FIRST, BEFORE EVERYTHING AND ANYONE ELSE. WE ARE THE LAST WEREWOLVES IN EXISTENCE. I WILL NOT BE THE ALPHA THAT CONDEMNS US ALL BECAUSE OF ONE HUMAN GIRL AND A LOVESICK WOLF."

Shadow snarls.

Howl whimpers, torn between the need to submit to his alpha and the full force of the mate bond.

"Submit, Howl. Give me back control!" Wolfe begs, knowing his proud wolf will not simply back down, being alpha as well, yet born second.

But Shadow is the official alpha and his big brother. It is his responsibility to do what is right for the pack.

To him, duty has to come first before everything and everyone.

Howl understands this but his pride is stinging and the new mate bond is making him very vulnerable and emotionally unstable, for their mate still hasn't accepted them yet. And who knows if she ever will, should she finds out who they really are.

She might be tough but the supernatural world is probably uncharted territory for her.

"Howl, please! We still have a few days. We can try to convince Tala to come with us. She's not immune to us, after all, I bet she can feel the bond despite being human."

Howl says nothing and only stares with defiance back at his brother.

Wolfe has never wanted to strangle his wolf more than he does now. He understands his feelings because he has them too, but Howl is not thinking clearly right now and it's his turn to be the voice of reason. "Listen to me, Howl! Don't be an i***t! The longer you fight him, the more time we lose. You have to back down now so we can go back to Tala! We will figure out what to do about it later!"

His wolf finally listens, baring his neck in submission to his alpha, albeit reluctantly.

Shadow bared his teeth, his canines elongating as he half transforms and snarls.

"RELINQUISH THE CONTROL BACK TO YOUR HUMAN NOW."

Wolfe gasps in relief when Howl finally follows the order without a word.

Shadow glares at him. Apparently, they are not done.

"LEARN TO CONTROL YOUR WOLF OR I WILL DO IT FOR YOU." He growls before stepping back and giving Wulfric control again.

Wulfric sighs and massages his temple.

He hates it when Shadow gets all riled up. It gives him a severe headache every time because his wolf is very powerful.

They remain in silence for a bit.

They both know Shadow has already said everything, there is nothing left to discuss as he had been very clear.

"Permission to go now, Alpha," Wolfe says, a little bitterly.

"Wolfe…" Wulfric's tone was conciliatory.

But Wolfe has had enough for now.

He's still smarting from Shadow's hit.

He knows it's not Wulfric's fault.

He knows it was Howl who overstepped a line and Shadow merely responded as any decent Alpha would.

He knows his brother is just doing his job.

Doesn't make the medicine any sweeter or go down any smoother.

"I am not trying to ruin your life, Wolfe, you know that." Wulfric's voice whispers in his head as his brother tries to reach out to him. "I am trying to tell you, if you want this to work, you better start winning her over as quickly as you can and make sure she will willingly come with us…because time is running out."

Wolfe looks at his brother. "What do you mean?"

Wulfric takes a deep breath. "If those hunters start sniffing around and they find out about us, we will have to go, there is no other option, you understand that better than anyone else. We are nomads for a reason. It's nothing personal, it's just survival. We cannot hesitate when the time comes. But what if we have to leave and Tala wouldn't come? What if they find out about her being mated to a werewolf? They wouldn't care that she's human like them. She'd be soiled goods for those who hunt us. And they will have no qualms about persecuting her as well. So do us all a favour and be quick about this. We have no time to waste."

Wolfe nods. "How long have I got? Before we have to pack up?"

Wulfric looks back at the map on the table.

"As soon as I can find another safe place for us to go to. A week maybe. Perhaps even less."

Wolfe gasps in horror. "I can't do this in a week! She'll never come!"

Wulfric looks at him pointedly. "Then you better be creative about this because my hands are tied." He says, his lips a tight line.

Wolfe struggles as Howl begins to have his emotional turmoil again.

Damn it, he really needs to strengthen his control over his spirit wolf.

Wulfric might be reasonable but Shadow won't tolerate another disrespect.

"Go." Wulfric's voice is resigned. "Be with her."

Wolfe nods before leaving the tent in a hurry.

He runs as fast as he could before shifting mid-air, his precious clothes ruined in the process.

Bloody wolf couldn't wait and he just wasted a good pair of pants and a shirt. His shoes lay forgotten on the ground but he'll just come back for them later.

"Calm down you, stupid mutt!" He snarls. "This is why it's better that he's the reigning alpha and we're not! You will condemn the pack to extinction if you keep losing your cool like this!"

Howl bristles at his words but says nothing, running towards Tala's house, needing her proximity, needing her scent to calm him down.

"You know he's not wrong. I wish things were different too, but they're not and we have to listen to reason. For her sake as well. Do you want her to be left here unprotected!?"

His wolf growls. "I will never leave mate."

"But what if she doesn't want to leave the village? You see how well-settled she is here. It's a good environment, nobody takes advantage of her and she's familiar with the place, she knows it by memory. Can you imagine taking her with us to unknown places? She'd be limited to the camp all the time and she'll resent it sooner or later."

Howl says nothing and focuses instead on the path to Tala's house.

They reach it in no time, finding Scout sitting on a low branch of a half-fallen tree, toying with a crossbow.

"Oh hey, Howl. You're back early. Heard someone got Shadowed in camp. You look upset. Must be you." He said, snickering.

Wolfe shifted before Howl could rip Scout's head off. The jerk just laughs.

"One of these days, I'm not gonna be able to stop him anymore, you know. I might actually not want to." Wolfe says pointedly.

Scout grins. "Saw your girl this morning at the fair. She seems like a tough cookie. Doesn't back down, not even with Wulfric going alpha mode on her. She just stared back even though she couldn't see. Shadow was impressed."

Wolfe rolls his eyes, climbing the tree and sitting next to him. "He didn't sound impressed to me just a few minutes ago."

"Course not, you're an i***t who's thinking with his badoodles right now instead of your brain."

Wolfe sneers. "Badoodles? What are you, five?"

Scout laughs again, the perpetually happy and annoying prick. It's a positive thing, though.

Lifts the tension off and he could feel Howl calming down little by little.

"Don't kid yourself. I'm calmer because my mate is near. That jackass can hang for all I care." Howl grumbles. "In fact, why don't you just push him off the —-"

"Shush. Be nice."

"So…what's it like? Meeting your mate? That hasn't happened in like forever. We're all excited for you." Scout says, adjusting the arrow on the crossbow

Wolfe sighs. "It was…magic."

"Don't embarrass me now, little girl." Howl snickers.

Wolfe rolls his eyes, ignoring him.

Remembering how it all started.

"I was just patrolling this side of the forest when I heard the loveliest voice on earth…"