6. Red Moon Pack
2333 Words
Grant
~
I arrived at the pack gates in Oregon and was waved through right as the guards saw me. They smiled as I passed by because they knew me and I was happy to be back on Red Moon’s territory. I was here a year ago to visit uncle Mason and aunt Cala for a week like every summer.
The trip from Blue Moon to here was only four and a half hours, so it was now close to lunchtime. I drove up to the packhouse and parked next to Alex’s vehicle. I got out and looked at the building with its painted white walls and red and white banners. I walked up to the front porch and stepped inside. I walked down the familiar hallway and into Alex’s office. I found him at his desk and Zoe on the couch reading. This was a familiar sight.
Alex looked up from his computer and smiled at me before standing and saying, “Hey Grant!”
“Hi Alex,” I said as I stepped forward and shook his hand.
I then turned to Zoe, who had a large smile on her face. I wrapped her up in a hug and squeezed her.
“Hi Zoe,” I said as I released her.
“It’s great to see you,” she told me with a smile on her face.
“It’s great to be back with familiar faces.”
“I can imagine. How was Crimson Moon and Blue Moon?” Alex asked.
“Good. I learned a lot and, honestly, this stay will end up just being a social one. I know the pack and I know y’all, but I wouldn’t have left it out of my travels for anything,” I told them.
“That’s fair,” Alex said with a nod.
Rowen, Alex and Zoe’s son walked in while we were talking and I turned my attention to him. He was a year or more younger than me. We shook hands and started talking.
“How’s it going?” Rowen asked.
“Good. Anything new going on?” I asked him.
“Nah. It's still boring here,” he told me.
“Hey!” Alex and Zoe said at the same time.
Rowen and I both laughed and kept talking with his parents for a little while.
“Alright, since the two of you know each other so well, I will have Rowen take you around and introduce you to the she-wolves,” Alex said.
I grimaced when he said that and I nodded my head.
“You don’t want to find your mate?” Zoe asked, looking at me funny.
“Yes and no. I don’t want to talk about it though,” I told her and shook my head.
She left it alone and Rowen chimed in, “we will just go walk around and meet a few people. Then I’ll take you to Cala and Mason’s house.”
I nodded my head and said, “Sounds good.”
We left Alex’s office and I was afraid that what they had just learned about my reluctance to find my mate would prompt a phone call to my parents. Crap! What the hell would mom and dad say?
Rowen and I left the packhouse and walked into the village. We met up with his future Beta, Rhett, and went to find lunch at a diner. When we got to the diner, we sat at a booth and the waitress came up to hand us menus. When the waitress walked off, I found Rowen checking her out.
“That one is good with her hands,” he said in a low voice.
I knew how Rowen was. Total manwhore and always horny. He screwed everything in sight if he could. I had been told that Alex was like that before he found Zoe. Some Alpha’s just didn’t know what restraint was.
“I’m not looking to screw anyone while I'm here,” I told him in annoyance.
“Ah. Still holding onto that V card I see. You could at least get a hand job or a blow job from one of these she-wolves,” he told me.
I shook my head and said, “no, thank you.”
Rhett chimed in and said, “I don’t blame you for not wanting everything that he’s had. Someone is going to end up with a disease if he doesn’t stop.”
“Uh, it’s called wearing a condom,” Rowen said.
“That’s not going to stop everything,” Rhett said.
I snickered at them and Rowen just huffed. The waitress came back with our drinks. We ordered our food and I switched the topic.
“How big has the pack gotten since the last time I was here?” I asked.
Rowen’s eyebrows rose and he thought about it before answering with, “At least thirty new members between pups being born and the occasional rogue family coming to look for my mom.”
“So space is tight here too?” I asked.
“Yeah. You could say that,” Rowen said with a nod.
When he needed to have an adult conversation that didn’t include s*x, he was helpful. He was awful when it came to extra-curricular activities, and I hope to Goddess that Jaxson at least sticks with his hand until he finds his mate. That was a conversation I think I needed to have with him soon.
Our lunch was served and I enjoyed a chicken, bacon ranch wrap with fresh fries. The food here at the diner was always the best and I enjoyed the hell out of it. When we finished eating, we paid for our meal and left the diner.
The three of us walked down the street toward my uncle Mason and aunt Cala’s house. We stepped up to the door and I knocked, then waited to see who would answer. About a minute later, the door opened and I saw aunt Cala there. I smiled at her as her eyes went wide and she stepped out of the house to hug me with a big smile on her face.
“I was wondering if we would be seeing you soon,” she told me.
“Yeah, this is the third pack I’ve been to. I couldn’t skip out on y’all.”
“I’m so glad you didn’t,” she said as she released me.
“I’ll be here for a week to visit and train, then I’ll be headed to the next pack,” I told her.
“Ok. Your uncle Mason is on patrol today but we will see him later. Me and the boys are going to go swimming at the pool if you want to join us.”
“Yeah!” I said happily.
“Alright. Also, are you staying at the packhouse or do you want to stay in the spare room?” She asked.
“I would love to stay here with y’all,” I told her.
“Awesome. Bring your stuff in,” she told me.
“Ok,” I said as I turned to walk back to the packhouse.
Rowen and Rhett went with me and said they would meet me at the pool. I went to my vehicle and grabbed my things, then went back to Cala and Mason’s house. I went inside and saw my cousins getting ready to go to the pool. They gasped when they saw me, then ran in for a hug. Eli was eleven and Paul was now nine. All of us were spaced out a lot in age. None of us were really the same age.
Once they let go of me, I took my things to the spare room and changed into my swim trunks. The four of us went to the pack pool and swam with Rowne and Rhett. Rhett and I rolled our eyes at Rowen every time he checked out the next she-wolf that came to swim. He was horrible.
By the end of the day, Rowen and Rhett went home and I went back to the house with Cala and the boys. I talked with aunt Cala while she started to make dinner. I was sitting at the dining room table while she moved around the kitchen.
“So what have you learned on your travels thus far?” she asked.
“That I’m stronger than I should be and that finding a Beta is going to be harder than expected.”
“Yes, Beta’s are few, just like Alpha’s are.”
“Do you think uncle Mason would ever leave Red Moon if one of us needed him?” I asked her.
“Probably not. He’s in charge of a lot of warriors here and his loyalty to Alex is unwavering. I guess that’s what happens when you see the Alpha as more of a father to you than anything.”
“That’s fair.”
A few minutes later, uncle Mason came walking in and I smiled when I saw him. The grin on his face made his dimples come out and I loved it. I got up from my seat and hugged him.
“It’s good to see you, Grant. How is everything going?” he asked as he released me.
“Good so far.”
“Good. I’m glad.”
“How was patrol?” I asked him.
“It was good. Nothing crazy or unusual happened today,” he said with a sigh.
“Anything crazy or unusual happened recently?” I asked in curiosity.
“Every once in a while, we will get random humans walking in the woods. We learned that they are survivalists trying to perfect their knowledge and skills.”
“That’s got to be interesting to deal with.”
“More like annoying,” he said with a frown.
I laughed at him and we sat at the table to talk. Soon aunt Cala had dinner ready and the boys came to join us. We had a nice meal of chicken parmesan with sauce and noodles. I loved the different types of cooking my family did. Not one of them did the same thing.
By the end of the day, everyone went to their rooms after showering and watching TV together. I got my phone out and brought up Madison’s number, then pressed call.
She answered on the second ring, “Hey!” “Hi Mads,” I said with a smile on my face.
“How’s your family there at Red Moon?” “Good. My uncle Mason let me know that there are human survivalists that have been walking the woods here.” “That sounds interesting.” “He said it’s annoying.”
She laughed and said, “I could see how that would be.” “Yeah. It could be a problem. Anyway, how was your day?” “Nothing new. You know I’m boring.” “No, you’re not,” I protested.
“Thanks for that, but I haven’t done anything new.” “Maybe you should try new things and tell me about them.” “Like what?” “I don’t know,” I said.
“Exactly. There’s nothing to do here. That’s why I’m living vicariously through you.”
I laughed and said, “Fair.”
We talked about everything I had been doing lately until it was late and we both needed to go to bed.
“I’ll talk to you again soon, Mads.” “You better.”
I laughed and said, “Goodnight.” “Goodnight Grant,” she said in a sweet voice before she hung up.
The way she said it made me want to go back home and just stay there until her birthday. f**k all my plans.
“That would be stupid, especially if she is our mate,” Wraith told me.
“What if she isn’t?” I asked him.
“Then she isn’t. You need to build the future either for her or for someone else.” “You’re right. Can I just think that I’m building the future for her until I know for sure?” “I guess but that might do more harm than good.” “I know but it will keep me going,” I told him.
Wraith faded to the back of my mind and Skoll had nothing to say as he settled for the night. I lay on my bed and drifted off to sleep.
~
The next morning after breakfast, I went with uncle Mason to the training field. I trained with him, Alex, Rowen, Rhett and Beta Matt. I was too advanced for them, so I had to take two on at a time and still it wasn’t a big enough challenge. This sucked. Why had the Moon Goddess made me like this?
After beating everyone, Luna Zoe came over and started teaching me a few maneuvers that Curt and Grayson hadn’t shown me. If I kept this up, I was going to be unstoppable and that worried me a little. I didn’t want it getting to my head too much.
~
My time here went by quickly as I enjoyed the company of my family and training. It was a relaxing trip and I was sad when the week was over. I now needed to head to Silver Moon for the next part of my journey.
I packed all of my things after breakfast and said bye to everyone. I loaded my vehicle and put Silver Moon’s address into my GPS. I texted Alpha Samuel when I knew how long the trip was going to take me. I let him know that I would see him tomorrow sometime because the trip would take a while.
I then texted Madison that I was headed to Silver Moon and she told me to be careful as always. It made me smile knowing she cared so much about me.
- Writer
