His Lost Moon

Chapter 10

Dustin's POV

"That's him..." a female voice died in the wind.

I turned my gaze, interested to know who the female was and to whom she was referring to, yet I couldn't see anyone close by...

I scrunched my eyebrows together in confusion.

I did hear someone yell... Didn't I?

I shook my head when I couldn't find anything...

I must be imagining things...

"What's wrong?" Jack asked, turning his head in interest to see what caught my attention.

We were standing at the back of the circle, waiting patiently for the proceedings to begin.

"Thought I heard something..." I answered unconcerned and turned my attention back to the proceedings before us.

"I don't think you are imaging things," Lupa commented and started to pace up and down worried inside my mind.

I ignored him, focusing my attention on Nerina, tapping her foot irritably.

"Stop ignoring Lupa," Fenris growled in the back of my mind, "danger might be coming..."

I rolled my eyes at Fenris, my Lycan wolf, but decided it would be wise to ignore him too... getting into an argument with him might just end up in a power struggle...

Fenris has anger issues, and when he loses control of his anger, he goes into destructive mode and is impossible to control. It barely happened that I let him out, or even listen to him... he likes to control things with violence like a typical Lycan... but, when he is calm, he can be the sweetest little thing with the kindest heart...

"Are you just going to stand there and not investigate?" Akela asked, worried.

Why was Akela now joining in as well? He usually would keep to himself...

Akela was my Creeper Wolf. He was the most dangerous one of the three wolves, yet he was the calmest and most timid one. I never had to worry about him getting p*ssed, but when he did he would head toward the mountains to calm down...

I sighed, having been blessed with three wolves wasn't all fun and games... except for them driving me insane with all the talking and commenting in my mind, they would constantly try and gain control over me.

One wolf, in particular, was always testing my patience and control... he was a major pain in the ass and was constantly giving me a headache... Lupa.

Lupa was the dominant wolf among the three wolf spirits... he was a normal werewolf, like my father and mother, but was blessed with abilities... One particular ability was to siphon magic from around us and use it against our opponents.

Even though the ability was useful when it came to witches and any other magical being, we didn't have any full-blood witches on our land... and Jack's & Nerina's moms weren't allowed to use any magic in the packland... which made using magic merely impossible for both of us...

Lupa, even though the dominant one, was also the most mischievous one... which got me into trouble often...

In the early months, after my first shift, Lupa tried to set up pranks... left, right, and center, where ever he could... and to make matters worse, he took his opportunity while I was sleeping...

Bloody wolf!

To him, it was all great fun stealing my body while I was unconscious... That was until he got caught on camera, setting up the pranks and I was called into the principal's office.

I was furious, to say the least...

To ensure that Lupa, or any of the other two, doesn't get out of my room at night for a joyride by stealing my body, I requested Zander to install silver bars at my windows... that gave off a whole other argument, but he eventually gave in and did as I requested.

"Guys," I growled, "there is no immediate danger around us, and I am busy listening to the proceedings, so keep down! You are breaking my concentration and giving me a headache!"

"Dustin, you need to listen to me..." Fenris started but was cut off by the wolves' howl indicating the moon had reached its peak, and Nerina would start her shift any minute.

The three of them became quiet and moved their gazes interest toward the center waiting for Nerina to shift.

Nerina got herself ready, but nothing happened. At one stage it seemed like she was struggling to shift into her beast...

"What's going on? Why is Nerina taking so long to shift?" I mind-linked Jack.

"Seems like she is delaying the process..." he answered, smirking.

"Why?" I asked.

"To spite dad..." he answered and I sensed that he was enjoying his sister's mischief...

That put a smile on my face... I never thought that Nerina would go out of her way to p*ss her father off... usually, that was Jack's and my job...

We all knew Nerina could shift from a very young age. I also knew that Nerina wasn't too fond of the idea of having a shifting ceremony in the first place...

I have overheard numerous arguments between her and Zander about the shifting ceremony... but, Zander had put his foot down... and Nerina had no other choice but to agree to attend the ceremony... yet she found a way to force her father with some conditions... and Zander was eager to negotiate with his daughter...

In the end, Zander agreed and both of them were getting what they wanted...

One of Nerina's conditions was that only close family and friends were allowed to attend the ceremony. Not that Nerina had many friends, on the contrary, she had none...

The second was that none of the pack members or any other surrounding packs were allowed to witness her shift. Thus, only twenty or so people witnessed her shift.

Thirdly, and I was seriously glad she made these conditions; no Royal Council was allowed, except those that were directly part of the family, were invited...

Nerina became quiet and the cracking of bones echoed through the quiet clearing.

A few seconds later, her silver-tipped black wolf stood all proud.

Zander gave his daughter a proud nod of the head... and my heart pinched seeing it. Even though she was an outcast in the pack, her parents were still proud and supported her.

I let out an uneasy breath.

I know I shouldn't feel jealous, but some days I wished my parents could look at me the way Zander just looked at Nerina...

My attention snapped back to Nerina's beast lying down on her stomach, whimpering.

I remember Jack's wolf doing the same thing the night he first shifted.

"What's..?" I asked, and Jack's eyes widened seeing the wolf in excruciating pain.

"It has begun, her wolf and magic are in battle. The strongest between the two would be Nerina's best trade... if her magic loses, her wolf might force her to release the magic to her closest relatives... most probably her mom..." Jack answered, worried.

"Why do you look so worried," I asked.

"Because it should have been over already, and it will be hard for Nerina to accept her magic as her strongest trade..." he mind-linked.

I can just imagine how hard that would be for Nerina. Her wolf has been part of her for at least twelve years...

I watched Nerina's wolf whimpering in agony for about another hour or so.

Everyone's faces had become strained and worried; we could imagine how hard and painful the experience was.

No one dared to move from their spots, their eyes focused and pinned on the silver-black beast.

Nerina's wolf had suddenly become still and quiet, and I wondered for a second if her wolf didn't lose the battle against Nerina's magic part...

Zander left his mate's side, cautiously moving toward Nerina to investigate if she was still alright.

Zander was about a foot away from Nerina when she shifted back into a human.

"That's different," I mind-linked Jack.

I can't remember that Jack did that the night we shifted... but yet again, I didn't see him until much later that night...

"Yeah," he nodded his head, "I don't know if her magic won, or her wolf..." He answered.

Nerina yelled out in agony, and her face became red as she bit down on her jaw. Her body curled and stretched, her eyes rolled over and it seemed like she was fighting against the pain.

Was she having a fit?

I shivered unwillingly and turned my gaze away...

I can recall my own agony the night I shifted... the pain that was forced into every bone and cell inside my body...

I shook the grey thought off and concentrated...

Nerina's body suddenly became still, and soft moans could be heard under her breath.

Zander took a step closer, ready to help Nerina to her feet as soon as she opened her eyes... but when Nerina's eyes snapped open, her whole body lit up and a white beam was forced into the atmosphere...

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