A Luna's Duty

Chapter Two

“Jake,” I say, my tone questioning, “Is something wrong?”

More breathing comes from the phone. It’s heavy, panicked. My chest tightens at the sound of it. “Jake,” I repeat, “Are you okay? Answer me.”

“I-” his voice sounds choked as if he is forcing the words through his throat. “I am sorry I called.”

“Tell me what’s wrong.”

“Nothing is.” The lie bleeds through his tone. “Hope you are doing well. I have to go.”

“Jake.”

He hangs up. I stare at the phone for a moment, frozen. Should I call him back? Jake and I weren’t traditional mates in any sense of the word, there was too much of a messy history and barely reconciled feelings between us for that, but this wasn’t about that. He was undeniably an important person in my life and something was obviously wrong. My wolf agrees.

I press on his contact number again and pull the phone up to my ear. 

Allison chooses that moment to come in, her mouth open as if she is about to say something. She closes it when she sees I am on the phone. She tilts her head at me. I wait until the line goes dead before I say, “My old pack.”

Understanding dawns on Allison’s face. Allison was the person I confided most of my story to. Aaron and I were closer for the most part, but Allison was a better person to talk to in that regard. She just knew when I needed her to listen rather than to contribute anything and wasn’t judgmental about any of the decisions I’d made. “Was it him?”

Him was Jake, always Jake. I simply nod. “He told me to come back home, but he changed his mind halfway through the call and told me everything was fine and hung up.”

Allison’s eyebrows rise up. “Talk about mixed signals.”

I chuckle. “Tell me about it.”

“He didn’t answer when you tried again?”I shake my head. Her expression becomes solemn. “Let him call you back. If he needs you enough, he’ll call.”

I look at Allison, wondering not for the first time if she spoke from experience. Another little quirk about Allison, mates seemed to be a subject as touchy for her as it was for me. Maybe even more so for her as she never told me anything about it. I asked Aaron once. He simply shook his head and said ‘not enough alcohol in the room for that conversation’. I let it slide as I hardly wanted to get involved in someone else’s messy matebond.

“Alright.” I gesture towards my closet. “Can you help me pick out something to wear?”

Allison grins, easily replacing the seriousness that had taken over her features. “Thought you’d never ask.”

“You could buy more nice shirts.” Allison tosses me something from her closet. “I mean, you have the money for it.”

“My shirts are nice,” I defend, a bit offended.

Allison sighs. “Nice, yes, but not appropriate for partying.”

“I don’t party.”

“You don’t need to remind me of who I am roommates with, thank you very much.” She stares at me pointedly. “Go get dressed.”

“Do we need to make an appearance?” Aaron asks, staring out the window. “I don’t like these people.”

“You don’t like anyone, Aaron,” Allison chides, “that’s part of your problem.”

“Coming from one of my closest friends, that hurts.”

“One of your only friends, you mean.”

He narrows his eyes at her. “You are about to be crossed out of my special club if you keep going like that.”

Allison checks her nails dismissively. “The fact that it’s exclusive doesn’t make me want to stay in it more than normal.”

Landon eyes the two before looking back at me. “Why so pouty daydreamer?”

“I was promised burgers,” I explain, then turn an accusing gaze on the house we are in the driveway of. Music can be heard all the way to the car. “I doubt they have burgers in there.”

Landon laughs. “You always fall for whatever Allison tells you.”

“It’s called trusting a friend.”

“A friend you can trust,” Landon says, “My sister, not so much.”

My expression remains the same. He sighs, as if I am forcing his hand, then smacks Allison in the head. Allison and Aaron quit their argument to look at Landon. Allison looks furious. Landon just smiles at her. Allison’s eyes flash amber. “You are getting it now.”

Landon’s smile widens, his eyes flashing back in response. “Bring it.”

At the risk of damaging a perfectly good car over the fight of two alpha siblings, I decided to intervene. Aaron is half a second ahead of me.

“What happened Landon?”

Landon’s eyes momentarily leave Allison’s. “Oh,” he says, “Claire says she was promised burgers.”

“Claire,” Allison looks at me, “I told you we need to make a small appearance here. It’s pack related. We are going for burgers after.”

“Oh, I didn’t hear you say that.”

“Of course you didn’t.” Landon taps my head. “Lost, always so lost.”

“Well, you didn’t know either.”

“I did.” He shrugs. “I just needed an excuse to hit Allison.”

“Out of my car.” 

Landon chuckles, appearing unfazed, but he rushes out when Allison removes her seat belt. I go out after him.

“We don’t need to make an appearance,” Aaron whispers, standing next to me, “they do.”

“I figured,” I whisper back. Allison and Landon often had to attend pack related reunions in order to reestablish their presence as the Alpha’s heirs. It seemed completely unnecessary to me, but their parents insisted on it. Aaron and I were dragged alongside them in the name of loyalty.

“Those burgers better be good.”

I nod. “And Allison better be ready to pay for them.”

“Definitely.”

Allison rolls her eyes at us. “You two are so dramatic.” We stare at her together until she sighs. “The burgers will be amazing and yes I’ll pay for them.”

“Perfect,” Landon says.

“I won’t pay for yours, though.”

Landon’s smile drops.”Not so perfect.”

“I honestly can’t believe you finished the entire thing.”

“Me neither,”I agree, stumbling over to my room,” that was amazing.”

“I am glad you liked it.” She looks me up and down disapprovingly. “Not so glad about my shirt, though.”

I look down at the ketchup stain over my left breast. “I’ll wash it later.”

“No, I’ll do it. I really do appreciate Aaron and you coming with us. I think they might have convinced Landon to stay for longer if you hadn’t been there.”

“Not in a party mood tonight?” Though Allison spent most of her time hanging out with Aaron and me, she did enjoy spending time with other people and going to parties.

“No,” she answered, “not today.”

There it was again, that solemness. These episodes weren’t unusual for Allison, but usually, more time passed between them. She plasters a smile on her face again when she notices me staring. “Good night, Claire.”

I can barely say good night back before she goes into her room and locks the door behind her.

My eyes had just closed when my phone started ringing again. I ignore it on the first ring, then I realize what’s going on and reach for my phone with my hand.

I don’t even look at the called ID before answering. “Jake?”

“Not really.”

“Zack.” I can’t keep the cheer off my tone. “How are you?”

He takes a second before answering.“I am good.”

“Is everything alright over there? Jake called me earlier,” I pause, “Is he okay?”

I hear some muffled sounds from the line, then Zack comes back. “Claire, you need to come back.”

“What? Why? What happened? Is Jake okay?”

“He really isn’t.” My stomach sinks. More sounds of a struggle. “The alpha and the luna of the pack, Jake’s parents,” Zack pauses, seeming to struggle with the words,” they are dead.”

I feel the words hit me straight in the chest. “What?”

“I rather not discuss much over the phone. Please come home, they are holding the funeral in two days.” Zack says something else, but it isn’t directed at me. I can’t make out what it is. “I hope you can make it. I know you don’t owe it to either of us, but we need you here, if only for a little while.”

“Zack,” I whisper, “what happened?”

“I can’t talk right now, there is someone I need to deal with. I’ll call later.”

He hangs up. I stare down at my phone, the familiar feeling of loss settling over my chest. My wolf howls inside my head, mourning the loss of her leaders. Some part of me is unwilling to accept what Zack said, convinced that I would have felt it somehow. My bond to the pack wasn’t that severed. Yet as I reach for the connection, it responds weakly then flickers out. It’s that, more than anything, that unsettles me. The connection was aware of the loss of the alpha pair, but in my efforts to forget them, I had dismissed the signal as an effect of the distance. Panic grips my chest for a moment and I unwittingly search for my bond with Jake. If something as old as my bond to the pack had been severed, perhaps our bond, as weak as it had been when I left, might have…

The panic dies down when I feel it, still unsteady and a bit frayed, but there, as a constant force that would push on forever and maybe even beyond that. The presence of it steadies me if only for a moment, enough to regain my grip on myself.

Come home

It had been a year since I left, and I wasn’t sure how long I would have let that time extend if it wasn’t for this incident, but that didn’t matter anymore. 

It was time to go home.