Althena

11. Home

Mike puts me on my feet in the packhouse. I stumble around for a bit. Then I finally get it. I walk in circles around the couch. It's different to walk with so many feet. They leave me alone and I practice walking for a while.

Then Conner comes out of his room. He stares at me for a second. "Well, you're white." Then he sits on the couch. He's not awake yet.

I go up the steps slowly. Miles nearly runs over me. Then he falls down the steps.

"WATCH WHERE YOU ARE GOING. YOU ALMOST STEPPED ON HER." His mom chases him out with a duster wand.

Slowly, one foot in front of the other, I make it to the top. Then I walk around the offices. Mike is at his desk. I prance in and show him how good I've gotten.

"You're doing perfect and so pretty. Do you know how to shift back?"

I don't want to do that. I run out and down the steps. Which wasn't the best idea. I trip on the first one and summersault down them all. I stand up at the bottom and my fur is going every which way. I shake out and try to get my footing.

"WHAT WAS THAT?" Mike's at the top of the steps.

Conner looks at me from the couch and cracks up laughing. "Have a nice trip? You look wired as hell."

I plop on my ass and give him a dirty look.

"Are you alright?" Mike comes down and rubs my head. "Be careful. The wolf form is new to you. It does take a while to get used to."

Conner laughs harder. "No running down the steps."

"Boy, I will shoo you out of this house too."

"Sorry, luna." He stands up. "I'll be good. But she's fine."

Then something moves by my butt. I watch out of the corner of my eye. I don't know what that was. I'm super quiet and still.

It moves again and I jump, scream, and flip all at once. I take Mike out. He lands on his ass beside me. I keep going in circles.

Conner falls back on the couch laughing. He's laughing so hard he's crying.

Mike grabs me and holds me still. "It's your tail."

I sit but I am still watching that thing.

Millie's trying not to laugh. She runs out. "I need to make breakfast."

I try to follow her and Conner points to my room. "Shift back if you help. We don't want to eat fur."

I shift back in my room. It's painless. And Millie was right. I'm very naked. I throw on a plain dress and check my phone. Chris wants to know where I am.

-Woodland packland.-

-That's far for a day trip. I need to piss. I'm at your house.-

-Code is 291995-

-Thanks. I'll set it when I leave.-

The code is Mike's birthday. He's 5 and a half years older than me. But I'll never forget his birthday. Easiest number to remember. It's easy to forget he's so much older. He'll be 22 in February.

I make my way to the kitchen after that. I help Millie with breakfast.

"The reason I said not to shift in front of anyone is because you're very white. That's nearly unheard of."

"Is it bad?"

"No. The more white a luna is, the more powerful she is. But even the queens aren't fully white. Queen Gold is white but she has some red undertones. I mean, she's beautiful but not fully white. There isn't a mark on you of any other color."

"Why should I hide it though?"

"Some people are going to be jealous. Others are going to try to claim you, so they can say they have the most powerful luna. Others are going to try and exploit your power. You are strong. We all know that. I worry people will see you and it's going to draw a lot of unnecessary attention. People even seeing you will cause rumors."

"Why?"

"There's a prophecy. One day, the true luna will emerge. The queen of all queens. She will be able to unite everyone in a time of war. The planet will come together and she will stand with her mate. They will be the ultimate king and queen. Above all others. She is said to be true white with no markings."

I stare at the pan. "Oh."

She chuckles. "It's a fantasy story. Made up in a time of war. Don't worry about that. But there are people who believe it. I fear they will seek you out if too many people see you. Rumors will fly. I don't want that for you. You would be forced back here and you're too young for that. You need to live your life and figure out who you are before you come back to stay."

Mike smiles from the doorway. "You need to stay here because you know this is your home. Not because people out there are mean and you have to hide here."

"You both think I'll come back?"

"Someday. You're still growing up." Millie smiles. "Plus there are lots of prophecies. Some of them I do believe."

"Like what?"

Mike laughs. "Good luck. She won't open her mouth about any of them."

"A prophecy is meant for the person it's given. It's not for anyone else to hear."

Mike shakes his head.

I smile. "Where do I hear one?"

Mike puts an eyebrow up and Millie laughs. "She's already smarter than you, son. I'll take you after breakfast. We'll see if she has anything for you."

She lets Miles back in the house for breakfast. I stuff myself again. I cannot get enough of this food.

Conner does the same thing. "You should open a restaurant making this food. You would make a killing in the market district."

"I don't want a restaurant. It would be too much work. And everyday, every meal. It would never end."

"You could have things to-go. Sandwiches and stuff."

"I have nowhere for a garden."

"Yea, that's true. I'll keep thinking."

After breakfast, Conner, Mike, and I follow Millie. At first it seems like a normal walk.

"Mom, the path ended. Do you know where you're going?"

"Of course, I do."

An hour later, "We're not in the packland. Where are you going?"

"It's not that much further. Relax."

"If we go any further, we're going to be outside of Crystal Falls City completely."

"We should have been wolves. This would have been a faster walk." Conner trips over a stick.

I help him up. "He's not used to being in the woods."

He nods. "This is a lot of trees. I need pavement."

"It's only around this hill."

We admit defeat and keep following her. Then I see the most pecular house. It's very small and covered in vines. A little old lady sits on the porch. She looks so old. She has long perfect silver hair. A feeling of ease comes over me. This place is so calming.

She holds the rail tightly and comes down the steps slowly. She comes right up to me and takes my hand. "You have been found. I will send word. Happy birthday, babygirl. Are you 16 today?"

Millie is smiling from ear to ear. She puts her arm around me and squeezes.

"I'm 16. Thank you."

"That's a wonderful age."

"She wanted to know if you had any prophecies for her." Millie is about to jump up and down.

"No. Too young." She walks over and takes Mike's hand. I swear his eyes go orange for a second.

Millie shakes me. "What about the boys?"

She chuckles. "Don't get too attached to your packs. You're both going to go further than you ever dreamed possible."

Mike stares at her. "When will she come back home?"

"She is home. Home isn't a place. Home is a person. Or people." She smiles at him. "If you're talking about Woodland packland. She will return many times. She may even live there on occasion. But home... Home is something else. She is home now."

Millie hugs me. "You are home."

"A birthday gift for you, babygirl." She takes my hand and a mark appears on it. It's a marking of a ladybug on the back of my hand. "If you're ever in real trouble. It will know what to do. Now, there's a rogue sneaking up behind the house. He's up to no good. You boys can take care of him for me. I'm old and need to sit. I'm going home in a year. I need to save my strength."

The boys stare at her as she turns around. Then something smells weird. I hear something like a bucket fall.

"GET HER HOME, MOM." Mike throws his shirt.

"GO." Conner pushes me lightly. "NOW." He throws his shirt.

"Wolf time, sweetie. Let's go." Millie turns into a wolf and takes off.

I turn into mine so fast and run with her. I keep looking back though. I'm worried about the boys. Then I run into her.

She shifts back. "They're ok. It's over. We can go slow now. Let them catch up." Then she shifts into her wolf again.

She goes slower than a normal walk for me. I pounce and try to sneak up on everything. I walk on a tree that fell over. I have good balance. Then I try to sneak up on a butterfly. My butt goes up and my head goes down. My ears are laid back but my tail is going everywhere. Millie keeps coughing. I think that's the wolf laugh. I pounce at the butterfly and it flies away.

I snort and look around. The boys are standing there as wolves watching me. They're both fully black and really big. I snort at them and they cough. Then I realize, they stick. They smell horrible. I run ahead of them so I don't have to smell them.

We get back to the packhouse and I notice they have blood on them. And they really do stink. I'm trying not to gag it's so bad. I go to my room and shift back. By the time I'm dressed. Millie is spraying air freshener in the living room.

"I'll never get that smell out of here."

"That was horrid." I sit on the couch.

"What was?" Conner comes out smirking.

"You. You smelled horrible. I nearly gagged."

Mike laughs. "Rogue smell. He was particularly bad. I don't think he showered... ever."

"At least you smell better now."

"I sprayed some cologne for you." Mike sits by me. He smells amazing. I lay my head on his shoulder and breathe.

Miles and Max come in and look around. Miles scratches his head. "Was there a rogue here?"

Conner chuckles. "Only parts of him."

"Lunch is ready." I spring up and try to figure out where I am. It doesn't smell bad anymore and all the windows are open.

"They finally woke up." Max walks by.

Mike helps me up. "Sorry, I must have fallen asleep sitting there too."

Miles and Conner come in the front door. "Dad, did you know he's a scout?"

Max grumbles.

I smile. "He's a spy for Crimson Moon."

Max flips around. "YOU BETTER NOT."

Conner throws his hands up. "WHAT AM I GONNA SPY ON? THE TREES?"

Max grumbles again and goes into the dining room.

We sit around the table and I stretch. That was a good nap. Mike rubs his face.

"Glad everyone is awake." Millie sets some sandwiches and salad in the middle of the table.

Miles grabs a sandwich. "He could spy on our warriors. Then Crimson Moon would know our routine."

Max grumbles and Conner nods. "There have been a few warriors in crimson that have pissed me off. I could take your insane training schedule back to my alpha. Can I have it?"

"No." Max barks out.

"What do your scouts even do?"

"We have neighbors." Miles laughs.

"Let's go spy on the neighbors after lunch."

"Ok. Dad, put our mark on him. They'll be really confused as to why Crimson Moon is spying on them." Miles gets another sandwich.

Max looks around all confused. "How old are you?"

Conner smiles. "Almost 17. My birthday is in November. I'll spy for you too."

"Fine. I thought you were older than that."

Mike rubs his face. "Do not beat up their alpha."

"We make no promises."

I can't help but laugh. They're funny together. The rest of lunch we spend chitchatting then I go back to the gardens.