Bound By Moonlight

Chapter 2: Going Out

Landon's POV



"Come on, is that the best you've got?" Rob mocked, locked in a battle for dominance as we sparred together. "You're losing your edge, Alpha," he said, trying to taunt me. It was working as my wolf, Ezra, began to get mad. Rob was a skilled fighter and the only one who had ever beaten me in training. Some young warriors had started to gather, watching us as we fought.

"We can't let the young ones see us lose!" Ezra yelled. Feeling the pressure he was applying, I used every bit of my strength, picking Rob up and slamming him hard into the mat. It knocked the wind out of him, and the young wolves watching all erupted into applause. Trying not to smile with satisfaction, I stood over Rob in triumph.

"Da*n, alright, alright, you win," he said once he caught his breath. Grinning, I held out my hand and helped him to his feet. Both of us were a sweaty mess, standing shirtless in the middle of the training floor. My long hair, which I had tied up, was falling on my face and sticking to my forehead.

"I think we can call it for the day," Rob added.

"What time is it?" I asked, and he looked at his watch.

"6:30; want to shower and then grab some dinner?"

"Yeah, sounds good to me." We both grabbed our shirts and went out into the chilly evening air. Leaves fell in every color as autumn was in full swing around our pack. This was the time of year I loved living in the Northeast.

"I was thinking we could go into the city tonight and go to a couple of bars or something," Rob said as we walked.

"What for?" I asked.

"To celebrate, this is your second anniversary of being Alpha."

"Oh, sh*t, really?"

"Yeah, we have to go out and do something."

"That's not something most people do," I reminded him as we walked.

"So? We used to go out all the time but haven't gotten to lately. Come on," he said, touching my shoulder and shaking me slightly.

"Okay, fine."

"Yes! There's this new karaoke bar and club we could go to. I've heard good things about it. A lot of the younger pack members go there on the weekends."

"You're buying then," I told him.

"Deal."

Once we were in the elevator inside the pack house, Rob got off on the third floor, which was for the Beta, and I continued up one more floor to where I lived. The only thing on this floor was the two apartments my older sister, Evelyn, and I lived in and a few guest rooms for visiting Alphas. I passed her door just as she came out with her mate and head warrior, Leo.

"Landon, hey! You look disgusting," she commented, taking in my sweaty appearance.

"Thanks for the info," I joked. "I had no idea." she rolled her eyes.

"We're heading down to dinner if you want to join us," she said.

"I'm just gonna shower first, and then I'll be down," I told them.

"Trained hard today?" Leo asked.

"Yeah, Rob tried hard to beat me, but we both knew that wasn't happening."

"Didn't he beat you last week?" Evelyn said in a mocking tone.

"Okay, I let him win that one. Olivia was watching, and he was whining about losing in front of her."

"Sure," she mocked again.

"He still hasn't made any moves on her yet?" Leo asked.

"Not as far as I know; he just keeps trying to get her attention anytime he can and then sleeping through the pack house staff."

"Dude's gonna end up alone if he doesn't knock it off," Leo added.

"So will you. When are you gonna mate with someone?" Evelyn asked, raising an eyebrow at me as her brown eyes crinkled at the corners with a sarcastic smile on her lips.

"I've mated plenty, thank you," I told her stiffly.

"Oh gross, so not what I meant! When are you going to give this pack a Luna?" she scoffed, pretending to gag.

"When I find someone I want to be with, or I find my mate."

"You're gonna get old waiting around," she said with raised eyebrows. "You’re 33 pushing 34."

"You know, this is none of your business. Why didn't you take over the Alpha position? You're older."

"Only by a year, and besides, all that pressure would turn me gray and wrinkled faster! No, thanks!" It was my turn to roll my eyes now. "Hurry up and shower."

She grabbed Leo by the hand and led him to the elevator doors. I kept walking and let myself into my apartment, throwing my shirt in the pile of dirty clothes in my closet along with my shorts. After showering, I dried my hair and threw some produce in to make it more manageable. Knowing full well that it would probably end up in a bun before the night ended. I wasn't into fashion, so I wore a black short-sleeved T-shirt, jeans, and boots. Rob would probably have something to say, but he was the one who cared more about his appearance.

Inside the dining hall, I saw many of the pack must have eaten already because it was relatively empty. Evelyn and Leo were sitting at a table with Rob, and it looked like they had already finished eating. Taking a seat at the table, an omega came and brought me a plate.

"Thanks, Lizzy," I told her.

"You're welcome, Alpha," she said, blushing before returning to the kitchen.

"You should hit that," Rob said, leaning in.

"I'm good," I told him. "I'm sure you already have." I tried not to hook up with people in the pack. It would just make things more awkward once I met my mate.

"That's not untrue," he laughed. "You're missing out; the omegas are a great time. They'll pretty much do anything," he said, reminiscing about his past.

"Had a lot of experience with that?" I asked. He just raised his eyebrows, giving me all the answers I needed, not that he didn't have a reputation.

"Rob said you guys are going out tonight?" Evelyn asked.

"Yeah, his idea," I told her.

"You're gonna have a great time. Have we ever had a bad time together?"

"I guess he forgot that night we had to carry his drunk a** home and clean up the car after he got sick in it," Ezra said with an air of annoyance.

"What time are we leaving?" I asked.

"Let's aim for 9:30. It takes thirty minutes to get into the city, and I wanna be able to sit at the bar and drink before they take the chairs away."

"So, what should we do until then?" I asked.

"I can think of a couple of things," he said, eyeing Lizzy.

"What about Olivia?" I asked.

"What about her," he asked uncomfortably.

"I thought you liked her."

"We're gonna go," Evelyn said, getting to her feet. They didn't want to be around for this conversation.

"I do, but I can't let her know that," he told me as Leo and Evelyn walked away arm in arm.

"Why not?" I asked, tearing into the steak sitting in front of me.

"I have to play it cool. She's an elder's daughter."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"You just don't get it," he sighed, leaning back in his chair.

"I guess not." We fell silent as Rob grabbed his phone and began scrolling through social media.

"Okay, well, if we aren't leaving for a while, then I'm gonna go for a run," I told him.

"Fine, but meet me outside the pack house at 9:30, or I'm leaving without you," he said.

"Got it," I told him. Rob got up from the table, and I watched as he made his way towards Lizzy, who caught his eye and blushed a deep shade of red. He put his hand on the wall and leaned casually over her, chatting about something that made her laugh. Ezra and I both rolled our eyes.

"He's going to bang every omega in this pack before the year is even over," Ezra said disgustingly.

"Yeah, well, you wanna tell him to cool down?" I asked. Rob had a temper, probably worse than mine, so anytime I didn't have to engage with it, I didn't. Even though I was the Alpha and had no problems shutting him down, I still found it tiresome. I finished my dinner alone, which is how I preferred to be anyway and got up from the table. Making my way outside, I ran into the one exception to my not having s*x with pack members rule, Sabrina.

"Oh sh*t, sorry," I said as she bounced off my chest.

"It's fine," she mumbled, catching herself before she fell backward.

"I wasn't paying attention," I admitted.

"Yeah, you tend not to pay attention to things like where you're walking or what you're doing with other people's feelings," she said with a sour tone. She had never forgiven me for sleeping with her and then telling her I didn't want a relationship. We had both been drunk at a party before I had taken over as Alpha. Ezra growled in my head; he hated the feeling that he was being disrespected. I took a deep breath to steady him and myself.

"Look, I'm sorry about what happened between us, but that was three years ago," I reminded her.

"You don't have to tell me; I was there," she said defensively.

"Yes, I know. But we'll both find our mates one day, and it'll end up being a good thing we're not together." She glared at me before shoving past and into the pack house.

"She can hold a grudge, that's for sure," Ezra said.

"Forget about it; let’s just focus on our run," I said to him as we set off toward the forest. We found a large tree to duck behind and strip to shift. In a matter of seconds, and with the sounds of cracking bones, I was staring at the world through Ezra’s eyes as he stood, four large brown paws on the ground. He shook out his long, thick fur, stretching as it had been a while since he had been able to do this.

Ezra took off into the woods, weaving in and out of the trees, showing off his Alpha reflexes. To whom I wasn’t sure because we were the only ones out here tonight besides the patrol groups. After an hour of running, I decided it was time to head back to my room to prepare for tonight. Much to Ezra’s protests, I took back control and shifted, gathering my clothes and putting them back on.

It was quiet as we walked back through the pack house and to our room. While the top few floors were apartments for the ranking members, the bottom held the dining hall and ballroom where we had events. Our pack also had a library that was separate from the pack house, along with a school, dungeons, and a movie theater. I liked to think of this pack as a small city because we were the most prominent and strongest pack in the United States.

Once we were back in our room, I considered changing into something else for the night but decided that adding a black leather jacket would be enough for me. Just as I thought, I pulled my long hair back into a bun to keep it out of my face. When I checked my phone, I saw it was a little after 9:30, and it wasn't long before I started to hear Rob's annoyed voice in my head.

"Are you coming? It's getting late," he huffed, even if he was trying not to sound annoyed.

"I'll be right down."

"I'd like to get there before all the girls have found someone to dance with!" Rolling my eyes, I took one last look in the mirror before leaving my room. As I expected, Rob was already outside waiting in his car, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel.

"Finally," he said when I opened the door and entered the passenger seat.

"It's only 9:45; I'm not that late," I told him.

"You know, I think he forgets who the Alpha is," Ezra said with annoyance.

"Where did you learn about this new place?" I asked, wanting to change the subject to avoid angering myself or Ezra.

"A few young people were talking about it. They do karaoke until eleven, and then the DJ takes over. It gets pretty crowded, and it's got good reviews for only being open a few months."

"Sounds like fun, but you're dreaming if you think I'm getting anywhere near that stage," I told him.

"Oh, come on, I've heard you sing before. You've got a great voice," he laughed, heading down the road towards the front gate.

"In the shower, maybe, but that's about the only audience I'll ever see." The two of us kept talking as the lights of our pack got smaller and smaller behind us while the city lights quickly came into view on the horizon.