He’s Not Yours

The Young Moon Pack.

Hawk’s POV

My wolf is losing his mind. Or maybe it’s me? Or possibly both. Either way, I need to get this obsession under control. Humans are for fun, not for life. So why can’t I get the little blond human off of my mind? Every time I close my eyes I see her, feel her. It feels exactly how my fellow shifters describe what happens when they meet their true mate, but this can’t be that, it’s impossible. Werewolves and humans can’t be mates, can’t procreate, can’t fall in love. It’s a simple fact, there are no exceptions. A wolf will never accept a human as anything more than a little fun. So why is my wolf demanding I go to her, bring her home and claim her as my Luna to the pack?

“Hey handsome,” Autumn chirps as she approaches me. Standing by my side, in front of my gathering pack. My wolf roars in protest, she should not be by our side, that’s the place of our Luna, and he no longer accepts Autumn as our intended Luna. He wants Derry there. Autumn is a beautiful woman, a suitable mate that can provide me with an heir, but there’s always been something about her that makes me feel I shouldn’t trust her. She was chosen for me by the pack elders and, as tradition states, any Alpha who has not found their true mate by the age of 30 must have an unmated female chosen for him by the pack elders. I have been making excuses and stalling as much as possible to avoid officially claiming Autumn as pack Luna, but I know I’m pushing the limits now and the pack are becoming uneasy. Autumn slips her hand into mine and on reflex I jolt my hand away as if she just burnt me. I hear the gasps and murmurs of the pack at my reaction.

“Sorry, static shock,” I laugh, shaking my hand and trying to save the situation. Autumn eyes me suspiciously before laughing along. I know she doesn’t believe me, but she would do anything to save herself the embarrassment of rejection. She would hate to ruin her self-important image.

“I must be electric tonight,” she laughs to the crowd in front of us and wiggles her fingers at them. They laugh along and I allow myself an internal eye roll. My Beta, Colt, takes his position on my right, closely followed by my Gamma, Zev, signalling everyone is now in attendance and the pack meet can commence. I give a short speech and we give our prayer of thanks to the Moon Goddess for all our blessings. Then I shift into my wolf, the transition as easy as breathing. My wolf reluctantly turns to Autumn, giving her the nod of approval to shift, before turning to Colt to do the same. Zev then takes his turn and we stand proudly on the raised rocks, the pack all staring up at us, the leaders of the Young Moon Pack. I then send out the telepathic command for the rest of the pack to shift, pushing more power towards the younger members through our pack link to help them with the transition that they’re still learning. As one, every single wolf bows down to their Alpha. I look down at them with honour before howling to the moon, the pack echo my howl and then we run.

The wind brushing through my fur, the earthy smell of the woods filling my nose and the sound of hundreds of paws pounding the ground around me is the best thing in the world. This week the run feels different though, there’s something wrong, something missing. I stop, assessing my surroundings, trying to work out what has changed. The moonlight is peaking through the gaps in the trees. The only scent on the air is pack, nature and the faint hint of smoke lingering from our earlier fire. The excited yips of wolves playing, the snapping of sticks on the ground as heavy paws trample them, everything is as it always is. Then it hits me, it’s her that’s missing, the human. As if the thought summons her to me, I can suddenly feel her, her sadness, her hate. She needs me. I need to find her. My wolf bolts, he doesn’t care she is over a hundred miles away, he has to get to her. Protect her. We are so focused on her that we don’t hear anything but her voice and our heartbeat. So, when a body slams into our flank we are totally taken by surprise, crashing into a tree. Instinct kicks in and we go into fight mode, quickly taking down the enemy and pinning them to the ground. A pained whimper snaps me back to my senses and I look down into the frightened eyes of Autumn. I release her and shift back into human form quickly. I crouch beside her, assessing her for injuries and thankfully finding no blood. Her eyes shift from fear to anger and she jumps to her feet, knocking me to the ground. She steps towards me with a vicious snarl.

“Shift!” I demand. She snaps at me in response. “Shift!” I shout, pushing my Alpha power into the command. She drops to the floor with a cry, the shift complete instantly.

“I’m sorry Autumn,” I say as I stand and hold a hand out to her to help her up.

“f**k you Hawk!” She sneers, slapping my hand away with a look of defiance in her eyes.

“Autumn,” I warn. She knows only a Luna can get away with such disrespect towards her Alpha. For everyone else, it’s considered a challenge to his position. A fight she would not win.

“I am your Luna, I can challenge you all I like,” she hisses.

“You are not my Luna,” I spit back. The soft whimper of wolves sounds around us as our audience grows.

“I’m not taking this s**t anymore! I am your Luna! I was chosen. You can’t keep pushing me away. You either accept me or stand down as Alpha.” She demands, the pack members watching the show huff in agreement. Fury runs through me and I begin to shake. I clench my fists and clamp my teeth together as she stares me down. Before I can decide my next move she shifts back to her red wolf and runs off into the thick of the forest. The pack dart after her, making it clear they side with her on this. I turn to see only Colt and Zev left with me. I give them a nod of thanks before shifting with a growl of pure rage and racing back home. My Beta and Gamma running at my flanks the whole way, the howls of discontent ringing out through the night.