Moon's POV
"We need to take her somewhere safe," a voice said in panic, and I turned quickly.
The nightmare was back.
"She's too dangerous! She will be hunted by those who want her powers," another voice called out, equally in panic.
Beads of sweat trickled down my back as I tried to trace the voice. It was always the same nightmare, over and over again.
"Nowhere is safe."
I was closer. I saw the familiar long black hair and reached for it.
"Mom?"
The woman turned to me, and I gasped in shock. She…had no face.
"Run!"
I shot up, heart pounding, as a black wolf stared right back at me. I screamed in fright, falling off the couch and hitting my head on the hard floor.
"Ouch!"
I stared at the wolf, his snout lifting in a smirk as he stared right back at me.
"Geri!"
He howled in response, and I could swear he was laughing.
I walked towards the kitchen, ignoring the cracking of bones behind me.
"Sorry about that," Will said.
I turned abruptly and dropped the glass in surprise as when I saw his naked body. I turned back immediately, eyes glued to the ceiling.
"Would it kill you to put on some clothes, Will?" I snapped.
"It's nothing you haven't seen before." I could hear the tease in his voice, but I was in no mood for games.
"You'd think it'd be bigger by now," I said.
His footsteps were closer. "Other girls don't have complaints."
I pulled my head down and met his gaze, his brown eyes boring into my icy blue ones. I could see why girls fawned over him.
His chiseled jaw was sharp, his eyelashes long and pretty, his lips looked full and inviting.
And when he ran his fingers through his thick hair, he looked like he'd just stepped out from a magazine.
I scoffed. "Guess they haven't seen enough to compare it with."
He moved closer, his scent sending my body into overdrive. He smelled like sweat and earth.
"And you have?" he asked.
I placed a finger on his shoulder and moved him back. "Nice try, Will."
I grabbed another glass and filled it up with water. "But your tricks don't work on me."
I met his eyes. "You know that."
He rolled his eyes. "You're missing out."
My gaze fell below his waist once more, taking him all in. It was a little above average, I'd give him that, but I'd never give him the satisfaction of telling him that.
"I'm good," I said, tearing my eyes away.
Will was my best friend, and we'd seen each other's most embarrassing moments. I'd walked in on him once, losing his virginity to Sandra, one of the wolves in the pack.
She must have given him a once-in-a-lifetime experience because after that, Will became somewhat of a player. He slept with every wolf he saw, both from our packs and other packs.
I wasn't interested in being one of his 'conquests'.
He smirked and reached for his pants. I looked away, and drank my water, my fingers trembling slightly.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
Will was observant; it was a trait I loved and despised in him. I found it difficult to keep secrets from him.
"Geri freaked me out earlier," I lied.
I turned to him and smiled. It didn't reach my eyes. "I swear Will, your wolf hates me."
He walked towards me and grabbed my hand. I tried to avoid his eyes, but he held my chin, forcing me to look at him.
"You had the nightmare again, didn't you?" he asked.
I blinked.
"Are you okay?"
I nodded. "Why wouldn't I be?"
He said nothing and waited.
Ugh.
I hated that he always saw through my lies.
"Why would I feel anything for the people who abandoned me?" I removed his hand from mine.
"I'm so luckythey aren't in my life," I said.
He nodded. "Their loss."
"Right?!"
He paused. "Do you want to talk about it?"
I plopped on the chair. "It's always the same dream. I hear them saying something about me being dangerous."
He chuckled. "The only thing dangerous about you is your kicks."
I rolled my eyes. "Shut up."
He shook his head, hiding his smile. "What else?"
I straightened, remembering a detail that had scared the hell out of me. "I saw her face."
He paused, meeting my eyes. "What did she look like?"
I hesitated, staring at him. "Nothing."
"What?"
"Will, she had no face."
His eyebrows furrowed. "That must have been scary."
I scoffed. "You have no idea."
He inched closer. "Well, did she say anything? Or did anything strange?"
I blinked. "She told me to run."
The silence hung in the air after that, as the thoughts churned in his head. I had no memory of my birth parents.
All I knew about them was they'd abandoned me in the woods...and left me to die. But the nightmares felt real, like a memory rather than a dream.
But how could I have a memory of when I was a pup?
I stood up. I'd rather not think about it. My past was something I hated thinking about.
"I thought you went for a hunt," I said, changing the subject.
The whole pack had gone for a hunt in the woods. I'd stayed back because I had yet to hear my wolf. Or as my adoptive Mom, the Luna of the pack liked to say 'I was just a late bloomer'.
Will gasped. "That reminds me."
I headed to the kitchen to clean the mess I had made earlier.
"I heard something through the mind link," he said.
Another thing I couldn't do with them. I was almost 18 and was no closer to hearing my wolf than I was at 16.
Seeing others being able to hunt and talk through the mind link the night they turned 16, and not being able to do the same, had earned me the title of a 'weirdo'.
I placed the glass on the cabinet and reached for a broom to sweep the broken pieces. Will rushed over to me and grabbed it from me.
"I'll do it," he offered.
I pushed him away, taking the broom from him. "I think I can handle a little broken glass."
He took the broom from me and shook his head. "I don't want you getting injured."
"Ew," I said.
He rolled his eyes. "Besides, I heal faster than you."
That was a better argument, so I left him to do it and reached for another glass.
"What'd you hear?" I asked.
"Your Mom's pregnant."
The glass fell from my hand, shattering on the hard floor as I stared at him in shock.
"What'd you say?" I asked.
He looked up from picking the shards of glass. "Maybe I shouldn't have told you."
"What do you mean?" I asked. "That's such great news!"
"You sure? Your voice was high there for a sec," he pointed out.
Pfft.
"Are you kidding me?" I paused. "I am so…happy."
The sound of wolves howling echoed outside, and I met Will's eyes.
"Uh-oh," he said.
"What is it?" I asked.
He paused, eyes glazing. I knew he was saying something through the mind link. "They are pissed I told you."
I knew Mom and Dad had been trying for a pup for a while, and I meant it when I said I was happy for them. It just felt…weird.
He hurriedly packed the shattered glass and winced when it tore into his skin. I paused, inhaling loudly. I grabbed his finger and peered at it.
The metallic smell of blood hung in the air, and suddenly, it was the most amazing thing I'd ever smelled in my life.
"Moon," he called.
My brows furrowed when the wound closed completely.
"Moon."
I stared at him, disappointed he didn't bleed more.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
I stared at his hand, fully healed and pulled away. What the hell was I thinking?
"Uh, yeah," I said.
He peered at me curiously. "Your eyes were glowing, Moon."
I blinked rapidly. "What?"
"Your eyes," he paused. "They glowed."
"What the hell are you talking about?"
He grabbed my hand. "I'm serious, Moon."
I stared at him, and could tell he meant it.
But glowing eyes? That made no sense.
I gasped loudly. "Do you think it's my wolf?"
I'd waited for that moment all my life. No more being the runt of the pack.
I could go on hunts, use the mind link...
He shook his head. "I don't think---."
I closed my eyes, inhaling deeply, as I tried to summon my wolf.
Are you there?
There was no response.
Hello?
Still nothing. I opened my eyes.
"That went well," I sighed.
"Nothing?" he asked.
I shook my head in response. He sniffed the air and turned to me.
"They're coming."
We went outside the house and waited for them. The sounds of paws hitting the ground came closer and I fidgeted with the hem of the blanket in my hands nervously.
I was excited for my parents and the fact that they were expecting a new pup. They had been asking the moon goddess for a pup, way before they found me in the woods.
Mom had always called me her little miracle, saying the moon goddess answered her prayers the night she found me. It was why she named me after her.
I could see the two brown wolves coming our way; the Alpha and Luna of the Clover pack---my parents, with fifteen others behind them. The Clover Pack was the weakest pack in the entire country.
We were nineteen including me, but I took great pride in being a part of them. They took me in when I was left out to die, and they were the only family I had.
Mom's wolf, Rian, nuzzled against my legs. I crouched to rub her fur.
"Hey Mom," I said.
Her bones cracked loudly, as she shifted. I wrapped the soft blanket over her naked body.
"Hey, baby," she pulled me in hug.
"Congratulations! I heard the news," I said.
She glared at Will, who shrank back. "I was going to tell you."
"It's okay," I said, smiling.
She stared at me, and I averted my gaze. Mom, like Will, had this ability to see through my lies.
"You're not a very good liar, Moon," she said.
How the hell does she do that?
I kissed her cheek affectionately. "I'm happy for you, Mom."
I paused when I felt Theo---Dad's wolf---rub his fur on my leg. I knelt and met his eyes. His brown eyes stared right back, his nose wiggling.
"Dad," I called.
Though I wasn't part of the mind link, I knew exactly what he said with his eyes.
You'll always be my daughter.
I rubbed his fur gently, tickling him under his muzzle.
"I only brought one blanket," I joked.
He howled in response, setting off the other wolves.
Mom grabbed my hand with a smile. "Come on, we have another piece of news to share with you."
"What is it?" I asked.
We walked back into the house, the other wolves scattering, as they broke into groups.
I held onto Mom tighter as we walked, staying close to her. With the new pup coming, who knew how long for us to bond like this?
"Sit," she said.
The seriousness in her voice made me sit up straight, my heart beating loudly in my chest. What was so important that it put those looks on their faces?
Dad came over, fully clothed, and peered down at me.
"Am I in trouble?" I asked.
My mind flitted back to things I might have done wrong. I'd been good recently.
It'd been a few weeks since I snuck outside to go party, or didn't come home in time for curfew. Did Will snitch on me about that?
"No, you're not," Dad said.
"Then, what is it?" I asked.
"Honey," Mom started and held my hand.
"Your 18th birthday is in a few months, isn't it?" she asked.
"Yeah?"
"And you still haven't heard your wolf," Dad said.
I looked away, not wanting to meet their eyes.
"Baby, it's not your fault. You're just---"
"A late bloomer," I interrupted, rolling my eyes.
Dad paused, exchanging glances with Mom. "We want you to go to a place where you can find your wolf."
There was a place I could finally find my wolf? Why had they not told me about it?
My ears perked. "Where?"
Dad held out a pamphlet, and I peered at it.
Supernaturals' High. A place where you can find out who you really are.
"What's this?" I asked.
Of course, I'd heard of Supernaturals' High. It was the most popular school in the entire country. It was a place filled with snobs and crass Supernatural beings.
If I didn't fit in my little pack, I sure as hell would never fit in there. And what, it was 'a place to find out who I really was?'
Please.
What the hell were they thinking?
"It's your new school," Mom said.