Just a Wolf

Beta Malcolm

I interrupt my conversation with Michael several times to give directions to Theo. He has never driven out to the lodge before, and I’m glad that he’s getting the chance to now. As my assistant he should know where it is. It isn’t just a retreat for the Alpha. Occasionally we have used it for other purposes, such as confidential meetings or training. Sometimes just hunting parties.

After heading roughly northeast from the 299 for a number of miles, along very rough and winding roads, I tell him to slow down, then take the sharp right turn into the concealed drive. A driver who had randomly made it onto this remote road would never see the drive, hidden behind a tangle of trees and bushes as it is. It is another 10 minutes down the narrow dirt road until the lodge appears.

I use the mind-link to warn Kanen that we have arrived, in case he and his Luna need to, you know, finish up or get dressed or anything. I’m pretty sure I know what they have been doing for the past two days. He acknowledges my message with a wordless hint of amusement.

When was the last time I sensed amusement from my Alpha? Months?

The Dark Woods SUV pulls in behind us, and the seven of us get out of the cars and approach the house. It is rustic but lovely, a two-story log structure nestled in the pine trees, off the grid with its own solar panel array and water well and septic system. It’s large enough to sleep a dozen people, more if they aren’t fussy about having a bed to themselves.

Kanen comes out the front door as we are walking up, and meets us on the porch. With a smile on his face, and a mark on his throat.

He is radiating joy, filled with such obvious happiness that it seems almost tangible, like the air is thick with his delight. After two months of witnessing his heartbreak, any glint of good humor would be an improvement, but this is far more than that. It seems almost celestial, like a towering monolith of exultation reaching to the heavens.

Which is appropriate. His joy is the result of a gift from the gods, his Luna who has been fated to come into his life, his perfect soulmate.

“Come in,” he says, smiling, the imprint of her teeth still very visible on his throat. I know how that feels, when the mark is first received, how it brings a sense of completion and fulfillment unlike any other single thing in life. My mark has long since faded so that it is no longer visible, but that sense of unity has never faded. My bond with my mate is as strong as it ever was, but it has become the deep contentment of a lifelong love, not the giddy thrill of fresh infatuation. Every phase of the mating process is wonderful, and I am so glad for my friend that he has begun to experience it.

He clasps my hand, and pats my shoulder, exuberantly welcoming me, then does the same to Alpha Ross. We follow him into a front room filled with comfortable couches and chairs. “Have a seat,” he says. His eyes shift over to the stairway for a moment. “Janine is, um, freshening up,” he adds. Ha! I’m sure I know what that means. She’s probably up in bed recovering from another bout of violent love-making, if I know anything about Kanen, and about mating.

The leaders sit together in a grouping of seats, and Theo guides the other staff over to a different part of the room, removed from us. He knows my preferences. If the assistants are needed, we will call for them. For now, they can remain discreetly in the background.

“I’m glad to see you looking so well,” I tell Kanen with a bit of a teasing tone in my voice. He tosses his blond hair, and his blue eyes twinkle as the motion accentuates the mark on his throat, whether intentionally or not.

“Thank you,” he says, then turns to the other Alpha.

“I’m glad you came out here, I have been wanting to talk to you, but we aren’t ready to rejoin the pack yet,” Kanen tells him.

Ross nods. “I understand.” We all do. Kanen is the last of us to have found his mate. Every one of us has gone through this, the craving to spend time with your mate, the urge to enjoy every moment in her company, in her arms, in her bed, in her. It is incredibly powerful, especially at first.

Kanen turns to matters of business. “So, what did you discover today? Find any trace of the rogues?”

Ross replies, “Yes, their scent was all over the area we investigated, but I don’t think that is their main territory. There doesn’t seem to be any one path or location that shows a concentration of the scent. As far as we could tell, they roam all over the area, and we couldn’t narrow down a probable den location.”

Kanen nods. “I have detected the scent of rogues out here near the lodge, too. Perhaps in a while we can have another exploration around here.”

I frown. “You think they might be near here? We haven’t noticed them near the lodge before. Perhaps they are targeting our pack?”

He shrugs. “I don’t think so, I haven’t seen any activity since I arrived.” He smirks. “I’ve been busy, though.”

This elicits a round of suppressed laughter.

Which is interrupted by the entrance of Luna Janine. Kanen hears her footsteps on the stairway before the rest of us do, and he surges to his feet and meets her halfway up. He takes her hand, and she looks up at him with an expression of profound love, before they both turn and descend together.

The rest of us have risen respectfully, including the Alpha and Beta from her former pack. “Luna,” we each murmur to her, inclining our heads.

“Pffsh!” A little laugh bursts out of her, then she claps her hand over her mouth. “Sorry,” she says.

Kanen looks at her adoringly. “You’ll have to get used to it,” he tells her softly, his arm draped over her shoulders. “You’re the new Luna.”

She seems like a nice young woman, and as far as I can tell is approaching the transformation in her position with a down-to-earth humor, which should serve her well. I look forward to serving her as the Luna of River Moon.

“Would you like to join us?” Kanen asks her, gesturing to the couch where he had been sitting. “We’re discussing the rogue situation.”

She tilts her head, and I notice the prominent mark on her throat as well. She looks over at Alpha Ross. “Are you all hungry? I can put some lunch together.”

Kanen breaks in. “Why don’t you have the staff do it,” gesturing to the three young men who came with us, and who are standing across the room.

She stops just short of rolling her eyes. “I’ll have them help me,” she says, and brushes her fingers across Kanen’s thick arm before turning to lead the assistants towards the back where the kitchen is.

Kanen’s eyes follow her all the way, then he sits down to resume our conversation while we wait for lunch.

Dominic

It’s wild to see Janine, and realize that she is a Luna now. The River Moon Luna. I’ve known her for most of my life, we actually had attended elementary school together before we both transferred to Dark Wood’s private pack middle school.

She talks to the leaders for a minute, before heading over to where Evan and Theo and I are lingering awkwardly at the back of the room. She tilts her head at us, towards the back of the building, indicating that we should come with her, and when she does that I see a flash of the mark on her throat before she turns away.

Oh, wow. I see the dark red imprint of the Alpha’s teeth there, looking more like a brand than a wound. It doesn’t look like an injury at all, it just looks like a beacon, a symbol, a sign of her new status.

She looks really happy.

We follow behind her until we get into the lodge’s kitchen, then she turns to us with a grin. “Hey Evan, Dominic,” she greets us, as friendly as though this is a high school reunion.

“Hey!” Evan says, “Janine!”

I elbow him playfully. “That’s LUNA Janine to you,” I tease, and we all laugh.

Evan tells her, “This is Theo, he is the River Moon Beta’s assistant.”

“Nice to meet you,” she says, and he inclines his head respectfully.

“Luna,” he greets her.

If it’s weird for me to get used to my old friend Janine being treated this way, being the Luna, I can’t imagine how it feels for her. “So,” I say, “this is different!”

“No kidding!” she says. “I can’t stop wondering if I’m just dreaming.” She moves over to the refrigerator and opens it. “Um, I told them I’d make lunch, and Kanen said you guys should do it.” She looks at me and Evan with an exaggerated look of doubt, as if thinking we could never manage anything so complicated.

We both laugh. “Hey!” Evan says.

She shakes her head with a grin. “Don’t worry, I’m just going to get a bunch of stuff out for sandwiches. This won’t be hard. Here.” She starts pulling meat and cheese and stuff out of the fridge and handing it to us. We set it all on the counter.

After a few minutes we have a sandwich assembly line going, and we continue chatting while we work. I keep looking at her mark, over and over again, and picturing what it will look like on Amelia when it is finally our time. Will it hurt her? Will she be as happy as Janine looks?

“So,” I ask her, “are you, um, happy?”

Her hands pause, holding a jar of mayo in one and a knife in the other. She looks at me, the smile lingering on her face, as she nods. “I never knew what it was to be happy before I met him,” she says, seriously.

Wow. I wish that I could ask her a lot more questions, but it would be nosy, and probably obvious that I was talking about more than just her. So I don’t. I just wonder. I wonder how long it took before they marked each other. I wonder if they felt the way I do now before it happened. I wonder if I am going to glow the way that Janine is. I wonder if Amelia will.

I feel my hand inching up and brushing across her not-mark on my throat. I can’t wait to be back with her again.