Just a Wolf

Amelia

I have a few minutes before I should go find Luna Darlene to work on our project, so I head into my little cubicle outside Gamma Michael’s office. I am going to figure out what this t.v. show is that Dominic keeps referencing.

I do an internet search for “Impossible Girl” and “Doctor”, and the results are immediate. Hm. It does look kind of interesting, a British show about time travel, I guess. And he’s not wrong - this actress does look a lot like me, only she has much darker hair. Looking at the pictures of her with the Doctor gives me an idea for a Christmas present to give to Dominic as well. I’m relieved, I hadn’t felt like I really knew him well enough to know what to get him, but I think this will make him smile. I just have to figure out a time to get into town for some shopping, either today or tomorrow.

I look at the time in the lower corner of my computer screen, and see that it is almost 8, so I figure Dominic is about to leave to drive the leaders up to where the rogue attack happened. I want to get the chance to get a glimpse of him before he goes.

So I head out the front door, and I see the two cars there in front. Dominic is sitting behind the wheel of a big black SUV, and as soon as I step out of the door I see his gaze shift over to me. I smile at him, and he smiles back at me, because we both know that nobody else will be looking. Everyone is focusing on Alpha Ross who is kissing Luna Darlene goodbye.

It’s something to strive for, being able to participate in public displays of affection like that. Someday soon, Dominic and I will be able to kiss each other in public. Not really like that, though - nobody will pay us much attention. Not like we are leaders or anything. But it will be nice when our secret is out.

Pretty soon, Alpha Ross gets into the front seat next to Dominic, and I wonder if that makes him nervous. It looks like Beta Nolan and Evan are sitting in the back seat. I see Luna Darlene blowing the Alpha a little kiss as Dominic pulls the car out from the curb and drives away. Theo is driving behind him, with Beta Malcolm and Gamma Michael in the car with him.

I hope they stay safe today, while they inspect the area where the rogues had been.

“Thank you for waiting for me, Amelia,” I hear, and spin to see Luna Darlene walking over to me with a kind smile on her face, her reddish- brown hair blowing slightly in the breeze.

Oh, that’s not what I was actually doing, but I guess this works out well. I’m happy to let her think I was only here for her. “Of course, Luna,” I tell her.

She laughs, very softly. “You can just call me Darlene,” she tells me.

I nod, and say, “Of course, Darlene,” and she looks down to the ground with a smile. I suppose she can tell that she is making me nervous.

“Would you like to meet in the conference room again?” I ask her. “Nobody else will be using it today.”

“Yes, that sounds perfect,” she says. I lead her in there, and wait for her to take a seat. I sit on the chair opposite her.

She looks around at the big table, with just the two of us sitting here. “My,” she says, “it seems so empty without all the guys here today.”

I nod, and open the notebook on the table in front of me.

“Kind of nice, though, don’t you think?” she says.

I look up in a bit of surprise, and see a mischievous smile on her face. I smile and nod, nervously brushing my fingers across Dominic’s spot on my throat.

She tilts her head a little, watching me for a moment. Then she says, “Well, shall we get started? Do you have any ideas for the celebration we need to schedule?”

I leaf through some pages in my binder, until I get to the section with examples of past Alpha mating ceremonies. “Um,” I hesitate, “I have some samples here, but I’ve never been to an Alpha mating celebration, so I’m not really sure what we should be doing.”

“Well,” she says with a grin. “I have!”

I have to smile at her. As a Luna I’d expect her to be very powerful and mysterious, filled with the essence of the moon goddess, but Darlene just seems very friendly.

“Yours was about three years ago, right?” I ask her. When I was doing research about the Dark Woods pack for our meeting, that was one of the pieces of information.

She nods. “Yes, I met Ross almost three years ago.” I watch as she gets a dreamy expression on her face. “I can tell you about our ceremony, if you like, and you can decide whether you’d like to plan something similar. I know that the traditions of River Moon might be different from ours.”

“Actually,” I tell her, closing the binder and getting out a pad of paper to take notes, “I was thinking that since our new Luna is from Dark Woods, it would be nice to use your traditions.”

“That’s a great idea,” she says, and starts giving me the details of her own ceremony while I take copious notes. She is doing a great job of describing it all, and a vision of how to do a ceremony for Kanen and Janine is forming in my head. I’m starting to get excited.

And more interested in Darlene. I have noticed a few times when she is talking about her mate, her fingers go up, apparently without her even noticing it, and stroke across her throat.

Apparently it isn’t only me. I feel like I don’t understand as much about this process as I probably should. Why isn’t this something that is taught in high school? I mean, it isn’t that uncommon for a wolf to find a fated mate. Wonderful, magical, amazing, but it happens frequently enough that the concept is common knowledge. Just for some reason, it seems that people don’t really talk about it.

I look down at my notes. I have started several lists. Invitations to send. Supplies to acquire. People to coordinate with. Vendors to contact. Menus. Music. Speeches. Having a new Luna for our pack is an enormous event, and it should be properly commemorated. This is a lot to get done, and there are only a few days to do it. Darlene thinks that Alpha Kanen will probably be coming back with Janine soon, maybe a day or two after Christmas, so we are tentatively planning to have the ceremony on New Year’s Eve.

New Year, New Luna.