The Chronicles of Moon

Waning Moon

The tree limbs whipped Moon’s face and arms as she ran full speed back to the pack house. She may not have a wolf but that won’t stop her from helping her pack and warning them. She bursts through the back door and sees Ben Raiding the kitchen.

“Hey, Moon, did you get your wolf?” Ben asked with his head still deep in the refrigerator, looking for the rest of the birthday cake.

“Rogues Ben!” Moon shouts, and Ben turns to look at her.

“You sure, Moon?” Ben sounds skeptical, but he knows Moon wouldn’t make up something like rogues.

“Yes, I heard them, and I know patrol isn’t in the east woods yet!” Moon is still yelling, and Alpha Mark and Beta Jake come into the kitchen.

“What’s this about rogues in the east woods?” Alpha Mark questions Moon and Ben.

“I heard them, gramps,” Moon says.

Alpha Mark wastes no time and alerts the patrol before heading to the door.

“Gramps, where are you going?” Moon grabs the older man’s arm.

“I’m going to do what Alpha’s are born to do and protect those I love. Stay here, little one.” Alpha Mark kisses Moon’s forehead as he, Beta Jake, Ben, and Emily race to the east woods.

Moon sits alone in the pack house, just wishing she could do more, but without a wolf, she can’t mind link anyone, so she has to sit and wait. The waiting is killing her, and she just can’t do it anymore. Moon takes off running in the direction of the east wood, determined to help those she loves.

When she gets to the edge of the woods, she is met with a sight she will never forget. Alpha Mark is lying on the ground, unmoving and blood pooling around him. She rushes to his side to stop the bleeding, but Alpha Mark is already gone.

Moon Lets out a scream, and several wolves come charging. One shifts, and it’s Ben.

“What happened, Moon? Who did this? I didn’t see any rogues!” Ben angrily barks at Moon, and she looks at him with her large round eyes. Tears spilling out through her lashes.

“I don’t know, Ben.” She whimpers. Her brown eyes, usually so bright and happy, hold more sadness than Ben has ever seen. Ben mind links the others, and they return to the horrible scene.

“Why was gramps alone?” Moon asks Ben.

“I don’t know. He was with us when we started but sent us up ahead. He said he wanted to check this area, and we should carry on and split up ’til we find the rogues.” Ben explains.

“Did you find them?” Moon snaps, this is something she has never done before and catches everyone off guard.

“No.” Beta Jake replies. “We need to get her out of here. I will have the patrol continue to search the area.” Beta Jake says, gesturing to the now sobbing Moon. Emily steps forward. She pulled on a spare shirt from the clothes stash.

“Come on, Moon, We can’t do anything for him now. Let’s get you inside.” Emily says softly and helps Moon to her feet. Moon cries harder as Emily takes her back to the pack house.

“What happens now, Emily?” Moon whispers, wiping her eyes and sniffling.

“I don’t know, Moon. I just hope they find the one that did this.” Emily is choking back tears now. Everyone loved Alpha Mark, and no one can ever live up to the Alpha and leader he was. Every pack member will feel the loss. Moon knows that Alpha Mark wanted her to take his place.

Moon Also knows that it is not in the best interest of the pack, and she has to find a way to convince one of the Betas to now take her place as Alpha. Jake will never go against Alpha Mark’s wishes, but maybe Ben will.

***

“Moon! MOON! MOOOOOON!!!” Ben yells from the pack house steps.

“What, Benny?” Moon asks, tilting her head and sipping her ice coffee.

Where the hell have you been? And stop calling me Benny!” Ben growls

“I just went to get a coffee. Did you want one too?” Moon asks, smiling.

“NO, I don’t want a coffee. I want you to get in here and do your job.” Ben rubs his face in frustration. It has been two months since Alpha Mark’s tragic passing, and the rogue was never found. They did track him to the east border but lost the trail when it began to rain in the early hours of the morning.

Ben has spent the last two months trying to get Moon to stay in the pack house and be the Alpha Mark though she could be; Moon finds every reason to escape her responsibilities and has refused to go through with the Alpha ceremony. She says the pack would never accept a wolfless Alpha, and Ben feels she is right, but they were Alpha Mark’s last wishes and orders. Ben’s father is still acting as beta, and he was ordered by Alpha Mark to see that Moon was the next Alpha, and Jake can’t go against an order from the Alpha.

“Moon just come in and help us with all of this,” Ben says in frustration.

“Oh, sorry, Benny, but I can’t. I’m helping at the preschool, and I get to make playdough with the pups.” Moon states, clearly unconcerned with Ben’s frustration. She turns and takes off, only turning back to wave bye to Ben when he yells her name.

How long can Moon keep avoiding her responsibilities? Ben knows that Moon is far more clever than anyone gives her credit for. He just can’t understand why she won’t help the pack and do the one job she is meant to do. She spends all her time volunteering at the preschool or shops in town. Anything to avoid the pack house when Ben is looking for her. She can’t keep that up forever, though; at least ben hopes she can’t.

***

Seven years later.

“MOON!! Get your ass back here. I mean it!!!” Ben is yelling down the pack house hall.

“What, Benny? You are the Alpha, right? What do you need me for?” Moon whines.

“I am not. I’m just the acting Alpha because you are a pain in the ass! Now, get over here; I need to talk to you, and I mean it.” Ben is more than serious, and Moon decides it’s best not to push her luck with him today.

“Fine.” Moon sighs and walks begrudgingly to the office with Ben. It was her gramps office, and while she loves that been kept the same, she also hates it. It’s a constant reminder that he is gone and won’t return. Moon still hasn’t cleaned out his room, and she won’t let anyone else. She even locked the door and hid the key.

“What is it, Benny?” Moon chirps from the office door, not wanting to go into the room.

“Don’t call me that and get in here I need you to look at something,” Ben says, sitting down at the large desk.

Moon huffs and walks in, closing the door. She knows this can’t be good and sits down across from ben.

“Look, Moon,” Ben says, sliding the ledger over to her.

It’s the mill leger, and Moon is more than familiar with reading it. She pretends she doesn’t know what she is looking at and shrugs. “Yeah, so?” She says, “What am I looking at?”

“Do not give me that. You might have fooled the rest of the pack, but I know better, Moon. I know you are smart and could have been at the top of the class if you wanted. You let Emily and I get better grades than you, though I will never understand why.” Ben says, truly confused.

“Because no one believed that I was capable of that. Do you know what made me stop trying? In the fifth grade, the teacher told me I shouldn’t let Alpha Mark do my homework for me. I never even asked him to help me with it.” Moon hangs her head saddened at the memory.

“I’m sorry, Moon. Ms. Hurly was always a bitch.” Ben retorts. “I know you are smart, and I need your help. The pack is failing, and I don’t know what to do. Moon, help me help our pack, please.”

Now Moon can’t say no because she knows she must help the pack and her friend.

“Fine, but if anyone asks, all ideas are yours, all work is yours, and you don’t tell anyone I had a part in it. Deal?” Moon says, sticking her hand out for him to shake and seal the deal.

“Why?” Ben asks, looking at her hesitantly.

“Because they will trust and believe you, not me. I’m just Moon the wolfless wonder.” She says frankly, and Ben hates that she knows what they call her when she isn’t around.

“Deal.” Ben reluctantly says, shaking her hand.

After some time of Moon quietly going through the years ledges and fixing a few math errors, she looks up. “We don’t have much we can do. We don’t have the numbers of wolves we need. With all the rogue attacks we have been having. Lately, we have had to up the patrol numbers, but that takes away people from running the mill, which is the town’s main source of income. We need more wolves. Are there any of our allies that can lend us some wolves to help us with patrol, or can we coordinate with our neighbors patrol to cover our borders?” Moon asks.

Ben shakes his head, “I have asked, and we have coordinated patrol with them, but we still need more wolves. None of our allies have the numbers to spare.”

“So, we need to make a deal with one of those big bad wolf packs, don’t we?” Moon asks, looking concerned.

“Looks like it,” Ben says sadly.

“Well, you got anyone in mind, Benny?”

“Yeah, I think I might have a few in mind. I will ask a few of them to come here and convince them that they need our mill and resources to better their own pack, but I don’t like it. Alpha Mark would be so disappointed in us asking these Alphaholes for help.” Ben grumbles.

“Well, better to ask them for help than lose everything, I guess.” Moon shrugs, “Plus, they all may say no, and then we really will be in trouble.”

“Thanks, Moon. I feel so much better now.” Ben groans.

“You’re welcome.” Moon smiles.