The Mystical White Wolf

One Month Later: March 3rd, Acilio's 18th Birthday

Staci POV

I was in the shower washing my hair after spending all afternoon in the office with Antonio. Our superintendent in Manaus faxed over the building permits we needed to sign so Éder and the crew could start building the hotel. We spent more than four hours on the phone talking about the land. Once everything was signed. Antonio faxed the copy of the permits to the building of permits to wait for approval, which takes about four to six weeks.

Afterward, Éder faxed over a copy of the hotel's building designs. Antonio called Juliano in to look over the designs. That took another two hours as Juliano pointed out some red flags and changed the design to a more modern look. It has been a stressful day. But on a good note, tonight we were having a birthday party for Acilio as he is turning 18 and shifting into his wolf.

I finished my shower, got out, and dried off. Antonio was still in the office finishing up some paperwork, and Ace was with his Grandparents for the time being. I entered the bedroom, drying my hair as the bedroom door opened, and Antonio entered.

"Hey, my love," he said, pulling me into his arms and kissing my lips.

"Hey, handsome. All done?" I asked as he sighed and nodded.

"Yes, finally," Antonio said, unbuttoning his shirt.

I giggled as he released me and headed inside my closet to get dressed. I was debating on what dress to wear for the party. The snow finally started melting, and spring was returning. I wore this white casual spring dress with a bowtie V-neck and ruffles. I wore white wedge-heel sandals and tied the bow around my ankles. I had to go up a size because after giving birth to Ace, my breasts grew a cup size. I mused my hair, left the curls down, and applied light makeup.

I was exiting my closet when Antonio's scent hit me. I saw him walking out of the bedroom, looking freshly showered. His hair was still dripping wet, and he had a fluffy towel wrapped around his waist. Antonio smiled at me and stepped inside his closet to get dressed. I sighed and waited by the door for Antonio to finish when someone pushed at my mental block.

"Staci?" Evelyn's voice filled my head.

"Hey, Evelyn. Everything okay?" I asked.

"Your son misses you," Evelyn chuckles as her scent invades my nose from behind the bedroom door.

I turned to open the door to Evelyn's smile and Ace's crying. He's become a mama's boy and only wants me or his Dad. I smile and take Ace from Evelyn's arms as he calms down and looks at me.

"You're such a brat," I say as Ace coos and wiggles his legs.

"I will see you three downstairs," Evelyn says and walks back toward the front of the suite.

I close the door as Ace pulls on my hair and tries to put it in his mouth. I chuckle and remove his hands from my hair as Antonio exits his closet. Antonio wore a royal blue button-down shirt, black casual dress slacks, and royal blue men-style Chelsea boots.

"Looking good, daddy," I say, smiling as Antonio looks up and growls seductively.

Ace coos loudly as he stares at his Father, making me smile. We exit our bedroom and head downstairs to prepare for Acilio's party. After everything that happened, Antonio had Stan and his crew working on getting the Blood Moon pack back in shape. He claimed he found an Alpha to take over the pack and a Beta and Gamma, but he's being tight-lipped about who he picked.

Solaris snorted in my head as the elevator doors opened, and we walked toward the foyer. We walked toward the back and into the forest by the lake where Acilio's party was being held. Acilio settled for a BBQ and cake with all his friends from school attending—nothing like a spring BBQ and a beautiful night on the lake for a party.

Our head chef, Bento, was on the grill making burgers and hot dogs for more than one hundred guests. I saw my brother and Beta Cole with Carter and Juliano having beers by the lake. I smiled and waved as my brother, and Cole waved back. Rose was home dealing with morning sickness and couldn't make it, but she sent her love and happy birthday wishes.

"Bro! Staci!" Acilio shouted as he saw us approaching.

"Hey, bro," Antonio said and hugged his brother, making me smile.

"Hey, Staci," Acilio said, ruffing Ace's hair as he cooed at his Uncle.

"Hey, Acilio. Are you having a good time?" I asked as he sipped his beer and nodded.

"I meet my wolf, and he's chill like me," Acilio said.

"What's his name?" I asked as Acilio smiled, showing his pearly white teeth.

"Achilles," Acilio says.

"Hello, Luna," I hear this deep accented voice in my head and gasp.

"Hello, Achilles. Welcome to the family," I say to his wolf.

I hear a chuckle as Achilles says thank you and bows politely. Acilio and Antonio talk but with their minds linked, and I know their wolves are getting to know each other. It made me happy to see my mate and brother-in-law wolves communicating.

"Food is ready," Bento calls out as everyone sits at the picnic tables set up for the party.

The guys help spread the food on the tables as everyone digs in. Monica and Marcie let their mates fix their plates since their hands were full with the pups. Antonio invited other Alphas and Betas to celebrate his brother's birthday—the last ones to show up were Alpha Wayne, his son Waylon, and his Beta Henry.

Henry made my skin crawl as he stared at me, and his eyes filled with lust. Antonio must have caught him staring because he growled, and Henry adverted his gaze as Wayne looked. He pulled Henry to the side by his neck.

"Mate," Acilio said as his eyes widened, and his wolf howled.

"Sorry, I forgot my..." we all looked up at the sweet voice that spoke.

A young woman about 18 or 19 stopped as she stared at Acilio's back. He turned around in his seat and stared at the young woman.

"Mate," the girl said, taking slow, timid steps toward Acilio as he stood up to his full 6'5 height.

Acilio POV

"Mate," Achilles purred inside my head.

The scent of caramel apples invaded my nose. My body stiffened as I felt a pair of eyes on my back, and I turned to see a beautiful young woman staring at me. She had light brown hair that reached past her shoulders, hazel blue eyes like Alpha Wayne's, and fair skin. Achilles ran in circles and pranced inside my head as I stared at our beautiful mate.

"Mate," I heard her say as we strolled toward each other.

I grabbed her soft, delicate hand. Tingles shot up my arm, and I heard her gasp. We stared at each other and got lost in each other's eyes.

"What's your name?" I asked as she blushed and smiled.

"Willow. Willow Gail Moonstone."

"And you are?" she asked, moving her hair behind her ear.

"Acilio Silva," I said as she gasped.

The Moonstones were the oldest living werewolf family in Sacramento, CA. Wayne was about the same age as my Father, and his son Waylon was two years younger than Antonio. Redwood Pack has been our longest-standing ally since our Dad was the Alpha. Wayne looked at me, then at his daughter, and smiled. I didn't miss the little rift between him and his Beta and wondered what the issue was.

I invited Willow to sit with us and have some BBQ, and she smiled and nodded. My Mother fixed her a plate and set it before her, and Willow smiled and thanked her. Wayne, Waylon, and Henry joined us a few minutes later, and the omegas served them.

"One of the famous Silva sons is my daughter's mate. The goddess smiles upon the Moonstones once again," Wayne says and pats me on the back.

I mentally roll my eyes because it's not a big deal. Achilles snorts and tells me to be nice to my Father-in-law.

After dinner, my Mother started singing Happy Birthday, making me slightly embarrassed. Willow kissed my cheek and whispered something in my ear as Achilles growled in my head.

"She is so getting it tonight," Achilles purrs delightfully.

Around 11:30, I started feeling weird. My skin was itching and hot, and I began to sweat. Achilles paced and whimpered inside my head.

"Bro? Are you okay?" Adriel asked, as he was the first to notice my recent mood change.

"I don't know. My skin feels hot and itchy," I said as Mom gasped and my Father clapped his hands proudly.

"Our son is ready for his shift," my Father said.

We gathered in an open clearing in the forest. I heard owls hooting and various wildlife moving about the forest. I even listened to an elk grazing somewhere in the distance. Werewolves hearing was terrific, and I felt one with nature as various scents filled my nose. My family and Willow were the only ones in the forest with me.

I had brought some old shorts and changed into them, so when I shifted, I didn't care if they ripped apart. I wondered what Achilles looked like as we waited for him to make his presence known.

"Would I be a solid black wolf or a chocolate brown wolf-like Mom," I thought.

"It's time," Achilles voice filled my head.

Achilles whimpered as I felt this strange sensation course through my body. I screamed as I hoped the transformation had happened, and my knees buckled as I dropped to the ground.

Willow POV

Watching Acilio go through his first shift was breathtaking. We are two weeks apart as my birthday is February 18th. My wolf, Winter, was running in circles and howling. She was a light brown color like my hair and a bit on the shorter side.

"Ah," Acilio screamed.

I watched and waited for his shift to happen, but it was like his wolf was afraid to come out. I wondered what was happening.

"Winter, what's going on?" I asked my wolf as Acilio shivered on the ground.

"He wants his brother beside him. They're close," Winter says as I look at Acilio's older and younger brother.

Alpha Antonio must've sensed his brother's distress and quickly went behind a big pine tree. A few minutes later, a giant, solid black wolf stepped out, and I gasped.

"Wow, he's huge," I said as everyone turned and looked at me. Evelyn smiled and nodded.

Finally, Acilio grunted, and I heard the first pop. His bones and limbs started rearranging and changing into his wolf. I gasped as black fur started covering his entire body, and his wolf form took over.

Acilio's wolf panted and whimpered as he lay on the ground. Alpha Antonio stepped toward his brother and sniffed him. Acilio's scent of roasted chocolate intensified as Winter drooled inside my head.

I gasped as Acilio's wolf stood up to his full height. His wolf was almost the same height as his brother. He was very muscular and damn near the same size. The only difference was their eyes. Acilio had dazzling dark blue eyes.

Acilio howled and chased his brother around for a while. It was fun watching them play chase and wrestle. When Alpha Antonio and Acilio finished their playtime, they went behind some big pine trees and shifted back.

Once they were dressed and returned to us, we returned to the picnic area and had a few more pieces of cake. All the pups were asleep in their Mother's arms as I smiled.

"Your wolf is beautiful," I told Acilio as he held my hand. The tingles shot up my arm as Winter purred.

"Thank you," Acilio said as Alpha Antonio cleared his throat and got everyone's attention.

"I would like to thank everyone for coming to celebrate Acilio's 18th birthday."

"I'm proud to say that my little brother is an intellectual young man with a bright future ahead of him."

"With that being said. Willow, welcome to the family," everyone cheered and clapped quietly so as not to wake the pups.

"Acilio as your big brother and Alpha. I have watched you grow into the young man you are today."

"It is without saying that you're a natural-born leader, and I have a big gift for you," Antonio said as his Beta passed him a royal blue envelope.

Acilio's eyes widened as he took the envelope with shaking hands and opened it. Acilio pulled the papers out and gasped.

"What is it?" Evelyn asked.

"It's a deed to the Blood Moon pack."

"Antonio is making me the Alpha," Acilio said as everyone gasped.

"The pack is yours, little brother. Once you sign and change the name."

"You will be the Alpha. I know you were born to be," Antonio says, squeezing his brother's shoulder.

Acilio had tears glistening in his eyes as he looked up at his brother. Acilio stood and hugged his brother as everyone, including me, clapped.

Acilio sat down as his Father handed him a pen. Acilio signed his name as the Alpha and passed me the pen, and I signed my name as the Luna.

"What's the new pack's name?" I asked.

"Silver Moon," Acilio said and wrote the name on the deed.

I smiled at Acilio, who pulled me into his arms and raised his beer to the crowd and the moon to thank the goddess for her blessing.

"Happy Birthday, Alpha," I said, kissing his soft lips.