Her Insidious Moon

*I found myself running through the pitch-black night with nothing to offer but stillness and mist. I tried to figure out where I was and why I was running. Trying to clear my vision, I blinked quickly. My vision cleared, and I immediately realized I was in the forest on the outskirts of Angel Falls. I picked up speed, running as fast as possible, dodging trees and rocks, jumping over hills and fallen roots.

Soon, the forest dissolved, and a clearing came into view. As I got closer, a small old cottage appeared. It was sitting pretty in the middle of that serenity. I slowed down as I got closer, mesmerized by the beauty surrounding it.

It was only then that I realized I was on four furry legs, making it impossible for me to just walk into the house. Instead, I looked around for the closet window to peek through. The nearest one I could find was the same height as my wolf.

I pressed my face against the glass and scanned the room. Inside looked old and sad. The floor was wooden; the furniture was worn out and half broken. There wasn’t much in there. No TV or radio; just two plain single-seat sofas in the middle around a coffee table with a vase on top. Even the wooden stairs that lead to the second floor had broken rails. Looking inside upset me. How could someone live in such a rundown place?!

As I was about to move, I heard a loud thud. My eyes quickly scanned the surroundings, only to find someone tumbling down the stairs. Behind the fallen person was a man whose face I couldn’t distinguish. The person on the floor was a young male. He crawled backward, cowering away from the older man towering over him. The boy’s nose was bleeding, and there was a dark bruise forming around his left eye. In fact, his whole body was covered in bruises. Despite the beat up condition he was in, I could tell he was handsome. From where I was standing, I could see his beautiful hazel eyes and dark hair.

Why isn’t he defending himself?

Out of nowhere, a girl appeared and knelt next to the boy. She was crying and hugging him, begging the older man to leave him alone. The older man brutally grabbed the girl by her hair and started dragging her away. Fresh tears streamed down the girl’s face as she screamed for help. The boy laid on the floor, watching helplessly as the man dragged the girl out of view.

I was about to break the window to help the boy when he spun to face me. His terrified, tear-stained eyes stared at me as if he knew I had been standing there all along.

I watched as he crawled up to the window and pressed his hands and face to the glass. The blood from the mystery boy’s face was now smudged all over the window. I tried to say something, but since I was in my wolf form, there was no way for me to communicate.

His eyes were begging me...

“SAVE ME!” His blood-curdling scream filled my ears.*

***BEEP!!! BEEP!!! BEEP!!!***

My eyes flew open, and I shot up out of my bed. Sweat ran down my face as my heart pounded against my chest. It was that dream again. The same dream I’ve repeatedly been having for the past few months.

The alarm clock on my bedside table was still ringing, making the most annoying noise. I slammed the palm of my hand on the snooze button, smashing the digital clock. I cursed under my breath and laid back down, pulling my pillow over my head. That was the tenth alarm clock I’ve broken in the past six months.

“Ugh, dad will kill me.” I pulled my pillow tightly over my face to keep the light out so I could get some more sleep.

It was the first day back to school after our summer break, but with the late nights I was having, plus the dreams, I was so sleep-deprived; school was the last thing on my mind. I loved school. It was the one place I could act my age and just be normal for a little while. However, Highschool was only six hours a day, five days a week, and twenty-six weeks a year. The rest of the time, I had the weight of two hundred and sixty-five packs on my eighteen-year-old shoulders. 

Even though I ranked higher than my Alpha father, he was conveniently the only person who could order me around. God knows what was going through my old man’s head when he assigned me to do night perimeter duty in the weeks leading up to school. 

Being a werewolf could be a pain in the ass at times, but I loved it. The strength, the adrenaline, and the ability to hear and see things others couldn’t make me feel invisible.

We weren’t slaves of the moon, nor monsters like the movies and comic books portrayed us to be. But we defended what was ours and lived in peace. 

However, right at this moment, I had no peace. Who is this guy I dreamt about so much, and why is he asking me for help?

***“ALEXANDRIA! Get your ass out of bed, or you will be late for school,”*** my father yelled through the mind link, pulling me out of my thoughts. 

I didn’t bother replying and just rolled out of bed. I had a quick shower and pulled on my favorite jeans and tank top. As I combed my hair, a familiar scent filled my nostrils. I poked my head out of the bathroom and saw a figure lying on my bed. I sniffed again and knew the smell right away.

“Good morning, Matt,” I said out loud.

Matt sat up on my bed and looked at me. His lips curled into a smirk. 

“I should stop by in the morning more often. Maybe one day you will walk out of there naked,” he said with a wink.

Now, if it were some other guy making a remark like that, he would probably have a black eye by now. But it was just Matthew. The guy looked like a God, but to me, he was my best friend and my Beta. Our bond was very special, and no matter how many sexual comments Matt made, I knew it wasn’t like that between us.

“Maybe that’s the day you’ll lose a few essential jewels from your body,” I said while lifting my eyebrows. His expression changed, and he covered up his manhood.

“What are you doing here, exactly?” I asked. 

“I wanted to see if you still remembered that we had school today,” he explained. “Plus, you’ve been having those dreams again. You want to talk about it?” 

I turned to look at Matt, concern clear on his face. I didn’t reply and turned around to finish doing my hair.

I pulled my hair into a messy ponytail and looked myself over in the mirror. I didn’t use makeup or dress up like a girl unless I had to. Thanks to werewolf genetics, females were built with great physics. So my argument was, why try to cover up true beauty to impress others? However, even though I didn’t try, guys still seem to get impressed. My grey eyes and dark brown long hair seemed to gain more attention than I wanted. 

I let my mind wander to this dream boy. Those dreams had plagued me for months, and no matter how much our mage and I tried, we weren’t any closer to finding out who he was. I kept trying to figure out what that boy’s connection to me was or why he was in such a toxic house in the first place. 

I came out of my thoughts when Matt cleared his throat. I turned to look at him, and his expression showed obvious concern. Before he could say anything, I quickly pulled on my jacket and picked up my bag from the table.

“Let’s go.” I picked up my car keys and walked out of my room. 

The entire pack lived in one area. It felt like living in a small village with one big main house in the middle with many small houses surrounding it. The pack elders and their families lived in the packhouse with us, while the others had their own place.

My room was on the third floor of the packhouse, which I shared with Matt, my brother Asher, and my Gamma Ethan.

The aroma of bacon and eggs greeted us as we walked through the packhouse. The Omegas must be cooking up a storm in our kitchen. 

Matt and I went into the kitchen to grab some food before heading to school.

***"Hurry up and eat. We’re running late."*** Matt mindlinked.

I rolled my eyes and blocked him out. Thanks to the extra Alpha training I had growing up, I could block out people’s thoughts, especially when we were in wolf form. It wasn’t something that came naturally, but Sensai Yogi taught me well. 

We finished our meal and headed for the main door. 

“Saying goodbye to your old man won’t kill you, Alexandria,” came a voice from behind me. 

I turned to find the only person who called me my full name or was allowed to call me my full name, Alpha Dominic Storm. He looked big and scary, but was the nicest person you’d ever meet. I wasn’t biased because he was my father. It was true. I had witnessed the great things he had done, and I prayed that one day, I would be a fantastic Alpha just like him.

He stood there awkwardly with a smile on his face. I smiled and walked up to him. He immediately opened his arms and hugged me.

“Bye, daddy. I will see you in the afternoon, OK?” I kissed him on the cheek.

“Bye, pumpkin. Be a good girl, and please make sure your brother doesn’t get into trouble,” he chuckled.

I gave him one last hug and then walked out of the house to see an impatient Matt standing at the door.

“Took you long enough,” he rolled his eyes.

We walked out and towards my Aston Martin Rapide. Dad had bought me the car when I was crowned last year. Matt and I alternated driving. Sometimes it would be his Jeep, and other times my Rapide.

“You want to wait for your brother?” he asked. 

“No! He can find his way to school. He’s probably still asleep,” I replied and started my car.