The Shadow Moon Pack

I had but a single goal in life, and that was to die. I’d almost done it too, but someone stopped me. They didn’t say anything, that wasn’t what made me reconsider. What pulled me off that bridge that night was their eyes.

x x x

I had finally given up, there was no longer a reason for me to continue living. My family has all been murdered, killed by a cold-blooded demon. But I’d already gotten my sweet revenge, and sweet it was indeed.

Don’t worry, I won’t go into detail. Let’s just say that he’s probably scattered across the islands by now. Ahh, the sun is such a powerful weapon.

Now that he’s gone, I have no other purpose. I was an alpha, born to protect my pack, my family. But now they’re all gone, I’m no longer an alpha. For without a pack, an alpha’s nothing.

So, with that revelation, I wandered down the streets to the forest’s edge. The trees called to me, urging me to chase the leaves that fell from their branches. I wasn’t there for chasing the dying leaves, I was there to complete my goal.

My feet took me in the direction of the waterfall. The grass tickled my skin and the wind blew softly through my dark brown hair, whispering me to stop and turn back. I couldn’t though, I wouldn’t.

I saw the mist ahead and tasted the cool water every time I breathed in. my heartbeat increased as I thought of what was to come, but my feet continued moving.

The bridge stood before me, a safe place to cross the calm waters before the fall. Its waist-high wooden railing made the perfect place to climb over.

I walked onto the bridge, my feet thumping softly on the sturdy wood. My hands gripped the railing tightly, leaving indents where my nails dug in. I calmed my breathing before hopping up to sit on it, my feet dangling over clear waters.

I’m not afraid of death, to tell the truth, I really don’t care what happens after I die. I’d always wondered if there was something more than life, but there was never an answer to that question. I was content with what I’d accomplished in my life, there was no more use for me, so why should I stay?

I leaned forward, about to let go of the railing and plummet into the water, but something behind me caught my eye. I turned my head to look and was surprised immensely at what I found. I turned my body to where I was sitting with one leg draped over each side.

Standing there before me was a wolf. A beautiful grey wolf with a snow white muzzle. Her stomach was rounded with pups, it looked like she was about to pop! Her light blue eyes stared at me with such intensity that it persuaded me to get off the railing, so I did.

That was the wolf that saved my life. Her eyes held such a helplessness that I couldn’t help but to…well, help. That was just the thing I needed in order to continue on in the world, to be needed.

I transformed to be able to communicate with her. In less than a second, I was standing on four legs with fur, ears on the top of my head, and a tail. My wolf was a dark brown and had the common golden eyes.

The other wolf barked in surprise and crouched down in a defensive position. I felt bad for surprising her so I did something I’d never done before, I lowered my head in submission to show that I meant her no harm.

She cautiously stood up on her shaky legs and padded toward me. I quickly raised my head and stared at her. She paused for a second before coming to stand directly in front of me.

With the way that she held herself at that moment, you would have never been able to tell that she was an alpha as well. I understand why she was cautious of me though, it was instinct to protect her unborn pups, and she didn’t know if I was a threat or not.

I got tired of such primitive behavior and decided to communicate directly. Using my mind, I reached out to hers. She wouldn’t have been able to feel our minds connecting because, as far as I could tell, she wasn’t a half-blood.

Half-bloods are people that can turn into animals. They’re called that because their blood is half human and half animal. Not all half-bloods are wolves though, they’re just the most common.

“I’m no threat to you, my name’s Shadow,” I thought through our connected minds.

The wolf backed up a couple steps and let out a low growl. I sighed and sat back on my hind legs. This was going to take a while.

x x x

After a couple minutes of convincing the wolf that I wouldn’t hurt her, I found out that her name was Lillian. I found it suspicious that her name was human, but I quickly forgot about that when she told me about her predicament.

She told me about how she’d ran away from her pack because her mate killed her female pup last time she gave birth. About how she couldn’t hunt effectively because of her large stomach, it slowed her down and got in her way. She also said that she was compelled to come up to me when she saw me about to jump. To that I simply replied “maternal instincts”.

It was then agreed upon that the two of us would become a pack. I would hunt for the both of us, and when her pups came, we would both take care of them.

Since we were both alphas, we had to keep our tempers in check and try not to fight. That was easier said, than done. Over the month we’d spent together, we argued more times than I can count. We refrained from fighting, though, the simple thought of the pups was the only thing that stopped us.

Then, it was time for her to give birth to them. They couldn’t have picked a worse time to come. It was winter, and the snow was falling heavily. We’d only just managed to find a small cave before she went into labor.

She wouldn’t let me inside the den at all during the pups’ birth. I almost felt betrayed, but I remembered how protective wolves were of their pups.

“Come in Shadow,” Lily called from inside.

Cautiously, I padded inside. It was dark, but still I could see. The cave smelled just as you’d expect it to, like a mother had just given birth.

When I got close enough to see the pups, I saw two wriggling balls of fur…and three motionless ones. All of them were darkly furred and their eyes were closed tight. In my eyes, they were beautiful, but I felt bad about the three stillborns.

“I’ve named the boy Sky, and the girl Eve,” their mother whispered.

“What about your other pups?” I asked quietly.

“We’ll burry them in the morning,” she replied while laying her head on her paws and closing her eyes, I assume to keep from shedding a tear.

“I meant the ones you left with your pack,” I clarified.

“Two survived their birth, but one was killed. Her name was Leah, she died at three weeks, the first time she left the den. Her brother, Lukas, and I mourned her in secret to avoid making it known to Damien, their father,” she sounded tired as she spoke.

So with that new knowledge, I let her be and walked back to my post outside. I would stand guard that night to protect the pups. As newborns, they can’t protect themselves from predators.