Dark Side of the Moon (22 page)

Shortly after my mate had left, Dan stopped struggling.  The state of his wounds was unknown to me, so I didn’t know how much blood he was losing.  If the rogue’s teeth sank into his skin, then the wounds should already be healing.  But I didn’t want to chance getting close to him in case he saw me as a threat and tried to hit me.  I didn’t want London trying to discipline him, either, because of it.

Shit, how was Dan going to take being submissive to us?  Would he even want to be a member of the pack?  Could I convince London to be lenient toward my brother if he didn’t want to join us?  I mean, I doubt Dan would be of any trouble if we instructed him on our lifestyle.

A little while later, Dan’s breathing had slowed, telling me that he was asleep or about to fall asleep, and London returned.  And he was being very loud, waking Dan.  When he emerged from the darkness, I think we were both startled that he had our sleeping bag with him.  He dragged it all this way for us?

My mate surprised me even further by pulling a blanket out from the sleeping bag.  Gently carrying it, he slowly approached Dan.  My brothers eyes widened and his breathing quickened, but he didn’t say anything to London.  Hopefully by now he knew that we weren’t ordinary wolves, or he might have some clue as to who we are.

London dropped the blanket close to Dan, and wagged his tail a little.  Without waiting for a response, he returned to me, and gripped the edge of the opening of the sleeping bag between his teeth so he could hold it open.  We were going to be here for a while, probably after we shifted, and he respected my privacy by going and getting me some cover.  Well, that and under no circumstances should my brother see me naked.

After we crawled under the sleeping bag, I watched my brother grab the blanket London had gotten for him.  As he covered up, we watched each other.  He was wary of us, and we were waiting for him to freak out or go to sleep or something.  When his breathing slowed again and his eyes were closed, I felt a little better; sleeping will make it go by quicker.  The next hurdle was going to be his reaction when we explained everything to him.

A groan woke me.  I barely opened my eyes to find that I was still in the sleeping bag.  London was knocked out beside me, which means that Dan was waking.  I needed London to wake so we could sit up and explain what happened to my brother.

To wake him, I vigorously shook London’s shoulder.  He groaned as well, almost angrily.  We normally woke peacefully, with a couple kisses.  But today was different for several reasons.  When London opened his eyes, I knew he wasn’t completely mad at me when he gave me a glare.  After rubbing his eyes and yawning, London sat up, prompting me to do the same.  I wrapped the sleeping bag around myself, trying to cover up.

Dan was still lying down, the blanket still over him.  The blood had dried, and I was pretty sure his wounds were healing, if not already healed; they didn’t appear to be as bad as mine had been.  He groaned again, slowly waking.

“Dan,” I softly said, trying to rouse him.  “Dan, wake up.  We really need to talk.”

His brows furrowed as he brought his hand up to rub his face.  He was usually difficult to wake in the mornings, which is why he would get up before me every day.  Groaning, his voice cracked a little as he said, “S-Selina?”

“Yeah, Dan.  We need to talk.”

He winced as he opened his eyes and tried to sit up.  He must still be in pain.  I tried to not remember what all I felt when I had been attacked, but now he knew what I went through.

Dan brought me out of my thoughts by asking, “What are you doing here?  Where are we?”

“We’re in the woods.  I head you calling for me last night, and found you here.” I didn’t want to flat out tell him; London hadn’t come out with it when I asked him, and I was hoping Dan could remember and figure it out for himself, too.

His eyes widened as his memories washed over him.  “Th-This black wolf…came out of nowhere.  It…grabbed my arm then my ankle.”  He looked at his leg confusingly.  I guess it didn’t hurt him anymore.

I needed him to be focused.  “What happened to the wolf, Dan?”

It took him a moment to respond.  “A pack of wolves attacked it, got him off of me.  It ran off and…a white wolf approached….” He looked at me with shock splattered all over his face.  “How did you get here?  And the black wolf returned, and the white one didn’t do anything to it, even after it attacked me.”

London tensed, insulted by my brother’s mistake.  I had done the same thing when he told me who he was, so he shouldn’t be too angry at Dan.  Before my mate could say anything, I asked, “Tell me what you remembered about the wolves, Dan.”

“Why don’t you tell me how you got here, Selina?”

I looked to London, not sure of how to proceed.  When he nodded, I took a deep breath.  “I heard you walking through the forest, and made my way over.  Then you screamed, and I found the black wolf on top of you.  I attacked him first.”

His eyes widened, but I didn’t let him speak.

“The wolf that came up to us wasn’t the one that attacked you.  I thought the same thing when London told me.  The wolf that attacked you, that attacked us was black with yellow eyes.  London has blue.  Plus, I’ve seen them together, so it can’t be him in disguise,” I added before he could make an assumption.

“What the fuck are you talking about, Selina?”

I wrapped the sleeping bag tighter around me.  “I know it’s a lot to take in, Dan, but I’m telling you the truth.  It was a full moon the night I was attacked.  You remember what I looked like when I got to the hospital, and I left the next day.  It was a full moon last night, too.  And look at your hands.  They were covered in blood last night.  Look at where the wolf bit you.”

He hesitantly did as I asked, pulling his sleeve back to look at his wounds.  The wolf had bitten him on the arm first, and the marks were close to being fully healed.  His wounds hadn’t been as bad as mine because the wolf hadn’t had much time to attack him like he did me before being interrupted.  “How is this possible?” he whispered.

London spoke before me.  “We are wolves, Dan.  Wolves have been here since the town was founded by one of my ancestors.  And right after your family moved here, a rogue encroached on my territory and attacked you and Selina for reasons we don’t know.”

Dan scoffed.  “Your territory?”

London nodded.  “I am the alpha of this pack, and have been since my grandfather passed.  Those guys you see me with at lunch are only a portion of the pack.  We are a tight knit group, our own little community within the city.  And we take care of those in our community and eliminate those who pose a threat.”

This time, Dan snorted.  “Yeah, then how in the hell did I get attacked if you ‘eliminate’ threats?” he mocked.

My mate tensed again.  “We have no idea who this rouge is, where he came from, what he wants, or how old or experienced he is.  We have had some difficulty capturing him, but he has found ways to escape every time.  Not to mention there are two of them, and we can’t get one so they can rat out the other.  You try leading almost a hundred wolves on a hunt and trying to take down a wolf a little bit bigger than you, then come talk to me.”

“London,” I scolded, not liking his attitude toward my brother.  “Think about what he went through last night, and go easy on him.”  I looked back to my brother.  “And can we talk about this somewhere else?  Can you walk?”

Dan clenched his jaw, thinking.  “What has he been feeding you, Selina?  I’m hallucinating, right?”

I rolled my eyes at him.  “I’m going back to the campsite.  If you can walk, follow me.  If not, I’ll come back for you after I get dressed.”

After he shook his head in disbelief, I went ahead and gave him a shock by shifting into my wolf.  Dan, startled, tried to scamper away, but to no avail.  Looking to my mate, I headed off in the direction of the camp, knowing at least he will follow me, either naked or as a wolf.

Hopefully Dan will follow me, too.  We needed to speak further about what happened with the rogue.  And I’m sure London would want to know if his pack numbers have increased.  If not, then I needed to convince him to leave Dan alone until he was old enough to move away on his own.  Hopefully, Dan will see reason and join us.

Chapter 24

London followed me, opting for his wolf form.  He was dragging the sleeping bag in his mouth again, the only way he could carry it in this form.  A moment later, I heard Dan’s footsteps as he followed us back to camp.

The whole time, he muttered things.  “I’ve still got to be dreaming.  Or I’m dead; the wolf killed me.  That’s the only way any of this can make sense.”  Glancing at my mate, I found him rolling his eyes.  We were going to have a lot of explaining to do.

As we grew closer to the camp, we could hear some people talking.  London quickened his pace, trying not to snag the sleeping bag at the same time.  When we emerged from the tree line, the conversations ceased.  And when my brother appeared, a couple people gasped.

London let me go into the tent first so I could get dressed.  As soon as I was clothed, we switched places, my brother giving me a confused look.  “Everyone’s staring at me, Selina,” he whispered.

“I know.  They’re probably wondering why you’re here with us.”

My mate came out of the tent then, only in some jeans.  He walked toward the others gathered around the fire making breakfast, so I followed him.  Dan stood where he was for a moment before slowly approaching us.

“We ran into a slight problem last night,” London told his pack.  “We encountered one of the rogues, and tried to apprehend him.  When we found him, he was attacking Selina’s brother Dan.  It’s to my understanding that he slipped out of our grasp yet again.  We need to up our game, overpower him so we can figure out what the hell he wants with us.  He’s already turned two people against their wills.  I will not have him turning another.  At the next full moon, we’ll just break up into two groups and contact the other at the first sign that the rogue is near.  We’ll need everyone to try and capture him.  The full moon’s over so if you want to head back home, that’s fine.  I’ll be staying here for the remainder of the break if any of you need me.”  He turned to look at my brother.  “Should we do this here or somewhere else?”

“Do what?” he asked as I said, “Somewhere else.”

London nodded.  “Alright.  Let’s go to the lake.”

As we walked off, Dan stopped us.  “Hold on.  I want to know what in the hell happened last night.”

“I know.  And we’re going somewhere else to discuss it,” London sternly told him.

“Come on, Dan.  It’ll be easier this way.  Trust me, I was in the same boat as you.”

I headed off in the direction of London.  When I was by his side, he took one of my hands in his, and kissed it.  “I’m sorry, Selina,” he practically whispered

“What for?”

“For not capturing this rogue as quickly as I should have.  First you, then your brother.  The pack may start doubting my abilities to lead them because we can’t catch one of our own, and he’s turned two people in so little time.”

“Well, we’re going to have to try even harder, then.”

“That, and being officially mated would help a little, too.”

I squeezed his hand, hating that he was hurting, but also warning him.  “You will not pressure me into mating with you, London.  I’ll let you know when I’m ready.”

He nodded, and gave me a quick peck on the lips.  We were quiet as we traveled to the lake.  I kind of knew what must be traveling through Dan’s head, and knew that it was going to take him a while to understand everything and know that this was his life now.

After we arrived at the lakeshore, Dan broke his silence.  “Will you at least tell me why we came all the way out here?”

“For privacy,” London explained.

Dan gave him a confused look as I said, “Remember how I could hear you whispering to people?  You’ll be able to do the same soon.  And taste a whole lot more, and see much better.  It’s actually pretty neat.”

“Are you sure none of us are on something?  Or that I’m dreaming?”

We shook our heads.  “I’ve been this way since I was attacked, Dan.  We also have some pretty amazing healing abilities.  Your wounds weren’t as bad as mine were, and should already be healed.”

He looked at his blood caked hands, and went over to the lake to wash them off.  When he gasped, I knew that there weren’t any wounds on him.  “How?” he whispered.

“We’re wolves, Dan,” London explained.  “We have heightened abilities that can be very beneficial.  And I think it’s pretty obvious to keep all of this to yourself.  The town doesn’t know that we’re here, and I’d rather keep it that way.”

Dan continued to stare at his hands, not moving or speaking for a while.    We gave him his space and time with his thoughts.  London wrapped an arm around me, pulling me into his body in an attempt to comfort me.

When Dan finally spoke, his voice wavered.  “Do I have a choice in this?”

“Unfortunately, no.  Once you’re bitten, you’ll have a month before you transform,” my mate explained.

“Every full moon I’m assuming?”

“Yes.  After the first initial shift, you’ll be able to do it at any time.  But we don’t have control over it during the full moon.”

“Fuck!” he yelled at the top of his lungs, startling me.

“It’s not so bad, Dan,” I said, trying to make him feel better.

“I’m not going to be able to play football, Selina.  If there’s a game on the full moon, I won’t be able to play,” he groaned.

I rolled my eyes.  “It’s not the end of the world, Dan.  You can still play recreationally.”

“Yeah, but not professionally.”

“Especially not if you have a mate,” London added.

Dan gave him a confused look, standing.  “What?”

“We have mates, and once you find yours, it’ll be almost impossible to leave their side.  Body aches occur after a few hours apart and are a way to ensure that we’re always together.  They can sometimes incapacitate you.”

“So now I’m going to be forced to have a girlfriend that I may not even know or like?” he scoffed.  “This just keeps getting better and better.”  Sarcasm laced his voice.

“You never know, your mate may be on the other side of the country or the world and you may never meet them.  Or they could be the next pack over.  Selina had some trouble accepting that we were mates, but we’ve gotten to know each other pretty well.”

We gave him a moment to let that sink in.

Then, I asked, “Are you okay, Dan?  I know it’s a lot of information at once.  But it does get better with time, as you get used to it.”

“Why did that wolf have to do this to us, Selina?  I feel like it’s taken my life away the more you two tell me about this.”

“We don’t know what it’s doing here, Dan.  It attacked the both of us for a reason, and probably would have killed us had we not been rescued.”

“Have we been the only ones who were attacked?”

I looked to London, and he nodded.

“Why?”

“That’s what we’re trying to figure out,” my mate said.  “The rogue appeared shortly after you moved here.  And then he either turned someone or brought another wolf along.”

“So there are two of them?  And you can’t catch either?”

London tensed.  No one likes being told that they’ve failed.  “We just need to try harder.”

“If you would have caught him months ago, I wouldn’t be in this mess.”

I gripped London’s arm, not knowing what he would do.  “Don’t fight with him, Dan.  Please.”

“Why?  What’s the worst he could do?” my brother asked.

“I can force you out of my town,” London said through clenched teeth.

“I would like to see you try,” Dan said, approaching my mate.

“Dan, don’t egg him on,” I warned.

“Why?  It’s not like he’s going to force us out of our house.  If you two are mates and these so called body aches are real, then he won’t chance having you move away from him.”

London curled his hands into fists.  “You need to control that mouth of yours,” he angrily warned.

“Or what?” Dan challenged.

London charged at my brother, breaking out of my grasp.  He tackled Dan, taking him to the ground.  Both of them threw punches at each other as they rolled around, trying to get the advantage over the other.

“Will you two stop?” I yelled when my mate had my brother in a headlock.

“He started it,” London responded.

“That didn’t mean you had to react.”

“He challenged me, Selina.”

“So?  Let him go.”

He rolled his eyes, but released Dan.  They both struggled to their feet, London returning to my side.  In a way, I was thankful that London didn’t turn into his wolf to attack my brother.

“You’re going to let him do that to me, Selina?” Dan asked

“London is the alpha of his pack, and you threatened him, Dan.  Both of you, just don’t piss each other off.  And this just isn’t like you, Dan.”

“I’m pissed, Selina.  I was attacked last night, was told that my life is never going to be the same.  This wouldn’t have happened had he had control of his territory or if Derrick wouldn’t have lured me out here.”

“What did Derrick have to do with anything?” I asked.

“He wanted me to tell you to meet him somewhere before break was over.  I tried telling him you still weren’t interested in him, but he was persistent and wouldn’t leave me alone.  You weren’t answering your phone, so I came out here to look for you,” he explained.

That just sounded very odd to me.  Derrick knew that I didn’t like him and was dating London.  So why would he send my brother out looking for me when he knew nothing as going to happen from it?  London’s brow was furrowed with thought.  “I don’t like this, Selina,” he softly said.  “There’s just too much of a coincidence that he sends your brother out looking for you on the full moon.  You’re friends with him, right Dan?  Maybe you could try getting some information from him without revealing anything about us being wolves?”

“And why would I do that?”

“Because it could have been Darrick that turned you or lured you into a trap to be turned by the rogue.  We may finally get some answers.”

“Why would he want me attacked by a werewolf?” Dan asked.

“That’s what you’re going to find out.  Come on, I need to tell the pack about this so they can be on alert.”

London jogged off back into the woods, so we followed him.  I had no idea if Dan was going to be able to get any information out of Derrick.  London had to have an alternative plan forming in his mind.  We needed to talk to Artemis and Channing about this new revelation and get some ideas from them.

After we arrived at camp, London had the pack members that remained gather.  A couple of them called those that left this morning so they could hear the plan.  Then, he told everyone what Dan said to us at the lake about Derrick.  We were not to confront him directly because he could warn the older rogue that we were on to them.  Dan was to lie to Derrick about what happened in the woods, telling him that he told me about his plan and that I wasn’t interested and London was furious that he was trying to steal me from him.  It was a normal reaction anyways, and I wondered if London would confront him when we returned to school.

The whole time London spoke, I looked between him and the pack members.  They seemed to be as shocked and surprised as we were at this revelation.  We were finally gaining some ground on the rogue, and were one small step closer to figuring out what he wanted with us.

But then I noticed that Josie was staring at us.  My first thought was that it had something to do with Ricky.  But she had her arms crossed over her chest and wasn’t looking at us; I knew she was paying attention to London, though, and was only acting this way because of me.  Was she planning something?  I really needed her to get over this already.

The more Josie stared, the more I wondered why.  Did she need to talk to me again?  Or did she have some information on Derrick?  If so, she needed to speak up instead of staying quiet.

After London finished talking, he let everyone go do what they wanted.  A couple people left to go hike, another group went fishing, and some others lounged around, reading or talking.  I was about to turn to Dan to ask him about our parents when London spoke.

“This is only a portion of my pack.  The others are at home or work.  You can join the pack if you’d like.  It just entails that you won’t betray us to any rivaling packs and run with us during the full moon.  You’ll have until the next one to decide if you want to join or not.”

“And if I don’t want to?”

I held my breath, waiting for my mate’s answer.

“We could work something out.  But joining us would honestly be easier.”

He nodded.

I took my chance to speak.  “Do Mom and Dad know you’re here?”

“No, I kind of snuck out.”

I rolled my eyes.  “Let me take a shower, and I’ll take you home.  Just come up with something to tell them so you won’t get into too much trouble,” I said, heading to my tent to get what I’d need for the shower.