Chapter 17: Full Moon
Brooke sat on an overstuffed sofa in the large living room on the ground floor of the pack house, watching various pack members speed by her. The preparations for the full moon had been ongoing all day. They had to get everything requiring hands done before moonrise at 8:57pm. For the entire time that the full moon was visible in the sky, every werewolf in the pack, except Jade, would be stuck in their wolf bodies, unable to take human form. According to Avery, it was when they were at their most powerful, and their most spiritual. And tonight was supposed to be a blood moon, which could be an omen of about half a dozen different things depending on who you asked, But there was an edge of anxiety in the air given the looming lycan threat.
Brooke hadn’t yet seen much of their religion, or their wolf forms outside of fights and kids, and she was looking forward to it. All day, wolves had been running in and out of the house, carrying garlands of evergreen boughs and other less-recognizable ceremonial objects. From the kitchens, the overwhelming smell of cooking meat pervaded the house. Brooke had ducked her head in earlier to find at least 10 people, Leia and Sebastian included, preparing colossal amounts of animal flesh. Avery had explained that while their human forms were omnivorous, their wolf bodies had to eat meat to maintain their strength. It was therefore traditional to hold a large feast every month on the full moon consisting only of meat. There had to be at least a cows worth of beef in the kitchen that day, and that was not including what they would likely kill on the hunt later that night.
Brooke could feel the excitement in the air. All of the smaller children had already shifted, having less control than older werewolves. Consequently, there were half a dozen or so smaller wolves running around under foot to add to the chaos. They hadn’t grown proper thick fur yet, and they moved so fast that they resembled large balls of fluff, literally, bouncing off the walls. They moved so fast, it was hard to distinguish one from the others. Save for Mariah, whose unique almost-white fur made her easier to track.
Brooke checked the time. It was 8:45, almost moonrise. She wanted to talk to Avery while she still could. All communication that night would be telepathic, so humans would be out of the loop. She walked through the pack house, careful to stay out of the way of the speeding werewolves. She found Avery outside by the wood’s edge, supervising the preparations. Brooke could feel her excitement through their bond and echoed it back to her.
As soon as Avery felt Brooke’s presence, she turned and sprinted towards her. Brooke let Avery come to her, jumping into her arms when she did. Avery spun her around, the wind pulling her blonde hair out of its bun to whip past her face. Avery kissed her passionately until Brooke lost her breath, clutching her close.
“Hello, my love, how are you? Are you feeling okay?” Avery asked, scrutinizing Brooke’s face.
“You know I am, you’d feel it if I wasn’t,” Brooke replied.
“I can only feel your pain, not everything.”
“I’m feeling f– okay,” Brooke said. She had stopped using the word ‘fine’ when talking to Avery since her marking. Her mate could now tell that it was almost always a lie. So now when Brooke told Avery she was fine, she immediately grew overly concerned. Avery smiled at the correction.
“I’m glad.” Her golden eyes looked up towards the sky. Dusk had fallen hours earlier. The moon would rise soon. Avery set Brooke down gently.
As she looked around, Brooke saw that the pack members had started to congregate in the yard. The children were running wild, supervised by Jonathan and a pregnant woman Brooke vaguely recognized, howling thin, high-pitched baby howls and wrestling with each other, growling very non-threateningly. The cooked meat had been piled onto the same folding tables that had been brought out for the party. It was packed in large tureens with foil tops over them and warming pans beneath.
“Don’t worry, I made sure there’s some plant-based food there, too,” Avery said, following Brooke’s gaze. “You just might have to hunt for it a bit.”
“Thanks.” Brooke leaned up to give Avery a kiss and Avery wrapped her arms around Brooke’s waist, pulling her in close. Her hands roved over Brooke’s body eagerly. “Babe, there are people around,” Brooke gasped, breathless. Avery grumbled but relented.
“I’m sorry, it’s just I won’t be able to touch you like this again until tomorrow morning,” Avery whined. Brooke chuckled.
“We’ll still be together, though.”
“Yes, we will.” She leaned down to plant one more quick kiss on Brooke’s lips, then checked her watch, and craned her neck towards the darkening sky. “It’s time.” Although she couldn’t hear the words in her mind, Brooke knew that Avery had spoken them mentally as well.
Brooke watched as the werewolves formed a large, loose circle with herself and Avery at one end. She spotted many familiar faces. Joseph and Sebastian were there, side-by-side as usual, as was Jade, looking more emotional than Brooke had yet seen her, and Leia, standing next to her tall blonde husband. The elder, Serena, was there, standing directly across from them, leaning on a walking stick, orange eyes blazing even across the distance. The gamma, Benjamin was there, to their left, but his mate Jonathan was still occupied with the young ones, trying his best to make them keep still while the adults shifted. And Rachel and Alex stood to their right, both of their faces flushed red. Alex’s choker was doing a terrible job of hiding the hickeys on his neck. No need to ask where they had been.
Locking eyes with Alex, Brooke raised her eyebrows. He just shrugged in response, smiling.
“The full moon rises, and our time begins,” Avery began. “Enjoy it, my family, and woe betide any lycan that crosses our path tonight.” A wild cheer went up from the crowd, the children’s howls adding to the cacophony. Brooke and Alex raised their voices too, swept up in the raw passion of the pack.
As one, the werewolves stripped off their clothes, shoes, jewelry, anything that might be damaged by the imminent shift. They stood there, naked, still, arms spread wide, eyes closed. Brooke counted five of her own heartbeats. And then, just as the first sliver of moonlight crested the tops of the trees, it happened.
All at once, the pack shifted. Their limbs lengthened, teeth sharpened, nails elongated into claws, and their skin sprouted fur in every shade imaginable. There were the night-black wolves that were Avery and Joseph. There were grey wolves, like the gamma, Benjamin, and white wolves, like Sebastian. There were brown wolves, like Rachel, in as many colors as there were shades in the bark of a whole forest. The pack was a diverse tapestry of natural hues so beautiful it took Brooke’s breath away. And from the deep recesses of their thick fur, their eyes shone out like glowing orbs of crystal in every shade of the rainbow. All had shifted. All but Jade, who stood to the right of Rachel and Alex, still in her human form, fully dressed, her face inscrutable.
Avery sat back on her haunches, turned her face to the sky, and howled. It sounded to Brooke’s ears like a note from a musical instrument. Something deep, and pure, like an ancient war horn, expertly crafted. The rest of the pack joined in a heartbeat later, their wolf voices rising in a haunting symphony.
Avery stood back on her four paws and swung her head around so that she was face to face with her mate. Then she crouched down as low to the ground as she could, looking at Brooke. Brooke knew what was expected of her. Looking around the circle, she spotted Leia, already astride her mate’s back, running her fingers through his light brown fur. To her right, Alex hunched low over Rachel’s chestnut back, arms and legs gripping tightly, a nervous smile on his face.
Taking a deep breath first to steady herself, Brooke climbed onto Avery’s back. Avery could sense her nervousness and sent a wave of confident reassurance her way. That steadied Brooke’s nerves. She grabbed two fistfuls of the long, curling hair on the back of Avery’s neck, and just like that, they were off.
Avery suffused Brooke’s mind with calm as she leapt forward, padding swiftly into the trees. The forest raced by them as Avery led the pack along a path that was invisible to Brooke’s eyes. The whole world was a wash of browns, greens, and reds, flying past in streaks of color. And here and there the moonlight shone through the canopy, and wherever a beam of it touched, the wolves’ fur seemed to glow with its radiance, dancing in the chill air as they ran.
Brooke was scared only for the first few seconds. Once her body adjusted to the movement, Avery’s pure exhilaration and joy bled through, overwhelming her fear. Brooke lifted her head up off Avery’s back, letting the wind blow her hair out in a dark blonde wave behind her. She closed her eyes and let the feeling of absolute freedom wash over her. When Avery leapt over rocks and falling trees, for the briefest of moments, it felt like they were flying.
Before long, they arrived in the clearing where the meeting had been held. The ancient willow at its center was resplendent in the full moon’s light. The still-green leaves seemed to glow white at the edges, as though painted with silver leaf by the moon. Its thick, twisting limbs reached towards the night sky, rather than hanging down as they normally did, so the grass beneath was not shielded from the moonlight. Brooke could see the many garlands that had been prepared earlier that day arrayed around the base of the willow.
The wolves gathered around the trunk of the tree, forming the same circle they had back at the pack house. Avery crouched low to the ground so that Brooke could climb down, then sat back up, chest out, chin up, the picture of nobility. She sent a meaningful look to the right, and Jade approached, taking a new place in the circle between Alex and Brooke. A translator. Avery had explained that when her mate was killed, Jade lost the ability to shift, and had been locked in human form ever since. It was a tragedy, but, in this instance, a useful one. The head guard appeared to be in her late 20s, at most, but her eyes, when they locked with Brooke’s, seemed ancient beyond imagining. In those moments, the glacial blue of her irises seemed to drain even further of color until the thin striations were the empty gray of dust, decay, and sun-bleached bone.
The glade was quiet, save for the titterings of small nocturnal animals nearby. Avery raised her head, so her nose was pointing towards the sky, and closed her eyes, soaking in the moonlight. Then she opened her eyes, lowered her head, and looked around the circle, locking eyes with different members in turn. Her golden eyes glazed over and unfocused and Brooke knew she was speaking with her mind.
“My pack,” Jade said; translating in a low voice so as not to disturb the peace of the glade. “My family. Both those of you who were born in my father’s time, and those who found their way to us later in life. Let me welcome you all to another full moon ceremony. Let us all give thanks to Goddess for blessing us with Her strength tonight.”
The wolves, as one, raised their heads towards the sky, eyes closed, in a silent gesture of prayer. Jade, too, craned her neck towards the full moon, striking eyes shut, her scarred face a mask of earnest longing.
“Many moons past, our ancestors were gifted the ability to shift by Goddess Herself,” Jade continued translating after the moment of silence had passed. Brooke looked over at Avery and gasped aloud at what she saw. Where usually her fur was matte black, now the fur above her right paw glowed with spiking, twisting silver-white patterns. Brooke realized at once that the ethereal shapes were following the pattern of the tattoos she wore in her human form. Avery had once told her that her tattoos depicted the story of her people. Now she could see it, as the first image that had illuminated itself was of a small group of pictographic humans, praying to a full moon, half shifted into wolves.
“These werewolves delighted in their newfound abilities, and together they cared for nature and the woods that had always been their home, guarding them from those who would do them harm. Over time they grew in number, and split off into various packs, each with a different Alpha, but all sharing the same devotion to the Goddess who had gifted them their existence.” More pictorials lit up along the upper part of Avery’s right foreleg, showing many wolves, all overlapping, shifting and multiplying and subdividing and exchanging, their fur standing in spikes. For the first time, Brooke could fully see the pattern in the chaos of strokes that comprised the tattoos. “When the human threat grew, our numbers dwindled.” A swathe of bright markings appeared on Avery’s upper left foreleg. They showed stick figures with bows and arrows and crude rifles, hunting and killing the wolves. “But even then, our Goddess did not abandon us. She gifted us once again, both with the ability to mate with each other regardless of sex, to mate with humans and–” Jade’s voice hitched slightly on the last word. “–lycans.”
Brooke mouthed ‘are you okay?’ But Jade just shook her head, her face stoic.
“And so this night, we give our offerings to Goddess, that She may continue to bless us with Her strength and fortitude.” The wolves each turned and picked up a garland from the ground behind them with their teeth, laying it down carefully in front of them so that they were arranged in a concentric circle with the wolves themselves. “We pray that She will grant us the power to stand strong against Atticus and his lycans. We give thanks for our two new Lunas. We pray that our pack will grow in number with every passing year.” There was a pause. Brooke noticed Avery locking eyes with a smaller, grey-brown wolf across the circle whose orange eyes burned like twin fires. “And let this Blood Moon herald our final, glorious victory over the lycan scourge.” Brooke’s eyes narrowed, and her heart started to race as the wolf’s intense gaze locked on her. “That last part was Serena,” Jade explained unnecessarily. Brooke could feel Avery’s irritation and uncertainty. She shot Serena a look, then moved on.
Avery sank to the ground, prostrate, glowing forelegs stretched out in front of her bowed head. The rest of the pack followed her example. Jade knelt, then lowered her body to the earth, her arms outstretched, head bent. Brooke looked over at Alex and he shrugged, kneeling. Brooke did the same, following their example. Brooke had never been particularly spiritual. But she had also never had such clear reason to believe before now. Clearly the werewolves’ Goddess had real power. She bent her head and gave thanks. Brooke wasn’t sure if her prayers were heard, or if they would be answered, but for the first time in her life, she believed there was a real chance. So, she prayed. Goddess, she thought, directing her thoughts towards the full moon in the night sky. Thank you for Avery. Thank you for our bond. I do truly appreciate everything you’ve done for us. But, please, I ask that you free Avery of my pain. My pain is my burden to carry, not hers. Please don’t let me be the reason that the lycans win. Please.
They stayed there for several minutes. The clearing was utterly still; even the crickets had fallen silent. Then, they rose, the marks on Avery’s legs gradually fading back to black. Brooke struggled awkwardly to her feet, Alex’s hand supporting her right arm. As one, the pack howled. The same eerily beautiful symphony they had displayed earlier filling Brooke’s ears and mind. She could feel Avery’s joy and serenity through their bond.
Avery crouched low to the ground, her shining gold eyes meeting Brooke’s. Brooke climbed once more onto her back, taking hold of her fur. Avery surveyed the gathered pack. Alex and Leia were astride their mates’ backs as well. Jade stood near the rear of the group, flanked by two wolves, one dark chocolate brown, one the red-umber of fresh clay; her two immediate subordinates. The three of them, presumably, were the rear guard. Avery took one last look back over her shoulder.
“I’m good,” Brooke said, sending her genuine feelings of safety and wonder through the bond. Avery nodded her head once and took off into the trees.
The pack roamed for hours, covering every corner of their vast, sprawling territory. Brooke saw small streams, glowing in the moonlight. She saw ferns, and nettles, and vast, ancient evergreens. They passed over hills and through valleys, through bright, moonlit meadows, and deep corners where the trees were so thick their branches blocked out all light. Everywhere they went, they were draped in the beauty and wildness of the natural world. Brooke thought back to Avery’s sermon, as delivered by Jade. This was what they were created to protect, and that was the most worthwhile goal Brooke had ever come across. At some point, she released her grasp on Avery’s fur and sat upright, spreading her arms out wide, and letting the wind pull her hair out in a bright mane behind her. She let her exhilaration flow freely towards Avery and felt it echoed.
All was calm and still for a time, the animals of the forest giving the pack a respectful distance, the only sounds the pounding of paws and the whistling of the night breeze through the branches of the trees. But as they neared the northern edge of their territory, a disturbance in the undergrowth brought the pack to an abrupt halt. Brooke had to flatten herself to Avery’s back, gripping tightly with her arms and legs to stop herself from being thrown off.
The ranks of wolves parted to allow Jade and her rangers to sprint to the front. Avery and Rachel stood to the sides, back a ways, protective of the humans on their backs. Jade and her guards raced forward fearlessly into the thick undergrowth. The dark brown wolf pounced onto something that Brooke couldn’t see behind the thicket. She reared up, her jaws clamped around the thin, clawed, knobby arm of a shifted lycan. The red wolf lunged, claws raking across the lycan’s skeletal torso, leaving gaping gashes that shed very little blood, but showed the black, sinewy flesh beneath its pale skin.
“What have we here?” Jade said, her tone icy. She grabbed the lycan’s elongated chin in her vice-like grip wrenching it upward. “Atticus sent you?” The lycan said nothing. He bared his teeth and, in a flash, Jade held a long curved knife to his throat. “No matter. I’ll have you singing like a chickadee in no time.” Jade looked back towards Avery and the Alpha nodded her head. Brooke could feel her conflicting emotions of obligation, and reticence. While she didn’t like the idea of torture, she knew it was an opportunity they couldn’t afford to squander.
Avery was still for a few seconds, before turning back the way they’d come and leading the pack back to the house. Jade’s wolves carried the lycan prisoner back, one with his legs in his jaws, the other grasping him by the throat.
It took less time than Brooke expected before they reemerged into the familiar large clearing where the pack house sat. The guards peeled off from the others as soon as they were past the tree line, making their way swiftly over to an outbuilding that Brooke had never particularly noticed before. There were bars on the windows and a thick padlocked gold chain barring the door. Jade took a key off her belt, and they carried the prisoner into the pitch blackness within, out of sight. Most of the rest of the pack made for the tables of food, ripping the foil covers off and devouring the heaps of meat below. Those who had caught meat along the way deposited the carcasses in a pile near the table. Brooke saw a young red wolf trailed by a familiar white-blonde one, drop a small rabbit on the top of the pile, ears and tail perked up with pride.
Brooke dismounted from Avery’s back, her own stomach rumbling. She teetered over to the table and found the plate that Avery had had laid aside for her. It held a delicious stir-fry with a medley of vegetables over a bed of rice and chickpeas. Brooke found a chair and sat down. It was the same chair she had sat in during the welcome party almost a month before. It felt like so much longer.
Alex took the one next to her, waving goodbye as Rachel padded off into the night. Leia walked up, carrying two plates, Mariah hot on her heels. Brooke invited her to join them and before they knew it the other humans in the pack had filledd in the remaining chairs.
“We’ve been looking for an opportunity to get to know you both better,” Leia siad, holding out a piece of meat to Mariah who snapped it up eagerly.
“It’s so nice to have not one but two human Lunas,” put in the middle-aged manto Brooke’s left. He was British with greying auburn hair and a slight paunch.
“This is Harry,” Leia said, gesturing to the man with one hand while feeding Mariah with the other. “… Ariel…” the pregnant woman Brooke had seen helping Jonathan with the smaller children. She had small features, long red hair, and a reserved energy. “… and Terrence.” A younger guy in his 20s with slicked-back black hair and wire-rimmed glasses.
“I’m Janae’s mate,” he supplied.
“The guard?” Alex asked.
“That’s right. She’s off on patrol right now. Making sure there aren’t any more lycans lurking around.”
“Makes sense.” Brooke swallowed, nervous that she would say or do the wrong thing.
“What are the odds, eh?” The older man, Harry said, his tone jovial. “Our Alpha and Beta both finding their mates within a week of each other, and they’re both human! Never thought I’d see it. “
“Well it’s not like normal odds really apply to werewolf stuff,” Ariel put in. Her voice was soft and sweet, her eyes wide and far away. Leia put a comforting hand on her arm.
“We’re so happy to have you both.” Harry continued.
“We’re happy to be here,” Alex replied. Brooke nodded, taking another bite.
They spent the rest of the night just talking and getting to know each other. Once she relaxed a bit, Brooke enjoyed herself greatly. It turned out that Terrence was working on his PhD in Climatology at the college. He was clearly brilliant, but not in a condescending way. And Harry, who’d met his mate while on vacation in the Rockiesover 20 years earlier, had a seemingly endless supply of entertaining human/werewolf stories. His mate, Cora, was exiled from Rachel’s former pack. From the way he described them and their Alpha, Brooke was not looking forward to their arrival. Ariel was quieter, but seemed to enjoy herself all the same. Her mate, a large shaggy grey wolf named Jack, came by to check on her three times more often than the rest of them. Their mates seemed to have come to an agreement to give the humans time to bond, but they filtered in and out. Belly full, Mariah had curled up and fallen asleep in her mother’s lap. Brooke smiled at the sight, but Ariel just stared, one hand on her belly, transfixed.
“You’re going to do great, sweetie,” Leia reassured in a near whisper. Ariel didn’t seem so sure.
It was the first time Brooke and Alex really felt the weight of the responsibility their new roles had given them. It made Brooke equal parts humbled, awkward, and terrified that she’d somehow fail to live up to their expectations.
By midnight, Brooke was dead tired, but she wouldn’t have traded this night for anything. She truly, finally, felt like she was a real part of the pack. As much a member as Leia or harry. Avery came to join them, a large haunch of deer clamped in her jaws. She dropped it on the ground next to Brooke’s chair and settled herself down to eat. Brooke trailed a hand down her back in long strokes, running her fingers through the thick black fur. Avery rumbled low in her throat and Brooke could feel her contentment and love.
When they had finished their meal, they dispersed, each to their own mate. Brooke climbed onto Avery’s back, and she carried them up to their bedroom. Brooke stripped off her coat and shoes and fell into bed, holding the covers back so that Avery could crawl in beside her. Avery laid in an arc, her massive wolf form occupying at least three quarters of the large bed. Brooke threw one arm and one leg over her, hugging her tightly.
“I love you,” she whispered, already close to sleep. She felt Avery’s love for her suffuse her mind as she drifted off. She slept long, and deeply, and her dreams were filled with the forest.