“Now who would have thought it?” Kendra mused out loud in reference to Yelena and Aiyisha being siblings as she dug into her chicken with relish. Her mouth was stuffed even as she spoke, a bush act, yes she knew... one that would have probably had her kicked from human society had she been in their midst for sure, but she was pretty sure her friends did not mind. Not much, at least. Or at least that was what she hoped.
And as for her mate, if the mesmerised way he was staring at her was any indication, he did not mind at all.
She and Killian had rather been cooped up in his room the whole of yesterday, seeing as he had had some unfulfilled promises to deliver on (Pleasuring her senseless, among other things), but unfortunately for them, they seemed to have missed out on quite a lot, starting with Yelena being Aiyisha’s sister. It was funny, how all the juicy stuff waited for them to be absent before deciding to happen.
“Actually, I would have thought it,” Sanjay said, pausing to take a rushed sip of his orange juice, “Did you see those two in the early times when Yelena started working here? They were so inseparable, it honestly was very suspicious. At first, I thought there was something going on between them, but I soon came to realise that they were only friends.
“Really?” Kendra asked, her beautiful browns wide, fully invested in the gist. “They seemed like every other lady and her handmaiden to me,” She admitted with a shrug, but Leray and Sanjay only shared an amused look,
“What?”
“Oh nothing,” Leray quickly tried to evade it, but Kendra wasn’t having any of that, “Come on guys, don’t be like that... tell me what’s going on?”
“Okay, I love you—”
Killian interrupted Leray with a warning growl that had the gamma’s eyes widening in fear. “I meant I love you as a friend,” He quickly amended, causing Kendra to let out a loud, boisterous laugh as she grabbed her mate by the bicep and squeezed softly in warning. “Down, boy. You know he meant nothing by it.” She threw a smile his way that immediately assuaged his irritation.
Leray adjusted his glasses on the bridge of his nose and sent a relieved thank you Kendra’s way, but unknown to him, the female-beta was not done with him yet. “You were saying?” She probed with a raised eyebrow.
Sanjay shot her a look, “You don’t forget things, do you?”
Kendra grinned, “Nay, indeed I do not. So now somebody better start talking, what was that look you two shared about?”
“Okay, fine. You were so invested in Killian and he in you that I’m even surprised that you two know we exist. You still are, and it can be very annoying sometimes.” Leray finished. Kendra and Killian both had the same reaction on their faces when he was done. Pure unbridled shock.
Sanjay and Leray burst into laughter at the looks on their faces. “The Alpha should have been here to see the looks on your faces,” Sanjay guffawed, but Kendra only shook her head in amusement.
“What did we miss?” Aiyisha and Yelena barged into the dining room, looking every bit exhausted as they slumped into their seats, their actions so simultaneously alike that the four people could only look on mesmerised.
“How did we miss this earlier?” Kendra said all their thoughts out loud, an exasperated look on her face as she gestured for emphasis.
“How did you miss what earlier?” Yelena asked in confusion, but Sanjay was quick to change the subject. “Uh... never mind, Yelena... we were just uh— bringing Kendra and Killian up to speed with everything that’s been happening, that’s all. What about you guys? How was your meeting with the old man?”
Aiyisha and Yelena had been with their father, coming up with plans to set in place for the upcoming Red Moon.
The Red Moon was a natural phenomenon that had been happening since the Werewolf curse started spreading around. No one knew its origin, but Legend had it that the moon Goddess, Selene had put it in place to ensure that only the fittest wolves continued to breed. The spectacular day started out making all wolves nervous and on edge all day, and then as soon as night fell, it began. A complete transformation into a full wolf for one night, the human conscience knocked out until the first licks of sunlight with no remembrance of what had happened the night before. But almost always, the evidence spoke for themselves, and to be honest, it was never good.
Yelena, had patched things up pretty good with her father, and they were getting to know each other. Aiyisha was happy for her, truly and for her old man as well, even though she would probably die a thousand deaths before admitting it to him or anyone for that matter. She, was too broken to make any effort to repair their relationship, but it did not mean that she did not want him to be happy in any way. No, far from it.
But despite the violet eyed wolf’s new relations with the Alpha, her position was still pretty much the same. She had insisted on it in fact, claiming that she loved working as an assistant, and so Aiyisha had let her keep the position, instead of finding her something else to do.
“Well, Ursula is working on something that will keep things much more under control,” Aiyisha said, digging into her own piece of chicken. “She says by three, it would be all done and then we can have it distributed to everyone.”
“Of course the pups will definitely be sent back to the basement for their safety,” Yelena piped in, “But we’re done with the Lord. You guys will help us with the rest now.”
“Oh cool, cool... After lunch, I have something cool to show you guys,” Leray added.
“Does it have to do with another gadget?” Killian asked, suddenly invested in the conversation. The broody Alpha without a pack had seen some of the geeky gamma’s ‘inventions’ during the battle, and he had been mesmerised. If Leray had more tricks up his sleeves, he could definitely count on Killian’s interest and support.
“Yes,” Leray answered, a little bit of surprise on his face. No one showed that much interest in his works, it was... gratifying.
“Wonderful, let me know how I can help and I’ll do so in any way I can.” Killian finished with the Gamma.
“What about you, Killian?” Aiyisha piped in.
“What about me?” His confusion was very much apparent.
“What preparations are you two making towards the red moon? Aren’t you going to, I don’t know, write letters to your pack and see how they’re doing?”
The pleasant look on his face quickly vanished, and then he stood up, “How many times am I going to say this? There is no pack. Now if you will excuse me, I have some things to attend to,” He said curtly, and then he was gone.
“What did I say wrong?” Aiyisha asked Kendra, perplexed. The female Beta smiled softly at her friend, “He may seem all okay, but he still misses the pack, you know? We could have returned to reclaim them by now, but aside the battle preparations, Killian actually wants the Red moon to pass first before committing to anything.”
“I don’t understand,”
“The Curse says if he does not find love before the Red Moon, all the members of the pack will die a horrible, torturous death, and Killian will be banished to Creos where he will be made to expend the rest of eternity hearing the never ending cries of the pack.” Kendra took a deep breath, finding that the words had sent a chill down her spine, but then again, it always did. And from the looks on the faces of her audience, it had had the same effect. “What am I trying to say with all of this? Despite this love we seem to have found with the help of the Moon Goddess, Killian is still not fully convinced... not fully convinced to risk all of those lives like that.” She explained, “As an Alpha, it is important to put the pack first, even if it means that he cannot be with them anymore. And so the Silver Crest Pack is no more, Aiyisha... and Killian intends for it to stay that way, at least until the Red moon had passed. What then is the use of letters or any form of communication?” She finished sadly.
Now the female Alpha felt bad.
All she had wanted to do was make conversation, but she had apparently touched on a very sensitive issue for the couple. “I’m so sorry, Kendra,” She felt the need to apologise, but the dark skinned she wolf brushed her off with a smile, “You did not know. If everything goes well tonight,” Kendra gulped shakily, “And Killian makes it through, we will leave you guys soon,” She could not bring herself to say anymore words, and so she just kept quiet, allowing her eyes to say it all, to express her gratitude and gratefulness. The female Alpha let out a short teary groan and hugged her friend, “Everything will be fine, Kendra... you’ll see.”
****
It was soon three in the afternoon, and the whole squad had come together to ensure that Ursula’s foul paste had gone round the entire town. The healer had assured them that the horrible cream was going to curb the effect of the moon somewhat, and she had strangely and ominously insisted that Killian lather on a more absurd amount than everyone else.
The instructions unnerved Kendra somewhat, making her dread the upcoming night-time with all her heart, but she kept it away from her mate as best as she could. The female Beta found that she was getting quite good at hiding her feelings from the mate bond... but of course it did not mean that Killian did not know she was doing it. He thankfully did not press to know why, Kendra assumed it was because he thought she was just nervous about the night.
Other preparations had equally been made.
To be honest, Leray had just about overdone himself.
Even Killian was so impressed that his foul mood had disappeared. Aiyisha on the other could not have been more proud of her Gamma. Silver constructed mini buildings and straps to hold down powerful wolves who were likely to be more prone to destruction and bloodlust under the influence of the Red Moon, and other creative devices that were going to make the night much more manageable.
They seemed good to go.
Male wolves were going to pick their females who they wanted to make their partners, but thankfully... this was one part of the Red Moon that most of the she wolves looked forward to... it was the closest thing they had to a blessed marriage anyway if Aphrodite did not bless them, so Aiyisha was sure that it was not really going to be a problem. But women who were not interested in starting families were going to be kept away from the chase.
Everything seemed to be in place for the night that seemed to loom closer and closer.
The air was thick with anticipation, and even though the sun was still in the sky, one could equally see the moon’s full round shape. It looked bigger than usual, a tell-tale sign that this night was not going to be a normal night.
“You doing okay?” The Alpha’s sister interrupted her thoughts, handing her a mug of water.
It was exactly what she needed.
Drinking to her fill, she said, “Yeah, I guess.” She handed the mug back to her younger sister, “I just hope all of us make it through the night.”
“We will, you’ll see.” The brunette assured her elder sister confidently as she took a look at the skies. “Everything has been properly put in place, now all we have to do is wait.”