30. Contentment

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More people began to arrive, so Randall and I went back inside to greet them. I wanted to get to know more of the Pack, but there were so many that I couldn’t put names to faces after a while and they all got jumbled up. I gave up trying to remember names and just apologized when I had to ask again. Randall, of course, knew everyone’s full names, occupations, and everyone they were related to. He probably knew their blood types and birthdays with all the information he had stored up there in his mind.

He introduced me to someone I had seen before, and after a few seconds, I remembered where I’d seen her. Actually, it was when I saw the look she was giving Randall that it clicked. She was the lovesick puppy that I had seen at the breakfast table the morning after the last full moon. Randall introduced me to her as Kate.

“Kate, I don’t think you and Selene have been formally introduced, have you?” He said.

“No, but I know well enough who she is. You’d have to be blind not to.” Her voice had a tinge of a southern accent, and it matched how she looked. She had thick, tightly-curled bleach-blonde hair, her face and arms covered in freckles. She was cute and looked like someone bred in the country that was trying to become more urban. She was wearing tight jeans and a low-cut shirt, probably something she wore purposely to get Randall’s attention since he breasts were almost falling out of the shirt.

“Selene, Kate is a very good friend of mine,” I saw her cringe slightly when Randall said the word “friend.” “Her and Pete were really the only ones in the Pack around my age when we were growing up, so we spent a lot of time together, whether we wanted to or not. He looked across the room at Pete and laughed.

“I miss those carefree days when it was just the three of us,” Kate said. I could hear a hint of sadness in her voice.

“Things change,” Randall said bluntly. He told Kate he’d see her later and led me off to greet others.

“You’re hurting her,” I told him. “I can feel her pain.”

“She’s been in love with me ever since before we knew the word for it, but for some reason I’ve never been able to return the feeling. Before you came, she still had hope. She was the best candidate within the pack to marry me, even though she isn’t Alpha. The elders would rather arrange a marriage with a non-Alpha than look to other packs for mates. It’s a sign of weakness. I wasn’t thrilled with the idea, but at least she wasn’t a stranger.”

“But then I came.”

“Yeah, you changed everything. Suddenly, we have the perfect candidate and Kate gets pushed aside. It’s for the best, though. I wasn’t looking forward to marrying a girl I had no feelings whatsoever for. She’s a great person and a good friend, but nothing more to me.”

“You should still be a little nicer to her. The poor girl,” I felt sorry for her. I just came in and quashed her dreams. She must have hated me.

“It’s not me she’s upset with, you’re the one who came in and stole me away,” He laughed, his statement mirroring my own inner thoughts. It made me feel bad. I hadn’t known that by joining the Pack that I would be affecting the lives, hopes, and dreams of others. I wondered who else I may have affected.

I brooded to myself as we waited for nightfall. We ate and had a little party, some of the older pack members drinking sparingly. I didn’t feel much like partying, so I mostly sat and watched.

When the time came for us to head out into the clearing, I was anxious. As the sun set, I began to feel more awake than ever. Partly, it was the full moon. It brings out anxiety in everyone, and I could feel it in the air. It was also in part because I would again be up on the stage with Randall and his family. There was a mysterious element to my alertness too, something I couldn’t quite place. I ignored the strange feeling, not allowing it to ruin my night.

I was relieved to find that I wouldn’t be going first or alone this time, but as a rule, all Alphas had to be up on the stage, and I was no exception. I stood up there and held Randall’s hand in mine as Quinn welcomed everyone. It was pretty much the same as last time, except this time he wasn’t introducing a new member, so it was shorter.

This time, instead of me initiating the change, Quinn started first. I could feel the Pack shudder as a whole as he began, and then they all started. I could feel a pull willing me to follow suit and I gave in to it. This time went smoothly, and it seemed that everyone was in unison, much more different from last time’s fiasco.

I expected a slight amount of unruliness from Tala, since it was the full moon and we weren’t with Lilith, but I barely even felt her presence within me. It was as if something was suppressing her while I was able to use her power.

Tonight was different from all other full moon nights because I never lost myself. I was conscious of my surroundings through the entire time. All other times, I’d blacked out, let Tala, the wolf inside take over. The feeling was wonderful! I was myself inside the body of such a powerful, beautiful animal alongside everyone else in what felt like an extended family all around me. I ran beside Randall and he looked at me, panting, his eyes shiny with a primal excitement. I felt so free! Untiring, we ran. I tried to pay attention to our route, but it was impossible. Quinn was leading us, and he seemed to know where he was going, and we followed our leader without fear or doubt. Someday, Randall would be the one leading us, weaving the Pack on some unknown path through the trees by the light of the full moon.

I lost track of time. The night felt endless in a good way. By the time I saw the first hint of morning light peeking over the horizon, I realized we were back in the clearing. Some changed back to their human forms, looking tired and haggard as they left. Others, weaker wolves who were too tired to even change or leave just collapsed in the clearing, forming warm, cozy little dog piles. In these clusters were people in human and wolf form, all cuddling together like family, all naked and exposed.

Randall and I were still in wolf form. He nudged me with his nose and I followed him up to the house. We went through a large dog door leading into the house. I followed him up the stairs to his room and he pushed the door closed.

Exhausted, I hopped onto his bed and flopped onto the covers. He followed and cautiously lay down beside me. I cuddled into his warmth and breathed in the scent of his fur. I could smell the forest, the rest of the Pack, all those who he came in contact with during our run. He licked me and I looked up. I could almost see a grin on his wolf face.

Lying there, I was overcome with exhaustion and I fell asleep as the sunlight began to stream in through the windows of Randall’s bedroom.

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A/N: There's a bonus chapter coming eventually. I've been pretty busy with life. My puppy that my mother was taking care of got out of the fence and got run over by a car and died on Friday, so I was pretty tore up about it all weekend. I had most of this chapter typed up though, so I didn't have to type much more to post it. Next Chapter should come on time next Monday, and hopefully I'll get time to throw up another chapter in between. Enjoy!