Pack Rivers: Book One

by Bianca Griso

  I looked at the clock and realized that it’s just about midnight. I sigh as I get up and head to my bedroom. It’s time to call it a night for me.

  As I strip off my clothes and crawl into bed, I wonder what my mate is doing, craving her to be next to me. I need my mate soon, or the pack and I won’t survive.

  Chapter Two

  Esme

  I’m sitting on my lumpy couch, watching Wolf News again. Alpha Mason isn’t on tv this time; it’s Tyler Blackwood, his Beta. Tyler looks worn out and weary. Tyler looks like he’s five years older than he is. As I sit here and think about it, my Alpha looked just as worn out, if not more. Tyler is standing next to Jessica Wolfmen, with dark shadows around his eyes. His once-bright eyes are dull. It saddens me my Alpha and his Beta are this weak. It makes me think about what the rest of us looks like. Most of us are not mated, and we are all getting weaker.

  Tyler is tolerating Jessica as he announces a big party that everyone is invited to. Tyler looks like he’s out of breath just standing there talking to the cameras. The make-up team did the best they could to make him look more alive. Mason and Tyler had this confidence to them and the attitude to match. Now, it’s completely opposite, looking sad and weak, from just a few months ago, when we saw Alpha Mason and Tyler Blackwood.

  I hated seeing Mason and Tyler like that. I’ve always had a big crush on my Alpha when I was growing up. He was a brat as a kid; we went to public schools together. His parents made him go to public schooling before they died. With the years and experience, Alpha Mason became a kind-hearted man. The men I saw on the news didn’t look like that at all; their skin color was even dull like their life source was leaving their bodies. I really hope he finds our next Luna; she will fix everything.

  With this new bomb drop of a party now, I thought it was time to invite my friends over to my one-bedroom ranch. We have plenty to talk about, with this party and the rogue problem, followed by the curfew. The last time we had a curfew was when we had a rogue problem, and my dad Joe got hurt badly. The rogues took advantage of Alpha Crimson being a new alpha. He never let that happen again, which makes me wonder.

  It’s been a few days since the announcement of the dance and a week ago announced the curfew. I hear a knock on the door snapping me out of my thoughts. My friends are here. I get off my old lumpy couch to open the door. Marisa would walk in on her own, but Cassandra and Chelsea should be here too. They won’t just wander in my home. We go into a group hug, and I thought my lungs would leave me.

  They finally let go, and we walk upstairs into my room. “Okay, what do you think of this new curfew?” Marisa asked while playing with her strawberry blonde hair. “Worried, we haven’t had a rogue problem in a while,” I said.

  “Yeah, since your father getting hurt,” Cassandra said.

  “Yeah, your right. When Alpha Crimson became alpha, they took advantage of Alpha Crimson,” I tell them.

  “So the big question the curfew, is there going to be the night of the party, “Marisa commented.

  “Did you not watch the mandatory news watch?” Chelsea asked.

  “No, I don’t watch the news. I can’t stand Jessica Wolfmen,” Marisa replied.

  “I don’t like her either, but you should have watched it,” I told her. Cassandra and Chelsea nod in response in agreeing with me.

  “To answer your question, there is no curfew the night of the party,” Cassandra said.

  “Well, that’s good,” Marisa commented.

  “What’s everyone wearing?” I asked.

  “Well, the invitations says formal,” Marisa answered.

  “Does anyone have a formal dress?” Cassandra asked. Everyone shakes their heads in response.

  “Well, since no one has anything to wear, we should go to the mall,” Marisa suggested.

  “Best idea you had,” Chelsea commented.

  “Haha, very funny,” Marisa said in a sarcastic tone.

  “Well, let’s get going before it gets too crowded with everyone going; it will be packed,” Cassandra said, changing the subject.

  We all pile in Marisa’s car and head out for the mall. When we get there, it’s already packed. There is hardly any parking; Cassandra was right. We end up parking in the way back; walking back with big dresses will be fun. Luckily it’s a beautiful spring day, and we aren’t walking in the cold.

  We walk into Macy’s first, and everyone had the same idea. Hardly any room to walk around. “Want to try Macy’s later?” I asked. They all shouted yes, and we started to push people out of the way.

  We eventually make it out of there, we walk to JCPenny’s, and we will start there. It isn’t as crowded as Macy’s; there is room to roam. After walking around, we found the formal dresses in the back and their fitting room next to it. There is the right amount of people in the formal section, and multiple fitting rooms are filled. None of that stops Marisa from looking at dresses.

  She finds a rack that no one is looking through. We all start to look through them. Marisa pulls out a dress that would be perfect for Cassandra. It’s a short purple dress with silver rhinestones on top and poofy at the bottom. Marisa must have read my mind; she shows it to Cassandra. She goes and waits on line for the fitting room, which we would share. The rest of us continue looking for dresses. Chelsea pulls out a long dress with a low cut front. It’s got a slit up the leg, and it’s straps have rhinestones on them. It’s also a sexy red and perfect for Marisa. Just Chelsea and I left. I continue to look, and I found her a long blue dress with a little slit with a rhinestone belt. I show her the dress, and she loves it. She runs into the line and goes to Marisa and Cassandra. I continue to look for myself. They come out in their dresses, and they look beautiful in them.

  They stop and help me look real quick so we can get dressed together. Marisa pulls out a beautiful green dress; the top part has rhinestones, long and poofy. I loved it! Chelsea and Cassandra go in change first. Marisa and I go in, and I wait until she’s done because the dress is that big. She then leaves, and I put on the dress. “You look so pretty!” Cassandra said.

  “You look like our Luna,” Chelsea.

  “I’m not Alpha Mason’s mate,” I told them.

  “We will know at the party,” Marisa said, smiling. I roll my eyes in response, and I change out of the dress. I don’t need new shoes; I have some that would match. My friends don’t need them either, so we go-to jewelry.

  Cassandra, Chelsea, and I go with stud earrings while Marisa found some hoops. We all go light on the jewelry, knowing we wouldn’t wear heavy stuff for long. On the ride home, we were all tired. So I was debating on telling them about my dreams if it was the right time.

  They park outside my ranch, and they stare at me, waiting for me to get out. “I’ve had dreams,” I blurt out.

  Marisa smiles at me and asks, “what kind of dreams?”

  “The kind where I was thinking about talking to the Moon Goddess Luna,” I admit.

  “Are they that serious?” Cassandra asks.

  “They are pretty scary dreams, and I would say so,” I tell them.

  “You have to wait until the next full moon,” Chelsea reminds me.

  “The next one is in two days,” Marisa reads my mind.

  “Two more nights,” I tell them.

  “Keep us updated, Luna,” Cassandra said. They always say I’m the next Luna of this pack. I tell my goodbyes, and I walk up to my ranch; it’s a one-bedroom ranch. So no one is above or below me.

  After having my friends over and going to the mall on a short notice, I’m tired. I sigh as I put my pajamas on and brush out the knots in my hair. Once I finished getting ready for bed, I lay underneath my covers, thinking. With everything that has been happening, I have a lot on my mind. I don’t think I will be sleeping well for a while, at least until this all blows over. I stare up at the ceiling, wondering what my mate is doing. Disrupting my thoughts, I hear a voice in my head, “Esme, I had tried to warn you of the dangers for our world. You should hav
e heeded my warnings. This is your punishment.”

  Before I can react to the voice in my head, the agonizing pain starts. The wonderful Goddess we pray to is forcing me to shift. I scream as I feel my bones begin to break; it’s unbearable. It hurts more than shifting for the first time. My skin is in a thick layer of sweat, from my bones breaking and cracking. My back is hunched; I’m on all fours. White fur starts to come out of my skin, and hands and feet become paws. My voice starts to crack from screaming. The pain starts to stop, but the police sirens start.

  After I finish shifting, I jump out the window shattering it. I start to run towards the forest, to where we ask for forgiveness. I had wronged her, I didn’t heed her warning, and now she’s punishing me. Running in my wolf form will get me there faster than being a human.

  I run out of town, and the streetlights begin to blur and disappear. As I run to the forest, more trees come into view. The moon is high in the sky and almost full. The Moon Goddess might just ignore me as I ignored her for two moons now. The forest gets thicker as I get closer to the river and the meadows are. We go over to the river to pray to her; it’s where she hears you the loudest.

  I’m almost there, to the river where the moon shines the most. “Hey, stop; where do you think you’re going!” Someone shouts in the distance. I ignore them and keep running to talk to the Goddess. I see it in view, and howl as loud as I can, I barely made it.

  I make it to where we speak to her, “Please let me turn back to human. I’m sorry I was going to be here during the full moon,” I plead with the Moon Goddess.

  “No, Esme, I have been warning you for two moons now; this is your punishment,” she answers me.

  “I thought they were nightmares, please, I’m begging you,” I plead again.

  “What’s done is done; you will have to earn back your human form. You never liked being an albino wolf; you need to embrace it. You need to learn how to love yourself, Luna, if you’re going to lead this pack. They need you to be there for them to survive this war that’s coming,” she says.

  “I’m what?” I asked.

  “Your the next Luna, my dear, I know you sensed it, but you can’t be scared anymore; brace who you are,” the Moon Goddess says and disappeared. My wolf and I sob and continue to cry. I couldn’t believe what she said. Before I can really understand what she had told me, Alpha Mason’s Higher rank men yell at me, “turn back into your human form now!” I try my luck and shift; nothing happens. “Final warning, shift now!” The man screams at me ordering to shift back. The men try to force to turn, it usually would work, but these aren’t normal circumstances.

  After not shifting back for them, I feel an electric shock go all throughout my body, and then everything goes black.

  Chapter Three

  Mason

  I was asleep in my bed, but I had gotten woken up by horrifying screaming. Then the smell, the most beautiful scent. My mate is here. I never had gotten out of bed and dressed so fast, and the screaming is nonstop. Something is wrong; I feel it in my bones. I am down the hall already almost to the staircase that leads to the lobby. Running to the smell of roses, and vanilla with a hint of coconut, the scent leads to the basement cells.

  I rip the door at the bottom of the stairs; once I see them, I go after Luke and Alex. The screaming stopped when they saw me. I’m fuming right now. I have to remember not to kill them. They don’t know that she’s my mate. Once I get inches from their faces, I lift them by their shirts. “She is my mate; leave her be. Something is clearly wrong; she can’t shift right now. Go and call the other Alphas. I need them sooner than I thought,” I order them. I put them down when they nod their heads in response. They go and run out of the basement, to follow my orders, and of fear. Alphas have the power to make others fear you, we need this power to help with keeping order. I don’t like to rule with fear, so I don’t use this gift very often. Alpha Crimson likes to use it often, so did other Alphas before him. Once I radiate the fear to make them fear me, and they run off to follow orders. I start to compose myself and stop using my alpha gift.

  After I compose myself, I turn around to look at my beautiful mate. My nameless mate is terrified at the current moment. I open the bar doors slowly, keep eye contact with my mate, who’s in the back corner of the cell. I can tell that she’s an albino wolf, even though she’s covered in few layers of dirt.

  When I’m inches away from her face, I run my hands through her fur. The sparks run up my arm and down my body. She starts to make noises that are purr like as my hand runs through. I kiss the top of my mate’s head; I whisper, “I will fix this, I’ll get the others to help us.”

  The noise of someone clearing their throat behind me interrupts us. I turn around and see Tyler standing behind me. “Yes, Tyler, what can I help you with,” I start. Tyler looks over at me and then at my mate. “Is she-“ Tyler begins to say and bows to her and says, “Luna.” My mate blushes at Tyler’s gesture. “What did you come down here for Tyler?” I ask Tyler, reminding him of why he’s here. “Yes, sir, the other Alphas are here, sir. I know they are early; we weren’t expecting them for two weeks,” Tyler told me. I sigh as I get up and brush myself off. “Well, isn’t this a surprise,” I said, looking past Tyler.

  Alpha Jack stands behind Tyler with his hand out, ready for me to shake. I grab his hand reluctantly and smile at him. “It’s always a pleasure, Alpha Jack, welcome. I wish it were under better circumstances,” I greet myself to Alpha Jack. Alpha Jack smiles back at me, looking me in the eyes, says, “Likewise, Alpha Mason.” Looks over at my scared mate that’s sitting in the dark corner. “Is this your mate?” Alpha Jack asks as he nods over to my mate.

  “She is; I was going to call you guys to come soon. We have a little problem,” I admit as I look at my mate.

  “It’s a good thing we decided to surprise you, Alpha Mason, by coming sooner. What is the problem?” Alpha Jack said as he walks closer to my mate.

  “She can’t shift back to human,” I tell him. I can tell from Alpha Jack’s face that he doesn’t know why she can’t shift. I can tell this is going to take time to figure out. “Well, Alpha Ethan and Alpha Crimson are here too. I would have someone give your mate a bath, from running all last night, she does need one. We can all meet up in your office or in your conference room,” Alpha Jack suggests. I look at my mate and now realizing, she needs a bath. I nod in response and say, “Okay yeah, I just need a few minutes to get her out of this corner.” Alpha Jack nods in response and leaves the basement. I look over at my sad mate, thinking she’s going to hate me for doing this.

  I sigh as I walk closer to my mate. We meet in the middle of the cell she’s in. “You’re going to hate me, my beautiful mate. The other Alphas are here to help, but before that, you need a bath,” I warn her.

  Once my mate is done having a bath, I realize how strong her scent is to me. My mate was not happy being bathed at all. Once everything was done, I bring my mate to the conference room, with the other Alphas that’s waiting for us. Everyone was sitting around the table that takes up most of the space.

  All of the Alphas are here, along with their Betas. My mate sits next to me, nervous. Her head is down, and her tail is between her legs.

  We walk into the counsel room, with my mate to figure out what’s going on with her shift. We all pile in, and I sit at the table’s head, and my mate sits next to me. She looks at me with those piercing red eyes. I run my hand through her white fur. “Okay, so how do we fix her,” Alpha Crimson starts. My once shy mate starts to growl at Alpha Crimson in response. Alpha Jack chuckles and says, “You better rephrase that Crimson.”

  “Sorry, Luna, fix the situation,” Alpha Crimson correcting himself. My mate puts her fangs away. “Okay, I am going to ask you yes or no questions. Answer them to the best of your ability,” Alpha Jack explains to my mate. She nods for Alpha Jack to continue. “Okay, did you make contact with our Moon Goddess,” Alpha Jack asks his first question? We all look over to my mate, who sits next
to me. She nods in response. “Okay, and was she angry with you,” Alpha Jack continues with his yes and no questions. All eyes are on my nameless mate. My mate nods her head for a response. There’s a long pause before he talks again, “we might have to wait this out, Mason. Our beloved Goddess, forcing your mate to stay in her wolf form. She’ll be in her wolf form until the time is right,” Alpha Jack states. I never felt this frustrated before. “Did you communicate with her father?” Landon asked.

  “No, I’m just stating the obvious Luna our Moon Goddess doesn’t want her human, could be several reasons why,” Alpha Jack answered his son.

  “So we wait this out?” I questioned, a bit more angry than intended.

  “Alpha Mason, I know this is upsetting to you, but you have her now; we will get her back to human,” Alpha Jack said.

  “I know-I-I don’t even know her name or how I would communicate with her,” I tell them.

  “I know it’s frustrating,” Alpha Jack said.

  “We can figure out how you two can talk to one another in the meantime,” Alpha Crimson offers. I then feel the sparks. I look down and see her paw on my hand. She whimpers at me. “I think she’s trying to tell you that everything is okay,” Alpha Jack said, smiling at us.

  “How do we communicate with one another?” I ask.

  “You can have her show you around her friends that can tell you her name,” Landon suggested. “What about everything else?” I ask. We look over to where my mate is going. She barks and looks at the whiteboard.