Alpha's Moon

by Anna G Berry

  “What the hell is your brother talking about? I need to know so I can protect you and our baby.” Carson said to me as he ran his hand through his hair a few times.

  “When I was only five years old, I shifted for the first time and it wasn’t during a new moon, for a wolf to shift that young and not on a full moon was a lot to take in for my parents. So, they hid me away from anyone who would mean to use me as an unstoppable wolf…like, a weapon. I have a few abilities that I don’t use because of it. During a new moon everything is hundred times stronger and I feel more alive. My first kill was during a new moon when some rogue wolf tried to attack me, and I lost it. Noah was the only thing that kept me grounded during the new moon.” I told him as I looked out at the still, clear night, thinking about my wolf form, Noah.

  “Tell me more about your first kill.” Carson said as I turned to look at him.

  “I was out in the woods when I was about eleven. I was walking when I saw a wolf out in the middle of the meadow. I told him to tell me who he was, but he just laughed and started stalking toward me. I was already angry because Paul and I had a fight the day before and we hadn’t made up yet. I told him to stop or I would attack and seeing that my wolf was a lot smaller, he thought he could still win. But then, he said something that I had blocked out until now and I attacked him. He was too surprised to fight back… I ripped his throat out.” I told him as I went to sit next to him.

  “Did he give you a name?” Carson asked me as he looked at me sideways.

  “Yes, he said his name was Boo. That was all he said.” I replied simply.

  Carson just sat there, like he was trying to remember the name. I gave him time to think about what I had just told him. I moved under the covers and waited for him to say something.

  “Was there anything on his body when he shifted back as he died?” he asked as he looked at me.

  “Yes, a note, but that was it.” I told him a bit confused.

  “What did it say?” He kept looking at me.

  “It said ‘To whom it may concern, please don’t leave anything or anyone behind’ it was really weird.” I said as I got comfortable in the bed.

  “Okay, I thought maybe he was someone else. Let’s go to bed and talk about it more after we have gotten some sleep.” He said as he kissed my forehead.

  “How long was I blacked out for? I remember being at the meeting and then everything went black.” I said as Carson laid down next to me.

  “Claudia, you were unconscious for almost five days. I was getting worried whether you would wake up or not. Lavender said that you would wake up, that everyone just had to give you space.” Carson told me as I curled up next to him.

  “It didn’t feel that long. How did the meeting go?” I asked as I looked up at him.

  “Well, since you fainted the meeting was wrapped up. Don’t worry, while you were out, I answered any questions that the packs had.” He told me with a small smile.

  “Okay, good.” Was all I managed to say before sleep overtook me again. It seemed like all I did was sleep these days…

  Chapter Fourteen

  Carson

  I held her and watched her sleep. I didn’t think she could sleep anymore but I guessed her body needed all the rest it could get. I watched her until I drifted off to sleep as well.

  The next morning, I found the bed empty, and the bathroom door was open. I got up and walked over. When I came to the door, I saw Claudia in the shower. I couldn’t help but smile. I loved the smell of her scent in the hot water. It made it fresh and new and it also didn’t help that the shampoo and body wash she used made her smell even more delicious than usual. I brushed my teeth and fixed my hair before I got dressed.

  “Carson, is that you?” she yelled above the running of the water.

  “Yes, Pisoi. It’s me.” I responded as I took a piss.

  I felt her relax as I responded to her question. As I was getting ready to leave the bathroom, she stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel. I felt my wolf, Zeus, getting excited, and I couldn’t blame him. I was too.

  “Don’t bother with that.” I told her as I closed the door and took off my shirt and let my shorts drop to the floor.

  She froze then dropped the towel as I walked over to her and began to kiss down her body. As I did, I felt her relax and give herself over to me. I flipped her around and began doing what I’d been waiting to do. I lost myself in the motions of her body and before I knew it, it was over.

  I stepped back and let her go. I hadn’t even realized that the water was still running. She stepped out, all flushed and left the bathroom in giggles. I stood there letting the water run over my body. I decided to take a quick shower as well, and when I was done, I turned off the water and quickly dried off. I wrapped the towel around my lower body and walked into the bedroom.

  At first, I didn’t see her, she wasn’t in the room. I walked to the closet, and found her there, trying to pick a shirt to go with her shorts. I grabbed a loose-fitting graphic tee and handed it to her.

  “Thank you, babe. A shirt was the only thing I couldn’t decide on. Do you want to go into town with me?” She asked as I grabbed a random t-shirt and pulled on a pair of ripped jeans.

  “Yes, I would, because I don’t want you going into town by yourself.” I told her as I grabbed a pair of Vans and walked over to the bed to put them on.

  She let out a giggle and shook her head, “I thought so.” She walked over and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

  “I’ll be downstairs when you’re ready. The baby wants chocolate chip pancakes, and frankly, I want some too. Would you like me to make you some?” she asked as she opened the door.

  “Oh, yes please. I just have to grab something and then I will meet you downstairs.” I gave her a smile as I stood up and walked over to the bedside table.

  She gave me a smile in return then walked out and closed the door behind her. I turned to the table and opened the top drawer. I grabbed the ring box and opened it up to make sure the ring was still inside. It was, so I closed the box and pulled my jacket on and stuffed the ring box in my pocket.

  I walked downstairs to the smell of bacon, eggs, pancakes, and toast cooking. I walked into the kitchen with a big smile on my face. How did I get so lucky? She was so amazing and I loved this woman to death. I sat down and waited a little while as I watched her cook. She finally turned around and placed a plate in front of me, with a little bit of everything on it.

  “Eat up or I will. This baby is hungry.” She said, giving me a smile.

  “Are you sure there’s not two in there?” I asked teasing her.

  “That’s why we are going into town. I have a doctor’s appointment to check on the baby.” She said as she popped a piece of bacon in her mouth.

  I sat there like a fucking idiot and she just stared at me and giggled.

  “Wait, I get to see the pup today?” I said getting a bit excited.

  “Yes, silly. Now eat.” She told me as I began to eat.

  When we were done eating, we let everyone know where we were going. We got into my car and headed into town for the appointment. The car ride was short and quiet. As I was about to turn into a parking spot when I noticed Claudia’s expression changed.

  “What’s wrong, Pisoi?” I asked her as I put the car in park.

  “I’m nervous about the appointment, that’s all.” She said looking down.

  “It’s going to be fine, but I think there’s something more?” I wondered her as I grabbed her hands.

  “What if I’m not a good mom or what if we have more than one?” she said to me, keeping her eyes on the ground.

  “You will be a wonderful mom. If we have more than one, I will be overjoyed. It is quite possible with the wolf gene. We tend to carry more than one more often than regular humans.” I squeeze her hand and she gave me a small smile.

  “Okay, let’s go in.” she said as she unbuckled her seat belt.

  We got out of the car and headed into the doctor�
�s office. It was a very small cozy office. Claudia took a seat while I went and checked her in. The doctor’s receptionist was a cute girl and I gave her a smile as I signed Claudia in. Just as I had gotten to my seat next to Claudia, the receptionist called us up to get more information. I got up and made my way to the desk.

  “I need to see the I.D. and insurance card of the patient.” She told me as I got up to the desk.

  I handed her everything and waited patiently for her to hand them back to me. When she did, she gave me a smile and a piece of paper with her number on it.

  “Sorry but I have a fiancée, she’s right over there.” I handed her back the paper and point to Claudia.

  She huffed and said, “Someone will call you shortly.”

  I laughed and walked back to Claudia she was looking at a magazine. We sat there in silence for about five minutes before the nurse called us back into a room.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Carson

  We walked into the room. Claudia sat on the exam table and I sat on the chair next to the little desk that they had in the room.

  “The doctor will be with you shortly they are just prepping the ultrasound for you.” The nurse told us politely.

  We both smiled and nodded as she walked out of the exam room door. I looked at Claudia as she changed into a hospital gown. She had a look of concern mixed with worry on her face.

  “Hey, what’s going on?” I asked her as she got back on the table.

  “I don’t want anything to go wrong, that’s all.” She told me as she fixed her gown.

  “Nothing will. I’ll make sure of it. You mean the whole fucking world to me, Claudia.” I said as I walked over to her and kissed her forehead.

  Suddenly, we heard a knock on the door. I returned to my seat as the doctor walked in. He was an older guy, maybe in his late forties or so. He had his hair cropped short and nicely groomed and there where flecks of gray showing through his dark brown hair. He was well built for his age. He was about six feet or so. He gave us both a warm and welcoming smile. Then I realized why he looked so well built for his age. He was a shifter.

  “Good morning, my name is Dr. Barry. Let’s talk about how you have been doing.” The doctor said as he shook both of our hands.

  “Hello, I’ve been feeling dizzy a lot and my appetite has increased. I’m hungry all the time. Also, I blacked out a few days ago. Today I want to eat everything in sight.” Claudia told Dr. Barry.

  “Yeah, I had to carry her into our room when she blacked out.” I told him.

  “Well an increase in appetite is normal, blacking out not so much. I want to get some blood work done on you after your ultrasound. Let me go check and see if they’re ready for you.” Dr. Barry said as he put the blood work orders into the computer and stood up to leave.

  I looked at Claudi and she had relaxed some, but not a whole lot. I got up and walked over to her. She placed her head on my arm and took a deep breath. We heard another knock and the doctor poked his head in.

  “They’re ready for you now.” He said as he opened the door for us.

  I went to take her things when the doctor stopped me, “You will be coming back to this room when she is done.” He told me as I placed her things back on the counter.

  We walked into a dark room. The only light was from a laptop in left corner of the room. The girl that was doing Claudia’s ultrasound gave us a warm smile as we walked in. She was in her early thirties or so and her dark hair was pulled back into a bun. She was thin and no taller than Claudia.

  “Hi, my name is Rachel and I will be doing your ultrasound. I need you to lay on your back for me, please.” The girl named Rachel said to Claudia.

  Claudia laid down on the bed and took a deep breath. Rachel gave her a big smile.

  “Sorry, the gel is going to be a bit cold.” Rachel told her as she put the ultrasound wand on Claudia’s belly.

  Rachel began to move the wand around Claudia’s belly until we saw an image pop up onto the screen. I was in awe that I was looking at my child. I was surprised when Rachel said, “Congratulations! You’re having twins and you’re about eight weeks along.” Rachel told us, looking at Claudia then at me.

  I couldn’t believe this shit! I was going to be a dad to two pups? It was incredible. I looked at Claudia to gauge her reaction.

  “I’m having twins?” Claudia asked her in a bit of shock.

  “Yes, ma’am. See?” Rachel pointed at each of them.

  Rachel removed the ultrasound stick and began to wipe up the gel that was on Claudia’s stomach. When she had gotten the big spots up, she handed Claudia a few paper towels. She gave us a smile again before she grabbed the ultrasound photo and handed it to me before we left to go back to the exam room.

  We got back to our exam room and Claudia began to change back into her clothes as if in a daze. We took our seats and waited for the doctor to come back in. We didn’t have to wait for long before we heard a knock and the doctor strolled into the room.

  “Your babies are looking beautiful and healthy. Now, before I let you go get your blood work done, where do you plan on having the babies?” he asked us. I looked at Claudia.

  “Well, I wanted to do a home birth but now that I am having more than one, it’ll be here at the hospital just in case something goes wrong.” Claudia told us as we both looked at her.

  Dr. Barry nodded his head and wrote it in her chart, “Okay, excellent. The nurse will set up appointments every two weeks, but if something is wrong give us a call and we will get you in right away.” he told her as he looked up from her chart.

  “Okay, thank you.” She said giving him a smile.

  Dr. Barry left and Claudia jumped down from the table. She took her things and grabbed my hand as we left. We walked out the back of the office and up to the front. As we left, I saw the receptionist give us a dirty look and I couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle. We got outside and walked next door to the lab so Claudia could get her blood work done. As we walked in, we approached the desk, signed in and sat down to wait for the receptionist to call Claudia up.

  A few minutes later the receptionist called for Claudia, “I need the I.D. and insurance card of the patient please.” She said as Claudia approached the desk.

  Claudia handed her everything she asked for and waited a few seconds before getting them back.

  “Please have a seat and someone will call you shortly.” The receptionist said.

  Claudia walked back and sat down next to me. I grabbed her hand and gently squeezed it as I lifted it up to my lips and kissed her hand before giving her a smile.

  “Would you like me to come with you when you get your blood drawn?” I asked her as we sat and waited for her name to be called.

  “No, you can stay here. I’ll be fine.” She told me as she rested her head on my shoulder.

  I kissed her head and said “Okay, I’ll be right here waiting for you.”

  Just then we heard her name being called. She got up and followed the nurse to the back. When she had disappeared into the back, I decided to give Paul and Harper a call to check in on things. I want to make sure nothing was going wrong.

  I grabbed my phone and pressed on Harper’s name and waited a few rings before he picked up, “Hello?”

  “Just calling to see how everything is going. We’re still at the doctors, Claudia is getting blood work done now. We should be home after that.” I told him.

  “Ok, good. Everything is fine here. Everyone is out either training or doing their patrols. Paul has a few people going into town and checking things out.” He told me but I could tell he was hiding something.

  “Ok, that’s great. Is that all? Don’t lie to me.” I told him in a stern voice.

  “Well, Lavender, Mikayla, Lorren, Bleu, and June found something in some ancient book. They’re waiting for Claudia to get back before they’ll tell us what they found. It sounds serious, they’re a bit shaken up by it.” Harper said as he finally submitted to me.

&
nbsp; “We shouldn’t be too much longer. Tell them to have everything ready for when we get home. Hey, Claudia is coming out I have to let you go.” I said as I rushed the last bit out before hanging up.

  “Who were you talking to?” she asked me.

  “It was Harper. I was just checking in. He wanted to know how everything was going. Are we all done?” I asked her.

  “Oh okay. Yes, we’re done, can we stop and get something to eat? I’m starving” she said as she gave me her puppy dog eyes.

  “I am too. Where do you want to go?” I laughed and shook my head.

  “Hmmm,” she thought for a moment “what about Five Guys?” she said excitedly as we walked out the door.

  “That sounds amazing, let’s eat in the car so we don’t have to hear any complaining from everyone else because we didn’t get them anything.” I told her as I unlocked the car and we both got in.

  “Okay, we can do that.” She smiled up at me as I started the car.

  I pulled out of the hospital parking lot and on to the road. I turn on the radio and let Claudia have full control over it. Five Guys was only about five hundred yards from the hospital. As I pulled into the shopping plaza, I saw a spot right in front so I pulled in. I turned the car off and looked at Claudia, who had nothing but hunger in her eyes.

  “Let’s go!” she said as she stepped out of the car.

  I let out a laugh and did the same. We walked up to the door and I opened it for her, but as she was getting ready to enter, two snobby bitches walked out and pushed her out of the way.

  I could see that she was angry, so I said, “Didn’t you see that I was holding the door open for my fiancée? You could have waited.”

  The two girls looked at me and then at Claudia and they laughed and walked off. We walked inside and stood in line.