Dark Side of the Moon (23 page)

And hopefully, he won’t say anything to London to piss him off while I’m gone.

I tried to hurry in washing off the woods.  And after I was dried and dressed, when I emerged from the stall, I found Josie standing a few feet away.  “Can I help you,” I asked, eying her warily.

“T-That was your brother standing with you?” she asked.

“Yes.”

She looked away from me, biting her lip.  “What’s he like?”

I gave her a confused look.  “Well, he is obsessed with video games and football and annoying me.”

Josie nodded.  “Is he…seeing anyone?”

“No, why?” Then it dawned on me.  “Is he your mate?”

“I-I think so.  I couldn’t keep my eyes off him, and I feel the need to be near him.”

I had no idea how Dan was going to react to this news.  “Why don’t you go introduce yourself to him?  London and I already told him about mates, so it’s not like this will be new news to him.  Just don’t try to scare him.  He’s been told that his life will be forever different today.”

She nodded again, and went to walk out of the building.

“Wait.  Let me give you his number, too.”  After I rattled it off and she entered in into her phone, she walked out, hopefully going to introduce herself to my brother.

Walking out of the building, I found Josie hesitantly approaching Dan.
  London saw me, and made his way over.  I was focused on my brother and the mate he didn’t know he had.

“What are you staring at?” London asked.

I nodded at Dan and Josie.  “Take a guess.”

He looked at them for a moment before asking, “What do you think is going to happen?”

“No idea.”

We were quiet then as Josie introduced herself to my brother.  She had her head down slightly, was twining her fingers together and rubbing the toe of her shoe into the dirt.  “I-I know that you don’t know me, that we’ve never seen each other before, but…the moment I saw you…I-I needed to be by your side, Dan.”

He gave her a very confused look.  “Uh, okay?  Why are you telling me this?”

“Did…Did they explain to you about mates?”

“Yeah, but they said that I may never meet mine.”

“I-I thought I’d never meet mine, either.  Until today.”  She looked up at him, waiting for his response.

“O-Okay?  Did you meet someone?”

She nodded.  “A-And they’re standing right in front of me.”

Dan was still confused.  This his eyes widened with surprise or shock.  “O-Oh.  Uh….” He rubbed the back of his neck, trying to think about what to say.

“Like I said, I know you don’t know me.  That’s okay.  A lot of mates usually don’t know each other at first.  I just…wanted to let you know.  For when you feel the body aches.”

Dan’s cheeks turned pink as he continued to think.  “A-A lot’s happened to me since last night.  I just need some time to think about all of this.”

Josie nodded.  “I-I understand.”  Without looking at him, she walked off, heading into the woods.

Dan looked around the camp until his eyes landed on us.  They then narrowed, and he made his way over to us.  “What was that about?  Did you put her up to that, Selina?  I saw her coming out of the bathroom before you did.”

“She just wanted to know what you were like, and she told me that you two were mates.  I don’t know how she knows because I didn’t feel the need to always be around London until the body aches set in.  And trust me, they are one of the most awful things you can experience,” I explained.

“Well then how did you know?” he asked, looking to my mate.

“I told her shortly after she confronted me about her new heightened abilities,” London interjected.  “It’s kind of hard to explain.  I just couldn’t stop staring at her, even after she told me to stop.  I was completely fixated and wanted to tell her, but I knew she wouldn’t take it well.  I just knew deep down that Selina was the one I was meant to be with,” he said, giving me a small smile.

He had never told me about how he knew we were mates.  I guess it was different for those who were born wolves than those who were changed because I never felt anything like what he described.

“How can I just take her word for it?” Dan asked.

“You’ll know when you feel the aches and they disappear when you see her,” my mate explained.  “It’s that simple.”

“What if I don’t like her?”

London shrugged.  “Spend some time with her, make that judgment for yourself.”

I interjected at that point.  “So, do you want to go home to stay or get some things for the next couple of days so you can stay here and get to know Josie?”

“I don’t know, Selina.  Like I told her, this is a lot for me to take in.”

“I know, Dan.  I’ve gone through the same thing as you.  But I need to at least take you home so that Mom and Dad know you’re okay.”

“I’ll drive you,” London offered.  It made sense because I didn’t have my car with me.

Dan nodded, but didn’t say anything.

After London told everyone that he’d return shortly, we headed off in the direction of the parking lot.  It didn’t take us long to get there, and we were quiet on the way to my house.  Dan was probably thinking about everything he was told.  He also needed to think of what to say to our parents about why he snuck out of the house last night.

London said that he was going to wait in the car while I went inside with my brother.  As soon as we opened the door, our mom turned from her phone to look at us.  She sighed of relief, but became angered.  “What were you thinking, Daniel?  Sneaking out of the house like that?

“S-Sorry, Mom.  I just…my girlfriend is on the camping trip with Selina and London, and I just wanted to see her,” he somewhat lied, trying to appear guilty.

“Girlfriend?” Mom questioned.

“Yeah, it’s still new.”

“I told him to ask you first, but he obviously didn’t listen,” I explained.  “And since he was there and it was late, I just told him to stay with us in London’s tent with him so he’d stay out of trouble and that I’d bring him here after breakfast.”

“Thank you, Selina.  I have no idea what I’m going to do with you, Dan.  This is so unlike you, sneaking out like that.”

“I know, Mom.  I’m sorry.  I figured it would be okay considering Selina had said that there were several parents there chaperoning.  We’re still in the early stages, and I want to get to know her.”  I couldn’t tell if he was lying or not.  “Can…Can I go back to the campsite for the remainder of the break?”

Mom looked at him in disbelief.  “Are you serious, Dan?  You snuck out of the house in the middle of the night to see your girlfriend.  And you want me to let you go see her again?  I don’t think so.”

“Mom, please.  I’ll accept being grounded for a month as soon as break is over.  Please?” he begged.

She narrowed her eyes in thought and scrutinizing my brother.  “Okay, but I get to decide how long you are grounded.  And you are to do as Selina says.  If she tells me otherwise, then your punishment will be for longer.”

He nodded before heading off to his room.  “Thanks, Mom.”

“You’re going to let me basically have control over his punishment?” I asked my mom as Dan packed a bag.

“I don’t like this, but he may try to sneak out again if I tell him no.  He may still try to see her while he’s grounded.  Do you know anything about this relationship, Selina?”

“I just found out about it when he showed up at the camp last night.  Her name’s Josie.”

“Do you think I’ll get to meet her soon?”

“I don’t know, Mom.  Why don’t you pester Dan about it?  After all, I don’t really know anything about her or their relationship.”  That was pretty much the truth.

Before Mom could ask anything else, Dan emerged from his room with a bag.  “Thanks, Mom.  See you later,” he said, quickly heading for the front door.

Giving my mom a small grin, I followed my brother out to London’s car.  As we pulled out of the driveway, I decided to stir things up a bit.  “Alright, Dan, to keep with what you told Mom, you should get to know Josie better.”

Dan sighed.  “Are the body aches really that bad?” he asked.

“Do you remember that day I didn’t go to school because I was sick?  I could hardly move because of the aches.”

“Really?  How did you get over them?  You were fine by the time we all came home.”

“Channing dropped London off so we could talk.”

“Yeah, sure you did.”

I was about to say something, but London spoke first.  “There’s an important thing you need to know about mates.  You need to have a mating ceremony in front of the whole pack before you go jumping into each other’s beds.  You could try without having the ceremony, but nothing will happen.”

“Let me guess, you haven’t had this ‘ceremony’?” he asked, almost sarcastically.”

“No, not yet.”

“Are there any other rules that I should know about?”

“I don’t think so.  Obey and be loyal to the alphas, don’t talk about the pack to outsiders or tell anyone what you are, be around your mate so you won’t ache, and have a ceremony before you dedicate yourself to each other.  That’s pretty much it.”

“I have to be loyal to you?”

“If you choose to be.  You could go to the next pack over, but he’s obsessed with expanding his land by any means necessary, which includes wiping out rivaling packs.  The choice is yours, Dan, so I would choose wisely,” London explained, pulling back into the parking lot of the camp.

“Or, I could go form my own pack.”

London laughed.  “Yeah, if you had what it takes.  You need to be a leader, not a follower, can’t take direction well from others, and keep a pack.  Not everyone can be an alpha.”

As we climbed out of the car, Dan muttered, “Bet I could be if I tried.”

I rolled my eyes.  “How about you focus on just getting to know Josie for the time being?”

“Fine.  Take me to her,” he sighed.

“Don’t make it sound like a chore.  Your mate is supposed to be your other half.  Just spend some time with her; you’ll see.”

After we returned to the camp, Dan went in search of Josie.  She and Ricky just emerged from the woods, probably talking about what happened to my brother last night and the fact that they were mates.  As soon as they saw each other, Josie made her way over to Dan, still looking nervous.  They said a few hushed words before heading off into the woods.

Well, that was good.  London wrapped his arms around me, and sighed.  “Do you think Dan will join us?”

“Probably.  If he gets to know Josie better, he won’t want to leave her for another pack.  And if he does, she’ll probably leave with him.”  After what happened to him last night, I was glad that Dan had a little ray of sunshine in Josie.  She seemed like a nice girl.

While he had his sun, I had a storm coming my way in the form of Ricky.  Her face was turning red, and if looks could kill, I’d probably be dead.  She stopped about a foot away from me.  “First you take my boyfriend from me, and now you’re taking away my best friend?” she asked through clenched teeth.

“I didn’t take London or Josie from you.  It’s not my fault that she and Dan and London and I are mates,” I countered, trying to remain calm.

“Why in the hell did you have to come here and ruin my life?”

Before I could respond, she stormed off to her tent.  Almost everyone in the camp watched her as she packed up her things.  With everything in hand, she struggled to march away from camp, heading to her car.

Good, I didn’t have to see her until Monday.

Chapter 25

For the rest of our break, we went on as normal.  I’d draw, guys would fish, people would play football, volleyball, or badminton, or they would walk around the woods as humans or wolves or would read.  What was interesting was seeing Dan and Josie trying to get to know each other.

They seemed to like each other, which was a good thing.  And I was sure Dan would probably try to sneak out to go see her while he was grounded.  And I wasn’t sure if I was going to cover for his ass when he was caught.

Then again, he did cover for me after my first full moon.

We didn’t depart from the campsite until well after dinner.  Dan and I were silent during the ride.  London was giving my brother suggestions on how to go about getting some information from Derrick about the rogues.  He obviously didn’t want him to ask Derrick directly, but it was all going to be up to Dan on how he went about it.

For about a week, we tried to have our conversations at lunch while listening to my brother and Derrick at their table.  And so far, we weren’t able to get anything out of him.  He just asked the Monday after we returned from break if he had relayed the message to me, and Dan told him that he was lucky London didn’t break his neck for trying to hit on me.

Though I was worried about Dan being discovered and getting info from Derrick, things continued on as normal.  I tried to take notes for tests so I could graduate, and saved my drawing for art class and after school.  Since Dan was grounded, he couldn’t go out with Josie after school.  And since she was a junior and he a sophomore, they didn’t have any classes together.  They couldn’t eat lunch together, either, because Dan had a mission.  And every morning, he’d complain to me about the faint body aches he felt.  I think they’d be more intense after his first shift.

But Friday morning, as London and I were walking to class, Artemis surprised me by approaching us.  “Hey, London, could I borrow Selina for a few minutes?  Okay, thanks, bye,” she said, grabbing my arm and dragging me away from him.

We both exchanged confused looks between ourselves and at our beta.  What in the hell was she doing?  I tried to ask, but she shushed me, confusing me even more as she dragged me away from my classroom.

A few minutes later, she finally released me.  “What in the hell was that for, Artemis?”

Instead of answering, she asked, “Have you gotten your prom dress, Selina?”

“What?  No.”

She gave me a look as if I just sprouted a second head.  “Why not?”

“I just didn’t think about it.”

“Oh, my God, Selina.  I got mine months ago.  We need to go shopping immediately.  Go tell London—”

“Tell me what, Artemis?”

We turned to find a rather annoyed alpha glaring at the beta.

“That I need to steal Selina for a couple hours after school.  You probably know why.”

He rolled his eyes.  “Come on, Selina.  We’re going to be late.”

As I went to his side and took one of his hands in mine, I told Artemis, “I’ll talk to you later about it.”

London was quiet for a couple steps.  Then he said, “I think I know what that was about.”

I just cocked an eye at him, waiting for him to continue without my audial prompting.

“Do you want to go to prom, Selina?”

“Yeah.  I didn’t know if you wanted to go, so I didn’t bother getting a dress yet.”

“Really?  Don’t girls usually do that months in advance, not weeks?”

“Well, yeah, but I wasn’t expecting to be where I am today when I first moved here.  I honestly wasn’t planning on going until now.”

He gave me a concerned look.  “Do you not want to go?  We didn’t really do much at that Valentine’s dance, so I’d understand.”

“I do want to go.  It’s our last prom.  Might as well make the most of it.”

He nodded.  “I’m guessing Artemis wants to go shopping after school?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll tag along.  I need to get a matching suit anyways,” he said, showing me into the classroom.

Morning classes were boring and uneventful.  Just a bunch of notes and test prep.  I chanced texting Artemis during study hall to let her know London was coming with us to the mall.  She mentioned bringing Channing, which would give my mate something to do other than being bored while I shopped with the beta.

When London and I approached the lunch line after study hall ended, I found Dan standing at the end of it.  Poking him to get his attention, I asked, “Are you taking Josie to the prom?”

“No?” he asked, confused either with me or himself.

“Why not?”

“I have no idea if she wants to go.”

“So why don’t you go ask her and see, you dummy?”

“And if she says yes?”

“Then you’ll have to ask Mom and Dad for money for the tickets.  Oh, and we’re going shopping after school for it.”

He nodded, but didn’t say anything else.

After we had our food, London and I ventured to our table while Dan went to his.  Everyone spoke of normal things while listening to my brother and Derrick.  A few of the girls spoke about the prom, and tried to get me in on the conversation.  They were shocked that London just asked me to go this morning, which earned him a couple glares.

The rest of the day dragged.  After the final bell rang, I met up with London by his car, and was surprised to find Josie waiting there, too.  “Dan asked me to prom and said that you were going shopping after school.  Can we tag along?  I haven’t gotten anything, either.”

“Sure,” London said.  “Channing and Artemis are meeting us at the mall, too.”

Dan approached us then.  “Can we stop by my mom’s office first so she can give me her card?  I need to get a suit, too.”

I guess he talked to her sometime between lunch and now about it.

“Yeah, come on.  Just tell me where it is.”

After stopping by Mom’s office to get her credit card, we went to the mall in Blue Pine.  Channing and Artemis met us by the door, and once inside, we went our separate ways.  Channing, Dan, and London were going to find some tuxes, while Josie, Artemis, and I were probably going to several stores to find dresses and shoes.

Artemis told us that she had a pink dress this year, and described it to us as we browsed the racks.  Josie almost immediately found a purple one, and sent a picture of it to Dan so he could match it.  I on the other hand couldn’t find anything that interested me, much to the other’s displeasure.

I eventually found a pale blue dress and some white shoes to go with it.  London wasn’t too crazy about the color, but said it looked good on me after I sent him a picture of me that Artemis took when I tried it on.  With our purchases in tow, we decided to meet up with the boys, who were finishing up getting measured for their suits.

We were almost to the tuxedo store when I groaned.  Derrick was at the mall, too.  And he was heading straight for us.  I tried to quicken my pace so I could go into the store before he approached me, but he was faster, stopping me right outside the door.

“Hey, Selina.  Dan said that you didn’t want to meet me the other night,” he said, blocking my path.

“Why would I want to leave my boyfriend’s side after his birthday to go meet you for who knows what, Derrick?”

“Still going with him?  I hardly ever see you talk.”

“So?  We’re together every day after school and all day on the weekends.”

“Oh, yeah?  I don’t see him with you now.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a furious London approaching us.  I smirked, knowing that Derrick was about to have his ass handed to him.  He gave me a confused look, and jumped a little when London came into his line of sight.

“How many times does she have to tell you no?” he asked.

Derrick didn’t respond, just staring at my mate.

“I suggest you leave Selina alone before I have to make you leave her alone,” he said, angrily stepping into him.

London and Derrick stared at each other for a moment before he finally backed down.  Before leaving, Derrick looked at me and said, “Have fun with your douche.”

After he left, London slowly let out his breath.  “I want to know why in the hell he’s so obsessed with you, Selina.”

“I’d rather he just leave me alone.  Are you all finished?”

“Dan’s almost done.”

Once my brother was measured and paid for his suit, we left the mall, returning to Moonlight Falls.  We dropped Josie off at her house before doing the same for Dan and our purchases.  Then, since it was Friday, London and I went out, walking around town until we grew hungry.

Prom was about a week after the full moon.  I was more worried about the rogues than dancing in the school’s gym.  Dan was getting nowhere with Derrick, so London told him to give up on it.  And since he didn’t really have any ties with Derrick, Dan came to sit at our table with Josie.  I was glad that he was actually making the effort after what he said during spring break.

The rest of the pack was also anxious about the full moon.  During our rides to and from school, Dan would ask us questions about shifting.  It had been painful for me and everyone else, and he really wasn’t looking forward to that.  London was also going to have him follow us while we patrolled the land so we can keep an eye on him.  The rogue seemed attracted to me, and since it attacked Dan, having both of us there might give us the upper hand against it.  My first shift had just been a normal patrol, and Dan’s first shift was going to be a plan of attack.

Dan had been grounded until the day of the full moon.  He asked our parents if he could stay over at Derrick’s house that night so he could shift with us, and they thankfully agreed, telling him that they would be calling the school to see if he showed up the next morning.  I offered to drop him off there before heading over to Artemis’ where I was “staying” for the night.  At first, they were a little suspicious that we both asked to stay the night somewhere on the same night, but I told them that we had a really big project that we needed to finish before the end of the week.  It was getting easier and easier to lie to them about what I was doing.

Making sure we both had our bags, I drove to London’s.  As soon as we were out of the driveway, I explained to Dan what was going on tonight.  “The shift is going to be pretty painful.  It’ll take you a couple minutes to complete it, and once you’re steady on your feet, we’re going on the hunt for the rogue.  London said we’re going to break up into two groups, so I’m assuming I’ll be with him, and the other group will be headed by Artemis and Channing.  London runs pretty fast, so try to keep with the group.  And then tomorrow night, if you decide to stay with us, you’ll be initiated into the pack.”

“What all does that entail?”

“Just pledging your loyalty to the pack and that you will not betray us in any way.  They never hazed me or gave me a rite of passage test, so I don’t think you have anything to worry about.  Are you thinking about staying with us?”

He took a deep breath.  “I’ve thought about it.  And talked about it with Josie.  It’s so strange, but…I really like her; she’s as much of a video game junkie as I am.  She doesn’t want to leave the pack, so I’ll join you guys.”

I gave him a small smile.  “I didn’t want to accept that London and I were mates, either.  I didn’t see what it would hurt to get to know him, and now I can’t imagine myself without him.”

“What about the mating ceremony?”

“I don’t know what all goes on in that; I told him to wait because I just don’t want to essentially get married while I’m still in high school.  Why, are you thinking about officially mating Josie?”

“No, I mean, not yet.  I was just curious.”

As I pulled into London’s driveway, I heard Dan’s pulse quicken.  “It’s going to be okay.  I promise.  It just hurts for a little while, then you’re back to normal.  You don’t even feel anything after the fifth or sixth time you shift because you get used to it.”

He groaned.  “Why did this have to happen to us, Selina?”

“We’re trying to figure that out, Dan.”

“We’re constantly going to be lying to our family, to everyone not in the pack.  I won’t be able to play football in the fall, or have plans with friends during the full moon.”

“I know it looks bad, Dan, but that’s a sacrifice you’re going to have to make.  Just take it a day at a time, and don’t be afraid to ask any of us for help with anything,” I said parking the car next to London’s.

Everyone was gathered in front of the house.  London, Channing, and Artemis were sitting on the steps to the porch.  As soon as Dan emerged from the car, Josie approached him, a big smile on her face.  I was glad that they were happy together.

I ventured up the stairs to my mate, and took a seat beside him.  We had to wait a little while for everyone to arrive and before the sun set for the night.  Though everyone seemed to be smiling, chatting, and laughing, I knew they were all worried about the rogues.

Twilight came, and everyone became anxious, wanting to change.  London gave the go ahead for those wanting to shift to do so, and about half of the group stripped.  Dan’s expression was priceless when he looked at me.