Beneath The Moonlight

Megan had always felt like a misfit in her pack. Despite her efforts to fit in and be like everyone else, there was always a sense of disconnection between her and the other wolves, so it wasn’t unusual that she felt awkward as she stepped into the hallway of Wolfgang University, she clutched her books closer to her chest, eyes down so she didn’t have to make contact with anyone, as there was the usual whispering and sniggering from one or two people whenever she came into a room.

“There goes the freak”, whispered a blond-haired Beta to his friends who laughed in response. She just wanted to hurry into her lecture room, where she felt safe. She had just stretched out her hand to turn the door knob when someone brushed passed her roughly, upsetting her books, and scattering them all over the floor.

“Oops! Watch where you are going”, a female voice said saucily. Megan didn’t have to look to see who the voice belonged to. It was Elvira, the most popular werewolf in school, every male had secretly hoped she was their mate but she was Jake’s. Megan quickly bent to pick up her books and her glasses fell off. She hurriedly picked them and put them back on her nose, as the sound of malicious giggles filled her ears. Elvira had two Omegas who followed her practically everywhere doing her bidding. A foot in pink sneakers kicked her textbook on purpose.

“Don’t be so mean” Elvira said to one of her stooges. “Here let me give you a hand”, she bent to pick some of the books. Megan was shocked, Elvira was never nice to, especially with the history they had.

Elvira stood up and held the books at eye level, Megan was just going to say “Thank You” when she dropped the books on the floor.

More giggles from Elvira and her ‘dolls’.

Someone bent down to pick Megan’s books up gently, arranging them neatly and handing them to Megan who kept her eyes on the floor.

“Thanks, Ryan”, she said very quietly.

“Be careful, in case she bites”, Elvira said to Ryan in her sing-song voice.

Laughter erupted from the other wolves in the hallway.

“That’s enough Elvira!” Ryan retorted. Megan touched his arm lightly.

Elvira eyed him for a bit, then spat out maliciously, angered that anyone would defend the reject.

“Awwww, isn’t this sweet? Two rejects.”

More laughter erupted. Megan wished the floor would open and swallow her. Her face was burning.

“Ignore her,” Ryan said as he held a hand out to Megan which she took gratefully, and helped her up.

“Let’s go girls”, and with a flip of the hair, the three of them walked away.

“She is just mean. I don’t know why you put up with that”. Ryan said as they walked into the lecture room together.

Megan barely heard what the Myths lecturer was teaching. Her mind went back to why Elvira had been horrible to her.

Megan wasn’t as strong or as skilled as the other werewolves were, even though she had trained timelessly with the pack’s elder wolves, hoping that her skills and abilities would improve, but it seemed like she was always one step behind everyone else. The more she struggled, the more she felt like an outsider. The insult came from the known fact that she couldn’t seem to fully shift into her wolf form which contributed a lot to slowing her down, and more of the other thing.

The training wasn’t much different from the lectures. Megan felt even more inadequate during these sessions as it was another time to show her inability to show strength and skill. She was spared the embarrassment when she was told to feel free to go at her pace, she didn’t have to run with the others. She knew deep down that it was just so she didn’t slow the pack down.

The pack ran off into the woods transforming as they went, howling into the dark. Megan longed to go with them.

Ryan sat by her.

“Are you okay?” He sounded concerned.

Megan nodded her head and gave a half smile.

“I’ll be fine”, she replied.

“If you need any help, just howl,” Ryan said. He worried about her. He believed she would be better; it was just a matter of time. He remembered what was said about the flowers that bloom late being the prettiest.

He was drawn to her, but she wasn’t his mate and she hadn’t gotten over her past hurt. He decided to keep it in the friend zone. He didn’t think he was ready to forget and move on either.

He had been rejected by Sheila, his beautiful mate because she thought he was a weak wolf and it hurt like hell sometimes. He had left his hometown to seek new opportunities and get away from the hurt but the news had a way of traveling far.

“Earth to Ryan”, Megan nudged him gently and smiled.

“Sorry, I trailed off”, he apologized.

“What were you thinking of? The look on your face said it wasn’t pleasant.”

“It’s nothing”, he gave a half smile.

“It’s about her right?”, Megan gave a knowing half-smile in return.

Ryan sighed.

“I can relate. I mean you wait your whole life to meet the right person and then they turn around, and boom! You are suddenly the bad talk of the town”, she gave a small forced laugh.

They were quiet and lost in thought for a while when Ryan got up.

“I’ll just take a quick run and be back in no time”, he reassured her.

A group of late-comers walked up laughing at something one of them had said, she recognized one voice and turned to look. Megan’s heart froze as she realized who it was. Jake!

She didn’t particularly like to run into him anywhere and did all she could to avoid that, especially after what he’d done.

“Megan? Is everything okay?” Ryan asked from beside her, concerned about her change of countenance. She hadn’t even noticed that he hadn’t left.

“Oh!”, Ryan followed the direction of her gaze and suddenly understood.

Jake walked up with Bob, Frank, Hector, Elvira, and her crew; Ashley and Mandy.

“What do we have here?” Jake drawled in his deep husky voice.

“It’s the fated pair” giggled Elvira. The others laughed.

“I was just seeing Megan off”, Ryan said casually, ushering Megan away from them, and feeling protective of her.

“Oh don’t leave on our account”, Jake was mocking.

“Why don’t you stay a while longer, let’s play fetch,” Frank said. The whole pack burst into laughter.

“That was a good one”, said Hector.

“Fetch, you’re killing me, man!” Bob howled laughing.

Ryan’s face was a storm. Megan saw this and pulled his arm away from them.

“Don’t pay any attention to them”, she said quietly, badly wanting to get away from them.

Ryan gave in. They had only walked a few meters away with the trail of laughter following them when Bob said, “ Yeah! Run away with your tail between your legs”. Ryan lunged at him, transforming as he went, taking Bob by surprise and flinging him like a ragged doll, sending him crashing into a tree. Megan raced back to stop Ryan while the rest of the pack formed a circle around them, transformed and snarling.

Ryan and Jake stood face to face snarling and growling at each other, spoiling for a fight. Megan tried to transform but didn’t succeed, she stood beside Ryan whimpering until he calmed down and transformed back.

Jake and Ryan had a brief stare-down, broken by Bob who had transformed, was itching for revenge, and lunged at Ryan but Jake put out a hand to stop him dead in his tracks, holding him back.

Jake transformed back and so did the others, breathing heavily. Ryan turned to leave, and Megan patted him calmly on the back following him.

“You should have let me”, whined Bob.

“He is not worth it. Let them go.” Jake looked at them until they walked out of sight.

"Let’s go!" Jake suddenly turned and ran transforming as he went, jumping from tree to tree and howling. The other pack members followed suit.

A few hours later, Megan was in her room, Ryan had seen her at her door, she didn’t feel like hunting, so he had gone to join the others. She browsed through her phone looking for something to distract her, when a message popped in; it was her cousin, Sandra. She had sent her a picture showing off her younger brother and his beautiful mate. She typed ‘Congratulations’, added a few emoticons for effect, and sent it, then switched off her data. The last thing she wanted was a call from Sandra, hearing her excited voice going on and on about her brother’s mate and how their pack had increased and the inevitable question of if she was going to get another mate and when. Megan was the only one she knew in her family who had been rejected by her mate.

Despite these feelings, Megan held on to the glimmer of hope that one day she would find her mate; a soul mate to complete her and make her whole. She held onto the belief that there was someone out there who would accept her for who she was, strengths and weaknesses alike.

Her mind went back to what had transpired earlier that evening with Jake and his crew and why it had bothered her so much.

Most werewolves find their mates in their mid-teens, and Megan had watched her pack mates find their mates and be paired off, forming strong bonds that seemed unbreakable.

Of course, there were potential mates in the pack. There were even a few males who had expressed interest in her, but she somehow couldn’t shake the feeling that they were only into her because she was the only eligible female left in the pack. They didn’t see her as an individual but as a means to an end.

“Owwwwwww”, she heard howling and she longed to be out with her pack, but that wasn’t happening tonight, no siree it wasn’t.

She tried to shut her eyes, but sleep wouldn’t come. She tossed and turned, her mind roaming to and through many things.

She was grateful to Ryan for saving her, and having her back at all times. He was kind and sweet. A guy any lucky female will be grateful to have. He was a gentleman, who made sure she was always alright. She’d heard about his mate’s rejection before he told her about it. She was shocked. She hoped he’d get a mate too.

He had called to check on her; to make sure she was okay.

He was also quiet and assertive, but his reaction tonight had been extremely surprising. Megan had never seen that side of him before.

But she was sure he’d make a worthy protector. She smiled at this thought. She was still restless however and tossed several times underneath her duvet.

The room suddenly felt stuffy, she needed to get out; to get some fresh air, and that was exactly what she did. She wore her slippers, put on a light dressing gown, and stepped out the door as a small gale of wind blew into her face, sending tendrils of her hair flying.

She shut the door behind her, took a few steps out, and closed her eyes, inhaling the cool breeze. This activity was to heighten a werewolf’s hearing and scent-catching. She listened to all the night sounds while soaking them in; a chirp of a cricket, the croak of a frog, a night owl hooted afar off. She couldn’t hear the werewolves anymore and she strained for that sound, eyes still closed. She tried to see with her mind’s eye when shockingly Ryan’s face popped up in her head. She raised a brow.

“What was that?” She asked no one in particular.

“I think this air might be a bit much for me”, she said to herself, fastening her dressing gown, and trying to stifle a smirk. She blushed slightly, turned around, and went back into the house.

Megan had longed for a mate for as long as the time that it is usual for young werewolves to find their mates. Her pack mates and family who were not already mated were finding theirs by the day.

“Take your mind off it and you will find your mate”, her cousin Sandra had told her when the topic had come up between them during Sandra’s visit last fall, and Megan had expressed her concern on the matter.

“I promise you will know when it happens. It’s like magic” Sandra had said basking in the reverie of when she had found her own Jack.

And like magic, it was, the day Megan found her mate.

Megan had thrown herself into trying to improve her abilities and skills; her training and hunting. Even then she always felt like something was missing; a sense of connection; a bond that would make her feel like she belonged.

It was during one of her training one evening that Megan experienced something that would change her life and her perspective on things forever. She had been trying to catch up with the rest of the pack and felt pretty low at not being able to keep up, her mind a jumbled mess of longing and frustration when she sensed something, unlike anything she had ever sensed before.

She disregarded it as her imagination playing tricks on her, but it lingered, and she stopped to try to focus harder, it was then she realized there was a scent in the air, one unlike anything she had ever encountered before; something primal and musky with an underlying hint that made her heart pound in her ears.

It couldn’t be, could it? She argued with herself as she transformed which wasn’t quite successful, and followed the scent deep into the woods. She wasn’t sure what she was looking for, but she dared not turn back and risk losing that scent. The scent got stronger and she stopped, searching for whatever it was. She was about to give up hope when she saw him.

He was a wolf-like her, but different in every way; for one his fur was a sleek shimmering silver, and he had piercing slate-grey eyes that seemed to glow like pennies in the moonlight. He was larger and stronger than any wolf she had ever seen, with an air of power and confidence that was impossible to overlook.

Megan felt a surge of excitement and fear wash over her as she realized she was looking at her mate!

The one she had been searching for all her life. She had never seen him before, let alone spoken to him. Where had he come from?

“Hi,” she said almost inaudibly, not trusting herself to say more. Then he did something unexpected; he turned and walked away.

Megan was not sure how to react and she just stood there for a minute, before hurrying off after him, more out of curiosity than anything else.

She busted out through a clearing, a small group of wolves was there including her mate, and it was clear his position in the pack.

She stood at a distance waiting for an invitation of sorts, but before she could make her move, another female, more elegant and eloquent than she was stepped into the scene and moved to his side. Megan watched in horror as she surrendered her neck and her mate bent his head and sank his teeth in while the other wolves howled in support.

To say that she was devastated was an understatement.

Jake was everything Megan had ever dreamed of in a mate; he was handsome, charismatic, and powerful; his mere presence commanded respect. He wasn’t just an Alpha, he was ‘the’ Alpha.

But fate can be cruel. His rejection in the presence of the entire pack was excruciating; unlike any hurt she had ever felt before. She felt like her heart had been ripped out of her chest. Her wolf howled in agony, echoing through the night.

Elvira had looked in her direction as if to say “I am his now”. Megan had slunk away into the night running endlessly and tirelessly until she didn’t know where she was any longer.

She remembered the way Jake had wrapped his arm protectively around Elvira when they were in school, and how the pain had intensified. Megan had felt like a fool forever thinking that she could ever be with a wolf-like Jake as a mate.

“Awww, I know it hurts sweetie but you just hang in there. There’s always someone out there for every one of us”, Sandra was always supportive and always saw the positive angle to problems.

Megan had refused to come out of her room for days. She wept heavily into her pillow, her heart was heavy with so much sorrow. She couldn’t bear to face the other pack members, not after what had transpired between her and Jake. Her wolf was silent and refused to come out for a long while. Megan had given up on finding a mate.

Days turned into weeks and Megan had a difficult time moving on. She tried to avoid Jake and Elvira as it hurt more to see them together. If nothing good came out of this, that she became stronger was something that wasn’t bad, as she threw herself into training, pushing her body further hoping that the physical pain would dull the hurt she felt.

She had felt like she was living in a nightmare, and unable to wake up. She hoped Sandra was right and that she would one day find her true mate, one who would never hurt her.

Megan tossed and turned in her bed, trying to wake up from the horrible dream. Her phone ringing did the work and she sat up with a start, her heart pounding. She was having that nightmare again.

The pain of course was a lot less now. That had happened a while ago. She still felt left out, though she was stronger now, and transforming was much easier even though she only did when she was going to hunt.

Megan sat up in bed, thankful that it was a dream and nothing more.

Her phone rang off, and she thought about last night; the fight, her walk, her thoughts, and the dream.

As she sat there, lost in her thoughts, the doorbell rang. Megan sighed, not in the mood to deal with anyone at that moment. She threw her legs over the edge of her bed, walked barefoot to the door, and opened it.

Ryan was standing there with a sympathetic look on his face. She remembered her thoughts about him the previous night and blushed. Ryan didn’t miss it and raised a brow. Megan stepped aside to let him through.

"Hey," he said softly, stepping inside and closing the door behind him. "How are you doing?"

Ryan knew exactly what Megan was going through and had tried to be there for her every step of the way, and for that, she was extremely grateful.

Megan shrugged, not wanting to burden Ryan with her worries. "I'm fine," she lied, trying to put on a brave face.

Ryan didn't buy it, though. He could see the pain in her eyes and knew she had been thinking again especially after their ordeal with Jake the night before. He knew exactly how she felt. He had been through it himself; the recurring tears, the wrenched heart, the mockery and laughter, the endless feeling of inadequacy, it was what drove him from his hometown to come and start afresh, unfortunately, the news had gotten here somehow, but it still wasn’t as bad as back home. No one knew him here, so it was easier to ignore.

"You don't have to pretend with me, Meg," he said gently, using the nickname he had given her years ago. "I know it hurts, but it will get better. I promise."

Megan sighed, feeling deflated. She didn't want to cry in front of Ryan, but she couldn't hold it back any longer. She just felt tired …of everything.

She collapsed onto the couch, burying her face in her hands as sobs wracked her body.

Ryan sat down next to her, pulling her into a comforting embrace. He didn't say anything, he just held her as she cried, letting her know that he was there for her.

After a few minutes, Megan's sobs subsided and she pulled away from Ryan, wiping her eyes. "I'm sorry," she said, feeling embarrassed for breaking down that way.

Ryan shook his head and patted her gently. "Don't be sorry. You have nothing to be sorry for. I'm just glad I could be here for you."

Megan gave him a small smile, feeling grateful for his friendship. "Thank you, Ryan. I don't know what I'd do without you."

Ryan returned the smile. "Anytime, Meg. You know that."

There was a somewhat awkward but comfortable silence for a few moments before Ryan spoke up again. "You know, there's something I've been meaning to discuss with you."

Megan raised an eyebrow, curious. "What is it?"

Ryan took a deep breath, his heart racing. “Well, I’ve just been thinking…”

When he didn’t say anything, Megan looked up at him “I am listening”

“Well, seeing that there is nothing for us here…” he trailed off, his voice a bit shaky about the suggestion he was about to make. He decided to just say it anyway. She was either going to accept or reject it. He had been rejected before, so that wouldn’t be a first. He held both her hands and looked into her eyes.

“Let’s just leave”, he blurted out. Megan's eyes widened in surprise.

“What? You mean leave the house?” she wasn’t sure she understood what he was saying.

“ No, I mean to leave this town. Let’s just go, start a new life, and maybe we’ll find other mates”, Ryan sounded excited now that it was out. He had been thinking about it while he was hunting last night after seeing Megan at her house.

"I-I don't know," she stammered, feeling a blush creep up her cheeks.

She had never thought of Ryan in any way other than as a friend before now, but now that he had said it, she realized that he probably had more feelings for her than she cared to admit. She didn’t say anything.

Ryan smiled and shifted in his seat nervously. "I didn't want to say anything before because I didn't want to ruin our friendship, but now… I thought maybe we could explore this."

Megan chewed on her bottom lip, considering his words. She had always trusted Ryan and felt safe around him. Maybe this was what she needed. Maybe if she stayed on a bit longer she would get another mate. She was confused.

“I don’t know. Where would we go? Won’t the pack be sent to look for us? “, Megan stood up, her head spinning with so many questions.

It sounded exciting; a fresh start, but what were the consequences? It was a bit too much for her to digest all at once.

Ryan sensed her reluctance and his smile faltered to a half smile. He stood up.

“I didn’t mean to overwhelm you. I’ll just let myself out and if you need to talk…” He made for the door.

Megan’s head was reeling, she didn’t want him to leave. As scary as the idea was, it seemed appealing.

Ryan had his hand on the door handle when she stopped him.

“Wait!” She said quietly but firmly, she had not made her decision but she knew something for sure, there was an attraction between them, one unspoken and that was what she wanted to explore right now.

She went to him and kissed him on the lips, then drew back shocked at herself. Ryan was too shocked about her reaction but it was something he had thought of more than once and he drew her close to him and returned the kiss in full.