POV
Lucas

Three days before the Great Gathering and I was a mess of stress and worry. Nancy wasn't making it easier, she swore she was better than me.

She swore I was going to cause the pack embarrassment. I wasn't so sure she was wrong.

The Brickston pack has hosted the Gathering for the last seventy years because it's a massive piece of work, and our pack throws the best Gatherings.

I was in the midst of a throbbing headache, when Nancy walked into the Luna's office, my office.

I'd changed it completely from the way Nancy originally had it.

Filled with yellows and pinks, and fruity smells, shit that I couldn't stand.  As my office it was completely different, walls a dark black, the carpeting cobalt blue.

I kept the shades drawn, and the fireplace that sat to the right of my cherry wood desk gave off a pine needle scent from the incense I kept burning.

I added a few love seats for a guest, and I used the decorating budget, to buy a really expensive leather backed vibrating chair.

"Ugh...  You've ruined the entire flow of my office." She said, walking in and seating in the black leather chair, that sat in front of my desk.

"First off, it's my office. Secondly, what do you want?" I asked. "Yeah I know it's your office, I don't need a reminder of the way you wrecked my happy home." She said, throwing a folder on my desk.

"I didn't wreck shit." I hissed, slamming my fist on my desk, making her jump.

She sat back allowing me to relax, then we stared at each other, she had no right to hate me.

"You're right... You didn't ruin things with Stone, they were always wrong, but I'm not sorry. I didn't think you deserved him then and I don't think you deserve him now." She said, sitting up straighter.

"I don't fuckin want him, so how about you chill the fuck out. No, since you wanna be such a cunt let's talk about it." I said, standing up and glaring at her.

"He was my mate, you knew that that morning when your backwater trash ass let him fuck you in the dirt. You knew he was mine, and still, you let him mark you. You were a disgusting slut when we were kids, and you're a desperate slut now. Get out of my office." I said, fuming.

"I'll leave, but if you aren't careful, someone else is gonna get him. He's your mate and you're making him beg... You're ungrateful... Believe me, not having a mate is hell." She said, getting up and heading for the door.

"He rejected me!" I shouted. "No, a hormonal, arrogant, prideful teenager rejected you. One who wasn't sure if the pack would still love him if they knew."  She responded, spinning around so fast I thought she'd fall, especially in those tacky pink heels.

"Oh please, there are other Alpha's who have male Luna's," I said. "Not in this pack, never in this pack and you know that. Everyone is cool with it, sure. But back then as a kid, he didn't think they'd be." She said.

"H-he told you this?" I asked.

"Yes, you were always around even when you weren't. He suffered for his mistake for six years, now he's pining like a fuckin idiot over you. Forgive the guy or say the fuckin words and end the bullshit for both of you." She said, walking out and slamming the door.

I sat down with a huff, was she serious? Was I wrong? Fuck no, Stone made his choice now he could live with it. I wasn't the bad guy in this situation he was.

I didn't care what anyone said, especially not that cunt, we weren't mates. We wouldn't ever be mates, he wasn't going to break my resolve.

I could never trust him, besides he's too arrogant, too controlling. Sure he was masking it for my benefit, but if I accepted him, he'd change, grow comfortable.

#   #   #

Around midnight I was just getting to sleep when a howl awoke me. It wasn't an adult, and it was mixed with a scream.

I thought a child was being hurt, hell little Stone wasn't speaking to me and staying with his father in the pack house, so it could have been him.

I tiredly got out of bed and made my way out of the house, out front of my parents' house I strained my hearing.

Immediately the sounds of the southern night hit me, bugs and critter noises filled my ears, then a whimpering growl to the far east.

It was boarder patrols job to handle this type of stuff, but I didn't think about that. I just took off, heading in the direction of the sounds.

Twenty minutes into the direction of the noise and it only got louder, it was a child growling and crying, they were in pain.

The pale crescent moon flashed through the tops of the tall trees.

As the cries became erratic I picked up my speed, running faster until trees zipped by as they would if I were driving my car.

There was a child, he was with two adults, I watched from behind a tree, trying to see what was happening.

The child was on the ground, twisting and turning in agony, the adults just watched as the kid squirmed; not until the taller adult moved slightly could I see that the child was Soren.

I walked forward, alerting Arthur and Cheyenne to my presence. "Oh goddess, how is he making out?" I asked as they turned to me then back to their son.

"He's been in there for an hour, his body can't take much more," Cheyenne said, clutching to her mate.

"In there" meant the woods, not a real woods, but a mental one. The place our wolves reside before they are physically manifest.

"He can make it... Trust me," I said, knowing how hard shifting for the first time is. "May I?" I asked, walking forward.

"Pl-please," Cheyenne said, and I walked over to Soren and knelt down. He was whimpering, covered in sweat.

"Soren, look at me," I whispered, his eyes strained to stay focus but they fell on me.

"Don't fight it, let go... Go to the woods, and follow her voice, your wolf she'll call you." I explained it to him then I closed his eyes.
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POV
Soren

The pain was intense, it felt like my body was on fire, like a million bee stings. My body was hot and covered in slick sweat.

My bones were super sore, I was aching all over. But I remember Lucas's voice, he told me not to fight the overwhelming feeling to release.

When his fingertips closed my eyes I went with it, and as soon as I stopped holding on I felt peace. The pain stopped and I fell asleep.

The woods are a magical place, our history tales tell us it's a place where real magic exists, the kind that use to exist on Earth. The woods are in another world, a place called Adornia.

When my body fell asleep, lore says my mental body went there, into the woods of the moon goddess. The goddess we wolves on Earth worship is called another name in Adornia.

I don't know if I was dreaming or if it was real, all I can do is tell you what happened.

I woke up and I looked up at three moons. They lit up my surroundings like the sun.

I stood up and looked around, I remember the trees, they were covered in moss, far more than I'd ever seen on pack land.

It was clear no man had ever lived in those woods, they seemed to go on without end, and the place was silent.

I wasn't afraid, not until I started hearing growls going on around me. I could see big wolves running by, I sniffed the air searching for something familiar.

There was nothing, looking around I started to panic, and just when I couldn't stand it I heard a soft voice.

( Sooooreeeen ... Sooooreeeen Sooooreeeen) The voice was soft and slightly raspy, it was feminine and childish.

I looked around trying to focus on what direction it was coming from.

Trying to focus on the direction was hard, as the howls and growls kept going on around me.

From within the howls and growls came other louder, more dominant voices, scary voices.

( Come child, don't you want to be stronger? ) One really loud voice asked.

It was a deep masculine voice, and it was wrong. Wolf findings are just that, finding your wolf, during that time other wolves who have no host will try and get inside you.

If these other hostless wolves succeed, anything can happen, no one knows. I was sure it wouldn't be good, a pup with a full grown untamed wolf.

(Think child, you could be an Alpha) The stronger voice said when to the right of me came the feminine voice.

( I'm here Soren... Find me... This way... This way...) The gentle voice called, I took off through the dense, overly grown woods.

As I ran a deep snarl came from behind me, I was being chased. (Foolish child... I will not lose another) The mean wolf said.

Running I could hear him following, the pads of his feet sounded huge. I was terrified, but something pulled me on.

I started to feel frantic, as I watched as a huge dark charcoal wolf jumped over me, racing ahead.

I tried to move faster but I couldn't, I heard the feminine wolf growl then a yelp, a whimper and I was there.

The dark wolf was clearly an Alpha, he stood in a clearing, over the small body of an all gray female pup. My pup, my wolf.

"Now you must choose me, that or you will die." He growled, he stalked towards me. I wanted to whimper, to bare my neck, but I thought about Lucas, about how strong he is, even though he's an Omega.

"I don't want you... I want an Omega, I'm an Omega!" I shouted, not showing the beast how scared I was.

"Then so be it. Your body will die and you will remain here a spirit. Then I will consume you." He snarled.

"Leave the child alone Miro, our time to find a host has passed, we are no longer pups." Came a voice from within the foliage.

A pure white wolf came from the left of us, she jumped into the clearing, standing between me and the wolf Miro.

"Move Mya, he is mine... We deserve to be free... The goddess has forgotten us." Miro argued. "The child is an innocent, run child," Mya said, and I turned to run, but something stopped me.

A voice in my head whispered choose Mya. "Will you be m-my wolf?" I asked, stopping and turning back around to face them. "No child, I am mature and unable to bear life, I would do you no good." She said.

"You are strong, I want to be strong. I want you as my wolf." I said, not waiting for her answer, before doing what I was taught, what my elder taught me about wolf taming.

I jumped on to her back, wrapped my arms around her neck and held on. She ran, jumping and shaking. "No child, don't do this, it isn't right." She barked.

But as I held on, I started to hear my mom, calling me, telling me to wake up, telling me to come back. I held on until everything went white.

When it faded, I was in the woods staring up at the stars, my parents were beside me. Lucas stood next to them. We were in the woods, I remembered running there when I felt my wolf coming.

I noticed immediately that my mind no longer felt alone, there were someone else's thoughts with mine, it was hectic but for a moment, then she erected walls and I was alone again.

"Shift pup." My father commanded, and I felt Mya come forth.

"This flesh is your pup, but... His wolf, your pup was killed by my mate. I'm sorry... I tried to stop your child from claiming me, but he wouldn't listen." She spoke through me.
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POV
Lucas

"Shift pup!" Arthur commanded, Soren opened his eyes and they flashed white, then an adult voice spoke. Soft and feminine but raspy and strong.

"This flesh is your pup, but... His wolf, your pup was killed by my mate. I'm sorry... I tried to stop your child from claiming me, but he wouldn't listen." The voice said.

"Who are you?" Cheyenne asked tears in her voice, sadness in Arthur's eyes. Their wolves would never meet their pup. "My name is Mya, I am an Omega, my story is long." The wolf spoke through Soren.

"Shift, allow us to see you," I commanded Soren's white eyes fell on me, searching me. "As you wish," Mya said, then Soren screamed in agony as his shift began.

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