Children of the Moon:
The Alpha Pack
Written by Alexander Hardwick
Prologue
My name is John Alexander. I'm not like you. I am strong. I am fast. I have sharper senses. I am very different. As the full moon calls, I answer with a howl. I am a Child of the Moon, born under her gaze. I…. am a werewolf.
Chapter One: The Change
"Get up! School!" my step-mother shouted up the stairs. I groaned as I rose from the bed, rubbing my eyes viciously. I stood and walked groggily to the bathroom, exhausted from the previous night's lack of sleep. Stupid dream, I thought to myself. All that damned howling. Stupid, ass mutts across the road. I glared in the direction of the bedroom window.
"Stupid, fucking, upstairs bedroom. Stupid, thin walls. This is the fourth set of foster parents in two years. Where in the hell is MY REAL useless asshole father?" I asked myself angrily. I looked at myself in the big mirror on the wall opposite my bathroom door. My eyes were a light blue, my hair black, and a white ring circling my crown. My skin was a lightly tanned, which made my eyes look very strange. I looked at my body. Not much to it. It was thin, not muscular, just plain. I groaned in disappointment. I wanted my body to look different, I was just too lazy and lacked the incentive to get off my ass and do anything about it. I swore loudly as I felt something brush my leg, not expecting it. I glanced down to see my foster parents' pet cat, Finch, wrapping itself around my legs, a clear sign it was begging for food.
"Fuckin' creep. You know full well I hate cats." I mumbled, picking him up swiftly and launching him through the opened window. "Maybe a fight with dogs will get you to leave me the hell alone." I quickly pulled my clothes off, climbed into the shower, turned on the burning hot water, and rushed around, washing my hair, body, and whatever else I could think of with my brand new bottle of Axe shower gel. It smelled awesome. The shower took a total of about five minutes. I dried off, got dressed, and ran across the room full speed, grabbed my back pack, and rushed downstairs.
"You better be going to school today. I'll know if you skip again." My step-mother shouted through the front as it shut.
I'm goin' to school, Mom. I have no reason not to. Today's more fun. We're dissecting cats in Biology II." I mumbled to myself, smirking as the idea gave me some kind of twisted pleasure.
"Yo, Johnny!" I heard someone shout. I turned around. It was my buddy, Drake.
"What's up, bro? You goin' to school today, too?" I chuckled at our inside joke. He grinned, flashing blood covered teeth.
"What the hell?" I almost shrieked, "Why in the hell are your teeth covered in blood?"
He smiled slightly. "Poor, Johnny Boy. Always the last one to know." With that, he began to shake and ran toward the forest at the edge of town.
"Weirdo." I walked to the car, a midnight blue 1967 Ford Mustang, rag top convertible, sound system that could punch a hole through a steel re-enforced door, jet black upholstery with flames crawling up the sides like vines. I jumped over the side of the car into the driver's seat, ignited the engine, and took off roaring down the road. The street passed by in a blur as I hit 130. I screeched to a halt abruptly as I saw the most beautiful girl in school, Cassie Night, walking toward the school building, which was a good 15 miles away. I knew I couldn't let her walk, so I pulled over and shouted "Get in!" over the roar of my engine and the slam of my system. She smiled, got in the car and shouted, "Thanks for the ride!" I turned it down until it was just background music.
"Do you always walk to school?" I asked suddenly. She seemed taken aback.
"Um, no, actually. My boyfriend usually takes me, but he broke up with me last night for some skank named Christie. Asshole."
I frowned deeply. Christie? As in my little sis, which was my biological sister, Christie? No wonder she didn't come back home last night. Who was this guy?
"Who is your ex?" I asked, trying my best to push aside the erupting fury in my voice, the rage that was pumping lava through my veins. She didn't seem to notice the anger.
"His name is Derek Carne. He's the quarterback of the football team. He stands 6'3", weighs 265, and has the strength of a bulldozer. He's the strongest guy in school. This girl is with him specifically for his looks or money, most likely."
"Have they done anything? Like, slept together, I mean?" I worked to keep my voice level. She still didn't seem to notice.
"Yeah. They have. He fucked her six times last night. He opened up a webcam and showed me. It was in his bed and everything. She gave him head, he ate her out, and they took turns doing some weird shit to each other. The girl was a virgin, I think. She was screaming a lot, but I couldn't tell if it was pleasure or pain."
She finally saw my hands shaking and she grabbed them slowly.
"Johnny? What is it?" She sounded worried. I wouldn't know. I couldn't see her. I was too angry. Too focused. Too ready to kill him.
"That 'skank' you were talking about... She's my little sister."
She suddenly looked terrified. What had been my expression, I wonder.
"Uh… Don't hurt him. Please. After everything he's done, he's still my ex boyfriend... Don't hurt him. People say if you care enough, when someone asks you to do something or not to do something, you can't do it." She sounded suddenly worried, not about me, but about Derek. I groaned and sighed, then submitted.
"I won't touch him. As much as I want to." I agreed. She grabbed my hand, wrapped fingers through mine, then kissed me softly when we got to a stop sign.
"Thank you." She smiled. It was beautiful.
"Anytime. Anything." I breathed slowly, working to calm myself down. It felt like something was about to bust out of me. But this girl, she was keeping the demon sealed up nice and tight. Something about her wouldn't allow me to stay mad. I calmed down the instant I looked into her big light blue eyes. Weird, I thought to myself. No one has that kind of control over my emotions. What's so different about this girl? We pulled up to the school, got in the parking lot, and I rushed over to open her door for her. She smiled and blushed, then stepped out after saying something that sounded like, "Wow. He's a gentleman." I smirked, grabbed my bag, and leaned forward and kissed her.
"I can bring you home and to school for the rest of the year if you'd like." I smiled. It seemed to knock the breath out of her. Weird, this girl seems to like something about me. What is it though? I walked her to the door, held it open for her, and walked down the hallway with her. As I walked into the lobby, everyone stared at me. I even heard a few peoples' skeptical remarks of "She's with him?"
"They're all staring at me." I groaned. I hated being the center of attention.
"Welcome to my life." Cassie whispered. "You should know all of this by now, Johnny. I'm one of the most popular people in this school building. You're about to launch yourself into the most confusing part of Redwing High School, Home of the Falcons." She rolled her eyes.
"Um, Cassie, I know all of this. I just didn't think that popularity was so much different than having almost no friends." I reminded her, having been in this school all this time.
"The biggest problem with popularity, no one likes you for you. They only like you for what you look like and how much money you have. I hate it." She mumbled in what sounded like genuine sadness. It broke my heart to see her hurting, so I hugged her.
"Everything isn't ALL bad. I mean, you've got me as a friend. I like you for who you are, or at least, how I've seen you act. You don't act like them. You're more like me. Just hangin' around and not really worryin' about the unimportant superficial stuff." I assured her.
"Thanks, John. For accepting me. Not many people do. I don't like being popular. Yeah, sure, you have friends, but are they really friends?" She asked in an accusatory tone.
"I am." Just then, the bell rang. "Time to go to class. Another fun day of Wildlife Management!" I said in a goofy voice, faking enthusiasm.
She merely rolled her eyes and smiled slightly. Perhaps at the thought of spending the day with me?
"You gonna eat that other taco?" I asked, pointing at the unwrapped burrito on her plate.
"No….. I'm not. I don't feel well." She looked a little green.
"Are you alright, baby?" I asked in a light, loving voice, concern and care flooding my words.
"I-" WHAM! Something hard collided with the back of my head. I looked up, watery-eyed, and glared around to see Derek right behind me.
"You stealin' my girl, shrimp?" His voice echoed across the cafeteria, making everyone get quiet.
"I'm not stealin' anything, Derek. You left her to walk to school this morning after fucking my little sister last night, you selfish, two-faced prick." I said in a shaky voice. I could feel my temper about to explode.
"Your sister was amazing last night, too." He said, smirking, and then hit me across the face with enough force to crack a tree trunk. I felt my jaw snap, and I hit the edge of the table.
"Derek, leave him alone, you asshole!" and I heard his hand go across her face. I saw my vision go red.
"Get. Cassie. Away. From here. NOW!" I shouted as I exploded. I felt an enormous amount of raw power flow through me and erupt outward.
Leave my sister alone, Derek! My voice was a roar. I looked at myself. I wasn't quite human anymore. I wasn't sure what I was. All I knew was everyone was screaming and pointing at me. What had happened?
"What the hell are you, John?" Derek shouted, then took off running. Whatever I was, it was definitely scary. The cafeteria was cleared, including the lunch ladies, in just a couple minutes. I looked into a window, and saw a reflection. It wasn't me in the window. It was a huge wolf. Massive wolf. Its dark eyes staring back at me. I suddenly felt something touch my arm. I turned to see Cassie touching me, crying.
"John. Johnny. Baby. Calm down. Please." She said in a thick voice.
I whimpered. I had frightened her. I took off running, not looking back. There was no way I could face her. The long scratch going the length of her arm would scar me. I would never be able to go back. I ran for three miles, which took only a couple seconds, and I loped off into the forest, hoping she wouldn't find me. I eventually calmed down enough to change back. After an hour, I heard a familiar sound, my Mustang, coming into the brush. Cassie climbed out, ran toward me, and tackled me into a tree, hugging me and kissing me everywhere she could think of.
"Why did you run away from me?" She demanded after smacking me across the face then falling into my arms and crying harder.
"I hurt you." I said after a couple of seconds. I looked at her arm. It was completely healed.
"I heal fast…" She paused for a second, unsure if she should go on. "I'm no more human than you are….." She mumbled. I looked at her, thinking I had heard her speak.
"I… Never mind. Let's just go before this storm hits." She said.
"Storm?" I asked. I didn't even know the weather had changed. Weird. At any rate, I climbed into the car after waiting for Cassie to get in, which she was oddly graceful about it, and I started the engine, put it in Reverse, backed out, shifted gears, and floored it all the way home, Cassie by my side, just looking out the window, but not actually looking at anything. We drove on in complete silence.