By The Sparkle Of The Moonlight (Watty2017)

Chapter 2 - He's nothing but trouble

After I pushed the two wings of the main door of the school open, I jump down the stairs, run over the school yard and disappear into the nearby woods. We don't have many big forests in my area, like other packs around the world, we have to make the best of the retreats we have and for the moment I am grateful for this one. My lungs are pumping as I run faster. I dodge around trees and jump over fallen ones, as if I could escape the thoughts about my little brother and the anger at him. But as soon as I get to a small clearing, the emotional ballast weighs down on me again. The power of the images, with all the negative memories and feelings that Valentino forced through his behaviour into my head, bring me to my knees. I drop my books and press my hands on my temples in the desperate attempt, to press all the thoughts and feelings about the poisonous, coloured nail to my coffin out of my head that is glowing with eccentricity and hammers itself deeper and deeper into my brain. This hope dissolves immediately into thin smoke of despair, while my blood pressure reaches an all time high and my blood its boiling point.

Get out of my head! Now! I don't want to be your crazy male nanny anymore, no matter what Dad says and wants from me! He doesn't have a clue what's really going on here! He thinks that poor, poor Mooki is a small misunderstood puppy who can't do anything bad to anyone and that the others are always to blame for everything that's happening to him, but I know better! The Alpha is also my father! He should think of it every once in a while, and I'm not the one that is adopted! If he would try to understand how I feel, then he would know what I have to go through because of his puppy, and he would also run away and completely freak out like 'm doing now! But he also couldn't get away from him! I know what I'm talking about! I try and fail all the time! I can't even get him out of my head when he's not around me! But the little rat will get it soon enough! I'll beat the crap out of him until he's acting and looking normal, and that's a promise! Dad is not always there to protect him!

Immediately my heart begins to sting, sending a wave of sympathy with my little brother through my body, which wants to extinguish the burning rage towards him and doesn't achieve it — like a small bucket of water, which is despairingly poured on a camp fire to prevent it from getting completely out of control and destroying everything in its path. At least the rage is cooled down now a little. That makes it easier for me. I sigh and let my hands sink.

I've never hit Mooki before, and I will never do it. There are already enough guys who beat him up, even though I don't know who they are. I've seen the bruises on him. He can't deny that. Why doesn't he tell me who it is? But I will find out and then ...

I make a fist and hit my free hand with it to release some pressure when the anger flares up again.

As soon as I find it out, who those bullies are, they're in trouble! Nobody does that to my little brother and gets away with it! No one!

I strike against my hand again, but it doesn't bring the desired relief. So I jump up and give the nearest tree the beating of its lifetime. I attack it with kicks and blows until it breaks under loud cracking and bursting noises.

Now I feel better!

I take a few deep breaths and watch the magic that dwells in me heals the bleeding wounds of my hands. Then I look at the splintered tree stump.

Too bad that tree wasn't one of the guys that bully Mooki. That would've given me a terrific high. Of course, it would be even better if he could defend himself against those guys, but he will never be able to do that.

I sigh, turn around, sit down, pull my knees to my chest and lean my back against the remains of the tree that was growing in the wrong place. I prop my elbows on my knees and lay my forehead on my palms.

Why is he so weak? I don't understand it. He's a werewolf, like we all are. He should be much stronger than he is — even as Omega. They're not the strongest of our kind, but they're much stronger than Mooki is. Even the girls of our pack could easily defeat him in fight.

"Oh, boy, you must be kidding me", I growl, close my eyes, breathe deeply and pound like a caged animal, who wants to escape his prison and can't. My keeper is my father and my torturer is a crazy poodle who believes that he's actually a wolf inside.

This must be a cruel joke! Why does he look like a sick werewolf puppy who can't decide whether he wants to be a boy or a girl, and is constantly bathing in colour pots to show off? If he would behave normally, it wouldn't be so bad that he's small and slender and it wouldn't matter that he's gay. Joe is gay and no one bullies him.

"Can you tell me why you leave the link open while you think about the Neon-Poodle?", asks my best friend and future beta, whose amused statement scares the moonlight out of me. Horrified, I jumped to my feet.

What? No ... I ... Shit!

I stare at Joseph like he's the Antichrist who had just announced the end of the world. The ethnic werewolf with the dark brown, short Afro and the warm chocolate eyes leans casually against a tree not far from me. He was born in an African pack and was adopted by a family from our pack as a baby, but he is one of us through and through. He's obviously amused about my behaviour and the way I look. It feels as if my eyeballs were trying to push themselves out of their caves to escape the emotional chaos caused by wild panic inside of me. My racing heart is beating so hard against my rib cage like it wants to break through and leave the sinking ship while the captain is dying for fright. I've just made myself the mocking of all the pack members and certainly lost my future position as Alpha.

You ... No ... What am I supposed to do now?

"Watch out, Dude! If your face stays this way ...", warns Joseph, grinning, "girls won't run after you anymore." He slaps his thigh and splits his sides with laughter. Normally, I would have beaten the crap out of him by now, best friend or not, but I'm too shocked to react to this impertinence. After he regained his composure, he breathed deeply and released me from my agony: "Relax. I've broken the link to the others after your first thought about the Neon-Poodle. So you're fine."

The relief that is flooding through me defeats the justified anger at Joseph only briefly. I rub my face, swirl around and kick with full force against the trunk of the tree. Then I face my future Beta, glaring at him and growling: "Are you out of your mind?"

"Don't work yourself up, Dude", he says calm. "You had to get it out of your system because the Neon-Poodle really annoys you lately."

"Stop calling him that", I demand with a warning gaze. At the same time I end the link with him. Not even my best friend should hear what I think at the moment.

But that doesn't impress him at all. "Why shouldn't I call him that? Do you still feel sorry for him after all he did to you? He's always provoking you and getting you worked up - and you're going crazy. How long do you want to keep going like that?" Everybody knows that he doesn't like Valentino, and I know, of course, that he is right, with what he said, but I just can't stop being the big, protective brother. I don't even know myself why I can't. It doesn't make any sense that's for sure.

What is wrong with me? Why ...

"Let's leave the subject", I growled frustrated ending my thought.

Joseph shrugs his shoulders and says: "Alright. Do you have an idea what's wrong with the Neon-P ... ", this time my warning gaze does what it should, "... with Valentino this time?"

"I have no idea, but I will find it out ...", I turn away and start running, "... now!"

It's my right as the future Alpha to know what's wrong with him!

Joseph calls after me: "Where are you going?"

"Home", I answer loudly and determined.

RH