^Gif is of Josh Asher, played by Corey Fogelmanis.
I edited Chapter Twenty so just double-check the end of it to make sure you've read the new version. (09/04/17 AEST)
"Josh!" I shouted as I ran out of class. I grabbed his arm in the hallway, stopping him.
He grinned, "Rica?"
I tugged him out of the English block into the afternoon sun, "Problem."
"What's wrong?" he turned serious within a moment.
"I accidentally invited William over."
"How do you accidentally invite someone over?" he chuckled.
"Not important!" I replied slightly hysterical, "Tonight's the full moon!"
His eyes widened slowly. Then as I thought he'd agree with me he burst out laughing, "Oh my Artemis, this is perfect."
"What?" I glared at him, the air quickly becoming warmer and warmer.
"Calm down," he grinned, "What happens, happens," he explained.
"What?" I repeated, numb with the warmth.
"If something happens tonight, relish in it. Stop pushing everyone away."
I... push people away?
Josh began walking away. I turned and stopped him again, "Wait. Josh... do you have a good feeling about this?"
Josh looked to his shoes and then back up to me, "I had a good feeling about William when I first saw him."
I winced, "I-is he my...?"
Josh shrugged, "Find that out yourself."
And in Josh terms, that meant yes.
***
At exactly 5:04pm, the moon was due to begin rising. So at 5:03pm I was on my knees, facing my window, praying.
"Lady Artemis?"
There was a long pause before the voice invaded my headspace, 'America Lyra James. Pleasant to hear you again.'
She had the voice of a young girl, curious but wise.
"And you, Lady Artemis. I have a question I must ask."
'Of course.'
I took a deep breath, "May you please explain the mate ordeal to me?"
'You were never one to ask about mates, America Lyra James. What brings you to this?'
"My pack is currently inactive... I am the Luna and we have no Alpha. At a time where most packs aren't safe, I need my own active. Why must an Alpha and Luna be together to form a pack?"
'When I saved that man from death thousands of years ago, he went back to his small, snow-ridden town. When he first turned into a wolf, many in his town ran and screamed for help. Only one saw through him and pictured him in his right personality. This was a young woman named Jeramia. Jeramia and the man fell in love as she helped him overcome the change I'd created. Then, I figured that there's only ever one person who will love the other unconditionally. A person without their soulmate is lonely. Therefore, a pack will be lonely if it's Alpha and Luna are lonely. They must be together.'
"And there's no way around this?"
'No, seeing as you have already met your mate. It is my understanding that it is the full moon tonight, yes?'
"Yes, Lady Artemis."
'I have always wished the best for you, America Lyra James. Don't let yourself be lonely.'
"Thank you, Lady Artemis," I replied, despite it not being the answer I'd wanted.
'The full moon is now rising. America Lyra James, your mate might belong to an unregistered pack and might have broken the werewolf laws but he hasn't been through this. He doesn't know the truth. Show him the truth.'
"Of course."
My room dropped a few degrees with the disappearance of the holy sister.
I looked outside my bedroom window as the first sign of change came over me; I was longing for William Gallagher to get here.
***
5:56pm.
I was sitting in the living room with Kota. Kota was rambling about some girl, "She's just... ugh..."
"What do you mean ugh?" I yawned.
"Well, she's beyond beautiful. Funny, sassy and a little on the wild side," he admitted, "but she's so... idiotic. Just so... ugh."
"Right," I nodded, "How's she idiotic?"
"She forgot who our prime-minister was today," Kota rolled his eyes.
"How can you just forget our prime-minister?" I raised an eyebrow.
Kota shrugged, "That's what so ugh. She's amazing in every other way but her brains are something to be impr-"
A wave of nausea hit me. I groaned and gripped my stomach. I could feel the young goddess lurking somewhere in my head, "Lady Artemis..."
Kota straightened up, "Excuse me?"
"Wh-what did I do?" I asked as I tried to keep down my spinning stomach.
'It's all part of my plan.'
She vanished but the nausea just came stronger. I moaned weakly, gripping my stomach.
Kota grimaced, "Lady problems?"
I shook my head, "Lady Artemis has a plan, apparently."
Kota stood up, "I'll go get you some panadol..."
"Nurofen," I corrected, as a dizzying wave of something hit my head.
I shifted so I was lying down on the couch, nausea overwhelming me.
"You okay?" Tommy asked, entering the room, "Time of the month?"
I shook my head weakly.
Kota came back in with two tablets and a glass of water. I gradually downed them.
Tommy crossed his arms, "Is this to do with the full moon?"
Kota murmured, "Something to do with Lady Artemis."
"Lady Artemis?" Tommy repeated.
"I don't know, exactly," Kota shrugged.
The doorbell rang.
Ugh, in my nausea I'd forgotten about William.
Tommy said, "I'll go get that."
Kota patted my head, "What can I do?"
I shook my head as if to say 'nothing'.
I heard the front door unlock and Tommy ask impolitely, "Who are you?"
"Who are you?" William replied curtly.
Tommy responded, "One of the tenants of this house. As I said, who are you?"
"Doesn't matter. Does, uh, America live here?"
"Maybe, maybe not."
"I'll take that as a yes?"
"She's not feeling well. Come back tomorrow."
Stupid, stupid Tommy.
"Kota," I whispered, "Go let him in."
William went on, "America told me to come see her."
"I didn't know about that," Tommy replied curtly, "Plus, stranger danger."
Kota cut in, "America said to let him in."
Tommy let out an aggravated sigh.
William thanked Kota. I heard footsteps walk into the living room. My eyes fluttered open.
Kota had a raised eyebrow at me as he leaned against the wall. William was examining the arm gripping my stomach.
"You okay, there?" William asked.
"No," I scowled, "My stomach hurts."
William frowned, "Should I come back another time?"
"Sit," I ordered, "I can talk."
Kota cut in as William sat in an armchair, "This is the new kid... America, what's going on?"
I straightened up on the couch, experiencing a wave of dizziness.
"He wants answers," I informed Kota, "And I want answers as well."
"Wait, what?" William asked.
"I need to know a few things," I shrugged.
William glared silently at me.
I cocked an eyebrow, "Are you gonna start?"
William sat forward in the armchair, "First, how did you know I'm a werewolf?"
Kota answered, "You've got one of the strongest smells I've ever smelt from anyone."
"It was Kota's idea," I shrugged.
William nodded slowly, "And that I'm an... Alpha?"
"None of the druids or the werewolf that were bitten could be the Alpha, neither could your sister and you're the right age so it can't be your parents."
William stiffened, "My parents aren't... wolves though. And neither is my sister. Or the girls I bit accidentally."
"Well, your sister and the girls and your mum would all be druids," Kota explained, "They control a certain force of nature rather than being wolves."
William narrowed his gaze on me, "You control temperature?"
I nodded slowly.
"Then what about my dad?" William raised an eyebrow, "Why isn't he a wolf?"
Kota and I exchanged a glance.
"Your dad isn't a werewolf," I murmured, "Who bit you, then?"
William shrugged, "I was out camping with some friends and was bitten by a wolf. I hadn't really thought anything of it."
"But?"
"But then I turned into a wolf," William frowned, "I got angry one afternoon and just... attacked my sister. But she didn't turn into a wolf. We both agreed not to tell our parents."
He was bitten. He bit his sister - turning her to a druid. Their parents don't know...
"And the people bitten in town?" I whispered.
"I ditched school on my first day here... Met Kye Stone in the woods," he muttered, "That blonde-haired freak... he was trying to pressure me into smoking some with him. I got angry once he pushed me out of his way. I don't even remember it. And then the three girls..."
He grimaced.
"Lea Hart is my age. I went to a party Sunday night due to running into some guys in town that day. Lea and I ended up spending most of the night together. You can imagine what happened from that... I bit her. She's been ignoring me since then."
Kota murmured, "Kinky."
I shot a glare at him.
"Sharon Abernathy. A ninth grader. She was the girl responsible for showing me around the school on Tuesday. I can't remember how it happened, but I remember the shock on her face. I haven't seen her at school since then."
Finally, William clapped his hands together, "Katie Massey, an eighth grader. I'm not sure what really happened there. She's friends with my sister. I remember Tuesday, smelling Jasmine. Wedesday, smelling Jasmine and eucalyptus. But I can swear to you that I did not bite Katie Massey. I spent Tuesday with Sharon and the night with my sister. I didn't bite Katie."
William slouched back in his chair, "That's what's happened. And now, I'm dealing with stuff that a twelfth-grader shouldn't be handling."
Kota let out a slow whistle, "Well, you got yourself into a little bit of a pickle there."
I scowled at my brother.
Kota reeled back, "Sorry..."
William shrugged, "So explain. What do I do?"
As he'd been talking, the nausea had been replaced with something else. Concentration.
"You're the Alpha. Under normal circumstances, the first person you bite would be your Beta but she's a girl... So it would be Kye," I grimaced, a short flash of pain reaching my throat with the thought, "It doesn't sound like you have a Luna."
"What do you mean by Beta and Luna?"
I glanced to Kota. We'd come in a full circle.
"A Beta is a second in command," Kota explained, "In our pack, that's Josh Asher. The Luna is the Alpha's mate. In this case, America. But we don't have an Alpha..."
"How can you not have an Alpha?" William straightened.
"Simple," I replied scathingly, "If I'd been a guy and a wolf, that would be me. But I'm a girl and a druid so for my sixteenth birthday I was rewarded with an inactive pack as a Luna."
"Inactive?"
"A pack is only active with an Alpha and Luna."
"So my pack is also inactive?"
"Dude," Kota scoffed, "Your pack isn't even registered."
'America Lyra?'
I jumped a foot in the air with the sudden voice in my head, "L-lady Artemis."
Kota's eyes widened. Little did he know that it was the third time we'd been in contact today.
'I need you to do something for me.'
"What is it, m'lady?" I asked quietly.
'Merge your packs.'
Then she vanished.
"Merge our packs?" I repeated.
But here's the thing; I'm not looking for some superficial love. I'm looking for the love that will coat my pack as well.
Kota spoke, "What on earth are you talki-"
He was interrupted by a brilliant flare of light. The fireplace beneath the TV began to light up.
"Mum?!" I shouted.
The flames flickered a normal orange before changing to a brilliant snow white. The danced and chopped and changed until they moved to resemble two figures. A guy and a girl - no doubt who they represented. The girl's long, flowing hair and her scowl. The boy's cold, harsh eyes and his slight frown. They circled each other before the boy molded to a wolf at her feet. He sat on his haunches as he angled his head at her. The girl let out a highly unexpected laughing movement and began stroking his ears before the wolf moved to let out a loud howl. Then the flames vanished.
"What the hell?" William whispered.
The temperature surrounding me was worse than subzero.
Mum leant against the living room wall with a mischievous smile, "So... who's this, Rica?"
***
Song: Still Waiting - Sum 41.
Thoughts on this chapter?
I still love Violet, don't you?
And what do y'all think of William and Rica?
xx Sharky.