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.⋆｡⋆🩸˚｡⋆｡˚🌗˚｡⋆. ◟ ✦ "Guess the wolf's finally out of the bag. ❞
LUNA STOOD MOTIONLESS IN THE BACKYARD OF THE BLACK RESERVATION, the familiar scent of pine and earth surrounding her. To her left, a pile of wood; to her right, several pales of water. Behind her, the pack watched with rapt attention, their collective gaze a weight pressing down on her shoulders. She could feel their eyes burning into the back of her head, each of them silently wondering if she would succeed—or fail. How had she let herself agree to this? Yes, she'd promised to confront the mysteries of her powers, but the idea of doing it in front of so many was foolish, even for her.
"Luna?" Embry's voice cut through her spiraling thoughts, his head tilting into her line of sight. "You've been staring off into space for like five minutes. Are you sure you're ready?"
Luna blinked, a nervous chuckle escaping her lips. "Have I?" She could feel the heat rising to her cheeks, the anxiety churning in her stomach. Thank goodness she wasn't facing the pack. The minute she met their eyes, she knew she'd want to bolt, to hide from the shame of her impending failure. "I'm really regretting all my life decisions right now..." she muttered, rubbing her arm as if to soothe herself.
"Relax, Curly, if things go left, that's what the water is there for," Jared spoke up, patting her back.
Jared's voice broke through, attempting to be comforting. "Relax, Curly. If things go sideways, that's what the water's for," he said, patting her back.
Luna shot him a glare, feeling a spark of irritation flare up. On any other day, she might have laughed off his comment, but today, it stung. "I'd argue that the logs aren't the only thing that'll need the water if you keep pissing me off." Jared backed away with his hands up, grinning sheepishly, while Paul chuckled, dragging him further out of her blast radius of the curly firecracker they all loved.
"Jake should be the one getting set on fire for making you do this," Paul added, glancing over at the house. Jake was still knocked out from the late-night patrol, oblivious to the chaos he'd initiated. Luna had insisted they let him sleep, promising to fill him in later—if she didn't run off first.
"Says the guy who was out cold by eight last night," Embry shot back. "But come on, don't you want to see all the cool things Luna can do when she gets them back."
Jared snorted, giving Embry a playful shove. "There isn't enough magic in the world to get a girl to go out with you, man."
"Enough." Sam's authoritative tone silenced them, his gaze locked on Luna. As the leader, he had insisted on being present in case anything went wrong, and Luna was grateful for his steadiness. "Whenever you're ready, Luna."
