Star Crossed

Life

The boys walked the rest of the way to Reki’s house, holding hands and not really looking at each other. Langa had managed to get the date set up. Telling Reki he would pick him up Saturday at 7. Reki had agreed, that’s where they had stopped talking.
As Langa was about to take his shoes off to go into Reki’s home, a wolf howl filled the darkness. Langa froze to listen. He frowned. Replacing the shoe, he had been taking off.
“Somethings wrong. They are calling all Alpha’s in.” He told Reki. “I will let you know what’s going on, when I can.” Reki nodded. On instinct he leaned over and pecked Langa’s cheek with his lips. A fiery blush scalded his face.
“Be careful. Come see me as soon as you’re done. I probably won’t sleep until I know what all the racquet is about.” For now, more howls filled the night air. Langa had cupped his hand over the place Reki’s lips had touched him.
“They are just answering right now.” He stated in a dreamy tone. “Keep your window open.” He called as he ran out into the night. Reki stood on his doorstep listening to the calls. Would he understand them, once he became one? He wondered. As he turned away, he pondered just what a life as a wolf could be like.
Heading into his room, he plugged in his head phones. Everyone else in the house was asleep. His mom got these for him so he could listen to music while he worked. She had hoped it would tire him into sleep. It never did. With the music in his ears, Reki looked around his room.
It wasn’t anything special. In fact, the walls weren’t even finished. Something his dad had been working on when he left. Reki had simply left it. The area not finished housed his work bench. He had hand tools in here. They worked to keep him busy during the night. His power tools were out in the shed. He only used them during the day.
One hand trailed over the lines in the bench. Cuts, gouges, marks from when he was learning how to use everything. One mark was from Koyomi. She had tried, for two hours, to spend time with him on his birthday once. She wasn’t good with his tools. They had fought, worked then ended up falling on his bed laughing when a block of wood she had been working with slipped out of her hand. It had launched itself right at Reki’s head.  He had caught it on reflex. They had stood staring at each other for a full thirty seconds before the hilarity of what happened had sunk in. He smiled at the memory.
With a sudden urge to see his family, Reki tiptoed out of his room. His room was in a hall by itself. Dad had been building him his own addition. This was an attempt to keep Reki from waking everyone when he couldn’t sleep. Now he crossed the living room. Memories flashed through his head.
He was three when Koyomi had been born. The first time he seen her was right here. He touched the TV stand. This had been where her bassinet sat. It was his first clear memory. Walking up to peer into the white swinging bed. The little pink blob with tufts of red hair had looked like an ugly clown to him. She had opened her eyes to look back at him, and punched him in the nose. It had tickled since she was just a newborn. He had laughed at her. She had smiled back. This exchange had cemented their relationship. Koyomi was the more physically aggressive of the two. Reki often fought with his skateboarding skills.
The twins had come home in little car seats. Mom had set them on the table here. He smiled down at the coffee table. He recalled how they sat silently side by side. Both had huge eyes open wide staring at the world. When Reki held out his hand Nanaka had caught ahold of his finger and bit him with her hard little gums. She slobbered over his hand all the while cooing the entire time. It had been cute. Unlike Chihiro, who had pooped on him the first time he held her. It had filled her diaper and over flowed onto his shirt. It smelled horrid. Reki had leaned to change diapers to help take care of these two.
Moving on he walked down the hall where the other bedrooms were. Pictures of him and Koyomi before the twins came lined one side of the hall. The other side had pictures of the twins, or all four of them. There wasn’t a single photo of his father displayed in the house. He knew Koyomi had one in her room, as did he. They both kept them in drawers. The twins had one, hidden behind other photos on their dresser. To them, Reki was their father.
Quietly as he could, he turned the knob to the first door on the left. Reki hardly every came down this hall. He had his own bathroom. The only times he would be down here was if the twins needed him. Now he leaned against the door frame. His fourteen-year-old sister was curled on her side. Her red hair pulled up in a ponytail. She had tucked her hands under her cheek. In sleep, she looked to be at peace. He smiled as he watched her, using only the light from the living room. When she started to wiggle around, he closed the door.
Moving on to the door across the hall and about five feet further down the hall, Reki once more, soundlessly opened it. This time he stepped inside. This wasn’t the first time he came here to just watch them sleep. No longer in cribs, the twins had their own big girl beds. Yet, they tended to sleep in one or the other. Tonight, they were in Chihiro’s bed. Nanaka had her head by the foot of the bed. She was on her tummy, with her butt in the air, half covering her sister’s face. Gently, Reki moved her to the side. Chihiro sighed out a deep breath. He smiled down at her. A cherub face surrounded by red hair. She looked like a chubby angel. He knew their baby fat would disappear soon. In fact, Nanaka was already slimming down. Holding his hand lightly on Chihiro’s chest, he felt her heartbeat. Watching, his hand moved up and down with her breath. Before leaving, he brushed Naraka’s hair from her face.
There was a bathroom beside Koyomi’s room. He never went in there. That was for the girls. He bypassed the closed door. One hand reached out to rest in the smooth wooden surface of the last door. The one at the end of the hall. How long had it been since he used to come inside to curl up with his parents? He wondered. When he was little, he did it a lot. Always wanting to play since he didn’t ever sleep well. He slept better wrapped in his mom’s arms, but still would wake during the night. In truth, he couldn’t recall a time he slept a full night.
“I love you mom.” He whispered to the door. Turning, he trudged back to his room. His heart was heavy.
“You made up your mind. That’s good.” A deep dry voice crackled out as he stepped into his room. “Because he is going to need you!” that was the only warning the teen got. The withered naked man launched himself from the window. By the time his jaws closed over Reki’s shoulder, he was a wolf. Reki cried out at the sudden shock of pain to his shoulder. The wolf lifted its head, blood discoloring one tooth. It looked down at him.
In his head, Reki heard the command, sleep. His eyes started to drift closed. In the haze before the world was taken away from him, he saw the wolf bite himself. With blood in its paw, he rested it against the wound on Reki’s shoulder. Unable to deny the prime alpha his last command, Reki’s eyes closed.
Meanwhile, across town in the meeting hall all other alphas had gathered. Langa had been the last to walk in. The room was in chaos. Everyone was shouting over everyone else. Looking around, Langa saw no sign of his grandfather. He walked up to the nurse who had cared for the old man for years now. Langa’s mother sat beside the vacant looking woman. Her eyes rose to look at her son.
“What’s going on? Where is grandfather?” He asked.
“We don’t know. Lila but him to bed, gave him his meds as usual. When she went back to check on him, he wasn’t there.” Langa flinched. This wasn’t good. Often wolves would go away to die alone. Turning he raised his voice.
“Silence!” He screamed. The alphas became mute. Not a sound left their throats even though they were obviously still yelling. Langa’s ability to control them had been growing for some time now. He feared what was happening.
“We need to organize a search party. Let’s find our prime.” He commanded. “Kojiro, take your mate, the Shindo alpha, and…” Langa broke them up into teams of four. Each alpha had their mate and a few of their clan. He set them all up with an area to search.
“Once you have completed your area, return her. Mother and Lila will keep track of everything.”
“Langa, you need to remain here as well. If anything has happened to the prime, we must protect you.” Kojiro stated. Langa looked up at the man who had already sworn his loyalty to him.
“I am grateful for your concern, but I must check on…” his voice faded away.
“That human isn’t a part of our clan!” The Shindo alpha cried. Two others cheered him on. It looked like he had been talking to them, trying to turn those who weren’t so sure of having Langa be their prime, against him. Langa saw a few other heads bow with indecision.
“That is a matter for another day. This night we need to find our prime.” He ordered. The teams agreed and went out to search. Langa sank down to kneel before his mother. He took her hands in his.
“I need to bring Reki here. He isn’t safe. They could go after him instead of searching for grandfather.”
“Kojiro is right. It’s not safe for you out there either. Those who oppose you can team up to harm you.” His mother warned.
“This night may just be a blood bath. I refuse to put Reki’s family in the line of fire. We were created to protect the innocent.” She nodded. Yet, as Langa rose to leave, other shifters came in. These were betas. He spent over two hours dealing with their concerns and worry. All the while growing anxious about Reki.
As he was finishing up with a young couple, something exploded in his chest.  He fell to his knees. A roar emitting from his elongating mouth. Without his will, he transformed into the white wolf. He could feel the power flowing into him. Only one thought remained in his head. Reki. He had to get to Reki!
The power of the prime flowed into his body. It was like a white-hot burning fire that eclipsed everything else. He writhed with the pain of it. Yet, he didn’t let go of the thought of his mate. Reki was in danger. As his howls of pain filled the night air, the other wolves heard. They knew what was happening.
The old prime was no longer of this earth. They had a new one, boy, a mere child was suppose to lead them from now on. Many didn’t like this. This child hadn’t grown up with the clans. He had been raised in a far off country. He didn’t know their ways. The ways they were used to doing things.
Howls joined the night. Some filled with morning of their primes passing. Some with fear of the future. Some in harmony with the new prime, and some with contention. The passing of a prime was always painful to any clan.
When the Shindo alpha and his little band of rebels reached the home of Reki Kyan, they found getting to the purposed mate of their new leader wasn’t going to be as easy as they thought. Standing guard was the largest alpha of all the clans, and he wasn’t alone.
Kaoru stood behind his mate. He and Sokichi Oka, a beta in his clan, were the only ones in human form. In the alpha’s mate’s arms hung the deceased human body of the last prime. Held in his managers arms, was the sleeping form of Reki Kyan.
“He has been chosen.” Kaoru stated. Everyone could see the bubbling gash in the boy’s shoulder. An alpha, no, a prime alpha, had begun the change. “Go back to the meeting hall. You will have your voice heard there. You will not get the child.” Kaoru stated glaring down his long thin nose to the wolves beyond those protecting him. There was one final howl that rang out in the night. One, no wolf could refuse. The prime was calling them all home. They ran with the wind to reach his side.