Maybe not the Luna

McCoy (6)

I sat in the car before going to the school. I have reached out to my wolf before; pups do it all the time before they shift, trying to encourage a bond so the first shift isn't a hostile takeover. I just haven't done it since. Most wolves are trying to get free and run through the woods in the furs, and the human side is the controlling side. The compromise every wolf makes is that you shift on every full moon and when emotions get too heavy to handle. Baxter wanted me to share the reigns of my human side with my wolf, and that was unheard of, but he is my alpha, so I will do what he wants. 

I closed my eyes and reached out to my wolf. I saw a flash of wood and running. He was reliving the fights, relishing in the submission shown to him. Finally, like all male wolves, he was sniffing out his female, flashing visions of what he wanted to do to her. I sent him thought back as I lowered that wall of control between us. Curious, he stared at my intruding thoughts. I tried to connect with him, making promises of more runs and releasing control to him. he settled and laid back in my mind, calm and disbelieving. I should have expected that after years of forcing him in a box. But true to my word, I did not lift the wall all the way and allowed him to reach me with his own thoughts more easily as I got out of the car. 

When I stepped out of the car, my wolf inhaled the scent of cinnamon and apples, making his tail slash through the air in excitement, but the scent was old, meaning that the person it belonged to was long gone. My wolf wanted me to follow and find the scent, but I convinced him that it needed to wait since the alpha asked us to help him. My wolf puffed up at the honor of being a personal help to the alpha and relented as long as I came back later and found the source of the scent. 

I entered the school building and was hit with the scents of many creatures. Having my wolf this close to the surface meant that I couldn't turn off my enhanced senses; I just needed to get used to them. I found the guidance office and listened to the sounds of the human girl on the phone with Darrel. 

"All right, I will meet with your lawyer and then call," she said into the phone. Darrel was doing a good job of distracting her. I knocked on the door, startling her. "Oh goodness. I think your lawyer friend is here." 

"Hello, my name is McCoy Fields. I am the lawyer representing the Avery community interests." I held my hand out to her, and she hung up the phone with a quick goodbye before grasping my hand. There was something that my wolf liked about her, so he settled in my mind from her presence. 

"I am Ms. Smith, the guidance counselor here at the high school. My boss told me to talk to you before calling CPS on a student, but this is all highly unethical since you are not her guardian." Ms Smith sits down with a stern face directed at me. 

"I understand this is irregular and not what you are trained to do. I have no intention of stopping you from calling. I just wanted to give you an update on the efforts to help this girl that are already underway. It will allow you to give as much information as possible to the CPS worker" She nodded at this and waiting for me to continue 

"the child in question is Alexis Regginte. she is a tenth grade student here. Based on conversations with principle Mr. Moreno the girl lost her parents two years ago so when she was in eighth grade. She was enrolled in your school district in sixth grade and had four previous schools before that in different areas of the country. She also expressed to Mr. Moreno that she feels at home here and has no desire to leave." 

"that is all true. I appreciate that she wants to stay, but that doesn't mean that we just ignore the fact that she is homeless." Ms. Smith raised her voice slightly. She must have picked up on the fact that we were stalling her and thinks that we don't want her to make the report for some reason. 

"as I stated, I have no intention of stopping you from making the call, just providing you with information" I calmly waited for her reply. She sighed and asked me to continue "Upon hearing this, Mr. Moreno was moved to action. I am not sure if you are aware that Mr. Moreno and his partner are registered foster parents in the state as they are hoping to adopt a child of their own. Mr. Moreno and his partner have agreed to house this girl so that she is not ripped from her life." 

"oh," Ms. Smith gasped at this information. I linked Max to send me a picture of the paperwork when it is signed. My phone dinged immediately, and I showed Ms. Smith the paperwork for fostering the girl. 

"We have sent one of her teachers out to find her and have marked this paperwork so that CPS knows that it is to be rushed. As of right now, it is being sent off to the state. Both Mr. Moreno and his partner, Mr. Moreno, have all their clearances in the system, one for being a principal and the other one being a volunteer football coach at the middle school, so they are safe to be around children. we would like this girl to move in with them immediately so that she does not have to spend another night on the streets or wherever she has been staying." I finished, and Ms. Smith still looked skeptical 

"so you want me to call CPS about a homeless child and then tell them that we handled it?" she asked incredulously.

"The social workers in the system are overworked and underpaid. I'm sure they won't mind that we saved them a little work, and if you are still uncomfortable, I'll have the teacher who is retrieving the girl come and pick you up so that they can see this is real and we only have the child's best interest at heart" I held the phone out to Ms. Smith inviting her to make the call. 

"have her get me on the way. I want to ensure Alexis is okay with how fast things are moving." Then she dialed the number, agreeing to our terms.