Chase the Moon (On Hold)

Twelve

"The old White Water pack?" Alpha Anderson asked with his hand rubbing his chin. "You're sure that's where they've been hiding?"

"Yes, Sir," I nodded, "though they'll have probably moved out by the time you got anyone over there. And I doubt they'll be bothering this pack anytime soon. I gave them a pretty serious threat."

"And this threat had weight to it?"

"Yes, Sir. I took down their Alpha. I would've killed him, too, had I been able to get out of taking his place. Made him weak enough that a small pup could've take him out, though. Figured I'd let someone else deal with him. I told the rest of them that if they came after me or my pack again, I'd hunt them down and rip out their intestines, or something along those lines."

"Well that's some good news at least. Hopefully they follow your orders and leave us the hell alone. You've done well, Mark. Thank you for the report."

"No problem," I said as I ran my hands through my hair. I wasn't quite sure how to phrase my next statement, so I just went for it. "Um, there was actually one more thing I wanted to talk to you about."

"And what would that be?" Alpha Anderson asked as he peered at me over the rim of his reading glasses.

"I want to leave."

He wasn't expecting those words to leave my mouth. His eyebrows furrowed in confusion as he leaned back in his desk chair. "You want to leave?"

"Not permanently, per se," I tried to explain. It wasn't coming out right. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair again. "You are familiar with the circumstances in which I first came to this pack, yes?"

"I am."

"Then you know of the monster that lives inside me. He's been getting worse lately. I nearly killed a hunter this last waning gibbous because I could barely control him, and while Donovan had us, I nearly killed Jesse. I'm afraid I'm going to hurt somebody if I don't find a way to get Malachi to listen to me. I- I've been thinking about it a lot recently, and I've decided that I want to take some time away from the pack to look for my mate."

I looked up to see Alpha Anderson giving me a small smile, "You want my permission to go out looking for your mate?"

"Yes, Sir," I confirmed.

"Granted."

A hopeful smile made its way onto my lips, "Really?"

"Yes," he said. "Which way were you thinking about heading? I could call a few different packs to tell them you're passing through."

"That'd be awesome. As far as which way, I guess I've always felt a subtle pull to the east. I'll start there."

Alpha Anderson nodded, "When will you leave?"

"As soon as possible."

"Will you at least stay until morning? Some of the pack members were going to throw together a bonfire cookout to celebrate your and Jesse's return. We can have it double as your going away party."

I considered it for a few seconds before relenting. "I suppose I can handle one more night."

^^^°^^^

"I can't believe you're leaving," Isabella pouted as she pulled me into a hug. Despite all of our bickering, I considered her to be a close friend.

"And they're already throwing a party to celebrate," I joked as I looked around. The night sky, speckled with the white light of the stars, hung in the air above us and the smell of smoke from the bonfires twisted around us like a heavy perfume.

Everyone was gathered outside tonight to spend some quality time with their friends, families, and neighbors. There was a certain happiness and joy surrounding everyone, and I almost couldn't imagine leaving this place. But I stood by my decision, because if all went to plan, I might have more than just a pack as my family.

"You better come back to us someday, because if you don't, I'm going to hunt you down so I can beat your ass into the ground," she threatened playfully. I could tell she was trying to hold in her emotions.

I chuckled at the serious expression she was trying to pull off. "I'll have to keep that in mind while I'm gallivanting across the globe in search of my mate."

"You better," she said as she pulled me into another hug. I hugged her back tightly. I hated to admit it, but I was really going to miss her.

From over her shoulder, I saw Teddy and Gwen approaching. Teddy was giving his wife a piggyback ride so she wouldn't have to walk, and she seemed quite content as she whispered something in his ear.

I let my arms fall slack as Izzy pulled away from me and turned to face my best friend.

"Marcus, you bastard," he said as he let Gwen's legs touch the ground again. Once she had unwound her arms from his neck, he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around me. He didn't hug me for nearly as long as Isabella had, but grabbed my shoulders and shook me a bit after he'd let me go. "I thought we'd agreed you were going to be the crazy fun uncle to my children. Now I'm going to have to give that honor to Luca."

"You can't give my position away!" I exclaimed, quite offended by the idea. "Besides, Luca is neither crazy nor fun. Your kids would be so disappointed. I'll be back in time. I promise."

"Well, you might want to hurry back then," he said as he wrapped an arm around his mate, "Because my beautiful wife is pregnant with my first born son."

"Theodore," she scolded him.

He rolled his eyes but couldn't get rid of his grin, "Or daughter."

Isabella squealed from beside me, and I couldn't stop the happiness that spread over me as well. I was going to be an uncle!

"Oh my god!" I hugged him again, and even pulled Gwen into a gentle hug as well. "I'm so happy for you guys! This is awesome!"

"We weren't planning on revealing that bit of news just yet," Gwen shot a look at her husband. He just smiled sheepishly at her, "but yes. It is pretty awesome."

"Will you name it after me?" I asked as a joke.

"My child?" Teddy asked incredulously.

"Yeah," I shrugged, "Marcus if it's a boy and Marci if it's a girl."

"No way, dude. I love you, man, but not that much."

"It was worth a shot," I shrugged. A tap on my shoulder pulled my attention away from the group, "Hey, Jesse. What's up?"

"I, uh, never got a chance to properly thank you for saving me from those rogues," he said as he fiddled with a small box in his hands, "so I got you this as a going away present."

He held the box out to me, and I took it with a hint of curiosity. As I pulled on the strings, he spoke some more.

"Thank you, Mark. I owe you my life," I pulled the lid off of the box to reveal a small, flat, and smooth stone. I picked it up and found that the pack symbol was engraved in one side. "It's a stress stone, to help keep you calm in stressful situations. I got the one with the pack symbol on it so it would remind you of home while you're away."

I smiled and pulled the boy into a short hug, "Thank you, Jesse. It means a lot."

He nodded and patted my shoulder before returning to his family and friends.

After that, I caught up a bit with Luca and his wife and endured a forty minute, teary goodbye from Ruth. She had been like a mother to me over the years, and this goodbye was no exception. She didn't want to see me go, but at the same time, she knew why I had to. At the end of it all, she only agreed to let me go if she could send me off with some food for my journey. And a promise that I would come back, of course.

I would definitely miss these guys, but this was all for the better.

Right?