Under the Starlight

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[ Tanner ]

I lower my head to the ground, closing my eyes softly and carefully sniffing the fallen leaves that were recently crushed. I barely pick up the smell of pine and jade which could only belong to my brother, Cian. I shift my vision sharply to the trees that stood before me and carefully look around for any single and quick movement signaling traces of my older brother. My ear twitches with the sound of a leaf being brushed up against and I quickly turn around and pounce on whatever made the noise. I bare my long canines and let out a low growl at the target of my wolf's prey.

When my eyes come into focus I see that my brothers wolf wasn't under me, but instead, the pure white color of my little sister Rebecca. I remove my heavy paw from her small chest as she rolls over with a whimper and gazes up at me with her gorgeous green emeralds that she inherited from our mother. Without warning there is a new, unknown and large figure latched onto my back, and as I throw it off, the all too familiar hazel color of my brothers fur that perfectly matches mine comes into view.

Cian swipes at me with his paw causing me to growl and throw him to the ground again. He quickly stands back up on all fours, in a stance that shows he is prepared to come at me again when I nod my head in the direction of Rebecca to show him that his actions are being closely watched. He looks over to the bush that she is hiding behind and bows his head in submission to me to end the fight before walking away and licking the top of our little sister's head.

I shook my head and chuckled to myself, Cian is such a sucker for Rebecca, always has been, even more than my father, he does anything he can for her. I nudge the side of Cian's head with my own to signal that I'm heading back and then start walking towards the large estate that the pack owns. It is honestly just gorgeous. I've lived on the estate since I was a little pup and the place still amazes me.

The exterior of the estate is made of dark oak log, decorated with large glass windows and vines that latched onto some of the sides. The land around it contains a large barn where we train the barrier warriors who protect the outer lands of the estate from enemy packs and rogue wolves. A crystal lake that is perfectly lined with beautiful marigolds, roses, lilacs, lavender, and a plentiful amount of dark oak trees is placed perfectly in the middle of the backyard of the pack estate. My mother also put some lights around a while ago to make it more of a relaxing place for the wolves to go, especially at night after a long day of hunting or training. There's many different winding paths leading in different directions in order for wolves to do what we do best, run.

What really amazes everyone though, is the beautifully decorated interior of the large main house. The doors at the front are 13 foot tall, heavy iron doors that are guarded by four of our warriors in case of a threat to the pack. However, once you make it inside, the pack house is the most beautiful and homey place on Earth. The entrance is the size of one normal house, with two wood, carpeted staircases leading up to the second floor that held the bedrooms and bathrooms of the normal ranking pack members. A gold-plated chandelier hangs down from the wooden beams and illuminates the wine red carpet that is perfectly laid across the floor of the large room. If you keep walking forward from the door, you are met with a small step down that leads into the living room.

The living room, also being the size of one normal sized house, contains a large flat-screen television on top of a fireplace on the far side of the space. The entire room is flooded with the same color carpet as the foyer. Along the walls are bookshelves, but not as many as our library. In the perfect center of the room stands a dark oak coffee table with three long couches surrounding it. There are always wolves hanging out in the living room, it is one of the best places to hang out in the house. Always warm with blankets and pillows messily flopped around everywhere. It's also the closest to our kitchen which everyone loves a lot, especially Cian, Rebecca, and I.

Our kitchen is top of the line with the best appliances and food that could last humans years. Of course because we are wolves, it lasts us about a month. The dining room is magnificent with about 45 chairs seated around a large, dark wood table, draped with a deep red table cloth and lilac arrangements along the middle. Two large crystal chandeliers hang from the ceiling to provide a somber and calming lighting to the room.

I walk into the living room, taking off my jacket and setting down on the edge of the couch when I hear a deep, loud, and all too familiar voice of my father, "Tanner, I know that you aren't trying to set your dirty jacket onto the couch that the cleaning staff shampooed this morning" he says and raises an eyebrow at me with a disappointed look. I sigh and grab my jacket off the couch and hang it on the rack by the front door. My father watches me with close eyes that I can feel stabbing me in the back of the head. "That's much better..." he starts off. "I expect you to start acting like an Alpha, take some pride in the pack house and keep it clean" he finishes and I stare off out the window wishing I was still out there with my siblings, young and carefree.

I hear him sigh and I snap my attention towards him, trying to pay attention. "I'm sorry father, I know that you're nervous about my coronation as incoming Alpha but I promise I'm trying. Sometimes it's just too much and all I want to do is go running." I stare at him blankly and sigh. I start to walk up the stairs when he says something that grabs my attention. "Tanner, put on something nice, Alpha Xavier is coming to visit and he's bringing his son Jayron." I give a slight and small nod but inside my stomach was turning. I had only met the future Alpha once and it was at a dance when we were kids. He used to pick on Cian a lot for being snuggly with other boys and 'acting like a girl'.

My eyes widened, nobody from the other packs knew that Cian was gay. My father made everyone in the pack promise not to say anything. I don't know how long he wanted to keep it a secret, because all would be revealed when he found his mate, the person he is destined to be with. If Jayron came into the pack house and saw Cian with his boyfriend, Patrick..all of the packs would surely know.

Once I got up to my room, I groaned in frustration, and started to pick out my outfit for tonight. It definitely wasn't going to be the best night of my life but if I didn't show up looking my best, my father would have my head. A future Alpha, needs to always look to most presentable when addressing anyone of a high ranking from another pack, it was pack law. I decided on wearing a long ball gown, but dressed down a bit. It was a navy green color with an intricate laced pattern along the top and stomach. The cut was a v-cut that led into the long sleeves. I quickly curled half of my hair and put the other half into a messy bun, letting some strands of the bun hang down.

As I walk out of my room, I could instantly smell the future Alpha in my home, specifically the throne room. I sigh heavily, pick up my skirt, and make my way down the stairs.

This is going to be a long night.