Howl at the Moon

Chapter 4

Luna

   It was a cold morning, it mirrored my heart. Dad is no better; in fact I would say that he is worse. The only reason that I am actually moving on with my life is revenge. I have to make those disgusting animals pay for what they have done to father, and trust me they will. Today is the Grand Council meeting, today is the day my plan starts. Dawn burst into my room.

   "Are you sure this is a good idea? I mean like our parents have said, nothing ever good comes from being near the werewolves." Dawn spoke so fast I thought she would pass out from the lack of air. I grasped my necklace.

   "Dawn I have to do this, even if it is a bad idea. My father is in a hospital bed, the last thing I want is another tribe member in there."

   "Which is exactly why you shouldn't do this! Luna, you are the future of this tribe! You are an only child; no one else can take your place!"

   "And no one will take my place! It is mine by birth right!" I said that a little too intensely, I took a deep breath, calmed down and continued. "Dawn, don't worry. I will be fine, besides if they even so much as lift a finger in my direction, I'll just pop the cap of this here wolfsbane bottle." I pointed to my necklace. She didn't look reassured.

   "If you are going undercover, so am I."

   "Dawn, no you can't jus-" She cut me off.

   "No Luna, I am your second in command. Where you go, I go. When you're in danger, so am I." Wow, what did I do to deserve her?

   "Okay."

   "Wait, seriously?!"

   "Yes, if you want to help protect this tribe who am I to stop you?" A large smile grew on her face, it was so bright, like the dawn.

   "Girls, we have to leave for the Grand Council meeting in an hour!" My mother called from downstairs. Today would be our first Grand Council meeting, though I know that it will not be for the eldest son of the Alpha. Although, all I know about him is that he's two years older than me. This is going to be harder than I thought.

   Dawn and I have been waiting for this day for years. When we were children we would beg our parents to take us, but every time it was the same thing.

   "When you are old enough," they said. So, we waited, and here we are fourteen and finally old enough. This would also be Acel's first Grand Council meeting. Though, he is two years older than us he has been living in Quebec for the past two years. There his family has no status, and so he took no part in official meetings. Now that he is back he is picking up where he left off.

   Dawn and I have had our outfits picked for this meeting for years, though we aren't really that girly we like to look good. We got ready at my house. She had on an elegant, yet professional romper with cuts to show her shoulders, and black strappy sandals. Her hair was pulled in a bun showing off her beautiful green eyes. I had on a pencil skirt to my distaste; my mother had chosen it. It was black so I gave in. My shirt was periwinkle, bringing out the colour of my hair and eyes. It was tight, but then flared out at my waist, being a little longer in the back than the front. My shoes were a simple black flat, and my hair was up in its usual high ponytail. We both applied some makeup, daring to draw fierce wings on our eyes. Honestly, I was impressed with how good we looked, but I didn't have time to admire our appearances. We needed to leave the house in five minutes. I quickly fastened on my necklace, and we walked into my kitchen.

   Acel was already there, leaning against a grey wall. He was wearing a white button up shirt with black dress pants. He stood up straight and smiled when he saw us. All of our parents were already there too, all except dad. I looked down at the floor, trying not to die.

   "Your father would have loved to be here," Mother said to me. "But he can't. Don't forget what this is all about. Don't forget what we are fighting for." At this point she is talking to all of us. We all nod our heads solemnly. Slowly we all filled out of the house and into our cars. In fifteen short minutes we were in neutral area.

   Neutral area belongs to no one in particular; it is shared between us hunters and the lycanthropes. Neutral area consists of our school, a mall, a café, the meeting area, and a few others buildings. I have only been in this area a handful of times, there's never been a need for me to be here until now. My mother, who has been driving Acel, Dawn, and I turned around.

   "Ok, as you all know there will be werewolves here. You have all been taking wolfsbane, correct?" We nodded. Everyday each member of our tribe drinks a few millilitres of wolfsbane; this way even if a werewolf somehow managed to harm us we would be protected. "There will also be vampires," I heard Dawn gulp, and Acel looked uneasy. I'm not so comfortable with vampires either. Can you say creepy? "They are not dangerous, but we must wear some vervain to be cautious. A tea would be best but we don't have the time."

   "Doesn't this seem like a sign of distrust?" Acel asked.

   "Doesn't wolfsbane seem like a sign of mistrust?" I rebutted.

   "Yes, but we don't trust them," Dawn laughed.

   "Hush all of you. Let's not forget werewolves have enhanced hearing. And Acel, to answer your question, no it is not. They ask us and the werewolves to wear them. They want us to trust them." Mom answered. Strange, that they would go to such extreme lengths for us to trust them. It makes me feel a little uneasy to be honest, but it's probably just my nerves. Mom handed each of us a twine necklace with a beautiful fresh cut purple flower hanging on it.