The Monsters We Hide

Chapter 19

We stepped down from the stage, and were met with pack members, family, and friends coming up to congratulate us on our happiness. Grandma was one of the last few people to come up to us. 

       "That was some juicy stuff! That punch in the end really added to the tension. Good wrok son," she said, clapping him on the shoulder in approval. We both laughed at my crazy but lovable grandmother.   

        She hugged me, holding me tight and whispered "You did good little wildflower. Now go get them babies." I chuckled as I pulled away. "We'll work on it Grandma." As she hobbled away, she called back to us. "Before I'm dead please!" Logan and I shared a look and I shook my head with a smile. Someone cleared their throat and we turned to see Lukas waiting for us.

        I smiled and he pulled me into a bone crushing hug before I had the chance to say anything. "Welcome to family little sister!" I laughed and he let me go. 

        "Thanks Lukas. It means a lot." He gave his big brother a hug slash pat on the back thing and then walked away to let up the next people in line. Ryan and Krystal stepped up and pulled me in for a group hug, which I returned. They congratulated me and then moved on. Next was the couple that I assumed to be Logan's parents.

       The woman smiled at me with her long dark hair glossy and voluminous in the sun. She had Lukas's green eyes. The man stood at Logan's height with dark brown hair and sky blue eyes. He had a warm, kind eyes and a genuine smile.

       Logan grew tense beside me. "Mom, Dad. What are you doing here?" His father spoke first.

       "Lukas told us that you had found your mate and the ceremony was coming up, so I talked your mother into coming. It's not everyday our firstborn finds his true mate. Much less a Caster wolf." Logan's slightly relaxed state stiffened again. I glanced at him in question but turned back to the couple. 

       "Anywho, we came to introduce ourselves. I'm Nicholas Johnson, and this is my wife, Emilia," Nicholas said. Logan narrowed his eyes after I shook Emilia's hand. 

       "I'm surprised you came at all, Mother." The woman glared at him with a disdainful look on her face.

        "Trust me boy, I didn't want to come. Your father wouldn't stop pleading so I finally caved. Otherwise, I'd be at home either asleep or getting my nails done. Scrubbing the toilet would be better than standing here having to look at your disgraceful face." My mouth opened in surprise as Logan's grip tightened severely around my hand.

       "Emilia," Nicholas scolded. "That was extremely rude." He looked up to me after the woman just shrugged her shoulders and picked at her nails. "I'm sorry Shyanne. She's always like this. We should get going, but it was a pleasure meeting you," he said. He turned to Logan and clapped him on the back. Emilia was already walking away. 

       "Good job son. Don't tell your mother, but I'm proud of you," he whispered quietly. He gave me one last, warm smile before turning away to head after his wife.

       "Are you okay," I asked him, taking in his trembling hand in mine. He nodded once but didn't say anything. "I feel bad saying this, since she's your mother and everything, but she was kind of a bitch," I said quietly. He looked down and stared at me. He kissed my forehead and wrapped his arm around my waist. 

       "Come on. Let's go inside," he said, leading me towards the house. I leaned into him and walked with him. Once we got upstairs, we went to his room. I kicked off the painful heels and collapsed beside him on the bed and faces him.

       "Logan?" He hummed to let me know he heard me so I continued hesitantly with my question. "What's a Caster wolf?"

        "It's what you are," he said quietly. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about. Your necklace was a Caster necklace. That means it his your scent and power. It's usually designed for Caster wolves or Alpha's. That's why, when it broke, I was suddenly obsessed with you. It unleashed your scent, otherwise you would have seemed completely invisible."

       "That still doesn't answer my question," I said. 

       "A Caster wolf is very powerful. Their status ranks closer to the Alpha than the Luna does. They're also extremely rare. I've never met one before, but I think that your birth mother was trying to protect you from your powers or something. Either way, I think she hid you for a reason." 

       I thought over everything he just told me. If I was a Caster wolf, then did that mean I had magical powers too? 

       "How do I know what my powers are," I asked him, but he shrugged. 

       "I don't know. Like I said, I've never met one, so I'm not sure how it works, but I'll try to help you figure it out if you want," he offered. I nodded and then briefly closed my eyes. 

        I opened my eyes after a few seconds and smiled at Logan. "Does the ceremony mean that I'm Luna now?" He laughed at my new direction of thoughts. To be honest, I didn't want to think about the strange Caster wolf stuff right now. I didn't want to think about what crazy powers I could possibly yield.

        "Yes and no," he said in answer to my question. I raised my eyebrow and waited for an explaination. "Technically you are but you have to complete the Luna ritual soon. If not later on today then it'll be tomorrow." I nodded.

       We may there, facing each other in a comfortable silence. He wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me closer. "You absolutely ravishing today my love," he whispered in my ear. I smiled and he brought his lips to mine.

       There was a knock on the door and Logan told them to come in. I turned around to see Jeremy standing in the doorway. His expression was grim and I sat up, wondering what was wrong.

       "Sorry to disturb you, Alpha, but we have a problem." Logan nodded and stood up. He followed Jeremy out of the bedroom and I jumped up and ran barefooted after them. We stopped in the dining room when we saw everyone crowded around the door that led to the backyard.

       Logan pushed through the murmuring crowd to see what was happening. Logan tensed up when the glass door gave us a full view of the backyard. A pack of Lycans stood crouched at the edge of the forest. 

       "Get the humans out of here and get the Guardians together," he ordered to Jeremy. He nodded once and did as he said, herding the humans upstairs, since it wasn't safe to go outside. "Logan," I whispered. "Who are they?" He shook his head slightly. "I don't know," he mumbled.

       He slid the glass door open and stepped out. In a clear, commanding tone, his voice rang out over the clearing and I realized that the stage and chairs had already been put away. 

       "You are trespassing on pack territory. State your business here and leave peacefully, otherwise we'll forcibly remove you from our land." The bigger of the Lycans stepped forward and shifted form. 

       "We have come to retrieve your Caster wolf. Our leader has given us strict orders to bring her back, even if we have to kill you all to do so," the stranger said. 

       More people were pushing towards the front and I turned to see Lukas, Ryan, and Krystal. Lukas slid the door open and stepped out to stand beside him, while Krystal and Ryan planted themselves behind the two brothers. 

       "I'm afraid that will not be happening. She's not going anywhere so if you want her then you'll have a bloody fight on your hands," Logan called across to them. 

       The man tilted his head to the side then shrugged with an expression of nonchalance. "Alright. Let's go boys." He morphed back into his beast and I heard gasps from the pack as many more lycans slunk out of the trees. We were outnumbered.

       Even with all the werewolves that would be fighting on our side, we would not beat them. They were lycans. They were stronger, ruthless, and more powerful than we were. All of the guardians ran out to defend our alpha and pack. The first four that were outside shifted into their lycan forms and the guardians changed too. They all held a defensive stance, shielding the lycans from us.

       The leader from the other side lunged and ran towards Logan with his long fangs bared. My eyes widened and before I could comprehend my actions, I slid the glass over and ran into the middle of the clearing, trying not to sumble over the long dress. I picked up the skirts and kept running, stopping between the two dominant lycans and facing the enemy. 

        "Wait," I called. The lycan stopped and looked down at me. "I'll go. As long as you leave my pack alone."