Twelve

twelve

POV - Moira

I had months to prepare myself for what I had to do. It’s one of the hardest things about being myself. Knowing the eventual outcome of people’s destinies by the choices they make. I shake my head when I look at the threads of the Clevedon Pack members. It pains me to know what will happen, but I need them to make their own choices before I cast my decision.

I don’t play God. People are not dolls that I control. But in each life, they have a destined path. Yes, they make their own choices, and fate can make amendments according to their choices, steer them where they’re meant to go. But overall, their life is their own. Supernatural beings, like werewolves, fairies, witches and vampires, all have soulmates. Those whom they are meant to be with. Those whom their souls have had meaningful contact with in the past. It makes me sad, though, that some are defying their destiny. But as I told Luna, it’s been happening too often, too long. Trees are disappearing from existence. I needed to do something.

It’s with this determination that I set my focus on Clevedon Pack.

I hired a personal assistant from Midvale, the closest city to Clevedon, to help me move into the area. Nancy Mortimer purchased a property for me, furnishing and decorating it. She was like a child in a candy shop with a bottomless basket. Nancy went all out when I asked her to fill the place with personal effects, like clothes, shoes and jewellery. It made me smile at how excited she got, which I guess was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for her- one she might never have again.

I didn’t move in straight away, preferring to watch the Clevedon Pack through the astral plane. And what I saw disheartened me. Luna created the concept of packs for her werewolves because she wanted them to have a structure where they were all protected, supported and valued.

But this pack… the Clevedon Pack, had lost their way. Over the past two generations, the pack was failing to implement the values Luna wanted for her wolves.

It made me sad. I hadn’t wanted to talk to Luna about what was happening with her wolves when I visited her on Terra Edo, and I didn’t want to report what I saw here.

One thing I do like about visiting worlds with humans is their inventions. They’re an intelligent bunch of beings, despite not being magical. My favourite of their inventions is their cars. Their cars may contribute to destroying their planet, but there’s no doubt about it; they’re cool. I have had a lot of favourite human vehicles since they were invented. I loved their first cars, where you had to literally wind the engine up from the front to get them going. But when Ford designed the Mustang… wow.

When Nancy presented me with the keys to a brand-new red Ford Mustang GT, I hugged her.

“It’s no problem, Moira. Picking the car for you was fun; I even got to test drive it,” Nancy gushed.

“I bet you did,” I laughed. Nancy laughed with me.

“Thank you, Nancy, for everything you’ve done for me,” I tell her.

“It was a pleasure. And if you ever need me again…”

“I will be sure to seek you out,” I say, closing the car door. I honk my horn goodbye as I pull away from the curb. I see Nancy in my rearview mirror, waving to me as I drive away.

From Midvale to Clevedon, it’s a two-hour drive. But when I get on the open road, I plan to put my foot on the gas and clear my car’s throat, if you know what I mean.

I don’t need to stop for the toilet or food and make it to Clevedon in record time. As I drive away from the farmland toward the town, I slow my car to a more reasonable speed. I’m not surprised, however, when a cop car pulls me over as I approach one of Clevedon’s outer suburbs.

I stop the car and wind the window down before turning the ignition off. I see two big burly men approaching my vehicle from my rearview mirror.

“Hello there,” the first officer greets me when he reaches my window. I smell werewolf, which doesn’t surprise me. I’ve made myself smell like a human so that I don’t have to have any of that paperwork they require travelling magical beings to have on them.

“Hi, officer,” I smile, putting on my prettiest smile. I hear his heart beat faster and smell the scent of attraction coming off him.

“Hello. Do you have your license on you?” he asks.

“Yes, sir,” I reply, reaching my wallet out of my handbag. I give it to the officer, and he looks at it. My license has my name, date of birth and address on it. My age says I’m eighteen (haha, I wish), but my address states that I’m from Midvale.

“And is this your car, Miss Moira… Corrin?” the officer asks.

“Yes, sir,” I nod.

“One moment; I need to check your details,” he says, returning to his patrol car. I watch through my rearview mirror as the officer returns to his car to check my details on his computer. The other officer walks around the front of my car and then over to me.

“Nice car you’ve got here,” the man tells me.

“Thank you.”

“Pity your rearview light is broken,” he says. I look up at him, puzzled.

“Rearview light? No, it’s not,” I reply. The officer gives me a look before checking the light. I hear a smash of glass, and then he comes back into view.

“Yeah, it is,” he says, smiling. Fucking werewolf.

“I think you’re mistaken,” I state.

“No, your light is definitely broken,” he tells me.

“Check,” I reply. The wolf, who hasn’t introduced himself to me, steps away from the window and looks at the light.

“What the fuck? It was fucking broken!” he complains.

“Give me your hand,” I order. The officer looks at me and then walks over to the window, placing his hand on the door sill. I set one of my hands on top of him.

“Do this to anyone again, and I will report you to the High Council for terrorising humans. You will remember this but forget it came from me,” I tell him.

“Ye-yes, ma’am,” the officer says in a trance.

“Everything all right here?” the first officer asks, handing me over my license.

“Yes. This officer was telling me about there being wolves in the forests around here. Is that true?” I ask, giving both men a sweet smile.

“Uh… there’s nothing really to worry about, Miss; they keep away from the general population,” the First Officer replies.

“Oh, I would hope so. My aunty tried to tell my parents not to buy out here, but they insisted they wanted to move out of the city, so here I am,” I say sweetly.

“Well, you’re sure to like it here,” the second officer states. I nod.

“Thank you, boys. It was a pleasure.”

“Of course,” they both say. I nod again and turn the car ignition back on to wind up the window.

“See you later,” I smile. They nod, and I pull the car away and back onto the street. The little fuckers.

It’s a short drive from Clevedon to my new home. I get to a large black iron gate and pull up to it. Keying in my password, the gates open to my new home. Nancy gave me a virtual tour of the place, but I didn’t really care too much to take it in. I have bought many homes on many planets over the years and am not excited. I’ll only be here for a few months, and then I might not return for a decade or two.

I had everything organised before I started my first day of High School. It’s part of my cover. I’m coming to the area as a new human with wealthy parents who are never home. Nancy bought my uniform, which is… preppy. For some reason, I like it and think I look good in it. I’ve bought everything I need to be at a human-slash werewolf school. Pens, pencils, books, iPad, laptop. All I need to do now is pick up my timetable from the front office and begin.

The woman in the office, Jacky, is charming. She’s human, and I can tell by the tone in the office she’s the lone human there. I inwardly shake my head at that knowledge. It’s interesting how they’re treating humans. If only they knew.

“Thank you,” I tell Jacky when she hands me my timetable. The smile on her face says it all. It costs nothing to be kind.

I look at my timetable and see that I have Ancient History first, which I did choose, but I can’t be bothered going to it. Instead, I walk out of the school and down the street, standing under a tree and fishing my vape out of my bag. I remember the guy at the shop telling me that vaping is bad for you, worse than smoking, and can lead to an early death. I shrugged my shoulders. If only I could die. Nope, not going to happen.

I stand there, breathing the strawberry sweetness in, when I see my target rush toward me, her face washed with tears, concentrating on the ground.

“Hey! Are you okay?” I ask. Sera, my target, looks up at me, and she looks like a mess. Her face is stained with tears, and I see bruises forming. I note bruises and cuts on her arms, and I feel a mixture of sadness and anger fill my heart.

Sera is a beautiful girl, even with the bruises and bags under her eyes from sleepless nights. I’ve watched her over the past few months, and I’ve looked into her history and the history of her family. Sera comes from a loving family. Her parents adore her, as did her grandparents. She was popular during pack events, always having pups coming up to her, vying for her attention. Sera shines in empathy and has a very nurturing personality to her.

But when High School started, everything changed. Sera became another little fish in a big pond. If she had had her best friend by her side, she would have shone again, but her best friend had her own demons she was dealing with.

They were two peas in a pod, Sera Mayvic and Catherine Snell. They were best friends because their fathers were. Dean Mayvic, although an omega coming from a long line of omegas, is a brilliant technical-minded wolf. He could have gone to university, but his parents couldn’t afford it, and his Pack didn’t help. Instead, he worked in a factory, where he got his mate, Amy, a job.

Albie, or Albert, Catherine’s dad and Dean’s best friend, also worked at the same factory. Both men worked the construction floor, slowly working their way up the business. Dean had implemented some procedures that increased productivity and was the man you went to with any problems. Whether it be with people or with machines. Dean Mayvic was the go-to man. Then a management position came up. Dean should have gotten it, but Albert took credit for everything Dean did on the floor. When Dean and others tried to protest, they were heavily disciplined. Dean was demoted, and Albert made it his priority to put Dean down. This all happened the summer before their daughters began high school. Albert moved his family to a more affluent area in Clevedon, and with his promotion came more notice from the pack. While the Mayvic's began to struggle, The Snell’s rose through the pack’s ranks.

Catherine, with the change of homes and more money coming her family’s way, began to see Sera in a different light. It was easy to get everyone on her side because she was now a higher rank than her best friend. Soon, Sera became the lowest of the low; thus, her life became more challenging than necessary.

Have you ever heard the saying that fate finds a way? Well, this experience should make Sera a better Luna. She was born a Luna; this was a role given to her by my sister personally. And from my view of Sera’s past and my knowledge of her future, Sera is a strong wolf. She will make a strong Luna. She will make changes to the pack to improve it for the better. If that is, if she is given the opportunity.

“I’m fine,” Sera tells me, turning around and running down the road.

I shake my head and put my vape back in my pocket. Fine, my arse.

~ Edited with Grammarly