4. THE BIRTH OF THE MOON

Seraphim bowed his head to him, realizing that he was a powerful Alpha. He took the Moon in his arms and hurried away, losing himself in the darkness of the night. Aren dedicated himself to marking the territory, to confuse the pursuers, wanting to give them to understand that they were trespassing his area. He saw them arrive, there were more than ten of them, and they stopped at once, sniffing, while they communicated with each other. Then they turned into humans.

"We can't go on, they went into the Arcane pack's territory. You know that the Cursed Alpha does not forgive anyone who trespasses his area. We don't want him as an enemy."

"It's too far away, we have to take the Moon. All this will be in vain if we don't get hold of the Moon, you know what the sorcerers said. Their son will be our undoing. We have to do it!" one of them shouted very loudly.

"If you order it, we will follow you, but you will be responsible for everything when we turn around if something goes wrong," another one confronted him.

"Don't be cowards and follow me!" he ordered at the top of his voice, turning back into a wolf.

But a growl and red eyes made them stop in their tracks. They watched in terror as the figure of a huge black wolf with glowing red eyes, its back bristling, its head lowered slowly, growling and baring its fangs. It was a clear declaration of war, its huge jaws opened and closed, bringing out the most bloodcurdling growl they had ever heard.

"Who are you people?!" he asked in a thick voice that made them cower. "Why do you want to enter my territory?!"

"Alpha Aren!" they all exclaimed, backing away in fear until they left the place he had marked.

"I'm waiting for your answer!" he insisted in the same way, while he growled threateningly again.

"Excuse me, Alpha Aren, we just got confused," hurried the one who was acting as chief, submissively lowering his head almost to the ground as a sign of complete submission, an act that everyone imitated to answer. "We were chasing some fugitives."

"I've been listening to the cries of that herd for hours, and I assure you that not a single soul has passed this way."

"But their trail led us here," replied the big one.

A loud growl and a vicious attack that sent him flying through the air caused them all to fall on their paws with their heads against the ground, as they watched the Cursed Alpha stop on top of the daredevil and yell at him.

"You dare to disprove me on my own turf? You're lucky I don't kill you on the spot."

“No, no Alpha, if you say that, we must have gotten confused," another one crawls forward to stand in front of him. Then he turns to the other and says, "I told you I had sensed their trail to the south, but you didn't believe me," as he growls at the burly man, "your sense of smell has never been the best. Men, follow me, we've wasted valuable time! Alpha Aren, sorry for the interruption.

 Saying this, they left quickly. He let out a loud howl of supremacy and warning at the same time, then stayed a while longer until he was sure that they had really left. He instantly followed the trail of the others that led to his Moon, until he came upon them in a cave. 

The Moon had finally given birth to a beautiful baby with the help of Nara, and had passed away. He arrived when she was being buried, the baby was in a basket next to her. He crept up to her, full of curiosity to see what his long-awaited Moon looked like.

She was the most beautiful and peculiar baby he had ever seen in his long life! Her hair was completely gray, she was all rosy, and she didn't move. He got scared. He brushed her with his snout to check if she was alive, and when he did, she opened her little gray eyes that turned golden when she saw him. She smiled happily, and to his great surprise, he became human!

 And not only that, he perceived all the fragrances of his partner. He could not believe that at last Mother Moon had taken pity on him and sent her to him. But yes, there she was, and she had turned him just by looking at him into a human.

It was his half, his Moon had appeared at last!

He picked her up and held her close, tears streaming down his face. He had finally found his Moon, and he would never let her go.

He bared his threatening fangs and advanced angrily towards him. Did Enril not understand the part about not endangering his little Moon and not telling anyone? Enril stepped back, raising his hands while saying, "Hey, I meant no harm! Calm down; you're acting like Oto. Have you been able to talk to each other?"

"No." Aren replied, still looking at him in annoyance.

"Well, surely one of these days it will happen. True, I didn't think it through thoroughly. You must protect your Moon so that the enemies don't discover and kill her. And what will you do about the elders and their ceremony?" Enril changes the subject when he sees how upset his older brother is.

On reflection, Aren replied, "I'll do it."

"You'll go through with the ceremony?" Enril can't help but be surprised.

Arent looks at it and repeats: "Yes, I will"

Now Enril was truly at a loss. His brother had become an enigma to him ever since that event. It was he who led the pack and had to deal with all the problems and schemes of the elders. For years they had been asking Aren to let them perform the ceremony to find his Luna, and he had always refused. Now that he had found her, he agreed to let the ceremony take place. Who could understand him?

"Aren, didn't you just tell me you found your other half? Why would you let them go through with that ceremony?" Enril asked, puzzled.

Aren looked at him gravely. "That's exactly why I will do it. With my Luna by my side, they won't be able to find me a mate within the pack, and that will keep them at bay while my Luna grows."

Enril was astounded and exclaimed, "Well, brother, you're very clever. This way they won't be able to keep pressing you for now. I like the idea."

"And it will also make them think that my other half is out there somewhere, which is very dangerous," Aren remembered. "And that's where I'll need your help to protect her."

"My help?" Enril asked intrigued, "what do you need my help for?"