Connie

The Gibbous Moon pack must be one of the ancient packs, judging by the aesthetics of the castle and town. Golden Moon was old, and rich, but Gibbous Moon is next level. I wonder what sort of companies this pack owns, and how far back their heritage goes.

When we exited the truck, the two warriors gestured for Oli to lead the way, so she is walking in front of us. Adi, Amelia, Lucas and I are following closely behind. Manu and Sina are walking several steps behind us. When we reached the end of the greeting corridor, I took a moment to go ahead and reassure Oli, then I stepped back to walk with the others again, letting Oli lead ahead of us once again.

The street was wide and paved with asphalt, everything was perfectly clean and well maintained. After every couple of shops there was a park or grassy area where people were gathered with picnic rugs, games and food.  The streets were full of werewolves in their human form, all socialising, eating and playing music. The community vibe gave me a sense of hope that this was going to be a successful visit.

The wide street leads directly to the main entrance of the large castle pack house that encircles the town like a bird's nest. At the foot of the entrance to the pack house was a large green yard shaded with palm trees. Many pack members were gathered in the yard with picnic rugs, cookers and bbq's. The smell of cooking meat filled the air.

From under a large palm tree a beautiful middle aged woman was walking directly towards us. She was tall with flowing brown hair to her mid back, she wore a flowing dress and had bare feet. She was followed closely by three teenage girls and a large male. Pack members subtly moved aside as she walked by, some lightly touched her on the shoulder as they moved aside, and she acknowledged them as they did. It was easy to tell her ranking by the respect and affection the pack showed her, this was the Luna of the Gibbous Moon pack. She approached us with a big warm smile and opened her arms out wide.

"Welcome to Gibbous Moon, our friends from The Valley of the Goddess. What an honour ! You can call me Luna Jen. And what are your names darlings ?"

Oli introduced us all as she had previously and Luna Jen invited us to join her group on the lawn. Pack members brought out more picnic rugs and cushions for us to sit on. We learnt that the teenage girls were her daughters. Her mate, Alpha Angus, was out on pack duties and will be returning shortly. Luna Jen said the Alpha was looking forward to meeting us.

"I see everyone is out for a picnic this evening, have we come on a special day ?" Connie asked

"No, this is our usual meal time activity, unless the weather doesn't hold out for it. We can fit more people outside, even if we are not all at the exact same place, it feels like we are together. After All, that is what a pack is for, being together." Luna Jen explained.

Suddenly, the atmosphere became electrofied, the music became more upbeat, pack members were up dancing, the pack members who were standing at the bbq's cooking and chatting away started rambunctiously serving the food onto large plates. It even seemed that a cool breeze was blowing through the garden. We all looked around to see what was happening.

"That's just the Alpha returning home for dinner. He will be coming around the corner any second" Luna Jen told us.

I once read that bees were controlled by their queen's pheromones.They know what their queen wants by the hormone she releases, and know when she is close by or when something is wrong with her. It's the same with some alpha's, the stronger the alpha the stronger the connection with their pack. The vibe given off by the pack can tell you a lot about their alpha. I have read that when a true alpha has the loyalty and respect of their pack, you can feel their presence in the very air around you when you are in their territory amongst their pack members. In The Valley, alphettes are elected and are not chosen from blood lines of true alphas, I have only ever read about effects that alpha's have on their packs, but have not experienced it for myself. Alpha Angus' pack members are elated, the electrified atmosphere draws us in, making us feel excited about our meeting with their Alpha.

The large black iron door into the castle opens and a group of about fifteen werewolves stroll out, amongst them is Alpha Angus, dressed casually in shorts and a button down light blue shirt, his sleeves rolled up to reveal his large muscular forearms. He is easily six foot and eight inches tall, with a large muscular frame. He has his dark hair cut short and has friendly dark brown eyes surrounded by heavy wrinkles when he smiles. He walks down the stairs talking to the other werewolves, but as his eyes meet his mates his followers move away, they know they dont have their alphas ear anymore. No one interrupts as the alpha and luna reunite at the end of their day. Luna Jen stands up and goes to her mate, they embrace each other as though one has returned from a long trip. This is the true mate bond. They will cherish each other for the rest of their lives.

Finally, Luna Jen leads Alpha Angus to our group under the large palm tree.We all stand and formally greet him. He has a calming yet fun aura.

"I am honoured that you have chosen to visit our pack, I hope you will stay for a few days and see what our pack has to offer" Alpha angus says.

"It would be our honour to stay Alpha. Your pack has been very warm and inviting" Oli says.

"Wonderful. But first, let's eat. We can talk about pack business later. Dinner time is a time for being together and letting the stress of the day out. Eat, dance, play some music, make new friends. This is the true Gibbous Moon pack, girls." Alpha angus says.

There is food everywhere. Rolls of seasoned meat seems to be a favourite, and seasoned vegetables cooked in banana leaves. Cooks keep bringing over different selections of food on wooden plates and banana leaves. There is soft chatter and music everywhere. We learn quickly that Alpha Angus and Luna Jen are very chatty and sociable, putting us all at ease and into a happy, festive mood.

Alpha Angus proudly talks about his oldest daughter, Alexander, who will take the Alpha position before the end of the year, once she turns eighteen. He said he is ready to become a werewolf elder, to be called upon for advice and guidance as needed. He went on to explain the position of a pack elder to Lucas and Amelia. The elders are made up of older, knowledgeable werewolves, they give advice and guidance to the ranked wolves who are in power. And they preform the blood ceremonies, because their blood has more connections.

Lucas ⁓ do you think he can fix this mind link ?

We are all ready to see the end of Lucas' constant mindful singing and other attempts to block his thoughts from us. It's also getting harder to not tell Amelia about what Lucas thinks of her, he often lets slip a sexual thought or something kind or protective, mostly about Amelia. I say mostly because he regularly lets a thought slip about most people we meet. He is getting a bit better at holding it back, but it is still a relatively constant noise.

We all agree that something has to be done as soon as possible to correct this. Oli agrees to lead the negotiation on this.

"Alpha Angus, we have a rather pressing issue we need to address and we are in need of some experienced assistance from an elder." Connie says

"We will help if we can Oli, what is the issue?" Alpha Angis says.

Connie proceeds to explain that she performed a blood ceremony, under duress, for Lucas and that his mind link is now left wide open and none of us can close it off. Alpha Angus holds his stomach and gives off a big deep laugh, "Argh, you poor bugger, that sounds like hell on earth. Don't worry son, we can rescue you from this nightmare. Three women hearing all your thoughts and you're still standing ? You must be a good sort if you've made it this far.'' He then wipes away fake tears from under his eyes.

"In The Valley we have a saying - Our first thought is how we were programmed and our next thought is the person we want to be. Therefore, our thoughts don't always portray our nature." Oli says.

Lucas blushes "Thank you Oli. I can't tell you how much that means to me." He says.

"We know," I tell him with a wink.

"The blood ceremony is simply just a process for bonding with your pack and synchronising with your wolf. The blood is the important part, the words are just formalities. I imagine a lot of things have gone askew here, for you Lucas. Your age for one, and the fact that Oli isn't an alpha or an elder can weaken the bond to the pack. You don't have a bond to a whole pack, just to Oli and then anyone who opens the connection with Oli. So your wolf is trying to maintain connections. It is simple, actually, you just need to have your first shift, then your wolf can come into its full strength and stop being a prick about everything. I am guessing he is a bit pissed off, that's all'' Alpha Angus explains.

"That's it ? I just need to let my wolf come out ?" Lucas says

Lucas ~ Actually seems kind of fucken obvious now that he says it.

Oli ~ Yea, it does seem obvious now that he says it. I am so sorry Lucas.

Lucas ~ I will forgive you for getting me into this if you forgive me for anything you've heard in my thoughts.

Oli ~ It's a deal.

"That should be it, friend. Come on! I won't let you suffer this indignity a second longer. We will all finish off our meals and go to the bush land behind the pack house. A run with your pack members should settle this."