Luna huddled in the corner, behind a hidden nook, observing the commotion outside the pack house. Inside, the house looked calm, but outside, the whole area was buzzing with activity. She saw omegas streaming into the pack house with some high-ranking ministers who had arrived; they all seemed to be waiting to head to the pack's territory - it was already dark outside.
The pack house is a huge mansion that is used as a home for the alpha, beta, and their families. Whenever there was an event like this, space was created on the first floor to accomodate the omegas who wanted to get their bodies inked in the pack house.
Luna was sure her aunt would probably be there by now. She overheard omegas bragging about how they had bought a priceless necklace made from animal teeth for the pack run.
She remained in her spot, it was not like any one would notice she had skipped the pack run.
Moments later, the noise in the pack house increased greatly with excited chatter, and she realized that it was soon time for the run. The more she stayed there in the attic room, the more her anxiety grew. Her heart was racing wildly in her chest, like someone caught committing a crime.
When she peaked out the attic window, making sure no one would see her, she saw a huge crowd of people already outside the pack house — over two hundred people. From where she was, she could not make out familiar faces, but when she saw Alpha Magnus, she easily recognized him from the crowd of people standing outside, due to his huge physique. She gaped in wonderment at his body stature; his whole body was inked with golden paint, making him stand out from the crowd (the rest had black ink). He wore thin leather short covering his waist down to his thighs, like every other male there. The shorts were gold with embroidered brown shapes of wolves and full moon.
It was practical choice so the fabric wouldn't rip when they shifted into their wolf form. The females wore light brown skirts with similar wolf designs, but this time there was no full moon embroidered on theirs.
Alpha Magnus looked majestic standing in front of the crowd, his beta to his left, and then his senior warriors to his right, followed by the pack shaman who would officiate the ritual start of the pack run. And then the elders, ministers and lords followed, pups were arranged in the middle, and omegas followed. In that formation, she saw them heading towards the pack territory; she guessed the podium was already set up for the rites before the run.
Luna watched until they were at a good distance, then finally released the breath she had been holding. She looked up at the moon; and noticed the full moon was not out yet. She sat back down, leaning her back against the wall. After the pack run, unmated omegas still had to prepare for the hunt's spoils — a feast in the pack house. At this, she sighed.
Moments drifted into minutes and then hours. Whenever she looked up at the moon, it was still the same. Luna remained in that spot, feeling relieved and positive. She flitted her eyes around. Despite not having had her first shift, her senses and sight where still heightened like any other werewolf — it was only that she was weak compared to them. She never liked the pack run in the first place; she didn't find it comfortable being naked in front of the whole pack, even with the inks on. She still felt exposed, which was why she was happy she had successfully escaped it again.
The room was dark and empty, it was used as a storage room. In one corner, she saw old weapons, pelts, ritual items, and extra supplies. At one time, Luna had tried everything in the room, especially the ritual items, old guns, and warrior knives. She had practiced with them on rare occasions. But right now, the attic was no longer in use, making it the perfect hiding spot.
And then it happened. Luna heard the loud howls from the far distance, followed by countless other howls. She shivered from the sudden wind blowing in from the open window. Luna stood up to close the attic window when she saw it.
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