Becoming the Luna

Shana and Mae had hung around for some time before having to go down to the first floor to continue to help out, they had invited me but apparently there were a lot of staff there currently because the affected Werewolves that had moved from the city pitched in to help so I didn't need a lot of encouragement to pass up on their offer.

I didn't understand much of the technical terms that were used but apparently someone artificially mutated the familiar rabies virus and it was making Werewolves go rabid.

Rabid…

That was even worse than rogue Werewolves, whose defects were caused by emotional trauma.

They were keeping the news of it possibly being a virus from the rest of the Packs which was a good idea as it would cause nothing but panic, luckily it wasn't even contagious by bite because Werewolf saliva apparently had very high healing capabilities so the weakened virus had no effect.

This was why no one had gotten infected yet although they had been battling the rabid Werewolves.

Julia had invited herself over for dinner which was ironic as she was the one that cooked the meal, Luke came over as well with his grandmother.

The meal was really fun, it was nice to get to know Julia and I found out that she was a lovely lady who took care of her grandson whose parents died in a plane crash when he was really little so he had always known just his grandmother.

They had always lived in the Pack House and I wondered how long the Pack House had been around, if I hadn't found out about Werewolves, I'm pretty sure I would have never even realized that there was a huge building just at the mouth of the woods.

Julia had originally invited us to eat with the rest of the Pack on the second floor but my mom and I had graciously declined but I realized then what was wrong with the apartment, there was no kitchen.

I hadn't seen that coming and apparently we would have to eat meals with the rest of the Pack, it's an absolute disaster.

Julia on the other hand had been elated at the idea, apparently that was how things had always been but then people started to blend in with human society and abandoned their old traditions.

She had felt sad that it took a crisis to bring the Werewolves of Crimson Pack together.

Luke had invited me over to play games after dinner while Julia and my mom went down the stairs to help out at the kitchens.

I was still taking my precious time trying to come to terms with the new life I'm living, it's like having a huge extended family.

"I have a dog." Luke freezes in front of his door with his eyes wide in horror. "We can do something else…"

"No, no." I refuse quickly, going pale. "I-It's fine, it's just one right?" I ask shakily for confirmation.

"Yeah, Carmen, he's a quiet and gentle dog, just don't freak out when he comes over for pets."

I nod, gulping. "Sure." I mutter under my breath.

True to his words Carmen is really gentle and that's the only reason I haven't run screaming down the hallway back to my apartment, because he's huge and I'm thinking it's a Werewolf thing to like huge dogs.

Petting Carmen is a terrifying experience but I manage to get through without blacking out, although I did get dizzy a couple times.

We settle down in his room and he sets up the game, handing me a game pad, Carmen just settles down quietly on the bed, his huge form dwarfing the bed.

"Your grandma said that you went for training." I say as a way to start polite conversation, I keep dying in the game anyway so what's the use?

"Oh yeah, it's the first time we've had to do anything like this." He says absently, fingers flying over his pad.

"I mean there's the races and occasional spars but this is intense training and teaching of fighting tactics."

I just nod with wide eyes, humming.

I hoped they found the cure soon and caught whoever it was that's doing this to them.

Luke is actually fun to be around, apparently he had graduated high school a couple years ago and didn't want to leave his grandma for college so at the moment he just took a job, he preferred to sit around with computers anyway and considered getting a degree in computer science.

When I get back to the apartment, my mom still isn't back but I don't think much of it, she's obviously having a good time, it must get hard on her to spend all her time alone.

I mean we did keep her company but still were way younger than her so I just pet Apple briefly like she wants and let her jump out of my hands.

I wondered where Virgil and Dale were, I hadn't seen them all day.

I had even been occasionally texting Shana, Mae had been added to the group so it was just the three of us, mostly filled with them bickering and me feeling like a third wheel.

It's so much fun anyway that I don't mind.

Pine Creek was officially turning into a Werewolf town, I was just grateful that the authorities yet hadn't started to show interest in the sightings of wild ridiculously huge wolves.

It helped that the Werewolves in the city had moved to Pine Creek so the chaos in the city had moved along with them.

Another Pack House would be built at the other end of town, my house is at one end, Crimson Pack House is at the middle, and Dark Moon Pack would be at the other end.

Pine Creek is apparently big enough for both Packs to live in comfortably and it's probably safer that way too because then they would have double resources to help fight the virus and keep everyone safe.

Luke had said that it was the largest gathering of Werewolves in one place for nearly three decades, with the encroachment of industrialization, a lot of woodland had been lost.

Invariably, Werewolves hid their natures as a way to adapt to the new way of life, Packs dissolved and the bond between Pack members weakened.

Their mind link became a joke and most didn't shift for a really long time.