BEYOND THE MOON

I sat at my desk, my gaze drifting out the window as I waited for the teacher to arrive. Again. It was a ritual I'd grown accustomed to – the tardiness, the excuses, the awkward silences. My mind began to wander, and I found myself scribbling in my notebook, the words flowing effortlessly onto the page.

"In shadows cast by fleeting light,

Suffering wears a mask of night,

A paradox of pain and peace,

A silence that the soul can't cease."

As I wrote, the world outside seemed to fade away, leaving only the scratch of my pen on paper and the quiet hum of the fluorescent lights. But my solitude was short-lived. The door burst open, and Chloe breezed in, a whirlwind of red hair and a big bright smile.

"Hey, girl! Oh my gosh, you won't believe what happened yesterday!" Chloe plopped down in the empty chair beside me, her big brown eyes sparkling with excitement.

I set my pen down, a mixture of amusement and resignation on my face. "What is it this time?" I asked, already knowing the answer would be very dramatic.

Chloe Rivers, my best friend since forever is a 5'7 petite redhead. She's almost two years older than me just like my siblings Ryder and Reena. She has big brown eyes that take most of her small round face, a cute button nose and perfectly rounded rosy lips. She's the most bubbly person I've ever met and she's an only child to the Gamma of my pack, The Raven Claw Pack.

"Reena and her crew were totally dissing Emily's outfit in the cafeteria," Chloe said, barely containing her giggles. "I mean, who does that? And then, Rachel joined in, and it was like a competition to see who could be the most brutal."

I rolled my eyes. "Drama never ends in this school, does it?"

Chloe leaned in, her voice taking on a conspiratorial tone. "I know, right? But then Spencer came up and told both of them to shut their food holes up. Do you think Emily is Spencer's mate?"

"I don't know about that Chloe, maybe he was just standing up for what's right?" I offered. I honestly didn't want to talk about any mate related topic.

"Well...then why didn't he.." Chloe started and I cut her off.

"Honestly, I'm more worried about the test next week. Have you started studying?"

"What test?" She asked, her face pinched

"Algebra" I smiled wryly earning a groan form her.

"Remind me to come as a dolphin in my next life" she spat as she brought out her algebra textbooks. Classic Chloe.

"Of course" I shook my head smiled and patted her shoulder.

As Chloe buried her face in algebra, I was left alone as my mind wandered back to my own struggles.

My family and one-third of all the families here in Slateville aren't like others. We're werewolves, creatures of legend. We live in Packs and my Pack is called Raven Claw Pack. There are various Packs across the globe but we try to keep our secret from humans that's why we live close to highly forested regions.