Chapter 22 - April

When we returned to tell the wolves that we had been invited to the town festival, they were ecstatic. Especially the children and women, who rarely had the opportunity to leave the cabins. The entire pack was thrilled, and we all made our way down to Pinedale for the festival as soon as the sun began to set.

It was summertime, and the town had come out en masse for their celebration. Vendors sold everything from cotton candy to clothing, games had been set up in the park, and there was even a bounce house for the children.

As a special treat for the Pinedale wolves, Nile had a place of honor as the participant in a dunk tank. So far, no one had managed to dunk him into the water. He remained seated on the bench above the tank, shouting insults to the crowd in an attempt to gather customers.

"Step up and try your hand!" he shouted congenially. "Who will be the lucky one to finally hit their mark?"

A few men in the crowd shook their heads, not wishing to be the next to fail.

"No takers? Go on, then, the kiddie games are that way!" Nile teased, pointing toward the children's area.

"How much?" I asked, stepping up to the starting line where Penelope was taking money.

"One dollar per throw," she said sweetly.

I handed her two dollars and got two balls from her.

"Two throws, eh, little lady?" Nile teased me good-naturedly. "What's wrong? You don't think you can get it on the first pitch?"

"You seem a little smelly, so I thought you could use two baths," I teased back, wrinkling my nose in mock disgust.

The crowd laughed at my rebuttal as I cocked my arm back.

"You really think you can hit the mark on the first shot?" Jasper asked me quietly.

I winked at him, trying to be cocky. In truth, I had never had good aim. If I hit the target, it wouldn't be due to skill. My main goal wasn't to dunk Nile but to engage with the town so that our pack would follow suit.

"Alright, then, let's see what you've got," Nile taunted.

He waved his finger at me, egging me on as I cocked my arm back to make my first throw. We all watched in amazement as the ball hit dead center in the middle of the circle, and Nile fell into the water tank with a loud splash.

A cheer went up from the watchers. I broke into a smile as Nile resurfaced, grinning from ear to ear.

"You did it! Well done!" he shouted, wiping the water from his eyes.

"I can't believe you hit it," Jasper said, obviously impressed with my abilities.

"Neither can I," I admitted. "I've never been good at things like this. I'm sure my second throw won't be as successful."

He climbed back up to his platform, awaiting my second pitch.

"Go on, then," he said. "Where's that second bath you promised me?"

I threw for a second time and missed by a wide margin. I shrugged in defeat, but a few wolves from both the Pinedale and Dark Moon paths came up to congratulate me on my success.

"You got yourself a strong luna here," one of the neighboring wolves said to Jasper.

"The strongest there is," he agreed.

Dunking the alpha had broken the ice between our packs, and for the next hour, the two packs intermingled as they engaged in the festivities. With my plan a success, I decided to enjoy myself as well. Jasper purchased snow cones for us, and we meandered through the festival, watching our pack enjoy themselves.

Once the sun had fully set, everyone found a spot to sit with a clear view of the sky. Jasper pulled me onto his lap as he sat on a park bench.

"Saved you the best seat in the house," he whispered into my ear.

I giggled like a young girl at his flirtatious tone, unused to the attention he had been giving me lately.

When the fireworks began, he reached around my waist to pull me close to his chest. The crowd went silent as the pyrotechnics lit up the sky, but I was paying far more attention to the man behind me.

For ten minutes, Jasper held me, making small circles on my arms with his thumb. I was nearly driven to distraction, but as soon as the show ended, I knew it was time for us to gather our pack and head to the forest.

We filed out of the town in groups of twos and threes, heading for the previously agreed-on location. When we arrived, I saw that the same clearing that Jasper and I had picnicked in had been ringed in with a circle of rope. Inside the circle were a number of obstacles—hay bales, fallen logs, and wooden barrels—that would create cover for the wolves engaged in the skirmish.

"Gather around, everyone," Nile instructed. "Find a spot, and we will give our instructions momentarily."

The packs did not intermingle when they arrived. Instead, they separated so that one was on each side of the ring. I felt nervous as I saw the separation between the packs, feeling as though we hadn't done a good enough job of helping them see each other as friends instead of foes. Jasper, picking up on my unease, leaned over to speak to me in a low voice.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"The packs can't stay separated all night if we want this to be successful," I said tensely.

Jasper looked around and saw what I meant. He nodded in understanding, and I knew he was coming up with a plan.

Everyone had joined the circle when Nile began to speak again.

"Alpha Jasper and the wolves of the Dark Moon pack are joining us tonight for what we hope will be the first of many events between our two packs," he said. "I have set up this ring to test our speed and skill. Two wolves from each pack will enter the ring at a time. Each team will be given a flag, which can only be held when they are in their human form. The goal is to be the first to retrieve the other team's flag. The first to grab the flag from the other team will be the winner."

Excited chatter from the crowd greeted Nile's instructions, and I could see the wheels beginning to turn on many of their faces as they analyzed strategy.

Nile nodded to two of his wolves—one man and one woman—who entered the ring. Jasper nodded to Killian, who grabbed a young man from the crowd. I saw that it was the same man who had told us earlier in the day that he was feeling nervous about the future. The one who had only had his first shift a few weeks ago.

"Good choices," I said to Jasper in approval.

"They'll set a good example for the rest," he said.

One of the Pinedale wolves distributed a strip of red cloth to each team to serve as their flag. The teams spoke to each other briefly, then took their stances. On the Pinedale team, the man remained in human form while the woman shifted to a wolf. Both Dark Moon wolves remained in human form as they awaited the signal. I realized that it would be difficult to tell which of them held the flag, whereas we knew right off the bat that the Pinedale man held their flag.

"Begin!" Nile shouted amid cheers from the crowd.

Killian and the young man separated immediately, each running towards an obstacle on the edge of the arena while the opposing team rushed forward together.

"Run, Michael!" a voice shouted at the young man from the crowd.

The Pinedale team was running toward him, thinking he had the flag. The she-wolf reached him first, but instead of shifting and giving away that he wasn't the flag-holder, he threw himself under an elevated stack of wood. He waited there, just out of reach of the wolf.

Meanwhile, the crowd could see that Killian was hiding the flag inside one of the hay bales. When he had finished, he shifted into wolf form and charged the opposing team, angling not for the man carrying the flag but for the she-wolf.

I clenched my teeth, worried that he would hurt her, but my fear was unfounded. Killian easily subdued her without injury while Michael and the man from Pinedale grappled hand to hand.

As soon as the she-wolf was taken down, Michael shifted as well, and realization of what had occurred crossed the opposing man's face. He turned toward the hay bales Killian had been hiding behind earlier, but there was no chance of him outrunning the Dark Moon Pack. Michael overtook him quickly, gently forcing him to the ground as he plucked the red cloth from his back pocket with his teeth.

The Pinedale wolves clapped politely while whoops and hollers sounded from our side of the ring. The wolves in the arena shifted back to their human forms to shake hands and return to their places around the circle.

"Excellent work," Nile commended the participants. "Do we have volunteers for our next round?"

The alphas selected new players for the game, and the dance began again. Each skirmish lasted a few minutes at most, and many wolves got the opportunity to have a turn. As the night went on, I saw that the wolves Jasper selected to compete ended up joining the Pinedale side of the ring. By the time an hour had passed, we had become one homogenous unit instead of two separate packs.

There were only a few rough moments where I feared someone might get hurt, but Jasper maintained full authority over the pack throughout the night. Both packs had been wary of each other at first, but after a while, it was clear that everyone was having a good time.

"Alpha Jasper," Nile said, calling him to the center of the circle.

Jasper walked proudly into the ring as loud cheers arose from the packs. He took a fighting stance, but Nile waved him off.

"I don't seek to go against you on this field or any other," the Pinedale alpha said. "I want to show you something."

He pointed off into the distance, where two dozen homes had been built in a curving path leading up to the top of the tallest spot in town.

"Do you see that hill over there?" Nile said. "The uppermost house was built for me, and the remainder for my wolves. We intended to move there, but after your lovely Luna April reminded me the other day of how many wonderful memories our own houses hold, I can't imagine living anywhere else. With the blessing of my council, I have decided to gift that settlement to you and the Dark Moon Pack. We'd be honored to live alongside a pack as strong and honest as we have found yours to be."

The entire clearing howled as one, and I saw that tears had sprung into Jasper's eyes. He had done it. He had finally gotten what he had dreamed of for the wolves he loved so dearly—a home of their own.

"On behalf of the Dark Moon Pack, I accept your generous offer," Jasper said. "We look forward to many years of peace and prosperity living alongside the Pinedale Pack."

The alphas shook hands, solidifying their agreement and the peace between them.

So much had been accomplished today, I felt the adrenaline course through my veins, and I ran to Jasper's side. I flung myself into his arms amid more cheers from the surrounding wolves. It may not have been proper behavior for a luna, but at this moment, I didn't care. I planted a kiss on his lips.

We had done it. We were home.