THE EXILED LUNA

I had been bored for more than eleven months, waiting for Damon to come back to our pack while taking care of my human affairs—going to middle college here in Jacksonville.

The last we heard of him was his last battle with a group of savages known for their witchery that were trying to expand territorial influences around the border side of the next town. He was the reason the pack survived the last war, in which rebels attempted to usurp his rights as Alpha. I refrained from taking part in the conflict even after my first transformation, but the fallout from that war reduced both our numbers and our strength, making it unfeasible for us to launch another uprising. But he had to go and put an end to the matter before it became too much to bear.

After I was accepted into the pack, we spent a brief but passionately unforgettable time together as lovers. Even though I hadn't been a part of the pack for as long as the more experienced members of our group, he had made me a lot of promises before he departed, and it was obvious to everyone what his plans were for me.

When they left, we all assumed they would quickly resolve the premature crisis and return in a few days. However, days turned into weeks, and weeks into months, and he never showed up or even called to check on me while I was stuck in my room all day. My forthcoming birthday was around the corner and I still haven’t heard of him for several months now. I had given up the thought that he would still remember and, on that day, Mom had invited a few of the neighbors to the house for the occasion. At six in the evening, those invited were already gathered in the house. Dad wasn’t around as usual and I wasn’t bothered about it though I could tell that she wasn’t pleased that he had to forfeit to be in attendance to make sure he was on night duty at the office for he was a cop. Concerning the preparations, my good friend from high school, Amanda, had been really helpful in getting the cake and other items ready before the guests showed over. I'd been hooked to my bedroom since the morning, spending the entire afternoon before dusk cleaning out the disorganized drawers from the previous evening, when there came a knock on the door. Amy was standing outside the door when I suddenly stopped what I was doing and threw open the door. She wore a cheerful smile that matched the color of her pink outfit as though she was the celebrant of the occasion. I kept the door ajar as soon as I saw that she was standing there since I wasn’t dressed up.

“What do you want?”

“Isabelle, some friends of yours are requesting to see you”

“Friends of mine?”

“You invited them to the party, right?”

She said wistfully.

“No, I didn’t invite anyone”

“Really? They said you did and strangely, they are all adults wearing the same jacket”

She answered and I suddenly recalled that it must be members of the pack. I was perplexed how they were able to find out when I never mentioned it anybody even in those in school.

“Is that so? I think I know them. Please tell them I’ll be downstairs shortly”

I said and closed the door. I got dressed and left the room as soon as I could. I haven’t heard from the pack since Damon left and their unexpected presence in my house could only mean one thing. I hurriedly climbed down the stairs into the living room where some teens Amanda invited from high school were already dancing to the music beats. One of the pack members suddenly appeared at the porch since the door was open and beckoned on me to come over to meet them outside.

Agatha was there, and I trailed after her to the front porch where the others were chatting. There were about four of them, and they all appeared to be too preoccupied to join the celebration inside since they were discussing too much.

“What’s up?”

I asked after shaking hands with them.

“It’s been a while since we last saw you and you’re having one hell of a party”

It was Clyde who spoke first.

“It is my mom, she’s stubborn on having party for me”

“Aww. She really does care for you”

“Why didn’t you pick up any of our calls?”

“I’ve been…. trying to cope with a lot of things since Damon’s not around”

Matt cut in.

“Lucky you, he’s back alright”

“What? When?”,

“He came back two days ago and actually, he was the one who called us here”

“Actually, he wants to have a chat with us and it looks like he going to be late”

Gwen added.

I wasn’t sure how I was going to react about hearing the news but for the fact that he had promised to show up anytime soon after a long absence from town, meant something special for me as his lover. And a feeling of excitement got me reeling with happiness and desire to set my eyes on him.. Agatha nudged me without unexpectedly, noticing that my face had brightened more than it had before at the thought of Damon's impending appearance. Then she gave me a silly smile, and I returned the shy smile.

“Guys, why don’t we go inside and Let’s have some drinks before Damon comes?”

Matt suggested.

“That’ll be great but it’s too late for that. Damon is already here”

“And here he comes with someone else”

Agatha said as we all looked at the direction of the road. He was already walking towards us from a distance with his hands tucked inside his leather jacket while his companion clung on him by the shoulder and we could tell that a lady accompanied him.

“Who’s that with him?”

“Be patient. We’re about to find out who she is”

As Damon was approaching, I felt even more nervous to see him coming towards us though I as glad to see that he was already here in person. Before he got to where we stood, the lady stopped abruptly and whispered something in his ear when she saw us and didn’t accompany him further. Then she went towards the house where the neighbors. I suspected something wasn’t right at that moment as I watched her walk away into the house but I was preoccupied with the thought of Damon’s remarkable return on my birthday to reckon the fact that she and Damon had come to ruin my life.