#2 When the Moon Turns Red

Evie

Everything was going great, better than expected actually. I could tell that my brother was apprehensive at first, especially at the idea of me staying with a guy I had just met. But, he wasn’t one to argue or question me. He knew I was smart and didn’t do things without being sure.

I knew we were about to enter the integration phase of the evening when Elijah turned his glare on Noah. The second Noah said my full name, I knew Elijah would be satisfied. I never, ever let anyone call me that. Even my parents were forbidden from using it unless I was in trouble. I don’t know why, but I had something against the formality of it. Except for when Noah said it, then it sounded like the most amazingly wonderful word in the whole world.

I also knew that my entire plan was ruined the second Molly walked into the room. I don’t know how, but I knew by the look on her face that my brother was her mate, before she even said it. Noah grabbed a hold of Molly, keeping her from lunging for Elijah, but she was not giving up without a fight. She thrashed around in Noah’s arms wildly trying to reach my brother.

“What is going on?” Elijah yelled, standing up from his chair. I quickly stood beside him.

“It’s okay, Elijah, just give us a minute.” I said. I moved next to Noah and urged Molly to focus on me,

“Molly! Pay attention.” I called, the same voice that I had used with Noah’s dad came spilling out. Noah looked at me, startled.

“He’s human.” I hissed at her and suddenly her eyes came into focus.

“Human?” She whispered.

“He’s my brother.” I told her. She looked behind my shoulder to Elijah and then back to me,

“Oh.” She mumbled. I looked sideways at Noah and he looked at me with an amused expression.

“This is not funny.” I glared at him.

“It’s a little funny,” He shrugged,

“I’m having a sense of deja vu.”

“What are we going to do?” I grumbled.

“Why don’t you take Elijah upstairs and explain things to him. I’ll keep Molly here for a minute and calm her down. Remember how we felt at the beginning?” Noah asked and I nodded in answer.

“Just keep that in mind when you’re talking to him. It’s going to be okay, Evie, I promise.” Noah’s voice turned sweet as he ducked down and kissed me gently on the forehead. I squeezed his hand before grabbing Elijah and dragging him out of the room. I heard Molly whimpering as we left.

“What was that about, Evie?” Elijah asked.

“Come on, let’s go upstairs to Noah and I’s space and I’ll explain everything.” I told him. Elijah followed me to the elevator.

“There’s an elevator?” Elijah stared at the elevator doors, wide eyed. I laughed to myself, remembering a similar reaction that I had just a week ago.

“Come on.” I said again, yanking him into the elevator.

“Noah lives on the top floor.” I told him while hitting the button.

“You both live up here?” Elijah asked as we stepped out of the elevator. I led him to my room,

“I stay in this room and Noah has a room at the end of the hall.” I said.

“So, you live together but in separate bedrooms?” Elijah asked. I sighed. This was only going to get more confusing.

“Just sit down, Elijah.” I ordered, pushing him towards the sitting area.

“Listen, Elijah, this is about to get real crazy.” I admitted.

“It’s already pretty crazy, Ev. You’re living with a dude you just met.” Elijah said pointedly. I pinched the bridge of my nose and groaned dramatically.

“Yeah, that’s not the weird part.” I mumbled.

“You’re being weird.” Elijah said. I had no idea where to even start. Noah got lucky with me, I’m a believer in the abnormal. Elijah, on the other hand, is not. None of my brothers are, for that matter. They were fact and logic kind of guys.

“You know how I told you that Noah and I were just right for each other?” I began.

“Yeah….” Elijah replied hesitantly.

“I meant that literally. Noah and I….we have a special kind of connection.” Elijah rolled his eyes,

“I get it, Evie, he’s your soulmate.” He was mocking me but he had no idea how right he was.

“Yes, Elijah, exactly. We’re soulmates.” Elijah was looking at me like I had two heads. I shook my head at him and stood up, this wasn’t going to work. I opened my door,

“Sawyer!” I called out, knowing that my Gamma bodyguard was never too far away.

“What’s up, Evie?” Sawyer popped out from the sitting room.

“I need help.” I said, turning back to Elijah,

“Come on, Elijah, let’s go outside.” Elijah sighed and followed me back to the elevator.

“We just got up here.” He grumbled.

“I know, but this isn’t something that I can just explain. I need to show you.” I said.

“What are we doing?” Sawyer asked.

“Noah told you what’s going on?” I asked and Sawyer nodded.

“Elijah needs to see in order to understand. I can’t explain it in a way that he’ll believe me.” I said. Sawyer’s eyes went wide and he nodded again,

“I see.”

“I don’t.” Elijah grumbled.

We silently walked out the backdoor of the packhouse where a giant patio was set up for outdoor activities. It was dark out by now, but the backyard was lit up with hanging string lights and lanterns in the trees. Elijah and I stood on the patio while Sawyer walked out to the yard, standing under the lights.

“What is happening? Why is that guy getting naked?” Elijah cried out, covering his face as Sawyer started to undress.

“That’s Sawyer, he’s Noah’s best friend and my protector.” I said. Elijah looked down at me,

“Why do you need a protector?”

“Because I’m Noah’s partner, a leader of this pack, and human.” I knew I wasn’t making any sense to Elijah, but I decided that answering matter-of-factly was my best approach.

“Elijah, look.” I nodded towards the yard where a giant black wolf now stood. Elijah called out, jumping backwards and taking me with him.

“What the hell?!” He started dragging me back towards the house, but I struggled against him.

“Elijah, stop.” I ordered him, planting my feet and refusing to move.

“Evie, what are you doing!? It’s a wolf! You need to run.” Elijah yelled.

“Yes, it’s a wolf. His name is Maze.” I said calmly.

“I don’t care what its name is!” Elijah was panicking.

“Elijah, look around.” Elijah’s eyes darted around the yard and the forest.

“Where’s the guy…Sawyer?”

“He’s right there.” I pointed towards Sawyer’s wolf, Maze.

“He’s not going to hurt us, I promise.” I smiled at my brother before walking across the yard. Elijah came running after me,

“Are you crazy?”

“Yeah, probably.” I shrugged, approaching the wolf. Maze plopped down, lowering his ears and wagging his tail. I knelt down in front of him and started scratching his head.

“What is going on?” Elijah asked.

“It’s okay, you can touch him.” I grabbed Elijah’s hand and pulled him down next to me. I placed his hand on top of Maze’s head. Elijah was frozen, unmoving.

“Evie, you’re terrified of wolves.” Elijah’s voice was emotionless.

“I was, but not anymore. Now, I love them; wolves are my family.” I explained, pulling Elijah back up. We backed away from Maze and I nodded towards him, instructing Sawyer to come forward with one look.

“Just watch.” I told Elijah as Maze began to shake his giant head. I watched Elijah carefully as Maze shifted back into Sawyer. My brother’s mouth was hanging open, his eyes bulging out of his head.

“He…wolf….man….what?” Elijah stammered. Sawyer quickly got dressed and joined us.

“You alright, man?” Sawyer asked, slowly approaching my brother. Elijah opened his mouth to speak but no noise came out.

“Eli, it’s okay. It’s a lot to take in, I know.” I grabbed my brother’s hand and tugged at him.

“I live with werewolves.” I stated. Elijah’s eyes met mine then.

“I don’t know what to say….” Elijah mumbled.

“Noah’s the Alpha, he’s the leader of the pack. Everyone who lives in the village is a wolf.” I explained further.

“Is it….are you safe?” Elijah asked me.

“I’m the safest that I’ve ever been.” I promised him.

“Evie is the most important person in this entire pack,” Sawyer began as Elijah looked over at him apprehensively,

“When she mated with our Alpha, Noah, she became one of our pack leaders called the Luna. The Luna is even more valued than the Alpha because she’s responsible for keeping our Alpha in control. We worship her. I’m in charge of her safety, as the Alpha’s third in command.” I could tell that Sawyer was blowing Elijah’s mind right now.

“You’re telling me that Evie, my twin sister, is like your President?” Elijah asked. Sawyer and I chuckled,

“She’s more like our Queen, if we’re being honest.” Sawyer shrugged.

“Right.” Elijah mumbled.

“Listen, Eli, I’m taking all this in, too. It took me a while to start getting comfortable with this whole situation. But, I can’t deny my feelings. The best way to start understanding this new life was for me to start living here. At some point, I had to give up on the idea of normal and just jump in.” I tried to explain what I had been going through over the last few weeks.

“You’ve been dealing with all of this by yourself?” Elijah’s eyes suddenly went soft as he turned to face me head on.

“No, I’ve had Noah and Sawyer and his sister, Molly. I have a whole family here; I’m never alone.” I smiled.

“You’re really comfortable here.” He observed. I nodded,

“More comfortable than I’ve been in a long time, and happy.” I said. Elijah hung his arm over my shoulders,

“This is nuts, sis.” Elijah laughed, loosening up a little.

“It totally is.” I agreed, laying my head on his shoulder,

“And there’s more.” I added. Elijah pulled away and looked at me skeptically.

“Sawyer called me Noah’s mate, did you catch that?” I asked.

“I did.” Elijah said.

“Mate is kind of short for soulmate, but in a very literal sense. Werewolves believe that they are given a mate, someone who was created just for them; literally like their other half.” I tried to explain.

“So, Noah thinks that you’re his other half?” Elijah asked. I shook my head,

“It’s more than that, Elijah. I am his other half and he’s mine, we know that for a fact. We have a connection that’s not….human. We can feel each other’s feelings. Noah’s connection is even stronger than mine since he’s a wolf, it’s so much more intense for him. That’s why I really moved in because being away from me was physically painful for him.” I said. Elijah rubbed the top of his head aggressively as he tried to understand.

“This is like fairytale kind of stuff, Ev.” He said.

“Yes, yes it is.” I agreed.

“How did you figure out that you two were mates? You didn’t know about any of this before him, so how did you know that you were mates?” Elijah asked, pacing the patio. Sawyer was sitting on the patio furniture behind us, observing from a distance.

“As a wolf, Noah could sense that I was his mate just like every wolf can. Their senses go crazy and, apparently, their mate has a unique smell to them that’s intoxicating.” I repeated what Noah had explained to me.

“Alright then. So, what, Noah has just claimed you? I don’t know if I really care for that idea.” Elijah said.

“It’s not like that. If anything, we’ve claimed each other. I feel just as connected to and possessive of him as he does with me. Almost from the beginning I knew I was meant to be with Noah, even when I wasn’t ready to admit it to myself. It’s an equal partnership, Elijah, not ownership.” I assured him.

“I’m trusting you, Evie, you’ve always known your own mind. I know you wouldn’t do something if you weren’t 150% sure of it and that doesn’t happen until you’ve made a pros and cons list, and written a five paragraph essay with annotated notes.” Elijah teased me, bumping his shoulder against mine. I giggled at my brother, surprised at how well he was actually taking all of this. This must have been how Noah felt when I didn’t completely freak out.

“Noah is asking if he should bring Molly out?” Sawyer spoke up from behind us. I looked at Elijah and gauged how much more he was able to take.

“Okay.” I said to Sawyer, deciding that it was better to explain everything all at once.

“So, there’s one more thing you need to know.” I said to Elijah.

“What now?” He sighed.

“Molly is Sawyer’s sister and she’s the first person I met here, she’s my best friend. She’s also the girl who came into Noah’s office earlier.” I said.

“I remember, she was the one freaking out.” Elijah nodded.

“Yeah, she was freaking out because of you.” I replied plainly.

“What did I do?” Elijah’s voice cracked.

“You didn’t do anything, Elijah, but you are Molly’s mate.” I winced, waiting for his reaction.