Chapter 30

                                    

                                          
SIX MONTHS LATER/ YOUR POV:
~~~~~~~~
I pick up my phone, pushing the power button. I stare at the screen, contemplating. How will they take it? I don't even know how well I can deal with it. I look at the happy faces of me, Ned, and Peter on my lock screen, still unsure. My gaze ventures to my desk, where pictures of me and my two best friends litter the plain wall above it. How much will that change?
                          
The screen goes black, and I groan, sitting on my bed. I exhale and shake my head a bit, telling myself to get it together. I unlock the device, immediately opening up my messages. 
                          
Messages to: "Nerds"
Me
There's something I need to tell you two
                          
I delete that.
                          
Me
Can we maybe meet up somewhere?
                          
Deleted.
                          
Me
I'm Eclipse
                          
Hell no. That's not even what I wanted to tell them.
                          
Me
I'm moving soon
                          
Why is this so hard?!
                          
I delete the last text as well, turning my phone off and flipping it over. I'll just... I'll tell them in person. That should be easier, right? I sigh, getting up and plugging my phone in to charge, looking at the picture taped on my wall.
                          
I finger it with a sad smile, wondering if I'll still be able to have joy like that when I'm away from Peter. I don't know if Tony will even send me to an actual school again. Shaking my head, I pick up a book on mythical creatures from the library and sit by my windowsill. 
                          
I feel a quick pulse in my eyes not too long after sunset, and I look outside the window, head tilted up at the moon.
                          
My gaze moves downward, and I gasp.
                          
THE NEXT DAY
~~~~~~~~
"Guys? I need to tell you something," I say after school, and Ned and Peter turn to me. I take a deep breath, preparing myself.
                          
"I'm moving in a month."
                          
Sadness passes over their features, and it breaks my heart. "I'll probably be homeschooled again, so don't worry about me finding new best friends, okay?" I ask, trying to seem lighthearted. They smile and wrap me in a group hug, making me swear that I will keep in contact with them.
                          
ONE MONTH LATER
~~~~~~~~
Tony's busy at some meeting abroad, and it's just me, Happy, Pepper, some of "Team Iron Man", and a bunch of the moving crew in the new facility. Just as I finish setting up the basics of my room, I get an idea. Unfortunately, I can't exactly talk to anyone here about what's been going on, since they don't know the full story. They all notice my uneasiness, but since they aren't aware of everything to do with my wolf side, they just associate it with the change from moving.
                          
I really wish Tony or Nat were here.
                          
Because these past two full moons, I finally saw something clearly. Something that gave me a bit of hope.
                          
A tail. And a shadow.
                          
But not just any shadow.
                          
The shadow of a wolf.
                          
THAT NIGHT
~~~~~~~~
I creep down the stairs in my all-black outfit, trying not to wake up anyone on my floor. I quietly open the door, closing it carefully and taking a deep breath before shifting. 
                          
Using my enhanced senses, I pick up a faint scent. Pine and rosemary. Not something you find commonly in the woods.
                          
I follow it, zig-zagging through the trees until I come to a clearing. A mix of scents tickle my nose, and I'm able to single out a few. I look at the dirt, still slightly damp from last night's rain. Paw tracks and a single pair of human footprints litter the area, and there are some claw marks in the center of the clearing. Tufts of fur and small, but old, blood stains on trees indicate a fight took place a while ago; possibly to determine alpha of a pack. Ears twitching and tail flicking back and forth, I settle in the very center and howl.
                          
The sound echoes for seemingly forever, until silence overtakes the woods again. But I know. No matter what form, a werewolf will always respond to a call. Whether it's done in human form or not. So I shift again and wait.
                          
When I hear the snap of a twig behind me, I spin around, on guard. A boy appears from the shadows, standing tall. More figures come out from the trees, forming a circle and locking me in. I turn around, doing a quick head count. 
                          
Seventeen. Seven girls and ten boys, all of whom look to be no older than teenagers, for some reason. 
                          
"Who are you," the first boy starts, "and why did you call us here?" I turn my attention to him, a familiarity coursing through me. I take in his dark, chocolate-toned hair, tanned skin, and clear, forest-green eyes. He's definitely attractive now that all his features are visible. But it's his scent that's what I know. The one I tracked. 
                          
"I think I should be the one asking questions here," I say, earning a low growl from the boy in front of me, along with many warning glances. "You come to our meeting space as an intruder and call our whole pack together for a mysterious reason, so tell me why, and I might be willing to answer some of your questions."
                          
I scoff, stepping forward and holding my ground, "You come to my window every full moon for nearly a year, run away before I can see who you are, make me think I'm being stalked-- which I was since you still came after I moved-- and expect me to answer to you? No, I deserve a reason from you, and you're going to give it to me. Right here, right now." I straighten my back, looking him in the eye. "You're on my territory; you answer me first."
                          
I shake my head, "No."
                          
Whispers go through the group at my response, clearly being something they don't hear often. "Look here, princess," I roll my eyes at the familiar, condescending, and degrading nickname, "I don't need the moon to shift, so unless you want to be ripped to shreds, answer my question." I take another step forward, a foot of space between us, "You don't intimidate me."
                          
He growls, a low, rumbling, and deep sound that sends a shudder through his circle, "Oh, no?" 
                          
I smirk, "No."
                          
With that, he lunges forward, shifting into a large, muscled, wolf with gleaming green eyes. I sidestep, shifting as well, my white fur a great difference from his dark grey. I growl, tail flicking as he turns to face me, freezing on the spot. Gasps run through the pack, and the boy reverts back to human form, stepping closer towards me. Seeing his lack of offense, I shift as well, keeping my eyes glowing as a warning. But his actions take me by surprise, as he lightly places his hand on my cheek, staring into my eyes.
                          
Confusion roots me to the spot as I feel my eyes flicker a bit, changing back to (y/e/c). "I can't believe it," he whispers, keeping his hand on my cheek. "What do you mean?" I ask, voice quiet.
                          
"After all this time," his hand moves down to my chin, tilting my head up as his eyes search my own. I look into his eyes, and then I glance around the pack. I feel my eyes start pulsing, soon changing to a bright and steady pool of color.
                          
The boy brings his hand down from my face, and his gaze never moves from my eyes as his next words shock me to the core.
                          
"You're our alpha."