December's Moon

26| LUCA

| LUCA |

"Luca, what's going on?" Nate asked.

At the sound of his voice, the mind link connection that Luca had been submerged in with December and Aurora snapped. Luca turned his gaze up to find Niki, Priscilla, Zane, and Nate staring at him.

He ran his hands over the rough surface of the molded concrete bench he sat on before gripping the rough underside with his fingertips. The light sprinkle of rain picked up to a pounding moan. Thunder grumbled and roared on the horizon, followed by a gust of wind. The fire alarm was still going off like the wail of a siren through a storm.

The rest of the student body stood around the wolf fountain at the center of the courtyard in front of Stowe and Tame Hall. In the rain and darkening clouds, the stone wolf's grimace was more agonized and pained than imposing and brave.

"Luca?" Zane called when he didn't respond.

"I . . ." Luca's voice trailed off. He didn't want to lie to any of his classmates, but he also had no idea where to begin with explaining everything that was going on. His eyes went to Niki. Her face was as pale as a ghost.

"Luca, what just happened to me?" she asked. "Who was that woman? You knew what I was talking about when I mentioned her. Who is she?"

"All due respect, man, but you need to tell us what's going on," Zane said.

"I will," Luca began, "just . . ."

The throaty rumble of a car's engine cut Luca off before he could finish his sentence. His heart leapt into his mouth. The sound was familiar, like Avi Wakelin's Jaguar, but not as pained. Instead, a metallic, sapphire-blue '69 Corvette Stingray prowled down Academy Drive, roaring and growling like a lion. As it turned into the circle of the courtyard, the mass of students backed up, compressing to make way as their chorus of whispers grew.

The door on the driver's side of the Corvette opened. Even with the rain soaking his dark blond hair, the man that stepped out was imposing and carried an air of force. His gaze swept over the student body before finally settling on Luca.

Everyone went quiet.

"Uncle Rowan?" Luca gasped.

"Luca," Rowan Wakelin returned the greeting, his gruff voice deep and strong. As the Alpha of Cypress Pass Pack approached, he nodded to Luca, his piercing blue eyes holding intense contact.

Alpha Rowan was in his late thirties, and even though he was Avi Wakelin's younger brother, from his appearance alone, it was clear he held more wisdom, experience, and knowledge than Avi could hope to have in half a century. The way he studied everyone and approached with conviction and superiority left no room for arguing.

Alpha Rowan had been away the past few months on an extended diplomacy trip to meet with neighboring wolf packs. Luca swallowed the lump in his throat. The fact that he was back early meant what was happening here was serious enough that even he had heard news of it . . . and long enough ago to make the trek back.

The whispers from the rest of the student body amplified once again as Uncle Rowan reached Luca. He placed a hand on his shoulder, gripping a pinch tighter than what was comfortable. Behind Rowan, a caravan of three black SUVs made their way down Academy Drive towards the courtyard. Of course, Alpha Rowan wouldn't be traveling alone. He had his entourage—his Beta and guards—along with him.

"What . . ." Luca began, trying to figure out what to say. "What are you doing here, Uncle Rowan?"

"Your teachers, Professor Fenris and Professor Conri, contacted me a few days ago," Alpha Rowan replied. "They tipped me off that some strange things were going on here. Your classmate, Malcolm, going missing to begin with. This morning, I received another phone call from Professor Conri that more students had disappeared, and that when he approached Dean Vallin regarding taking the appropriate action and getting the students out of the school, he was disregarded."