Haven
Magnus, Alo, and three other men were busying themselves with party preparation chores in the great hall of Dark Moon Manor when and Strix entered the room from opposite hallways. Fen sat at a long table, a small magnifying mirror placed before him as he fixed his eyeliner and played with his hair.
“Anything I can help with?” asked Fen, a towel draped over his head as he patted it into his hair.
“Another cold shower, huh, ?” Fen teased, almost as though he knew something was up with him.
“Actually, I—” began before being cut off.
“You know what? That reminds me. Maggie, love,” Fen interrupted by calling to his partner, who stood at the top of a metal ladder closest to him. Tasked with decorations, Magnus was adjusting the angle of a string of black and gold balloons that hung above the hall’s entry. “Be sure to put the ladder away when you’re done with it. Something tells me it’s going to create a bit of a mess if we’re not mindful. Oh, and I do so love you in that nice button-up you’re wearing.”
“Huh?” Magnus shifted his weight on the ladder, mindful of his footing. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep an eye out.”
Having just finished setting up a speaker and set of microphones on a small mini stage in the corner of the room, Alo walked over to Strix and gave him a nod. “Brother.”
“Alo,” Strix nodded back, his expression cold. “And the rest of you gentlemen, may I have you all meet outside of my office for a quick debrief before tonight’s party? Let’s say in ten minutes.”
“Yes, sir.” Magnus concentrated as he pulled the string taut and wrapped it on a hanging hook. “Let me just get this placement right.”
“Alo, won’t you walk with me?” Strix asked, looking his younger brother up and down as he stepped into the hallway and began walking back to his quarters.
“Uh,” Alo looked around the room to make sure he wasn’t leaving his friends hanging before replying. His eyes met briefly with ’s before exiting the room. “Sure thing.”
“Interesting,” Fen whispered his observation to Magnus. “Strix seems stricter than normal.”
“You’re just saying that because it sounds funny,” replied his boyfriend.
“Strict Strix?” asked. “Sounds about right.”
“You’re not wrong, Magpie,” Fen chimed in. “But he’s not been the same since he involved himself with Dr. Dark Moon. I’ll bet they’re having a torrid love affair.”
’s mind wandered back to what he overheard from outside of Strix’s office. Can confirm that affair, he thought to himself.
“And why does she have the same surname as our wolf pack, anyway?” asked Dachre, a handsome, cocky, and sometimes outspoken freshman who was busy untangling a string of decorative lights.
“Interesting of you to ask, Dachre Dark Moon ,” replied Fen. “Especially when you’re still just a pledge.”
“Anyone who has followed the beliefs of our wolf clan can take the name if they so choose, Fenrir Phillips, ” the shortest of the men chimed in, Dachre’s twin brother, Devon. He, along with another werewolf named Nik, had just finished setting up a series of punch and food bowls. “And while it’s true that historically the views of our clan have been more—shall we say, um, patriarchal, who better to lead us into a matriarchal rule than the Queen of Wolves?”
“Amen, Devon,” said Nik, flashing him a smile. “The Queen of Wolves will bring us into a fruitful era, and will lead all of lycankind into a new age of powers.”
“By doing what?” Magnus asked as he descended from the ladder. “Leaving us to go to Mystic Hollow University?”
“ No, ” Devon was quick to reply, his brows furrowing. “She’ll do it by bringing back the very first King of Wolves and— well, you’ll see. ”
Nik silenced Devon by putting a finger over his lips.
“Oh, here we go with the werewolf urban legends again,” Magnus said with a sigh, pulling the ladder closed and moving it to lean against a nearby wall. “Next thing you know, we’ll be resurrecting Lycegenes himself.”
“Please,” Fen sighed, sliding his mirror aside and pulling out a nail file. “We all know Lycegenes is the mythological one. Theodulf, on the other hand?” Fen stopped short of finishing his thought, the sound of his voice replaced by the grating sound of metal on his nails.
“What are you all rambling on about now?” asked, taking a seat next to Fen.
“The King of Wolves, love,” Fen replied nonchalantly as he blew dust from a finished nail.
“Who’s he and where’s he at?” asked Dachre. “Part of another pack?”
Fen shot Magnus an annoyed look. Magnus replied with a look that suggested Fen show the newer wolves some grace.
“Since clearly not all of us have passed our pledge exam yet,” Fen began with a dramatic sigh, “I suppose I’ll explain. As most learned lycans know, a king hasn’t sat on the Canid Throne in many years. The name King of Wolves refers to someone known to wolves as the wolf witch, Theodulf. It is said that he and he alone brought magic to the werewolf line so that we may turn at will and exude powers specific to the marriage of our own DNA mutated with the lycanthrope gene. So, for example, like how Hemming here is known for his healing paws, while I am known for the paws of premonition.”
“So, what?” Dachre asked. “This king died?”
“Death, a funny thing really,” Fen sighed as he continued his manicure.
“See our fraternity crest right up there?” Magnus pointed to a large golden insignia directly in the center of his balloon display.
“Yeah,” said Dachre, looking up and rolling his eyes. “It’s just a silly, simple drawing with a hidden meaning, just like every fraternity crest to ever exist.”
looked from Fen to Magnus, then to the shiny, gold-plated seal. He knew Dachre was right—no one had explained the meaning of the crest to him, and even Strix himself had mused that the stories behind it might be lost to time itself. Within the insignia appeared to be a waning crescent moon—the dark moon—with a wolf howling toward the sky.
“Well, what about it?” asked as Dachre, Nik, and Devon joined him in studying the design.
“Babe?” Magnus asked, offering the story to his boyfriend.
Fen—a bottle of black nail polish now in his hands—shook his head no, imploring his lover to continue. “You go on. I’m too excited over the newest shade you got me.”
Magnus seemed to take great pleasure in Fen’s cute excitement, almost forgetting to explain the insignia. “ Oh, um, right, ” he fumbled, tugging at the sleeves of his fitted white dress shirt. “Werewolves as we all know them today are said to have come from what’s depicted in the Dark Moon coat of arms: the King of Wolves casting a power-sharing spell during the waning crescent, also known as?—”
“The Dark Moon,” Fen absentmindedly interrupted.
“This story,” paused, his heart suddenly racing. “It-it sounds familiar.”
“It’s one passed down through generations,” Magnus said as he poured himself a glass of the punch. “It began when one of the first witches to walk the earth fell in love with the First Werewolf.”
Similar to his wet dream—similar even to the waking flashes he had been experiencing since yesterday— suddenly saw the same memory that Pruitt recalled. He watched as Pruitt’s hands reached for the face of a handsome man. He heard the cry of wolves.
“Werewolves were created by witches, yes?” Dachre interrupted. “I mean, that’s what I heard, anyway.”
“Rumor has it the First Werewolf was an innocent human turned into the familiar of The First Witch, the most powerful magic-wielder of all time,” Magnus said with a nod. “She demanded full obedience, love, blah, blah, blah. Typical abusive narcissist qualities, right? But the First Werewolf rejected her—and every time he would find love, the First Witch would meddle in it.”
“What a soap opera,” said Dachre.
“You’re telling me,” Fen chimed in, his face twisting and contorting as he concentrated on getting the perfect coat. “And a gay one, at that.”
“Very gay,” Magnus said with a nod. “The First Werewolf—he gave a witch named Theodulf his powers to protect him, but it wasn’t enough. The two knew their time together was short—that the First Werewolf’s jealous ex-lover would kill them both—and so the Wolf Witch unlocked his magical powers so that they could be shared through the lycanthrope bloodline to protect us from harm.”
Dachre looked at his watch. “Then what?”
“Then the First Witch killed the Wolf Witch,” said with confidence, his hands reaching toward the insignia.
“Who today many wolf clans identify as the start of our true heritage, the one who protects us—the King of Wolves,” added Magnus.
“The one said to return again to sit on the throne and lead the wolves into a new era of enlightenment,” Nik and Devon chanted eerily in unison.
“Huh?” Dachre turned to face the two. “You two are tripping.”
“Believe what you want, but that’s the tale,” Fen said as he blew on his finished nails. “And Dr. Dark Moon has a major boner for this King of Wolves.”
“He’s gay, though, right?” Dachre scoffed. “Guess someone has to tell her good luck with that.”
Everyone laughed.
gathered with his fraternity brothers in the parlor. Curiously, Alo stood solemnly in line with Strix’s other two assistants. Strix stood between Alo and Gaius, a gritted-teeth smile on his face. “First and foremost, I appreciate you all gathering here on such short notice. I also want to thank the party planning committee, led by Nik Barber and Fen Phillips, for arranging tonight’s festivities.”
The fraternity members present applauded. ’s claps were slower, his focus on Alo’s altered demeanor. What’s Strix got him into now? he wondered to himself.
“I’d like to chime in and offer a special thanks to Dr. Dark Moon for her gracious donation to the committee’s festivities fund,” Nik said as he briefly stood up. Everyone applauded again, including Strix.
“Dr. Dark Moon will be stopping by for a special announcement later in the evening, and has told me that she is looking forward to another wonderful evening with the Dark Moon Boys,” said Strix. “That being said, we will follow a strict policy on our guest list, per usual. All of our house rules will apply as normal, with the exception of quiet hours, but festivities must be wrapped up by two in the morning.”
The group cheered.
“Sir, may I ask a question?” A man sitting next to on one of the room’s couches spoke up. recognized him as a freshman pledge named Rolf. Strix nodded. “I noticed that the East Wing in the manor is closed off. Is that for the party? I-I only ask because that’s the only way to access the manor basement, and I was hoping to grab my bike from the storage room tomorrow.”
Strix let out a controlled sigh, then turned to Alo. “Excellent question, Rolf Dark Moon. In the interest of time, and my needing to prepare for the evening, I will leave further questions to my trusted brother, Alo. Please excuse me, gentlemen.”
Strix nodded to Alo, who stepped forward as Strix disappeared into his office.
“Rolf is correct,” began Alo. “The East Wing will remain off-limits until tomorrow morning for an impromptu ceremony featuring the good doctor. This is all highlighted on the updated itinerary sent to your school emails. This means that no one is to be found smooching their date in the closed off rooms on that side of the manor, including the lower level of the home.”
Was this suspicious? couldn’t be sure. Alo fielded more basic questions as the blonde werewolf’s mind wandered. He came back to reality when he heard his name.
“You’re all excused, but I invite anyone who is free to join Nik and Fen in any last-minute preparations before the night begins,” announced Alo. “Um, but could I speak with you for a moment, ?”
looked around as the others poured out of the room. “Sure, what’s up?”
“How about we chat in private?” Alo’s face seemed uneasy.
could feel the eyes of Fen and Magnus on him as they lingered, waiting until the last minute possible to step out of the room. Alo pulled the parlor doors closed, nodding to Strix’s two guards after turning the lock. The two men disappeared inside of Strix’s office.
As was usual, the fireplace crackled and created shadows across the walls of the room. Though had never seen him act in such a way, Alo seemed uncomfortable in his own clothing. He wore a long-sleeved black button up, but his right sleeve was missing its cufflink. There was a single bead of sweat on his forehead as he stood to attention.
moved in to do their friend handshake, but Alo seemed surprised. “Hm?” Alo asked, a confused look on his face as waited for the initiating fist bump.
“You okay, Alo?” asked as he dropped his arms to his sides.
“A little off,” Alo admitted, tugging at the undone sleeve. “Probably just nervous about tonight.”
“What did you want to talk about?”
“Your new friend.”
Taking note of the sudden change in his friend’s inflection, shifted uncomfortably “Sure. What about him?”
“Griff, is it?” Alo asked. “Will he be joining us tonight?”
“Uh, I think so,” said, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “I also extended my other invite so that he could bring a plus one of his choice. You know, to make him feel comfortable and everything.”
“ Comfortable, yes ,” Alo seemed to peer into ’s soul. “And do you know who he will be bringing with him?”
“Why, you need a date?”
“No,” Alo said quickly. “For bookkeeping purposes.”
“I think it’s a friend of his from MHU. Um, Darcy, I think is the name.”
“Very well,” Alo nodded, his face expressionless.
“You gonna be okay, man?” asked . “Did you and Strix get into it again?”
Alo seemed hesitant to reply, looking down as he did. “Um, well, kind of… But I think we both see eye to eye now.” Finally, his signature smile—big, bright, and welcoming—lit up his face. “What do you say we go and make sure Fen doesn’t need us?”
felt the tightness in his chest disappear. “Uh, yeah,” he nodded. “Of course.”
“And by the way,” Alo gave a quick pat on ’s shoulder. “You asked me if I needed a date. Is that to imply that this Griff kid is, in fact, your date?”
“He’s coming as a friend. But I don’t know. The plus one thing kind of threw one off,” admitted .
Alo smiled. “I’m sure you’ll charm him either way.”
“Yeah. And Darcy—I mean, that’s a common girl’s name, right? So, maybe it’s nothing to be worried about.”
The two bantered like the old friends they were as they made their way out of the parlor and down to the great hall. It was enough to make the blonde werewolf forget about the uneasiness between them just moments ago.