Sharp Shorts - 1. Moon Festival

“Grandpa?”

“Hm?” I turned around from watching the moon disappearing behind a cloud. Tig sat among her Legos. “What’s a fuck fest?”

I swallowed. My daughter had asked me to watch her pups while she was out celebrating the Moon Festival with her mate. And today of all days her six-year-old had to ask me this. I threw a withering gaze at her brother, who pretended to be engrossed in whatever he was doing on his laptop. As if I hadn’t seen the twitch at the corner of his mouth. “Where did you learn this word, honey?”

She tried to attach a silvery moon to the turret of her castle. The tip of her tongue came out between her lips. “Car says Mommy and Daddy goes alone to the party ‘cause Moon Festival is a big fuck fest.”

“I see.” I raised my voice. “How about Carolus explains to the both of us what he really wanted to say, because I absolutely don’t know what he meant by that.”

I felt a little bad for my grandson when his face became beet red and he spluttered, “Me?”

“Sure.” I nodded.

Tig and I looked at him expectantly, but no words came out of his mouth. After a while, I suggested, “Maybe start with who we honor with the festival.”

“Mother Moon.” He glared at me like the little alpha wolf he was.

Tig clapped her hands together. “Oh, Mother Moon!”

“Exactly. And why do we honor her tonight?”

“Because it’s Harvest Moon.”

“And?”

He actually growled at me under his breath.

”Watch it, pup.” I waited for him to calm down and continue.

Reluctantly he said, “Mother Moon guides us to our mates on Harvest Moon.”

“That’s right. If we’re lucky, she shows us our true mates during the festival. Your parents have been lucky, and today they celebrate Mother Moon’s gift bestowed on them and thank her.”

“By fucking in the woods.”

“Carolus! That is not a nice word.” I seldomly have to use my alpha voice with my grandchildren, but that night I had to. “Carolus, explain in nice words to your sister what your parents are doing tonight.”

“They ask Mother Moon for a pup.” He closed the laptop. Before anyone could demand more details, he looked at me. “Did you meet Gran at the festival?”

“Your grandmother wasn’t my true mate. I met her when her family visited mine. The packs decided it was more important to ensure the succession of our respective family lines than to find our true mates.”

“You never met the love of your life, your true mate, Grandad?”

I turned around to look out of the window again. The moon hung full and undisguised over the forest. For a brief moment, a huge black shadow flashed across it. I smiled. “Many years after your grandmother passed away, Mother Moon granted me my true mate.”

“Who is it? Do we know her?”

“His name is Tiryrth, and tonight he came to bring me to his home in the mountains. I did my duty as alpha as I promised. From tomorrow on, however, your mother will lead the River Bend pack.”

I started a new flash fiction collection thanks to Aaron and his wolfish prompt.
Thank you for reading, reacting and commenting.
As always  @Valkyrie for your speedy editing and help.