Moon's Rising - 1. A New Moon on the Horizon

“Stay with me, pup,” the dark haired boy looked him in the eyes. “You can do this.”

“It hurts so bad,” the blond struggled to say through the tears.

“I have you. I am right here,” the other said, trying to hide the worried look on his face. His hand locked tightly around the other boy’s hand.

The younger boy could feel his body convulse again, the pain enveloping him. With one last sharp jerk the boy couldn’t help to let out a howl in pain. As the pain subsided, he felt a hand gently rub the top of his head. He looked up to see the dark haired boy looking down at him, this time the look of relief was clearly cemented to his face.

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Gavin Evans slowed to a quick paced walk. He just did his usual mile run around the park and it felt great. He looked down at his watch and noticed he still had enough time to get home and shower before classes started.

He was glad when he had found this place over the summer. His family had just relocated to southern California from Colorado and while he enjoyed the beaches and the ocean, he missed running in the woods back home more. He regretted the fact that his father’s job forced him to move away from his friends and more namely his boyfriend Jace, but now that he found his running spot he was finding the ability to clear his head in the mountains refreshing.

He made his way back to his truck and then to the new house he now calls home. Up in his room, he pulled off the sweat soaked t-shirt and threw it in the hamper. Looking at himself, he couldn’t feel better about himself. While not a football jock, he was still an avid cross country runner and found himself with strong legs and just that little bit of stubborn baby fat clinging to his stomach.

He finished in his shower, spiked up his short blond hair, put on his best green plaid shirt and a pair of nice fitting jeans and made his way to his truck and to school.

At the school, he looked down at his schedule and to the classroom numbers.

“Room 212, where the hell is this room.”

Most everyone ignored the blond and just went about their business. On a couple of occasions, a couple of rather ignorant jocks bumped into him. Most would give him a dirty glare or make a rude comment, but Gavin was intent on finding his classroom.

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Alec Cameron made his way through the school halls towards his homeroom. He ran his fingers through his jet black hair and pushed it back. When he did that, it was not hard to mistake the trademark blond streak in his hair. Even in his true wolf form, the streak showed across his face once he shifted.

As he made his way through the bustle of the other students, he took a deep breath and smelled the most attractive scent in the world. He had to find the source of this new amazing scent. He looked in the direction that the scent came from and couldn't help but stop and stare at an amazing sight ahead of him. The blond boy looked around in confusion. Alec had never seen this blond boy before. The boy looked so amazing in his green plaid shirt and something inside Alec told him that he must meet this new young man.

He walked up the the boy and put a hand on his shoulder, “Hey bud, can I help you find your way?”

The smaller blond looked at Alec with these amazing blue eyes and the wolf inside of Alec wanted to make him beg for the boy to do things to him. This was definitely a new sensation for the boy, being one of the most dominate pups in his pack, but he didn’t mind the idea at all.

“I’m looking for room 212,” the boy said continuing to look around.

“Come on I’ll show you.” Alec replied as he instinctively pointed the way out to the new boy.

“I’m Alec, by the way,” the dark haired boy offered up to him. “I don’t think I have seen you around here before.”

“I’m Gavin. I just moved here over the summer, so this is my first day.”

“Junior or Senior?” The older boy inquired.

“Technically I am a Senior, but I was homeschooled for a while, so I am a year ahead.”

The boys continued their pleasantries, learning about each other. Alec was the varsity football and baseball captain, and every guy that the boys passed seemed to either divert their eyes or bow their heads to the older boy.

“Well, here we are, room 212,” the dark haired boy presented the room like a game show host. “Hope to see you around again Gavin.”

“Definitely.”

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The day passed slowly for Gavin. He was getting tired of everyone asking if he was new and why his family moved here. The others who didn't ask, mostly the jocks, gave him a feeling that he was an intruder to their territory, and it made him uncomfortable.

He wished most of the people he had met today had been like Alec. Gavin thought that he was a genuinely nice guy. Alec never once got annoyingly over inquisitive, just made simple small talk. It also didn’t hurt that he was very good looking. The thought of Alec’s emerald greens and wonderful smile kept appearing in Gavin’s mind when his thoughts began to wander, as though the image had been permanently burned in.

When the bell sounded for lunch, he made his way to his locker to grab his lunch and found his way to the cafeteria. As he entered the cafeteria, he felt a powerful, yet familiar, set of hands grip his shoulders. He looked back to see Alec, beaming with a smile.

“I didn’t think I’d be seeing you again so soon. Why don’t you come sit with us? I’ll introduce you to the guys.”

Gavin really didn’t need to think about it. Looking into Alec’s puppy dog eyes, he somehow knew that the dark headed boy was not going to accept no for an answer, not that he would have said no to the person who had been on his mind all morning. He followed to one of the tables in the back of the large room. As they approached, two other football players, wearing their letterman jackets, stood up and observed Alec and Gavin.

“Hey guys, this is Gavin. He is new to the school and I figured we should get to know him and help him out.”

The guys gave Alec a quizzical look, but shook Gavin’s hand as Alec introduced him. The first was Jack, a linebacker built like a freight train. Jack seemed to instinctively eye over Gavin, almost like he was trying to determine if Gavin posed a threat to Alec or any other friends. The other was Chris, slightly smaller than Jack, but very similar in stance. Chris seemed more trusting of Alec’s decision to befriend the new boy, but still gave of a sense that seemed to be that he wondered the motives behind it.

“If you need anything, or if someone gives you any trouble, you just tell one of us and we will take care of it,” Alec said to the smaller boy. Gavin was taken aback by the tone of Alec’s voice and the immediate response of his two friends in agreement. Gavin could have sworn that he could almost hear the rumble of a growl in the older boy’s voice.

“I’d like to thank you guys, it hasn’t been easy today. It’s bad enough that I am new and don’t know anyone, but I keep getting glances like I am an intruder.” Gavin started to look upset, “I want to let you all know that to top it all off I’m gay, so if you don’t want to be friends with me because of that it’s ok. I have had a lot of people back home do that.”

Gavin wasn’t sure why he thought that was the right time to mention it, but something about Alec and his friends made him comfortable.

“Bud, don’t worry about it. First off, you are not the only one at this table who is gay, not that it would make much of a difference to us. As I said, anyone gives you shit, you find us.”

Something about the tone in Alec’s voice told Gavin that he was under the protection of the older boys and it further let him relax. The other two boys looked at each other, a slight hint of concern or curiosity filtering its way to their faces.

As the boys finished their lunch, Alec asked Gavin were his next class was.

“Room 104, History.”

Alec flashed Gavin another one of his bright smiles, “Hey guys, looks like we all have at least one class together.”

They all got up and headed for the classroom. As they walked down the crowded halls, Alec was talking to him about the various going ons in the school and town. For only just meeting Alec, Gavin felt comfortable with these older boys. His nervousness just seem to evaporate and he truly felt protected, especially when he noticed Chris and Jack flanking them on either side. While he could tell they were being nonchalant about it, they looked like a couple of bodyguards.

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In history class, the boys sat together in the back of the room. Somehow, Gavin found himself in the very back corner of the room with Alec to his left and the other two in front of him. A couple of jocks gave Gavin the same dirty look he had been getting all day, but the minute they caught sight of Alec’s eyes, they avoided looking back at them for the rest of the class. Surprisingly, they also were the first to leave the classroom when the bell rang.

Alec made sure that Gavin knew where he was going and sent him on his way. Whether it was curiosity or something else, Alec felt himself drawn to this boy. He could feel his wolf dragging him to follow Gavin. He couldn’t understand why he felt such a pull.

As the boys made their way from their class, Gavin couldn’t help to realize that Alec was following behind him, just far enough away to make it appear he wasn’t, but Gavin knew he had attracted the boy’s attention and surprisingly didn’t mind it at all. Once Gavin made his way into the classroom, Alec seemed to disappear to his own class. Gavin looked back to see Alec running to his next class, he just lightly smiled to himself and found a seat.

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Alec was sitting next to Jack in their next class. Jack leaned over to Alec, who was strangely lost in a daydream.

“What has gotten into you man? You ok?”

“I’m fine, better than fine bro. Why do you ask?” Alec asked, not getting Jack’s reasons for asking.

“What’s this thing with the new kid?”

“Who? Gavin? He’s a cool guy and needs a friend.” Alec replied with a big grin.

“Dude, you haven’t grinned like that in a long time, not since James broke your heart. Even then, you didn’t have it this bad.”

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“Dude, isn’t obvious. You got a case puppy love.”

Alec looked at his friend, “what the fuck dude, I do not.”

“Alec, in the course of the last 6 hours, you have met this boy, brought him to your pack, protected him against other wolves. Top it all off with the fact that he isn’t pack, there is something wrong with you.”

Alec let out a quiet growl and his friend leaned back. Instinct had kicked in for Alec. Jack crossed the line and now he knew it.

For as much as he knew Jack was right, Alec couldn’t understand why Gavin interested him so. Gavin’s blond hair and sapphire blue eyes were burned into his memory and for whatever reason, he had this overwhelming urge to befriend this boy.

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That night at dinner, Gavin’s parents had been asking him all the run of the mill questions about his first day at school. When they finally got to the topic of making new friends, Gavin couldn't help but offer the details of his new friends.

“Most of kids were either too nosy about the why we moved here kind of stuff. Too pushy to get into my personal life. Most of the jocks kept giving me crap about not belonging at the school.”

“They will come around,” Mrs. Evans said. “You’ll make some new friends soon enough.”

“Well, there was this one guy,” Gavin said, a warm smile forming on his face.

“Really?” Asked his mom.

“Yeah, his name is Alec. He helped me find a my classroom this morning, he introduced me to his friends at lunch, and we have history class together. He’s a nice guy, did a lot to help me feel somewhat welcome in the school.”

Gavin was very careful to leave out the fact that Alec’s emerald eyes had a way of burning themselves into Gavin’s entire being and that every time he closed his eyes, those eyes seemed to be what he saw.

After dinner was over, Gavin made his way up to his bedroom and got changed for bed. As he changed, he pictured Alec’s face and his eyes which the longer he thought about them, the more he realized just how much he loved those eyes.

He looked out the window before heading to bed. He almost wondered what Alec was up to right now. Gavin still didn’t understand why thoughts of Alec kept swirling around in his head. Of course he was nice, funny, and over all that attractive to a fault. That fact made him want to really get to know Alec as much as he can.

In the bushes below, Gavin didn't notice the black wolf staring at him from below. This particular wolf was larger than most wolves, and had a large white stripe down the right side of its face and if you looked hard enough to see its eyes, you would see the most stunning emerald green eyes staring back at you. The wolf wondered what the boy was thinking of. Once Gavin stepped away from the window and the light turned off, the wolf slowly made its way from the bushes toward the wood line not far from the house.

The next morning couldn't come fast enough for either of them.

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Gavin stood in the hallway where he had met Alec the day before, hoping that their paths would cross before lunch. He was happy to see that his hopes were soon realized as a very happy looking Alec came rushing down the hall towards him.

“You get lost again?” Alec teased him.

“No, I didn't get lost. Was hoping to catch you before lunch, that's all.”

The two joked around as they made their way to Gavin’s first class. Both boys were genuinely happier in each other's company, for only meeting the day before, and it was all too apparent when they had to go their separate ways for class.

The day was more of the same until lunch, where Gavin was waved over to the table by a very gitty looking Alec. Today, Jack was less uptight compared to their meeting the day prior. Chris was the first though to bring Gavin up to speed on the conversation the three were having.

Alec leaned over and whispered into Gavin's ear, “give me your cell phone a sec.”

The feeling of Alec’s breath against his neck and ear made it hard for Gavin to think. Gavin handed over his iPhone and watched as Alec filled in all his contact info into the phone. Alec then sent himself a message so he had the other boy’s number too.

“There, now you don't need to stalk me in the halls in the morning,” Alec teased.

“Ha ha, very funny!”

The bell rang and the four made their way to the history classroom. As Gavin, walked to the seat in the back, the one jock who gave him the eye the day before put his foot out and tripped him. It was too late and Gavin was close to crashing hard to the floor, having narrowly missed the corner of a desk, when he felt an arm catch him.

“You okay?” It was Alec, whose arm caught him.

“Aww, look. The big, bad Alec has himself a new pet,” mocked the jock who tripped Gavin. He looked Alec straight in the eye, “I didn't know you were starting to collect strays.”

Alec just ignored the jock and nudged Gavin to his seat. As they made it to their seats, Gavin saw Alec trying to bore a hole into the other jock with his eyes.

“Who is that asshole?” Gavin asked. Alec just brushed it off and left the question unanswered.

For the majority of the class, Alec intently keeping his eyes fixed on the jock. Gavin noticed the look of rage burning in his friend’s eyes and simply reached out and put his hand over Alec’s to tell him he was fine. As Alec looked down at his hand covered by Gavin's, he felt his rage subside and his anger start to melt away., even treating Gavin to a slight smile.

Alec still didn’t know why the simple actions of the younger boy did this to him. It was like he was putty in Gavin’s hands and couldn’t care less.

As Alec lost himself in thought about Gavin, the simple gesture didn’t go unnoticed by the other jock either. This jock knew that this would be the way to get to Alec.

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That night Alec’s run in his wolf form lead him to follow his nose to the home of Gavin. He still couldn’t figure out why his wolf would pull him to this boy. The black wolf noticed the light in the boy’s bedroom and made his way to a spot he could watch without being seen. Instinctively, he stuck his muzzle in the air to catch the scent of the young man, when another scent invaded his nose- the scent of another shifter from the pack.

Alec’s wolf jumped from behind the bushes where he was hiding and started to sniff out the invading wolf. He followed the other wolf scent towards the tree line where he saw an over-sized brown timber wolf growling at him. When the other wolf was sure he had captured Alec’s attention, he just turned and ran into the wood line, almost daring Alec to follow.

Alec took the bait and ran into the woods and found the wolf in a clearing waiting for the attack. As Alec made his way into the clearing, the scent of other wolves soon filled the air as another six appeared from the trees around the clearing.

The brown wolf took the opportunity to strike at Alec and knock him to the ground, but Alec soon recovered and started on the offensive. Alec’s massive paw caught the other wolf across the muzzle and the force of which his hit threw the other across the small clearing. As the brown wolf attempted to strike back, Alec was able to grab him by the neck and sunk his teeth in.

The other wolf, whose fur was now starting to tinge red with blood, let out a yelp and Alec dropped him. The others around the tree line, moved in to attack, but with one pathetic bark of their leader, they ran off with the leader in the lead.

Alec knew that this was not the end of this. In fact, this was the beginning of something new and now Gavin was in danger.