Bound to The Moon: A Random Sentence Generator Short Story Challenge
- Kali Kuzma
- 8 hours ago
- 15 min read
Story Prompt and Conversations
Back at it with another short story. I went ahead and pulled my low content book, 45 Writing Prompts for Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced Writers which is now available on Amazon, to draw inspiration from. I also took a conversation my friend and I had while working and decided to put the two together to write this story. Hope you enjoy!
Prompt
Sentence: I did my best to help him.
Name: Clayton
Words: 2000-2500
Bound to the Moon
July 1984
I slurped my slushie, eyeing the guy across the court yard.
"What do you think his name is?" Stephanie dunked her fry into the heap of ketchup and chewed.
"Clearly Fabio," Sarah straightened, adjusting her side pony while staring along with us. The guy wasn't like any of the other boys in the pack nor in town for that matter. No, this was a man. A fully grown man with hair bulging from his chest, his brown locks streaming from his crown down the length of his back. One any girl would be envious of.
"Do you think his coat is just as soft and wavy as his hair?" I stretched out my hand as if I could touch it from where I sat. I took a small whiff to get his scent, but was welcomed with smells of cheesy pizza slices and plastic chair common to the mall food court.
"Stop that, Jessica," Sarah pushed my arm down. I kept my eyes on him taking another sip of my drink. By now, my tongue surely had to be blue from the sugary dye. "Our brother overheard our parents whispering about the exchange. Apparently he's from the Moonveil Pack," Sarah held firmly onto my arm.
"Moonveil?" My voice rose higher in question than I'd anticipated. "They haven't released anyone from the pack in over 200 years. I thought they wanted to keep to the bloodline?"
Sarah shrugged. "Don't know. All I know is that Tabitha was offered as an exchange, but they refused the offer."
"You mean the Tabitha Grimley? Otherwise known as the hottest girl in the pack. The one every guy drools after on a full moon and the reason why I can never get a date to homecoming?" Stephanie shot a glance over to Sarah for a split second before returning her gaze.
"That's the one."
"Damnnnnn. The women in Moonveil must be babes if they wouldn't even think twice about Tabitha. What I would pay to get a glance of them."
"Yep," Sarah said popping the p in agreement.
At that moment the man turned, his eyes falling upon the three of us. "Shit," I breathed suddenly very interested in my slushie. The twins fidgeted clearly avoiding eye contact as much as myself. A few moments ticked by and I finally dared to look. He was gone, somehow blending in with the hordes of shoppers spilling in and out of the stores.
"We should get going," I stood snatching my bag and checking the time on my watch. The ceremony would be starting soon.
"Welcome to the Annual Howl Gathering. It’s my pleasure to be hosting this year's gathering right here on the outskirts of Renfire Woods, where the origins of Emberfur Pack began."
Mayor Crestshaw, one of the leaders of our pack, spoke from behind her podium on stage. If I really wanted to I could almost say the speech word for word as she repeated it year after year. Except this year would be a little different due to the exchange.
The mayor continued, "Over 200 years ago our ancestor Kaelan Emberfur graced these woods with his howls for many lonely years until his calls were heard by none other than Seraphine, the beautiful Alpha Princess of the Ironfoot Pack. Together they built what is known today as our beloved Emberfur Pack.
To keep peace and avoid war outbreaks often seen throughout the surrounding packs Kaelan and Seraphine plead to exchange one pack member every ten years. In exchange, they too would receive a new pack member. And so, every ten years we grieve our lost pack member, but in return, welcome with open arms our new pack member. I'm happy to say this year, is the year of the exchange in which the Moonveil Pack has allowed one of their members to join ours. We are grateful for their exchange as I'm sure they will be happy with ours."
I looked to my right, blowing a large bubble until it burst. Tabitha Grimley stood a few yards down with her parents. Their hands on resting on her shoulders as she drew pictures in the dirt with the tip of her shoe. The sunken look on her face rang of embarrassment. Why hadn't they taken her? Besides being beautiful she was the smartest amongst the eligible members which included myself.
"Let's give a warm welcome to our new pack member Clayton Moonveil," Mayor Crestshaw clapped her hands, the crowd doing the same as the man we'd seen at the mall stepped on stage. I looked to spy the twins. Sarah and Stephanie stood with their family. We all locked eyes, mine wide as I mouthed the word, 'whoa'.
Moonveil is not only the strongest, but most dominant pack within a 1000 miles radius. Over the hundreds of years, never giving up territory or allowing members to leave the pack even if they wanted to. Occasionally, the leaders would let outsiders in, but only after a series of trails. What those trials were no one knows as once you are initiated one isn't allowed to leave. To those who don't make the cut, well, they are forced to drink liquid silver, the metal burning slowly from the inside out until they die. Overtime, their pack has grown and sometimes on the full moon we hear their calls ringing over the mountain tops. Moonveil never agreed with the exchange Kaelan and Seraphine presented and the Emberfur Pack never pushed the matter as to go against Moonveil would defeat the purpose of the exchange. Thus, for the last 200 years, Moonveil hasn't exchanged a single member. That is, until now. Not only did they exchange a member of the pack they exchanged Alpha Prince Clayton Moonveil, a direct descendant and leader of the Moonveil Pack.
Mayor Crestshaw droned on. "As a reminder Clayton has three months under the strength and guidance of the full moon to find his mate within his new pack. If not, Clayton will be banished from both packs as the moon has declared him unworthy."
Clayton nodded his head in agreeance his long hair shading what looked to be a fake smile forming at the corners of his mouth. I sniffed the air. Smells of the twins, their parents, Tabitha, and the many other members of my pack floated along it. Mayor Crestshaw who was hundreds of yards away even had a hint. But nothing new I hadn't smelled before. Where was Clayton's scent? As if he could read my thoughts his eyes shifted to mine. Locked in a stance my glare becoming more prominent with every passing second. Why had Moonveil sent Clayton and why was Tabitha still here?
My question lingered with the final closing statements of The Gathering.
“As we all know the first full moon will take place next Saturday. Before then, please introduce yourselves to Clayton and as always howl on.”
“Can you believe it? Alpha Prince. We have an Alpha Prince from Moonveil,” Stephanie slammed down her backpack next to me, Sarah doing the same on the other side.
It seemed Clayton was the talk of the school with whispers of him traveling from one group to the next.
“Did you hear anything else from your parents,” I asked pushing my homework aside.
“No. I interrogated our brother, but he hasn’t heard anything,” Sarah pulled out her Care Bear lunch box which has seen better days. The twin's parents were part of the Beta leadership which meant they didn’t get all the details when it came to the pack, but they did get a say in many decisions.
“Darn,” I took a bite of my pizza.
“It’s not like it matters. We can’t pull a guy like him anyways,” Stephanie sighed. She was clearly still upset Brock Hemsmeth rejected her a few weeks back.
“I mean there’s a possibility,” I said under my breath.
Both turned to stare at me. “Jessica, are you saying you’re going to the woods this weekend?”
“I…I…I was thinking about it.”
“Girl…you think an Alpha Prince who looks as good as him is going to pick one of us? We're probably last on the list.”
“You never know, we could stand a chance,” I grabbed for my papers. I knew I shouldn’t have said anything. They would never let it go now. “Plus, you have a better chance than me. You are Betas.”
“And when was the last time an Alpha Prince picked a normal Beta? It’s been decades if I remember correctly. On top of that there are over 275 available female packs members for him to chose from. We have a very slim chance it will be some teenie boppers like us.”
I didn't care what the twins had to say. I had to give this a chance, right? I kept trying to convince myself of this as I stood on the outskirts of the woods. Renfire Woods lined the edge of our property. The quick access of the woods was perfect on full moons like this when my family decided to transform under the light of the moon, but that was rare these days. Like most families in town we moved to transforming in the comforts of their own home. Basements filled with stone walls decorated in heavily weighed chains to prevent from breaking lose to accidentally demolish our everyday living situations above. Transforming under the moon was refreshing and exhilarating all at once, but it was always the transforming back to the human part that ruined the experience. Fragile, fatigued, extreme soreness, as well as wandering around completely naked searching for your clothes was the werewolves walk of shame when it came to transforming in the woods. Spending a night in the basement had it's luxuries.
But not tonight. Tonight, I would enter the forest and possibly match with the Alpha Prince himself. That is if I found him. Renfire covered over 30,000 acres which meant a lot of space for us to run as well as avoid each other. Especially some of the younger males who fight in hopes to climb the rankings to Alpha one day. I laughed at the thought as I unclasped my bra and folded it with the rest of my clothes. I set them aside and waiting for the moon to rise over the trees took in a breath. Tracking was one of my best skills and tonight I would put them to use. The moon's light broke through just then. My arm snapped, the bone breaking in two. A scream rose from my throat. Echoes from the forest mirroring my own as the transformation began.
I raced through the woods, branches tearing at my brown hair as I passed. But it didn't matter because tonight I only had one mission and it was to find the Prince. My nose was already guiding me deeper into forest. Smells I haven't visited in years pushing me forward. Rabbit, badger, deer were mixed among the pine. Fresh streams of water pouring from the mountain top could be heard miles away. It was mine to enjoy.
I crashed through the trees wondering where I should go first. Most of the families lived on the north side of the forest which meant that side was always jammed packed on summer nights like this. Instead, I turned south. Closer to the bottom of the mountains, someplace the Prince might feel more at home. Distant howling sounded a few miles away pushing me faster towards the mountain peaks. How did the Prince's howl sound? Did he like to howl at all or was he more of the stealthy type keeping to himself?
I took a deep breath in, my sense signaling out individual smells. Some young male members of the pack were just downwind from me but their scent was fading a sign they were heading north. Most likely to spare. I took another whiff. Again familiar scents of the pack plagued my nose, but nothing of the Prince. At the foothills, I turned west running at the baseline. If I kept my pace I could cover this area in a short amount of time in hopes of finding him. But by the time the sun rose, I'd made a small dent in the 30,000 acres our pack called home. Not only did I not find the prince, I hadn't run into a single soul.
"Shoot!" I stretched my neck and rubbed it to avoid the deal of soreness about to set in. I had made the wrong choice, had the Prince had gone to the North after all? And just maybe had he already found his new mate.
"Nothing. Not a single sight or smell of him."
Sarah whispered over to me from her seat. We were in English. Our report on The Great Gatsby brushed aside like many others who filled the room with hushed voices.
"Again?" I questioned. Apparently I 'd been correct on the first full moon of the Prince's arrival he had not gone to the north side of the forest where many awaited him. Then again, last night when I took to the forest a second time using the moon's guidance and power had come across with similar results.
"Nope, but this morning I overheard mom and dad talking about his lodging. I guess one of the Alphas had gone over to see if he was alright, but they didn't find anything. Not one thing out of place which means he was in the forest."
"But where? You know I'm one of the top trackers we have in the pack. I didn't get a single whiff of him either pf the full moons or since he has been here. Do you find that strange? And the fact Tabitha wasn't taken as part of the trade doesn't make sense either. Something has to be going on."
Sarah shrugged her shoulders, "Don't know. But from the rumors, if the Prince Alpha doesn't make a selection at the next full moon cancelation of the exchange could occur and show other packs we aren't worthy. The Denali pack has held off on encroaching on our land, but I wouldn't be surprised if they somehow started poking their noses in places it doesn't belong. It could start another war that's been held off for centuries."
"Why only a few months ago did having a Moonveil Prince Alpha within our pack go from the best thing to the worst thing ever?" There had to be an explanation.
For the third month in a row, I slipped out of my clothes taking in a breath of the fresh pine. I could tell my muscles were already more defined from racing under the last two moons, an advantage I often forgot about when chained to the basement walls.
Screams began to rise as the moon rose over the tree line and this time I was ready. Heading south I cut east at the mountain base again as I had the first full month. Over the last few weeks I had come to realize, we couldn't find the Prince Alpha because he didn't want to be found. With him not producing scent it only made sense he would still hide out in the forest, not wanting to ruin his current lodgings. But that meant hiding somewhere no one dared to go.
On the other side of Renfire Woods stood a small town mostly made up of farmers. This meant their homes were spread across acres of land which happened to butt up against the forest edge. Over the years, they protected their land more frequently as the howls expanded and drew closer. In decades passed, a member or two had fallen from a silver bullet, their instincts driving them to kill hordes of livestock in one night. And so to save our pack and to reduce harm of the innocents it was forbidden to enter the east side of the forest within five miles of the border. Leaving a protection gap, or comfort zone for those on the other side. Those who disobeyed where banished from the pack or sometimes executed by the Alphas themselves depending on the circumstance. Tonight, I was going to take my chance, find the Prince Alpha or say goodbye to the only family I had ever known.
The closer I gained to the barrier the less I could hear howls of the others or feel their presence. Woodland animals seemed to double in numbers as if they knew this a protection zone from killers like us. At that moment my foot caught causing me to stumble down a foresty hill, tumbling into the river just below. The current took me the strength of it pulling me down. I was a good swimmer in human form but this was new. I struggled to right myself grabbing for anything I could with my claws. Branches swept by and just before I really began to freak out something caught my arm. I broke from the water, pulled to dry land on the other side of the river.
You aren't supposed to be here little one. His voice broke through my thoughts.
Neither are you. I replied still catching my breath. You do know this is against... before I could finish my thought I caught a glimpse of the beast who pulled me from death's door.
There standing in front of me was the Alpha Prince of Moonveil and he was completely naked.
His gorgeous human locks had not transformed to his werewolf form leaving him with small patches of fur scattered about, scraggly on top of his dry purply skin.
Are you okay? I asked taking in the sight of him. I heard him sigh.
Yes, little one, I am okay. I am not hurt or in pain.
I could see scratches and scars most likely from branches or passed duels covering his body.
It all makes sense now. Moonveil traded you because they couldn't kill their own Alpha Prince. It would make them look weak to their own pack. Another reason why you have not scent. You can't carry it unless you have fur. They never really wanted to trade which is why they didn't exchange Tabitha.
I stood on my hind legs shagging the water from my coat.
Ah, you catch on fast. Yes, my old pack decided long ago that once I was old enough to mate I would be sent as an exchange. They did not want or care for me as I was a disgrace amongst them. I was often hidden away on full moons such as this so no one would find out. They didn't want this spreading into future generations if they could help it. Our people are strong and we cannot and will not forego that image to the individuals of the pack. I accepted my fate a long time ago and so I am here.
I glanced behind him. It seemed he had been out here since the sun had graced us hours ago. A bag and some food collected in a pile nestled in a tree nook.
He followed my gaze. I will be leaving come morning. I do not wish to stay with the Emberfur pack no matter how gracious your pack has accepted me.
But...
As I said, I have accepted my fate long ago, and this meant never taking a mate. Not when this could be spread to future generations of which my mate and kin do not deserve.
I found his eyes. I could see what he said was his truth even if there was sadness behind them.
Well in that case, come morning, you will need to walk straight north. About a mile away from the town's boarder cut east again. There you will come out of the forest onto a farmer's property. The homestead itself is miles away so no one should bother you there. But still be on alert. They aren't afraid to shoot silver bullet, even while you are in human form. Find the road and follow it. I heard there is a forest about 40 miles from here where many of the Omegas go to live out their days. In fact, if you ask for a man named Joshua, he will help you. Tell him Jessica sent you.
And I can trust this Joshua?
Yes. I paused. He's my brother. He was banned from the pack many years ago, but he will help you.
Clayton nodded his head. Thank you.
Good luck. I turned to leave sadden by the thought of my brother's banishment.
Wait. As I am no longer The Prince Alpha of Moonveil nor a prince of any kind now that I have not taken a mate, I do not need this anymore.
In a flash, he gripped my arm his claws digging deep. Clayton glared his fangs chomping down on my flesh. I let out a yelp shocked at the power I felt rush through my veins. Power I hadn't ever felt before.
Here's to the new Alpha Princess of the Emberfur pack. He released his grip and strode over to his belongings. He picked them up by his mouth and disappeared into the darkness.
The next thing I knew I was running almost three times the speed and when I howled I felt each and ever member of the pack go silent. It seemed there was a new Alpha Princess. That was if I defeated Tabitha Grimley the current Alpha Princess first.
Final Thoughts
I don't know about you, but I always see ads on Facebook about stories similar to this of wolf packs or mates, or some unbreakable bound. I find them unbearable to read with how cheesy they are which is why when my friend and I had a discussion about a werewolf with alopecia I felt it only right to write a story such as this. Not going to lie it was fun to come up with the names, and the worldbuilding in this story, even the small amount of it.
This is definitely a story I could come back to here and there to add more to every once in a while if I have writer's block. As you can see for the first time, I did not complete the challenge. I did not include the sentence and I went over the word count by triple the amount. I am totally fine with it. i felt the story itself needed the extra words and my original idea for the sentence was taken out as a newer better idea overrode it. At the end of the day, it's about practicing and getting better as I writer and that's all I could ask for.
Let me know what you think of the story. Do you think Jessica will end up as Alpha Princess for good or will she be banned from the pack just like her brother? Tell me in the comments below!
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