The Luna's Quints

Ashley's POV:

It was a very big house party. The music played loudly, and people danced to its rhythm. All our friends from school and the neighbourhood were all there. It was a little adult and rascal as I and my four siblings were turning eighteen. My mother let us have a wild party just once because she expected us to come home with a mate.

I was really excited to have a mate. I hoped for someone who would have a matching personality with me: one that I could be most comfortable around.

"Hey, Ash," my sister, Sandra, said, holding a cup filled with beer in her hand. I knew she was a little drunk by the way she walked up to me excitedly. She handed me the cup, but I waved my hands at her in rejection.

"Come on, drink it. It's just one night," Sandra persuaded.

"I don't believe in getting high for fun," I said, pushing the cup away again.

"Oh, you're always so sanctimonious," Sandra said, sitting down and touching my cheek jauntily. "There was this lady over there, she didn't want to have a drink until she was challenged into a drinking competition. Now there she is, lying drunk and wasted," Sandra said, "Maybe, I should do that to you."

My mind wasn't focused on what Sandra was saying. I peered at the strikingly attractive young guy, whose name was Fred, who sat opposite Sandra and me. He was looking towards our direction, but I didn't know what or who exactly he was looking at. My wolf senses became very active.

"Oh, I'm so tired right now," Sandra said.

"I think you shouldn't drink again," I told her, still looking at Fred.

"No, no. I'm still sober. I'm all right," Sandra said and turned to look at me. "Do you know that alcohol tastes so good?" I didn't give her a reply because of my lack of concentration.

"Who are you looking at?" Sandra asked. I turned my eyes away from Fred but caught Sandra gazing at him affectionately, and him returning the look. I thought about making a move before he stood up and began walking towards us. My wolf got stronger as he came closer. My heart raced and my palms suddenly became sweaty. His journey towards us wasn't successful because my brother, Benson, stumbled and poured red wine on his shirt.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," Benson said nervously.

"It's ok, really. I didn't see you coming. Enjoy your day, bro," Fred told Benson and walked away slowly.

My wolf became stronger. I was exasperated by my brother's action, and so was Sandra by her glare. Benson approached Sandra and me and sat beside us. I had lost sight of Fred.

"Woo," Benson breathed nervously, "You guys enjoying the party?"

"Yeah, we were, until you ruined the fun that was coming," I said to Benson.

"What do you mean I ruined the fun? Was that guy coming to see you?" Benson asked.

"He was coming to see me," Sandra said.

"No, he wasn't. He was coming for me," I cut sharply and gave Sandra a mean look.

"Do you think he's your mate, Ash?" Benson asked, avoiding eye contact with me.

"Yes," I answered. To me, what he asked didn't make much sense. "Did you mean something, Ben?" I asked, looking at him deeply. I almost got confused. My wolf senses were getting stronger as time passed. I looked around to check if Fred had returned to the party. I didn't know when Benson answered 'No' to my question.

"Oh My God. Look at that," Sandra said, tapping my shoulders for attention.

"What?" I asked.

"I'm coming back soon," Ben said diffidently and left. Sandra gave him a response, but I was too weak to. When he left, I felt something lost, something my mind couldn't translate what it was. Maybe the brotherly love we shared since we were kids. I secretly admired Benson's defined jawline and conspicuous muscles. His neatly combed brown hair got me aroused; I tried to imagine it was Fred. I didn't know what was wrong with me. I had never felt that way before with another guy than to talk of my brother. I waved the feeling away, convincing myself that it was just Fred running through my head.

"Look at that," Sandra said again. "The way their tongues never run dry is surprising. I don't even know how Zach has different girls around him all the time. I mean, don't they have the sense of feeling cheated?" Sandra said.

"That's the result of having strikingly handsome brothers, who girls would love around," I said.

"Yeah. But I feel sad for these girls too because they don't know that Zach is a werewolf," Sandra said, "When his mate shows up, he's definitely gonna leave them for her. Look, all of them there are humans. They think he's just gonna get married to them somehow. Mom's not gonna let her kid mate a human."

"Yeah," I reply. "I think Zach wants to know the taste of humans before he finds his mate. He wouldn't want to cheat on his mate with a human and be called, 'the cheating Alpha of the pack', would he?"

I expected Sandra to be amused by what I said, but she wasn't. Her face was frowned like a squeezed paper.

"Zach is not fit to be called an Alpha," Sandra said, looking away, "Jason is."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Zach's not tough enough. Benson wouldn't be able to fight off Mom's rivals with his fear. Jason is the most courageous and capable for the job. He deserves to be called the Alpha of the pack."

"Benson is the oldest among them, you know that right?"

"There is no one older than the other. Look around, we are all celebrating our eighteenth birthday. No one is left out."

"Why are you supporting Jason this way?"

"Because you guys always think the worst about him."

"Think the worst? We only do that when he does something wrong. Besides, he's mom's favourite."

"All I'm saying is, he's the one among our brothers who has the chance of standing up to mom's brothers and dad's pack. They've always tried to kill us, remember? And if they find out that we're alive, they will come hunting for us."

"I agree with you on this one."

The dancing and laughter among the guests at the party stopped. All eyes were on the two ferocious fighters. The punches and weapons they used were enough to give a fragile-hearted person a heart attack. After so much struggle to defeat each other, one of the guys fell on the floor and the other kept punching and punching until his fist were stained with blood. The punching guy was now clear in my sight. It was Jason. He spat on the guy and walked out of the room. Sandra gave me an expectant look.

"Is this what you want us to be?" I asked Sandra

"It has to be. Unless you want us to be killed gradually."

My wolf was getting stronger. My mate was calling me. I looked around to check if Fred was in the room: he wasn't there. I grabbed courage; he must be the one calling on me. I left the party amidst the ongoing conflict and went to find my mate. Happily, there was a full moon which meant that my mate and I would share a luna bond. I hoped it was him.

I walked to the forest, the direction my mate called me. With every step I took, I could feel my heart pound and my feet shiver. I would pass out if someone told me that the whole thing was a prank or a set-up.

My wildest and worst nightmare was all I could behold. Benson was the one howling; I didn't want any joke. But my wolf wouldn't be sensitive if it was a prank, and Benson was energetically howling: it could not be a prank. Did this mean that I was mated to my brother?

He stopped howling and dropped down from the rock he stood on. I had to shield myself from utter embarrassment. He had done that to be sure of who his mate was, and it turned out that his sister was. I hid behind one of the trees, while he sat down on his back in his wolf form. I was confused and began to revisit our last conversation and how weird he was behaving.

I sensed that he wasn't comfortable about that either, but I would have to come out to him someday.

I began hearing heavy and fast feet stamp towards the forest. Benson transformed back to his human form and waited for the person to come in. Sandra ran up to Benson and told him something that I didn't hear.

"When did this happen?" Benson asked.

"Just now," Sandra replied.

How did she know that Benson was there? And what did she tell him?

"Have you seen Ash?" Benson asked.

"Yeah. She's at the party," Sandra replied. I could see the relief on Benson's face.

"We need to get Zach back. Leo's pack is here and he would not stop at taking Zach," Benson said, "He's going to try to take us too."

"And mom. What about mom?"

Benson's POV:

The party was wild; I wanted to join in the fun but my senses wouldn't let me. My mate was nearby. It seemed like my mate had always been nearby because the feeling was no stranger. The only difference was the strength the feeling had and the direction it gave.

I started walking in the direction my wolf senses pointed at. I walked up to my sister, Ashley. She was sitting alone, looking at people getting drunk and laughing. The moment I reached her, she turned to look at me sharply in pleasure. She seemed confused yet amused by my approach to her. I gave a glimpse at her and turned away.

Something felt wrong. My mate could never be my sister. Even though she wasn't my biological sister but had lived with me all my life, she wouldn't be my mate. The similarities were obvious: Ashley was my sister. To my knowledge, this had never happened in centuries. Why would it be happening now to my sister and I?

I refused to accept my fate. I stood a distance from her and watched her closely. Each time I walked mildly towards her, she sensed me. Sandra walked up to her with a cup and they had a brief conversation. I caught Ashley having a lingering look at Fred. I felt a little safe by that. I thought she had another attraction.

The moment Fred began walking towards her, I felt insecure, for a reason I didn't know, and began walking towards Ashley. My eyes looked directly at Ashley and I didn't know when I hit Fred. She behaved in that excited manner again when she saw me, though she seemed very unhappy.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," I said nervously.

"It's ok, really. I didn't see you coming. Enjoy your day, bro," Benson said to me and walked away slowly.

I took a look at Fred and perceived that he was going to meet Sandra. He felt embarrassed but decided to comport himself; perhaps his mate was nearby.

Ashley tried to hold up an annoyed look but the pleasure she felt inside was not lacking in her expression. Sandra's annoyance was real and untainted. I didn't care about what she thought.

"Woo," I breathed, careful to not let out my deep feelings by words, "You guys enjoying the party?"

"Yeah, we were, until you ruined the fun that was coming," Ashley said, looking deep into my eyes. Despite her intentions of letting the bitter expression cloud her, the deep admiration and attractiveness she had for me was not clothed.

"What do you mean I ruined the fun?" I asked looking away and pretentiously, "Was that guy coming to see you?"

I saw that Ashley wasn't willing to answer. She seemed short of words.

"He was coming to see me," Sandra said.

"No, he wasn't. He was coming for me," Ashley said as though she just remembered something forgotten for a long time and gave Sandra a mean look.

"Do you think he's your mate, Ash?" I asked, looking away and my heart pounding at what her response might be.

"Yes. Did you mean something, Ben?" She asked, unsure of whether or not she asked a meaningful question. I wanted to tell her the truth but I felt that it would be a heinous offence. She wouldn't take it lightly either and mom would never condone such.

"No," I answered her. She was looking around for something I didn't know about.

I sat down to think, to make a move on my fated mate. Whitney must be my answer. Thank Goodness she was at the party. She knew the real mate from the fake one. She might prove to me that Ashley was not a fated mate but had a shared bond with me, which was proven to confirm true mates and temporary mates.

Sandra and Ashley were looking at Zach who was kissing a human.

"I'm coming back soon," I said and stood up. Sandra gave me and polite response, while Ashley couldn't. I sensed the diffidence in Ashley too. She seemed afraid of starting up a conversation with me.

I walked past Zach and the girl he was kissing. He gave me and thumbs up, yet continued kissing her. Jason, my brother, chased a guy into the room. I wanted to stop him to ask what really happened but he was extremely furious. His fury might have an unforgivable aftereffect on me. I didn't dare touch him.

Whitney stood outside alone, smoking and sipping her beer under the forest trees. She seemed like she needed some privacy or had been rejected by another chosen mate. I walked up to her courageously and gave her a decent handshake. Surprisingly, she was very welcoming and offered me some beer to sip.

"I've had enough in there. Thank you," I rejected.

"It's no problem. Then maybe you'd have to carry me home when I stagger on the floor. That would make you a good nephew," Whitney said, smirking a little.

With that she said, I took the bottle from her and began drinking. "We can both be a little sober and take ourselves home," I said, letting out a chortle. She laughed along with me and breathed in heavily.

"I love the fresh breeze the trees offer. They are wonderful creatures of nature," Whitney said.

"Yeah."

"And the moon. It shines brighter than the sun," she said, smiling at the absurdity of her statement.

"Yeah," I agreed with her.

There was a peaceful silence that lingered between us for some minutes. I enjoyed the tranquil because it got me thinking about other things that were not Ashley, though my wolf still sensed her.

"Alpha Seth left me for another woman," Whitney said calmly, breaking the silence.

"When? Why?" I asked concernedly.

"He said his fated mate had approached. I don't know where she came from and she's human. How could somebody leave a werewolf mate for a human?" she said sniffing in some mucus.

"It's alright Aunt Whitney. You will find another mate. A real mate," I encouraged.

"I don't need another mate," Whitney said in a tearful whisper, "The only true mate I had was killed by my brothers. They said he was a threat to the pack.

"My only true mate. They were so much torture to me and your mother. They tried to kill your father but he came from a very strong pack. The worst thing they could do to you, quintuplets, was to make you powerless. They made me barren," Whitney said sentimentally.

"I never had any children with my chosen mates. They left me because of my disability to bear them children. Alpha Seth threatened to give me away to my brothers. He must have told them about me, and maybe you guys."

I felt threatened by that. My mother's brothers had always been the greatest enemies of ours. My father was also an enemy but was one for an unknown reason.

"My sister, your mother, had always been rejected by our brothers," Whitney said. "Your mother promised that she would get you and your siblings' powers back. They can't leave you handicapped and get away with it. But you must be prepared for a serious fight. Their children are also your enemies. Never forget that they all have their gifts.

"My mate, Dan, was the nicest person alive. I've never met such an angel like him. Yet my brothers took him away from me. I'm not a person of vengeance, your mother is, and so is Sandra. You and your brothers must do anything to protect her. Ashley has a strong will and makes the best choices, but she's not fit to face what's coming."

"Yeah. About that: I have some weird feelings for Ashley," I said, trying not to spill too much.

"What kind of feelings?"

"I don't know what it is."

"Like you're a mate to her?" Whitney asked.

"Yeah," I replied with dilated and surprised eyes. She smiled at my amateurish act and dropped her bottle of beer.

"We can't ascertain what it is right now. That can only happen when you are a mate to someone, or you both love each other so deeply. Do you share your deepest secrets with Ashley?"

"Yeah, but I didn't tell her I had a crush on her friend, Helen."

"Then it means you don't tell her your deepest secrets," Whitney said.'

I chuckled, "I do tell, some though. So, what does this imply?"

Whitney exhaled heavily and said, "Go to the middle of the forest, transform into your wolf form, and howl energetically. She won't show up there if it's just mutual love, then you can go out and look for your real mate. But if she's your fated mate, she will show up. I pray such doesn't happen. The last time it happened was two centuries ago and they were killed in the annual werewolf festival. They shared the blood of the siblings with the other werewolves and ate their skins raw. Don't panic, just do as I say and you'll find out."

"Thank you, Aunt Whitney," I said and went into the forest with so much confidence.

"Remember, It's a full moon. Your mate would appear if she's nearby and it will be a lunar bonding, the strongest bond that ever exists in the werewolf world."

"Yeah," I said as I walked into the forest.

The middle of the forest was quiet and lonely. I transformed into my wolf form and hopped on the nearby rock. My wolf senses would work very sensitively when I'm in my wolf form.

I howled and howled energetically for a very long time, but no one showed up. I transformed back to my human form when I heard somebody running towards me. I could feel my wolf was stronger than it was when I arrived; I didn't know why.

Sandra began running towards me in fear and trembling. "I just saw some men carry Aunt Whitney away and Zach is missing from the party," Sandra said to me in a whisper.

"When did this happen?" I asked.

"Just now," Sandra asked with deep fright in her eyes.

"Have you seen Ash?" I asked.

"Yeah. She's at the party," Ash said. I felt very relieved by that answer. Perhaps Ash was not my mate.

"We need to get Zach back. Leo's pack is here and he would not stop at taking Zach," I said and looked at Sandra's expression to examine it, "He's going to try to take us too."

"And mom. What about mom?"

Sandra's POV:

The carefree breeze the party swept over my face got me revved up. I had taken three cups of beer and was so excited. I had to control myself because the sanctimonious lady had gotten drunk and lay on the floor wasted.

A hard chest hit my shoulder and my wolf senses got very strong. It was a charming young man of about twenty years of age named Fred. He looked nervous and had sweaty paws as he approached me.

"Hi," he said nervously, "You're Sandra, right?"

I could not hold back the sweat that trickled down my neck. I was so eager to have him touch me when I was in the mood.

"Yeah. Don't you worry about the similarities my sister and I share," I blurted nervously, "I am Sandra, your mate," I added uncontrollably.

"I can feel it. You're my Luna..." Fred was talking.

"Fred!" a voice from the corner shouted, "Come see this! Hurry!"

He was worried by the person's instantaneous call yet left to check out what it was. I was a little bothered by that act because an Alpha should never leave his Luna, especially at first sight. But my excitement still shimmered in my expression: I was mated to one of the hottest wolves in town.

Ashley's emotion was dull and needed some cheer. I walked up to her with double excitement: the wasted sanctimonious girl and I mated to the charming Alpha.

"Hey, Ash," I said to Ashley who sat lost on a long bench. I sipped my drink and caught her frown a little at me. I wondered if she was upset about something which made me give her my cup to sip. But she rejected my offer warmly and it got me concerned.

"Come on, drink it. It's just one night," I persuaded.

"I don't believe in getting high for fun," she said with a straight face, pushing the cup away.

"Oh, you're always so sanctimonious. There was this lady over there, she didn't want to have a drink until she was challenged to a drinking competition. Now there she is, lying drunk and wasted," I said, sitting down and touching Ashley's face.

My wolf sense was activated but I ignored it because I wanted to spend some time with my sister.

"Oh, I'm so tired right now," I said, wanting to lean on Ashley's shoulders for a better conversation flow.

"I think you shouldn't drink again," Ashley told me, looking concentratedly at something.

I enjoyed Ashley's sense of rationality and reprimanding.

"No, no. I'm still sober. I'm alright," I said and chuckled faintly. "Do you know that alcohol tastes so good?" I said, sitting uprightly and gazing at Ashley.

Her attention was still focused on the image ahead of her. That infuriated me.

"What are you looking at?" I asked with anger burning deeply in my eyes. Ashley immediately pretended as though she was not staring at something. I felt betrayed, finding out what she had been staring at, although I had not told her that he was my mate.

I had sensed that Fred had come into the room again; I feared that Ashley might also be mated to him as that most times happened between twin girls. Perhaps, he did not meet me because I was having some private time with my sister.

He held up a delightful expression the moment my eyes met his. His eyes drifted away from Ashley's, which made me feel special, and Ashley jealous. We made deep eye contact and nods: this was the communication I used to call him over.

My wolf sense got stronger as he approached furtively towards me and Ashley. I could see Ashley behave weirdly as he approached. Benson, the fun-killer, wrecked my joy and spilled red wine on his shirt. I was utterly enraged by his act and noticed that he seemed not to care.

Rather, he walked up to us nervously – as though he were coming to meet his mate. I was so mad when Fred walked away from the party in embarrassment after Benson and he had a mild chat. My wolf sense got weaker as Fred left, but I retained decent sight of Fred.

"Woo," Benson breathed as he sat down, "You guys enjoying the party?"

"Yeah, we were, until you ruined the fun that was coming," Ashley said. I sensed the tension in her voice.

"What do you mean I ruined the fun? Was that guy coming to see you?" Benson asked vulnerably.

Ashley was hesitant to answer as the question was thrown at her. I thought she would confess her feelings for Fred to Benson but she did not.

"He was coming to see me," I said, grasping the opportunity.

"No, he wasn't. He was coming for me," Ashley said, throwing me a sharp look which increased the tension.

"Do you think he's your mate, Ash?" Benson asked. I found that question a little offensive to Ashley yet meaningful.

"Yes. Did you mean something, Ben?" Ashley asked.

My eyes shifted to the kissing couple: Zach and a human. I had a close and meticulous look at their tongues and the way they touched each other's body parts at an open party.

"Oh My God. Look at that," I said, tapping Ashley's shoulder.

"What?" Ashley asked.

Benson told us that he was leaving and I responded quickly to that. Ashley, on the other hand, did not. She seemed too weak and had deeper explanations, which I could not decipher, on what was going on.

"Look at that. The way their tongues never run dry is surprising. I don't even know how Zach has different girls around him all the time. I mean, don't they have the sense of feeling cheated?" I said with a frown face.

"That's the result of having strikingly attractive brothers, who girls would love around," Ashley said.

"Yeah. But I feel sad for these girls too because they don't know that Zach is a werewolf. When his mate shows up, he's definitely gonna leave them for her. Look, all of them there are humans. They think he's just gonna get married to them somehow. Mom's not gonna let her kid mate a human."

"Yeah, I think Zach wants to know the taste of humans before he finds his mate. He wouldn't want to cheat on his mate with a human and be called, 'the cheating Alpha of the pack', would he?" Ashley said with a piece of mischief in her voice.

That statement aggravated my pugnaciousness for a reason quite blurry to me. Picking Zach over Jason just didn't sound funny or fair.

"Zach is not fit to be called an Alpha," I said, turning my head to the other side and fuming, "Jason is."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Zach's not tough enough. Benson wouldn't be able to fight off Mom's rivals with his fear. Jason is the most courageous and capable for the job. He deserves to be called the Alpha of the pack."

"Benson is the oldest among them, you know that right?"

"There is no one older than the other. Look around, we are all celebrating our eighteenth birthday. No one is left out."

"Why are you supporting Jason this way?"

"Because you guys always think the worst about him."

"Think the worst? We only do that when he does something wrong. Besides, he's mom's favourite."

"All I'm saying is, he's the one among our brothers who has the chance of standing up to mom's brothers and dad's pack. They've always tried to kill us, remember? And if they find out that we're alive, they will come hunting for us."

"I agree with you on this one."

Everyone stopped laughing and cheering as Jason chased a guy into the party room. He punched the guy with heavy fists and let blood gush from his mouth. I was quite proud of Jason for that. He would serve and lead his pack well. I gave Ashley a triumphant look after Jason had spat on the guy's face and walked away.

"Is this what you want us to be?" Ashley asked.

"It has to be. Unless you want us to be killed gradually," I replied.

The cause of the fight must have been mightily severe. I had to confirm with Jason what prompted such. I was leaving the party room in search of Jason when a warm and strong hand pulled me. I was romantically active and aroused by Fred. He had gotten his shirt off, revealing his well-defined chest and rigid abdomen. His muscles, well-trimmed and combed hair had my imagination floating above my head.

"I missed you," Fred said.

"Missed me?" I asked bewilderedly.

"Yeah. Your scent and your alluring gaze," he said as he pulled me closer to himself, making me feel his penis on my stomach. "I don't think I will be able to live without you," he added.

"Me too. I love this," I said, touching his chest and slipping my hands down to his abdomen, then his penis.

"I never knew we could both intoxicate each other," he said. I felt the fresh breath of life release from his mouth.

"Me too," I said and raised my head high for a kiss.

It was romantic, intimate and wet. I enjoyed the shared moment Fred and I experienced. It was heartfelt and deep, our eyes closed and meditating.

The moment I opened my eyes, I saw some men grasping a woman tightly. I detached my lips from Fred's quickly to have a better view of what it was. It was Aunt Whitney. She tried to shout for help but they choked her and put a bag above her.

"That's my aunt," I told Fred fearfully, "Please, can you help save her?" I begged.

"I don't think I will be able to," Fred said with a tone I perceived to be a mock tone. "Besides, I'm the only one against four men. They will defeat me," he added with a tone of indifference.

"You can try, can't you? Please," I pleaded again, but it was getting late.

"I'm sorry, Sandra," he said.

With so much anger boiling within me, I left Fred to search for help elsewhere. I could not believe that Fred was a coward, even with the manliness in him. Or was he intentionally indulgent in saving my aunt? That was a question for another day.

I searched for help and finally came across Jason. He looked sorrowful and in a hurry for something when I saw him.

"Jason!" I called out.

He turned to me quickly and approached with so much energy.

"I just saw some men put a sac above Aunt Whitney," I cried.

"What? Those guys must be here. Leo's pack – they must be working together – I don't know," Jason said with a resonant voice, "Where are the others?" Jason asked, walking towards the party room.

"Ashley and Zach are at the party. I don't know where Benson is," I said.

"Good. We all need to be together, but Benson has to stay safe," Jason said cautiously. There were some seconds of silence before Jason broke out, "We can't trust anyone, including mates. We trust each other alone," he said with authority.

I related it to what happened between me and Fred and assumed he worked with them too. I felt used and redundant, thinking about what just happened.

We reached the party room and found out that Ashley and Zach were no longer there. Jason and I heard muffled screams with our quint senses and ran simultaneously in the direction.

Zach was the one screaming and pleading for safety. At least we were sure no one else was harmed.

"Run, go find Ashley and Benson," Jason said, removing his shirt, "I will rescue Zach."

"You can't do that alone. It's dangerous."

"I have to," Jason said and transformed into his wolf form.

I was both scared and proud of Jason's actions. He proved he could be the Alpha of the pack.

The quint senses did not work unless someone made a loud noise. Fortunately, Benson was howling in the bush. Perhaps, he tried to attract his mate and I was nothing close to that.

I followed the sound and met Benson to deliver the severe information. Also, I worried that Jason might fall into the wrong hands and his effort would be worth disposal.