Chapter 12
LIORA
Parking my truck beside Dan’s, Lace and I climb out of the vehicle just as the others are exiting theirs. It’s been three days since I contacted Luke. Three days filled with my best friend constantly checking up on me, and sending me many memes he finds on the internet that leave me laughing for a good moment.
Between rest stops, I would have Lace sit in her dad’s truck while I had some alone time talking to Luke. Other times, she would be in the back seat of my truck chatting with the both of us, the eight–year–old happy to be included. She even told Luke that she is taking me from him as her new big sister, which caused us to laugh, and Luke stated he will be her new big
brother.
The look of disgust Lace had when he said this had me laughing so hard, I had to pull over. Especially because the eight–year–old replied savagely that she doesn’t need or want another
older brother.
Sadly though, I found out from Luke that Seth is looking for me. I still deal with the pain that being rejected caused. Still deal with sleepless nights as the broken mate bond throbs painfully. Seth can look for me all he wants, but I will never allow him to find me.
We grew up together. Fought off rogues, and trained to become the wolves we are now. Yet he decided to hide his engagement to Caroline from me. He chose to reject me to be with her, after taking my virginity. He doesn’t deserve me.
From what Luke told me, my ex–mate hired a private investigator to track me down two days after I left. I am happy that Dan and Miss Maya had me change my bank to a new one with them. Any information that Stormclaw had on me would lead the investigator to find where I
- am. That was also the same day I got my new cellphone and number.
Thankfully, Luke told Seth my old number no longer works, and that he hasn’t heard from me since the letter I wrote him on the day I left. He promised to keep me safe from Seth, but I can tell that Luke held something back, something he wants to tell me that involves my ex–mate.
“You guys ready for lunch?” Dan asks as Lace and I join him and the rest of his family. Putting thoughts of Seth aside, I focus on the here and now.
“Yes, we are. Lace and I worked up an appetite talking to Luke. He says hi, by the way” I answer, Lace nodding enthusiastically at me. We have been driving for the last six hours,
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since leaving the last hotel we slept in the night before. Everyone is exhausted from the long days on the road, and knowing that we will be in a pack soon is the only thing keeping us
going.
ว
Dan told us this morning as we were packing our things that he estimates we will be in
Moonfire tonight, and I can’t wait. Staying in the human settlements makes it hard for Dan,
Miss Maya, and I to be able to shift into our wolf form and let our instincts take over.
“Do you think I can get pancakes?” Lace asks as we enter the diner we stopped at, the smell
of coffee and sweaty travelers hitting my nose and making me scrunch my face in disgust. I
will never get used to this smell, especially since the humans that stop at these rest stops
don’t seem to shower for several days, if not more.
“I think they might,” Miss Maya answers her daughter. Our group of six moves to the back of
the diner, where we push together two tables. Adam, Henry, and I sit on one side, our backs to
the wall as we watch people enter and exit the diner while Lace, Miss Maya, and Dan sit
across from us, the two older wolves able to whirl around and defend us if the need arises.
A young woman in a simple pink uniform comes to our table within seconds, handing us menus and introducing herself as Flo, our waitress. Dan orders a round of water for the table while we decide what to order, and with a friendly smile, Flo tells us she will be back soon with
the water to give us time to think.
“Daddy! They have chocolate chip pancakes!” Lace exclaims in excitement. It seems we know what one of us will be getting. I help Henry go through the menu, the ten–year–old with shaggy brown hair deciding he will get the chicken burger with fries.
Flo returns just in time, and we each place our orders, Lace giggling happily when Flo tells her she will tell the kitchen staff to put extra chocolate chips in her pancakes for her. With Flo taking our no–longer–needed menus and disappearing from our sight, Dan looks at each and every one of us in the eyes, the power in his blood humming. Whatever he is about to say is important, and we need to pay attention to his words.
“We need to remember that right now, we are rogues. When we make it to Moonfire, we need to show that we mean no threat, and just want to join their pack,” he begins, his eyes darting
to Adam.
His fifteenth birthday is two weeks away, meaning his hormones will be rampaging for the next year before he shifts for the first time in twelve months, when he turns sixteen.
“Adam, you have seen wolves go through their pre–shift year. You know your emotions and hormones are going to be going haywire. If you feel like you need to fight someone, find Liora
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or me. We can handle whatever you throw at us, and help you learn to control yourself,” Dan
explains to his son. I nod in agreement when Adam looks at me, actually becoming excited to
spar with the kid.
“I understand, Ďad. I won’t fight anyone at Moonfire until I am put into training,” Adam
promises. I ruffle his hair, giving the teen a reassuring smile. I think back to my pre–shift year.
How Luke and Seth would spar with me when my rage would take over.
Usually, it was because Caroline and her three friends would cause trouble for me for no reason, but at the time my parents were still alive and put that b***h in her place. My heart clenches as I think about Seth. He was the one person who would always spar with me, would
always be there when Luke could not. Now he is the cause for all the pain I have been pushing back while trying to survive these last few days.
Taking a deep breath, I push back these intrusive thoughts and force myself once again to focus. Moonfire will be my future. I need to remind myself that once I am safe and sound within a pack, I can start to focus on healing the pain and moving on from my ex–mate.
“It’s just for a year. When you shift, your emotions settle down. It’s worse for us with alpha and beta blood running through our veins,” I decide to give Adam some advice, the teen listening intently to my words with his green eyes shining as he nods. I can see he is also excited to spar with me, now that he has almost reached the pre–shift year. This will be fun.
Our conversation turns lighter as Dan takes out his phone, and shows us an email from the alpha of Moonfire that he received this morning. He goes on to show us the house that will belong to his family, a two–story, five–bedroom house, with a large yard ringed by a white picket
fence.
Adam is excited to receive his own room after having to share his with Henry, since they only had a small three–bedroom in Stormclaw. Dan and Miss Maya promise to take their pups shopping, before Dan flips through his phone, beaming at me and showing me a small three–bedroom cottage that will be mine.
“It has a basement, so you can design it into whatever you want, but it’s yours,” he informs me, shocking me for a moment. I have only known the large house I grew up in in Stormclaw–a two–story house with four bedrooms and a basement. I remember complaining that the place was too big for my parents and me to live in, and how when I move out, I will build a small cottage with a basement. Something with only one main level, so that I don’t have to clean as
much.
“That’s mine?” I ask, taking the phone to zoom in on the images and take a look at the empty
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building. The master bedroom and a smaller room are on the main level, with the third
bedroom being built in the basement.
+15 Points >
“That’s yours. The alpha already knows about the lilac bush we are bringing, and his Luna is excited to see it. I did give them a summary of what happened to you, and they offered up this cottage, stating you needed a fresh start,” Dan confirms, laughing at my reaction as I hand his
phone back to him. He goes on to explain that I will be doing my beta training there, as the beta couple of Moonfire have decided to retire and have no heir to continue their role. My excitement grows as I think about what this means. That me starting my beta training means I will be the next beta of Moonfire in just a few years.
Flo arrives with another waitress in tow, the two humans bringing us our meals. The topic of
our new pack is put aside as the smell of a fresh hot meal takes our focus. We dig into the delicious food, Lace thanking Flo for the extra chocolate chips while Henry and I debate over which is better–a regular beef burger or a chicken burger. Adam agrees that beef is better, and I high–five the teen. I have a feeling he and I will become close as I train him for the next
twelve months, in preparation for his first shift.
After eating, Dan pays, and we are on the road again. We have another three hours until we reach Moonfire, and Dan wants to be there as early as possible to go through the formalities
of joining the pack.
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