White Moon

~Ten years later~

ADARA

I sat in the dining hall picking at my breakfast as I watched members of the pack shuffle in.

“Good morning, dear.” My mother, Luna Kendra, smiled as she approached me.

“Hey, Mom,” I replied softly.

She sat beside me and gave me a curious look. “You okay?”

I shrugged. “Just feeling off today.”

That was a lie. I knew what was wrong. I was bored. Bored out of my mind. I was twenty and tired of the same thing every day.

I was almost finished with my training as a nurse and I was three months away from turning twenty-one—the age I would finally find my mate.

“Well then, why don’t you take a day for yourself? Go for a run,” my mom suggested.

My wolf’s ears perked up. ~A run?!~

~Calm yourself . . . We’ll go for a run later,~ I thought to myself as I gave my mom a smile.

“Maybe. I think right now I’m just going to lie down for a while,” I said to my mom before standing from the table.

I walked upstairs to my room in the Alpha’s apartment. As I crawled into bed, I could feel my brother trying to poke through my mind.

~“WHAT?!”~

~“Geez, no need to be snappy! I was just wondering if you’ve seen Dad? I can’t find him anywhere,”~ my brother Austin hollered in my mind.

~“I don’t know, Austin. Did you look in his office?”~

~“Yep,”~ he replied cheerfully.

~“Well, then I guess you’re out of luck,”~ I replied, before shutting him out again. I closed my eyes and tried to sleep.

Sleep didn’t come. My mind was just a jumble of thoughts about the future. I rolled over in frustration and let out a huff before closing my eyes again and trying to let sleep claim me.

No luck.

I gave up and decided maybe I should go for a run like Mom suggested before my shift at the clinic. Since I wasn’t finished with school quite yet, I only interned a few hours a day at the pack doctor.

I grabbed some comfortable clothes before heading out the back of the pack house and turning west toward the forest.

When I reached the tree line, I shifted, my auburn wolf matching the color of my own hair.

I was smaller than my brother, but much larger than most females because of my Alpha lineage. My wolf was strong and fast and she enjoyed letting loose on a run.

We sprinted through the woods, weaving in and out and over rocks and trees.

~We are just restless because we have so much that’s going to change soon, ~my wolf said as we ran.

~I know. I’m mostly nervous. What if he is cruel or a complete hound like my brother?~ I replied.

I loved my brother but he was a ridiculous playboy and could be a bit of a tool sometimes.

My wolf growled. ~Well, if he is cruel, we will rip off his little boy parts and feed them to him. And if he is a hound then... Well, I guess in both cases we would rip off his little boy parts.~

I chuckled as I imagined my wolf going crazy on some guy because he didn’t treat us as well as she expected.

~I’ve got your back, babe,~ my wolf said with a smile.

We continued to run through the trees, sprinting hard until we reached the creek on the far west boundary.

I took a drink and rested under a tree for a while before heading home, knowing if I stayed out too late I’d be in trouble.

“Have a nice run?” my dad, Alpha Mason, asked as he saw me walk through the back door. I was muddy with flushed cheeks and a heaving chest as I calmed myself from the long run.

“I did, actually,” I said with a smile. “Apparently it was just what I needed.”

“Good,” he replied with a wink before walking back to his office.

I showered, changed, and made my way out to work. I walked through the door in my purple scrubs and gave the receptionist a smile. “Hey, Frankie.”

“Hey Adara! How are you this morning?” the old woman asked with a smile.

“I’m alright. How is George?” I asked.

“Oh, he’s doing fine. Hoping to retire soon from the shop. I think he’s getting old,” she whispered jokingly, as if them being almost seventy-five was a secret.

“Is Dr. Adams busy?” I asked as I walked through to the back.

“Nope, go on in, dear,” she said with a wave.

I gave her a wink before heading back to Dr. Adams’s office. I tapped on the door before walking in. “Hey Uncle Rick, I come bearing muffins.”

Rick turned around in his chair with a smile. “Apple crumb?”

I gave him a smirk. “Is there any other kind?”

He waved me in, taking the bag of warm muffins from me and taking a bite of one. “Mmmm... Chelsea makes the best muffins.”

I laughed. “She’s your mate... Couldn’t you just get some at home?”

He shrugged. “She made them after I left and they’re best warm anyway.”

I shook my head before looking at the schedule. “Need me to set up the exam room?”

He nodded his head. “Please. The Jenkins twins are coming in soon and they always have something wrong.”

I shook my head with a smile before walking to the exam room and setting up. He was my mother’s brother and one of my favorite people, hands down.

Suddenly I felt the pack link going haywire. I focused on the loudest voice, yelling out commands. I couldn’t hear much, just shouting and threats. Then it went silent.

I walked into Uncle Rick’s office. “Did you—”

“Yeah, I did. What was that?” he asked.

“I don’t know . . . That was weird.” I shrugged.

I went back to my work, unaware of what had just taken place a few miles from where I was.