Gift

RORY

When Freya is finally able to drag me away from the library and back to her dorm room, we start getting ready for a night out on the town.

One of Freya’s classmates has invited us to a party at his Upper West Side apartment, and as always, Freya will take ~any~ opportunity to get dressed up.

I’m happy to get a taste of a real-life college party too.

“Do you think that Ace is going to come?” Freya asks me as she slicks on a layer of beet-red lipstick.

“Well, I don’t think he drove all the way to New York just to give you that awkward side-hug,” I say with a laugh.

Freya elbows me, causing me to smudge my liquid eyeliner.

“What do you want with Ace anyway?” I ask as I clean up my little mess with a Q-tip. “Are you really interested in starting a long-distance relationship with him?”

“I know we’re not mates or whatever,” Freya says, “but he’s so cute and smart and sweet. And even though I’m surrounded by all these hot city guys, I can’t stop thinking about Ace all the time.”

~Wow.~

It’s so nice to hear Freya talk about someone like this. She’s never really been the romantic type.

“Besides,” she adds. “I’d have all the more reason to come visit the pack.”

“I should be reason enough, bitch,” I say.

“You are,” she laughs. “I’m sorry. Of course you are.”

We look ourselves over in her floor-length mirror, and as Freya is snapping a quick picture of us, there is a knock on her door.

She opens it to reveal Everett and Ace on the other side. They each have a small blue box in hand—the kind of box you’d recognize anywhere.

~Tiffany’s.~

~What’s going on?!~

Everett pulls me out into the hallway as Ace steps into Freya’s room. He flashes me a soft smile and closes the door behind them.

I look back at my mate as he places the box in my hands.

“This doesn’t look like pack business,” I say to him as I slowly untie the white, silk bow.

“Keeping my luna happy is the most important pack business there is,” he says.

I open the box and gasp when I see the beautiful necklace inside.

“Everett,” I say. “You didn’t have to. Why—?”

“I know it can’t be easy seeing your friend in college, especially when things haven’t been so easy at the pack,” he says.

“I just want to make sure you know how much I love you. And how grateful I am that you’re my luna.”

“Thank you,” I say as I wrap the necklace around my neck and secure the clasp. “Thank you, thank you! It’s been nice to visit Freya, but my home is wherever you are.”

He leans down and kisses me softly—the kind of kiss that tells me he loves me more than words ever could.

~Goddess, I adore this man.~

~I might just be the luckiest girl in the world.~

“Are you sure you want to come to this party tonight?” I ask him. “We could skip it and have a little fun of our own.”

“Oh, trust me,” he says. “We’ll have plenty of time for that tonight. But I’m curious to see what kind of rowdy stuff college kids are getting up to these days.”

“Let’s do it,” I say.

I open the door to Freya’s dorm room again and catch the tail end of a sweet kiss between her and Ace.

They look over at us, stunned: red in the face, but smiling wide.

Freya points excitedly to her wrist and I see that she’s wearing a delicate silver bracelet.

“Goddess…,” Everett mumbles. “This is going to take some getting used to.”

“Tell me about it,” I say.

“Tell ~me~ about it,” Freya and Ace both confirm in unison.

And just like that, we all burst out laughing.

***

When we arrive at the party, it’s absolutely ~nothing~ like I expected.

The movies had me convinced that college parties would be all beer pong, cheap booze, and scantily clad girls dancing on the tables.

But this is a ~far~ cry from that.

The gorgeous, high-rise apartment is illuminated only by candles, and everyone is drinking wine out of long-stem glasses. There’s beautiful art hung on every wall, and stacks of books on every table.

~This~ is the kind of classy shindig I can really get behind.

“Deacon’s mom is one of the top book editors in the city,” Freya whispers in my ear as I look around in awe. “She’s staying at their house in the Hamptons right now, so he’s living here by himself.”

I let go of Everett’s hand and make a beeline for the nearest bookshelf. I run a finger over the spines, reading all the different titles.

It’s an amazing collection, with books of every genre, in several different languages.

“Like anything you see?” a voice calls out from behind me.

“Um, all of it,” I say, turning around to find a tall, brunette boy in glasses watching me, a look of amusement on his face.

“Yeah…,” he says. “It’s hard to get bored living here.”

“You must be Deacon,” I say. “I’m Aurora. Rory. Freya’s friend.”

“Nice to meet you, Aurora-Rory-Freya’s friend,” he says.

I turn back and pull a copy of ~The Great Gatsby~ off of the shelf. “This is one of my favorites,” I say.

“Me too,” he says. “But be careful. That’s a first edition.”

~What?!~

“You’re going to want to get this far away from me,” I say to him, placing the book in his hands. “I’m ~far~ too clumsy to be around something so precious. Trust me.”

“You’re funny,” he says, putting it back on the shelf. “I’m glad Freya invited you. Where do you go to college?”

“Um—I don’t—” I say, feeling a little embarrassed.

“Oh,” he says. “Well, what do you do?”

~I’m the luna of a werewolf pack.~

~And not a very good one, at that.~

“I’m just—I’m figuring it out,” I say quietly.

“Aren’t we all,” Deacon says with a laugh. “But New York City is the best place in the world to do that.”

For a moment, my heart sinks at his words. But then I feel the weight of the necklace around my neck, and I remember why I do what I do.

~It’s for Everett.~

~For our pack.~

~For our future.~

~***~

EVERETT

This party sucks.

~Where is the water basketball?~

~Where is the beer keg?~

~Where is the FUN?!~

Everybody’s just standing around with their pinkies in the air, talking about what they learned in their classes. And I’m bored out of my mind, desperate to get out of here.

This is nothing like the epic ragers that I used to throw in my time at L.U.

To make matters even worse, my mate is standing in the corner talking and laughing with some lanky pseudo-intellectual.

If he even ~thinks~ about making a move on her, I will kick his skinny ass all the way to Long Island.

Chaos is growing more and more restless by the second.

He’s craving to shift and get the hell out of here, taking Aurora with him.

But we just arrived... I can’t pull her away yet.

Instead, I decide to get some air.

I squeeze my way through an open window and out onto the fire escape... the pathetic, New York City excuse for a balcony.

As I look out at the view, my mind starts to spin.

Normally, I feel like I’m situated in the center of my world. My whole pack revolves around me. But here, I’m a complete and total outsider.

This must be what Aurora feels all the time... and it’s fucking awful.

All I know is I can’t stay here for much longer. The sounds, smells, and lights of the city are ~far~ too overwhelming for my heightened wolf senses.

But as I am about to retreat back into the apartment, I hear an unexpected sound cutting through the clatter.

~Lucius’s voice.~

~He’s trying to mind-link me.~

I’m far from the pack, so our connection is shaky. But as I close my eyes and concentrate hard, his voice gets louder and louder inside my head.

~“Alpha,”~ he says. ~“Alpha, can you hear me?”~

He sounds tense... riddled with anxiety.

My heart tightens in my chest. Something is wrong. I’m sure of it.

~“Yes, Lucius,”~ I say. ~“I can hear you. What’s the matter?”~

~“It’s Robert.”~

~The former beta of the Red Moon Pack.~

~“What happened to him?”~ I ask.

~“Rogues attacked,”~ he says. ~“They killed him. He’s dead!”~