Chapter 1 Chapter 1

She smiled, placing her hand on the guy’s arm, as she replied to whatever he’d said to make her smile. The gesture might seem innocent, but it was anything but innocent. To the guy, the gesture was a sign she’s interested. To the other girls, a possessive one warning them to back off.

I lifted the cool glass to my lips, taking a slow drink of the soda as I watched the two. It was stupid, but I couldn’t help myself. I was jealous. It wasn’t because she was attractive or the way the guy couldn’t take his eyes off of her, but of their freedom. We’re the same age, give or take a year or two. They got to flirt, party and enjoy these brief years of new adulthood while I’m trapped. Trapped in a life I was never meant to have by some cruel twist of fate.

“Do you know him?” A masculine voice whispered over my shoulder. I gave a startled flinch. Finn laughed. He had caught me off guard and knew it. I shook my head as I turned to face him. Finn was in the six-foot range and easily towered over my meager five’ four.

Where most werewolves tended to be muscular and brawny, Finn was lanky but wiry. It made a lot of people underestimate just how fast and strong he is. His sandy brown hair, green eyes, dimples, and a nice guy good looks made him eye candy too.  Tonight he’s dressed in a dark t-shirt and jeans; simple but nice. Very Finn-ish.

“Do I know who?” I asked not exactly sure who he was talking about.

“The guy over there. The one you’re practically drooling over,” he replied, sounding a little jealous himself.

A sliver of guilty pleasure rushed through me at the thought of him being jealous. I shouldn’t like him being jealous. It wasn’t fair. Not when I couldn’t give Finn what he wanted and honestly, deserved. I did my best to hide the emotions by taking another drink from the glass. “No, I don’t. If there was any drooling, it had nothing to do with him.” I  kept my tone matter of fact.

“Oh so it’s the girl then,” he said, wagging his eyebrows at me and getting me to laugh just like he wanted.

I slapped him playfully on the arm, slipping old familiarities with too much ease. Old habits really do die hard. “It’s not the girl!”

“Then what had you staring holes into them?”

Memory my own envy came back to mind, I sighed, blowing the yellow strands of my hair up and out of my face as I shook my head. “Nothing,” I said glumly, setting down the glass on a nearby table. Why did I even come to this party in the first place? I couldn’t even remember anymore.

I started to leave when Finn caught my hand. “Wait. Where are you going? Did I say something wrong?”

“No, you’re fine,” I told him, lacing my fingers with his and giving his hand a squeeze. “It’s just…” I started and a moment later sighed again. I’m not sure he’d understand, even if I tried to explain it to him. “I’ve got stuff I should be doing.”  In all truth, as the Luna of Willow’s Pond Pack, I always had something to do. Something to read, something to sign, or someone I needed to talk to or needed to talk to me.

“Alice, wait. Don’t go,” Finn said, still holding my hand. “I’m sorry okay. I didn’t mean to make you upset,” he continued, and guilt surged up inside me. Finn gave my hand a little tug. I walked over to him and into the hug he offered. His arms pulled me in close. I rested my head against his chest, almost instantly I felt better, and I hated myself for it.

I looked up to thank him when Finn’s lips met mine. A strange mix of shock and familiarity raced through me. I wanted to return the kiss and break it at the same time. I knew which urge I had to follow. I pushed against his chest while I turned my head to the side, breaking the kiss. It earned me a growl of frustration from him. “Alice,” he groaned, his lips seeking mine.

“No Finn,” I told him, pushing him even harder and keeping my face downturned. “We’ve talked about this.”

“No. You talked,” Flinn said. The bitterness in his voice made me flinch, but he gave up on his attempts to kiss me again. “I don’t see why we can’t be together.”

“Because everything is a mess and...” I started then stopped. He hated it when I said it, but I had to. “We’re not mates, Finn. We’re not meant to be together. It’s not what the goddess planned for us.”

The scowl on his face seemed so out of place. At that moment, a chorus cellphones alerts broke through the noise of the loud stereo system.  That was never good. I pulled my phone out of my back pocket and looked at the text.

Code R  - western borders

“Damn it,” I swore as I texted back a be there asap.

“I guess you got the same text I did,” Finn said, only a hint of the bitterness left in his voice. “This almost seems organized.” He pulled on his thick cloth jacket and handed me my brown leather one.

“As if I didn't have enough to deal with,” I said through clenched teeth. Finn gave me a strained attempt at sympathy which I choose to ignore. I did appreciate it, but it didn’t do me a damn bit of good right now.

The music cut off, leaving the house rather quiet despite the growing murmurs of the crowd. Some were talking on their cells while others were grouping up before racing out of the house. There were hints of panic in everyone's expression.

Code R meant rogues were pushing our borders. They were coming into the territory without my permission. Half a year ago, a rogue attack wouldn’t have elicited such a response from my pack or from me. It’s amazing how one night can change everything.

Tonight was cool and damp from the spring showers in the afternoon. It sent a chill running down my spine. “Alice, be careful out there,” Finn said with a look that told me he wanted to kiss me again. I turned my head left as if looking for my car to save us both the trouble of rehashing an argument we didn’t have time for.

“I will,” I told him. I gave his upper arm a squeeze before jogging off to my Mini Cooper and Finn to his F150. I had to go to the pack house, and he would go to the western borders to do his duty as part of the enforcers. I couldn’t go near the western borders. Mario, my beta, wouldn’t allow it. Not even over his dead body. He had served my family was killed.

It was thanks to Mario I became the Luna. A lot of people didn’t want to see a woman ruling them, especially when she’s only eighteen. I still wasn’t sure if I should thank Mario or curse him for it.

Willow’s Pond was a little town so despite the traffic I managed to get to the pack house in about fifteen minutes. It was a large brick civil war era styled building. It had three floors with large windows on the top floor. I saw the beta waiting for me on the porch. He was a little smaller than Finn but three times as wide. Mario’s hair cut short, was dark, streaked with gray. His coppery skin wrinkled around his eyes and mouth, like aged leather. Mario’s tendency to dress in dress pants and suit jackets gave him the look of a mobster. Sometimes I suspected he intended it that way.

“How bad is it?” I asked as I walked up to the steps of the porch. His dark eyes brighten with hints of gold. Great. It was bad.

“Almost fifteen strong if the first accounts are accurate” he replied. His tone hard and all business, sounding like a someone from a crime syndicate.

“Damn it,” I swore again, slumping my shoulders. As if I didn’t need more problems. “But rogues don’t band up together. That’s why they’re rogues. What do we have?” I stuffed my hands in my jacket to hide the fact they’d started to shake with anger.

“Deep breaths Alice,” Mario said, of course seeing it all the same. “We don’t have anything more than we had before. We’ll see what we have after the skirmish is over.”

I nodded, taking the last few steps to stand next to him - his mobster persona clashing with my pale, thin frame. Exhaustion suddenly swamping me. It wasn’t the man, I’m so tired exhaustion. This was something deeper. Something that seemed to reach into my very soul and weigh it down. “Any other news? Alpha Steven say anything lately?”

“No, not yet. He’s been quiet for almost two weeks, so I’m sure we’ll hear something soon,” Mario said. The corner of his mouth tilted upwards before it fell back down. “How was the party?”

“A mistake,” I replied, letting my tone grow hard. “I don’t know why I still think I can actually act my age.”

Mario looked like he wanted to say something but I shook my head. I wasn’t going to talk about this, with him, right now. Silence fell on us both as we stared out into the inky night, waiting for an update on the rogue situation. I hated wasn’t there to help defend our territory. Mario insisted I wasn’t ready yet.

A half hour later my phone ripped through the comfortable silence. With a quick glance at my phone, I told him, “Let’s head out. They’ve caught a few of them this time. Maybe we can get some answers.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” he said and followed me down the wooden porch steps. We climb into his benze, which helped strengthen the mafia image even more. He drove the ten minutes it took to the holding cells. Mario stopped me before I went in side. He walked in a circle around me and looked looked me over. To some, it may seem odd, but he was assessing me and making sure I was going to make the right impression. 

Right now, I couldn’t afford newbie mistakes. Those rogues had to see me as a competent leader if I wanted the attacks to stop. My rocky grip on my position as Luna needed the attacks to stop. I’ve lost my family. I wouldn’t lose my pack too.

Mario pushed on my spine in a gentle but insistent push for me to straighten my posture. I straightened and lifted my chin. I hoped it gave off the strong, proud I’m the boss here vibe, instead of condescending and snooty. He next took my hair in his large hands and pulling it away from my face, then up before he let it down. “You should braid hair. Keep it tight as if you’re going into a fight,” he ordered, and I did as he told me.

When I finished, he nodded with approval, and we headed in. The place looked small and unassuming on the outside with cement walls and minimal windows. Inside, it looked like what it really was, jail. “How many?” I demanded when I saw Koreyon, the chief of pack security. He had a football player build. His dark skin looked almost bluish-black under the lights and his hair in long dreads which were pulled back into a loose ponytail.

“We’ve got four of them,” Koreyon answered. “We may have a problem with one of them.”