Chapter Three

Six hours later, it was time for Erin to pack up her stuff and go home after a busy day of work. Who would’ve thought there was much work to do in an art gallery? Farida had been such a great supervisor; patiently taking her through the gallery inventory, showing her the basics of curating remarkable pieces of art, guiding her through intricacies for displaying the right pieces on the main floor, and which spots were best for different paintings depending on their sizes and visuals. It had been such a wholesome experience for Erin that she couldn’t wait to come back to work again tomorrow.

She couldn’t help but notice that she didn’t get another glimpse of Devon after their awkward meeting in the morning. As she backed out of the parking space in front of the gallery, she thought she saw someone stepping away from a window upstairs just as she looked up. She suspected the person might be Devon and she wondered why he had acted so strangely with her earlier.  She wondered if he had never participated in the Full Moon Feasts and how come she had never noticed him before. There weren’t many werewolf packs in their clan and newcomers were always introduced on their first attendance, so if indeed he had attended before, she would have seen him and recognized him when they met today. And he’d called her by a strange name too – what was it? Edwina? Or was it Edna?

Erin shook her head as if to clear away her thoughts. The more she thought about her encounter with her new boss, the more the situation confused her. For the first time in her adult life, she was looking forward to the feast tonight because she was sure that was the best place for her to get answers to this new puzzle that she has stumbled on with Devon. Later that night, barely an hour before midnight, she ran beside her parents as they made their way to the forest near the Denali mountain where they would be congregating with their fellow werewolves.

When they arrived at the rendezvous, other clan members were already present and everyone was in their werewolf form. As usual, the Chief, Gary Silver, took his spot on a raised boulder in front of the gathering to address everyone. He was a majestic silver wolf with an air of authority that is befitting of his position.

“Family, friends, welcome to this quarter’s Full Moon Feast,” said Gary proudly. “You all know how much I love these meetings because it’s our only way of keeping in touch with our werewolf ancestry over time. I am glad that centuries of living among humans have not robbed us of the memory of who we truly are.”

There were murmurs of agreement across the gathering. Erin tried not to look bored, but she feared that this intro from Gary was the beginning of a long windy speech that might not end any time soon, and that was one of the reasons why she hated coming for this feast thing.

“Being that we are very few compared to our human neighbors, it is important that we stay close and never miss an opportunity to welcome a new member into our fold. With that said, I would like to introduce to us a new member of our clan; a werewolf who has achieved notable feats in his chosen career won accolades for his admirable talent and has only recently set up a business that is already creating employment for locals. Please welcome into our midst, Devon Grey.”

Erin felt the hairs on her spine rise when she heard the name. Devon was here? How come she didn’t notice him before?

As if to answer her unspoken question, a huge grey wolf stepped out from the gathering and made his way to the front to stand beside Gary. When he turned around and faced everyone, Erin recognized him as the wolf she had seen in the giant painting at the gallery. She didn’t know whether he had spotted her in the crowd already, but the moment he turned his face to look in her direction, their eyes met and she saw the recognition registered there.

“In case you are wondering why none of you have ever seen Devon before,” Gary continued speaking. “It is because he has been quite the nomad, traveling from place to place to practice his craft, but now, he is finally ready to establish some roots and make his home amongst us. It is my pleasure to also announce that Devon has found his mate and I am hoping that he will reveal the identity of the lucky she-wolf to us tonight.”

Erin stiffened where she stood when the last part of Gary’s speech sank into her brain. Devon had told her this morning that she was his mate but she had chucked that aside as some sort of confusion on his part. Now here he was, about to announce to the entire clan that she was his mate, when she doesn’t even know him. Didn’t she have a say on who she’s supposed to spend the rest of her life with? Was she supposed to just accept this stranger as her mate with no questions asked?

“Over to you, Devon,” Gary said excitedly. “Please, go ahead and tell us who your mate is. The suspense is killing me.”

There was a smattering of laughter in the gathering because everyone could relate to Gary’s sentiment. Announcing a mate on a night like this was one of the most auspicious things to happen in the werewolf clan.

While everyone eagerly awaited Devon’s announcement, Erin found herself digging her claws into the cold earth, dreading the words that were about to come out of the grey werewolf’s muzzle. With her heart pounding furiously in her chest, she stood and watched helplessly as Devon opened his mouth to speak.