Chapter One: Mistaken Identity

For the beginning of the winter, today is a reasonably mild day. There was a slight breeze that blew like wisps through my hair. The temperature is comfortable at 50 degrees Fahrenheit, which might seem chilly for humans, but it is perfect for werewolves. 

My name is Claire McClay, and I am an 18-year-old she-wolf. I live in the Silver Moon Pack with my Omega parents, Charles and Barbara McClay. Although the Omega is the lowest rank of the pack, we are not abused and tortured at Silver Moon like what I have heard happens in other packs. But we are the lowest-paid wolves in our jobs. And that is if we get paid at all. 

Living as an Omega wasn’t terrible if you were ok with the idea of wearing second-hand clothes and walking or riding a donated bicycle (it’s almost unheard of for an Omega to have a car). 

My family lived down to the definition of what Omegas are normally thought of. Daddy worked hard as a mechanic, a skill he learned when he was a teenager. 

It would have been no issue for the amount of his skill as a mechanic and body man if he had been of a higher rank. It didn’t even matter that he was sought after for the work he could do; he was an Omega.

Mom worked in the grocery store as a cashier. She always came home from work bone-tired and aching from having to stand in basically one place for eight to ten hours every day. I always knew that I would work as hard as possible to make sure my parents could finally feel like they could breathe easier. 

I currently have two part-time jobs to help with our family's everyday expenses. It is super hard to manage finances when there just isn’t enough income to live comfortably. We, as a family, live paycheck to paycheck. 

Oftentimes, even when we pool each check from every income source, there is still not enough money to pay the mandatory pack fees and buy groceries, much less anything extra.

I work at the 1950s-themed diner/drugstore on weekends as a "Soda Jerk," making phosphate sodas, ice cream shakes, and malts. I started working there before I graduated from high school. Tips are good, but the clientele could use some manners. 

In my other job, I work as a courier for the Silver Moon Document Delivery Service. We typically deliver legal documents to ranked wolves or businesses in and around the pack lands. Anytime one party needs to get something to someone else, they would rather pay for a service to distribute it than carry it over themselves. But, hey, that just ensures my job security, so I am fine with it.

I had been saving for my car for two years so that I could make longer runs that paid better than the deliveries I could make on my bicycle in Silver Moon. 

Since I recently acquired a "new-to-me" 2017 Nissan Rogue Sport, my boss, Martha, offered me the opportunity to make a last-minute delivery to the Royal Moon Pack for a significant bonus in my pay. I was excited to travel to the Royal Moon Pack since I had never seen anything outside the Silver Moon Pack since I was born. 

Royal Moon is the largest and strongest pack in our area. They are wealthy and have some of the most talented but deadly warriors. The Alpha couple, Alpha Marlon and Luna Ashley were known to be strict but fair. 

I never heard any reports concerning major crimes at Royal Moon. The members of their pack obeyed not out of fear, but rather out of unmatched loyalty and love for their Alpha and Luna.

As I approached the entrance to the Royal Moon Pack, my progress was halted by the guard to produce my identification. He seemed to stare at me harder than I was comfortable with. 

"Is there a problem?" I asked, looking up at the guard. 

He straightened up immediately and smiled a toothy grin before responding, "No, ma'am, no problem. You are delivering this package to the Beta. You stay on this road until it curves off to the right, and follow that line for about a quarter of a mile. His house will be the only one at the end of the pavement." The guard extended his arm, pointing the way before waving me through.

I drove slowly in the direction the guard directed, mesmerized by the sheer beauty of the land and the forest I was flanking. I was so lost in my admiration that I almost missed my turn. Stomping on the brakes, I quickly put the car in reverse and turned down the road under a canopy of trees. Within just a few minutes, I saw the house the guard described come into view. 

It was a beautiful structure without being over the top. It looked like a log cabin, but it was two stories instead of just a ranch-style single-story house. It was built with the same wood from the surrounding forest. Something about that settled well in my heart. Even though the Royal Moon Pack had plenty of money, they didn't seem to flaunt it and were mindful of the earth and the resources at their disposal.

As I pulled around the circular drive and parked in front of the entrance door, the front door opened as if it was summoned by wordless magic to do so at the first shadow of a guest. 

I made my way up the stairs toward the man standing there with the secure file I was to deliver. The look on his face was comical yet somewhat unnerving. "Luna?" he questioned. 

I turned around and looked behind me to see who he was talking to, but no one else was there, and I pointed at myself before asking him if he was talking to me. He nodded slowly in answer to my question. 

I shook my head in confusion before stating clearly, "I am sorry, sir, you must have me mistaken for someone else. I am one of the Omega couriers sent to deliver these documents to you from the ‘Silver Moon Document Delivery Service’".

I handed him the document folder and requested that he sign for them on my handheld electronic device. As he took the device to provide his signature, he kept looking up at me like he saw a ghost. Honestly, I was starting to feel a bit creeped out about it. As soon as he completed the signature process, I quickly grabbed the device, shoved it in my messenger bag, and backed away down the stairs. "Thank you, sir. I hope that you have a wonderful afternoon," I called out to him as I slid into the car, and he turned to go back inside. He waved casually behind him before closing the door and disappearing from my sight.

As I made my way home, I had plenty of time to think about what had just happened since I didn't have anyone riding with me. I began to realize that as creepy as that guy's looks felt, it was a hilarious situation, and I couldn't wait to tell my parents about it when I got home. 

Imagine me being mistaken for the Luna and not just any Luna, but the Luna of the Royal Moon Pack. I was still giggling when I pulled into the driveway of my family home, where I was raised and had many great memories with my mom and dad. 

We may only rank as Omegas, but we loved each other just as fiercely as anyone else in the pack. We always knew that someone had our back and stood ready to defend each other regardless of the situation.

As I reached the hallway between the living room and the kitchen, I made my presence known to my mom in the kitchen, although there was no real reason to do that. She would have been able to recognize not only who I was but also where I was in proximity to her by my scent alone as soon as I opened the front door. As I strolled into the kitchen, still chuckling, I went over, gave mom a peck on the cheek, went to the breakfast table, and pulled out a chair next to my dad. 

“What has you in such a giddy mood, sweetheart?" daddy asked with an amused grin. 

I started telling them what happened when I went to make the delivery to the Royal Moon Pack, wiping the tears from my eyes because I was laughing so hard. I looked up, and when I saw the expressions on my parents' faces, I was immediately silent. 

"Mom…Dad… What's wrong? Did I do something I wasn't supposed to? Why do you look like that?" 

They both looked at me without a trace of jocularity and told me that I could not tell anyone else about my experience and it was best to forget it had ever happened.

As I absorbed their verbal directions to me, questions started to come to mind, but before I could utter the first syllable, the doorbell rang. While my mother went to answer the door, I peered out the side window to try to see if I could name who was at our house unannounced. 

I didn't recognize the lady as someone in our pack or someone I had previously met. Do doppelgangers truly exist? Because that is the only way that I could accurately describe the lady at our door: as a slightly older version of myself. The only questions in my mind right then were, "Who is this woman?" and "Where did she come from?"