Chapter 3

Adira’s POV

Before I knew where I was, I was deep in the forest heading towards the packhouse, but I knew that I couldn’t go there at this time of the day to see Zane. All I wanted was to seek comfort and I knew he was the only one that had ever shown me an ounce of compassion, but I also knew that it was in the privacy of the night with no one around us. So instead, I ran towards the only place I ever felt comfort and knew if I waited there, he would come to me tonight.

Once I got to the clearing in the woods, I sat down against the old maple tree that had our initials carved into it. It was something that Zane and I had done years ago to mark this as our spot, claiming it from all others that dared to take it from us.

Tears began to fall from my eyes as I thought back to what had just happened at the dress store. I couldn’t believe that the sales associates thought that I was a servant, but as I looked down at the clothes that I was wearing, I realized that I must in their eyes looked like an unkept she wolf, with my baggy sweat pants and tee shirt. My hair was pulled up in a bun and I had not an ounce of makeup on. I then began to wonder why Zane would even be interested in a she wolf like me. I clearly had nothing to offer him, and I knew his parents would never accept me as the next Luna of the pack when they saw me.

A part of me wanted to save myself from the embarrassment of the whole situation, but another part of me wanted to be with Zane, especially after the moment we had shared last night. I found myself conflicted on what to do and I worried that Zane would regret his choice after we were mated. Why would he want me when he could have any, she wolf he wanted?

The scene of what just happened in the dress store came flooding back. “We don’t cater to your kind.” Kept playing over and over in my head and I couldn’t help but wonder if I was beneath the family I was born into. Female wolves were never tested to see what the status of their wolf is. It was just assumed by whom you mate with. Maybe I am just an omega and not an Alpha female like my family is. Maybe I am not destined to be anything more than a servant like the sales associate assumed. Maybe Aira got all the Alpha gene and left me nothing and I am destined to be someone servant.

The more my mind wondered the more depressed I got and the more I wanted to see Zane and have him hold me in his arms like last night and tell me that everything was going to be okay. But as night fell and midnight came, Zane never showed. My wolf began to howl in pain, and I knew she wanted to be set free and that’s exactly what I did.

As my body shifted into my massive white wolf, I let her take fully over, not wanting to feel the pain any longer from all the disappointments that happened in my life. I laid back in the passenger seat and let my wolf have her time to run free as I let myself drift off to sleep within.

The feeling of a cool morning breeze awoke me, and I realized that I had been out all night long when I opened my eyes and squinted at the morning sun beaming down on me. My heart began to beat fast knowing that I was going to be in trouble since I hadn’t come home the night before and my parents were going to scold me. Getting my bearings, I realized that my wolf had taken us home just not into the house. Finding the tree stump that I had shoved a bag with my spare set of clothes, I hurried up and put them on before I rushed into the house hoping that no one had missed my presence all night.

When I stepped inside the house, I was shocked to see that my family was once again sitting around the dining room table having breakfast. I decided not to push my luck this morning and join them for breakfast. As I took my seat at the table, neither my mother nor my father acknowledged me, and I had to wonder if this was a good thing or a bad thing.

I begin to eat the food that sat on the plate in front of me and my mother looks over at Aira and says, “That dress you picked yesterday, looks marvelous on you. I made an appointment at the salon so that you can have your nails and hair done to accent it. I can’t wait for the Mating Ceremony and see my baby all dressed up.”

Looking over at Aira, who was beaming this morning, I had to wonder what happened after I had run off. She looked extremely happy this morning and I had to wonder if it was from her gloating from how I was treated yesterday. The pain from what happened yesterday began to creep back to me and I didn’t think that I could possibly sit here and listen to them talk about the Mating Ceremony when I didn’t even have a dress to attend, and I wonder if my parents even know that I hadn’t gotten one. There was no way in this world that I was going to ask my father to borrow his card today to go dress shopping on my own and it’s not like I could go back to the dress store that we were at yesterday after what happened.

“Mother, I have a good feeling about Saturday, and the dress I picked is sure to catch his attention.” Aira says to my mother and they both begin to giggle.

I couldn’t take it any longer. The dress that Aira had picked was the one from in my dream, and I knew it should have been me wearing it. Mother had said nothing about me getting my hair done for the Mating Ceremony and I knew that she had no plans on taking me too. And as for the “His attention” I knew who she was referring to and Zane had told me that he was going to ask me to be his Luna, but after he didn’t come to the clearing last night, I had to wonder if that was still going to happen.

Throwing my napkin on my half-eaten plate in front of me, I stood to leave the table not able to take another moment, but my father stopped me by saying, “Adira, sit, I need to address something, and you need to be present.”