ElliePicnics really weren't Ellie's thing. For the most part, anything that was considered girly wasn't really her thing. She liked a beautiful dress and a good pair of heels. Jewelry was usually not a bother to her, but as far as going and doing things, she'd much rather jump out of an airplane or ride a roller coaster than go on a picnic or watch a romantic comedy.When Sylvia had suggested a picnic, Ellie had been leery. The idea of sitting in a meadow on a blanket, eating food out of a basket while trying to fight off insects didn't sound appealing at all. But Ulysses had immediately said it was a, "Splendid idea!" Well, she could hardly abandon her friend to the strange woman Ellie knew was a liar. So, the three of them had dragged River along with them and were now sitting in a field of wildflowers, watching fall leaves drift lazily to the ground while eating chicken salad sandwiches and smooshing ants."You'd think these little b*stards would realize we're dangerous and leave
EllieUlysses was in love.Ellie could see a change in her friend, and she thought that it suited him well. Despite River's reservations, Ellie was willing to listen to what Ulysses had to say regarding Sylvia. A few days after their picnic, Ulysses invited Ellie to go on a walk in the woods near her pack lands. She had accepted, hoping to finally hear him admit his feelings for the new, strange, woman. "Well, Ellie," Ulysses began, "how's the married life treating you?"Ellie laughed. "It's been pretty good so far. I really can't complain about anything." A chill was in the air as winter was upon them. In just the last couple of days, it seemed like the temperature had dropped dramatically. That was all right with Ellie, though, because she loved the winter solstice holiday, and she also couldn't wait till spring. And you couldn't get to spring until you got through winter. There seemed like there should be a lesson in there somewhere, but she wasn't quite sure what it was."That's
RiverSitting in his office going over all of the pack's reports was never too exciting. As the Alpha, River had probably looked at more than a thousand reports a year, if not more. Not a single one of them had ever brought a smile to his face or made him happy in any way, shape, or form.But he didn't have a whole lot of choice in the matter. He went over the patrol reports from the Omegas that were on duty the night before every morning. Most of the time they were the same old same old; nothing noted of interest or that should be given special attention. Then, he'd go over the reports from the Omegas who took care of the supplies for the pack. While everyone had a job and contributed to village life, the pack provided certain necessities to everyone and even more to those who truly needed it--orphans, the elderly, the ill. As important as those reports were, they also were nothing to write home about. If there was a battle, those reports would usually be pretty interesting. Every c
Ellie"So?"Ellie stared at her husband, trying to figure out exactly why he was making such a big deal out of the phone call he'd just received from an Alpha in a far-off pack, trying to warn them about Sylvia. It wasn't as if she didn't already know that Sylvia was lying to her about being a Luna. She'd explained that to River more times than she could count."So… doesn't it bother you even a little bit that she's made up this entire story, and now we have proof? What do you think Ulysses is going to say when you tell him?""Why do either one of us have to tell him?" Ellie countered. They were sitting on a bench swing in the back yard behind their house in River's village. The winter flowers smelled lovely. How Luna Patricia got them to bloom this late into the season, Ellie didn't know, but she was a magician when it came to gardening."How can we not tell him?" River asked, his tone conveying he was exasperated. "Ellie, we have information that he needs before he proposes to this
EllieWaiting for her phone to ring was nerve-wracking, to say the least. Ellie normally wasn't one to worry about gossip or what was going on with other people, but Ulysses was supposed to be proposing to Sylvia on their date, and she'd asked him to call her when it was over to let her know how it went. The phone just didn't seem to be ringing. 'It would be rude to text someone when you knew they were on a date, wouldn't it?' she asked herself. Visions of Ulysses down on one knee, the ring box open in his hand, the question on his lips… as his phone dings that he has a text message.Yeah, no. She could wait."You do know that staring at your phone is not going to make him call, don't you?" River asked with a bit of snark in his tone.Ellie looked over at him and glared, but he didn't see her. He was reading the newspaper. Seriously, who read the newspaper? Like a real paper newspaper? He had to be the only person in the world who did that.Not that he did it often. Only on the weeke
Ellie"Sylvia! Why are you crying?" Ellie asked as the other woman stood on the front porch with tears streaming down her face.Waving her hands in front of her face, with tears rolling down her cheeks, Sylvia said, "It's just… I can't... . Oh, Ellie!" She threw herself into Ellie's arms. The Luna was only able to get them open just in time to catch her.Sylvia buried her head in Ellie's shoulder and started sobbing. Behind her, Ellie could sense that River was enjoying this. Maybe even smirking. Possibly even chuckling a little.She wanted to turn around and glare at her husband, but she couldn't with Sylvia wrapped around her like a baby howler monkey. "Sylvia, whatever it is, I'm sure it's not as bad as you're making it out to be.""Perhaps your new friend is feeling guilty for being a big fat liar and tricking a nice man into thinking she's worthy of marrying him," River said in Ellie's head via the mind-link."Instead of making fun or playing a game of 'I told you so' why don't y
EllieIt was nice to be planning a wedding that wasn't for her....Granted, Shelby had been planning her wedding for so long now, Ellie would be shocked if she and Carl ever actually got married, but as soon as Ulysses and Sylvia got themselves on the same page, they were ready to get hitched. Sylvia had insisted on introducing Ulysses to her parents and taking him back to her pack so that he felt he could completely trust her before they got married, but that hadn't taken long. Even if Sylvia hadn't proven herself to be the most trustworthy person in the world, he trusted the Moon Goddess, and he had no doubt the goddess wanted them to be together.Of course, Sylvia wouldn't get married in a traditional gown or in a traditional service. She'd decided they needed to get married in the middle of the woods, even though there was a foot of snow on the ground and it was still falling on the morning of the wedding. She would be wearing a long shimmery silver gown and a light blue cloak. At
RiverWaiting with Ulysses for Sylvia to arrive at the wedding site was more stressful than River expected it to be. He'd known Ulysses for a long time, but he'd never really thought of him as a friend until recently. Now, watching the groom pace back and forth near the altar where his bride would be arriving eventually was making River nervous for him."She's late," Ulysses was muttering. The priestess was standing nearby, but she wasn't paying any attention, and the guests who were waiting patiently on log benches were mostly chatting amongst themselves, not listening to the groom or his best man."The bride is always late," River reminded him, patting him reassuringly on the shoulder."That's true," Ulysses said, sucking in a deep breath and blowing it out. "But… it's still nerve-wracking.""Isn't Sylvia always late, too?" River asked. Ulysses nodded. "So… put those two things together and she's bound to be extra late. She'll be here.""Yeah. I know," Ulysses said, still breathing
EllieThe string quartet was playing a soft, slow song that seemed to make the silver stars above them twinkle even more somehow as Ellie stood admiring the scene. She'd been right. Everything had come together perfectly, and all across the dance floor, couple after couple had paired off. Her students were finding their fated mates. Alphas and Betas from packs far and wide were coming together with women that had trained in her school."Well, what do you think, beautiful?" River asked, stepping over from where he'd been speaking to another Alpha who'd come with his wife and son, who was their age and looking for a wife so he could take over the pack. "I would say this is a huge success.""Definitely," Ellie agreed. "I see so many people dancing together and falling in love.""I know," River said. "Look at Sarah and Alpha Rob over there. And Nelly and Alpha Lance."Ellie had noticed both of those couples. Sarah looked so lovely in her red dress, and Nelly in her blue one, gazing into L
EllieThe final touches for the Moon Goddess Ball were falling into place, and Ellie couldn't believe how beautiful the event center looked. As she looked around at all of the decorations, her heart fluttered in her chest. She could only imagine how many couples might fall in love in there tonight.It hadn't been easy, getting everything ready for the event, but along with Michael, River, Shelby, and several other volunteers, Ellie had gotten it done. Not only had they put together a beautiful event center, but they'd also managed to get several Alphas and Betas from packs far and wide to commit to attending, and for the past several days, they'd been arriving. Many of them were staying in the cabins in the pack village, the same ones that the Alphas who had competed in her contest had stayed in.Ellie pushed those thoughts out of her mind. It all seemed like ancient history now. The bachelors remaining from that contest would be back that night, still looking for love, though there w
EllieThe idea of having a Moon Goddess Ball with the women she'd been training to become Lunas was ultimately the idea behind the training to begin with, so when River came in and suggested that they have the grand opening of the new event center be just that, a Moon Goddess Ball for the women in her class, Ellie couldn't believe her ears."Do you think that's a good idea?" River asked her."No, I don't think that's a good idea," Ellie told him, watching his face fall."You don't?" River blinked a few times. It was clear he was searching for something to say that wouldn't offend her."No. I think… it's a great idea," she said, winking at him.A smile broke across his face, wide enough to match her own. "Oh, he said. Good. I was afraid you were going to tell me that it was a bad idea.""No, I definitely think we should do that," she said. "In fact, I think we should start planning it right now. When is the full moon?"River pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked the calendar.
River Rebuilding after the fire wasn't easy, but it was something that brought the entire pack together. In a way, River was slightly glad, though he'd never say it out loud. Supervising the project while Michael recovered from his injuries was interesting. River invited some of the members of his own pack to come over and help. At first, it seemed like there was a bit of a divide between the two groups, but once the "outsiders" proved their value, everyone began to work smoothly together.It took quite a while to clear away the debris from the old event center. After that, they planned a new one. This one was better. It was bigger with more rooms for different events. River had the pack architect draw it out with input from several of the pack elders and other important members of the pack, including Michael, who was out of the hospital by then and staying with Ellie and River so that the pack Luna could spend as much time as possible with her dad. River knew it had really shaken El
EllieIt took a few days before Michael was able to come out of the coma, but part of that was because the healers thought it would help him heal if they kept him in a medically induced coma, so by the time he finally opened his eyes three days after the attack, Ellie was thrilled.She was also exhausted, but seeing her father's eyes register on her own made all of that fade away momentarily. "Dad?" she said, looking at his familiar face. "How are you feeling?""Ellie?" he said, his voice weak. He still had an oxygen mask over his face, but all of the tubes and other wires had been removed, other than the monitor hooked up to his finger and the IV he had in his arm in case he needed more medicine. "Where's Michaela?""She's at home with River," Ellie said, giving him a reassuring smile. She wasn't sure how much of the battle he would remember. "She's perfectly fine."Her father's head rolled to the side a bit as he released a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank the Moon Goddess," he said. "I w
Ellie Watching the healers work to bring her father back from the dead was like watching a dream for Ellie. She stood there with Michaela in her arms, River's hand on her shoulder, thinking none of this could be happening, that it had to be a dream.But it wasn't. It was real. Her daughter had really been ripped from her bed, and now, the same people who were responsible for taking her child from her may have succeeded in taking her dad.Ellie couldn't imagine what her life would be like without her father in it. For as long as she could remember, he'd been there for her. Like a rock, like the brick wall she needed to hold her up anytime she felt like she couldn't stand on her own, he was always there. Even though she had River now, it wasn't the same. No matter how old a person got, they always needed a parent.But if Michael died, she wouldn't have any parents at all. She'd be an orphan.While she could imagine that her father would be happy to finally be reunited with her mother,
RiverSeeing Ellie fighting all of those rogues by herself was enough to make River kick himself into a gear he didn't even know that he had. But when he saw his wife carrying his daughter away to safety, he knew that everything was going to be all right, especially since the rogues were grossly outnumbered.There was just the matter of making them pay for the horrendous atrocities they had committed. Not only had they set the village event center on fire, which may have already spread to other buildings, but they'd also violated his home, stolen his daughter, and taken her off in the middle of the night.None of these wolves were walking away from this fight.Not even the huge male that was bearing down on him now.River didn't care that the male seemed to be twice his size. With the anger boiling inside of him from everything he'd seen, River lowered himself to the ground and waited for the wolf to come at him. When the large wolf's teeth snapped at him, River dodged to the side and
EllieThe fact that she'd jumped right over the Omega's head would buy her some time, but only a matter of seconds. He would turn around and be right after her. So… Ellie had to make those moments count. She needed to head right for the female holding her baby and attack before she had the chance to register what was happening.Ellie landed hard on the ground from her leap and ignored the searing pain that shot up her right front paw. She continued to run, registering the look of fear in the female's eyes. It was only there for a split second, but it was there long enough for Ellie to know that she had the upper hand.She aimed low, darting around for the back of the female, away from her baby. She managed to sink her teeth into the female's leg, causing her to yelp. When she did so, she had to let go of the baby blanket. Michaela tumbled to the ground, but it wasn't much of a drop. Still, the baby screamed in fear and possibly a bit of pain. Ellie considered her chances of grabbing h
RiverLeaving the fire to run out into the night, searching for his daughter was enough to make River's heart catch in his throat. How was it possible that someone had taken his baby from her warm bed in the middle of the night?As he tore through the forest, running in the direction his wife told him she was tracking the culprits in, he tried not to think about the fact that he'd been suspecting something like this in the back of his mind for some time. Ever since the rogues started getting close to the village, he'd been wondering if they'd try a stunt like this. If he'd been able to put the pieces of the puzzle together, if he'd thought it was truly possible that they'd try to take his daughter, he would've been more vigilant. Now, he was running as fast as he could, praying that Ellie or someone else saw them soon.If they found them, they would stop them. They just had to find them."River! I see them!"Ellie's voice in his head gave him hope. River's breath stuttered. "Where?" h