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 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
Ellie"Lead with kindness. Lead with grace. Always wear a friendly smile on your face."Ellie Knight read the words she had hanging on a banner above her mirror in her bedroom one more time before she took a deep breath, fixed the recommended smile onto her face, and headed out for the day. She had a lot on her agenda, as always, but it was nothing she couldn't handle. Even though she'd just turned twenty-three a few months ago, she'd been leading the Swift Wolf Pack for almost two years now, ever since her father, Michael, had decided it was time to step back a little. Though he still handled a lot for her, he was no longer the Alpha. Since Ellie was his only child, she'd taken over that leadership role, one that typically went to a male. Michael had told her a long time ago, though, that he knew she could handle it. Ellie was just as strong as any male wolf shifter he'd ever known and probably a better leader because she had nurturing qualities from her mother mixed in with his pro
River"Push! Just a few more pushes, and he'll be here!"The sound of his mother's voice coming from inside of the delivery room of the Howling Moon Pack Healing Center helped to calm Alpha River Granite as he waited with his Beta, Allen Stead, who was pacing back and forth along the small hallway outside of the door."You can go in, you know," River reminded his friend. "Samantha's your wife. There's nothing in there you haven't seen before.""Ha!" Allen said, stopping a few feet away with his hands on his hips. "There's plenty in there I haven't seen before. Besides, your mom is doing a great job of keeping Sam calm. If I go in there, I'll just mess it up.""Allen, she's your wife. She's giving birth to your son." River stood and took the few steps over to his friend. "Get in there!" He opened the door and pushed Allen in at the same time, just as Sam let out a scream of pain.River stepped away from the door without glancing in, more than happy to let his mother, Patricia, acting L
Ellie"Hear me out, Ellie!" Michael protested as Ellie walked away from him, not for the first time. She was on her way to check on one of the older members of the pack, a widow named Helen who had always been a bit like a grandmother to her. Since Helen hadn't been feeling well recently, Ellie had asked the pack healer, Margaret, to look in on her, but Ellie wanted to see how she was doing herself."Not now, Dad," Ellie said, wishing that her father would just give it up. For the last three days, all he'd been talking about was this tournament he wanted to put on for her, to help her find a husband."Ellie, it'll be perfect! You want to marry for strength, right? Not for love?""Yes, Dad," she said, not turning to look at him. She knew what he wanted for her, that he would have preferred for her to meet her "fated mate," the man selected for her by the Moon Goddess herself, but Ellie didn't even believe such a thing was possible, not anymore anyway."This is a great way to do it! We
Ellie"All right, Dad. Tell me about this tournament," Ellie said, walking into the office she shared with her father. He was sitting at his desk, a large piece of paper in front of him that had drawings all over it. She knew her father preferred to draw out his thoughts, rather than writing them, so she figured this must be his masterplan for the tournament.Michael's face lit up at her statement. "Really?" he asked. "You really want to hear about it?""Don't make me second guess myself, Dad," Ellie said, giving him a hardened look he always said reminded him of her mother, Lilly."No, no, of course not," he stammered as Ellie came over and stood next to him, leaning forward so she could see what he had finished. "It's really pretty simple. There will be three contests over a week. We'll have some nice dinners, maybe a dance or two--""Dad, I already said no ball," Ellie reminded him."Not a ball. Just a friendly get together. No Moon Goddess celebration or anything. You know, just s
EllieThere it was, laying on her desk, staring up at her like the "just one more" taco she often ate when she knew there simply wasn't room. In other words, a really bad idea, one she should run away from. But she couldn't--because on the other side of Ellie's desk stood her father, Michael, with an impish grin on his face.With a hardened look on her face, Ellie picked up the invitation and read it over. Immediately, she hated everything about it. From the gaudy gold calligraphy on a white background to the ridiculous wording her father had used that made her sound like she was a prize at a medieval joust, the invitation just didn't sit well with her, but Ellie decided to take it all in stride. It wouldn't do any good to ask her father to change it up now, not when he was clearly so very proud of it."Well, honey? What do you think?" Michael asked, his smile broadening. "It looks great, doesn't it? Boy, the guys at the print shop sure do know how to make a fancy invitation."She ima
RiverThe situation with Crying Wolf wasn't going as planned, and River wasn't sure what to do with it. As he sat at his desk, looking over reports from his Omega border patrol warriors, it became clear that he was going to have to show some force to get the mad men to the north to stop pushing into his territories. Brett had been keeping a careful eye on things, and while he was certainly adequate in that position, River was looking forward to getting his true Beta, Allen, back in a few weeks, when Sam and baby Simpson had settled into a routine.The door to his office opened, and his mother, Patricia, walked in, a big smile on her face and what appeared to be a large white envelope in her hands. "Hello, honey," she said in a sing-song voice that gave him pause. Something was up, and River wasn't sure he wanted to know what it was."Hi, Mom," he said as she sat down in one of the leather chairs across from him. "How are you?""I'm great," she said, that smile still beaming from her p
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