EllieShe refused to let River see her cry. As Ellie walked briskly down the sidewalk, her arms pumping alongside her, she willed herself not to let the tears fall. She'd known that nothing would be easy about the conversation she was going to have with River when she'd left her village to drive over here, but now that it was over with, that they'd had their argument and laid everything out in the open, she felt worse than she'd imagined she would.It felt like a goodbye. It felt like everything was over, and she didn't like it. As much as she'd meant what she'd said to River when she stormed out of his office, it was still difficult to let go. Patricia was standing in her yard, watering the flowers with a hose when Ellie made it back to her car. River's mother turned around with a smile on her face, but it melted away when she saw that Ellie was about to start crying. "Oh, no," Patricia said. "I guess… you didn't work things out?""No, I'm afraid not," Ellie said, swiping away at th
RiverHe knew what his mother was going to say to him before he even walked back to the house, but since that was where all of his stuff was, he decided he had to go there anyway. It seemed a little ridiculous to send movers to get all of his stuff out of the house he'd lived in his entire life just to avoid a conversation with what was sure to be a very angry, upset, unsympathetic Luna.Surprisingly, when River walked into the house about twenty minutes after Ellie had left his office, his mother was in the kitchen making a pot of tea, wiping off the counters, like nothing was the matter.He didn't know if he should be relieved or alarmed. "Hi, Mom.""Hi, honey." She gave him a sympathetic smile. "I just put the kettle on for some tea. Would you like a cup?"His mother seemed to be of the opinion that a cup of warm tea could cure just about anything. River had never found that to be the case and preferred sweet tea cold and coffee hot, but today, he found himself saying, "Sure," as h
EllieThe howling was getting closer, and she still couldn't find her phone. Ellie knew it had to be in the car somewhere, but it just wasn't materializing, and she thought she needed to get out of there. While she recognized Blade's howl, she heard others as well."Dad!" she said, using the mind-link. "Can you hear me?"There was nothing, only silence. She was out of range."D*mnit," Ellie muttered. She decided there was nothing more for her to do but to try and run home before Blade and his pack could catch up to her. She remembered how ferocious he had been the last time he'd attacked her. With his friends teaming up against her, too, it seemed impossible that she could get away.But that wouldn't stop her from trying.For a moment, Ellie considered running back to River's pack. She was closer to his border than she was her own. But she didn't want to get him involved with this if she could avoid it. She knew he hated Blade, too, but this wasn't his fight, not now anyway.Resolved
RiverSomething was wrong. River could sense it before the pain even began. He had left the kitchen and headed outside for some fresh air, trying to clear his head, but the more time he spent walking around in the yard, the more he couldn't shake the idea that there was something going on that shouldn't be.He was standing in the back yard, staring at the forest shrouded in the shadows of day's end when he thought he heard a whisper of a cry for help. It didn't resonate in his ears, though. It was in his head, but not the same way that a mind-link message usually came through. He couldn't even tell who was shouting for him. He just knew that he'd heard his name and the word "help."And then he'd gotten a sharp pain in his back that almost knocked the breath out of him. It made no sense. He hadn't done anything to injure himself.Deciding he needed to check on Ellie since she'd headed for home less than an hour ago, River fished his phone out of his pocket, expecting her to decline the
EllieHitting the water had felt like slamming into a concrete sidewalk from two stories above. Ellie's back hurt so badly, she could barely stand it, but she didn't have time to worry about that now as the rapids from the river washed her downstream.Ellie had always been a good swimmer, but now, with the water rushing at her so quickly, and the breath knocked out of her, she was doing everything she could just to keep her head above water. From time to time, she'd slam into a large rock or a huge tree branch, losing her breath again and suffering scrapes and what were sure to be dark bruises.The current was moving so quickly, she didn't think it was possible for her to make her way to the side of the river, to the shore, especially since the river ran through a ravine here, where the sides of the shore were so high she would have to climb out. For now, she just continued to fight to keep her head above water and fill her lungs with air the best she could as she tried to go around t
PatriciaMother's intuition was a gift Patricia was always glad to have. It had told her when River had fallen at the playground in first grade and broken his arm. It had told her when he got wounded during a battle a few years ago, and it also told her that something was really wrong now. But she didn't think that it was River who was in trouble this time. He had left in such a rush, going out for a drive for a reason she didn't understand, and when she'd used the mind-link to ask him what was going on, he hadn't given her a reliable answer. It left the uneasy feeling she had in her gut eating away at her.Normally, when Patricia felt this way and couldn't settle down, she went for a run in her wolf form, but tonight, she didn't feel like shifting. Rather than going into the woods for a sprint, she decided to do something else, to go for a walk in her human form, to take it slow, and see if she could figure out what was going on that was making her feel so restless.Grabbing a shawl
RiverRunning as fast as he possibly could, River took off for his car, unable to believe what was happening. How had Blade managed to pull something like this off? Was he simply lying in wait, watching for Ellie to leave her village alone so he could attack her?He couldn't believe the other Alpha would be so brazen. He had to know he would pay for this. But then, Blade had always been a hot head who thought he was invincible. He was about to find out that he was far from it.River saw his car in the distance and picked up speed, pushing himself to run even faster. He scooped up his pants as he ran, leaving the rest of his clothes lying where they'd fallen, and shifted as he reached his car, taking only a few seconds to practically leap into his pants as he stretched to open the car door and fall into the seat. River started the car, slammed it into drive, and made a U-turn on the gravel road, shooting up dust and rocks as he squealed his tires and headed back toward his village.Pa
EllieShe'd never been so cold in her entire life. As Ellie had laid there on the shore of the river, trying to get up enough strength to move, she began to lose feeling in her toes and fingers because they were turning numb from the cold water.When she heard Patricia's voice, Ellie knew she would be okay. She was still in a lot of pain, but the fact that she was close enough to River's village that his mother was able to find her meant that she was close to a healer who could help her.She'd allowed herself to drift away to a place where she could no longer feel the pain of all the scratches, gouges and cuts on her body and the pain from her back that radiated up to her neck and down her tailbone. Voices stirred her a little while later. She opened her eyes to slits to try and determine who was in the room with her, but she couldn't focus well enough to see any faces. She thought she recognized Patricia's voice. Then, she heard a male voice that she thought might have been River. I
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