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Cory
“Hurry Up, Markus! You’re going to get interrupted by the moon again if you’re late.” I could hear my mother chiding Dad down the hallway.
I sighed. I was going to miss hearing them calling after each other and my siblings down the hall. Mom and Dad decided to move into their own house on the pack grounds after stepping down. They said they wanted me to take full reins without having people doubting who was in charge. I knew they mostly just wanted to take a breather and enjoy their privacy. They’ve worked hard for the pack for almost thirty years. They deserved to have some time to themselves.
I checked my suit one last time in the mirror. I looked the part, but would I be a good alpha?
We’ll be great, Tenoch encouraged.
I walked down to the third-floor landing, where I could look out over the hall. The pack house was well... packed. There were so many people here, and I knew the backyard would also be filled. I could see a disproportionate amount of women milling about, and I sighed tiredly. It was happening a lot lately. Women came from all over for the full moon celebrations just to see if they were mated to me.
You’d think it would make me happy, having so many women come to me to see if they were my mate instead of me going to find them. But I knew most of these women only wanted to be my mate for the title, and my mate wouldn’t care about that. She was out there, and I was stuck here. Now more than before.
The worst part wasn’t even the disappointment in another full moon where I didn’t find my mate, but that the more time passed, the bolder these she-wolves got. Just last December’s full moon, I found a she-wolf in my bed at the end of the night, naked. She wanted me to take her as my chosen mate, and she’d gotten irrationally angry when I politely requested she vacate my room immediately.
I was about to head down the remaining flights of stairs when I caught sight of Mr. and Mrs. Roswell hurriedly making their way across the floor. My eyes immediately looked for her, and I found her hugging Mom near the entrance. Her eyes looked around as she pulled back until they drew up to mine. I saw her smile shyly at me, and I grinned like an idiot and waved at her.
Everly skipped one year of elementary and two years of high school. She left shortly after to go to MIT, and came home for some of her breaks, but she hadn’t hung out with us since I was sixteen. Life took her in a different direction and while that made me sad, I was proud of everything she was accomplishing. She had already gotten her master’s by the time I managed to get my bachelor’s degree. She was a genius, and Mr. Roswell always proudly gave us updates on her life. It was good to see her again. I knew she was forced to be here tonight, but a small part of me wished she would stay.
I didn’t realize that I was still holding my hand up in a wave until her eyes broke contact with mine to greet her parents, and I blushed when I heard women below me giggling. I made my way down, but by the time I got through the horde of people, I couldn’t see any of them. I sighed. They probably made their way outside to talk, the crowd in here was stifling.
I walked outside and toward the gathering area when Mom mind-linked me that it was time. For once, Dad ended his speech and ceremony on time. I was now the new alpha of Crescent Moon.
“Thank you for coming, everyone. For those wishing to join us on our run, we have tear-away clothes along the makeshift changing rooms in the back. Those of you who don’t wish to join, please enjoy the refreshments and food.” Once I finished, we all looked up at the moon, waiting for our wolves to recognize the other half of our souls. When I started hearing the telling sniffs of wolves as they scented their mates, I closed my eyes.
Please let her be here, I prayed.
I took a few deep breaths before opening my eyes, hoping no one could see my disappointment. Another month without my mate.
“Mate, mate, mate!” I heard Areli behind me chirping and jumping up and down.
“Well, at least you’ll be close by.” I heard Dad say, a small sadness in his voice. I turned around to see Alpha Rhett’s youngest boy, David, standing right in front of her, a look of adoration already in his eyes. He was twenty years old and spent the last year going to packs abroad looking for his mate.
“I can’t believe you guys didn’t see each other before you left for Europe. Didn’t you come to Crescent Moon for a full moon run before you left? Could have saved me a bundle.” Alpha Rhett chuckled as he walked up to the young couple.
“I’m the one that missed that one, I think. I went to Disneyland with some friends,” Areli explained sheepishly, holding hands with David as if afraid to let go.
“Looks like we’re finally going to be family, Markus,” Alpha Rhett elbowed Dad, and both of them looked at the new couple with smiles on their face.
Bonds deepen and strengthen, Tenoch mentioned casually and I couldn’t agree more. While David wasn’t the alpha of his pack, his brother promised him the beta position once he was ready to take up the post. I gave my sister a hug and let her know how happy I was for her before I left them to talk so I could lead the run.
I went to bed late that night with, thankfully, no surprises in my bed. Tomorrow would be the start of my journey as Alpha of Crescent Moon and CEO of Salonen Security Industries.
“Good Morning, Alpha,” Mr. Roswell came into my office the next morning.
“Call me Cory, Mr. Roswell. I’d like us to work closely together and for a long while longer,” I said.
“Only when you start calling me Evergreen like I asked. You make me feel very old with all of this Mr. Roswell stuff.”
“I’ll try.” I chuckled.
“Can we call you Evergreen, too?” James asked.
“No. It’s Mr. Roswell to you,” he replied, looking disapprovingly at his nephew. James’ entire face fell in dismay until Evergreen started laughing.
“I’m sorry. It was just too tempting not to do,” he explained when he finally stopped laughing, wiping away his tears.
“I’m your Gamma. I could punish you for that!” James huffed, making me growl lowly at him. “You know I won’t do it, but it’s not nice to tease,” he defended, crossing his arms. Dramatic wolf.
