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She shook her head, a numbness taking hold inside of her that she didn’t quite recognize. “It’s fine.” She sighed. “I’ve got some studying to do, and then I’ll catch an early night.”
“Don’t wait up,” he called out, his eyes trained on the floor before he grabbed his jacket from the back of a chair. A few seconds later the door closed. Harlow took a deep breath and pulled her legs up to her chest.
Alone again.
Chapter 2
Harlow
As always just before the full moon, the air was so thick Harlow could almost reach out and take hold of it. Despite its pull, Harlow tried her utmost not to become so wrapped up in the situation she forgot herself, but it was difficult.
The full moon was nearly upon them, the pack dinner in full swing, and the weight of this dinner hung heavily in the air. Mainly because Vincent had turned twenty-five and the ascension was about to take place. He was now able to become alpha, and this was the night he was going to be recognized.
“It’ll be okay, Harlow,” she muttered under her breath, looking around to make sure no one was taking notice of the small panic attack she felt coming on. Not only was she nervous for Vincent, the man she loved, but the night also held a certain amount of pressure for her, too.
Ascension was also accompanied by the mate selection, and though she was pretty sure this was going to be the night she and Vincent became officially official, the nerves were still very real. Having been together for over a year, and living together for several months, she knew only her name could drop from his lips when the time came.
Her stomach growled as the smell of spit-roasted venison filled the air. It wasn’t true that all wolf shifters liked their meat dripping with blood—not when in human form, at least. Nothing was better than the smell of roasting meat and dripping fat.
The community hall was dressed in foliage and lit by strings of round white bulbs, so much smaller than the one that hung in the sky but paying homage to why the pack gathered. The pack dinner was a time for bonding and belonging.
Outside were more signs this was a special night with lines of tables, more lights, fires roasting meat, and people gathering under the clear skies. But everyone knew this was different to most pack dinners, the scent of anticipation as clear to Harlow as she knew it was to everyone else.
She made her way around the gathering, catching up with people she hadn’t seen in a while. For weeks she’d spent most of her time either at the healer’s practice with Julia or at home studying. Becoming second healer in the pack was something she took seriously. Not only that, but she enjoyed it—even the tough parts.
The shouts and screams of small children could be heard as they played in the distance, and Harlow remembered what it was like to be part of a pack dinner at that age. As well as the huge excitement of coming together and spending time with pack members, the oncoming full moon always brought strange sensations, not quite as strong as they were for adult shifters, but there nonetheless.
Finn and Jackson wrestled on the grass, and Harlow shook her head, knowing they’d probably end up back in her care again if they didn’t knock it off. Little chance of that, though, at this time. She left them to their parents to deal with. It wasn’t her place, and she had other things on her mind.
“Hey, Mallory!” she called, seeing one of her friends in the distance. Mallory waved and then walked over, beer in hand and a strange smile on her face.
“Hey, long time no see.” She wrapped one arm around Harlow’s neck in a halfhearted embrace.
“I know, sorry,” Harlow replied, feeling a little guilty at how little she’d been around the past few months. Between the practice, her studies, and Vincent, she’d been so tied up she hadn’t had time for anything or anyone else. “Bad friend alert.”
“It’s fine.” She pulled back and took a swig from her bottle. “You’ve got a lot going on. I get that.” She rubbed Harlow’s arm, who now recognized what that smile was as she looked back at Mallory—pity.
“It’s all good, though,” Harlow said, not wanting to sound as if she was trying to make Mallory feel sorry for her. After all, she was learning what she enjoyed and was making a home with the man she loved. This was a good thing. Right?
Mallory tipped her head to the side. “Yeah.” She pressed her lips together in a flat smile as she searched Harlow’s eyes and then hugged her once more.
“Anyway, enough about me, what about you?”
“All good. Not much changes, you know.” Mallory looked down at the ground, and Harlow knew something was wrong. Was it that she’d neglected her other relationships—not that she had many—to pursue her own goals and spent the rest of her time with Vincent? Was Mallory pissed? “Anyway, it was good catching up with you. Have a great dinner.”
“Yeah… you too.” Harlow watched as her friend wandered away, wondering how things could change so much in such a short span of time. She and Mallory were never exactly best friends, since Harlow had always been far more of a lone wolf. Not in the real sense. She liked others and enjoyed being part of the pack, but she also liked solitude. Maybe the time had come when those around her realized that about her.
She looked around, seeing the interactions between the rest of her pack members—from the serious conversations of the elders to the light-hearted and fun exchanges and connections among the younger pack members in their teens and twenties like her.
“Hey, Harlow,” two women her age called out as they meandered past. She’d spent time with Ava and Emma before, but they didn’t stop. This wasn’t usual for them. It was as if they happened upon her by mistake and didn’t want to engage further.
“Hey, you sitting down to eat?” Harlow called after them, hoping to get the chance to mix with her fellow pack mates.
“Sorry, already did.” Ava turned around and offered that same strange smile that Mallory had mere moments before. They continued walking away from her, and Harlow followed them with her eyes. Her stomach turned when they reached a small group and huddled together. They chatted away while they looked over at her, one by one.
Her nerves now picked at her, and as hungry as she was, she couldn’t even begin to think about sitting down to eat. She watched as everyone around her enjoyed the celebrations, filling their bellies until it was time for the main event.
“Hollow Grove pack, it’s time!” Alpha Lincoln’s voice rang around them followed by howls and chanting as the pack celebrated this special moment. “As you know, this isn’t just any full moon. And it’s not just any pack dinner.”
