Whitemoon and the Alpha mate

Theme: A quiet girl gets her life unraveled as she is taken on a journey of mystery by a charismatic stranger. Morning sunbeams burst through her window and splashed gold in the worn-out posters of black-and-white art clinging to her walls. The alarm buzzed loudly and tugged her from restless sleep. Groaning loud, she reached to silence it and swung her legs reluctantly over the bed. Another day at school. Just another routine to be done. The smell of pancakes wafted from downstairs. Downstairs, her legs were tired and clumsy over the carpeted stairs. Her dad was in the kitchen, flipping the last pancake onto a plate. "Good morning, sweetheart!" his voice boomed -unnecessarily cheerily- into the room. "Breakfast is ready." "Morning, Dad," she mumbled back, sliding into a chair at the table. Her father sat across from her, sipping his coffee in his favorite blue suit while she dined. "You got a busy week ahead, don't you? Your birthday's coming up. Eighteen's a big one!" Zara shrugged and cut into her pancake. "I guess. It's just another year. Just another year?" he repeated, indignant. "You said that last year, and then you almost got sick because of that pink-and-yellow disaster of a dress I'd picked out for you." Zara giggled despite herself as that particular fiasco came to mind rather clearly. Some swirl of pinks and yellows-a kaleidoscope which threatened to churn her stomach. She tried not to; nausea prevailed. “Okay, lesson learned,” her dad said, shaking his head with a grin. “Something black and white this time?” She nodded. “Safe bet.” The ride to school was peaceful, the hum of the car engine filling the silence as Zara stared out the window. Trees blurred past, their leaves a mix of green and orange as autumn took hold. “You’ve been quieter than usual,” her dad said, glancing at her. “Everything okay?” Just tired, she said with a small smile. He said no more, knowing full well that he was bothered. At this point too, Zara did appreciate him in that way since he knew when to leave her alone. He leaned over and put a reassuring touch to her shoulder as he was pulling into the school parking lot. "Have a great day, sweetie, and remember: let yourself go sometimes-it doesn't kill you. May want to entertain that birthday party your friend has been mentioning." Smiling, rolling her eyes towards the ceiling, Zara said nothing; she simply just opened the car door and climbed out. "Bye, Daddy." The corridors were abuzz with chatters, clanging lockers, and that sudden outburst of laughter. With practiced ease, she weaved through all that to her locker. "Zara!" Christabel called, and in an instant, the bubbly best friend was beside her. "Mornin'," Zara returned with a slight yawn. "Morning? It's almost first period!" Christabel exclaimed as she hooked an arm through Zara's. But just as Zara was about to say one word, there was suddenly a murmur running through the hall, whispers flying helter-skelter as girls craned necks and heads towards the entrance. "Who's that?" "He's so cute!" "Is he new?" Zara followed the gazes toward the entrance, then froze. Standing near the principal's office was a guy who seriously was supposed to cover some magazine: tall, with dark, tousled hair that seemed to catch the light just so. Bright-almost incomprehensible-green eyes scanned the hallway while the slight smirk tugging at his lips definitely hinted that he knew the magical effect he was portraying for everyone watching him. "Wow," Christabel breathed, staring agog. "That's got to be Liam Forestborn. I heard we were getting a transfer student, but I didn't expect that." Zara raised an eyebrow. "You've known him for five seconds and already impressed?" "Uh, have you seen him?" Christabel shot back, nudging Zara with her elbow. Zara rolled her eyes but couldn't help the pull of his magnetism. She found herself staring at him, looked quickly away, and turned back toward the crowd to find Liam's gaze rested on her. Noise around her retreated, and his sharp green eyes nailed onto hers as her heart faltered a beat behind. It wasn't handsomeness doing it-there was something in his gaze, something eager almost, identifiable. "Let's go," Zara growled, yanking Christabel toward the direction of first class. Government class was always her favorite since debates and what-ifs took precedence. She had found it incredibly hard to focus today as Liam had been seated two rows ahead of her-an obstruction she didn't anticipate. It wasn't until the question of leadership and ethics was broached that Liam spoke. In that voice as deep, it rumbled throughout, and his words seemed so carried as in apparently nobody-not even the teacher-apparently could let the attention away from this guy Of course he was more: charming and quick, eloquent, bright-and sure. Class was finally over. Zara had a flight back; she rushed with tacking everything together so no one seemed to suspect. She found a familiar voice directly behind her as her feet touched right upon the threshold. "Zara, right?" She moved so their very similar eyes made way into what otherwise stood-well apart and set so that this piercing sea green had striking contact with green. "Yes?" her voice still tentative over. "I'm Liam," he said with an easy smile. "I wanted to ask—are you going to Chloe's party this weekend?" Zara blinked. "Chloe invited me?" "She will," Liam said. "And if you go, maybe I'll see you there." And with that, he just turned and walked off down the hall, leaving her standing there, looking after him in surprise and intrigue. Later that evening at the dinner table, it was impossible for Zara's mind not to wrap itself up with what happened today-playing over every glance Liam gave her and how he spoke of matters with much certainty. "Earth to Zara," he said, his hand waving across her line of vision. "Huh?" "You have stared at that plate for five minutes now. What is going through your mind?" he teased. "Nothing," she finally replied with the shake of a head. "Okay," he replied - firmly underscored, of course, with disbelief. "Teenage stuff, maybe." She let it be. A wry smile he let out, was relief that he did not further press for. Later tonight, lying in bed and staring out at the ceiling, it weighs a little heavily upon her silent room, firing myriads of questions within the buzzing brain. But why had Liam picked her out? What did he mean, that Chloe would be inviting her? And why this gnawing conviction that life was about to switch on a major new dimension? As finally she slept, the vision of Liam's green eyes was still with her behind her eyelids. More than striking, they were haunting. Cliffhanger Ending A low growl rumbled miles into the tenebrous shadows of the forest, where glowing, yellow eyes sat focused into the night, set in the direction of the town where Zara resided. "She's here," a murmur of voice said. The hunt began.