His Warrior Luna

3 Shining in Silver

One of the Deltas had a car waiting outside to take us to the packhouse, and we were escorted by my personal Gamma, Devon. Devon was only a few years older than I, chosen after I started high school. He was tall and well built, and all of my girlfriends considered him eye candy, but he knew better than to get involved with any of them because of the trouble it would cause or distract him from his duties, even though he found it amusing.

The Delta stopped the car under the shelter at the grand entrance, and Devon opened my door, offering a hand to exit the vehicle. He paused with my hand in his and looked around slowly, sniffing the air with a small frown on his face, causing my heart to skip a beat.

“Is something wrong?” I asked quietly. He continued for a few more seconds, then shook his head.

“No, Miss Clara. I thought I smelled something odd, but there are a lot of visitors tonight,” he answered, then gently pulled on my hand to assist me out.

Erica looped my arm in hers and we shrugged it off as we made our way into the Great Hall.

Under my mother’s direction, the omegas had transformed the formal hall into a magical space that felt was under an open night sky. Fairy lights twinkled in black tulle across the ceiling, and the walls were covered in panels of live flowers. My mother cautioned me to arrive thirty minutes after the official start time to give guests a chance to arrive, so I could make a dramatic entrance.

And dramatic it was. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked my way as soon as the doors opened. My girlfriends began cheering and clapping when they saw us, and Joffrey stepped, taking Erica’s place.

He escorted me through the hall, where I graciously accepted the well-wishes from the crowd, and brought me to stand next to my parents. On the way, I felt his jealousy as he noticed some of the visiting Alphas taking interest as I walked by, even though they didn’t approach me.

When we reached my mother, she pressed her cheek to mine again in greeting. I had never seen her smile so big or look so proud. I swear she was going to start crying any minute, so I took a page from Erica’s book and whispered in her ear.

“Mother, it’s early. Don’t you dare cry and ruin your makeup,” I admonished. She laughed, just as I had earlier, and kissed the air next to my ear.

“My beautiful daughter, not even Luna yet, and telling me what to do,” she said warmly.

“Beautiful daughter, indeed,” my father boasted. “Happy Birthday, Princess.” He pressed his cheek to mine, like my mother did, then shook Joffrey’s hand.

We received and welcomed the visiting Alphas and Council, while the omegas entered the hall and brought food and wine to serve at different stations, allowing the guests to mingle and eat at their leisure. Many of the younger, unmated Alphas took an extra moment to sniff me out, hoping to identify me as their fated mate, and each one looked disappointed before leaving.

Even though I hadn’t transformed yet, my wolf was still close, we might catch a whiff of a possibility at least. But no sparks, and no smells, and Joffrey was a comfort at my side.

Once the official greetings were concluded, I was surrounded by my girlfriends, and we all began to truly celebrate. My mother advised that I have three glasses of wine to help ease my nervousness for my first shift, but anything more than that could hinder it, so I strictly followed her suggestion.

Angela was in heaven, and all the girls postured for the single Alphas, hoping to catch their attention. She wound up being asked to dance by a guy a little older than us, dressed in black pants and a black button-up shirt. It looked like he ditched his suit jacket and tie fairly early in the evening, and his cuffs were rolled, exposing his forearms.

The tattoo on his right arm was a thick black circle around a black wolf head silhouette with bared fangs. Underneath the circle were two parallel lines.

“Who is that?” I wondered out loud, not expecting anyone to answer, but Missy, from my History class, happened to be nearby and smirked.

“That’s Beta June from Onyx Pack,” she said, her voice dripping with knowing superiority. “They have the youngest Alpha in history, but he rarely attends events, so he sends his Beta and Gamma instead.”

I glowered at her. I couldn’t stand her, always acting like she was better than me because she studied. Some of us don’t have to try so hard to be great; we just are.

“Do you enjoy being an insufferable know-it-all, Missy?” I asked coldly.

She smiled, knowing she got under my skin, then drifted away. I wasn’t going to let her bring me down, so I dismissed her from my thoughts and accepted an invitation to dance from the son of the Alpha of the Gold Pack, the only pack wealthier than us.

We engaged in polite conversation, but he was the Alpha’s only heir, just as I was my father’s only heir, so the only way we would pair would be if we were true mates. Which we weren’t. He left after giving me a chaste kiss above my hand, not touching skin out of respect, and Joffrey took his place.

“I turn my back for one second,” he teased.

“Oh please,” I rolled my eyes. “He was just keeping your place warm.” Joffrey pressed a kiss to my temple.

“The moon will rise shortly. Are you ready, Princess?” he asked.