Luna of the Last Wolf Pack

“I've got it, Mom," I said, grabbing the heavy bag of ice from her for about the fifth time today. She never listens when I say she should take it easy. “I'm not the old lady you think I am," she said, but she let me pick up the bag anyway. I work with her in her smoothie shop, or at least she calls it that. Yes, we sell smoothies, but we actually have a lot more ice cream, and we even sell sandwiches and wraps. When you're in a town as small as Emerald Valley, you have to multi-task everything. “Marilyn, you know Emma doesn't think you're old at all," said Kara, coming to my rescue like a best friend should. “But Em, don't forget we're camping this weekend, so don't break your back now. Can't you guys hire some burly young stud to do the heavy lifting?" I laughed. “Like we could afford another salary," I mumbled. “We're doing fine," said Mom. I smiled at her and poured the ice into the machine while she walked off to help a customer. We were doing okay, but it was a little tricky making ends meet with the business we have in a small town. “Don't worry, I'm ready," I told Kara. “I need some serious outdoor time." Kara shook her head. “I've never understood your obsession with the forest." “Neither have I," I shrugged. “But for some reason, I just love sleeping out under the moon and the stars. It's like it energizes me or something. I can't explain…" There was no reason to keep talking because Kara wasn't even paying attention anymore. She'd turned toward the group of guys who'd just walked into the shop. “Talk about burly young studs," she whispered with a giggle. “I'll take that dark-haired one back to my place any day." It was my turn to shake my head at her. “I swear, Kara," I whispered back, “you never grew out of the boy-crazy high school stage." “Maybe," she said. “But those gorgeous hunks of muscle certainly aren't boys… they're men. One hundred percent." I laughed at her and rolled my eyes, trying to focus back on getting the ice machine working. But I couldn't help but glance over a few times just out of curiosity. These guys had been in here before, and they always seemed to hang out together. They were good friends, I guess. Just then, I noticed that one of them was still lingering outside. I'd seen him around before, but never had the nerve to talk to him. He was built like an athlete. Not a hulking bodybuilder or anything like that; he had the kind of muscles you get from a real workout, like if you do physical labor or play a sport you really love. I've never been much into sports myself, but I appreciated a great physique when I saw one, and I was definitely seeing one then. He turned a little, and I saw his bright green eyes peer into the shop window to look at his friends. His sandy blond hair was a bit longer than your average guy cut, and I could definitely stare at those chiseled features for a bit longer… oh, good lord. I'd been spending way too much time with Kara. I was starting to sound just like her, even in my own private thoughts. “Are you there?" the sound of her voice broke through, and I realized I'd been staring. A flush of heat rose up my cheekbones. “Yes," I said, trying to recover. “You're after the dark-haired one." She laughed, almost too loudly, and my cheeks burned hotter as I noticed a few of them looking this way while Mom took their orders. “Oh, I see who you're staring at," said Kara, thankfully whispering quietly. “The blond mysterious one who won't come inside. He's an interesting one for sure. Aloof, confident, with a sort of magnetism that makes him good leadership material. No doubt he studies a lot. There's something about his eyes that emit wisdom…" “Will you stop," I whispered. “You and your character descriptions, I swear." Kara reads, a lot, actually to an almost heroic level given how much time she spends socializing. I have no idea where she gets the time to sit down with a book, even a digital copy. But in every situation, she's always ready with a character description for anyone standing around. I love her to death, but she's a bit crazy. Magnetism. I'll give her that one. There was something almost hypnotic in those gorgeous green eyes, almost like they shot lasers straight into your soul and made you want to just stay there, staring at them, forever. “Emma," said Mom. “Did you hear me?" “Oh, yeah, sorry," I said. I'd heard something about a ham sandwich, so I took the order tag out of her hand and headed back to the counter to put it together. “Kara, I'll be right back." “M'hmm," Kara answered, still staring dreamily at the guys in the booth. I had to laugh. I somehow managed to refocus and finished up the order, which I bagged and took over to the guys at the table. They thanked me, got up to leave, and dropped a twenty-dollar bill on the table as they walked out. They always tipped well. I wondered about that since none of them gave off the rich-guy vibe. I caught sight of the blond with green eyes as he turned to leave with them, and our eyes met for a moment. It had to only be a split second, but it felt like it lingered, and I didn't want the moment to end. There was something about him that changed the way I felt inside. It was crazy, but it was almost the same way I relaxed when I saw the night sky above when outdoors in the forest. Relaxed, calm, like I'd found my way home. I was always a bit of an outcast and never felt like I truly belonged anywhere. I'm adopted, so my mom isn't my real mom, although I love her dearly and would do anything for her. I have friends who were also adopted, and they seem pretty put-together. I guess it's just a thing with me, but I always feel like I should be somewhere else, doing something more important. My mom laughs at me when I tell her that and says that maybe it's true. Maybe I should run for president or something someday. But when she looks away after laughing like that, there's this strange sort of seriousness in her mood. It's odd. Finally, the guy broke his gaze from me and turned around, walking off with his friends. I swear I wanted to go after him, to run down the street and ask him who he was, where he lived, whether he'd want to spend a day or a week or an eternity with me. Yeah, I've been hanging out with Kara way too much. Mom called from the kitchen, needing help with something. I guess my dreams and crazy thoughts could wait for another time.