The Beta's Human Mate

Shopping Day

  Serenity woke up late in the morning, and Damien was already gone. He left a note at the foot of the bed with his and Mel’s phone number. She entered them into her phone immediately and messaged him a quick good morning, figuring that’s what he would want. She left her phone on the bed and changed into a different black t-shirt and jeans. She realized Mel was right, she really did need to get more color in her life.

  She messaged Mel, asking if her offer to clothes shop was still on the table. Damien messaged back: “Good morning beautiful, hope you slept well. I’m about to start a patrol, but I’ll catch up with you later.” Serenity smiled despite herself. It was the first time she had ever received a sweet good morning message, and she liked the feeling.

  She jumped at the sudden knock on the door. Mel smiled at her and grabbed her hand. “I was starting to think you would never wake up! I’ve already told the guys we won’t go out of the village, but there’s a cute little boutique I’m sure we can find something in.”

  Serenity laughed to herself and followed Mel out of the pack-house. Her energy was beyond contagious, and she was excited for her first day of shopping. They started with the coffee shop. Mel was amazed that she’d never had anything on the menu, but she had never been much of a coffee drinker. Knowing that, Mel suggested a Frappuccino and Serenity knew from the first sip she was hooked. It was too much sugar, didn’t taste at all like coffee, and was ridiculously expensive for what was essentially ice, sugar, and whipped cream, but she loved it. Mel laughed when she finished it way to fast, and Serenity found herself laughing along.

  The boutique was small, and at first glance Serenity doubted she would find anything in it that she would want. Everything was bright and flowery. The lady that came out to greet them had rosy cheeks and a constant smile that gave Serenity an instant headache. She and Mel began jabbering incessantly and Serenity soon lost track of the conversation, but they kept handing her things to try on. When she felt she couldn’t carry anymore they pushed her to the changing rooms. She tried on a couple of the tops. One was a low cut with the shoulders cut out, but still had sleeves, which was very confusing for her. Another had sleeves that flowered out at the elbows…which also confused her.

  After a while Mel started demanding to see her in certain combinations of tops and bottoms, and then handed her dresses she “just had to try on”. Serenity grimaced and realized she didn’t like clothes shopping nearly as much as she liked Frappuccino’s.

  It felt like hours had passed and she had tried on every single item in the store. Finally, she had a pile of colorful clothes that even satisfied Mel. She set them in a basket that smiley lady produced and headed for the register in relief.

  Until Mel called her back and started showing her shoes. Then the whole process started again. And again, with jewelry. Mel even threw a couple make up pallets onto her pile. By the end of it Serenity was beyond exhausted and she couldn’t possibly keep her fake smile anymore. She figured she deserved another Frappuccino.

  Serenity was disgusted by the amount she had spent in the boutique and vowed that she would never subject her wallet to this again. Between her and Mel (who had also grabbed quite a few outfits for herself) there was no way they could walk it all back to the pack-house. Mel arranged a delivery with Madam Smiles and Serenity almost limped out of the store. Some of the heels Mel had made her try really did some damage to her ankles.

  Mel laughed when she headed back to the coffee shop and grabbed another frap but joined her. The two walked idly around the village, Mel introducing her to more people than she would ever remember. She had noticed yesterday, and today again, but there really weren’t many females around. She asked Mel about it.

  “Peter’s father was a great warrior. Between him and Damien’s father they really grew a reputation for having a warrior pack.  When Peter took over, he didn’t want that legacy to die. I’m not saying that he’s all about fighting, but he does take a certain pride in having the best fighters around. It’s just the constant training they do here isn’t the lifestyle a lot of new couples want. So if the couple chooses Peter “loans” them out to a local pack that maybe needs some extra security. They still belong to us, and will come to our aid if ever called, but they enjoy a more diverse lifestyle than we do, hidden away in the woods.” By this time, the girls had found their way to the park Serenity had seen on the first day. Mel headed for the pavilion. As they got close, she realized the thing she hadn’t been able to see before was a beautiful woman in a flowing robe with a moon behind her and a wolf standing guard at her feet.

  “The moon goddess.” Mel stated, following her gaze.

  “She’s beautiful.” Serenity said in awe. The details on the statue were perfect, and she almost felt like the statue were real. She felt like she could place the face somewhere, but it wasn’t coming to her.

  “Did the rogues ever talk about her?”

  “They would mention her. I never really asked though.”

  “I’ve got to ask, and let me know if I’m going to far, but why were you with the council? You’re obviously not supernatural. And what was it like? Everything there seemed so dark and depressing. I thought I would like the beach, but even the water felt evil.” Mel shuddered.

  Serenity gave her the quick version of Vlad finding her and taking her in. Mel touched the back of her hand quickly, obviously feeling bad for her. “I guess I just got used to the council. Between Vlad training me, and Katrina educating me, they became my family. My dark, dangerous, constantly putting my life in danger family.” They both laughed and the mood lightened again.

  Suddenly Mel’s mouth clenched, and she grimaced. Serenity followed where her eyes went and saw her gazing at a tall blonde walking along a row of houses.

  “Ugh, guess she’s back.” Mel rolled her eyes.

  “Who’s she?”

  “Leah Rossi. She is a total b***h. Before I came into the picture, she was always trying to get with Peter so he would make her the Luna. There’s one in every pack, but she was desperate. He never slept with her, but boy was she pissed when I came into the picture.” She smiled smugly.

  “What'd you do?” Mel raised an eyebrow at her.

  “I wouldn't have cared if she had just kept her mouth shut. But she took every opportunity to say something, and one day I just had enough. I punched her in the nose and broke it. If you ever need to get at her just mention her nose is a little crooked."

  “Good for you!” Serenity laughed.

  “I’m tiny, but mighty.” Mel laughed with her, flexing one arm. “After that she tends to travel to other packs a lot, but they always get sick of her slutting around and she ends up back here.”

  “You’re right, there’s always one.” Serenity forgot about Leah as soon as she was out of sight.