Surprise by moonrise

Chapter 4 - Introduction

There is someone in my room.

My heart stops for a second. Then I smell the familiar scent of baked bread. As I open my door and enter my room, I see Lucy standing next to my nightstand.

She immediately notices my presents and turns around with a little smile. She walks towards me and stops about two steps before reaching me.

“Miss Sanders,” she says, bowing her head slightly as a sign of respect.

“Lucy, what are you doing in my room?” I ask, concerned. She never enters my room without permission.

“I came to bring you a gift. It´s on your nightstand,” Lucy explains. She starts walking past me back towards the kitchen.

“A gift from whom?”

“I wouldn´t know, Miss Sanders. But there is a card next to the gift. Maybe that will answer your question.”

I turn back facing my room and walk to my nightstand. There are some beautiful purple hyacinths on my nightstand with a small envelope next to it. The flowers smell amazing, and I´m intrigued to know who they are from.

I take off my shoes and sit on the bed, cross-legged. As I pick up the envelope, I notice my name is written on it in beautiful cursive handwriting that I don´t recognize. The envelope is sealed shut, so I´m sure Lucy told me the truth about not knowing who send it. I open the envelope and start reading the letter.

Dear Charissa,

Sometimes life gives you the greatest gifts, only to take them away again. Meeting you was the highlight of my day. Thank you very much for inviting me to the barbecue.

I can´t begin to describe how sorry I am to have caused you trouble with your parents. I hope they didn´t give you a hard time about it.

These flowers are hyacinths, which represent forgiveness. Hopefully you can forgive me someday for ruining your evening. You didn´t deserve that.

In the future I will not bother you or cause any trouble for you.

Enjoy the flowers and take care of yourself.

Kind regards,

Lewis

I read the letter over and over. Why would he say he won´t bother me anymore? He did nothing wrong. It´s my mom who should apologize.

Confused, I walk over to my bathroom and take a nice hot shower. Maybe that will clear my head enough for me to fall asleep and just end this day already.

--

It´s my first day as an Alpha´s apprentice and I have no idea what my uncle has in store for me today. I look in the mirror to check my outfit and makeup once more. I´m wearing my red hair down, with the front pieces pinned back and out of my face. The dress that I´m wearing shows off my curves in a modest way and is about knee-length. The navy-blue color complements my red hair and blue eyes perfectly. And lastly my makeup is very basic and neutral, as if I´m not wearing anything.

It´s about 8 a.m. as I walk into the kitchen for a quick breakfast. Alpha Jonathan is sitting at the kitchen table sipping some coffee.

“Good morning, Alpha”, I say as I walk in and pour myself a cup of joe as well.

“Good morning, Isa. Are you ready for today?”

“Yes. I´m very excited to see what you have in store for me today.” I can´t help the nervous smile that is starting to form on my face.

“Well, grab some breakfast and sit down. I´ll tell you today´s plans.”

I grab a plate and a few oatmeal pancakes that Lucy has prepared and sit at the table across my uncle. We start going over the plans of today. He has summoned the pack at 8:30 so he can announce my apprenticeship to the pack, then we´ll pass by the pack hospital to check up on the patients there, followed up by some meetings.

I finish my breakfast quickly and we walk over to the clearing where the pack has gathered for the announcement. The small stage where my brother stood last night is still in place. Alpha Jonathan jumps onto the stage immediately, leaving me alone at the side of the stage. He walks to the middle of the stage, and the voices that were coming from the crowd slowly begin to dim. When he reaches the center of the stage, looking over the pack, everyone is quiet. The respect the pack has for their Alpha amazes me every time.

All eyes are on Alpha Jonathan, and I can feel the nerves building up in my stomach and I´m silently praying that I won´t throw up. Then my mind starts to go a thousand miles per hour. What if the pack doesn´t agree? What if the pack doesn´t want me as their new Alpha-apprentice and future Luna? What if I don´t find my mate? I´m starting to see black spots swimming in my vision. Calm down, C. Breath, I think to myself. Before I can continue panicking, I hear my uncle start to speak to the pack.

“Dear members of the Blood Moon Pack. Thank you all for coming this morning. I know you have a lot to do today, so I´ll keep this short.

As you all know, I don´t have a true heir to continue on my bloodline and become Alpha after me. But I´m getting older and we need to think of the future. That is why I´ve decided to name my successor now.”

There are some whispers coming from the crowd. They didn´t see it coming either.

“She will start an apprenticeship with me to learn all about how to lead a pack, so that, even when I step down as Alpha, the pack will be in good hands. Please, welcome Charissa Sanders, my beloved niece, and your future Luna.”

My uncle extends his hand towards me and I take that as a cue to step onto the stage and walk towards him. He wraps his arm around my waist and turns me towards the crowd with a big smile on his face. To my surprise, the whole pack starts cheering, clapping and howling. I take it all in. They already approve of me as their future Luna.

The Alpha holds up his hand and the pack members fall silent again.

“Charissa will be your future Luna, and you´ll treat her as such. She will already have the power of a Luna, even though I´m still in charge. The only person who has authority over her is me. And once she finds her mate, they will take over as the new Alpha and Luna of the Red Moon Pack.”

Wait, what? I already have the Luna´s power? And a complete change of power when I find my mate? That could be in just a few weeks when I turn eighteen. I´m not ready for that yet. I try to hide the surprise and worry on my face. This is something I´d need to discuss with my uncle later on. He never told me about that part.

As I look through the crowd my eyes fall on Jasper. He has the biggest grin on his face, that makes it seem like his head is going to split in half in any moment. He is silently clapping and gives me a thumbs up when we lock eyes. He seems so genuinely happy for me and I can´t wait to tell him about my first day.

A few feet to the right I see Lewis. His smile immediately went away as we looked into each other´s eyes. He looks away and turns on his heel, almost running towards the gardens of the pack house. I immediately feel the excitement drain from my body. Why did he run away? What did I do wrong to hurt him?

My uncle pulls me out of my thoughts, turning me to face him.

“Let´s go and start your first official day.”