The Luna's Revenge

Two

Lexi’s POV

Sunlight was starting to peak through my curtains, and in my head, I heard the lazy yawn of my wolf, Sasha.

Did you sleep any better last night? She asked. Sasha had popped in my head the day I turned 18, a wolfie companion in my mind from that day forward. My sassy, strong, gorgeous best friend. She was big for a female wolf, and quick and lethal when she needed to be: her red fur flashing as she darted around opponents, black paws swiping with precision.

No, so we might as well get up, I told her. She sighed and stretched, giving a little whimper, not liking my answer. When Tyler died, Sasha had withdrawn, hiding away for months as she recovered her strength. His wolf, Damon, was her mate, too. It was hardest on the wolves, since the bonds ran through our animalistic side. By the time she recovered, I was functioning, but she blames these nightmares on herself. Sasha feels like my memories possibly got warped when she was buried deep in my mind in grief. I’m not sold on her theory, because there was over a year between when she came back and when the nightmares started, but I’ve learned it’s mot worth arguing with her about it.

I opened mouth to ask Ellie if she’d like to head up to the packhouse for breakfast, but she was already lightly snoring, having dozed off again. Quietly, I extracted myself from her arms and wriggled out of bed. An alarm was set already, so she’d wake up in plenty of time for training.

I quickly showered, dressed, and walked the 500 feet or so to the packhouse’s front doors.

Most people lived in cottages or townhomes around the territory, like my parents, but ranked members and a handful of warriors and omegas were the exception, living in the giant packhouse. When Tyler was alive, we’d lived there, too, on the third floor - the Beta floor. Connor Graham, our soon-to-be-Alpha, had intended to make Tyler - and consequently, me - his Betas. Connor was slated to become the new Alpha within the next year or so, once his dad stepped down.

Connor and Tyler had been best friends since they were tiny pups. In fact, Tyler had been headed to the airport to pick up Connor the night of the accident, something that would typically fall to a regular warrior, but they had planned to go out for drinks afterwards to catch up. A boys’ night, since Connor wasn’t yet mated, and I trusted Tyler to be fine on his own without me.

Now the Beta roles would fall to another couple, and I would carry on as a regular warrior. I moved out of the packhouse and back in with my family after I was alone. Connor had begged me to stay in the packhouse, saying I could still be Beta, but I had no interest and, at the time, no wolf. Ellie had helped me pack my things. I absently wondered whether Tyler’s belongings were still in our room.

Our current leader was Connor’s dad, Alpha Zach, who was a kind and calm man. Tyler’s father, Ben, was his Beta. Alpha Zach and Beta Ben were such respected leaders that we were all going to be sorry to see them retire - that was even true of Tyler and I, back when we were expecting to take on their roles.

“Good morning, Lexi,” Alpha Zach greeted me warmly as I entered the dining room. “How is training going?”

Everyone knew better than to ask me how I was doing, even now, two years later. That question made me fall apart every time. Most people had started asking about my parents, or Ellie, or my training, or even the weather - anything except how I’m feeling.

“Good, Alpha. I’m actually thinking about taking a few days off to head to Blue River Pack. I want to get away for a few days and visit a friend there. Could you all spare me from the warrior schedule?”

I didn’t want anyone except Ellie to know the real reason why I was going. There was no real reason to hide it, because it’s not a crime to see a witch healer, even if we wouldn’t let one live in our pack. But it’s embarrassing for a warrior to show weaknesses - and doubly so when you’re a female warrior. I didn’t need the whole pack to know I was struggling with nightmares.

“Of course, my dear!” Alpha Zach’s booming, jolly voice startled me out of my thoughts. “Anything for you. Connor’s taken over creating the patrol schedules, so just let him know. Safe travels!”

Alpha Zach claps me on the shoulder once before walking away with Beta Ben, who hadn’t said a single word to me. I was used to that. He was devastated by Tyler’s death, and seeing me only reminded him of it. We didn’t have any animosity toward each other, just a lot of shared grief. It was easier to avoid each other.

Ben’s mate had died long ago, leaving him with two boys to raise. Losing Tyler had been extra hard on him since he had brought up the boys as a single dad in between his Beta duties, meaning they spent a lot of time at work with him. All of his day-to-day work reminded him of Tyler, and Tyler’s death meant their family’s legacy as the Beta family was in jeopardy. Colton, Tyler’s 17-year-old brother, was the only thing keeping Ben going.

Tyler would’ve been 22 next month, so there was a huge age difference, but Colton had looked up to him so much. If it wasn’t so painful, I would have loved to see Colton more, but we really only saw each other at warrior training or in passing in the hallway. I didn’t want to upset him, and presumably he didn’t want to upset me.

The kitchen staff had made a typical weekday morning buffet: chafing dishes full of eggs, omelets, sausage, bacon, hashbrowns, toast, oatmeal, and pancakes; fresh fruit; pastries; and plenty of coffee and juice. Plenty of protein and carbs for our large appetites. I spooned a few servings of fruit on my plate, along with a chocolate chip muffin, and a stack of bacon. Possibly my only regret about not accepting Connor’s offer to stay on as Beta is that I’d never see the food budget for our pack… j had always been curious what we spent on feeding nearly 1,000 hungry wolves each day.

Taking my plate to a nearby empty table, I pull out one of the chairs and sit down. There are 50 tables in here that each seat ten, although rarely are they all full at once.

We have just over 1,000 pack members in Black Moon Pack right now, and not all of them can or want to come to the dining hall. At any given time, some are on patrol, some are working in the kitchens during meals, and others simply prefer to eat in their own homes. Breakfast is self-serve, open from 5:00 am until nearly noon, when they switch over to lunch food, so there are always plenty of seats available.

The ranked members sit at an assigned table at the interior front and center of the room - furthest away from a possible outside attack, and where all pack members can see them if announcements need to be made. Tyler and I used to sit at that table, but now it doesn’t matter where I sit.

The dining room isn’t busy yet at this time of day; it’s mostly warriors coming off night patrol shifts, leaders like Alpha Zach and Beta Ben, or wolves like me, who simply couldn’t sleep. After I finished up my food, I headed over to Connor’s office on the second floor. Our packhouse has Beta and Gamma suites on the third floor, offices and guest rooms on the second floor, and the Alpha suite on the fourth floor. The omegas and warriors have their own wings, two-story buildings on either side of the main building. The dining hall, library, and rec rooms are on the main floor of the pack house, along with a few conference rooms and quiet areas, and the basement has a private training facility for the ranked members. All in all, I think it’s a pretty nice design compared to some I’ve visited.

I couldn’t help feeling nervous about the conversation I was about to have.

Connor has tried to talk to me so many times since the accident, but it’s difficult. I usually avoid him or change the subject, but it’s going to be impossible when we’re alone in his office. I think he feels guilty, but he’s not the one who ran the red light. I blinked back angry tears, wondering for the millionth time how Tyler could’ve been so careless.

With a sigh, I knocked on the door. Might as well get this over with.