Rise of the Moon

2. Laila-2

The Roadhouse bar is the local hangout for shifters. The owner is part of the Teton pack. Apparently, it's the place a lot of the men like to pick up human women. Having s*x with them doesn't make them their mates. The same goes for female shifters. They can do whatever they want with mortal men and never have to worry about getting pregnant. Do the rules apply to me? I have no clue. The Sierra pack held me under lock and key. I'm thirty years old and have never been intimate with a man. Then again, I would've rather died than mate with a Sierra. They were disgusting, vile creatures. If given a chance, I would've neutered them all.

As luck would have it, when we get to the bar there's a parking space right out front for me to park my little silver sedan. The parking lot is full, and there are dozens of cars parked in the snow-covered field to the side of the bar. I feel my father close by and can see his glowing blue eyes amid the woods across the road. Amelie and Faith get out of the car, and Amelie opens Seraphina's door for her. Faith walks with Seraphina inside, but I hang back.

Amelie does the same and puts her arm around my shoulders. "I know you're nervous about what they'll think of you."

I lean into her. "Just a little."

Her gaze averts to the woods. "Your dad's out there. Do you think I'll ever get to meet him?"

I snort. "Hope so." I raise my voice with my next words so he can hear me. "He needs to join the land of the living." A growl echoes through the trees, and I smile.

Slowly, we walk up the stairs toward the bar entrance. "Does he really look exactly like Sebastian and Micah?" she asks, her voice curious.

Before I became part of the Teton pack, my uncles were the hot commodity in town. All of the female shifters wanted them. Micah is unmated, so they still flock around him, but Sebastian is mated to Tyla. I heard stories about how jealous she got when women would throw themselves at him.

"Exactly alike," I tell her. "He has bright blond hair and crystal blue eyes just like his brothers. When he introduces me to his clients, I have to say I'm his sister." We look about the same age.

Amelie stops at the door. "That's the one thing I hate about being around humans. We have to lie too much." She opens the door, and a blast of energy whooshes past me. There are multiple alphas and probably over two hundred shifters. The bar is pretty big with a dancefloor in the center, tables lined along the walls and filled with people, and a bar with over a dozen occupied stools. Everyone stares up at me, but Ryker and Bailey come to the rescue.

Bailey pulls me in for a hug. "Everyone's dying to meet you."

Heart racing, I take a deep breath. "It's going to take me all night to meet everyone."

She waves me off like it's no big deal. "You got this."

Ryker drapes his arm over Bailey's shoulders. He's the primary alpha of the Teton pack. He and Bailey are expecting their first child next summer. They're both arctic wolves, but Bailey was born royal. Now that they're mated, her royal powers transferred to him, and his strength passed to her. If I were ever to find my mate, he would get my royal powers as well. At least, that's what I think would happen.

Ryker kisses the side of Bailey's head. "Why don't you introduce her to the females, and I'll take her around to meet the alphas."

Bailey nods and takes my hand, her smile vibrant. "Come on. I'll introduce you to the other new members of our pack. Micah reached out to them and told them to join us. They were part of the original royal pack and my friends growing up." We walk over to a group of women sitting at a corner table. There are four of them, all arctic wolves, royal, and around my age. Bailey introduces them to me, and I already feel a bond with them.

I'm taken around the room, and the magic I feel swirls through me. It's strange and something I've never felt before. I can only assume it's because there are so many unmated males and females in one place. I have a feeling several of them will be finding their mates soon.

Once Bailey's done, Ryker heads over to steal me away, only he doesn't get the chance. Tyla steps in his way and puts her arm around me. "Sorry, alpha, I don't think this one's ready to meet the boys just yet. They're all salivating like lost puppies."

Sebastian walks up and shakes his head but doesn't say a word. I love Tyla. Her comments always make me laugh. Ryker glances back at the other alphas, and I can feel the tension in the air. A lot of them are desperate to find their mate. When an unmated male goes too long without his true mate, the rage will set in. Tyla told me how it was for Sebastian before they completed the bond.

Ryker stares right into my eyes, his power intense. "It's up to you, Laila. I do know a lot of the men here are eager to find their mates. Especially now that the magic has come back to our packs."

Ever since he and Bailey completed their bond, it set off a chain reaction. Over the past two weeks, since I've been in Wyoming, several wolves have found their mates.

Tyla whispers in my ear. "I say make them work for it."

Sebastian chuckles. "Says the woman who made my life a living hell."

"Hey," Tyla quips, "you deserved it. Laila's my niece now. I have the right to give her advice."

Sebastian kisses my cheek. "You couldn't get Zayne to come?"

I shake my head. "No. But he's close by."

He nods. "I can feel him." He winks at Tyla. "I'm heading out there to talk to him. Don't get into any trouble."

Tyla gives him a mischievous grin. "Can't promise anything." Then she turns to Ryker. "If you're introducing her to the men, I'm coming too."

Tyla is an alpha female, just like Bailey. It's good to see women with that kind of power in the pack. They’re strong and fierce with minds of their own. The men listen to them which is something you don’t find in most packs. Then again, I only have my experience with the Sierras to compare it to. We never had any alpha women when I was with them; it wouldn’t have been allowed. I saw it firsthand when my brother and Amelie mated. He pushed her down until she was too scared to have a voice. In the end, she found her strength which is all that matters.

Ryker nods for us to follow him. "Very well. Let's go."

The closer we get to the men, another wave of power hits me. It's electric, almost a tingling in my bones. I falter for a second, and Tyla stops. She stands in front of me and places her hands on my shoulders. "You okay?"

Lowering my voice, I look around the room to see if anyone's staring at me. "Yeah, I just felt a lot of power, is all. I never had it happen with my old pack."

Her gaze narrows. "What's it like? I don't feel anything."

The breath hitches in my lungs, and I grab my chest. "It's like an electrical current humming throughout my body."

She shakes her head, and a slow smile spreads across her face. The concern I saw in her eyes a second ago vanishes and is replaced with excitement. "Holy s**t. It's happening."

It doesn't take a genius to figure it out. My mate is somewhere in the bar.