The Emerald Storm of Her Return

Chapter 2 Sun Lake

Chapter 2 Sun Lake

The ceremony took about another hour to wrap up, a few speeches and an explosion of graduation caps had us all hugging and cheering. I made my rounds saying goodbye to the friends, teammates, and faculty I grew to love over the past six years. It wasn’t hard to find my family after the ceremony considering I don’t think they’ve stopped cheering the entire time. I make my way over to them and my cousin Vinny is the first one to wrap me up in a huge bear hug.

“Congrats cuz, ya big nerd”

Vinny is three years older than me, and has always treated me like his little sister. Just like I’ve always thought of him as my brother. We’re both only children, so we became really close at a very young age. He’s always protected me and had my back, especially when my parents were murdered, he doesn’t let anyone mess with me, ever.

“ I know it’s hard for you to comprehend,

but not all chicks have boobs for brains

like the ones you always seem to fancy”

I say to him as I make a stink face.

I love my cousin and would do anything for him, but the man had a type, giant melons and tiny brains.

Giving me a look of sarcastic heartbreak, he holds his heart mouthing the word “ouch”, I chuckle at his lack of rebuttal and turn my attention to Aunt Tia who looks like she's about to sob.

“Gosh honey I am so stinkin proud of you”

she blubbers as she wraps me up in a very motherly hug. Aunt Tia has done her absolute best to fill the mother role in my life. She always has said, while she cannot and wouldn’t ever try to replace my mother, she’s always thought of me as her daughter. I’m very grateful for Aunt Tia, she really has been like my mother and I don’t know what I would do without her.

“ I can’t even put into words how proud your parents would be of you right now kiddo” I hear my Uncle Sam say as he too gives me a congratulatory hug. Do I miss my parents and wish they were here, absolutely, but I am still so grateful for the family I do have. We head to the car and begin the drive to the airport.

I have absolutely adored living in California for the past six years, the beach, the cali vibe. Moving back to Michigan really is a downgrade for me, but I am determined to focus on the positive. Our pack is located on the west side of Michigan, which isn’t horrible. It’s no California, but it’s not bad.

As we pull up to the edge of the pack territory, the butterflies begin to settle in, damn it’s been a long ass time since I was here. I was young for my grade, so I left for college when I was only 17, and haven’t made a trip back since. As we make our way through the pack territory I feel like I’m driving through a past life. I forgot how beautiful it was, all the beautiful trees and landscape. You can tell this is a very proud and well kept pack. As we drive through town I make a note of all the cute downtown shops and boutiques I want to check out. I know I grew up here, but it felt like a different place, a different world back then. I was different. I was the sad little Alpha’s orphan and I acted like it. I couldn’t help it, it’s exactly what I was. Yeah I had a great support system and family to help me through, but losing your parents at a young age has a different effect on you, them being murdered made it worse. I couldn’t get away from the reminder. I saw them in everything, everywhere I went. I had nightmares constantly, and flashes to my parents' lifeless bodies lying next to one another. It was Aunt Tia who suggested I go away to college. To experience life and the world outside of being a wolf, something that hadn’t been kind to me before. To grow outside of the constant reminder of my parents. She knew it was the only way I would ever be able to move on, and try to heal. It was a great decision, I feel like I became someone else. Someone stronger, smarter, and more prepared to take on the challenges of being a wolf. I had more than enough distractions at school, and I allowed them to consume me.

I saw my family maybe a few times a year. Each time they came out to visit me, I think they enjoyed their mini vacations to California. They always rented an Airbnb by the beach, and stayed for about 4 days. It was so great to see them each time they visited. I loved showing them my life at school. It was nice to be able to see them, while still having space away from the pack. We relied on weekly FaceTime calls to get us through our time apart, which worked fine. I was able to embrace the parts of me that didn’t revolve around my parents' death. “Thriving” I guess you could say.

My thoughts came to a halt as we reached the long driveway of the packhouse. There is a beautiful little lake just off to the left side of the half mile long driveway, which the sun illuminates spectacularly. It’s why we’re called the Sun Lake Pack, because the lake literally looks like the sun. We pull up to the massive packhouse and I immediately see a welcoming committee of about 15 people waiting for us to pull in.

“ Aunt Tia what are you up to?” I say knowing full well she has something up her sleeve.

“I have absolutely no idea what you mean”

she says while giving me the side eye and a grin. I knew better than to tell Aunt Tia I didn’t want to make a big deal about my return, if there’s one thing she loves to do, it’s throw a party. What I do know is that it will not be stopping here with the welcoming committee. The car comes to a stop and immediately the car door is opened by one of the pack house attendants. I mentally prepare myself to step out of the car and step into the next chapter of my life.