Rose
The sun shone in through the open window as a gentle breeze tickled my nose, wafting the comforting scent of my old books around my room. I cracked my eyes open and wiped them, trying to adjust to the morning light streaming in the room. It seems I had fallen asleep reading in the old worn-out leather comfy chair in the corner of my bedroom.
I felt my wolf Delilah stir, but she gave in to the laziness and went back to sleep. I peeled my skin from the chair as I stretched. I closed one of my favorite fairytale books that I put myself to sleep with last night. As I climbed out of my chair, I put my book back on the bookshelf. My fingers grazed across the spines of my books as I wandered into my bathroom. I glanced into the mirror and grimaced. A red mark from my book and drool were present on my face. I hastily wiped the spit away with my wrist.
“Every seventeen-year-old’s dream look,” I muttered to myself as I stripped off my polka dot pajamas and stepped into the shower. I stood in the shower, letting the hot water coax my body to wake up all the way. After a few minutes of standing in the water, I scrubbed my body and hair. Once I was clean, I stepped out of the shower clutching an oversized fluffy white towel.
I looked back into the mirror one more time and muttered, “Better.”
I dried my hair and then turned back to the mirror. My cornflower blue eyes looked refreshed. My wavy dirty blonde hair fell down in cascades tickling my back. I was pretty enough and curvy to catch a couple of people’s attention, but I preferred to disappear into the background. I dropped my towel in the hamper and walked back to my room. My bedroom door burst open with two blonde girls arguing about something stupid corrupting my room.
“Dude, knock!” I scrambled to grab anything to cover...anything. The girls shrugged. They weren’t fazed at all.
“We have seen it all before.” shrugged the taller girl. These two were my best friends. The taller girl was Harriet; she had tight kinky curly blonde hair and light blue eyes. She had turned eighteen just a few months ago. I had known her for most of my life. She was one of the most brilliant people I knew, and she knew it too. She was cocky and gave a lot of people a run for their money.
The shorter blonde was Heather. She had straight blonde shoulder-length hair. Heather was Harriet’s baby sister, her only sister. She had the same eyes but a much more reserved personality. She was two years younger but was always with us. We were the three musketeers.
“Just because you have seen it doesn’t mean I want it on display all the time. Give me a scrap of modesty.” I hissed as I grabbed a pair of underwear and a bra from the heap of clothes on my dresser. Heather averted her eyes and pulled her sister, forcing her to comply.
“Thank you,” I mumbled as I slipped on my underwear before quickly hopping into a plain white tank top and blue jean shorts. “So why are you here so early anyway?”
“She got in trouble with mom again,” Heather smirked at her sister as I slipped on my pair of black converse.
“It’s not my fault! Matt was in my room last night.” Harriett innocently said as she batted her eyelashes. Both Heather and I groaned as we walked out of my room.
Matthew, or Matt, was the Beta’s son; he was obsessed with Harriet. They had been glued to each other’s faces, at least I only pictured their faces, for a few weeks now. Harriet continued her excuse, “He came to me. Well, for me.” Heather faked vomited as we hustled down the stairs.
It wasn’t unheard of for teenagers to sleep with other people before finding their mates. Mainly when you lived in the middle of nowhere with nothing to do. Harriet mostly slept with Matthew; they had an unspoken agreement that it was just for fun and just to release their sexual frustrations. Matt wasn’t eighteen yet, so who knows, they might be mates.
Unfortunately for Heather and me, we heard about these escapades regularly or worse, sometimes we accidentally witnessed them. The bushes on the side of her house would never be the same for me.
Personally, I never had the urge to jump anybody’s bones in town. I had guy friends, and I had people interested in me, but it didn’t mean I was interested or wanted them. I guess deep down, after reading so many stories and fairytales, they had influenced me. I just want my mate, Even if it isn’t any time soon. When did I become such a hopeless romantic?
“Morning, Rose Bud.” Called my mom as we made our way into the kitchen. “Morning, girls! What’s on the agenda for today?”
I kissed her cheek, grabbing an apple from the counter, biting into it. Heather and Harriet each hugged my mom before leaning on the counter.
“That is a great question. Besides seeing Rose naked first thing this morning, I haven’t planned anything else out.” Teased Harriet. My mom laughed and swatted at Harriet with a tea towel.
“Mrs. Thompson, please, don’t encourage her. Please, for my sake.” Heather pleaded as she sunk her head into her hands.
“Heather loosen up, will ya?” Harriet wriggled her arms around like she was one of those inflatable flailing tube men at a car dealership. Heather rolled her eyes at her sister and grabbed a banana from the counter.
I took another bite of my apple, and as I chewed, I took in the scene in my kitchen. I selfishly hope that it could stay like this for longer, but I knew it wouldn’t be. We were getting older. Sooner or later, we would find our mates and probably find ourselves in new packs, away from each other.
I grinned at my best friends bickering and slung my arms around their necks. I kissed my mom before tugging the girls out the front door with me.
“So your birthday is in a few days, Rose; what do you want to do?” Heather asked as we settled on a bench in my mom’s front garden. She contently ate her banana as Harriet stalked a ladybug with her eyes.
At that moment, Delilah graced me with her presence. “Mate. We will find our mate.” I rolled my eyes internally at her.
“Life can be more than just our mate,” I hissed at her.
“Don’t be like this. I know you want to meet our mate just as much as I.” Delilah snapped at me before retreating to the back of my mind sulking. I swear my wolf was the biggest hopeless romantic out there.
“The Starlight Carnival is that night. Let’s just go there. Maybe Harriet can find her mate,” I teased as I jabbed her in the ribs with my elbow.
“Sounds good to me. Maybe I will finally get a decent night’s sleep without her nightly escapades disturbing my beauty sleep.” Heather smirked at her sister.
“Y’all make me sound like a horny trollop!” Harriet clutched her chest dramatically.
“For real, though, on my birthday, can I please request knocking on my door before entering that day?” I said as I threw my apple core in the compost bin.
“I make no promises, but I’ll attempt to control myself,” Harriet snorted.
RoseOne moment I was floating in my bathtub daydreaming about Orion, and then the next thing I knew, I was lying on a bed of damp earth, twigs, and fallen leaves on the forest floor. The sweet aroma of honeysuckle and moss tickled my nose.
RosePru sat across from me at the breakfast nook table. She gently shook her leg as she wrapped her fingernails on the table. We had been sitting like this for an hour. I was scared her leg was going to fall off.“What time is it?” Pru broke the silence.“Only a quarter past five.” I sighed. “You are going to be fine.”Pru wasn’t precisely scared to join the pack, but she was a ball of nerves. She was so calm that night with the Fallen Moon rogues. I found her fascinating; she was almost the complete opposite of Harriet.“I know, I know.” Pru offered a halfhearted smile. Matt was in a meeting with Orion, Alastor, and Damian. Orion had told me I could join in, but my heart told me to keep Pru company.“I think you are overthinking it.” I reached across the table and placed my hand on top of hers. I hope I was able to offer her some shred of comfort.“I know.” I heard that response way too many times in the past hour. She was just focu
RoseBeams of late morning sun danced across the hardwood floors. I snuggled deep into Orion's chest as if he could make the morning go away.Last night after the 'bonfire,' Orion had carried me on his back to the packhouse. I never thought I would get used to being carried around on someone's back so much. Now it was second nature.I pulled the duvet up over my shoulder, trying to fight off the slight chill in our room. I guess it was time to either start wearing more clothes to bed or either crank up the heat more."I suggest the heat. I would hate for Orion to have to wear more clothes. I prefer him naked myself." A voice echoed in my head. She was there; Delilah was back. I felt my breath catch in my throat."You are back!" I squealed at my wolf."I am.""I missed you." I really had. I was lonely without her. Everyone else had been trying to prevent it, but it couldn't be helped. I saw through the movie afternoon with my girls. No
RoseAfter a couple of hours of blanket forts and cuddles, a knock on the door sounded, reminded us that there was a world outside of this room. I peaked over the top of the couch to see Orion and Alastor lingering in the doorway.“Okay, ladies, you have stolen my mate for long enough. It’s time to get ready to go.” Orion walked over and gently poked my nose. I stuck my tongue out at Orion as I crawled out from under my blanket.“We did not even have her that long!” Harriet whined, and she dramatically clutched my blanket to her chest.“You are going to see her again in ten minutes,” Alastor mumbled as he leaned up against the back of the couch and ruffled Harriet’s curls.I gently stretched my arms up and out as I stood up. My muscles ached, and I silently prayed that Delilah came back soon. I hadn’t felt this bad since I had the premonition when I was Pru ran in the woods.I let my fingers intertwine with Or
Rose“Anyways, we have gathered to discuss Alaric and Pru.” Orion cleared his throat.“What’s there to discuss?” I almost jumped to my feet; my heart frantically hammered in my chest. I couldn’t live with myself if they were punished or turned away from our pack. I turned to look at Alaric, Pru, and Matt. Pru and Matt had their fingers interlocked. Alaric had his head tilted to the side; his curiosity had been tantalized. I could see the cogs turning behind those gray eyes. Why were they so calm?“Luna,” Alastor spoke up. I whipped my head to face him. The sudden movement made my neck muscles scream in pain. I winced but tried my best to hold my composure.“Pru saved me. Pru saved Matt. It’s not like Pru asked to be there. They kidnapped her, too! She was taken; they stole her life and her grimoire. Alaric undermined his Uncle, his Father, and all those rogues whenever he could! He put his neck on the line for us when he didn’t have to. If it wasn’t for P
RoseOrion and I didn’t get back to Black Moon until past sunrise. Orion wanted to stay and help dispose of the bodies, but Alastor and Harriet wouldn’t have it. They took care of the bodies and the fire, erasing the presence of the war the best they could. I rode on Orion’s back during the journey home. Clutching Pru’s jacket for warmth and some sense of modesty. I didn’t really want to have a Lady Godiva moment after the night I had.I honestly didn’t remember much of the trip back home. Once I was on Orion’s back, I knew I was safe and didn’t have to worry about anything. I do remember my parents smothering me, though. My father checked me over at least twice, and my mom almost threw me into the bathroom. After they were satisfied I was clean and not going to die, they went home. I knew that they would be back as soon as they had a catnap.Orion had asked me if I wanted to stay in the guest room, but it was time to go back to our room. Kroll couldn’t touch us