Chapter Two

ELLE POV  

Bouncing down to the dining room in my usual sweatpants and t-shirt, I pass the Alpha, Beta, and Gamma as they head into the Alpha's office to conduct pack business. Nodding to the three, I continue to the dining room to find Luna sitting in her usual spot, drinking her coffee and reading the paper. With Damon gone for the summer, we have most of our meals together. Most days, the Alpha is too busy without him around. 

I know Luna Olivia misses her son, but I would be lying if I didn't say I am relieved by his absence. My summer vacation is officially ending tomorrow, and once Damon returns, along with Andrew and Matt, my regularly scheduled hell will resume. So, I am determined to make this day magical, spending my time reading by the pool, binging Bridgerton on N*****x, and eating Helena's homemade cinnamon roll ice cream.

"Good morning, dear," Luna Olivia says to me as she looks up from her paper. 

"Good Morning, Luna," I say, flashing her a warm smile as I sit in my usual spot. Suddenly the dining room door opens, and the Beta Female and Gamma Female walk in and take the seats they usually sit at when they dine at the packhouse. 

"Good morning, Luna and Elle," they say in unison. They are sitting down to join us for breakfast, which happens occasionally, but more often now that their boys are away at Alpha training with Damon. I know these women-only visit more because they miss their sons, but I am not missing the devil and his dancing demons.

I'd never admit it to anyone else in this pack, but the entire summer without them and school have been Goddess-sent. The worst part is that I have had such a transformative time and will have nothing to show when school starts again. 

"Elle, are you excited to start school tomorrow?" the Gamma Female, Sam, asks me with a sweet smile on her lips. I never understood how all of these lovely women raised such horrible sons. Seriously, it's mind-boggling, and I still can't figure it out. 

"Hmmm, honestly, I am not too excited for school to start tomorrow." I look at her when a brilliant idea pops into my head. Maybe, I could use Damon's absence to finish the summer with a bang. 

"Oh, why not?" the Beta Female asks me as she slathers her scone with jelly. 

"I was too busy enjoying my summer; I never took a second to realize I am no longer the tomboy who moved here five years ago. I should have focused on updating my wardrobe instead of thinking about it the day before classes start." A bashful expression plasters my face while I look at the table, ashamed, while we sit in silence. 

Finally, Luna giggles, "Oh, thank the Goddess, I have been dying to throw away your clothes since your freshman year of high school."  

"What?" I ask, completely perplexed. That sneaky little bastard has played Luna and me against each other without us knowing. I thought she had agreed with Damon's stupid rules. 

"Elle, I love you like my daughter, but I have hated your wardrobe. You're a gorgeous girl who hides underneath these baggy clothes." Luna says, giving me a small smile while pointing to the outfit I am currently wearing. 

"Why didn't you say anything before?" I ask her, my voice sounding annoyed, but it wasn't directed towards her, instead of myself for believing anything that jackass says. 

"Well, I never wanted to give you complex body images at such a young age. Your comfort is more important than you having my same taste in clothes," Luna Olivia says, wrapping me in her arms for a classic bear hug. "Plus, I figured you would ask for one when you wanted a wardrobe update," Luna finishes, giving me a final squeeze and sitting back in her chair.  

"Well, then I am officially asking you for a fashion makeover," I say, flashing my brightest smile to the three women sitting around me, causing them to squeal with hysteria. I already know these two will tag along because I asked Luna to take me shopping. They are best friends who do everything together and love to shop; their husbands have the wear in their black cards to prove it. 

"It's decided then; we are going shopping tomorrow!" the Luna exclaims while the others clap their hands, trying to talk over each other to make plans. Their excitement is rubbing off on me until I realize the first day of class is tomorrow. 

"But Luna, school starts tomorrow," I try to explain. 

"Pish posh darling, you're a straight-A student, and that's in the AP classes. Your attendance is perfect. You can afford to take this one day off. Trust me; I am more than willing to let you skip school so I can finally shop with you." 

"Yeah, Elle," Gamma Sam adds, "You're practically a kid genius. Who else could design the security code for the pack? You're going to get into any college you want, and skipping the first day of school once isn't going to impact that. Remember, it's okay to live, too, and have fun. You're only this age once." 

"Okay," I say excitedly. "But I get final veto power, and the clothes have to fit my personality." I need to set boundaries early with these women, or they'll roll right over me. I want new clothes to better express who I am as a person, not completely reinvent myself. 

"So, what's the plan? When should we leave for the mall tomorrow?" I ask Luna and the others so that I could formulate a plan for the best possible way to avoid Damon. He'll be back sometime tonight. Probably late is what I overheard from the Alpha as I walked into the dining room this morning. 

"We are NOT going to the local mall for our first shopping trip together. No, we will do this right and go to the city. It's a little over a 3.5-hour drive from here, and we should leave early to beat traffic. Plus, we want to get there early to have the whole day to shop and get back here at a decent enough time to see the boys, Luna Olivia says with conviction. 

"We can have lunch in the city! I have read about some of the new restaurants that opened up in the city, receiving rave reviews. Three are wolf-owned, and the owner of one is from my old pack, so I'll try calling them to see if they'll squeeze us in." Beta Ashley says, pulling her phone out to make the phone call. 

"No, please make reservations at Gramercy tavern," Luna Olivia says to Beta Ashley with a look that says not to question it. Ashley doesn't as she walks away to make the reservations at the restaurant requested. But the look on Ashley's told me she'd rather have dinner elsewhere. 

Why?

"We should get pedicures and manicures while we're in the city," Gamma Sam chimes in, trying to distract me from the strangeness of that interaction between Olivia and Ashley, "doesn't that sound fun?" I respond with a simple yes, my mind distracted by the moment between Ashley and our Luna. 

*********************

UNKNOWN POV 

In an oak office, with bookshelves lining the back wall, a middle-aged man with greying black hair sits at a large desk filling out paperwork, soft jazz playing on the record player behind him when the phone starts ringing. 

"Hello," the man says, in a hard, gruff voice like the man smoked a pack a day, "how may I help you?" Feeling no need to introduce himself. If the person made it this far up the chain, they knew who they were talking to. Call it his arrogance, but he feels no need to introduce himself. 

"Sir, it's Angela," says a woman he knew to work at the Gramercy Tavern because he put her there; as an Omega, it's her duty to do what he says regardless of what she wishes for herself. "There is something that you'll want to know." 

"Get to it," He says, growing bored that she's beating around the bush, "I don't have all fucking day bitch!" His snarls make her flinch, and his wolf finds pleasure in her weakness. "Not until you promise to let me go with my mate. We want to leave the pack," She says in return showing a little backbone for the first time in years. 

"Why would I do that?" The middle-aged man asks, unconvinced to grant her wishes. "Because I know where the thing you want most in the world is. If you don't agree, I'll slit my own throat," Angela's voice comes out hard and unrelenting. 

"Fine," he agrees begrudgingly. "Tell me. Now." Angela wastes no time telling him the Luna of New Moon had come for lunch at the tavern with her top females and a teenage girl. The man couldn't care less about that, and it was common knowledge that Luna Olivia is a shopaholic, useless woman. 

It wasn't until Angela described the young teenage girl that he started leaning back in his chair, interested in what was being said. "This girl, how old would you say she is?" The man asks. 

"No older than eighteen," Angela replies. "And she will be at Alpha Damon's birthday ball." 

"And she looks like Cynthia?" The man asks. 

"The spitting image of our Lu-" but the growl from the man causes her to stop in her tracks, realizing how she messed up. "That bitch isn't your Luna anymore. Remember that. Be outside the territory. Tomorrow morning at dawn, you can get your mate then." The man snarls before slamming the phone down. 

Calling his Beta and the Beta heir into the office, he looks at them, a joyful sneer on his face, giddy at the news he just received. "Take the Omega Edward Fisher to the border at dawn when you see his Mate Angela appear to take him away, kill him in front of her and then kill her," 

"Yes, Alpha," Both men reply, their faces expressionless and unsurprised at the request. 

"Then call my favorite son-in-law back," The man says, pouring himself a glass of whisky, not bothering to pour more than one for himself. "I have a new place for him to visit." The man finishes taking a large gulp of his drink. 

The thing he covets the most is within reach, and it won't be long before he has everything that once belonged to his biggest enemy.