Chapter 3

It was finally the day for Elora to leave the Moonlight Pack, but Valerie could not bring herself to see her off, so she stayed indoors.

She watched through the window to see when Elora would walk past; thank goodness her window leads to the main gate.

Valerie thought about the last two days they had spent together; they were almost inseparable.

They had spent time visiting places they had always enjoyed going in the Moonlight Pack and making snacks they enjoyed together.

They even sat under the oak tree where they sit every full moon to reminisce about memories they had once shared.

The thought of Elora leaving weighed heavily on Valerie, and even though Elora had assured her she would return as soon as possible to see her, Valerie could not help but feel sad.

What would her life without Elora be like?

Valerie kept staring at the window and wondering if Elora had changed her mind about leaving; it was past noon and there wasn't any sign.

She heard a knock on the door which made her turn. "Yes? Who is that?"

"It's Elora. Can I come in?"

Is Elora not going anymore? Valerie wondered.

Valerie went to the door to open it. Elora waved slightly. "Thought I should come say one last goodbye," she mumbled.

Valerie knew she was supposed to see Elora for the last time no matter how sad she was about her leaving.

"I am sorry," she mumbled. "I should have come to..."

Elora pulled her into a hug. This wasn't the time for any of them to feel angry or apologetic, but a time to hug themselves and make use of the little time they had together.

"I will always call you," Valerie said, pulling away from the hug.

"I will drop you texts, send you pictures and videos," Elora said with a smile. "But promise me you will be happy. You will try to be happy."

Valerie nodded. Although she wasn't sure if she would be happy after Elora leaves, she still promised her.

"I will be happy," she said.

"I am leaving," Elora said, staring at the wall clock. "My parents are here to pick me up already. Would you like to come say hello to them? Everyone is waiting in the hall."

Valerie nodded. "I will come with you."

Valerie followed Elora out of her room. They walked down the hallway in silence. A few maids stopped to offer their greetings and bid farewell to Elora. A lot of them were sad, telling Elora to visit as soon as she could.

Valerie wasn't the only one who would miss Elora; Valerie knew that. Elora had been such a nice person to everyone.

"I am going to miss her," a maid said.

"I wonder how her best friend would cope," another maid said. "Do you think she would go back into her shell?"

"Was she once quiet?" The first maid asked. "Did something happen before?"

"Shhh..." The second maid placed her hand over her lips. "Lower your voice. She is still close by."

Valerie heard them clearly, but she chose to ignore them.

"I guess you are new here," the second maid continued. "It's a story for another day."

Valerie took a deep breath. What if she ends up withdrawing again?

They got to the conference hall where the Alpha, the Beta, and Elora's new parents were seated. There was also another lady; Valerie suspected her to be the Beta's real daughter.

Elora held Valerie's hand and led her to her new parents.

"Mom, Dad, this is Valerie, my best friend."

Valerie stared at them; she could feel a sense of familiarity, but she couldn't say where or how they had met before.

"It's nice to meet you, Val," Elora's mother greeted.

"It's nice to meet you too, ma'am," Valerie answered.

She exchanged a short greeting with Elora's new father before going to sit beside her father; Elora sat beside her new parents too.

"Val, this is Luella, Nathan's daughter," Valerie's father, the Alpha of the Moonlight Pack introduced.

Valerie nodded but said nothing. She had nothing to say and had no plans to make friends with her until she was sure she was anything close to Elora in good character.

Luella stood up and walked up to Valerie. She stretched her hand to her for a shake. "Nice to meet you, Valerie."

Valerie nodded slightly. "Nice to meet you too Lucy..."

"It's Luella," Luella corrected.

"Oh, I am so sorry, Luella. I will try to remember your name next time."

Luella shook her hand slightly, reminding Valerie that her hand was still hanging.

Valerie smiled. "I am so sorry, Lucy... I mean Luella. I do not shake hands."

Luella frowned. Valerie was being rude to her and nobody said anything about it.

Just because she is the Alpha's daughter?

She faked a smile to conceal her anger. "I get that, Val. I will remember that next time."

Luella stomped her foot on the floor slightly before returning to her seat while murmuring some words.

"I guess we can start going now?" George, the Alpha of the Ice Pack and Elora's real father spoke up. "We still have a long way to go."

Luella stood up and walked closer to him. "I am going to miss you, Father."

George nodded but said nothing. Luella moved closer to Mira, Elora's mother, but she looked away, speaking to Elora instead.

Valerie began to wonder what had happened between Luella and her adopted mother but she decided not to think about it.

"Come, Val," Elora gestured to her.

She moved closer to Elora, and they left the hall together while others followed behind them.

They did not walk for too long before they got to the place where Elora's parents' car was parked. Elora exchanged one last greeting with Valerie before leaving with her parents.

"Don't forget to call me when you get there!" Valerie yelled after Elora.

"I promise I will," Elora yelled back.

Valerie stayed until she could no longer see the car before heading back to her room saying nothing to anyone. Luella followed her, trying to get to know her.

"I am so sorry, Luella," Valerie said to her. "My best friend just left and I feel sad about it. I can't speak to you today. I will come find you when I feel better."

Valerie entered her room, leaving Luella outside.

Luella frowned. Who does Valerie think she is?

She had no plans to make friends with her in the first place, if her new father had not insisted on getting close to her.

Luella returned to her room too, but promised herself not to get close to Valerie again.

Valerie closed the door she had opened slightly a while ago, to peep at Luella. She had felt bad about the way she treated Luella and had wanted to invite her in, but when she heard her murmuring to herself about not wanting to be friends with her, she decided to stay back.

She lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling. She began to think of how life at the Moonlight Pack would be without Elora.