The Last Luna

River"Push! Just a few more pushes, and he'll be here!"The sound of his mother's voice coming from inside of the delivery room of the Howling Moon Pack Healing Center helped to calm Alpha River Granite as he waited with his Beta, Allen Stead, who was pacing back and forth along the small hallway outside of the door."You can go in, you know," River reminded his friend. "Samantha's your wife. There's nothing in there you haven't seen before.""Ha!" Allen said, stopping a few feet away with his hands on his hips. "There's plenty in there I haven't seen before. Besides, your mom is doing a great job of keeping Sam calm. If I go in there, I'll just mess it up.""Allen, she's your wife. She's giving birth to your son." River stood and took the few steps over to his friend. "Get in there!" He opened the door and pushed Allen in at the same time, just as Sam let out a scream of pain.River stepped away from the door without glancing in, more than happy to let his mother, Patricia, acting L

Ellie"All right, Dad. Tell me about this tournament," Ellie said, walking into the office she shared with her father. He was sitting at his desk, a large piece of paper in front of him that had drawings all over it. She knew her father preferred to draw out his thoughts, rather than writing them, so she figured this must be his masterplan for the tournament.Michael's face lit up at her statement. "Really?" he asked. "You really want to hear about it?""Don't make me second guess myself, Dad," Ellie said, giving him a hardened look he always said reminded him of her mother, Lilly."No, no, of course not," he stammered as Ellie came over and stood next to him, leaning forward so she could see what he had finished. "It's really pretty simple. There will be three contests over a week. We'll have some nice dinners, maybe a dance or two--""Dad, I already said no ball," Ellie reminded him."Not a ball. Just a friendly get together. No Moon Goddess celebration or anything. You know, just s

RiverThe situation with Crying Wolf wasn't going as planned, and River wasn't sure what to do with it. As he sat at his desk, looking over reports from his Omega border patrol warriors, it became clear that he was going to have to show some force to get the mad men to the north to stop pushing into his territories. Brett had been keeping a careful eye on things, and while he was certainly adequate in that position, River was looking forward to getting his true Beta, Allen, back in a few weeks, when Sam and baby Simpson had settled into a routine.The door to his office opened, and his mother, Patricia, walked in, a big smile on her face and what appeared to be a large white envelope in her hands. "Hello, honey," she said in a sing-song voice that gave him pause. Something was up, and River wasn't sure he wanted to know what it was."Hi, Mom," he said as she sat down in one of the leather chairs across from him. "How are you?""I'm great," she said, that smile still beaming from her p

EllieThe tingling sensation in Ellie's stomach was growing by the moment as the day of the tournament loomed closer and closer. Trying to get work done at her desk was nearly impossible, especially the day before the Alphas were set to arrive. The distant sound of hammering had been a constant reminder that her father was constructing his masterpiece in the clearing. Even though it seemed as if there couldn't be one more thing to do, Michael kept finding new projects. She'd be looking forward to the tournament starting just so the hammering would stop.The stack of RSVPs stacked on the corner of her desk also drew her attention away from her work. Most of what she needed to get done that day she could do on autopilot. Approving expenditures, looking over the reports from the trainers, requests from the wolves assigned patrol to switch shifts or take a certain time off. She didn't do anything with most of these things, letting her subordinates handle it for the majority. But she still

EllieFeeling like a prisoner in her own home was trying, but as Ellie looked around her living room and saw only the faces of strangers, mostly the visiting Alphas, their Betas, and other packmates, she couldn't help but feel slightly suffocated. Her father was in the kitchen now, fixing drinks and getting to know the guests. Shelby and Carl were there… somewhere… as were her "little brothers." She could hear Cane's voice, but she couldn't see him. Even Beta Andrew was around, but these Alphas wanted so much of her time, she couldn't see past their broad shoulders and neatly coiffed hair."How old are you, Luna Ellie?" one of the most recently arrived Alphas asked. Ulysses Glenn of the Soaring Wolf Pack was probably the friendliest of all of them, but when she looked into his brown eyes, she felt like she was looking at a friend, not a potential love interest. He was strikingly handsome with dark hair and a cleft chin. All five of the Alphas that had already arrived were great to look