Layla was floored. Her mind was racing. She tried to check in with her inner wolf but was lost. There was nothing but silence, confusion, and emotional pain. Time felt as if it was slowing down and then would ricochet back to the correct time. This was not her mate. Anthony smiled at Layla as he grabbed her hand and pulled her towards him. Her father's pack had crowded into the small hall and were celebrating behind her. The noise of the cheering was deafening. How could anyone believe this? This was not her mate.Anthony pulled her in for a tight hug and swayed back and forth. "Oh my daughter, I am so happy for you. I never thought the day would come. It has been so long since you became of age." He cried in her ear."I'm only 19," Layla responded, annoyed. "Father, please listen to me, this man is not-""Oh Layla, do not be frightened. There is nothing more beautiful than finding your mate," Anthony interjected. Layla broke from his embrace. "I am not afraid," she said sternl
The cousins sat beneath the tree till the sun began to set. Both weighing out the situation. Layla wasn't welcome in Solomon's pack and would not be welcomed home if she left. She had nowhere to go. As much as she longed to see Solomon again, she was extremely hesitant to do so. Maybe Alistar wasn't too bad. She watched her father live without his mate, her mother, since she was four year old. He seemed happy enough. He never complained. Maybe she too could do the same but with Alistar instead of alone. The thought felt wrong, though. In a weird nonsensical way it felt like she was cheating on Solomon but she wasn't. He hasn't rejected her but he also didn't pick her. Not that she would have let him. It was too convoluted. All she wanted was to talk to Solomon but the clock was ticking. The ceremony was to take place that night. "I heard somewhere that mates can communicate telepathically," Tabitha said as she lounged in the grass. Layla rolled her eyes, "that's ridiculous."
Solomon shifted into his wolf form. He stood at the edge of the woods. Layla desperately wanted to shift and run off with him. But she stood with her feet firmly planted on the grass. She watched him slowly make his way into the woods. She stood there till she could no longer hear the snapping of twigs under his feet. She sadly turned towards the hall and made her way back into the crowd. She had never seen her pack get this belligerent as they currently were. There was a small group of men wrestling in the corner and another circling around a musician loudly singing off key drinking songs. She wasn't even aware that there was a musician in the pack. Tabitha was located by her father next to the fire, dancing with a tall man with short ashy blonde hair. She knew right away he was a Beta but had no idea who he belonged to. He spun Tabitha in a circle and relieved an insignia embroidered on the front of his tunic, a thunderbolt encased in a new moon, essentially a thunderbolt in a circ
Layla walked up the stairs and down a familiar dimly lit corridor. She was ready for the day to be over. It had been, without a single doubt, the longest day of her life. She was exhausted and ready for sleep. She opened the door to her bedroom. Her window was open and the cool breeze filled her room. Her bed was directly across from her door inviting her in. Her room wasn't spectacular, there weren't any tapestries or paintings. There was a well worn rug in the middle of the room at the foot of her bed. A small desk by the window. A large wardrobe in the corner. She sighed as she walked into the room. She lightly kicked the door to close it as she walked towards the window to close it but the door didn't close. She heard a thud of the door catching someone's arm and she jumped. Javier was standing behind her in the doorway. "What the hell," she exclaimed angrily. "What are you doing here?" "My Luna," he began as he bowed his head. She immediately wanted to vomit and it was writ
The morning sun poured into the bedroom window and harshly hit Layla's sleeping face. She groaned and rolled over to get out of the light. She had forgotten that Alistar was in her bed. She wanted to scream. She wanted to believe that it all was a horrible dream. She would awake the day prior, without any mate, without any drama, without any heartache, and without any bother. But especially without the asshole who was snoring loudly beside her.She groaned again, and buried her head under her pillow. She had no concrete plans for the day but she was already dreading them. She knew that she would have to familiarize herself with the Thundermoon pack. She would have to spend more time with Calista which she really did not want to do. She would have to start to learn about their customs and rituals. There was a lot to do in order to make this transition easy. Would their packs merge now because they were just mated, or would they merge after the death of her father? These were question
The morning sun poured into the bedroom window and harshly hit Layla's sleeping face. She groaned and rolled over to get out of the light. She had forgotten that Alistar was in her bed. She wanted to scream. She wanted to believe that it all was a horrible dream. She would awake the day prior, without any mate, without any drama, without any heartache, and without any bother. But especially without the asshole who was snoring loudly beside her.She groaned again, and buried her head under her pillow. She had no concrete plans for the day but she was already dreading them. She knew that she would have to familiarize herself with the Thundermoon pack. She would have to spend more time with Calista which she really did not want to do. She would have to start to learn about their customs and rituals. There was a lot to do in order to make this transition easy. Would their packs merge now because they were just mated, or would they merge after the death of her father? These were question
Cassias Littlefyre was the apple of his mother's eye. Many would say that he had the wit and intelligence of his mother and the looks and fearlessness of his father. As a baby, he walked before the other children. He would climb on top of everything. He frequently gave Layla small explosive attacks of anxiety. She often worried that he didn't feel pain because he never seemed to feel it. The healers would reassure her that he did…but she would always be skeptical on that front. Cassias was a happy baby who grew into a happy silly little boy. Alistar wouldn't really know. He spent most of his time elsewhere. There were nine months he was gone without a word. He didn't even bring Javier with him. Vanished. Layla suspected that there was a baby involved but he would never come out and say. That was four years ago. They left her childhood home and her father's pack shortly after Cassias' birth. She desperately begged Tabitha to join her but Alistar would not let anyone from her old pac
They arrived at Layla's father's house three days later by horse. The journey was long and tedious. It was difficult to keep a six year old entertained. Alistar was in a terrible mood the entire trip. Layla's attention jumped between them. It was draining. Everything remained exactly how she left it. It was exactly what she needed. It was as she was transported into the past. Her room was exactly the same as she left it. There was a stability that she had longed for right at her finger tips. She never wanted to leave. She had immediate access to teachers for her son and healers. The weather was calm with a slight nip in the air. No early winters. No windy nights. No drafty rooms. She wouldn't have to fight Alistar about lighting the fire, it wasn't his fireplace or wood. She had always assumed that her father's pack was lower on the hierarchy of the regional packs. They weren't as flashy, their numbers weren't as large, and sometimes food was hard to come by. Especially after the w