So Long, Stranger
This marks the third year since Alan Cohen and I became mates, and today's finally the day of the Luna ceremony.
As the ceremony begins, Alan takes my hand. But then he hesitates, refusing to move forward.
I'm still trying to make sense of it when my adoptive sister, Eden Parker, suddenly breaks into the mind-link. She says she's just ended a failed mate bond with another Alpha and will be back within the hour.
That's when I see a flicker of a smile on Alan's face. Then, without a second glance, he lets go of my hand and walks away.
I turn to my adoptive brother, Dexter Parker, and my adoptive father, Hank Parker, hoping for some kind of comfort, only to realize they've already left the ceremony with Alan.
And just like that, I became the joke of the entire pack.
Eden sends me a photo. She's glowing beside Alan, her arm looped through Dexter's, with Hank beaming next to them.
That's when I give up.
I reach out through the mind-link to my birth father. "Dad, I'm ready to return to the Bloodmoon Pack."