Before I Rise

Em’s POV

“Hey, I have to go and call Alpha Alexis. I guess something happened and she needs to discuss it with me. Want to plan on doing something together tomorrow?” Marcus asked me.

We had just gotten back to the pack house from Silverwood. My feet and lips were sore and needed some rest from the long day we had. Marcus had Jacoby drive us home, while him and I sat in the back and made out the whole ride. It was AMAZING. I could kiss him all day every day. Whenever our lips touched, it was like fireworks exploded in my head.

“Yeah! I think I am just going to head up and get ready for bed. I’m beat.”

He gave me a hug and kissed my forehead before walking away with Jacoby. Must be somewhat important if he is having his Beta accompany him for a phone call. Which reminds me, I really need to have a discussion with him some time on what my exact role will be here. I had no idea what a Luna even does.

“Um did I just hear you correctly? You’re just going to go to bed, without telling your best friends the juicy details?” Alicia had her arms crossed and a scowl on her face. I knew this was coming, but I was really hoping that she would wait till tomorrow after I had a good night’s sleep.

“Geeze Alicia, give a girl a second to breathe.” Jules rolled her eyes at Alicia. Thank the Goddess for Julie.

“Oh come on Jules, like you aren’t secretly dying to know what happened. Especially when they were in the backseat. I think I heard a moan or two. Though, I can’t figure out if it was you or my cousin.” My cheeks flared up with her comment. I won’t deny it though, we did get kind of hot and heavy in the back seat.

“That is totally staying between me and Marcus. Though I will say, I have no regrets.”

“You go girl! But, I still want details. Who made the first move? Did he seem nervous? Have you guys talked about making babies yet?” Alicia’s eyes lit up in excitement. Marcus wasn’t kidding when he told me his cousin was pervy.

“Well, sorry to leave you to fend for yourself Em, but I am exhausted. I’m going to bed, maybe you two should as well.” Jules made a point to stare down Alicia as she walked past her to go up the stairs.

“Ok mom.” Alicia turned back to look at me. “Are you really going to go to bed? Can’t we hang out just a little bit longer? We can watch a movie, we don’t really need to talk if you don’t want to.”

I’ve realized recently that Alicia doesn’t really like being alone. I’ve been wanting to ask about it, but I just never felt comfortable doing so. I just figured it had something to do with her still not having a mate and I know that was definitely a sensitive subject for her.

I sighed in defeat. “Ok fine, but I get to pick the movie this time and you have to bring all the snacks and drinks upstairs to my room.”

“Deal!” She said as she ran to the kitchen.

I ran up to my room, ready to get these dang shoes off my feet and into some sweatpants. I quickly washed my face after changing into more comfy clothes and settled into bed.

“So what are we watching?” She asked me as she walked into my room.

“Let’s watch Mean Girls”

“Ohhh a classic. Good choice bestie!”

We started the movie and opened up a bag of chips. I could tell by the way Alicia kept glancing at me that it was really killing her to not ask me for the “juicy details.” I was going to wait and see how long she would last.

Halfway through the movie, she finally caved. “Are you really not going to give me any details, like not even a teeny tiny detail?”

“Ugh fine, ask away.” I paused the movie, not sure how long she would pester me with questions.

“So, who kissed who first?”

“Who do you think?” I asked her, curious as to what she would say.

Alicia took a second to answer. “Mmmmm, you, definitely you.”

I shook my head, “Nope, it was your cousin.” I started laughing at Alicia’s shocked expression.

“Holy shit! Marcus kissed you? Marcus? As in my cousin Marcus? The one who wouldn’t even be alone with you for more than 2 minutes? I’m shook, but in like a good way. Go cousin!” We both were laughing, to the point we had tears running down our faces.

“Yeah, it honestly surprised me too. I had no idea it was coming. I thought I would have to make the first move, though I’m glad he did. I feel like we took a huge step forward in our relationship tonight.”

“Awww I am so happy for you, that’s exactly what you should be feeling. So, do you think he’s going to sneak in here later for a midnight snack?” She wiggled her eyebrows at me with a smirk plastered on her face.

“O.M.G ALICIA!!!”

She threw her hands up in front of her in a defensive position. “Well excuse me for assuming that since you guys were eating each other’s face in the back of the van, that my cousin might just end up in here later to finish the job.”

“No, he is definitely not going to. And, I am so not ready for that.”

“Suuuuure, whatever you say Em. Where did he rush off to anyway?” She asked me. I breathed a sigh of relief that she was finally changing the subject.

“He said that Alpha Alexis needed to speak with him right away, I’m not sure exactly about what.”

“Oh, hopefully it’s not anything bad.” She said.

A thought popped in my head. Alpha Alexis is a girl and Marcus has talked about her a little bit with me. Apparently to him, she was his best friend.

“Umm…. How… how close are Marcus and Alexis?” I asked her.

“Do I detect a hint of jealousy in my best friend?”

I rolled my eyes at her. “No, I am just curious. Like, he talks about her to me, I am just wondering how close they are.”

Alexis snorted. “I can tell you right off the bat, you have nothing to worry about Em. Alpha Alexis and Marcus are best friends and her pack is our sister pack. Meaning, we have the strongest alliance you can have with a pack and we share resources. We also share information with each other.”

That made sense, but I still wasn’t convinced that I had nothing to worry about. I just didn’t know how to bring it up to Alicia without letting her know she was right. Maybe I was a little jealous.

“Oh ok. That’s cool.”

Alicia rolled her eyes and shook her head at me. “Trust me Em, you literally have nothing to worry about. If Marcus was to hang out with a girl, you definitely would want it to be with Alpha Alexis.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” I ask her, completely lost at this point in time.

“Ugh. What I mean is Alpha Alexis likes girls. So again, you don’t need to worry.”

“Oh, hahaha, that does make me feel better.”

“See I told you you were jealous.” She said with a proud smirk on her face.

“Fine you were right. Happy?”

“Very.” We both chuckled at each other.

“So, is it common for females to be Alphas?” I asked her.

She shook her head. “No, not exactly. There have been females that will be born into an alpha role, but when they find their mates they step into the Luna position and give the Alpha title to their mates. Alpha Alexis is the first female to hold the Alpha position for more than 2 years and she has no plans on giving it up. She’s honestly done a great job of leading her pack. Though, she didn’t have much of a choice after her entire family was wiped out by a group of rogues a few years ago.”

“Wow that’s amazing and really sad all at the same time.”

Alicia let out a small sad chuckle and pushed a piece of her red hair behind her ear. “Yea it is. But like I said, she has done really well. Marcus and her trained together at Alpha school before her family died. He said she was the only one that could actually knock him on his ass.”

“Wow, that’s pretty impressive. So, what happens if she finds her mate? Will she even be mated to a female or will the Moon Goddess pair her up with a male?” I ask her.

“Well first, the Moon Goddess takes our sexual preferences into consideration when pairing us. But, who knows with Alpha Alexis since she is in a leadership role. However, we may never find out. You think Marcus was bad, Alpha Alexis is ten times worse with the whole mate thing. She absolutely does NOT want a mate. I feel bad for the poor soul that is matched up with her.”

So did I. It was rough with Marcus, but if what Alicia says is true, I couldn’t imagine how much work Alpha Alexis mate would have to do to convince her to accept the mate bond.

“Yeah that sounds rough. Have you ever met her?”

“No. She visits the pack occasionally and Marcus will visit her pack, but every time she comes we always miss each other. I’m either out of town or busy with pack stuff. I do want to meet her one day, I think it would be cool to meet such an inspirational figure in our community. Hopefully one day.” She said with a yawn at the end, which naturally caused me to yawn.

“Do you just want to stay with me tonight?” I ask her.

“Duh I was already planning on it. How else am I going to catch my cousin sneaking in here. Look, I already have my camera app on my phone open so I can catch his reaction when he realizes I’m in here.”

“OMG ALICIA! HE IS SO NOT SNEAKING IN HERE!!”

“Guess we’ll find out, won’t we?” We both looked at each other and busted out laughing. I wouldn’t change Alicia in a heartbeat.