The Unwanted Wolf

ADIRA

The first dress Rie had me try on was a large, pink, puffy dress. It seemed like something a fairytale princess would wear, but it felt like it was absolutely too much for a luna ceremony. I walked out of the dressing room and into the room full of people waiting for me. Eyes went wide, and I heard some instant snickers echoing through the room.

I shot my eyes at Rie, and she stopped laughing and put her hands in the air, trying to act innocent.

“I just thought you would look good in pink.” The smile that formed on her face immediately after told me it was a complete lie.

I stomped back into the dressing room, hearing Scythe shout after me, “You did look cute!”

Rie rushed over to help me change outfits. She helped me get out of the dress, giggling the entire time.

“You’re cruel,” I muttered. I grabbed the next dress and looked at it carefully to make sure it was a real option.

“It’s payback for trying to run off with Mark right before trying on your dresses.” Rie hung up the pink dress as she spoke to me.

“That just happened!”

“I know the two of you too well. Besides, I probably would have done the same thing with Mason.”

Rie paused, and when I looked at her, her face was glowing as she thought about her mate. It made it hard to stay mad at her.

“Who would have my Rie would be head over heels for my childhood best friend?”

She looked up at me, a smile still covering her face. “I know. I never understood the appeal to finding your mate, so I was never that concerned that I hadn’t found my own. I always thought you and Mark were a little sickening, too. I didn’t understand it. I don’t think I could understand it before. But now? Now I get it. I miss him, even now.”

Rie buried her face in her hands.

I put my hand on her shoulder. “There’s nothing wrong with that. You can miss your mate and want to be with them while understanding you each have your own things to do.”

Rie looked up. “How did you manage to spend so much time away from Mark when you were locked up?”

My face fell at the question. “There were some moments it hurt so much that I couldn’t breathe, but I had to keep fighting. I couldn’t give up, knowing he was out there searching for me.”

“How did you know we were searching?”

A small laugh escaped my lips. “Because I know Mark and I know you guys. I knew you wouldn’t give up until you found me.”

Rie nodded. “Okay, let’s finish trying on these dresses and lighten the mood. Everyone is waiting for you.”

I continued trying on dress after dress, until I had tried on over ten of them. They were all beautiful. I would wear them on any other fancy occasion, but they didn’t feel right for a luna ceremony. I wanted something special. It shouldn’t feel like a prom dress.

I was feeling tired from trying on so many dresses, so I sat down in front of everyone, still in the last dress I had tried on. It was a red, short dress that felt like a clubbing dress more than anything.

“How many more dresses are there?”

“Just one more. I saved the best for last!” Rie seemed proud of that statement, but I just narrowed my eyes at her.

“Why would you save it for last? We could be done already?”

Eva jumped up and jumped into my lap. “But Adira, it was fun seeing you in all of these pretty dresses.”

Scythe leaned forward. “We thought you could use some time where you could just have fun and not worry about everything else.”

“And we thought everyone else would enjoy seeing our future luna playing dress up,” Rie added.

Eva looked up at me. “I wish you were my future luna. I hate that Pack Sallow doesn’t have a luna.”

I tucked a piece of hair behind the girl’s ear. There was definitely something different about having a luna in a wolf pack. She usually had a more caring touch than the alpha, so she was able to add to the pack in a way that the alpha struggled with. It didn’t always work out that way, though. My own mother was very business-like as the luna. She made sure the pack was well taken care of, but she had never been a source of emotional support.

“Whether or not you are part of the pack, you can always come to me.” I gave Eva a hug, and I felt tears welling up in my eyes. I had felt so much more emotional with this pregnancy, and I hated it. It made me feel like a mess.

Eva reached up and brushed the tears out of my eyes. “Don’t cry, Adira. You’re supposed to be happy right now.”

I smiled at her. “I am happy. I’m so happy that you look up to me like that. Sometimes I worry I’m not going to be a good enough luna of this pack.”

Suddenly, the rest of the people surrounded me, wrapping me in a group hug.

“Adira, you’re going to be great.”

“You’ve already worked so hard for us. You should have been made our luna so much sooner than this.”

“You’re the best.”

As all of the words of encouragement flowed around me, tears welled up in my eyes, and I couldn’t hold them back. I was relieved and touched that so many people cared this deeply about me and were excited about me becoming the luna.

Are you okay? I can feel your emotions, Mark linked.

It’s good emotions. Don’t worry.

I always worry about you.

I smiled, knowing it was true. Mark cared about me more than I thought anyone else would, and I knew all of this kidnapping business got to him just as much as it did to me.

We should be done with the dresses soon. Can’t wait to see you.

I’m counting the seconds.

“Okay, okay, that’s enough emotions. Future Luna Adira needs to try on the last dress.” Rie started shooing people away from the group hug. She grabbed my wrist and pulled me into the dressing room for the last dress.

I grabbed a tissue and dabbed the tears off my face. “Sorry about that.”

“Why are you saying sorry? There’s nothing wrong with crying, especially when you’re prego.” Rie gave me a wink as she pulled out the final dress.

It was a long, gold dress that was covered with beads at the bottom. The top of the dress was made with sheer fabric on the arms and the upper part of the dress, and it sparkled in the light. The bottom was long and flowy, layered with a gold fabric and then the sheer fabric on top of it. It made me think of royalty with the colors and complexity of the dress, and I knew it was perfect for it.

Rie helped me into the dress, and it fit my body perfectly as well. It emphasized my curves in the perfect places, and I felt like I was glowing. I could only imagine how perfect it all would be once it was all put together with makeup and a hairdo.

I looked at Rie with sparkles in my eyes. “This is it. This is perfect.”

Rie blew on her fingers with a smug look. “I knew it. I’m pretty great at picking out clothes for people. Ready to show everyone?”

I nodded, and she walked out first to announce me.

“Are you ready to see the future Luna Adira look stunning in her dress?”

People cheered, and then Rie motioned for me to come out. I picked up the front of the dress and walked out. Oo’s and ah’s filled the room as everyone took in the beauty of the dress. For a moment, everyone was stunned into silence.

“Alpha is not going to be able to keep his hands off you,” Scythe said, knowing.

“He already can’t,” Percy said.

Rie, Scythe, and I looked at him with wide eyes, surprised by his unusual comment.

Percy started blushing. “What? I’ve seen them making out in the common rooms all of the time.”

It was my turn to blush. Ever since I had returned to the pack house, it was difficult to keep the PDA to a minimum, and I knew it was an issue. I just hadn’t realized how many people had seen it.

“There are children here,” Rie said, her eyes still bugging out of her eyes.

“It’s fine. I’ve seen people makeout before,” Eva said. “It’s gross, but I’m used to it. I’ve seen Cindy do it plenty.”

I raised an eye at Cindy, who was hitting Eva with a pillow.

“Is there a boyfriend I don’t know about?” I asked.

“No,” Cindy said.

“Yes,” Eva instantly countered. “He’s cute, too.”

Cindy hit Eva with a pillow again, making me laugh.

“Okay, okay, that’s enough,” Rie said, stepping in and grabbing the pillow from Eva. “We can discuss this boyfriend later. For now, let’s talk about the after party!”

I sat down and watched as the chatter erupted around the room. Talk about the food we were going to eat, and the songs we were going to dance to echoed around the room. I had never been to a luna ceremony before, so I only knew what my mother had told me about growing up. She never mentioned an after party, so I wasn’t sure if that was a custom, or a Rie and Scythe touch to it. They definitely loved throwing parties when given a chance.

A throat cleared behind me, and my b***d instantly turned cold. I slowly looked over my shoulder, knowing exactly who was there.

Luna Freya stood at the door of our get-together. She stood tall, and her eyes looked down on all of us, giggling and having a good time. Her gaze finally landed on mine, and I could feel the familiar look of disapproval tearing down my very soul.

“This feels like some sort of frat party. I thought I taught you to act more respectable than this.” Her voice cut through the room, silencing all of the conversations going on.

I stood up, feeling defensive. It was one thing for her to disrespect me, but she didn’t have the right to disrespect my pack.

“Your judgments are not welcome here. I suggest you change your tone right now.” I stood firm, but inside, my b***d was shaking with fear. I couldn’t afford to let her see that, though.

She rolled her eyes. “I forgot how disrespectful you were to your own mother.”

“I must have learned that from you. Now you will respect me in my own pack house, or you will be asked to leave.” My mother was taller than me, but I refused to back down.

She took a step back, a little unsure of how to act in response to my confidence. “I was told I would be allowed to see Cain today.”

“Yes, that is the case. Please wait outside and Alpha Mark and I will find you when we are ready.” I looked her straight in the eyes to show I was being serious.

“Fine,” she huffed before storming out of the room. My mother was never the nicest person, but I couldn’t remember her ever being so disagreeable when I was younger. I couldn’t tell if she had just gotten more bitter over the years, or if I hadn’t noticed because I was just trying to live up to her expectations as a child.

Rie grabbed my arm, and that’s when I realized I was physically shaking now that she was gone.

“Are you okay?”

I nodded and turned to everyone else. “My apologies for that intrusion. Please go back to talking. Unfortunately, that means it’s time for me to leave.”

I quickly linked Mark to update him on what had just happened, and he was already making his way down to me. Rie helped me get out of the dress and into my regular clothes again. Just as we finished, Mark found us.

He moved over to me and enveloped me in a hug. “Are you okay?

“Better now that you’re here.” I grabbed his hand and forced a smile. “Let’s get this over with.”