Waindale

“I never thought this day would end,” Vivianne groans.

I glance at her as we walk down the hallway—her, Imogen, and I all heading toward the main doors of the academy. “I got so used to doing nothing over winter break that even putting on my uniform took it out of me,” Imogen says. “So how about we go to the diner and celebrate our first day back? I’m thinking burgers, fries, milkshakes—”

“Sorry, I can’t,” I say. “Adam is waiting for me.”

“Out front? Right now?” Vivianne asks.

“Yeah. He should be out there.”

She frowns. “What about girl time? You pretty much disappeared the entire break and came back suddenly one of us, now—”

“I already explained all of that.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Imogen waves me off, “the moon goddess changed you, we know.”

“How can you say it so casually?” Vivianne questions her.

She shrugs. “I just believe it. I mean, why would the moon goddess mate a human to an Alpha if she wasn’t planning on changing her eventually? That’d just be cruel.”

“That’s funny because I remember you guys trying to convince me that my humanness was just fine.”

“What were we supposed to say? You’re being human didn’t make any sense at all,” Imogen says and skips to the doors. She peers out the windows at the top, standing on her tippy-toes, then says, “Yup. He’s there.”

Vivianne sighs. “I just can’t believe she came to you. I can’t believe you looked her in the face. I can’t believe you’re one of us.”

“I don’t blame you. It was all very sudden.”

“Do you think you’ll ever tell your mom and grandma?” She asks.

My shoulders drop. “I don’t know,” I admit. “Maybe someday, just not now.”

Imogen suggests, “Tell her when the time feels right, but if it never does, it never does. Just don’t surprise attack her with it like Viv did to you.”

“It didn’t surprise attack her.”

“You shifted at me and I screamed,” I recall. “I felt pretty surprised and very attacked.”

She shoves me a little and I look out the window as well, seeing his truck. “Well, you best not keep the Alpha waiting.”

“Are we still meeting with Eli and Iris this weekend?”

“I’m pretty sure,” she says.

“You know what, I don’t mind the girl,” Imogen announces. “She seems to be doing pretty well here for a rogue turned pack member. She’s in my science class and she always shares her snacks.”

“I’m sure she’s nice,” I agree.

Vivianne tells us, “Elara seems to be doing okay too. I talked to her last night and she sounded excited about school. She said that there’s a guy she’s talking to and they have a class together.”

I smile. “That’s good to hear.”

Together we push through the doors and make our way down the front steps. “Alright,” Vivianne says, “we’ll catch ya later. Have fun with your Luna business.”

“Oh, you know, just a bit of self-defense today. I’m still getting used to the technicalities of fighting-off possible threats as a giant wolf. I may be his mate, but Adam is very serious about me learning to protect myself.”

“He should be. Now that it’s official—you’re the pack’s Luna—people may come after you. You can’t trust strangers. Anyone could have anterior motives.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I say. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

We cast each other off with final waves before I swing open the passenger door and see Adam’s pretty face. I climb into my seat and turn to him.

“Ready to go?” He asks.

“Only if you promise to be nicer this time.”

He shakes his head. “If someone is trying to hurt you, they won’t be nice about it.”

“Fine, but I want to play that game afterward where you chase me. You may be stronger, but, I don’t know, Adam, I think I’m faster than you.”

“We’ll just have to see about that,” he says and pulls out of the academy lot. “But I was thinking that maybe your family could come for dinner one night. My mother still wants to meet them, you know.”

“I know. I’ll call or something. I’m sure my mom would be happy to meet your parents.”

We drive for a little while in silence before Adam says, “I’ve noticed that you’re sleeping more soundly. Have the nightmares—”

“They’re getting better. Not so frequent, so real.”

“Good,” he peers over. “That’s good.”

“They’ll stop eventually. One day, I won’t even think about him anymore. He’ll be nothing but a forgotten memory.”

Adam grabs my hand and I hold his with both of mine.

“He’ll be nothing,” I murmur.