by Sara Snow
He leaned forward, placing his large hands on his desk, then shook his head. “What were you thinking, Elinor? How many times do I have to tell you to stop interfering with Guard business? I’m getting really tired of this.”
"It would have been Guard business . . . if any of them had actually been there to begin with, Father." I sat down and angled my head towards my mother, who was looking out the window on the other side of the room. "Sorry I was late with dinner, Mother."
She smiled, her chin dimple becoming more pronounced. “It’s okay, honey.”
My father threw her a dark look, and she arched a brow. “What? Come now, Grayson, we’ve been over this how many times? I’m tired of arguing.”
“And I’m tired of her not doing as I asked,” he replied before looking my way, his green eyes narrowing angrily. “You have an image to uphold, Elinor. You’re to be a Luna.”
And there it was. I had hoped he wouldn’t say it . . . but he had.
“Oh, right, my image. I'm sorry, I’m not a dress-wearing, tea-drinking, do-everything-perfectly kind of girl. And if I become a Luna, I won't become that person, either. You might not want to accept who I am, Father, but with all due respect, that is not really my problem.”
He stood up, his eyes growing even darker with anger. I knew I had gone too far, but I wasn’t going to back down. Still, it didn’t hurt to decrease the tension a bit, considering what I was about to ask him.
“I tried not to intervene,” I added softly. “But I knew the vendor, and nobody else was doing anything. I helped someone, Father. Why are you trying to make me feel bad about it?”
He exhaled, and some of the tension in his eyes faded. While I inherited his green eyes, I had my mother’s black wavy hair and creamy skin. My father, on the other hand, had dark brown hair and a natural tan.
“I’m not trying to make you feel bad, Elinor. What you did was a good thing. It’s the werewolf way to help others. But you know it’s not proper for a lady to straddle men while wearing a dress.”
“I’d be wearing pants if I was in the Werewolf Guard,” I mumbled.
He threw his hands into the air and turned away. "I knew that was coming." He looked at my mother. "Speak to your daughter, Clarice."
“That’s enough, Elinor,” she chastised as she stepped forward, running her hand down her deep blue dress.
“So, I guess now is a bad time to ask again if I can join the Werewolf Guard, right?”
My father spun around to stare at me, as if wondering where I got the gall to truly ask that. “For the last time, Elinor, you . . .”
“That’s enough arguing, both of you.” My mother held her hands up and closed her eyes, her annoyance clear. “Elinor, if you join the Guard, you will not be able to carry out your duties as Luna. Do you understand? If you don’t stop getting into trouble, we’re prepared to have you stay with Ivana for a few months.”
My heart stopped. “You want to send me to Grandma? Are you kidding?”
She shrugged. “Since you refuse to listen to me or your father, I’m sure a few weeks with her will—”
“Kill me. A few weeks with her would kill me.” My father’s mother was the stern, no-nonsense type, and while I loved her and my grandfather, she was way too much to handle.
“She’ll groom you into the perfect Luna,” my mother added as I looked at her with betrayal in my eyes. She smiled, as if her comment was funny.
“You’re worse than he is,” I told her. I started to leave but paused before I made it to the door. “You know I’m capable of being Alpha. And no, I’m not going to argue for the position, but you know I’d do well as a Guard. I’m capable of being so much more than just a Luna.”
“Elinor, being a Luna is an important role,” my mother said, and I could hear the hurt in her voice. “We offer help where needed. We stand by our Alpha. We help to build our family, our pack.”
While my father and I had always had a strained relationship, I was close with my mother, and the last thing I wanted was to hurt her. But still, I wouldn’t be swayed. I wasn’t going to come out and say that Lunas were useless—although I sometimes secretly thought it—but I needed them to know it was just not what I wanted.
“I know, Mother. But it’s not for me.” I turned to my father. “I want to be out there, fighting. I just wish you both could support me, instead of trying to make me into what you want.”
“You’re my daughter, my firstborn, you carry my name, and you’ll do as I say. I won’t let you ruin your life. And I won’t let you put yourself in harm’s way, either. That’s final.”
We stared at each other for a moment, my green eyes piercing his. Cyrus was right. My father was a stubborn man, and I suppose I owe my own stubbornness to him.
I straightened my spine and placed my right hand over my heart. My father’s face morphed with confusion. “You’re not just my father, but also my Alpha. And that’s more important.” I bent forward. “Goodnight.”
“Elinor, please,” my mother pleaded as she stepped forward.
“Goodnight,” my father replied, his voice low. But I heard it—the nerve I struck. "We'll be visiting a neighboring pack tomorrow. You'll meet with the Alpha's firstborn to see if you're mates."
I turned and left without saying another word, my fists clenched as I fought back the tears.
2
Elinor
I could see the bonfire blazing within the forest, and the closer I got to it, the more I yearned for a drink. Werewolves didn't get drunk easily using alcohol, but the local witches had created a potion, a drink that could induce the same intoxication experienced by humans.
I needed that right now.
“I thought you weren’t coming,” Skye exclaimed as she bounced over to me, a cup in hand. I could tell she was already tipsy.
I swiped the cup from her and downed the contents. Squeezing my eyes, I endured the burn as the liquid slid down my throat.
“Wow, I’m guessing your chat with your father didn’t go well.” She took the empty cup back and sighed.
“It didn’t,” I grumbled, and we walked over to the table that was set up with food and drink. “I’m going to see another pack in the morning.”
Skye, who was in the process of filling her glass, froze. “No,” she drawled. “You’re going to meet a male Alpha-born?” I nodded, and she gave the cup to me before pouring just a little more. “Have a drink, honey.”
I gulped down the warm drink. The more I drank, the more it burned, but it also felt so good. My tense shoulders relaxed somewhat as I lowered the cup from my lips.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the Alpha-born,” a voice crooned from behind me.
I grinned as I spun around. Behind me stood a kitsune, a man capable of shifting into a fox. His clan was one of three that had moved to America from Japan.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the shortest man I’ve ever seen,” I teased. “Hello to you too, Zenko.”
He gasped and placed his hand over his heart. “You wound me,” his brown monolid eyes lowered, and he pinned me with a curious stare. “Aren’t you banned from drinking? Or partying? Or just . . . living in general? Haven’t you joined the Guards yet?”
My brows furrowed, and beside me, Skye sighed. "Shut up, Zenko, or she’s going . . .”
Her warning came too late. I kicked his leg out from under him and grabbed the cup in his hand as he fell. Behind him, his friends erupted into laughter while I put his cup to my lips and drained it.
I smirked as he carefully got up. “You were saying?” I gave his cup back to him.
He stared into it with an impressed smile. "Alright then, I see how it is.” He brushed his hand down his pants as Cyrus approached us.
"What are you guys doing?" he asked.
As he raised his cup to his lips, I snatched it and sauntered away, emptying it as well. Behind me, Skye and the kitsune cheered me on before erupting into laughter.
Finally, I felt truly relaxed as I threw t
he cup over my shoulder. I knew Zenko was only messing around. He was known for his good-natured teasing, but tonight, well, he’d struck a nerve.
I hated how much others knew about my suffocating life.
“Hey, wait up!” I paused and turned around to see Cyrus jogging towards me. “Wait up,” he repeated. The moment he reached me, I started walking again. “What’s with all the drinking?”
“He said no again,” I told him as I stopped and braced myself on the trunk of a tree.
The air was warm from the towering bonfire, and although the atmosphere was filled with laughter and happiness, I wasn't feeling it. The drinks I’d consumed had lifted the tight feeling in my chest, but within my mind, my conversation with my parents kept playing over and over again.
At a young age, I accepted the fact that I would never be Alpha, but that was when my yearning to become more than just a Luna had started. Because of my appearance and my lineage, people expected me to be the sweet little werewolf princess my father wanted me to be.
Screw being a damsel in distress.
“Tomorrow I have to meet another Alpha-born to see if we’re mates. Tomorrow might be the beginning of the end for me.”
“And what if he’s not your mate?” Cyrus asked as he too leaned against the tree.
“Then I’ll meet another Alpha-born, and then another, and another, until I find my mate.” I shook my head at how tedious it all sounded to me. A werewolf’s mate was predetermined by The Goddess—all that was left for us to do was meet. Still, it was odd, knowing that at this very moment, there was a man somewhere out there who was my perfect other half. “Who knows how long it will take?”
“And when there are no more Alpha-born werewolves for you to meet?” he questioned.
I sighed.
“Then I suppose I’ll have to meet werewolves who aren’t Alphas, but who come from noble families. My father wants his bloodline to carry on, and other Alphas want the Blackmoon strength within their packs. It’s like my only value is as a breeder. I just have to sit there, look pretty, behave myself, marry an Alpha, and push out the next generation of little entitled Alpha pups. No thanks!"
“I’m sorry,” Cyrus said, his voice almost a whisper. “I understand the burden your family is putting on you . . . more than you know.”
I looked his way. “What’s going on with you?”
A moment of silence passed between us before he combed his hair backward. “It’s my mother. She wants me to take over the Legion she commands.”
My eyes widened, but I dared not say anything. Cyrus rarely spoke about his home or family, and who could blame him? His mother was one of the seven deadly sins. The seven sins that plagued both humans and supernaturals were Pride, Lust, Greed, Gluttony, Sloth, Wrath, and Envy, and there were seven demons that were the personification of each sin. Cyrus, as the son of the sin Lust, was considered royalty in the Underworld.
“She wants me to stop spending so much time on Earth. She said I should start acting like royalty and not mingle so much with mortals.” He rolled his eyes.
Loud laughter met our ears, and we stood in silence, watching Skye and the other wolves and kitsune. “What are you going to do?” I asked him after a moment.
He shrugged. “I was summoned home. I’ve been avoiding the trip for too long now, but I have a feeling this time that I’d better go before someone is sent to get me.”
“Your mother will send someone after you? Like, someone that would hurt you?”
He shook his head. “No.”
For all the years Skye and I had known Cyrus, we’d never seen his true side, the demon within him. We’d seen his wings and his gray eyes turn black but had never caught a glimpse of Cyrus—the sex demon—feeding or using his powers.
After a moment, I realized his eyes were focused on Skye and one of Zenko’s friends in an intense arm-wrestling match that she eventually lost. Cyrus’s arms were crossed over his chest as he watched them.
Zenko’s friend turned to give Zenko a high five, taking his eyes off Skye for a moment. But that was all it took for her to shift into her wolf. Some werewolves shift faster than others. Despite Skye’s rather rough first change, she was one who shifted quickly.
Seconds later, she’d tackled him to the ground. The crowd that had gathered around them erupted into cheers and whistles as the kitsune shifted into a bright orange fox, his fur illuminated by the bonfire.
Skye's dark brown wolf was three times the size of the fox, but he stood his ground as she attacked him, tackling him to the ground. From where we were standing, we could hear people betting on who would win, and beside me, Cyrus started to laugh.
“There is no way I can ever leave you guys. You mean more to me than anyone else.”
Cyrus has never been the overly affectionate type. We considered him the logical thinker out of the three of us, so his words meant more to me than he realized. I knew they were genuine.
“Well, if you ever lose the battle with your mother and have to take over your clan, Skye and I can always visit,” I suggested. His head slowly turned my way.
“Don’t even joke about that. I’d rather you guys never saw that place.” His brows pulled together. “I’m not the same person there that I am when I’m here.”
I nodded. I’d seen that. The few times he’d visited the demon realm before, there’d been darkness cloaking him on his return. It was as if each time he went home, his true nature became more dominant. Sometimes I wondered if the kind guy I knew here on Earth was all an act.
But Skye and I knew better. Cyrus was one of a kind.
“You’re the only demon who has earned his place among us and is trusted. That will never change because of where you come from,” I told him. He gave me a soft smile and returned to watching Skye’s wolf, still locked in battle.
When the fight came to an end—with Skye the victor, of course—we went over and joined them. After hanging out for a few more hours, Cyrus insisted on walking Skye and me home.
We laughed and loudly chatted the entire time, and while I did my best to sneak into my house quietly, I think I might have knocked something over. Once I got to my room, I had the best sleep I’d had in a long time, with no worrying thoughts of what I had to do the following day.
3
Elinor
The carriage shook as a wheel hit a stone in the rocky path, and my body jerked violently. I groaned with exasperation.
This was the part I didn’t like about drinking, which was why this was only the second time I’d ever been drunk. I definitely had a hangover—at least that was what I thought humans and witches called it. Every sound thundered through my head, and the sunlight streaming in through my window this morning had set my eyes ablaze.
Now, riding with my parents and brother in the carriage with me, I kept my eyes closed, hoping for the horrible feeling to subside.
“I can’t believe you chose to get drunk last night, of all nights, Elinor,” my mother admonished. I kept my eyes closed, trying to keep the contents of my stomach where they were.
"It wasn't planned, Mother," I finally replied, cracking an eye open. "I'm fine. Or at least, I will be by the time we get there."
My father made an ominous sound, and my other eye opened. He was staring at me, his face void of emotion, but his eyes were dark with anger. Beside him, my little brother was sleeping soundly with his head on my mother's lap, his hair dark brown like our father’s.
“You knew of our plans for today and the importance of them. You should have stayed home last night.” He shook his head. “You need to act more responsibly, Elinor.”
I sat up. “I’m fine.”
"Oh, you're fine?" he repeated. "I can still smell the concoction those witches came up with on you. There’s a chance that you’re mated to Alpha Edon’s son. How will it look that the future Luna of his pack is a drunk?”
I pressed my fingers to my temple. “A drunk? Are you serious? All I needed was one night to try to clear my mind.
I’m not a drunk, and you know it." I shook my head, my anger making the hangover fade in comparison.
My mother placed her hand on his thigh while she continued to caress my little brother’s head. I didn’t know how he’d managed to sleep so soundly, given our father’s booming voice and the rocky journey.
“All I want is the best for you, Elinor. So don’t you sit there and pretend this is something so casual.”
“And what about what I want, Father? What about what I think is best for me? Does my opinion about my own life not count for anything?” I tilted my head to the side, staring at him. “You know I’m capable of being a great Guard, or even an Alpha, for that matter. I have what it takes. However, as I’ve told you, I’ve accepted the fact that I cannot lead the pack, so why deny me the only other wish I have? There are already women in the Guard, so being female isn't an issue."
“You have to be mated to an Alpha-born or someone from a noble family—that is the way things are for people like us. Being a Guard is an honorable job, but it's not for you.”
“And if I don’t agree to be married off?” The words slipped from my lips before I could stop them. “If I’m not mated to an Alpha-born or noble, what then father? Will I be disowned?”
“Elinor, that’s enough,” my mother interjected sternly, obviously seeing my father’s brows furrow and his color rise. “Let’s not borrow trouble. Besides, you know, it’s expected for Alpha-borns to be mated. The chances of you not finding your mate are slim. Can we end this argument? Jackson’s sleeping.”
I said nothing further as I looked down at the pale blue dress my mother had picked out for me. Pink rose quartz gems were knitted around the neckline and waist, and they served as a good distraction to avoid looking at my father.
I hadn’t asked an unreasonable question. . . . At least, I didn’t think it was. The way my father behaved about me finding a mate, it was as if he was afraid that if I didn’t find a mate, I might die or single-handedly ruin our family’s image.