TOUGH TIMES AHEAD

STACY

Maurice, Dwayne, Oswald and I are currently in the Pack kitchen with Vera.

I put the cup of tea in front of her and observe as she so elegantly takes it in her hands, blows the hot air and takes a sip from it. When she notices that we are all looking at her, she sighs and quickly puts the cup down.

“Oh my, how rude of me. I have not even properly introduced myself. It was just too cold and the tea was so enticing.” The third warrior says as she sweetly smiles and sets the teacup down.

Dwayne seems to have fallen in love with her but I can't blame him. The girl looks like a painting and the way she moves is so elegantly poised, of course everyone would be looking at her. This means she has grown up as a high-ranking wolf.

“My name is Sherry Harvey and as you already know it, I am the third warrior of the moon goddess by the name Vera.” She introduces herself fluently. Her voice is so charming that all of us take a moment to answer and she just keeps smiling.

“And how did you know where to find Wendy?” Dwayne asks and she turns to him while smirking.

“Well, my, my, Mr. Dwayne. It seems you are unaware that everyone knows of the appearance of the moon goddess' warriors. I mean I know your Pack is sort of closed off, but to not know what's going on outside your borders, that's not good isn't it?” She says innocently.

Hahaha...

I can't help but laugh.

She acts like an airhead but she definitely isn't and she definitely has a way with her words.

Oswald hits Dwayne at the back of his head. “Of course we are well aware of what is going on outside the borders, it only seems that someone hasn't done their homework.” Oswald reprimands as he sends death glares towards Dwayne.

Ah, sometimes it really makes me wonder who is of higher rank than the other.

“How is it that you know that you're part of the moon goddess' warriors?” I finally ask her.

“Oh, that, I'm sure you've been getting your share of insightful dreams about the moon goddess. I've been getting them since I was a child and I always suspected that it had something to do with her. However, when I heard the news about your appearance, that's when I remembered everything.” She explains.

Interesting, so she's been getting recollections ever since she was a child. Wow!

Unlike me and Venus who obviously had no idea of who we were.

“And to what Pack do you belong?” Maurice enquires beside me, making Sherry to turn her attention to the him and her baby blue eyes remind me of his.

“I've always wanted to meet you and here you are. You're as stiff as the rumours say you are.” She chuckles lightly.

Her laugh is infectious. She has quite a unique personality.

Maurice doesn't mind though, he probably agrees too.

“You don't want to answer my question? You may be a warrior, but you're still in my Pack without formal consent.” He threatens and upon saying that, I turn to him and give him a murderous look.

I'm about to tell her that it is fine, but then Sherry calmly takes a sip of her tea and sets it down on the dining table. “Hmm, that's understandable. It seems I have caused quite some ruckus and I sincerely apologise for that. However, it's not like you don't know which Pack I belong to already, right Alpha?”

Mmmmh ....interesting.

I raise an eyebrow over to Maurice.

Although I've already picked up the distinct smell of her Pack, I don't exactly know from which Pack she comes from.

Maurice sighs and starts rubbing the temple of his head as if he's getting a headache.

“I see how it is. You're far away off your Pack, Luna Sherry.” Maurice sighs like he's starting to have the greatest headache of the century.

I cock my head towards him in dire surprise. So he knows her?

Well, it's no big surprise that she's a Luna, though.

“Luna Sherry, of the Eastern Pack?” Oswald asks, also greatly surprised.

“Ah! Bruno's Luna?” Dwayne asks, clearly disappointed. But then he gets over it quickly because he seems to be having a quick hit of realization remembering who she is.

“Wow, so it is true that you are well acquainted with my stupid mate.” She states as if it's not a big deal.

Maurice grumbles beside me. “This is why that guy has been pestering me.”

This is the first time I'm seeing Maurice truly annoyed about something after a long time.

It's rather cute seeing him grumble like that.

“Wait, Sherry, so you ran away?” I question her and she pouts and turns her face away.

“I didn't run away, I came to meet you since we have important things to do, you know. And please don't tell anything about me being here to that monster.” She says. Yup, she definitely ran away....yeah...our suspicions have been confirmed.

Why though?

Does she not get along with her mate?

Are all of us warriors destined not to get along with our mates?

Huh, that's quite cruel.

“Unfortunately we can't do that. Don't you know how hard Bruno has been looking for you?” Maurice reasons out.

Sherry crosses her arms over her chest . “Fine, just tell him... it's not like he can do anything about it anyway.” She says confidently.

“Oswald tell someone to prepare a room for the Luna please, and while you're at it, prepare other rooms. I have a feeling that we'll be receiving other guests from the eastern Pack soon." Maurice commands and Oswald nods then excuses himself to leave.

“It's fine, you don't have to go through all that trouble. I'm not here as my Pack's Luna. I'm here as Vera. Besides, Bruno won't bother coming through all the trouble coming up here.” Sherry explains.

As expected, she must've had a fight with her mate or something.

“Wow, I'm actually quite amazed now. I did hear that Bruno's mate was troublesome, but you don't quite look like it.” Dwayne says, making it seem like a compliment.

Sherry laughs heftily as if proud of her accomplishment.

“Never judge a book by its cover, Mr. Beta.” It's all she has to say.

I stand up finally and walk towards Sherry.

“Okay, how about Sherry and I go for a walk while the two of you try and contact her Pack?” I suggest.

Maurice stands up also and walks towards me. He plants a kiss on my forehead first before walking away. “Don't go too far, it's getting dark. Take care of her for now, Bruno will start a war if anything happens to her.” Maurice says.

That makes me smile for some reason. Bruno seems like a charming person.

“Oh my, you make it seem like he cares for me Alpha Maurice. I would appreciate it if you don't do that.” Sherry comments. Although she's still calmly drinking her cup of tea, it's clear that she's giving a warning to Maurice.

“We'll see about that when he gets here.” Maurice says and leaves along with Dwayne.

******

Sherry and I are walking around the Pack centres but most of them are closed now, but there are lamp posts illuminating our steps very well.

She's telling me about the troubles that she encountered while travelling here and listening to her adventures, I'm only glad that nothing bad happened her.

“Geez, don't do something so reckless like that again. You never know what can happen when you're alone!” I tell her, I'm the one getting stressed by the troubles she met.

Sherry chuckles softly as he stretches her arms up high.

The moon is full above us and I notice that she has stopped walking to stare at it.

“It's strange isn't it? That's supposed to be our home, but we only remember so little about it. We can only stare from far below.” She says.

I follow with my eyes where she's looking and I stare at the bright moon ahead of us. “It is dear...it sure is!”

Recovering from her random thoughts, she turns to me with a bright smile on her face.

“Right! How about Venus, have you found her yet?” She asks.

“Yes, I have. She's down in the western Pack and she's Alpha Joseph's mate.” I reply.

Funny huh!? Isn't it funny how the three of us are Alphas' mates? Lunas? Strange!

Her eyes widen and she then squeals happily.

“Oh my goodness! She is Alpha Joseph's mate? What a lovely coincidence! I'm sure she and I will get along just fine.” She says.

I tilt my head towards her. “You know him?” I ask in surprise.

“Of course! We've been friends ever since we were little. Our families have always been close.” She replies, her eyes beaming with renewed happiness.

Well, that's good news. With Sherry here, maybe Alpha Joseph will ease up a bit towards us.

“I'm planning on going there soon to meet her, it seems she has no recollections about being a warrior. We contacted them today through the handset and she must've been so shocked that she collapsed.” I sigh upon recalling the events.

“Oh my, can I go with you when you leave?” Sherry grabs my arm and sways it pleadingly.

I smile at her, but then I remember something.

“Wait, didn't you run away from your Pack? Did you have a fight with your mate or something?” I ask, my face laced with concern and her demeanour changes right away. Oops....I think I've touched somewhere I'm not supposed to touch!

Sherry let's go of her hold on my arm and turns away from me. Again, she looks up to the moon,

away from me.

“To be exact, I didn't run away from my Pack. I just wanted to get away from my mate.” She stills for a bit. Her energy is on a constant up and down such that it's hard to keep up. She is clearly a strong girl who can fend for herself, but seeing her like this, I have a sense of wanting to comfort her.

Instinctively, I place my hand on her shoulder and she turns to me. “Whatever it is, I'm sure you two will work it out.” I assure her and she observes me for a second.

“That's not possible, but thanks for the effort.” She says and smiles. Gosh! What could have happened between them? Is it that serious?

I'm going to say something more, but I decide not to. I don't want to pry.

“Alright, how about we go and eat and then you rest up, I'm feeling that the next few days will be very hard!” I suggest and she nods, tagging at my arm once more and I lead her back to the Pack House.