Chapter 21 Balancing Two Worlds
“That was intense,” Elena said once the dining hall started to empty. She squeezed my shoulder. “But you handled it perfectly.”
“I feel like I’m going to be sick.”
“Normal response to confronting an entire pack.” She smiled. Warm. Motherly. “You did well, honey. Really good.”
Garrett was grinning. “Dude, Sarah’s face when you stood up? Priceless. She was not expecting that.”
“I wasn’t expecting it either.” My hands were still shaking. I hid them under the table.
“Coffee?” Elena asked. “My place is close. We can talk. Get to know each other without everyone staring.”
I looked at Lycian. He nodded. “Go. I have to meet with my father anyway. Pack business.”
“You’re leaving me?”
“Just for an hour. Elena will take care of you.” He stood. Kissed my forehead. The gesture was so casual. So natural. Like we’d been doing this for years instead of days. “You’ll be fine.”
He left before I could argue.
Elena linked her arm through mine. “Come on. I make the best coffee on pack territory. Plus I have leftover cinnamon rolls from yesterday.”
“You had me at cinnamon rolls.”
Her house was a ten-minute walk. Small. Cozy. Nothing like Lycian’s sleek penthouse. This felt lived in. Loved. Toys are scattered in the yard. Shoes piled by the door. Pictures covering every wall.
Inside smelled like cinnamon and vanilla and home.
“Sit.” Elena pointed to the kitchen table. “I’ll heat the rolls.”
I sat. Looked around. More pictures. Family photos. Kids at various ages. Beach vacations. Birthday parties. All of them are smiling. Happy.
It made my chest ache. This is what a home looked like.
Elena set a plate in front of me. The cinnamon roll was huge. Warm. Dripping with icing. I took a bite and almost moaned.
“Oh my god.”
“Told you.” She sat across from me with her own roll. “Best on pack territory. Maybe best in the state.”
“You weren’t lying.” I took another bite. Let the sweetness melt on my tongue. “This is incredible.”
“Family recipe. My grandmother taught me when I was eight. Now I teach my kids.” She smiled. “Thomas can’t make them to save his life. But my daughter Emma? She’s still young.”
We ate in comfortable silence. The kind of silence that felt easy. Not awkward.
“So,” Elena said finally. “How are you really doing? And don’t say fine. Nobody’s fine after what you’ve been through.”
I set down my fork. “Honestly? I don’t know. Two weeks ago I was just trying to pass my biology exam and figure out how to afford groceries. Now I’m living with the future Alpha and trying to convince an entire pack I’m not dangerous.”
“That’s a lot of change very fast.”
“Too fast. I feel like I’m drowning and everyone’s watching me struggle.”
Elena reached across the table. Took my hand. “Can I tell you something? About when I joined this pack?”
“You weren’t born into it?”
“Nope. I’m from Michigan. Small pack. Nothing special.” She squeezed my hand. “I met my mate at a conference. Thomas’s father. He was Valor Pack. I was nobody. His family wasn’t thrilled.”
“Really?”
“Oh, they were polite about it. But I could tell. I wasn’t what they wanted for him. I wasn’t from a powerful family. Wasn’t connected. Wasn’t impressive.” She smiled but it was sad. “His mother told me once that she’d hoped he’d choose someone more suitable.”
“That’s awful.”
“It was. But you know what? He didn’t care what they thought. He chose me anyway. And eventually, they came around. Took time. But they did.”
“How long?”
“About a year. But those first few months were hell. I almost left. Almost went back to Michigan because it was too hard.” She leaned forward. “But I didn’t. And now look. Three kids. A life I love. Friends I’d die for.”
“So it gets easier?”
“Eventually. But some days will still suck. Some people will never like you. That’s just how it is.” She squeezed my hand again. “But the ones who matter? They’ll see who you really are.”
My phone buzzed. I pulled it out. Three missed calls from Tessa.
“Friend from school?” Elena asked.
“My roommate. Well, ex-roommate. I kind of moved out without really explaining.”
“You should call her back.”
“I will. I just… I don’t know what to say. How do I explain any of this?”
“Tell her the truth. That you met someone. Those things moved fast. That you’re figuring it out.” Elena stood. Started clearing plates. “Good friends understand when life gets complicated.”
“I’ve been a terrible friend lately.”
“You’ve been surviving. That’s different.”
I texted Tessa back.
I’m sorry. I know I’ve been MIA. Coffee tomorrow? I’ll explain everything.
Her response was immediate.
You'd better. I’ve been worried sick. Tomorrow. 2 pm. Our usual spot.
“She’ll understand,” Elena said. Reading over my shoulder. Not even subtle about it. “Trust me.”
Lycian picked me up an hour later. He looked tired. His hair was messy like he’d been running his hands through it.
“How was your dad?” I asked once we were in the car.
“Stressed. Worried about the vote in ninety days. Asking a million questions about you that I can’t answer because I barely know you myself.” He glanced at me. “No offense.”
“None taken. You’re right. We don’t really know each other.”
“Then let’s fix that.” He pulled into a parking lot I didn’t recognize. “Come on.”
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll see.”
He led me to a small arcade between a bookstore and a pizza place. Pinball machines, air hockey, games that took quarters.
“An arcade?” I smiled.
“You said normal. This is normal.” He pulled out quarters. “I used to come here as a kid.”
We played skee-ball. I won. Air hockey. He won. A racing game where we crashed more than we raced. Stupid. Childish. Perfect.
“I haven’t done this in years,” I laughed as he blocked my shot.
“This is strategy.”
“You’re a sore loser.”
He grinned. Younger. Less future Alpha, more guy on a date.
“One more game. Winner picks dinner.”
“Deal.” I won. Barely.
We got pizza next door, sat on his car hood, sauce dripping. “This is nice. Just normal for a few hours.”
“We can do this more often.”
“I want. But I need to figure out school. I’ve missed a week. Probably failing everything.”
“Drop them. Focus on the pack.”
“I can’t just drop out.”
“Why not? You’ll be Luna eventually.”
The words hit wrong. “What if I don’t want to be Luna? What if I want a degree and a career?”
He looked surprised. “You can do both.”
“Can I? Because it seems like the pack stuff comes up every second. When would I study? When would I go to class?”
“We’ll figure it out.”
“That’s what you keep saying. But I need more than that. I need a plan.” I set down my pizza. Suddenly not hungry. “I worked really hard to get into Mooncrest. To get that scholarship. I’m not throwing that away.”
“I’m not asking you to throw it away.”
“Aren’t you? Because you just suggested I drop my classes. Focus on pack stuff. Become Luna.” My voice rose. “What about what I want?”
“What do you want?”
“I don’t know! That’s the problem. Two weeks ago I knew exactly what I wanted. Graduate. Get a job. Take care of Aunt Clara. Now everything’s different and I don’t know how to balance it.”
He was quiet for a long moment. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed.”
“I’m not mad. I’m just… overwhelmed.”
“Then let’s make a plan. Tomorrow we go through your class schedule. Figure out what you can salvage. What you need to catch up on.” He took my hand. That spark raced up my arm. Familiar now. Comforting. “I’ll help. However, I can.”
“You don’t have to…”
“I want to. You’re important to me. Your education is important to you. Therefore it’s important to me. That’s how this works.”
My throat felt tight. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me for basic decency.” He squeezed my hand. “Now finish your pizza. We paid good money for this grease.”
I laughed. Picked up my slice.
We sat there until the stars came out. Talking about nothing. About everything. About his childhood and mine. About embarrassing moments and favorite movies and the terrible music he refused to admit he liked.
It felt easy. Natural. Like maybe we could figure this out after all.
When we got back to the penthouse, I was exhausted. Happy but exhausted.
“Thank you,” I said at my bedroom door. “For today. For the arcade. For listening.”
“Anytime.” He leaned in. Kissed my forehead. Soft. Gentle. “Goodnight, Elowen.”
“Goodnight.”
I closed the door. Leaned against it.
My phone buzzed. Another text from Tessa.
Also, I’m totally meeting this mysterious wolf boyfriend tomorrow. No arguments.
I smiled. Texted back.
Fine. But be nice.
Her response made me laugh.
No promises.
I fell asleep thinking about arcade games and greasy pizza and the way Lycian looked when he smiled.
For the first time in days, I felt like maybe everything would be okay.
Tomorrow I’ll deal with Tessa. With school. With pack politics.
But tonight, I was just a girl who’d had a good day with a guy she really liked.
And that was enough.