*Beep beep beep beep beep beep beep*
Jolting from the alarm, I groan. My daily migraine threatens to render me paralyzed for the rest of the day as if I had that option. I shut my eyes tightly as I reach around for my phone. Where did I put it? After minutes of searching, I finally find it on the floor by the bed. As much as I want to crawl into the fetal position and play dead to the world, I need to get up. The Alpha and his family get up early and I need to make sure that I have breakfast ready by the time they get downstairs.
Alpha Joshua had given me a job and the packhouse and provided me with a room. The Moon Goddess must have been watching out for me. Normally when rogues cross pack lines they are killed. I have been a member of the Half Moon pack for the last four years. My parents died I was young and even though they didn’t have to help me, Alpha Joshua and his Luna Rose did. Don’t get me wrong, I’m thankful for the roof over my head and a warm bed to sleep in but getting up before the crack of dawn sucks.
I mentally push myself to get up and throw on one of the two pairs of jeans I own. After deciding between a white and black t-shirt, I went with the white one and paired it will a hoodie. The new bag of clothes Mavy, the Alpha’s daughter, bought me sat on my bookshelf untouched. I couldn’t bring myself to open them just yet. I always felt a sense of guilt whenever she bought me stuff.
There’s a knock at the door as I pull my hair through the hair tie. Before I open it, I look at my reflection in the small mirror. My brown hair looks stringy and frizzy. Baby hairs stick out at different angles and the only nice thing about it is its length. When it’s down it lands right above my backside. Brown bloodshot eyes stare back at me and I can’t help but groan. The knocking at the door grows urgent. There’s nothing I can do to make myself look better. Resigning myself to my fate, I open the door.
“I’m here, I’m here,” I whisper.
I already know it’s Gabe coming to grab me for work. He stands a good foot than me. His blonde hair is pushed back, he’s got bags under his blue eyes, and he flashes me his signature crooked smile that proves he’s had an eventful night. This same smile is what gets him all the “bitches” as he calls them. Gabe whistles as I turn from him and grab my backpack for school.
“Morning, Gabe.”
“Morning, Ady. You know I love you; but honesty, is the best policy, and I have to tell you you look like shit,” he chuckles as he looks down at my hair.
“Thanks, Gabe. I didn’t know that,” I snorted sarcastically.
“You’re welcome,” he said as if he did me a favor.
Gabe came to Half Moon shortly before I did. The Gamma’s daughter’s clothes had gone missing and a handful of the members came into the kitchen while we were cooking. I was blamed for theft and would have been punished if not for Gabe. He stood up for me and vouched for me.
From then on, we’ve been best friends. He’s straightforward and never sugarcoats anything. Tactfulness isn’t his strong suit but at least I can rely on him to tell me the truth. While he’s the greatest big brother a girl could wish for, I don’t appreciate the fact that he likes to overshare.
“Have that dream again?” He asked, his voice was gentle. Deciding not to answer I nod.
The dreams started after my seventeenth birthday and have been haunting me for a year now. I turned eighteen last week and I’ve had them every night since. The first time, I woke up with tears running down my cheeks. It had been so vivid that I questioned where I was, who I was. I couldn’t recall the names or the faces of the people I’d seen and that’s how I told myself it wasn’t real.
I close my door and lock it before we head down the hall. I look at the tall white walls, years later they still make me feel small. I fell in love with the old-fashioned vintage 19th-century European packhouse when I first moved in. Alpha Joshua was OCD, so everything had a place and nothing could be out of place. I realized Gabe had been talking and focused on what he was saying.
“… an amazing night with this she-wolf and her boyfriend, Ady. You don’t even know. Goddess! You should have seen the tits on her,” Gabe said as he lifted two open palms to his chest. “He was on his knees in front of her and I had her in-” I cut him off before he could finish.
“Please, Gabe. Spare me the details. I do NOT want to hear where, how, or what position you had her in,” I plead. “I’ll take your word for it. Now please, shut up!” I groan.
Gabe is one of my best friends but as I mentioned earlier, he overshares. He’s a man whore and he isn’t ashamed of it. He swings an arm around my shoulder and leans in.
“But that wasn’t even the best part!” Gabe said as he wiggled his eyebrows. “If not you, who would I tell?” He whined. I can vividly imagine his wolf pouting and I have to stifle a laugh. As much as I love Felix, I don’t love them enough to subject myself to that kind of torture.
“Oh, my virgin ears,” I yell out as I try to cover my ears. Gabe continues to pout while we make our way to the kitchen. I feel a sense of deja vu as we begin our descent and run down the stairs.