His Hidden Luna

Seven

Rose's Point of View

After what happened with Lisa, it had been my full intention to be the bigger person and go to school, but I just could not face it. Lisa had wrecked my good mood in one fell swoop, and she'd humiliated me in front of the very few friends that I had.

I don't tend to miss school much and I do my absolute best to not let the other members of the pack get to me, but sometimes it's too much to overcome and I ditch. I've never been caught out and hopefully it will stay that way. Getting into trouble at school is the last thing I need in my life. It would cause the sort of attention that I neither want or need.

I texted Henry and asked him to pick up some work from the lessons I would miss. Did I mention I couldn't mind link? Another thing I've got going against me. We both had to get phones for the sole purpose of me being able to communicate.

'Ok but why aren't you at school?' Henry texted back. He knew I wasn't one to skip school unless there was a problem. I hoped he wasn't too concerned.

'Girl Stuff' I replied straight away, knowing that this would halt any further questions.

'Vom!' Henry wrote back along with a green-faced emoji. I laughed at that. Henry could always put a smile on my face. It was too bad there was no physical attraction between us whatsoever. When you've shared a room for as long as we have, your relationship is never going to go any further than brother and sister.

Once I knew that Henry would cover for me, I started to head towards my favourite place in the territory. For me it was a difficult one-mile hike, the terrain was rocky and the small make-shift path was overgrown on each side with nettles. It probably takes me longer than a human to make the journey, I find anything other than walking in a straight line pretty bloody difficult. My clumsiness is another tick in the box for being human rather than werewolf.

In time, I came to a small clearing which I had humbly named 'My spot'. I immediately kicked off my shoes and stood on the dry mud that stretched out to meet the banks of the freshwater lake. I loved that the lake seemed to appear out of nowhere, like a magical spell had been placed on the land here, making it virtually invisible - you almost had to stand on top of it to see it. The water was as clear and as unmoving as glass. The only sign that something else inhabited the lake was the occasional ripple of a pond skater. My personal piece of heaven.

I closed my eyes and turned my face to the sun, marvelling as the colour behind my eyes turned from black to orange and then red. I always felt better with the sunshine beating down on me and smiled up towards the sky.

After a few minutes, I took off my soiled dress and made my way to the water's edge. It might seem a bit brazen stripping down to your underwear when anyone could rock up and see you. But in all the time I'd visited here I'd never come across another wolf. Jackson and I used to come here all the time when we were younger. After he decided we could no longer be friends, I never saw him here again.

I sat on the bank and carefully lowered myself into the water, dragging my coffee-stained dress along with me. The water was cool and soothing against my skin. I waded out so the water was at waist height before I tipped my body backwards and started to float on the surface.

Thinking about Jackson made me sadder today than it would usually. It was his 17th birthday and he would be able to officially find his mate. I didn't think it would take very long. He was extremely good looking, intelligent and had also saved my life. Those are pretty good qualities to have in a mate, not to mention he was an Alpha. His coming of age party was going to be like a meat market. She-wolves would be falling over themselves to see if they were destined to be his Luna. And I wouldn't see a single second of it. I couldn't even wish him a happy birthday. I'd bought him a card, like I did every year, which I would be too chicken to give to him. They would end up underneath my chest of drawers with the rest of the cards I had written for him but never sent. What a loser!

My inner monologue made me chuckle. Despite the rest of the pack thinking badly of me, I knew better. I was kind and forgiving, I was loyal to a fault and I cherished my education. I didn't know what I was going to do with my life yet, but I wasn't going to spend it somewhere where I was unloved and unappreciated. I needed to get through school first and then, after that, I was sure I'd come up with some sort of plan. I didn't deserve the cards I'd been dealt, but I'd play them the best that I could. As I floated on my back I felt a real sense of peace, and I swear I heard a sigh coming from somewhere deep in my mind.