Wolven Rising: Untold Stories

GR-7: Off Limits

Shasta

"Breakfast!" I bellowed in the hallway after I left Kendria's room, knowing just how much it would irritate her. Not going to lie, even though I loved food, shouting about it in a strange packhouse full of people I didn't know wasn't how I'd normally behave. But I was a little too giddy to keep myself in check.

Based on the conversation I just had with Kendria and Harlie, there wasn't even a good reason to be excited. A huge wrench had been thrown into our legitimization plans, in the form of a brand spanking new mate for Kendria, the soon-to-be Alpha of Harvest Moon. Harlie was all for joining their pack and abandoning our plans to form our own pack, Lonely Haven, but I wasn't so sure. After getting psyched up for this trip and legitimization—not to mention all the blood, sweat, and tears invested in carving out our living up on the mountain—the idea of giving it all up to join an established pack just didn't sit quite right with me.

However, the source of my good mood might make it worth it. I smiled to myself, thinking of Alana's blushing cheeks, her caring nature, her beautiful eyes that were a sea of blue, green, and gray. Which reminded me...

Hearing sounds of getting ready from the other side of the doors where other wolves in our delegation were staying, I made my way to the stairwell. I realized after I returned to my room last night that my book was missing, but I was too tired to go back and look for it. Plus, I didn't want Alana to think I was waiting around for her.

The door opened silently and I looked around, stooping to see if it had fallen further down the stairs. But it was nowhere to be found. Disappointed, I continued down the stairs to the dining hall. That was the first book I ever bought for myself. Maybe someone else had picked it up. I'd have to see if there was a lost and found or something.

When I reached the dining hall, my jaw dropped. There, spanning the length of an entire wall, was a huge buffet, the likes of which I'd never seen before. There were a dozen silver chafing dishes with tongs slid through the handles. There was a steaming vat of oatmeal, and bowls of fresh fruit. Perfectly prepared parfaits were lined up like a small army. A fridge with a glass door revealed several different types of yogurt. There was a waffle maker next to a batter dispenser. At least six different cereal dispensers stood upright next to stacks of bowls. Huge baskets held assortments of mini-muffins, bagels, and varieties of pastries. A row of carafes were labeled with different types of coffee, milk, and juice.

I must have died and gone to heaven, because this is exactly what I pictured the after-life with the Moon Goddess would be like.

I strode forward and grabbed a plate. Then, on second thought, I grabbed two more. I was hungry, after all. Who knows when I'd be able to treat myself to this kind of bliss next? I opened the chafing dishes and helped myself to both scrambled and fried eggs, sausage, hash browns, ham, biscuits and gravy, and bacon—lots of bacon. Then I moved on to the waffle maker, grabbing three different types of mini-muffins along the way. With the last open spot on my third plate, I decided to opt for something healthy and filled the space with blueberries and raspberries. There. Perfect.

Holding one plate in one hand and the remaining two stacked in the other, I walked carefully over to the table I'd noticed on the way in that was reserved for our delegation. I plopped down by myself and set my plates down, lined up in a row.

The tantalizing smell of the food wafted up to my nose and I inhaled deeply. This was going to be good.

---

I burped as I followed Kendria out of the packhouse, Harlie bringing up the rear. "Ew," Harlie complained from behind me. "Could you try not to belch near me, please? I swear I just walked through a wall of bacon."

I grinned. "I can't make any promises."

"Hush, you two," Kendria said, stretching her arms over her head. "I need to focus."

We were heading to the training complex for the face-off between Kendria and Rowan, courtesy of Harlie's scheming. I personally couldn't wait to see it. Kendria was a fierce fighter, and it was obvious Rowan had no idea what she was truly capable of. Feminism aside, I hoped she kicked his ass.

From what I learned of him from Kendria this morning—along with meeting him at breakfast, I liked Rowan. He seemed like he was a nice guy, if a little naive about the opposite s*x. This match would be a fun way to put him in his place. Who knows, maybe I was somehow enlightened, since I went through puberty with girls instead of members of my own gender. Talk about up close and personal.

"Do you smell that?" Harlie asked abruptly, as Rowan and some other guy came into view.

"What? Kendria looked at her.

"I don't know," Harlie said uncertainly. "Flannel, maybe...and bergamot?"

I sniffed the air. "Just smells like the outdoors to me."

Harlie went white. "I-I...I think I should go," she whispered frantically.

"Go?" Kendria said, also dropping her voice to a whisper. "Why?"

"It's..." Harlie paused, then leaned over to Kendria's ear. "That man. With the brownish-reddish hair. He's my mate. I can't do this right now!"

Kendria frowned, while I looked up to inspect the man in question more closely. He was standing rigidly, as if it was all he could do to keep himself still, with a mad hunger in his eyes one hundred percent directed at Harlie. Oh boy.

Suddenly, he charged toward us, with Rowan hot on his heels. Harlie emitted a startled squeak and Kendria threw herself between them. I stepped forward as well, but remained a little off to the side. Now, I wouldn't call myself the smartest guy, but even I knew better than to come between mates meeting for the first time. The guy growled at Kendria, and I let out a menacing one in return. Regardless of Kendria's stupidity, I would protect her and Harlie at all costs. Rowan growled at him too, in defense of his new mate. Good.

Rankled by the tension, Kendria shifted into a crouch and I could tell she was preparing to shift. This went from zero to one hundred fast. But before she could, Rowan stepped between them and faced his friend. "Back down, Mase," he said quietly. The man—Mase, apparently, kept craning his neck to try and see Harlie, who for some reason was shaking like a leaf behind Kendria and me. I wondered if his wolf was fighting for control.

"I need to see her!" the guy snarled. Rowan shook him roughly. "Why can't I see her?" he pleaded, finally seeming to come under some semblance of control.

I watched in disbelief as Rowan and Kendria had a short discussion, which ended with her allowing Harlie to leave. I mean, what the hell? I would jump for joy if I found my mate. And Harlie was by far the most graphic of the three of us when she described things she'd do with her mate. Apparently, it was all talk.

By then, we'd reached the sparring ring, and Kendria hopped over to get ready. On the other side of the ring, Rowan looked ashen. I chuckled to myself. He obviously was afraid of hurting his mate. Something that was sure to change as soon as they started fighting.

"Care to do the honors?" Kendria called out, turning to me. I grinned and jumped the fence. I couldn't wait for this.

"We're here to start a sparring match between Rowan Fields of Harvest Moon and Kendria Warner of Lonely Haven," I said, using our pack name instead of naming her as a rogue. Her mouth curled up in a half-smirk. "The match will continue until one of you is knocked out, or one of you concedes." I raised my hand high. "Ready?" I called, looking first at Kendria, then at Rowan. Both nodded in response. "Three, two, one, go!" I shouted, then got the heck out of there before becoming collateral damage on Kendria's warpath.

I ended up next to Harlie's newfound mate on the outside of the ring. "Ten bucks on Kendria," I said cheerily, resting my arms on the top of the fence.

The man looked from the ring, where Kendria had already punched Rowan in the face and stomach, to where I stood grinning beside him. "I love Rowan, man, and he's a great warrior, but I gotta say, no deal."

I laughed. "Smart guy. She's ruthless."

"I'm Mason," he said, holding out his hand. "Rowan's Beta, when the time comes."

I shook it. "Shasta," I said. "Kendria's Beta, when the time comes. Nice to meet you." In the ring, Rowan had finally realized who he was dealing with, and the fight grew more intense.

Mason opened his mouth like he was going to say something, then shut it again. He looked jittery, and I was sure he was dying to hightail it after Harlie, but either decided or was ordered to stay behind so as not to scare her. Good idea. If Harlie didn't want to see him right now, she'd make damn sure he'd never want to see her again if he pushed her too much too soon.

"So, how was the trip down?" Mason ended up asking, wincing as Rowan took a kick to the side.

"Uneventful," I said, watching as Rowan kicked into high gear, coming at Kendria with fists swinging. She would have her work cut out for her, but I knew she'd pull it off. "Until we arrived, that is."

"Yeah, I heard there was a mixup with the paperwork you sent in advance. Do you like Harvest Moon so far?" Mason asked in an attempt at nonchalance. I figured he was asking mainly to glean information about Harlie, or even Kendria, who held the decision of whether we stayed or went in her hands.

"The food is great, but I haven't met many people yet," I said, licking my lips as I remembered how sweet Alana was. And the bacon.

"Well, I hope you have a good time while you're here," Mason said, hissing a little as we heard the telltale cracking of ribs. Rowan's by the look of it.

"Yeah," I said, my thoughts still on Alana. I wondered where she was right now, what she was doing.

"Hey, did you meet my sister last night?" Mason asked, snapping me out of my reverie. "Come on, Rowan!" He shouted, oblivious to the effect his question had on me.

"Your sister?" I said faintly, feeling my stomach drop. It couldn't be. Could it?

"Yeah, Alana," Mason said, confirming my hypothesis, his eyes on the sparring ring. "She said she brought blankets down to your floor. I hope she didn't disturb you or anything."

"No!" I said quickly, not wanting him to think his sister was obnoxious. She was anything but. He glanced at me strangely. "I did meet her," I said, my mind scrambling to not sound like an imbecile. What would sound casual? Wait, why did I need to sound casual? "She seemed nice. A little shy."

He sighed. "Yeah, she is. I've been trying to get her out of her shell, but she prefers to keep to herself most of the time."

"Really?" I asked, internally embarrassed about how much of an i***t I was.

Mason's eyes narrowed. "Why?" He asked suspiciously, mistaking my tone. "Was she not keeping to herself? Or maybe...you weren't?"

Hunter fought his way forward and growled. "I would never force myself on someone, if that's what you're insinuating," I said stiffly after pushing my wolf back. Though this time, I agreed with him. How dare he accuse me? Never, not once, did I ever ignore a girl that told me 'no.'

Alana's brother put up his hands. "Sorry, I didn't mean to imply anything. It's just, she's my sister, you know? I'd protect her with my life." He sighed. "She's finally making an effort to get outside her comfort zone, and I don't want anything to mess it up."

"It's okay," I said, relaxing. "I know you didn't mean anything by it." Obviously, Alana said nothing about our meeting to her family. The Beta family, of all things. I wondered if it was because it was no big deal to her, or if she purposely didn't want to tell them about me.

"You know what?" Mason turned to me. "You're all right. I really didn't mean to insult you. You had every right to beat the s**t out of me for it. I'm just...distracted, and I misspoke. My bad."

I laughed. "Well, you have every right to protect your sister's honor. You just didn't need to this time around."

"I will kill whoever touches her," Mason promised darkly. "So I'm glad you didn't."

Before my mind could stray to the feeling of Alana's waist in my hands—almost, anyway—Rowan dropped to the ground in the fetal position. Yeesh. I couldn't believe Kendria kicked her own mate in the nuts. I shifted my legs a little, thinking about how much that had to hurt.

He threw up his hand to concede, and I cheered on my Alpha, even though I'd definitely be talking to her later about laying off the family jewels. Mason groaned. "Ugh, at least I didn't lose money on it, huh?" He said, shaking his head.

I shook my head with a grin, but it slipped off my face as I heard Kendria and Rowan arguing. Then she stormed past us and grabbed her shirt along the way, her face cast down to hide her expression. But I knew her well enough to see that she was frightened. Of what, I wasn't quite sure. Maybe she was afraid her mate was weak? It was possible. Kendria could be intense. But I think she forgot just how much of a warrior she really was. Not many could beat her, man or woman.

Mason hopped the fence and jogged over to Rowan, who was getting unsteadily to his feet. I watched them for a second before slowly following suit. These were the men that were fated mates with my two best friends. Who would have thought we'd come here and have our Alpha and Gamma find their mates within twenty-four hours of arrival? With that kind of luck, my own mate was probably walking around here somewhere, waiting for me to cross her path.

The thought brought me up short. I had already crossed paths with a she wolf. But she wasn't my mate. Come to think of it, though, I never found out from Mason how old Alana was. That meant that, maybe, it was possible...

But Mason had made it absolutely clear. His sister was not to be touched. She was off limits. I sighed and caught up to Alana's brother. I'd just have to keep my distance from her, then. Especially if she was already eighteen.

It was funny, how you could come to a place with so many people and somehow feel so alone.