Wolven Rising: Untold Stories

GR-3: Preparations

Shasta (18 years old)

"Okay, we have our legitimization plan for the Gathering. We know what information we need to gather for our paperwork and have selected the wolves that will be in our delegation. Let's do this!" Kendria finished her pep talk and concluded what I hoped was the final meeting to plan for the Gathering. Though I strongly suspected it wasn't.

The Gathering was what we had been working toward for the last couple of years. Once we all got our wolves, the idea of becoming our own pack, which began all those years ago on the day of the bear attack, became more real. Kendria started working nonstop to expand our housing and businesses, become truly self-sufficient, and to top it all off, she started going on rescue missions to save what captured wolves she could. Harlie and I had joined in, and before long, we were seeing the fruits of our labor. We were really doing it. And now it was time that the packs of the country recognized it.

Except, I was having a hard time believing it could really happen. But I kept those thoughts to myself.

As soon as the other ladies— who I had dubbed, 'the moms,' even though Naomi wasn't one— left the room, Harlie flipped a switch. "Oh my Goddess! We have so much to do!"

"I know, but I think we can do it!" Kendria said enthusiastically. "I've got our historical trade numbers here—"

"Not that, silly!" Harlie interrupted. "I'm talking about shopping!"

I groaned, and so did Kendria. This was one of those situations that proved how alike we were. Harlie absolutely loved shopping. Kendria and I couldn't stand it, unless it was various business supplies for her and books for me. But clothes? No way.

"How can you think about shopping with everything else we have to do to get ready for next month?" Kendria grumbled.

"Um, how can you not think about it?" Harlie challenged. "This is the first time you'll be walking among all the packs of the country as an adult. You have a very important request for our pack legitimization, the likes of which we know hasn't come before the Elders in over eighty years. You're asking to be named a female Alpha and be treated as an equal. How you look is everything! You have to look strong, but not masculine. Beautiful but not too girly. You have to look like a leader. This is crucial!" Harlie screeched, throwing her hands up. By the end of her speech, I was a total deer in the headlights. Who knew clothes could say so much?

Harlie and Kendria kept talking, and I zoned out until I heard something that caught me off guard. "...We'll all go! Our entire delegation needs to look good."

I panicked. There was no way I was getting dragged along on an endless shopping spree. "Uh, why don't you girls just pick something out for me? I'm sure I don't need to be there."

"Way to throw me under the bus," Kendria muttered.

Harlie pouted. "Aww, come on, guys, we really should do this all together. Pretty please?" She looked at us with hopeful puppy dog eyes.

Kendria shrugged and looked at me. I could tell she was trying to be nonchalant about it, but her eyes were begging, since she knew she was going to have to go regardless. "Fiiiiine," I dragged out, giving in.

"Great! We're going to have so much fun! Okay, meet me out front in fifteen minutes," she left the room at top speed, probably so we wouldn't change our minds.

I looked at Kendria. "You do realize she's going to drag us all over the human town and repeatedly dress us up like dolls, right?"

"What, don't think you can deal with it, Ken?" she teased.

"You're on, Barbie."

---

I shifted yet again in the chair I was sitting in, attempting to get comfortable. It was a tiny, ugly pink brocade thing, and creaked dangerously as I moved. I could have built it to be much more sturdy. And I would have chosen a less hideous upholstery.

I gave up on comfort for the time being and looked outside. The position of the sun told me it was just past mid-afternoon. We'd been stuck shopping for a few hours at least.

Not wanting to be stuck shopping forever, I had headed Harlie off from the beginning, getting any outfits she recommended for me from the very first store we visited. Kendria was not so lucky. In her quest to find the perfect, all-encompassing power outfit for our Alpha, Harlie had gone on a rampage through two stores before this one, and was currently ripping apart the racks here to find exactly what she wanted. Which I was beginning to think didn't exist.

I looked up just in time to see Kendria in a garish-colored revealing dress that was the last thing I ever expected to see her in. I stifled a laugh, but she heard me. "Just because you got all your clothes from the first place we went to doesn't mean you have the right to laugh," she hissed.

"And yet I'm still laughing," I chuckled. "But hey, she found your other six outfits there, you're getting close."

Kendria flipped me the bird and I threw one of the bags from a previous store towards her. She dodged it by running back inside the dressing room. "Rude!" she exclaimed from behind the closed door.

"Hey, you were rude to me, first!" I shot back.

"Shut up, both of you, I've finally found it!" Harlie shouted, running up with a bundle of clothes and a pair of boots in her arms.

"Thank Goddess!" came Kendria's impassioned reply from the other side of the dressing room door.

I scanned the store, bored once again. It would be great this was the last outfit, but this was the sixth time Harlie had shrieked 'I found it!' since we started shopping, so my hopes weren't high. There was a brunette working at the counter next to the pile of clothes Harlie had already selected, casting furtive glances in my direction. When she caught me looking, she looked away quickly and blushed.

Don't even think about it, Hunter warned.

Before I could reply, the dressing room door banged open. "I think we have it!" Harlie said excitedly, twirling Kendria around. "What do you think, Shasta?"

Kendria was wearing a dark red and lace number that made her look both beautiful and professional. It was easy to see the Alpha in her, despite the embarrassed blush at the attention. I whistled appreciatively. "Looking good, Kendria."

Kendria walked over to the mirror to get a better look at herself. I was glad to see her confidence growing as she inspected the outfit while chatting with Harlie and laughing. "Alright, alright, I'm going to change before I find a way to ruin this outfit," she finally said.

"Does this mean we can go home? I asked hopefully. I moved to get out of the chair, then realized if I kept moving, the chair would be stuck to my ass when I stood up. I shoved hard against the armrests, making the legs of the chair scrape the floor while I worked my hips out of the stupid thing. Terrible construction.

By that time, Kendria and Harlie were doubled over laughing at me. I glared at them and stomped over to the counter. I was ready to get out of there. Seeing the terrified look on the brunette's face, I leaned on the counter and made an effort to soften my gaze. "Sorry about that," I said smoothly.

She offered a tentative smile. "It's okay. That chair is awful."

I smiled. "That's for sure." I could tell by now that she was interested, but she seemed sweet. "Do you want to start ringing up our stuff? I think my friends are about done in there."

"Oh, your friends, huh?" She said, smiling wider as she pulled the pile of clothes closer to the register. "Is your girlfriend out of town, or something?"

Maybe not sweet so much as obvious. Well, I guess I could play along, even though the flirtation game was getting old. Not like there was anything else to do.

"Maybe she is," I said, leaning toward her. "Or maybe I don't have one."

What part about don't even think about it don't you understand? Hunter growled.

"Oh, really? What a shame," she said playfully, fiddling with a hanger. "You seem like a nice guy."

"Super nice," I commented mildly. "Just looking for a nice girl."

"Oh, not too nice, I hope," she flirted, making this way too easy. Really, it wasn't even a challenge anymore. Except for the wolf scolding me incessantly in my head.

I hunkered down by her ear and whispered, "I suppose she's allowed to be a little naughty."

"Here's the rest of our stuff," Harlie announced, banging things down loudly on the counter between us, breaking up the conversation. I didn't mind much. My work was done. The girl, however, got flustered, and made several mistakes during checkout, unhelped by Harlie's impatient tapping foot.

"That'll be two forty-two fifty-three," she said in a rush, looking nervously at Harlie, who was giving her the stink eye. She was visibly relieved when I was the one to fish the credit card out of my wallet and hand it over. She swiped it through the archaic register, then ripped off the receipt that spat out of the machine next to it. "And here," she said, quickly circling part of the listed items and scribbling something at the bottom. "Are your savings today." She held the receipt out to me.

"Thanks, I said, stuffing it in my pocket without looking at it.

Harlie rolled her eyes so the brunette couldn't see. "Let's go, she said, walking to the door carrying a single bag, leaving Kendria and I to struggle with the rest.

"Finally," I sighed as the door shut behind us. "That took forever."

"You just dragged it out longer, distracting that poor girl," Kendria reprimanded me. "It's your fault, really."

"Sorry," I said with a shrug, the bags in my hands making noises with the movement. "I can't help it if all women are attracted to me."

"Oh, shut up, I know it bothers you, deep down." Kendria said, stuffing her own bags unceremoniously in the trunk. Harlie, having already placed her single bag in the back, was already in the back seat, scrolling through her phone.

I followed suit. She was right. On the surface, I enjoyed the flirting. It was nice, getting that kind of attention. But—and this is where Hunter actually did agree with me—it made me ache for my mate. I knew I was young, but our life on the mountain had been lonely in its own way, despite having close friends like Kendria and Harlie. Too often, though, my shallow appreciation of getting noticed won out, simply because it served another purpose: to help me forget about everything for a short while.

"You're driving," Kendria said, tossing the keys at my head. I nearly missed catching them, but my wolf reflexes saved my face from getting keyed. "Sure," I muttered, walking around to the driver's side, more peeved at the projectile aimed at my head than the prospect of driving, which I loved.

Once we drove out of town, I brought up a subject I'd been thinking about, but hadn't voiced in our numerous meetings about our pack and the upcoming Gathering. Now that we were out of the conference room, I felt like I could finally ask about it and breathe at the same time. Maybe I could get over the mounting dread I was feeling. "Have you decided who our Elder will be yet?" I asked Kendria.

She sighed and shook her head. "I mean, I'd like it to be my mother. But lately she's..."

"Not well," I said sympathetically. It had happened so slowly that none of us noticed it at first, but the more Kendria, Harlie and I threw ourselves into leadership, building up our pack and territory, the more Luna Adina withdrew. These days she was a shell of her former self. Personally, I thought she was probably only hanging on for as long as she did because she knew we needed her. Now that we were older and she knew her people were in good hands, she could afford to break down and give in to her grief. However startling and drastic that turned out to be.

"I think I might ask Tamara or Naomi," Kendria said ponderingly. "They're already serving as advisors, were among the original wolves of our pack, and are coming with us next month anyway. I think either would be a good candidate."

"No offense to my mom, but I think maybe you should go with Naomi," Harlie said, pausing in her rifling through the bags and checking the contents.

I raised my eyebrows, and Kendria actually turned around in her seat to look at her. "Are you serious?" she asked incredulously. "Why?"

"Well, for starters, she's my mother, which seems like a conflict of interest when it comes to giving advice to us as ranked members," Harlie pointed out. "You might be able to seek advice without any bias, but part of me would always see her as my mom, and she in turn may advise us to do things in favor of protecting our own lives instead of doing what's best for the pack."

I raised my eyebrows again. I guess she made a good point. But Naomi was part of the moms, too, even if she wasn't the biological mother of any of us. Wouldn't she have the same problem?

"Also, Naomi travels all the time," Harlie continued. "She's been all over the country several times and visited all the packs. Her worldview makes her uniquely qualified to be our Elder."

"That was maybe the most pretentious thing I've ever heard you say," I said, chuckling. Harlie swatted my shoulder. "Hey, I'm driving here!" I shouted in mock panic, swerving a little to make a point.

"Okay, you two, let's settle down," Kendria said.

"Okay, okay," I said with a dramatic sigh. "But no more smacking me, got it? I don't want to drive off the edge of a cliff."

The rest of the drive was the usual mix of conversation, laughs, and comfortable silences. That was the thing with the three of us. We were completely at ease with each other, and very close. It was hard not to be, when you'd been through what you'd been through and had so little regular contact with the outside world.

When we finally arrived back in our territory, I pulled the vehicle into the big shed. "Harlie, you have to carry more than one bag this time," Kendria warned, hopping out of the passenger seat. "Otherwise I will drive right back and return everything."

"No, you won't," Harlie said, unconcerned. "Because I'd just make you go shopping again to replace it. And it'd take longer the next time."

"Just help with the bags, please," Kendria said, exasperated. Harlie giggled and went back to help her while I turned off the car and made sure everything else looked good. When I got out of the car, my back pocket made a crinkling noise. Oh right. The receipt.

I pulled the receipt out, intending to give it to Kendria for bookkeeping purposes, but the blue pen on it caught my eye. More specifically, what was written. Seven digits, to be exact. The girl had boldly given me her phone number, after a single conversation.

Don't do it, Hunter growled.

I furrowed my brow. I knew I shouldn't. It wasn't good for me, and it wasn't fair to the girl. I'd made this mistake before...

Hating myself for doing it, I drew my phone out of my other pocket and added the number to my contacts. Then I ripped the number off the receipt before giving it to Kendria, so nobody would know.