Althena

9. Crimson Moon

Mike drives us into the Crimson Moon packland. "You're sure we're allowed to be here?"

"Yes, we're invited for dinner. Relax." He opens the door for me.

I get out slowly.

"What are you going to do if guards show up?"

"Jump in the car and lock it."

"Leave me out here?"

I crack up laughing. "I'm sure you'll be fine."

"I would." He winks and leads me to a door.

A lady opens it for us. "Welcome to Crimson Moon. Come in."

Conner looks up from his phone and stares at me. His mouth falls open and everything.

Alpha Rhett looks at Mike. "I like your suit."

"Thanks. It cost 6 digits. I got 7 of them."

Alpha rubs his face. "You both like beating up Moonlit Pack. Just in different ways."

The luna smiles. "I'm Alice. Come in and make yourselves at home. I love those shoes."

"Thank you." I shake my head. "I have no idea how much they cost."

Mike puts his hand on my back and pulls out my chair. "That's the way it should be."

I get seated and Conner blinks a few times. "Did you have fun shopping?"

"Yes. I got to see skyscrapers. And we went in Safiri."

He smiles at Mike. "School clothes shopping?"

"Only the best." Mike smirks and picks up his drink. "Thank you."

"My pleasure, sir."

"Did you get anything for her apartment though?"

"I don't know where to put it. You'll have to take her shopping after it's done. I can't stay that long."

Conner leans back. "That's fine. I could use a new suit too."

Mike nods. "School clothes shopping."

Alpha shakes his head. "You're both something else."

Luna nods. "What happened anyway?"

"My scout kicked their alpha's ass."

They crack up laughing.

Mike smirks. "They're worthless except for money."

"And we can't fight money."

Mike raises his glass. "But we can sure as hell spend it."

"This is so good. I haven't eaten good food since I was in woodland." I can't help but stuff my face.

"Thank you. I love cooking." Alice smiles.

Alpha stares at me. "Conner told us Amos was thinking about removing the moonlit mark from you."

"I heard. Not much I can do about it. I would have to find somewhere else to do laundry and eat."

"I'm going to put the Crimson Moon mark on you. If he would remove it, at least you'll have somewhere close you can go.

"Thank you." Mike smiles. "I feel better after hearing that."

I sit straight up. "I could come here?"

"Yes."

"Do you have gardens?"

"Yes."

"Can I work in them?"

"I don't think they'll care if you want to help."

I stand up. "Where they at?"

Mike pulls me back down. "Not now. It's going to be dark soon. You can roam around their land another day."

"Tomorrow?"

"We'll see."

I smile. "I love to garden."

"She hasn't been in a garden since woodland." He twirls my hair. "I used to catch her there every day."

"You won't want to garden in those shoes anyway." Alice smiles as dessert gets sat down.

"That's true."

A few days later, Mike has to go back. He leaves me with Alice. She said I could stay in their guest room until my apartment is done. It's different but I can shower and work in the garden every day. Everyone in the pack is kind too. And they're happy to have garden help. Conner makes plans with Mike about what to shop for. Then Mike goes back to woodland. I'll miss him but at least I have my phone now. I text him all the time. Even if he doesn't reply right away. I text him anyway. I tell him about everything.

A month later, Conner takes me home.

It's so overwhelming being home. I missed it. But the place is empty. I take pictures and send them to Mike.

Then Conner and I go shopping. He takes me to the skyscrapers too. I pick out new clothes and get all fancy again. I think we buy more stuff than Mike and I did. Conner gets suits too, but they're all black. He got a black suit in every style. After that we furniture shop and get everything for the apartment.

I plop onto my couch. "A real apartment."

"This is nice now. We forgot to go to the grocery store though."

"Tomorrow. I have to go to work. There's one down the street anyway. I can walk to that."

"Don't forget about your tutor in the afternoon. I'll come by in the morning and take you shopping."

"Ok. Thank you."

I go to work and Chris is there.

"Where's Conner? You are usually stuck together."

"It's only because I was stuck on his pack land. I'm home again finally."

"Oh, they finally got it done. Nice. I want to come see it."

"Tonight or tomorrow. I'm not doing anything. Well, I have the tutor from 1 to 3 tomorrow."

"I'll come tonight." He pours a cup of coffee for himself. "So, are you and Conner a couple?"

"No."

"Are you sure? I think he wants to be."

"We're not like that. We're friends. I think he always saw me as someone to take care of. When I was staying with his alpha, it was even worse. Trust me, he's happy my apartment is done. I think everyone is."

"Summer will be here soon. Any plans?"

"No. More of the same."

"We can go to the beach and swim."

"That would be nice. I've never seen a beach."

"I should take you now."

"Is it far?"

"Couple of hours. It's not close."

"I don't think Ellen would like it."

He laughs. "Yea, we should probably wait."

Chris comes after work. We order a pizza and stay up talking about boys. He really does think Conner likes me. I don't see it though. I've always been a little kid to the boys. Someone to take care of. Conner's no different. The first time I met him, he was complaining about how I live. He's the one who called Mike and told him. He is taking care of me. I need to show him I'll be fine on my own.

Conner comes in the morning and I realize I'm not off to a good start.

We get to the grocery store and I grab some bread.

"What's wrong?"

"This bread tastes like sugar. I was going to look up a recipe for bread but I forgot."

"You can always come back. I can bring you tomorrow."

"I can walk. It's not that far. This'll work for now." I grab some eggs.

"We need to do some more shopping."

"Why?"

"How are you going to cook your eggs?"

I stare at the eggs. "I'm sorry. You'll never get away from me."

"That's not what I meant."

"My uncle said he would take care of me. Mike said he was responsible. In truth, it's you that's doing everything. Nobody else even helps. I'm sorry."

"You need some help starting out. It's not a big deal. I promise, you'll get it soon. We need to get a few more things first. Then you can start making me meals."

"Making your meals?"

"Your cooking is the best. I loved it when you cooked at the packhouse. I couldn't ever say that. I didn't want to hurt Alice's feelings. You're the better cook though. You'll be cooking for me often."

I smile and hug him. That was so sweet. I don't know if he meant it, but it made me feel good. "Let's go get pans and a bread maker. I need a mixer too."

"Silverware and plates." He winks at me.

2 hours later, we're back at the grocery store. I have recipes. He's stuck in the coffee beans. He bought the most expensive coffee maker and grinder for my apartment. We get everything we need and get back to the apartment as the tutor shows up. I study while Conner gets everything out of the boxes and puts it all away.