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Chapter 1

Her coffee tasted weird.

Claire stared at the cup of coffee in her hands, it was her favorite - a vanilla iced latte heavy on the cream. But today, it didn't taste like her beloved beverage. She shrugged and continued to drink her coffee. On the table in front of her, her phone vibrated. It was a text from her best friend, Sasha.

'good morning her royal highness. Your schedule for the day is ready' the text read.

Claire shook her head, a small smile playing on her lips. Sasha had a way of being sarcastic at the worse of all times.

"What are you smiling about?"

Claire jumped upon hearing the voice that spoke. She turned sharply to the door, her body relaxed when she saw Sasha standing there, phone in hand.

"Don't scare me like that Sasha," Claire gasped, clutching her heart. It was pounding loud, a bit too loud for a scare like that. "You could kill me!"

Sasha rolled her eyes, an arrogant smirk on her bold red lips. "Oh come on Claire, you and I both know it will take more than a little scare to kill the luna of the famous Vermont pack."

Claire chuckled. "You Could say so." She rose to her feet and cast a glance at the coffee on the table.

"Something wrong?"

"Not really, just my coffee taste weird."

Sasha made a small noise. "I'm sure it's just the weather. We have to go now, Logan can't handle those kids on his own."

At the mention of her beloved, Claire smiled dreamily. "Yeah, sure."

Sasha made a gag noise. "Oh my God you guys are the worst! Stop please, you're stinking up the whole place with your love scents."

Claire rolled her eyes. She took the coffee with her and walked up to Sasha at the door. "don't hate it till you try it."

"Whatever, o wise Luna. We have work to do."

Claire put on her brightest smile. "Of course, let's go."


The Vermont pack was a large one. Founded so many years ago, they had a legacy of strong alphas, wise Luna's, and a fair justice system. As Claire walked through the halls, she couldn't help but feel a huge feeling of content and happiness. The pack was her home, her family, all she devoted her life to. And she felt honored to be the Luna, to lead them to a brighter future.

Claire paused at the end of the hall where a portrait of her family hung proud. Her father, her mother and a younger version of herself. Her heart ached and tears rushed to her eyes. She missed her parents day by day, and it was tough going on without them. But she had learned to move on, to love and cherish those who were with her at the moment.

"Hey, Sundrop,"

Claire wiped her eyes and turned. Behind her was Logan, the one and only love of her life, and her alpha. She flashed a charming smile which he mirrored. She felt herself fall all over in love with him again.

"Good morning, my Lord,"

He laughed, waving dismissively. "Oh please stop calling me that."

"Yeah, alpha. It's so sexist right?" Sasha piped.

Claire eyed he friend "what do you know?" She said jokingly. Sasha rolled her eyes.

"I'll meet you two lover pups later. Unlike you, I have things to do."

Logan pulled Claire into his arms after Sasha had left. "I missed you," He said, kissing the top of her head. "You have absolutely no idea what you do to me."

Claire held him as tight as she could. She sighed in relief, "Logan, you last saw me six hours ago."

"Six hours is a long time, my Sundrop. Why don't we go for a run?"

Claire raised her head up and stared into Logan's dark eyes. "We have things to do, don't we?"

"Yeah yeah, sure we do. Hang out with a few pups, pretend we're training them when in fact it's all just foreplay..."

"Logan!" Claire yelled, punching him in the chest. She looked around them, making sure no one had heard them. "Don't say things like that out loud!"

Logan pulled her back into his arms. "So, we're going for the run?"

"I don't think so. My chest hurts."

Claire noticed a change in Logan. His body became tense. He pulled her away and scanned her form with dark eyes. "What do you mean your chest hurts?"

"Look, let's take care of the kids and then we'll see how it goes."

"Should I call the doctor?"

"No, no, I'm fine. I'm just stressed."

Logan stared at her long and hard. He didn't look like he believed her. At last he yielded, sighing in defeat. "You're the boss. Let's go and see the kids."

Claire rose to her tiptoes, pressing a quick kiss on his lips. "Sure!"

"Don't start what you can't finish, my darling."

"I wouldn't dare." She replied, laughing.

Hand in hand they walked to the training grounds. Logan and Claire were a picture of power. As the alpha and Luna of Vermont pack, they were well respected and loved by their people. Especially the pups. It often came as a surprise to the pack that their beloved alpha and Luna had yet to have their own pups.

At the training grounds, there were twenty five pups playing with the training dummies, some of them talking amongst themselves and having fun. The moment they saw Claire and Logan, they ran over to them, excitement bubbling off of them.

"Alpha! Luna!" They shouted in excitement

"Alpha, Alpha, look what I can do now! Look look!" One of the pups screamed and proceeded to grab another in a neck lock and throw him on the ground. "Did you see that, Alpha?!"

Logan smiled and patted the pup's head. "Of course, I did Jason. You're growing big and strong!"

"Alpha, look at me too!" One of the pups screamed and threw herself on Logan, tackling him to the ground.

"Oh," Claire exclaimed, shocked.

Logan's eyes went wide, then he laughed loud. "Very very impressive Charis," The girl rose and did an elegant curtsey.

"Thank you very much, alpha."

"That was wonderful, Charis." Claire said, ruffling the girl's hair.

"I wanna be like you, Luna." Charis said, her eyes shining bright.

Claire beamed brightly. "Of course, keep at it."

"Alpha, alpha! Look here too!" The pups were all screaming, eager to show off what they had learned and impress their alpha too.

Claire noticed one of the pups looking at her intently. She recognized her as Mai, a rather odd one if she had to say.

"Is anything the problem, Mai?"

Mai didn't reply, continuing to stare at Claire long and hard. Then she opened her mouth and said; "you smell weird."

Claire paused. "What do you mean by that Mai?"

The pup shrugged. "I dunno. You just smell weird to me. Really bad."

Claire was confused. She sniffed her clothes, they smelled okay to her. She turned to Mai but the pup had joined others in showing off her skills. Claire felt a shock of electricity up her spine. She staggered a bit, catching herself before she fell.

"Luna? Are you okay?" Some of the pups asked, as they noticed her almost fall. Logan was at her side in an instant.

"Is everything alright my Sundrop?" He asked, searching her face for signs of pain his eyes looking very worried.

"I'm okay." Claire said with a small smile. She pulled Logan aside. "Do I smell weird to you?"

He raised a brow, clearly confused. "No you don't. What is going on?"

"Claire!" A voice shouted. "Claire is everything alright? Don't tell me you're day drinking again!"

"Oh do shut up, I'm fine." Claire said, slapping off Sasha's hand as she tried to touch her. "I think I'll lay down for a bit."

"I'm definitely calling the doctor." Logan said in a final tone of voice. Claire sighed, knowing that when Logan got like this, there was no talking him out of it. "In the meantime, Sasha and I will take care of the pups. You need to rest."

Claire pouted. "Fine." She said in a grumble. "I'll get more beauty sleep anyway."

"Here, let me help you."Sasha said, taking Claire's hand gently. "Maybe you're pregnant, all that fuc..."

"And that is enough! There's kids here, Sasha." Claire yelled, her cheeks turning red. Logan cleared his throat, but he was smiling.

"That won't be a bad idea." He mused to himself. Claire kicked his leg.

Claire turned to the pups and waved. "I'll see you all later okay, get big and strong for me alright? "

"Yes, Luna," They chanted in unison. All except one. Mai. She was staring and Claire with hatred and contempt. So much that it shocked her. Except, when Claire paid more attention, Mai's hateful gaze wasn't focused on her, it was on Sasha. Claire's brows knitted in confusion, wondering what her best friend had done to Mai to deserve such hate in her gaze. She couldn't come up with anything. Mai noticed her staring and in and instant her gaze softened and the pup smiled. It was a pitiful smile.

"Let's go Claire!" Sasha said, pulling her hand.

Claire turned from the pup and headed back, Sasha by her side. Her head was filled with questions and her chest with pain.

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