Chapter 4

Elise

“Man, that was delicious Elise, you always did know how to make a mean breakfast” chuckles Ian, bellies now full as we all move to just sit around the table to chat. Iris moves to help me as we move to clear off the table.

“Thanks Ian, glad to be of help” I chuckle, the brotherly love I got from Ian and Shaun unconditional as that was how we treated one another, like family.

“Anytime Elise” chuckles Shaun, his eyes sparkling in mischief while Iris and I move to tackle the dirty dishes. For while there was never any leftovers, we always had dirty dishes as we wolves always ate bigger meals and portions.

“So Ian, Shaun, are you both packed and ready to go later this afternoon? We leave in about an hour for our long four hour drive to the Moon Walker Pack you know. Got to get there before the rest do” I chime with a knowing smirk.

“Shit! I totally forgot, I’m sorry Elise please don’t be mad” pleads Ian as he moves to look directly at me.

“I’m not mad, but you should probably hurry if you don’t want to miss your only ride there” I tease, watching as he suddenly bolts from the room before rushing to head for home in order to pack for his trip.

Laughing at his antics, I move to look at Iris. “Are you all packed and ready to go, Iris?” I ask her.

Nodding her head, we continue with the dishes. “Yep, I finished packing this morning. Knew I probably wouldn’t have time to pack later as we’d most likely be heading on the road just after breakfast.”

“And you’d be correct. Although we probably won’t leave just yet. I still need to finish packing too” I say with a slight blush, a tad embarrassed that I myself wasn’t ready yet.

“Elise… Your Alpha, you're supposed to be ready” whines Iris, as if to give her Alpha shit about not being ready to go when she just teased Ian about not being ready himself.

“Relax Iris, I won’t be long” I say to her with a smile as we move to tag team the last few dishes as I always kept them to a minimum, especially when I was the one cooking.

“If you say so” sighs Iris just as we finish the dishes.

Smirking, I move to leave the kitchen. “I do say so, now if you’ll excuse me I must be packing for our trip” grinning I move to dash back towards my room, already knowing exactly what I was going to pack along for the trip.

‘You ready Elza?’ I ask my wolf once I approach my room.

‘I was born ready’ smiles Elza as we move to tackle our suitcase, knowing that I had to at least pack one formal gown for the Mating Ball, while the rest could be basically anything as long as it was suitable for an Alpha.

-One Hour Later-

“Everyone all set and ready to go?” asks Alpha Sebastian to those who now stood just outside the packhouse, two black suvs with the Dark Moon Crest painted neatly along each side of them.

“Yes Father, everyone who is presently here and accounted for are all packed and ready to go” I say to him, my Beta, Gamma and Delta each packed and ready to go, including myself as Shaun finished loading up the car.

Nodding his head, my Father moves to hug me gently. “Drive safe my little Moonstar, and remember, your an Alpha and Alpha’s don’t take shit from anyone including other higher ranks” murmurs Alpha Sebastian to his daughter, his nickname for her sticking, as Moonstar had been her go to name ever since she shifted at the age of 14. Her soft black fur painted with a literal white star surrounded by a white crescent moon that sat planted on her right hip.

“I will Father, just remember to take it easy. I shouldn’t be gone long but while I am gone, I’ve arranged for a couple of Omega’s to come and check in on you from time to time while I am. I’ll be sure to call you once I make it to the Moon Walker Pack.” I say to him, once we pull from the hug.

“I know you will sweetheart. That’s why you're my little Moonstar” smiles Alpha Sebastian as he moves to watch those who were present all climb into the big black cars, each vehicle moving to pull away from the packhouse as they begin their long four hour journey.

‘Are we there yet?’ whines Ian through the pack link as he and Shaun drove one car while Iris and I drove the other one.

‘NO! Now stop complaining… we only have about 2 hours more, so relax’ I growled at him, a little annoyed as Ian and Shaun literally kept complaining during the whole road trip since leaving all of Dark Moon behind.

‘But-’ whines Ian.

‘For the last time Ian, I said NO!’ Then, like so, I move to close the link, my focus now back on the road as we move to finish the last 2 hours of our journey without any more distractions.

-Moon Walker Pack-

When finally arriving at the Moon Walker Pack, my first initial thought was just how sad their little pack looked. The lack of scenery and curb appeal made the pack look more like a campground than an actual pack.

‘Talk about sad’ whispers Elza, as we move to pull up towards the packhouse, other black suvs each pulling up towards what we can only assume to be the packhouse as it all but stood out like a sore thumb in most cases.

“Could it be any less gaudy?” whispers Iris, causing me to snort in laughter by her words.

“Be nice, remember this ain’t our pack to judge” I tell her sternly with a smirk, my eyes noticing that the Eclipse Pack, Nightshade Pack and the Snow Moon pack had already arrived along with the Mystic Shadow Pack.

“The twins are here” smiles Iris, once she too had spotted their vehicles, the twins along with their Beta, Gamma, and Delta all standing outside the main packhouse as they’re greeted by the Beta of Moon Walker, Beta Collin.

Parking our cars, we move to climb out, my focus still on the twins and their group of people as they are eventually led inside the house by the Beta’s son, Brian.

‘You sure seem to know your stuff’ remarks Elza, impressed by my vast knowledge.

‘But of course, it’s my job as Alpha to know who is Beta, Gamma, Delta, Alpha and Luna as well as any future ruler a pack might have’ I tell her making a mental note to speak with the twins while here, as we were all here for the Mating Ball anyways.

Waiting on Ian and Shaun, it takes them all but 2 seconds before they finally move to approach Iris and I.

“Hey, did you two just see the twins?” asks Shaun almost excitedly as the twins were quite famous among the other packs as twin wolves were rare just like triplets.

“Yeah, they were just taken inside” I reply as I nod ever so slightly towards the packhouse.

“Sweet, hopefully we’ll be able to talk to them while we’re here. I would definitely love to meet them” chuckles Ian.

“We’ll see, for now let us get situated first and survive the Mating Ball, then we can talk to them once we find our mates for their probably on the hunt for their mates too” I say, knowing that I wanted a chance to speak with them as well but not until after I had a chance to find my mate.

Watching as they each nod in agreement, do we move to approach the front entrance, knowing that soon this place would be filled with 11 other packs all from different areas around the world, each hoping for a chance to find their missing piece, their soulmate without having to take a chosen.

“Hello and welcome to the Moon Walker Pack” greets the Beta who stood before us. His emerald color eyes and sandy blonde hair framing his strong yet chiseled jaw and face.

“Hello” I move to greet them back, knowing to be respectful of others regardless of rank.

“Greetings, I am Beta Collin and who do we owe the pleasure of joining us this evening?” asks Beta Collin as he moves to watch each of us.

“Alpha Hayes, Elise Hayes of Dark Moon Pack. I’m here with my Beta, Gamma and Delta” I answer back, letting my Alpha side come forth.

“Excellent. Please allow me to show you to your suite” was all he says as he gestures for an Omega to come forth before leading us inside and to where our rooms would be, another Omega bringing all our things behind us.

‘And so it begins’ are my only thoughts as we move to start our journey, the journey to find our missing piece, our soulmate, our mates, in this vast sea people who come for one reason and one reason only. To attend the Mating Ball.