Chapter 1
The Day Before Halloween
Isped down the dirt road, heading for the pack preserve for one last meeting about the upcoming full moon potluck. There’d barely been enough time to stop by the coffee shop and grab something to get my day started. I was supposed to be working a shift too, but thankfully a new hire, Aaron, had been able to come in early. There might have been a hundred-dollar bill slipped into his hand before I left for my complete lack of forethought. The last thing I wanted was for my employees, most of which were werewolves, to feel cheated, especially when my husband Chance was the Alpha of the pack.
And, of course, that meant I was the Luna and therefore required at all these silly meetings. Don’t get me wrong though, I loved being pack Luna. It was an honor to have so many wolves look up to me. Considering their unyielding support for a male Luna, I owed it to them to give the position my best, even if it meant I had to rush my morning iced coffee. Which, just so we’re clear, was pretty much a cardinal sin in my book.
Thisparticularfull moon potluck was giving us a lot of trouble. This year, as luck would have it, was the convergence of a full moon on the night of Halloween. Considering I’d come from deep in the Midwest and was never really part of packactivities growing up, I didn’t understand what all the hubbub was about to begin with. Chance was going out of his mind with preparations. Every year so far, the pack preserve had hosted a full moon potluck and a Halloween trick-or-treat for the pups when they fell on different days. But, as I soon found out, the convergence of these two cosmic events was something of a werewolf free-for-all.
There was an ancient power in Halloween, or so Chance said. On its own, Halloween wasn’t much to worry about for our kind. But when the full moon landed on that day, its pull on our wolven instincts was heightened, far beyond that of the blue moon. Thankfully, the event only occurred every eighteen years or so, which meant we had plenty of time to plan. Or at least we would have if we hadn’t just taken over the pack a handful of months ago. But Chance’s father, Dave, the previous Alpha of the Tellurian pack, was more than willing to lend a hand.
Pulling up to the pack offices, I switched the jeep off and hopped out, making sure I didn’t forget the iced cold brew I’d driven clear into town to get. If there was one thing I wouldn’t tolerate, it was a pack meeting without caffeine. Something had to take the edge off as we discussed how much pork to roast for the fortieth time. It wasn’t even that it was boring; it was that I’d sit there and drool for two hours only to find my lunch completely lacking. There was nothing that could quite beat slow-roasted pork on a cool autumn evening.
“Alright, the important person is here,” I called out as I pushed my way through the meeting room doors. “We can get started.” I pointed at the blonde sitting off to the side, his mouth half open in a retort. “Stuff it, Leo. Don’t wanna hear your sass this morning.”
“What about mine?” the brunette next to him asked.
“None from you either, Coop.”
“Am I allowed to speak?”
I looked up as the hulking ginger Alpha neared me, a bright smile filling his face. His green eyes sparkled, little flecks of gold catching the overhead lights.
“Only if it's to compliment me,” I joked, grabbing his shirt and pulling him down so I could give him a small kiss. “You know I love compliments.”
“You’re just as charming and beautiful as ever,” he replied, giving me a wink.
“My god,” Cooper balked. “You two are revolting.”
“Oh please,” I retorted, waving him off as I took a seat. “You and Adrian are just as bad when you think nobody’s looking. Thankfully, he’s got a bit more decorum than you or I’m sure we’d all get an eyeful.”
Leo snickered, nudging Coop with his shoulder. “Oooh. Burn!”
“Oh my god, Leo,” Coop replied, his cheeks flushing red as he attempted to shift the tide. “Nobody says that anymore. You sound like an old person.”
“As fun as this banter is,” Chance called out, holding his hands up to quiet everyone down. “We do have some important things to go over.”
“Are we talking about the pork again?” I asked, shaking my head. “I refuse to talk about food one more time.”
“Not this time.”
“Thank the gods.”
“But we do need to go over security one last time.”
Instead of letting out a small groan, I put the straw in my mouth and began mainlining myself with caffeine. Security was not my bag, but I needed to know what was going on just in case something went wrong.
“I know you all realize this, but tomorrow, things are going to get a little crazy. Thanks to the conjunction of the full moon and Halloween, wolf instincts will be on overdrive, and some of thepack may lose control entirely. Because of that, we’re going to be stationing our most trusted security at tight intervals around the preserve. They, in addition to the fencing, will make sure that nobody gets out and causes potential harm.”
His demeanor was serious, but I couldn’t help thinking about how hot Chance was when he was leading the pack. There was just something about a man who took his job and his people seriously. Everyone was relying on him, and it was a lot of weight to bear, but he did it beautifully.
“Then there’s the Alpha Effect we have to worry about.”
“Alpha Effect?” I asked, pulling the straw out of my mouth. “What is that?”
Leo and Coop looked at one another and then at Chance.
“You… You didn’t tell him?” Leo asked, his voice low.
