“Nothing,” I mouth back to Lyra, but it's almost as if she can see through the lie.
There's little I can keep hidden from her, since she's an observant human who became my closest friend when I moved to Salem. Not only was she there for me when I gave birth to Noah, but she'd also given us a place to stay in the cottage behind her house and arranged the job for me at the local diner.
She's become my closest ally, but even she doesn't know the true nature of my identity, or Noah's. But it's less complicated that way.
The werewolf pack I grew up in prided itself on keeping our identity hidden from the humans, as did many of the neighboring werewolf packs in Maine. The only way I'd been able to hide myself from any of them finding me in Oakland wasn’t just by never shifting, but by going by my mother's last name.
It's kept me safe all this time, but now it feels like I'm not safe anymore.
“Thanks, Lyra,” I say with a warm smile. “Same time tomorrow?”
Lyra's frown subsides, and her eyes go wide when she sticks up a finger. “Wait, Ari! I packed dinner for you and Noah.”
Before I can protest, Lyra disappears inside and comes back with a brown bag that she pushes into my free hand. “I know how much you enjoyed the lasagna I made last time,” she giggles with a wink.
My heart swells with warmth and appreciation that outweighs how terrible I've been feeling lately, and I thank my friend for being so considerate. She assures me that it was no trouble at all, and I quickly realize that perhaps I've been reading too much into my dark dreams.
I have no reason to feel out of place in the home I've created for my son and myself. It's not much, but we have everything we need—a roof over our heads and a caring, kind friend who doesn't mind looking after Noah during the day while I work at the diner.
Noah is sleepy as soon as we walk into our cottage, his telltale sigh telling me that Lyra kept him busy all day.
“Wanna go to bed, Noah-kins?” I ask as I set the brown bag of food on the table.
He yawns in response, tiny arms coiling around my neck.
“Bed…” he concedes with a sleepy nod, and I press a kiss to his temple. I should probably get him to brush his teeth before bed, but I've exhausted myself overthinking all day, and I just want my bed, too.
I climb into bed and set him down, my eyes closing the moment my head touches the pillow, and my last thought is that I need to stop having those nightmares, mentally muttering a small prayer to the Moon Goddess to give me a good dream for a change.
Lord knows I need something to brighten up my dark thoughts.
Chapter 2 - Tyler
Tugging on my tie and loosening it from my collar, I feel like I can breathe again and appreciate the view of the setting sun on the horizon, casting a warm, soft orange glow over the pack's territory.
Portland.
Home to the Moonshine Pack, where I rule as the alpha.
A despondent sigh escapes my lips, my shoulders slouching as the weight of my authority burdens my being. I've barely had a moment to breathe since I retired from black ops and returned to Portland, since I'd been sprung into alpha duties the moment I set foot on Moonshine soil.
Father was adamant that it was time for me to take over, allowing him to retire earlier than expected. While I thought I might have some time to breathe before taking up the mantle of leader of Moonshine, I'd been wrong.
All I have is this moment right here, watching the sunset warm the gloomy town of Portland and bring with it a sense of hope. Today was somewhat of a respite when I visited the coastal town of Nightmist, home to my good friend Dominic Rivera from black ops. He'd married his true mate—an omega werewolf from the Lunaris Pack, where he reigns as their alpha—in a wedding ceremony that was fit for a werewolf and a human alike.
I smile at the thought of seeing my friend happy today, knowing how cold and stoic he'd been all those years while in our squad. Something was missing in his life, a piece of his puzzle that left him feeling incomplete. I recognized what was missing when I visited him during the alpha ranking trials of his pack—a gruesome test of the pack members' capabilities to determinewho their next alpha would be—and I saw the way he stared at his partner.
She was the missing piece of his puzzle, despite being the omega of his pack. He soon realized it, too, and claimed her as his mate after some prompting from me.
Another sigh escapes my lips as I find myself walking to the window, placing a flattened palm on the cold glass as I look out over the Moonshine territory. On the outside, it seems like I have everything I could ever want, but deep down, I know that something is missing from my life, too.
I can't help but feel a pang in my chest where that missing piece of my own puzzle leaves a gaping hole, one that cannot be filled, no matter how much I've gained. Perhaps a break was needed when I returned from black ops, but it was a luxury that wasn't mine to have, even if I'd been looking forward to it.
It's not like it matters. She's gone.
My inner wolf's reminder has me curling my fists into balls of fury that surface from deep within my being. I know I only have myself to blame for her not being here when I returned, but it's something my inner wolf can't seem to come to grips with.
“Alpha Tyler, we're waiting for you in the pack den,”comes my beta's voice, snapping me out of my depressed daze and jolting me back to my duties.
