I was confused. Last I had heard, Shining Moon had dissipated because Emerald was the only alpha heir. Was that just a rumor?

"When I became River's luna, my parents waited for the beta and gamma heirs to reach age before stepping down and passing the lines to them." It was like she had read my mind. "When they stepped down, they decided to retire down here to be closer to River and I and our kids."

Eirenae pulled out a chair at the head of the table, shocking me, as I realized River wasn't already claiming that seat. He seemed quiet for an alpha, though. Maybe he just didn't want to argue with his mother-in-law.

"Amethyst, dear," Eirenae says softly, her gaze on the child in the luna's lap. "Why don't you sit in your own chair, and let your mommy have her chair?"

The girl hesitated but didn't argue, sliding off her mother's leg and plopping her bottom in the seat beside her. Her big round eyes the color of summer leaves never left mine as she moved. I couldn't tell if she was intrigued by our presence or anxious about the strangers in her home. I offered her a small smile, as I often did to May when she was shy about something. The girl didn't even blink in response, just continued to stare me down.

As the food was carried from the kitchen to our table, the hallway door swung open and let three more people inside. Finally, my siblings had decided to join us. They sat on the other side of Mom while the third person took a seat in between Eirenae and the child.

Eirenae smiled warmly at the man, and I noticed her reach over to squeeze his hand. That must be her mate, Emerald's father. While it might have been considered rude to assume that in such a first glance, his emerald eyes were so strikingly identical to the luna's and her daughter's that there was no mistaking who he was. His gaze found me and my family and he gave us a polite nod.

"Mommy, I don't like this." Though she wasn't speaking to me, her eyes never left my face as she spoke.

Emerald leaned closer to her, pointing discreetly to the steak on her plate. "Yes you do, honey. It's steak! You've had steak before." The girl's mouth turned down in a pout as she leaned away from the table. Emerald sighed, "Here, I can cut it into smaller bites and you can try some again."

"No!" The girl shrieked batting her mother's hand away.

"Kota!" Eirenae hissed to my left and I saw her nudge the man's elbow.

Kota nodded, leaning towards his granddaughter and telling Emerald he had this. I tried not to stare too long as I watched him encourage the kid to eat. Emerald, relaxed now, took a bite of her own food before starting the conversation back up.

"So, I hate to start the dinner off on a low note, but April mentioned something to me earlier that I can't seem to shake." She glanced at me and I froze mid-chew through my bite of potatoes.

Mom leaned forward to look at me from the other side of Dad. Her face questioned how much I told them.

I gulped the bite down and fiddled with my hands nervously. "I didn't mean to make you nervous. I promise it's nothing like that."

Emerald shared a quiet glance with her mate, as if they were speaking without words. She turned back to me, "We're not surprised there's something more to your story. We were anxious when your father called to request such a thing. Many students go to college and live on campus, so why were you seeking a packhouse?
"But your reasons seemed clear understandable, so we've obliged. However, we just want to get the full picture."

Alpha River nodded in agreement. "Starting with the fact that you're a human, born to an alpha."

"But she's not a human!" May protested innocently. I squeezed her arm, but she just looked at me, confused.

River cocked an eyebrow, and even Kota and Eirenae grew still, seeming to lean in, desperate to understand what all of this meant.

"What does she mean?" Emerald tested finally, her words dragged across her lips painfully. "How are you able to hide your scent?"

I sighed, choosing to speak just as slow as she was. "I'm not human, but I'm not a wolf, either."

Eirenae's eyes grew wide, glancing at her mate. "There are different species of Shifters? I never read about those." Her voice was a low whisper but it wasn't hard to pick up.

"Me neither," I told her, though I wasn't sure if she was referring to the same thing I was. "When I shifted, I scoured the Royal Information Volumes looking for anything and everything about what I was and what this would mean."

"So, what are you?" Kota asked at the same time Emerald said, "And you never found anything?"

I shook my head. "Not in those. Other books I read depicted foxes from mythology, not really tying me to the Moon Goddess or anything but everything in the books described many things I know I'm not. Not just personality-wise but physically too. I think I'm mostly like you guys, just I turn into a fox instead."

River frowned, making his first comment ever to me directly. "But there are differences?"

In my peripheral, I could see Mom's warning to tread carefully but I ignored her. We'd opened a hole too big to narrow back down now. I wasn't nervous, though. From what I gathered, these wolves were safe, harmless. Maybe that was stupid and naive of me, but I would be living with them for most likely months; we had to trust these wolves, or we would simply be off to a horrible start. I made a mental note to respect my parents' wish to act human from then on, though. That was the least I could do. If my mate appeared, I'd cross that bridge when it was time, but I had to at least try to keep my end of the bargain strong.

I nodded, answering River's question. "Subtle, but yes. Like my clothes stay with me for one thing."

Eirenae's eyes grew three sizes. "What?! That's so unfair; that's my least favorite part about shifting!"

Kota chuckled with the shake of his head, but we all ignored her outburst.

"That's really the main difference, I suppose. I shifted late, but I'm not sure that means anything. I'm positive more differences will come up as I go throughout my life, but because I haven't found an accurate book on my kind, only time and experience will tell."

"When did you shift?" Eirenae asked me.

"Two years ago about. I was seventeen."

"On your birthday?"

"No. Which I guess is another abnormality about my situation."

Emerald frowned, looking thoughtful. "Well this is definitely something new to all of us."

"As it was to us, too." Mom agreed. "That is the biggest reason we wanted to find her a safe home to be apart of while she is in the area. I think it is in our best interest to trust those in this room, but expanding beyond that is difficult for me to come to terms with."

I stared at my plate. "Most of our own pack doesn't even know. They assume I'm stunted."

"Then that's what we'll tell our pack. To those who ask, anyway. I agree that keeping you a secret may be best for now."

"I grew up solely around humans," Mom added, "and I've found that there are always people looking for, taking, and harming those that they deem don't belong. Those that are unique, those that may be a threat of power. It's human nature to be wary of something you don't understand."

"The same would be said of wolves." Kota said.

Mom nodded, "Exactly. Keeping April hidden and protected is the only way I can handle letting her go." Her voice cracked at the end and Dad reached over to squeeze her shoulder. I offered them both the slightest of smiles.

I knew they cared for me, and that leaving me here in the hands of a pack we weren't familiar with was nearly devastating, so I knew these precautions were simply that: they just wanted to protect their daughter. I may be grown enough to be leaving home and finding my own path, but I would always be their daughter.

"That settles it," River decided. "She'll stay and be protected to the best of our ability. And no one will know what she is except for those in this room."

🐾🐾🐾

I was walking down the hall back towards my room after dinner, intending to crash right to the bed and sleep until morning, when I noticed Emerald pacing near my door. She had her daughter on her hip, the child's head buried into her neck.

"April!" She said as she spotted me. She stopped pacing and stood in front of me, her eyes glassy, but motherly. "I hope we didn't scare you. I want you to know you're safe here, and the precautions are for when you're on campus and hanging out with friends you meet. I know I met you today, but it will kill me if you got hurt somehow because, because-"

I reached out to touch her arm. "I know. It didn't scare me off, I was already aware of most of the dangers when I made the choice to come out here. I still don't know exactly what could happen to me if the information of my shifted form landed in the wrong hands, but I promise I'll be safe, and I promise you or my mom didn't scare me."

Relieved, she placed a hand to her chest. "Oh thank Goddess."

I grinned, "I wanted to come out here, start a new part of my life, maybe meet a certain someone, and knowing my safety could be on the line isn't enough to stop me. My safety has always been on the line, the second I turned into a fox instead of a wolf."

Emerald grinned, but it didn't reach her eyes. "I'm glad. I've got to get this one to bed, but I'll see you in the morning. Say 'night, Ames!"

The child only buried her nose into her mom's chest, making Emerald chuckle at her shyness. But as she turned to walk down the hall, the girl peeked over Emerald's shoulder at me and I offered a tiny wave. Finally, the girl gave me a smile and lifted her fingers in a wave that matched mine.