I stared at the ceiling while I laid on the guest bed. It was after midnight, and I had been in the room the luna took me to since nine. Sleeping outside of my home in a strange bed under a strange roof was hard for me. My body just wanted my own bed, with my green comforter and white pillows. My bookshelf—silhouetted in the dark against the wall next to the en suite bathroom's door—with picture frames and childhood memories on its shelves. The white curtains adorned with silver stitching hanging across my windows.

This room was bland. Which was understandable since it was a guest room. The most personalized thing in there was another oil painting depicting a wolf in the forest at autumn time. It hung on the wall across from the bed, which was covered with a white bedspread and grey pillows. A small gray throw-blanket draped over the right corner. I was sprawled on top of it all, not really caring to crawl into the blankets yet, or fluff the pillows to my liking. I just laid there in silence, thinking about the discussion we had after dinner.

The Menai Moon Pack was complicated, and closed off from the rest of the world.  At least it felt that way. Tally's last visit to us was when I was eight or nine years old. I couldn't pick her out in the crowd if she stood right in front of me. And we never visited her. Which was beginning to make more and more sense as I learned about Mom's connection to the pack.

Why didn't they ever tell me Mom was supposed to be the next queen? What else were they not telling me? I thought my parents trusted me. Maybe I was wrong.

I hated being kept in the dark like I was still a pup.

I rolled over to my side, my eyelids finally getting heavier. I wondered if my parents would answer me directly if I just asked them specifically about my grandmother. They often didn't even like speaking her name, but I wanted to know what she did that was so awful they never even told me about her. And I wanted to know why my mother acted like her gift was a curse. She only ever used it for good things, so why did she hate it so much?

She also hated shifting. I wasn't sure if I could ever be able to understand that. Shifting was freeing to me, it let you become an entirely different species for a little bit, to see the world in a new perspective. Mom just couldn't ever seem to get comfortable in her wolf's body. The only time I saw her seem happy in wolf form was when I first turned and she shifted with me. Dad joined us too, as did Skylar and her parents and we romped around the woods together, playing and tumbling and running. The one time I saw Mom letting herself be carefree in her wolf.

With a sigh, my eyes got the better of me, and I drifted off with the image of Mom's bright white wolf burned against the back of my eyelids. A howl seemed to echo through my ears.

Sunlight filtered into the room, given to me in slices, as I stretched my legs out and sat up. I had fallen asleep still on top of the sheets, but I must have gotten cold at some point in the night, for the grey throw blanket now wrapped around my feet. Kicking it off, I stood up from the bed, the light patterns adjusting over my toes.

There wasn't a bathroom connected to this room, so I grabbed my small toiletry bag from my backpack and ventured out into the hall. Sure enough, at the end of the hall—opposite to the stairs we came down last night—was a door that swung ajar, tiles peeking from underneath it.

Lucky for me, no one else seemed to be waiting to use it, so I was able to close and lock the door and take my time with my business.

I brushed my teeth and then raked a comb through my hair. It didn't lay as naturally flat as Mom's, but at least it didn't always frizz and multiply the volume by three when I brushed it like Skylar's did. I tied the top half into a little knot, leaving the rest to hang over my shoulders, before I went back to the guest room to change.

Finally, I picked up my phone. Seeing no new messages from anyone, I pocketed the device and headed for the stairs. For a moment, I stood at the top, contemplating where I might have found someone who knew what today's plan was. I decided the dining area we were in yesterday would be my best bet, so I pivoted on my heel and headed down what I hoped was the correct hallway.

Sure enough, Mom and Luna Black were already seated at the table, talking quietly over mugs of steaming coffee. I took a seat next to Mom, quietly so I wouldn't intrude. My effort went unnoticed, for she turned her head to greet me.

"Good morning, Emerald."

"Morning." I replied, glancing around the room. No one else was around. "Where is everyone?"

She set her mug down and swallowed her sip. "Your father and Cole are in the alpha's office, discussing their plan on how to move forward."

I frowned, "Why aren't we part of it?" It wasn't too much of a surprise that I wasn't. But the lunas' exclusion surprised me.

Luna Black shrugged. "We weren't really needed. Everything major was covered last night."

An omega pushed through the kitchen door, carrying a steaming mug. He set it down in front of me and I thanked him.

"Could you please bring out some bread? My children will be waking soon." The luna asked. He dipped his head and disappeared back into the kitchen.

Sure enough, just as he was returning with a platter of mini bagels and dishes of flavored cream cheese, the two pups from last night entered the dining room. I was surprised to see they were both dressed for the day as they sat down. As a kid, I never changed out of my pajamas before breakfast but I was only ever scolded for it if we had company present.

The kids immediately each grabbed a bagel and dipped a knife into their preferred flavor of cheese. They didn't say anything until their first was gone.

I reached for a cinnamon bagel and spread plain cream cheese on it. I ate it in nibbles, in case the luna decided to serve us more food I would want later.

"So," the boy asked, sounding bold and daring as he slightly leaned forward in his seat. "What is it like being a white wolf?"

His little sister smacked his arm at the same time his mother scowled and said, "Xavier!"

His piercing blue eyes were full of innocence. "What? I don't think it's rude to ask. I'm just curious."

I stifled a laugh. The kid didn't even know what being a wolf was like at all. Just by looking at him, and hearing his voice pitch, I was ninety-nine percent sure this kid hadn't shifted.

Mom was quiet, staring at the brown liquid in her mug.

"You don't have to answer him." The luna told her.

The little girl smacked her brother on the arm again and he turned on her. "What, Everlee? You want to know just as much as I do!"

A hint if a smile appeared on Mom's lips and she finally lifted her eyes to look at the children.

"White fur," she said, "doesn't really change me as a wolf. As far as I can tell, I have the same build and anatomy as any other werewolf in my pack."

"What is anatomy?" The girl—Everlee—piped up.

"What's inside the body." Xavier told her quickly. He was obviously eager to hear anything Mom had to say.

She continued. "But, sometimes when I shift and look down, my paws seem to sparkle. Like freshly fallen snow." Then she laughed a little. "I blend in really well in the winter time."

Both pups had stopped eating and were staring at her in awe. I wondered what stories they had been told about white wolves. I didn't grow up with those stories, but Eva once told me most packs used the tales of the royal pack as their pups' bedtime stories. Especially before the queen had come out of hiding and many wolves assumed the royals were gone for good.

"I hope I'm a white wolf!" Everlee whispered. Now it was Xavier's turn to smack her.

"It doesn't work like that, Stupid."

"Hey! Don't call me that!"

"Kids." The luna merely breathed the word and both of them instantly stopped bickering and hitting each other.

"Fine," Everlee said after a moment. "What do you think my wolf will look like?"

Xavier thought about it for a minute, popping another miniature bagel into his mouth. "Probably like Mom's. Brown, maybe some grey in there."

Everlee lifted her brown eyes to the ceiling, and I imagined she was drawing up a picture of her future wolf in her mind. "Okay. What about you?"

He snorted, as if the answer was super obvious and she was dumb for not realizing. "I'll be alpha. My wolf will be black."

"Are all alphas black?"

Xavier nodded, but suddenly looked unsure, like he was doubting that knowledge seconds after boasting about it.

Luna Black answered her. "Yes, Everlee. All alphas have wolves with black fur. It is a sign of power and leadership."

The child thought about that. "But the king would have white. Even though he is also an alpha?"

"According to legend, yes."

Mom stepped in and explained. "There hasn't been a werewolf king around in a long time. So there isn't a way to be sure right now."

"Okay." Everlee said, content with the information she got.

I noticed Mom's eyes soften with a hint of longing and knew she was pining a little again over more kids she never got to have. Or maybe she was missing when I was that age. I was probably less difficult then.

"Well," Luna Black suddenly announced, pushing her chair back and standing up. "While we wait for the alphas, would you like a tour?"

She led us to the back of the house, past the main living space and through the back doors. I caught a glimpse of a sectional, a large TV, and two cabin-themed chairs. Once outside, we stood on the back deck. It was long like the front porch was, but not as wide, as it dropped into steps rather quickly under our feet. But past the deck was a neat lawn, a rich green under the May afternoon sun. This pack was south of us, and the eight hours made quite a difference. While our May still tried to hold onto bits of snow and lots of rain, here it was full swing summer weather.

To the left was a small garden area, and as we grew nearer, I recognized sprouts of  vegetable plants.

"Do you grow these for the pack?" I asked.

"I do! I have liked to make a hobby out of gardening in recent years." Luna Black said. "The omegas help of course, but it's mostly my project."

Xavier skirted his way around the beds. "I like to pick the plants when they're ready." He stuck a hand deep into the plant stalks and came back with a cute little yellow squash. "If they fall off their stems, they're ready."

Mom chuckled, I smiled. I didn't have too much interest in growing things, but it was cute how excited Xavier was over a summer squash.

We continued around the yard, chatting small talk until the sun was high in the sky. The lunas walked in front of me, and Xavier walked next to me. Everlee had gotten bored early on and had disappeared back into the house.

"Have you shifted yet?" I couldn't help but ask him. Next to me, it was clear he wasn't as little as I first saw him to be, for he was a few inches taller than me. Now, I wasn't tall to begin with, but I wasn't puny either. I exceeded my mother's height by two inches. I counted it as a win.

His cheeks reddened. "No. I'm not even fifteen yet."

My eyes flicked up to him. "Goodness."

He laughed. "I know. Mom says I just hit an early growth spurt." He paused as we walked, and the wind carried our mothers' voices back to us. "You've shifted though, right?"

I could tell that wasn't what he really wanted to ask. "Yes, last August." I smirked, "I'm not your mate if that's what you're dying to ask."

That set his face on fire and he fiercely shook his head. "No! No, that's not what I was wondering."

I had to laugh at how flustered that made him. "Okay. Then ask."

He chewed on the inside of his lip for a moment, hesitating. "Are you a white wolf? Like your mom."

"No."

"So you have the alpha black wolf?"

"Also no." I sighed. "I actually got a combination of the two. Strangely my fur is black and white."

He stopped walking and looked at me strangely for a second.

"I know." I said, waving my arms in the air. "I don't know why I don't have the black pelt of an alpha." Other wolves could have white in their pelts, royal or not. The royals just had purely white fur with nothing else. I didn't think my white splotches had anything to do with my lineage.

He smirked suddenly, catching me slightly off guard. "You know what that means."

I looked at him expectantly.

"I'll bet money your mate is an alpha."

Shrugging it off, I said, "Don't joke around."

"I'm not!" He insisted. "It makes sense. Otherwise why wouldn't your wolf be full alpha?"

I nearly growled at him. "No, it doesn't make sense! Why would the Moon Goddess give me a destined mate that was another alpha when there was no one to take over the pack should I leave!"

Xavier furrowed his eyebrows. "You don't have siblings?"

"No! So why would She do that to me? I'd be leaving my pack stranded. Or he would, but it's untraditional for the male to move in with the female's pack."

He shrugged. "Don't look at me! Maybe She didn't know you wouldn't have siblings when She created your destiny."

I scowled at the grass. "She knows everything."

"Did She tell you that?" He laughed. "Emerald, no one knows exactly what She sees or does or knows. We just believe in Her because we've been told She created us."

He had a point. Dammit that kid was wise for his years. Who would've seen it coming, after all those questions this morning?

"You'll make a good alpha." I whispered finally.

"Thanks. Dad doesn't see it yet."

"Make him." I advised. "You're young and you haven't shifted, of course you're overlooked. I know the feeling. Show him the side of you you showed me today."

"Thanks Emerald."

"Sure." We headed back for the house. Before we went in, I made one thing clear. "If you turn out to be right, and my pelt signifies who my mate could be. . . I'm coming for you."

His laugh was shaky, nervous almost. I brushed past him on my way into the building. He'd be fine. I was only sort of joking. Probably.