Moon Born

Chapter 7

I woke up earlier than I had planned, my nerves having deprived me of my appetite and causing me to have fallen into a deep sleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. As I lay in bed, staring at the red numbers on my clock that seemed to crawl toward morning, I couldn't help but feel a sense of nervous excitement.

Finally, at 5:30, I tiptoed to the bathroom for a quick shower, hoping not to wake anyone up. I rushed through getting ready, not bothering with my hair or makeup, and threw on my shoes as my phone started buzzing with messages from my friend.

'Here!'

'On my way!'

'Did you tell the parental units?'

'Just Dad. I'm leaving Mom a note. She'd totally freak out.'

'Yeah. I told my dad too. He was okay with it.'

'Mine too.'

'Weird.'

'Right? I'll be down in a minute!'

':)'

I grabbed my suitcases and snuck down the hallway.

"Want help with those?" Dad asked behind me.

"Oh, my Goddess. Why are you awake?"

"I figured you would be leaving before everyone got up. Plus, there's an early morning meeting with Alpha."

"About the animal?" I questioned.

He nodded, grabbing my suitcases.

I sighed heavily and followed close behind.

"Do you girls have food for the road?"

"We were gonna stop before leaving town."

He handed me a sack full of biscuit and sausage sandwiches, muffins, and a few cookies. "To add to the unhealthy things you'll be getting."

"Thanks, Dad."

"Don't worry about it, pup." He wrapped his arms around me and squeezed tight. "Be careful. Okay? And have fun."

"I will. I'm leaving Mom a note."

"Don't worry about it. I'll let her know."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. She'll take it better coming from me. She'll understand why you left, though. She knows this has been really hard on you."

"I'm gonna miss you."

"I'm gonna miss you too. But you won't be gone forever, so I'll see you in a little bit."

"Right. Make sure you let me know what happens with that werecat, okay?"

"Definitely. I'll call you later. Now hurry, before the whole house wakes up."

I nodded and kissed his cheek before running out the door to Ashley's car.

"Morning, Beta."

Dad waved to my friend. "Morning, Ashley. Make sure you take care of my daughter!"

"I will, sir!"

"You two have fun, okay?"

"That's the plan! Bye!"

She honked her horn, assuring everyone would wake up, and sped out of the driveway toward the border of our pack's territory.

"We are stopping at ToniJo's for fuel for the car and for food."

"Dad sent us off with a bag of biscuits, sausage, muffins, and cookies."