Phoenix Moon

Here Comes Life (Part 2)

My phone blared, shocking me awake. I didn't recognize the number, but I answered anyway.

"Hello?" I said groggily.

"Hey Blue. Do you and Luke want to do something with me today?" Something stirred inside me, but I couldn't tell who it was over the phone. I wasn't awake enough to put together the obvious. Only one person ever called me Blue.

"Hmm?"

"Doo. Yoouu. Aaand-" he drawled.

"I got that part" I snapped "who's asking?"

"Andre..." His voice trailed off. I wracked my brain for a logical excuse as to why I couldn't, but I wasn't able to think of anything.

"Why didn't you just call Lukah?"

"I tried and he didn't answer"

"Oh" Wow Lily. Brilliant response. The wolf in me said shut up. Aren't you supposed to be helping me? The wolf backed off after that. "How did you get my number?" I was positive that I had never given it to him. If he ever needed me he called Luke.

"I asked around. Jess gave it to me" He sounded nervous. Wait. He asked about me. That little thought was enough to make my heart jump. It was such a simple thing, people did it all the time, but it meant that Andre was aware of me. Maybe the bond is working. Maybe his wolf just isn't sure? I knew better than to get my hopes up, but I couldn't help it.

I got lost in my thoughts and forgot that he was still waiting for a reply. "If you don't want to that's ok" Oh no. He was offended.

"Oh. Well ummm..." I struggled to come up with a lie "I ah...I told Kat that I would hang with her today"

"That's ok. We can just all do something together" Crap. I had no idea how to reply.

"Ummm..."

"It's Ok if you don't want to. It was just an idea" He sounded defeated.

"No!" I said a little too roughly. "I mean... Not no. It's not that I don't want to it's just... it's just..." I was completely blanking.

"That's ok. Maybe another time?"

"Yeah. Another time" Or not. "Sorry Andre" And I was sorry, but I wasn't ready for that yet. Just because I wanted to live my life didn't mean I was ready to be around him. I needed time to get myself together, and hopefully by then I would have found a way to fix our mate connection.

-

"I'm heading to Jess's" I called as walked out the door.
"Be back by noon tomorrow" Lukah yelled from his room.

"Yes Mother" I answered with a laugh. Tonight was the first full moon of the month, so Jessica, Kat, and I were going to eat junk-food, listen to Fall Out Boy, and try not to break anything. It didn't take long for me to walk the three blocks to Jessica's house. She lived with her fiancé, Kyle Marks, in a little blue hut near the Main House. The Main House was the building where we held all of our meetings, and other pack-related things. It used to be where the Alpha and his family lived, but the most recent Alpha chose to live closer to the edge of town. No one had actually lived there in decades, so it made no sense to call it a house, but old traditions die hard.

I didn't bother knocking when I heard Kat's voice inside. I walked in to find that Jessie had pushed the couch against the wall and pulled the dining room table into her living room.

"Lillian!" Jess squealed in a high-pitched voice. She was the only one that ever called me that. It had been that way ever since we met. Jessica had been in the pack for 11 years now, which made her one of the youngest Moonies ever bitten. She was only 9 when the alpha found a rouge attacking her. The Alpha and his wife were unable to have children, so they raised Jessica as their only child. She had been very spoiled growing up, but it never reached her kind heart. She could be shallow at times, but she was loyal, and stood up for what she believed in. It was what I admired most about her, and what made her such a great friend.