StarShine (Temporarily On Hold)

1

There was no moon or stars decorating the night sky. And Elara couldn't help but notice their absence. She knew they should be there, looking down on her just as they always had been, and yet above her was nothing but a dark abyss.

Just as Elara knew that the stars and moon were missing, she knew she was in a garden. The only light provided were lanterns dancing with flames that made it hard to see. 

The earthy smell surrounded her and all she could think about was, what this garden would look like after being kissed by sunlight. Would the colors be bold and vibrant, painting the landscape in a rainbow?

Her eyes sweep the darkness, looking for something, she isn't quite sure what, but she knows something is supposed to happen. 

Elara has had the same dream since she first shifted at fifteen. She wasn't sure if it was a side effect of shifting a year early or something else, but every night when she closed her eyes, she saw the same thing. 

Elara always spent the dream walking around the garden, looking for something that she could never find. She was beginning to know those dream gardens like the back of her hand.

It wasn't until a year ago, when her parents died, that the dream changed for the first time in three years.

Elara wandered the gardens, continually looking for something she has never before found. It was like a puzzle piece was missing from the picture and she needed to complete it. Her eyes trail into the dark abyss that is the sky and she stops in her tracks. 

The moon shone brightly, quickly illuminating the gardens in its pale light. The stars tried to glow just as brightly but it's the moon who holds Elara's attention. 

That is until Elara realized she wasn't alone anymore. A woman stood just at the edge of the garden, her back to Elara. Raven colored hair cascaded down in soft waves as the woman looked up at the moon. 

Elara had spent countless days thinking about the woman with the raven hair. She had never seen the woman's face, nor has she ever met someone with such dark hair. But Elara could shake the feeling of familiarity. 

Something about the woman called to Elara, demanding that she approached the woman. But Elara never did. 

Instead, they both stood in the light of the moon, neither speaking, until Elara woke from the dream. 

Many times, Elara told herself that it was just a dream, She shouldn't think too much of it. There was nothing to overanalyze, people have weird dreams all the time. Normally, that was all it took for Elara to move on.

But not this time.  

For the first time since the last change a year ago, the dream changed again last night. 

Elara and the raven-haired woman stood basking in the moon's glow, but she couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched. The hair on the back of her neck stood at attention and she couldn't stop her eyes from looking at the garden for the source. 

She froze when her eyes landed on a shadowed figure. No longer were she and the raven-haired woman alone. The light from a lantern hide the shadow's identity, but Elara could make out pure obsidian eyes, reflecting the glow of the flame. 

Deep in her gut, Elara knew that those eyes, whoever they belonged to, were dark and sinister. 

She woke in a cold sweat. Her breath leaving her body in harsh pants as she looked around her bedroom as if those eyes were still watching her. 

"Elara, if you're not down in five minutes, I'm eating your breakfast!" Elara jumped at the sound of Everett's voice echoing through the walls of their childhood home followed by a loud smack. 

"Ow! I was kidding baby!" Everett whined, no doubt talking to Grace, his mate. 

Ever since their parents died, Everett and Elara made it a point to have breakfast and dinner together every day, just as their family had done forever.

Dinner had become more difficult, especially since Everett was mates with the Beta's only child and was, therefore, beta-in-training for the Lunar Crest pack. 

Elara dressed quickly in a pair of jeans and a tank top, knowing full well that even with Grace on her side, Everett could still eat her breakfast. 

She races down the stairs, pulling her brown hair into a high ponytail as she goes. No matter how much she tried to distract herself, however, the obsidian eyes are there. It's like they're burned into the back of her mind, watching her still. 

"Morning, E." Grace hands her a plate filled with eggs, bacon, sausage and two buttery biscuits. 

Even though Grace is only a year older than Elara, she is very protective of Elara.  When conversations about Elara's unknown mate come up, she always thought Everett, as her older brother, would to be overprotective. But he always seems nonchalant about the idea. It's always Grace who Elara fears will be the toughest on the poor guy. 

"Thank you, Gracie." Elara sits down at her usual spot at the table and begins to eat the great food that Grace no doubt prepared. 

Nothing against her brother, but Everett couldn't cook his way out of a paper bag. It's something he never picked up on, no matter how much my mother and father both tried to teach him. Finally, when he was sixteen and shifted for the first time, they declared that he had no hope and prayed to the Moon Goddess that his mate could cook. 

She only wished they had lived to see the Moon Goddess answer their prayers. 

"Elara," Everett groaned as he realized she wasn't listening. She gave him a sheepish smile, before raising her eyebrows in innocence, silently asking her brother to repeat whatever it was he had said. 

"Your walls up again.  I said the Alpha's looking for you." the sound of silverware crashing against the table startles Grace and Everett, but before they can comment on it, Elara is moving from the table quickly. 

Elara leaves her home, running towards the pack house as fast as she can. She yells at herself over and over again for forgetting her wall is up. She doesn't ever have to think about her wall, it's like it has a mind of its own. 

The large stone house comes into view and Elara goes over all etiquette she was taught when meeting the Alpha. 

Don't look in his eyes. 

Speak only when spoken too. 

Respond to all questions with Yes, Alpha or No, Alpha. 

Never do anything to disrespect his authority. 

Elara has met the Alpha before many times. It would be hard to be a maid in the pack house and never run into him.

Still, Elara is aware of the consequences of disrespecting the Alpha and as she burst through the front door and runs to his office, she worked on her apology for why her walls were up. 

<3 <3 <3 <3