The Moon's Shadow

☾ Chapter Twelve

The next day, Octavia, Athena and I piled into a black Escalade to go into town to find dresses for the upcoming gala. I couldn't contain my excitement, I've never been to something so fancy in my life, I honestly didn't know what to expect.

Jett hadn't said much after agreeing to let me go; he seemed to put more distance between us now than before. I mentally sighed, I thought we were making progress, but I guess I was wrong.

I wish he would open up a little with me, but I knew that probably wasn't going to happen right now.

I pushed the thoughts out of my head, tuning into Athena and Octavia's conversation, trying to catch up on what I had missed.

"Do you think he'll be there this year?" Octavia asked, her voice a bit low.

"Who?" I asked

Athena turned at me with wide eyes, "The fairy Leader of the region... He's been absent for the past few years and always sends his envoy. He says that the gala doesn't hold his interest; it's not beautiful enough," she sneered.

"Is he scary?" I questioned, I had never met a fairy before. I've heard a lot about them; they can be kind, mischievous and sometimes evil if they do not like you. Dark fairies were another story, they are extremely temperamental, wielding dark powers, I was always told to try to avoid them.

The thought of a not just fairies but also the fairy leader being there intrigued me.

Athena spoke, breaking my chain of thought, "I don't see why this year would be any different from previous years."

Octavia shrugged and nodded in agreement. Clearly, they were not as interested in the thought of fairies being there as I was.

"Athena, how did you and Ryker meet?" I had meant to ask a while ago, but it had slipped my mind. I was genuinely curious since he is from another pack; tradition has always had the female leave the pack and join the males. But not with them, Ryker had left his pack to join the Onyx pack.

She grinned, "I tried to kill him."

My eyes winded a bit, "That sounds like a terrible way to meet someone."

She nodded, "He had crossed into pack boundaries with a few others in his pack without even realizing it. I was on pack patrol that day and had spotted the group. I sprinted towards them, ready to fight them and get them out of the territory, so I tackled one of them. It happened to be Ryker, and I started snapping at him." She smiled at the remembrance of their first meeting.

She continued, "He didn't make a single move back. His wolf just looked at me with this stupid look on his face. He stared straight into my eyes and of all the things he could've said, he said 'Hi, I'm Ryker'." She laughed.

"I was so taken aback by his casualness, even though I just tried to tear his throat out. I stopped and looked back at him, the smell of cinnamon and coffee filled the air, and I felt like I've known this man my entire life.

"I got off of him and backed up. We stared at each other for a long time, and finally, he shifted back into human form, and I followed suit. He stepped forward and gave me a big hug, and I melted in his arms. We walked back to the pack, and I went to tell Jett that I had found my mate.

"Instead of going to his pack though, Jett told him he was to stay with us. Ryker didn't seem to mind, and now we're here" she smiled at me.

I smiled back but felt a bit envious. My parents had love at first sight, Athena and Ryker had love at first sight... why was it so different for Jett and me?

____

After an hour of driving, we finally got to the closest city. Humans were the most dominant race in this city, and not all were friendly. Athena came with us as protection, specifically for me since Octavia had no problem holding her own, no surprise there.