Luna Skylar

Chapter 1 - Arrival

-Present Day-

Flipping my suitcase open on the floor, I began to pack in my neatly folded clothes as I listened to Bennie go on and on about his concerns involving the trip I was going on. I'd never left Moon Wave before; I'd never no reason to, but now I did.

I huffed loudly as I heard him utter the word "unsafe" for what had to have been the hundredth time. I paused my packing and closed my eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath and running my hands through my dark-blonde hair in frustration.

"Bennett Price – for the last time, it's perfectly safe for me to go to Gold Wind. Do you really think Ryder would allow me to travel outside of pack territory if he thought I'd be putting myself in danger?" I told my stubborn, overly concerned mate with a raised eyebrow. I knew he meant well. After all, his Goddess-given mate had died under very tragic circumstances. He'd forever be traumatized by that, and I knew he would always be concerned about losing me too.

"I know, I know," he grumbled, one step closer to accepting defeat.

"Gold Wind needs me," I reminded him, walking over to the couch he was sitting on and placing myself on his lap. I looked down at him, locking my green eyes with his in a serious manner, "Alpha Gavin is still young and a very new Alpha...his pack is struggling. They could use all the help they can get."

"I know, Skylar," he said again. "And I completely agree with Alpha Ryder – there's no better person for the job. If Alpha Gavin needs new teachers trained for the Gold Wind schools, I one-hundred-percent believe you're the best teacher to go and walk these ladies through everything they need to know."

I smiled down at him, loving that after four years together, he still thought so highly of me and my chosen career path within our pack.

"But that doesn't mean I don't have my concerns."

I scoffed, rolled my eyes, and quickly jumped up off his lap to return to my packing, "Is there anything at all I can say to you to make you worry at least a little less?"

"Probably not," he replied with a chuckle.

I shot him a side-glare.

"I'll only be gone for a few days. Remember the plan? I'll help these new teachers set up their classrooms, go over all the newest curriculum with them, and help them develop their lesson plans to cover the next month or so. Simple as that," I explained to him once again.

"Yeah, yeah, I remember..." he said, still not seeming convinced of the overall simplicity of the trip.

"Good. Now hush and let me pack my suitcase."

For several minutes, Bennie did just as I asked. He kept his mouth shut and occupied himself by watching a documentary on TV, but after a few minutes more, I heard him sigh heavily, sounding as if he'd lost himself to his thoughts and worries once more.

I quickly looked up from my suitcase and over in his direction, narrowing my eyes as a bit of a threat, "What now?"

"Just...in times like this, I wish I could mind-link you, so I'd always know whether or not you're okay," he said sadly.

I frowned sympathetically at his words, my heart aching for him. Bennett and I had always agreed not to mark each other out of respect for his mate. With that agreement came a lot of complications, of course, but we were both adamant about respecting her memory in that way. Although Samantha had died many years ago, her mark was still visible on his neck. It had faded some with her death, but was still very much noticeable, especially in certain lighting.

It was perfectly fine with me. It always had been, and it always would be. Nothing about our pairing was typical or traditional, so that didn't have to be either. Losing one's destined mate was horrific and painful, so I knew it truly meant a lot to him to still have that reminder of her. Her memory would never completely fade into the past.