Page 41 of Fool Moon First Aid

“And how’s your parental front?” Eloise gently steers the conversation toward Mia, her tone softening.

Mia’s eyes dart away. Her parents, despite their wealth, often act like Mia’s just another item in their portfolio, barely remembered. “Dinner’s on the agenda tonight,” she reveals, her voice full of anticipation and dread. “They are harping on about me switching careers. Again.”

“Again?” My voice spikes, laced with indignation on her behalf. Eloise and I have supported Mia every step of the way on her career choices. Her parents however? They want her to do what they want, despite her desire for a career other than their choosing.

“Again,” she confirms, her enthusiasm as dry as desert sand. “We should plan a weekend getaway.”

“You miss us, don’t you?” Eloise teases, her eyes sparkling with mischief, drawing us closer, even as we’re miles apart.

“I’ll shoot you the details for a girls’ getaway later,” Mia replies, disconnecting before her walls can crumble any further. I hate how her parents continue to pressure her. I guess we have that in common.

“Ava.” Eloise holds me in the moment a bit longer. “Give them a shot.”

Her plea slices through me. “Why?” I whisper, my voice echoing softly against the tiled walls.

“I know you’re all about your job, the pups, and yes, that sneaky snake of yours,” she reminds me, her words a nudge toward something bigger, something more, “but try something just for you.”

It’s the idea of forever that continues to hold me up. Before meeting the guys, a relationship didn’t have expectations, but now the weight of forever feels suffocating.

“Eloise, they are talking forever,” I admit, pulling her closer through the phone, seeking comfort in her virtual presence. “I’m not sure I’m ready for that.”

“When we lost your mom,” she starts, her voice heavy with a wisdom born from loss, “I realized life’s too short to shy away from the unexpected, including forever.”

With a click, she’s gone, leaving me alone.

My gaze drifts to the door, beyond which wait three men who have unknowingly begun to chip away at the walls I’ve built around my heart. They came into my life uninvited but not unwelcome, Ethan dubbing me his storm. Am I their tempest, just as they are mine? What happens when two storms collide? Ignoring the pull might be the safer route, but exploring this might be the adventure I didn’t know I was searching for.

What if… What if I just get to know them a little?

What could go wrong?

Ethan

I stand hidden in the shadows, my gaze locked on the house—our house. The silhouette dances across the curtains of what isn’t just any room, but a bedroom we’ve painstakingly pieced together for our future mate. It’s not just a gamble, it’s a bold statement in a world where the concept of a destined mate may as well be a fairy tale. For some packs, that fairy tale never becomes reality.

Fate tangled my path with hers when we were nothing but kids, lost in the bliss of ignorance. Her name, echoing in my mind, now screams its significance. The moment Tyler shoved that background check in my face, showing her picture with that unmistakable toothless grin, I was on the verge of losing it. I can’t shake off the memory of her sauntering into the ice cream shop, all dolled up in a white frilly dress. Even as a kid, I was damn sure the universe was dropping a hint. Her curious gaze locking onto mine was no chance encounter.

The universe likes playing its cruel games, weaving people in and out of our lives like some twisted fate until the sword of Damocles drops. I’d like to think I was onto something back then. Otherwise, what the hell was I thinking, letting my canine nick her finger? It was a moment that never should have happened, but there it was.

Her curiosity wasn’t laced with anger either. Instead, it was filled with a sense of wonder, drawing her to my corner, away from the rest. Our world, one of secrecy and survival, wasn’t meant for such reckless crossings, and even more so back before we came out of the proverbial supernatural closet, when every shadow could be an enemy and our kind was seen as a threat needing to be neutralized. Werewolves, vampires, fae, you name it, were all cast out by a world too narrow-minded to grasp the depths of our existence.

Now, as I head to the clan house, a fierce sense of duty clashes with the urge to dwell in those memories of Ava. It takes everything in me to turn my back on our home, on her, and blend into the forest.

The spring air, crisp and brimming with new beginnings, offers a brief respite. The forest and mountains are more than just a backdrop to my life. They straddle the line between our concealed world and the human one we navigate with calculated steps.

Today, however, the freedom of the forest eludes me. As my pack’s alpha, the weight of confronting the elders—my father—about a woman’s presence in our home weighs heavily on my shoulders.

Not only that, but soon, they will all know Ava isn’t just any woman. No, she is our fated mate.

The run to the clan house, which lies at the heart of our territory, feels shorter than ever. Each stride tightens the knot in my stomach, and anticipation gnaws at me with every breath. The hunters and humans got it all wrong. We’re not the monsters they paint us as, but facing my father, our clan alpha, whose reign has lasted centuries, is the real challenge. Our ancestors pledged to keep our worlds apart, and the world now knows of our existence.

As I make my way to the secluded chest on the back porch, which serves as a hidden cache for those times when clothing becomes necessary, I feel a gaze piercing through me, sharp and condemning. I know exactly who those eyes belong to as well.

Natalie Green, the clan’s iota, is watching me. She oversees our resources with a precision that commands respect, yet in moments like these, she is nothing short of annoying. She’s just a few years younger than me, a born wolf, and there’s a beauty about her that one would admire in a sister. That’s how I see her, despite my father’s desperate attempts to pair us up. To him, she’s perfect luna material, embodying everything a luna ought to be.

But she isn’t Ava. She will never be Ava.

The difference between them is night and day. Ava, with her delicate frame, is the antithesis of Natalie’s tall, robust build. Natalie, a rarity as a born female wolf, could have her pick of any pack, yet her heart seems foolishly set on ours.

---