EllieThe final touches for the Moon Goddess Ball were falling into place, and Ellie couldn't believe how beautiful the event center looked. As she looked around at all of the decorations, her heart fluttered in her chest. She could only imagine how many couples might fall in love in there tonight.It hadn't been easy, getting everything ready for the event, but along with Michael, River, Shelby, and several other volunteers, Ellie had gotten it done. Not only had they put together a beautiful event center, but they'd also managed to get several Alphas and Betas from packs far and wide to commit to attending, and for the past several days, they'd been arriving. Many of them were staying in the cabins in the pack village, the same ones that the Alphas who had competed in her contest had stayed in.Ellie pushed those thoughts out of her mind. It all seemed like ancient history now. The bachelors remaining from that contest would be back that night, still looking for love, though there w
EllieThe string quartet was playing a soft, slow song that seemed to make the silver stars above them twinkle even more somehow as Ellie stood admiring the scene. She'd been right. Everything had come together perfectly, and all across the dance floor, couple after couple had paired off. Her students were finding their fated mates. Alphas and Betas from packs far and wide were coming together with women that had trained in her school."Well, what do you think, beautiful?" River asked, stepping over from where he'd been speaking to another Alpha who'd come with his wife and son, who was their age and looking for a wife so he could take over the pack. "I would say this is a huge success.""Definitely," Ellie agreed. "I see so many people dancing together and falling in love.""I know," River said. "Look at Sarah and Alpha Rob over there. And Nelly and Alpha Lance."Ellie had noticed both of those couples. Sarah looked so lovely in her red dress, and Nelly in her blue one, gazing into L
Ellie"Lead with kindness. Lead with grace. Always wear a friendly smile on your face."Ellie Knight read the words she had hanging on a banner above her mirror in her bedroom one more time before she took a deep breath, fixed the recommended smile onto her face, and headed out for the day. She had a lot on her agenda, as always, but it was nothing she couldn't handle. Even though she'd just turned twenty-three a few months ago, she'd been leading the Swift Wolf Pack for almost two years now, ever since her father, Michael, had decided it was time to step back a little. Though he still handled a lot for her, he was no longer the Alpha. Since Ellie was his only child, she'd taken over that leadership role, one that typically went to a male. Michael had told her a long time ago, though, that he knew she could handle it. Ellie was just as strong as any male wolf shifter he'd ever known and probably a better leader because she had nurturing qualities from her mother mixed in with his pro
River"Push! Just a few more pushes, and he'll be here!"The sound of his mother's voice coming from inside of the delivery room of the Howling Moon Pack Healing Center helped to calm Alpha River Granite as he waited with his Beta, Allen Stead, who was pacing back and forth along the small hallway outside of the door."You can go in, you know," River reminded his friend. "Samantha's your wife. There's nothing in there you haven't seen before.""Ha!" Allen said, stopping a few feet away with his hands on his hips. "There's plenty in there I haven't seen before. Besides, your mom is doing a great job of keeping Sam calm. If I go in there, I'll just mess it up.""Allen, she's your wife. She's giving birth to your son." River stood and took the few steps over to his friend. "Get in there!" He opened the door and pushed Allen in at the same time, just as Sam let out a scream of pain.River stepped away from the door without glancing in, more than happy to let his mother, Patricia, acting L
Ellie"Hear me out, Ellie!" Michael protested as Ellie walked away from him, not for the first time. She was on her way to check on one of the older members of the pack, a widow named Helen who had always been a bit like a grandmother to her. Since Helen hadn't been feeling well recently, Ellie had asked the pack healer, Margaret, to look in on her, but Ellie wanted to see how she was doing herself."Not now, Dad," Ellie said, wishing that her father would just give it up. For the last three days, all he'd been talking about was this tournament he wanted to put on for her, to help her find a husband."Ellie, it'll be perfect! You want to marry for strength, right? Not for love?""Yes, Dad," she said, not turning to look at him. She knew what he wanted for her, that he would have preferred for her to meet her "fated mate," the man selected for her by the Moon Goddess herself, but Ellie didn't even believe such a thing was possible, not anymore anyway."This is a great way to do it! We
Ellie"All right, Dad. Tell me about this tournament," Ellie said, walking into the office she shared with her father. He was sitting at his desk, a large piece of paper in front of him that had drawings all over it. She knew her father preferred to draw out his thoughts, rather than writing them, so she figured this must be his masterplan for the tournament.Michael's face lit up at her statement. "Really?" he asked. "You really want to hear about it?""Don't make me second guess myself, Dad," Ellie said, giving him a hardened look he always said reminded him of her mother, Lilly."No, no, of course not," he stammered as Ellie came over and stood next to him, leaning forward so she could see what he had finished. "It's really pretty simple. There will be three contests over a week. We'll have some nice dinners, maybe a dance or two--""Dad, I already said no ball," Ellie reminded him."Not a ball. Just a friendly get together. No Moon Goddess celebration or anything. You know, just s
EllieThere it was, laying on her desk, staring up at her like the "just one more" taco she often ate when she knew there simply wasn't room. In other words, a really bad idea, one she should run away from. But she couldn't--because on the other side of Ellie's desk stood her father, Michael, with an impish grin on his face.With a hardened look on her face, Ellie picked up the invitation and read it over. Immediately, she hated everything about it. From the gaudy gold calligraphy on a white background to the ridiculous wording her father had used that made her sound like she was a prize at a medieval joust, the invitation just didn't sit well with her, but Ellie decided to take it all in stride. It wouldn't do any good to ask her father to change it up now, not when he was clearly so very proud of it."Well, honey? What do you think?" Michael asked, his smile broadening. "It looks great, doesn't it? Boy, the guys at the print shop sure do know how to make a fancy invitation."She ima
RiverThe situation with Crying Wolf wasn't going as planned, and River wasn't sure what to do with it. As he sat at his desk, looking over reports from his Omega border patrol warriors, it became clear that he was going to have to show some force to get the mad men to the north to stop pushing into his territories. Brett had been keeping a careful eye on things, and while he was certainly adequate in that position, River was looking forward to getting his true Beta, Allen, back in a few weeks, when Sam and baby Simpson had settled into a routine.The door to his office opened, and his mother, Patricia, walked in, a big smile on her face and what appeared to be a large white envelope in her hands. "Hello, honey," she said in a sing-song voice that gave him pause. Something was up, and River wasn't sure he wanted to know what it was."Hi, Mom," he said as she sat down in one of the leather chairs across from him. "How are you?""I'm great," she said, that smile still beaming from her p