When I woke, my mind had circled through everything my mother told me and returned to the state of my plan to resist River.

Late into the night, I tossed and turned over what to do based on what he told me and what my mother told me. He said he had no plans to push me into a corner, but plans changed. Besides, how was this even going to work? My pack lived eight hours north of here. I was an only child, so my duty was to be alpha of my pack. River was already alpha of this pack, and the probability of him abdicating to his sister at this point was as good as none. Anyway, I had no idea how old she was. It could still be years until she was even eligible to take it.

I showered and dressed for the day, combing through my wet hair until it sat straight and flat against my shoulder blades. My makeup was minimal. I didn't feel like impressing anyone today.

At the dining table, I sat next to Mom again, across from Taylin. Of course, River took the seat next to me, but my eyes didn't even flick in his direction.

Pancakes were served, and an omega walked around the table filling everyone's glasses with orange juice. The second he moved on, I lifted mine to my lips. Orange juice was one of my favorites.

"I think we should hold a meeting after the meal." Dad was telling the former Alpha Williams. It seemed strange for them to be over there, while the current alpha was over on this side of me. That didn't seem very efficient, or smart.

"Why not discuss what you have to say now?" River's father asked in return. Dad's eyes flicked to their daughter, and then—briefly, before I missed it—to me. The man chuckled, "Kayla can listen." He didn't try to advocate for me, but it seemed to be included because Dad nodded without trying to dismiss me.

Good. It would have made me very mad if he did. What would have been the point of bringing me along if I wasn't allowed in any of the discussions?

Dad explained the situation, including the reason we brought enforcers along to the visit. When he concluded with the warning that packs might be targeting Crescent Moon soon, the former alpha nodded, a slight frown on his lips.

"As you remember, the queen came to us all those years ago, pretty recent after I visited your pack. She asked if I had seen her daughter, or knew what had come of her. When she said Eirenae, I had eagerly directed her to Shining Moon." His dark eyes landed on Mom, they were filled with regret he could never explain in words. "I see now that had been a mistake."

Mom studied her plate, her pancakes only picked at so far.

"See, I thought it was a crazy missing child case, and the fact it was a missing princess made me desperate to help her out. Taylin was pregnant at the time, and she said if anything had happened to our child, we'd want all the help we could get at finding them."

"I'm sorry." Taylin apologized, looking at Mom. "I thought I was helping both sides. Kota had recently found you, and when only a few weeks after she came asking about you, we knew the name and it seemed like such a blessed coincidence."

Mom shook her head. "Don't apologize. I would have said the same thing. You didn't know either side of the story. I didn't even know the full truth about my mother until she showed up that day. Nothing that happened is your fault." She sighed, "It's just unfortunate that we have to deal with the consequences now, almost eighteen years later."

"What now?"

I couldn't help it. I blurted, "I still vote for kicking the queen out from under her crown." Maybe that was why I wasn't invited to these kinds of things yet.

Both my parents glared at me. I snapped my mouth shut and dragged my fork around through the syrup puddle on my plate.

"Emerald, that's just not reasonable." Dad reminded me.

"I know."

"You know, she has a point." River jumped in. Everyone looked at him. Except me. My ears perked up, but I kept my eyes trained on my plate. "If the queen is such a tyrant," he continued, "why shouldn't we get her out? I'm sure we have the numbers between the two packs."

Mom was adamant. "She's too powerful." She said that last night, too. If it wasn't numbers we needed, what was it?

"So are you." Dad told her gently. She didn't seem to like that.

"She threw me against the wall, Kota! She froze you almost mid-shift! If it hadn't been for Natalia. . ."

My head tilted towards her and I stared. What! This must be one of those details that didn't get included in the speech last night.

"So could you!" Dad insisted. "If you worked at it, if you embraced it and tried to perfect it more!"

River nudged me, a trace of sparks blasting from where his hand touched my arm. I knew he was asking me what they were talking about, but I didn't want to tell him right here, right now. Well, to be honest, I didn't want to tell him anything. Or speak to him at all. I had to stay firm, stick to my plan.

I noticed Kayla caught me from across the table ignoring her brother. She shook her head, but a hint of a smile played across her lips.

"Kota." Mom warned, "Drop it." Respectfully, he did, and the table became very quiet.

That silence stretched, until it became awkward. I slowly took a bite of my meal, keeping one eye on my parents. I didn't think they were actually fighting, but I had never seen Mom get so defensive and decisive about something. From the looks of Dad, it didn't seem like he saw this side of her often either.

"Well," Kayla said almost cheerfully as she scooted her chair away from the table. "This has been fun, but I think I'd like to go now." She stood up and then her eyes found mine. She smiled brightly, "Emerald?"

I was shocked a little, and it took me a moment to comprehend her offer. One glance at my parents told me they weren't even paying attention at all. I stood up, "Yeah, okay."

She waited, and once I realized she was waiting for me, I hurried around the table to join her. Her skinny arm looped through mine and she pulled me away to the back of the room. I was so confused, until she opened the door River had come through last night during dinner.

"Where are we-" I cut myself off when my eyes discovered the stairwell they were staring at. The door shut behind us and Kayla tugged me forward to the right, and we headed down the twisting metal staircase.

After two flights, she pulled me to a landing. "Why don't you like my brother?"

"I never said that."

Her brown eyes rolled. "Please. You're blatantly ignoring him today."

"You seemed to think that was funny!" I shot and she laughed.

"I did. I'm not upset with you, I just want to know if it was something he did. Because I can kick his ass for you. I'll win."

Now it was my turn to laugh, the sound coming out funny as I breathed. The air was different this deep under the house. The landing spit us into an unlit corridor, so I couldn't even guess what could be down here. Cells, maybe? For traitors and prisoners. Not all packs had them, but some did. I knew the Menai Moon Pack for sure did. The thought sent a shiver down every vertebrae in my spine all the way to my tailbone.

"So?" She asked. "What is it?"

"What's what?"

"The deal with you and River!" Her tone said I should have understood that.

But I wasn't in the mood. "Look, Kayla. I'm not trying to be rude, but I just had a heart to heart about this with both River and my parents yesterday. I don't really want to go through it all again."

"Okay." She said with a lift of her shoulders. "Wanna watch a movie then?"

That made me laugh for an unexplainable reason. "Y-yeah. Okay."

"Great! We'll lock the door to the theater so River can't come in." And she pulled me away.

___*___*___*___

Two movies later, we got hungry again. So, she showed me where the chefs hid all the best snacks in the pantry deep inside the kitchen.

It was interesting. Because of the separated door from the only dining space there seemed to be in the house, and the professionalism of the server omegas, I was expecting a pristine, restaurant grade kitchen. But on the other side of the door was just a normal house kitchen. It was larger, sure, with more cabinet space to hold enough dishes and supplies for everyone that lived here, but it wasn't just a room full of metal prep tables like I was expecting. The countertops were stone, the cabinets wood, the lights not blinding. It was. . . normal. I mean, as normal as a kitchen used to prep meals for werewolves could get, I supposed.

Humans that moved into a pack house to be with a mate had to be some kind of saints sent by the Moon Goddess.

Kayla and I munched on some chips and then some cheese. When we were satisfied, we hopped off the counter—Kayla said it was her favorite spot to sit in the kitchen and I told her I always did that at home, too—and she brought me back down to the floor the theater was on. Instead of the theater, though, we swerved into a different room that was full of two-person table games like ping pong, pool, foosball, air hockey, and more.

I gave a shout of joy and we ended up hanging out in there for hours. I didn't see River all day! A small blessing, but I was honestly surprised he hadn't found us and popped in at least once, whether it was the kitchen, the movie theater, or the game room. Not even a peep. For a moment, I wondered what else he had been doing with his time, but I pushed the thought from my head. He was an alpha, with another pack here visiting. Of course he was too busy to spy on me.

In the time I spent with Kayla, I discovered she was sixteen, like me. And like me, she hadn't met her mate. Well, I guess that wasn't like me anymore. But her confession made me uneasy, because I didn't want to become attached to her only for her to leave to another pack when he found her and took her away. Just like Skylar. Kayla had become a fast, instant friend, and to lose her after just getting her would be a knife to the back.

"I can tell what's going through your mind." She said after I pondered what she had told me about herself.

"Am I that readable?"

She didn't even hesitate. "Yes." I stuck my tongue out at her and she giggled. "You're picturing the day when I get taken to my mate's pack." Goddess, she was good. Or maybe I was really just that bad at my poker face.

Bending at the waist, she leaned over the pool table with one hand pressed to it and the other arm straight and holding the cue stick steady. Her brown eyes narrowed with focus and formed slits between her long lashes. Then she took her shot and missed, making it my turn. "But that's kind of what River is thinking too."

"No he's not." That didn't even make any sense.

"Sure he is! He barely met you, yet you have him captivated. But you're leaving tomorrow with no intent of loving him back."

Her words cost my focus, and therefore caused my finger to slip and I tapped the white ball wrong. It only shifted on the carpeted table a few centimeters. She smirked at me, lining up to aim.

"You know I'm right."

But she didn't press, and after a few back and forth turns, when I changed the subject she didn't object and let it slide. We talked, getting to know each other as we played. A nagging voice in the back of my mind told me I should have been doing that with River: getting to know him as a person before I dismissed him as a mate.

Dinner went much smoother than breakfast had, and River, his father, and Dad seemed to be on the same page. We remained allies with Crescent Moon and that mattered. A lot.

I continued to ignore River throughout our meal of baked pasta, and he was fed up with it by the time people started clearing out. For once, I wasn't one of the first to leave, but actually one of the last. Kayla sent me a wink as she walked out the door, but after, she sent a pointed look at her brother. I rose to leave but he grabbed ahold of my arm, to my disdain.

"Let go of me!"

"Emerald." My name coming from him sounded like magic. There wasn't another way to explain it. I had to force shake it out of my head before I could get a grip and yank my arm free of his hand.

"Just leave me alone."

"I thought. . ."

I folded my arms across my chest, "You thought I would simply change my mind and roll over after what you said?"

His hand reached up and he scratched the back of his neck. "Well, maybe."

"You're an idiot."

"Probably." He agreed.

"It can't work out." I insisted.

He sighed, deeply. "The Moon Goddess wouldn't have matched us if it couldn't."

"Maybe she messed up. Maybe she didn't know I wouldn't have siblings."

"She knows everything."

My teeth rubbed together and my lips pinched closed. He threw my own words back in my face, without even realizing it because they had been spoken to Xavier yesterday.

"I just-" I didn't even know what words to finish that with. Defeated, I slumped back into my chair and leaned against the table with my head on my elbow. The edge of the wood pinched my ribs, but it wasn't enough to change my posture.

River sat down, too, also sitting sideways so his shoulder was parallel to the table and our knees were only inches apart. His stood much higher than mine, for his legs were much longer to accommodate his height. I stared at the distance between us, and he didn't seem to know what to say either.

"I hate this." He finally said.

"The silence?"

He chuckled, but I wasn't laughing. "No, just the situation."

I cleared my throat. "You mean me not wanting to be your mate."

"No—I—" he sighed, breathing through his mouth. "Sort of?"

Nodding, I rose back to my feet. "I'm going to bed." When I left the kitchen he didn't follow. Maybe he ran out of ways to convince me to stay. Somewhere deep inside, I found myself wishing he had come after me.

Monday came. Memorial Day. I could hear the pack busy with preparations for their cookout happening later that day from the patter of footsteps above my head. Voices traveled through the ceiling too, but everything was muffled and unclear.

I spent the first hour of my day in my room, throwing together my backpack and double checking I wasn't going to leave anything behind here. It wasn't long before Mom knocked on my door to remind me we were heading out soon. We had an eight hour drive ahead of us, and I had school tomorrow. Her tone through the door said she wasn't entirely convinced I should be going home at all.

But she didn't argue it, and left me alone again. The next knock was Kayla saying a quick goodbye and she added a wink and a "I'll see you soon!" I didn't have a response for that.

Half of the enforcers had already left in their vehicles by the time I made it to the front foyer. I knew River would be waiting there, and I knew he would have a sad puppy-dog face trying to melt me into staying here. I wanted to stall as long as possible, but my parents were itching to start the drive.

I dropped my bag by the front door, and Dad took it to the truck while Taylin gave me an unexpected hug. The last two days it had seemed she hadn't liked me much. Her mate gave me a firm handshake and then they turned to say farewell to my parents. River took that chance to step forward and grab my wrist. It wasn't hard, or mean, but it was assertive. With a yelp, I was pulled across the hallway and into his office.

"River-" I tried, but before I even knew what was happening, his strong arms were wrapped around me in an intransigent grip. My arms pinned to my side, I sucked in a breath, a small miracle in the squeezing force I was pressed to him with. His nose drew a line from my shoulder to my collarbone, and he seemed to be inhaling as much of my scent as he could. My body reacted by sending an involuntary shake like a wave from that shot to my feet. My legs went soft, and it was a good thing his arms were so tight around me because I would no longer be able to hold my own weight.

Rivers lips touched my collarbone and I tilted my head back without realizing what I was doing. My heart pounded, and I was sure he could hear it, or at least feel it, we were so close. My eyes fluttered and a tiny sigh escaped my mouth. Then I snapped to reality.

Pressing my palms to his sides, I shoved as hard as I could muster with my arms still disabled by his embrace. It was hardly any good, but I felt myself slip just slightly. His lips moved to my neck and for a second, I got lost again, the buzz on my skin melting away what I thought I wanted. Or what I didn't want. Suddenly I wasn't so sure of anything but River and his lips, his breath fanning over my skin, our hearts beating against each other.

"No!" I yelled suddenly, shocking both of us out of whatever trance he had seemed to put us in. His arms unwound from my back, but then I was falling to the ground—I didn't remember my feet ever leaving the floor—and his hands jerked back out to me, his long fingers closing around my elbows to keep me steady. When I could stand, I shrugged him off of me and he took a step back.

His eyes were no longer their light grey, but a color so dark they teased black. His chest rose and fell fast with heavy breathing, but he wasn't panting. I swallowed; his wolf had decided to join us.

Alphas were unpredictable in that department. Sometimes they could gain their control back in an instant—Dad was good with that—but sometimes their wolf fought back, trying to claim the body. I had heard stories of some alphas that would shift from the pressure their wolf had and take hours to be able to shift back. Subtly, I glanced at River's hands, but there were no trace of claws or fur. He wasn't going to shift.

I hoped, anyway.

The black eyes stayed on me, and I tried not to shake where I stood. When Dad's wolf showed up, it wasn't there for long, so nothing ever happened. But there was no way I could know how River's would react. The only thing I had going for me was that I was his mate, and if River's wolf was anything like River, he wouldn't hurt me.

"River?" I asked, my voice feeble as I tried to recover from whatever high my body had just experienced. His breathing hadn't changed, but his eyes had softened slightly, though they remained dark as the night.

"River, I have to go. My parents are waiting for me." I didn't really want our last conversation to be through his wolf, but if he wouldn't calm himself down, there wasn't anything I could do about it.

"Stay." He barked, and I jumped a little at his voice. It was deeper, more aggressive sounding. But it wasn't as scary as I would have expected.

"I can't. You know that." I tried to keep my voice soft in hopes it would bring River back to the surface.

With a sigh, I started walking past him to the door, and as I did, my hand brushed his to tell River goodbye. Quick as lightning, his fingers grabbed my wrist and I was yanked back towards him. I shrieked, suddenly not sure if my theory that his wolf couldn't hurt his mate would save me. But as my body was turned towards him my eyes caught his and they were silver again. My voice faded, and then hot anger flashed across my skin.

"Let me go! I thought it was your wolf."

"Your simple touch brought me back to control." He explained. "I need you. You can't leave!"

"I can and I will."

His irises bounced back and forth between colors, like a light when a house's power was on its way out. His wolf was trying, and the fight was evident in the way his strength increased through the fingers that held my arm.

For a moment they stayed black and he blurted, "Mine!"

"River!" I growled, pulling against his hand, trying to pry his fingers from me.

They returned to silver, but he still didn't let me go. "Emerald, please."

My growl lowered a notch. "If you won't let me go. . ." His eyes held mine as firm as his hand did. "Fine. I, Emerald Anderson, reject Riv—"

"Don't you dare!" One hand let go of me, the other pressed a hand to my lips. I hated that it brought those damn sparks, too.

I pushed him off me. "Then don't try to control me." I slammed the door behind me on my way back to the hall.

"I'm ready." I announced to my parents as I stormed past them and out the front door. Their stares followed me to the truck. Turning one last time, I could see River's eyes shining from one of the the rounded room's windows as he watched me too. They looked watery, but I told myself it was just the glass and distance distorting my view.

It wasn't the goodbye either of us wanted, but he had to know that if he was truly going to try to win me over, it couldn't be by force.