Picture of Xavier Maxwell Alister on top.

I woke up from a dreamless sleep, my eyelids fluttering open. As I sat up, I let out a yawn and stretched my arms above my head. That was one of the best and most peaceful sleep I have had gotten in a long time. I glanced at the digital clock on the bedside table and realized that it was still early. I flopped back down on the bed, snuggling back into the still warm duvet and closed my eyes, savoring the warmth and security it brought me. Just as I dozed off again, someone knocked on my door. I sleepily mumbled, "come in." The person entered and sat on the edge of the bed. I opened one eye, curious to see who would visit me this early in the morning. Seeing that it was Blake, I playfully pretended to have fallen asleep. I quickly closed my eyes and buried my head further into the duvet, stifling a giggle. I am sure that Blake knew that I was awake because my breathing was not slowed down or evened out but he played along anyway. I felt him put a hand on my shoulder and shake me slightly. Psssh! As if that would be enough to wake me up I thought. "Wake up little one. You have a long day today ahead," he whispered in my ear, causing the hair on the back of my neck to stand straight up. I wiggled and disappeared under the blanket, trying to escape his hot breath on my neck. Blake chuckled and lifted up the blanket, peering in, "Come on sleepy-head! I know that you are awake! You can't stay in bed all day now can you?" I rolled on my stomach and peered at him, "Yes I can", before disappearing into the duvet again, away from his sight. My heart was beating fast against my chest. It had been so long since I could play around and joke freely with someone like this. I heard Blake sigh and felt him get up. I smirked, thinking that I won this game but sadly I was terribly mistaken.

Just as I was about to pop out ice-cold water splashed me. I shrieked so loudly that I think all of the werewolves pack in this country heard me. I immediately threw the freezing and damped duvet off me and glared at Blake, who was almost on his knees from laughing his walrus ass off. "Oh my goodness little one, I am so sorry, that was the funniest thing! Your face was priceless," wheezed out Blake. I pouted and crossed my arms. "Blake! I am now cold, wet, and grumpy! Stop laughing at me, you big oaf." I threw a pillow at him in retaliation. I doubt that Blake even heard me though because he just laughed louder whilst he easily dodged the pillow. I must comment that he was laughing possibly even louder than an army of giggling hyenas.

Blake finally stopped laughing after what seems like ages, however, he was still clutching his stomach and the corner of his mouth was curled up in a permanent smile. "You are a funny little wolf you know that? Anyways, the reason why I came up here was to tell you that the girls wanted to go shopping with you today, also something about how they desperately needed a girls day. So get ready for the day little one! Come down for breakfast whenever you are ready." He said before leaving the room, with a grin on his face and a wave. I shook my head smiling at his antics, he was such a childlike and carefree Alpha. I have never met an Alpha like Blake, someone that freely jokes around, treats his pack members like true friends and family and is so courteous and kind to everyone, including a perfect stranger like me. I made my way to the bathroom and took a quick shower, using my strawberry and apple-scented products. I slipped on the same dress I wore on my sixteen birthday and made my way downstairs for breakfast.

As I stepped down the last step, I was startled to see all of the pack members of the Crescent Moon Pack that lived in the packhouse seated at the dining table, all staring at me. All of them had huge smiles on their faces and kind eyes as they looked at me. To be honest...it was kinda giving me the hibbie jibbies. I did not know them well enough to figure out what they were plotting based on their expressions. "Uh...Good morning?" I greeted uncertainly. I was not used to all this attention on me. I was used to being ignored or spat at if I dared talk to anyone when I was not addressed first. Everyone answered with various greetings and smiles. I felt a warmth spread through me as this was the first time in years that anyone other than Winter has wished me a good morning. It is really the little things that can make a person's whole day that much brighter.

A smile spread across my face and I made my way over to the empty seat they left for me."Good morning Evangeline!" Winter exclaimed. I could practically see her tail wagging in happiness and excitement."Good morning Winter!" I greeted back. As I was greeting my wolf, I did not notice that Charlotte had placed a plate of fluffy and light pancakes was placed in front of me. I glanced down at the sizable serving, "Is this all for me?" I asked in surprise. Charlotte, who sat beside me patted my hand and smiled, "Of course Evangeline, now come on, eat up. I made them myself and I hope you will like them! You will need all the energy you can get as we have a lot of shopping to do today!" I grinned and eagerly took a bite, "Wow! Charlotte this is delicious! Thank you so much." Charlotte blushed a bit at the compliment, "You are welcome Evangeline, I am glad you like them. I can make them again for you anytime!"

Maxwell stood up from his seat and came over to wrap his arms around Charlotte. "My mate is amazing at cooking, how did I get so lucky?" Charlotte smile and snuggled against his chest in bliss, "I am the lucky one here babe." Everyone awed and smiled at the sweet interaction between the mates. Breakfast was full of chatters and laughter in this pack. It has been a long time since I have been this relaxed. "So Evangeline, are you excited to go shopping with us and have a girls' day out?" asked Sydney. I nodded, "I have been looking forward to it since Blake told me about the plans yesterday! The last time I went shopping was when I was twelve years old and I have never actually had a girls' day out so I am really excited about today!" The girls all turned to my direction, disbelief on their faces as they stared at me. "What you have never had a girls' day?!" all three exclaimed at the same time. I shook my head, "I did not have any friends to do that with back at my old pack." Charlotte smiled sadly and once again patted my hand, "We are going to make this the best first girls' day out for your first Evangeline." Jamie, who I learned was always one to brighten up the mood in a room, yelled out, "Well Evangeline? What are you waiting for? Hurry up and gulp down that breakfast, we need to leave as soon as possible if we want to do everything a girls' day consists of. This is a code red, I repeat a code red. Let's go ladies!" I giggled at her dramatic antics as Jamie jumped up from her seat and practically inhaled her food before gesturing at all the other girls to do the same. The other girls and I quickly cleared our plates and got a nod and thumbs up of approval from Jamie.

When I was done eating, I started to clean up the dining table, piling up everyone's plates to go wash them and put them away. "Oh no Evangeline, you don't have to do that alone! In this pack, we share all of the chores," Blake said as he hurried to take the dished in my hands. I smiled and looked around and indeed everyone was helping clear the table. I helped with picking up everyone's mugs and as I was putting the mugs into the dishwasher, I felt someone put a hand on my back. I flinched involuntarily and stepped away from the person. "Woah, Evangeline, it's just me, Blake. I am sorry I scared you. I just wanted to give you this credit card for your shopping spree and girls' day out." Blake informed me. I let out a breath a relief, and tried to calm down my accelerated heart, "I am sorry, I get startled easily. And oh Blake, I cannot accept this card. You have already given me too much." I said as I looked into his gentle eyes. Blake came closer and placed the card into my hand, "Evangeline, please accept this card and do not hesitate to use it if you see something you want or like. Today is your day and I want you to have as much fun as possible." I smiled at his kind words, "Thank you, Blake. You have done so much for me. I do not know how I could possibly pay you back." Blake patted my head, "You do not ever have to pay me back little one, just having you in my life is enough."

We piled into Charlotte's mini cooper and headed to the mall with the radio on full blast. A lot of the current popular pop songs sounded out of the radio and the girls had fun singing along. I did not know most of the songs but it did not stop me from dancing and humming along to them. We drove out of the town and a short distance away, another bustling town came to view. "This town is in neutral territory and it is called Sunrise town," Jamie informed me. It was a quiet and charming town and fewer people walking around in the streets. We finally arrived at our destination. I gasped at easily the biggest mall I have ever seen. Charlotte chuckled as she marched on towards the entrance, ahead of us. "Your reaction is too cute Evangeline! Now let's go sloths! We have lots of shopping to do!" The rest of us followed obediently, like ducklings following their mother duck faithfully.

We went to many different stores, a lot of them I did not recognize or know. The girls insisted I picked whatever I liked and tried them on to model for them. In a few hours of shopping, I have tried on countless of clothing items, shoes, and accessories. It was a lot of fun modeling for them and flattering to receive so many compliments from the girls. I felt good in my body and I felt beautiful and valued for the first time in a long time. As the day when on, I became more and more confident and less shy when it came to trying on clothes and new styles and designs.

After shopping, we decided to stop by McDonald's to grab a quick lunch. I have not been to one since I was a young pup. For old times' sake, I ordered a kid's meal, something that I ordered every time I came with my parents. It was bittersweet seeing the iconic and nostalgic red and yellow box with the little toy inside. When lunch was done, the girls insisted we head to the boba tea shop before going home after I admitted that I did not have a single clue as to what boba was. I picked the strawberry flavored boba and took my first sip. Jamie, Sydney, and Charlotte all peered at me, curious to see what I thought about this drink. The squishiness of the tapioca balls took me by surprise at first but, this turned out to be was one of the best drinks I have ever had. I now understood why the girls insisted that I try boba so much. To say I love it, that would be an understatement. "It's delicious, I think I am already addicted!" I told them with a smile.

At last, it was time to head home. I felt drained as I suck into the seat of the car, my limps drained of all energy. I never knew shopping could be this tiring. The car was cramped as we squeezed in together. It was filled to the roof with various shopping bags of different sizes. Jamie giggled as she glanced back from the driver's seat, "You guys going to be okay for this ride?" Charlotte grumbled from underneath two shopping bags, "Just start the gas already Jamie. I do not think I can hold my breath any longer underneath this sea of bags." We finally pulled up into the driveway of the packhouse. The boys were already outside, ready to help us take the bags inside. When Tae opened the door, seven bags burst out of the car. He jumped back in fright and avoided the collision. As he held a hand to his heart, he wheezed out, "Woah, oh my god that scared the life out of me! How much did you guys buy the whole mall? I can barely see your faces with all these bags piled in the car and that is tragic because I need to see my beautiful mate. Syd? Syd? Are you there? Raise a hand so I know that you are alive somewhere in that pile!" Sydney laughed at her mate's antics, swatting his playfully on his arm as she exited the car, "You are such drama queen Tae! I am right here! Stop teasing us already and help us carry these bags in!" Jake came over to help carry some bags, "It looks like you all really had fun, today ladies." Jamie nodded, "We did! Evangeline has a whole wardrobe now! We found a lot of cute stuff for her!" Blake smiled and picked up a few bags, "There is really a lot of things. I am happy you had loads of fun, Evangeline." I beamed and could not help myself, I gave Blake a quick hug, "Thank you, Blake, thank you so much! I had so much fun with the girls!" He smiled back and hugged me back, "You are welcome Evangeline."

Everyone pitched in and helped out, each taking bags upstairs and placing them in the rooms. The boys left to attend a pack meeting and the girls stayed back to help me put everything away into my closet. "Evangeline, it is your ceremony to welcome you as an official member of this pack tonight so we are going to glam you up for the event!" Charlotte cheered. "While the boys are p[preparing for the event, we are here to give you the full girls' day experience, you are the star today so prepare to be pampered!" Sydney exclaimed. I giggled and nodded, "Thank you girls, this is going to be fun, I cannot wait! You guys made this day so special for me." Jamie smiled, "Every girl deserves to be pampered like this at least once in their life. Now sit back and let us work our magic!" Sydney did my hair, curling it and styling it into a half up and half down updo, while Jamie did my makeup. Charlotte was in charge of picking out an outfit for me, I could hear her mumble to herself as she looked through the new clothes I had gotten. Everyone was busy and focused on making me look my best for the ceremony, I have never felt more like a princess.

Finally picking an outfit, Charlotte exclaimed as she held up a stunning baby blue mini dress and a pair of gold, sparkling high heels. "You are going to look amazing in this." I smiled and nodded, "Thank you Charlotte! That is the perfect dress for this occasion." I slipped on the dress and with Charlotte's help, zipped it up. Sydney finally finished the last curl and my hair has never felt so soft and light. Jamie was putting on the final touches of my makeup and when she was done she held up a mirror. I gasped when I saw my reflection. The girl in front of me had steel grey eyes with dusty rose and gold eyeshadow, a thin line of eyeliner, long mascara-coated lashes, glowing skin with a dust of blush on each cheek, and baby pink colored lips. I looked beautiful and felt beautiful. "Wow you guys, I don't know what to say...it that girl really me?" I asked, breathless as I continued t stare in awe at my reflection. Jamie beamed, "Who else would it be silly? Evangeline, you look absolutely stunning." Charlotte and Syndey nodded their heads in agreement. I blushed and thanked them, "Thank you, Charlotte, Sydney, and Jamie. You three are so amazing." I told them shyly. "Aww, Evangeline! It was our pleasures," answered Charlotte as she came over to gently hug me. "Agreed! Evangeline, you are the brightest star tonight! Now let's go downstairs, the ceremony will be starting soon." Jamie informed us with a bright smile as she led the way downstairs.

As soon as the guys saw me walk down the staircase, their jaws fell to the floor. I blushed and looked down, feeling flattered and embarrassed by all of the attention that was suddenly on me. "Evangeline! You look amazing!" exclaimed Jake. Tae and Maxwell nodded in agreement. "Wow...just wow! You look breathtaking Evangeline!" Blake told me, as he offered me his hand to take as I walked down the last step. I shyly thanked them and took Blake's hand. He led me out to the backyard where everyone was waiting for the ceremony to start.

The whole backyard was decorated and lit up with glowing fairy lights, a stage stood in the center and everyone was gathered around it. After noticing that everyone from the Crescent Moon Pack was present, I suddenly felt very shy and a bit overwhelmed so the first instinct was to stay close to Blake and hide behind him as much as I could as we walked towards the stage. Blake softly squeezed the hand he was holding in reassurance, trying to calm my nerves. Once we arrived on the stage, "Quiet down everyone please," ordered Blake, using his Alpha voice. Everyone immediately stopped talking, obeying their respected Alpha. More and more people gathered around, waiting patiently for their Alpha to start his speech. "You can come out now Evangeline, everyone is eager and excited to meet you," whispered Blake as he gently tugged on my hand, urging me to step forward. I came out from my hiding spot behind Blake and almost instantly everyone's attention was on me. Blake gave me a reassuring nod and we started the pack transfer process.

Blake made a small cut on each of our hands, one on his left hand and the other one on my right hand. The wounds started bleeding instantly. We exchanged blood by putting our hands together and watched as the dark red liquid swirled together. "Do you, Evangeline Marie Wisteria swear to protect, love, and be loyal to the Crescent Moon Pack?" asked Blake. "I swear to protect, love, and be loyal to the Crescent Moon Pack." I felt the bond of my old pack breaking as a new bond started to form. This is it. This is officially the start of a new life, of a new me. "Every end is a new beginning."

The wounds on our hands slowly healed thanks to our werewolf healing powers and just like that I, Evangeline Marie Wisteria became a member of the Crescent Moon Pack. All the pack members erupted into cheers and claps as the ceremony ended. Blake and I walked off the stage and Sydney, Charlotte, and Jamie all immediately rushed to wrap me in a huge group hug to which was soon joined in by Jake, Maxwell, Tae, and Blake. "Little one, welcome to the pack, I hope you will feel at home here. Before this night ends, we have one last thing to do. It is a tradition in our pack to let our wolves out and do a pack run in the forest after a new wolf joins so..." Blake trailed off as he shifted into his big and majestic pure black wolf, Shadow.

I gasped as I stared at his wolf form, his wolf was beautiful with fur as dark as night. Blake let out a long, loud, and powerful howl, and one by one, all of the members of the pack shifted into their wolves and howled along with their Alpha. I looked around at the different shades of usual brown and blonde fur and grinned."Let's do this Winter!" I took a deep breath and let Winter take over. We shifted into our pure white wolf form and let out a happy bark once the transformation was complete. Our bright cobalt blue eyes roamed around and we were surprised to see all the other wolves looking at us with a look of astonishment and awe, except for Blake, who had already seen me in wolf form. We just gave everyone a wolfish smile before turning around and taking off swiftly towards the lush forest behind the backyard. We heard everyone start to follow behind, their paws thundering against the ground. I pointed my snout up to the moon and let out a long howl filled with happiness. Soon, the once quiet night was filled with the melodic sound of wolves howling.

Blake quickly caught up with us and together we ran neck to neck, as the Alpha and the Newbie.