The next morning, I was woken by Molly rapidly shaking me. I groaned and smacked her hands away. We had stayed up late watching TV and I was too tired after the sparring matches.

"Wake up Nova, it's ten! The unmated wolves will be here soon."

I sighed and pulled myself upright in her bed. I rubbed my eyes in an attempt to wake up but found myself feeling zombified. Despite sleeping for eight hours, I did not feel ready to face strange wolves.

"Go get dressed, get out of my room! I gotta look fantastic!" She squealed. "Wait no! Stay! I need your opinion!"

I grumbled and stood from her bed. "I'm going to go get ready then I'll be back."

"Don't be long!" She called as I walked out of her room.

I lazily made my way to my room, overhearing excited chatter from wolves down the stairs. The large foyer and hallways made every sound amplified.

I slipped into my room and sighed in contentment. I inhaled the fresh air from my open window and slowly made my way to my bathroom to wash and get dressed. I chose a thin long-sleeved black top that I tucked into a pair of faded black jeans. It was cloudy today, but I felt comfortable in my outfit choice. I adorned some trainers and checked that I had successfully managed the knotted mess of hair.

Once satisfied, I went around and checked that all my plants had enough water in their soil. Most of them were fine, their leaves peeking up as the small sun rays came through my window. They were so dramatic at night, drooping their leaves and looking like I don't care for them... I couldn't wait to get back to my garden later.

I watered the ones that needed it before making my way back to Molly's room. Opening her door, I wanted nothing more than to turn around and run. Her entire wardrobe must've been laid out on her bed, including various types of underwear and heels.

"Where have you been!" She shrieked.

My eyes widened and I took a step backwards. The creek of the door had her eyes snap to me. She was wild. How I knew someone so crazy baffled me.

"Don't you take another step." She warned.

I swallowed and shook my head. I entered her room and kept it unlocked for good measure. You never know, she may charge if threatened.

I approached her carefully and looked at the spread of clothes. She had mainly dresses laid out, all different colours.

"I don't know what to pick!" She moaned.

I smiled sadly at her distress and pulled her hands to me. I pushed her backwards until she sat in her dresser chair and gave her the stay command. She frowned at me, and I hesitated beside her before turning my back on her. She better not attack...

"I'm not an animal." She mumbled.

I laughed and eyed the dresses. "What's your favourite colour?"

"Pink." She said without hesitation.

I threw all the non-pink dresses into a pile on the floor.

"Type of neckline?" I asked.

"Sweetheart or V." She mumbled.

I already knew her answers and had begun to put the rejects into the floor pile. I then threw the long ones into the pile as I knew she preferred thigh or knee length. Then went the sleeved ones, since it was warm, she'd complain about leaving marks. Then also went the dress that was too thick for summer.

I was left with two. One was a pink summer dress with dark pink flowers along the fabric. It had short t-shirt-style sleeves and more of a plunging neckline than the other, I believe it was called an A-line. The other was white with small pink flowers and puffy short sleeves. It had a tie around the waist that you styled in a bow and had a ruched hemline much like the sleeves.

"Heels or flats?" I asked.

"Flats. I don't want to be taller than them."

I hummed and decided on the first dress. I held it up along with some white flat plimsolls. She likes trainers with dresses. She studied my choice for a moment before jumping out of her seat and clapping in joy. She squealed and ran over to take it from me.

"Where would I be without you?" She squealed.

I chuckled. "Naked and crying?"

She clicked her tongue as she disappeared into her bathroom. "Not wrong there."

She darted back out and grabbed the white lingerie set before the door shut behind her. I began to pick up all the dresses and hang them in her two-door wardrobe. I organised her shoes along the bottom, making sure they were paired together. Finally, I shoved all her underwear, neatly, into the top drawer of her drawers. Observing her room, I sighed in satisfaction.

There. Back to normal. I could breathe again.

The bathroom door opened on cue, and she stepped out with a large grin. It soon turned into a grimace as she studied her room with her hands on her hips.

"You tidied my room."

I shrugged, which she shook her head at.

"Well thank you, I did go a bit crazy, didn't I?"

I laughed. "You did. But you look great."

She grinned and spun around. "Thanks to you."

She pulled on her pink strapped watch and the jewellery left discarded on her bedside. Her hair was down in small waves, kudos to her plaiting it the night before. She sighed in contentment before finally casting a glance at me that lasted longer than a stressed second.

"Is that what you're wearing?" She frowned.

I crossed my arms in defence. "Yes. It is."

"You look like you're gonna wait tables." She chuckled before giving me puppy eyes. "At least put on a pretty top. For me?"

I shuffled uncomfortably but sighed in agreement. She grinned and dragged me to my own bedroom the floor above her own. Immediately she headed towards my walk-in wardrobe, and I heard shuffling as she went through my clothes.

"I need to take you clothes shopping again." She mumbled.

Not again.

Even Cel groaned at the memory of the last time we went shopping with Molly. I was dead on my feet and running ragged, my arms full of bags. We had dragged Sean along too and the whole time we tried to escape for a drink, but she would always catch us. My wardrobe was practically full.

"Ah, this will do!" She cheered.

She walked out with a simple blouse peplum top, pale blue in colour. It had long puffy sleeves and a voile type of top layer to a silk under-layer. She gestured for me to change out of my current top and I did so begrudgingly. I pulled on the new baby blue and waited as she tied the thin ribboned bow at the back of my neck.

"Your eyes better now I'm dressed like you?" I raised an eyebrow, looking down at the exposed skin along my chest.

"Much." She stuck out her tongue. "Let's go. It's nearly time."

We made our way down the stairs and into the chatter of wolves. Women were running around fretting as they made sure they were ready.

"Oh, I don't know if I can even eat breakfast. I'm so nervous." She mumbled.

I laughed. "Wow, you deffo are then if you're skipping muffin day."

She huffed and shoved me, but I held my ground and made my way into the kitchen with a laugh. I managed to grab a cereal bar and a glass of juice before Molly came and dragged me away. I quickly sipped the top of the glass so it wouldn't spill as much but she didn't even seem to notice. She was hastily shoving an apple into her mouth.

"They've just entered pack land! Let's go!" She shrieked.

I stumbled behind her as she quickly walked her way to the front grass. All of the she-wolves were here, and I remember Sean telling me the only mated wolf was Doctor Farrah. Her mate was a patrol wolf, originally from a visiting pack and Phoenix let him stay here as long as he worked.

I spotted a few males here as well, hoping to seek out a mate. It was busy, so I stood in the back.

We waited for a few minutes, the whole time Molly couldn't keep still, muttering about her nerves. Finally, the front doors opened, and I sighed in relief. I was absentmindedly eating my cereal bar and minding my own business, but I wanted to go back inside already.

I turned and watched as Phoenix, Charlie and Sean all walked through the front doors. I noticed everyone tensed at the presence of the Alpha and Beta. They held stoic expressions as they descended the stairs and approached the large group.

"Morning everyone," Phoenix spoke making them all hush.

Since I was fairly short, I was hidden well, but it didn't take long for Phoenix to spot me. When he did his eyes narrowed but I just smiled innocently at him. He gave Charlie a look and he seemed to understand, taking control. As Charlie spoke, I kept my attention on Phoenix when he began to walk around the group of us to my location.

His hands stayed behind his back as he pretended to scrutinise people. Once he reached me, he stopped beside me, looking ahead of the crowd. He stood a good foot above the average woman here and I looked up to stare at him in wonder. What did he want?

We stood in silence as I finished my cereal bar and drink. I kept a hold of the glass, not wanting to aggregate Molly further by taking it back inside. Speaking of, she took a narrowed warning glance at me to see if I was still here and her eyes widened when she saw Phoenix behind her. She quickly spun back around and kept her attention ahead of her. I couldn't help but chuckle; not so brave when Phoenix was there. My mother hen of a friend.

"What are you doing here Nova?" Phoenix mumbled.

I shrugged knowing he could see my every move from the corner of his eye. Cel bristled and her energy was enticing me to bite into her wit. She was encouraging me to tease him. So, before I let myself chicken out, I went for it.

"I dunno. Maybe looking for a mate who won't ignore me."

He tensed beside me and a low grumble built up in his chest that made the women beside me jump in surprise. I heard his knuckles crack under the pressure he was putting on them and winced at the sound.

However, I looked away with an accomplished smile and crossed my arms in a win. I definitely won that one, his silence is just feeding my fire. Tuning back into the speech before me, I realised it was practically finished.

"You will approach them with respect. You hold your pack appearance at stake." Charlie finished.

Phoenix grumbled once more before he left me to go and stand beside Charlie once again. Sean took notice of the Alpha's anger and how people moved away from him. He turned to me with a questionable gaze, but I just giggled to myself.

Just then the mumbling group turned quiet, and I found my interest peaking. I sidestepped the group to be able to look around and see the commotion. In the distance, a hoard of figures ran through the trees and down the gravelled road. There must have been about thirty wolves, various shades of browns and oranges.

As they neared, I found myself particularly drawn to one at the front of the pack. He was huge and black as an Alpha goes. But what caught my attention were the green eyes standing out from the darkness of his fur. They were so pretty and seemed to draw me in even though he wasn't looking at me. However, I couldn't help but feel on edge by them. Cel bristled inside of me, and I found myself taking a few steps forwards in curiosity.

I didn't realise I had made it to the front of the group until Sean's arm came out to stop me. I shook myself out of my daze and smiled up at him apologetically. We weren't allowed to approach them yet.

The wolves all came to a stop about twenty yards from us and I heard a few of the women grumble in anticipation. The male wolves stood proud as they surveyed us before shifting into their human forms. They all held bags in their jaws that had been dropped to the ground during their shift; no doubt containing their supplies. I averted my gaze as they changed into some style of bottoms.

I scanned the crowd until I found an unusually familiar pair of brown eyes. He stood at around six feet tall, his body toned and lithe as always. I almost screamed, my energy inside of me building up as I waited for the command from Phoenix for us to mingle.

"Welcome travellers, I'm happy to invite you onto my land to seek any potential mate." He started. "But please, keep respectful or there will be consequences."

They all shuffled on their feet nervously and bowed their head in respect of him. Cel purred, her gaze fantasised over the back of his head and the dominance that reeked from him. He was still angry with our outburst, but it only seemed to make her happier.

"You may mingle." He grumbled.

I couldn't help the huge grin that erupted on my face as I ran straight for the familiar man. His brown eyes widened in surprise before he opened his arms out wide and crouched to catch me. I jumped into his embrace and wrapped my arms around his neck, my glass falling to the grass floor. His familiar warming laugh made my senses come alive and I inhaled his scent of peppermint deeply.

Phoenix growled behind us, a low and threatening sound. I ignored him of course and instead clung like a baby koala.

"Nova." He breathed. "What are you doing here?"

I jumped down from his embrace and grinned up at him.

"Leo!"

•••

wc: 2516

Two for the price of 1 today guys 🥺

Anyone remember who Leo is??

If you could travel anywhere in the world with no budget, (and no Covid) where would you go?

What would be your favourite thing to do there?

I would go visit my sister and family in Australia, I haven't seen them in about 12 years! And that was when they came to see us. So it's be nice to explore west aus again

Also-

I love reading your answers to these !

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