"April?"

My door squeaked on its hinges. It had done that since I was a little girl, and we never bothered to fix it. I liked that it alerted me to someone entering, or at least opening my door.

My eyelids felt extra weighted as I tried to pry them open. When I finally got them to slits, Mom's blurry figure was crossing the carpeted floor to the side of my bed. I heard her sigh.

"April, were you up late reading the shifter legends? Again?" That was not the first time she had walked in to find me buried under a pile of those books, asleep with one of them open across my chest. . . or my face.

I pushed myself up, sitting against my pillows. Thud! A book hit the floor.

She continued speaking before I could even bring my muscles to open my mouth, "Honey, I know you want answers, but I don't think rereading the same books are going to get you anywhere."

"I know," I mumbled.

She patted my leg. I hated when she did that, like I was a child needing comfort. "Why don't we make a plan for you to start Alpha training?" I froze at her words. "It will give you something to do, to think about. Something else to focus on. What do you think?"

When I looked at her, I knew she wasn't really asking for my thoughts. It was happening soon, whether I was on board or not. I did not want to take over as Alpha. Not any time soon, at least.

It was less common for an Alpha's firstborn to be female, which worked out great. The son became Alpha when he was around 18-25 years of age and the daughters went to their mates' packs. But I was the firstborn. And I was a girl. And I had not found my mate yet. That meant I was expected to be Alpha.

Again, I didn't really answer her. I just stared, my eyes round and unblinking until she headed for the door. "Get dressed and come down for breakfast. We'll discuss more."

Ugh.

I pushed the comforter off of myself, letting more books slide to the floor with a round of thuds. Carefully, so not to step on them, I walked across the room to my conjoined bathroom. It was a long room that held two sinks and a large mirror over the countertop and then forked off to a separate area for the shower and toilet. When facing the sinks and mirror, the toilet was behind me and two doors were on either side of me: the right one open to my room and the other to May's room. I figured she was already up and downstairs.

In a rush, I did my business, brushed my teeth, and pulled my pin-straight brown hair into a knot on top of my head. A few tendrils near my forehead got missed, so I merely tucked them behind my ears.

Mom said to get dressed, but I didn't feel like changing out of the sweats I was wearing. So I didn't and just headed down the stairs to the dining area. The rest of my family was already there, even my grandparents — the previous Alpha and Luna. I took a seat next to my grandmother, kissing her on her cheek as I sat down.

Mom sat across from me, and she gave me a look that said why didn't you get dressed? I shrugged at her, not really seeing the issue. It was just a casual breakfast with the family, and it wasn't like I was wearing tiny shorts and didn't have a bra on!

An omega scurried in with a cart full of food trays and began serving us, starting with the elders and then the alpha pair, as they were taught. When a plate was placed in front of me, I thanked the omega before the steam hit me in the face, making my mouth water. Our plates were each stacked with a few pancakes each, doused in syrup. August dug in immediately and May wasn't far behind.

Grandpa leaned over the table to where he could see me. "So, your mother tells me you're ready to get started?"

May, who was seated to my left, perked up. "Started on what?"

"Working, of course!" Dad exclaimed at the same time I grumbled, "Alpha stuff."

"You'll make a wonderful leader, Dear, you don't need to stress." Grandma assured me with a smile before she scooped another bite into her mouth.

"What about my mate?" I blurted the first excuse that came to my head, staring at my mom. I knew we had agreed to wait on this in case I found my mate soon. Once I found my mate, I would be apart of his pack and his role within the pack. The only exception to this was if I were already named the sole alpha when we met, or if I were a peacemaker I could continue being a peacemaker, but for his pack. If I were Alpha, he would become Alpha and I his Luna. If he were an alpha in his pack, things would become a lot messier and we would have to discuss with elders in both packs. I had never heard of that situation arising. But again, female alphas were rare.

"Honey," Mom started, her eyes full of what I caught to be pity. "It's been more than three years now, I think we ought to consider the fact you. . ."

I gawked at her. "It's been three years, not ten! I still have time to wait. Besides, only three more years before August can be Alpha!"

"Hey!" August grumbled, barely decipherable through his mouth full of pancake. We ignored him.

"April, three years is still a while. Most wolves find their mates within the first year or so."

"But I'm not a wolf!"

The table went silent after that. When I spoke again, my voice was softer.

"We know nothing about me, about how this all works. We don't know if foxes get mates, if it works the same. Maybe I'm mated to another fox, not even a wolf! We don't know anything.

"Besides, my mate could be out there, and we'd have no idea because we're located in a tiny town in the mountains of Utah where hardly any packs visit and we hardly leave."

"But-" Mom started, but Grandma easily cut her off with four words:

"So why don't you?"

We stared at her. "Why don't I what?" My voice was barely a whisper now, both afraid and excited by what she was implying.

She turned to face me, her eyes bright with the prospect of adventure, even though that adventure wouldn't be hers. "Leave!"

"That's outrageous!" Both my parents exclaimed unanimously.

"Hush," Grandma snapped. She took both my hands in hers, "my dear girl, if your mate can't find you, 'trapped' between these peaks, then you go find him! I can promise the Moon Goddess will help you, if you let her." She leaned in close to my ear, and a chill went through me; the good kind of chill, though, the kind that made me think this wasn't just her own words coming through to me. "I would start East."

When I turned from my grandmother, Mom looked doubtful. "I don't know, you haven't always been the most social."

"Then let me go somewhere new! I haven't been social here because the girls stay away from me. It's like being the Alpha's daughter makes me off limits."

Mom frowned, "May does just fine."

"I have two friends Mom: the Beta's daughter, and the Gamma's daughter."

I stared at my sister, I had never realized she struggled as much as I did when it came to a social circle. I reached under the table and squeezed her hand. She thanked me with a tiny smile through her silvery eyes.

Suddenly an idea popped into my head. "What if I went to college?"

Everyone stared at me, but Grandma only smiled. "Best place to meet a husband!"

"Mom!" Dad growled with a shake of his head, but the former Luna only cackled and nudged me from the side until I cracked my own smile.

"What would you even study? Where would you attend? Where would you live?" Mom's questions came flying at me across the table. But I sensed it was a lot of fear. Fear for me and fear that her child would be far away from her, even though in the werewolf world, it was basically inevitable.

"Mom," I said softly. "Once I met my mate, I would be leaving anyway. This is already three years late! I don't know what I would study, probably generals at first, but maybe there's a wildlife program that could help me learn more about me, about us? I think that could be interesting.

"Like Grandma suggested, I think out East would be a good start. There's a higher concentration of packs out there, strong packs might I add. The Royals are out there, and the packs led by relatives of Queen Natalia. I'm sure I would be in good hands."

"What about the whole fox thing?" August piped up curiously.

"What do you mean?" I hedged.

He sighed, as if it were so inconvenient for him to catch us up. "Just that, most of our own pack doesn't know you're not a wolf! What would that mean for you being in a completely new place surrounded by strangers?"

We got silent again. He made a good point. But still, I wasn't going to let that stop me from going. I could be safe, I could be careful.

"I think I'll be okay." I said, "I'm not a kid anymore, I know how to keep myself safe."

Mom nodded thoughtfully, "I don't think I'm opposed to the idea. We would just need to figure out the details."

I shrieked, loud enough Grandma flinched. "Sorry! Thank you, Mom, for understanding. I just don't want to commit to being Alpha without having a chance to find my mate. So thank you, for letting me have the chance."

Mom stood up, coming around the table to wrap her arms around me in a tight embrace. "Of course I would give you a chance to find your mate! I want you to be happy, to live your own life. I just also wanted you to consider other options just in case."

I grinned. "I won't forget. If this doesn't work out, we can re-discuss Alpha Training."

She pulled back, her grin matching mine, "deal."