Endeka [ 11 ] NEW DAWN

A week later, the pack's favourite time of the month rolled around.

Every full moon, we would have a pack hunt and the best thing about it was we would run as one and eat together after. It was a time where emotions were heightened and the pack were closer than ever.

It was what being a werewolf was all about. The sense of belonging was strong and being in wolf form with everyone else made us all feel free.

"Good morning, Kara." Brielle pulled me into a hug as she grinned warmly.

"Good morning, Brielle." I hugged her back and smiled at Markus who was behind her. "Morning, Markus."

His lips tipped into a smile. "Morning."

Pulling back, I gestured for them to follow me into the kitchen and lead them towards the stools in front of the island. Tristan was getting Alina ready and was upstairs as I cooked breakfast. "Have you eaten yet or are you hungry?"

Brielle flattened her hands against the island. "I've eaten but thank you."

Markus shook his head. "I'm okay, Luna."

I would have left it at that if I didn't hear his stomach rumble quietly. I glanced at him and smiled warmly. "I'm fixing you a plate."

He exhaled a laugh out of his nose and nodded in acceptance before getting up to wash his hands.

We often had hearty breakfasts if it was going to be a busy day, and the pack hunt would require a lot of energy. I decided to make breakfast quesadillas with extra cheese. Since Brielle and Markus were over for a meeting with me, I had taken it upon myself to make extra.

If they didn't eat it, Tristan would since it seemed like there was no limit to how much he could eat.

Cutting the quesadilla in halves, I plated two each for Markus and Tristan and one for me and Alina. Placing Markus' plate in front of him, I decided to get Brielle a glass of water just in case she was thirsty. It was five minutes later that I was finally seated in front of them, eating my breakfast.

"Okay, fill me in," I spoke before taking a bite into my quesadilla.

Brielle glanced at Markus before deciding to go first seeing as he was digging into his breakfast. "I've been overseeing the schools and meeting with our teachers to greenlight any lesson plans on dealing with harmful substances." She quickly sipped on her water. "So far, the improved lessons are going well."

I finished my mouthful before responding. "I'm glad. The pack being careless with harmful substances was never a dire concern for Tristan and I but we wanted to really educate them just in case." Turning to Markus, I waited for him to finish what he was chewing.

He cleared his throat and laughed airily. "This is really delicious, Luna." He smiled wider and began filling me in. "It's been a week since I took up border patrols. We're all adjusting well to our new roles. The two new squads really work together nicely and the border has been clear of wolfsbane since last week too."

It was beginning to be a great morning with all the good news they were giving me.

"That's music to my ears." A deep voice sounded behind me and I knew it was Tristan before he even spoke. When he was near me, goosebumps raised on my skin just from the anticipation of his attention on me.

"Auntie Brielle! Markie!" Alina's bare feet padding against the floorboards sounded through the air as she ran up towards her favourite people after Tristan, my parents and me.

"Hey, Hummingbird!"

Brielle pushed her chair out before lifting Alina to hug her, and Brielle and Markus grinned happily at the sight of her. Tristan wrapped an arm around my shoulder and leaned down to lay a kiss on my cheek. I curved a hand around his forearm and smiled as he lingered.

Alina hugged Markus after and Tristan quickly washed his hands before sitting down beside me.

"Alina, come and eat your breakfast."

Markus helped her down and she walked over to her booster seat since the island was too high for her. I aided her and she glanced at her breakfast warily.

"Mummy, this smells hot." We all knew she meant spicy and I chuckled briefly. I wasn't too good with spice so I had made our quesadilla less spicy than the men's.

"I promise it's not spicy. It has a lot of cheese, your favourite!" I had cut hers into bitesize pieces to make it easier for her and she took a bite before smiling.

"It's yummy! Daddy, try it!"

We all chuckled and Tristan gripped the underside of my chair to pull me closer to him. I did the same with Alina and she watched as he tucked into his breakfast. "You're right, χαρα μου. It's delicious." He smiled charmingly and I found myself in a trance until he spoke again. "Sorry for the interruption. Markus, you were talking?"

Markus smiled warmly. "Yeah. Upping border security has been very successful."

Tristan nodded and licked his bottom lip before responding. "That's what we love to hear." He glanced at me. "Sorry. This is your meeting, αγάπη."

I slid my hand against his forearm before linking our fingers. His hand was warm and the goosebumps raised all up my arm. "I don't mind."

He brought our hands from under the table and pressed a kiss to the back of my hand. "Do your thing, baby."

Our gazes lingered on each other for a few seconds and warmth bloomed in my chest as I smiled. Turning my attention to Brielle and Markus before it got too awkward for them, I cleared my throat to continue the conversation. "We won't ease security just yet. We'll keep it tight for now. If we continue down the path we're going, everyone will be kept safe."

"How is the boy? Hans?" Markus spoke soon after.

Tristan and I had been keeping up with Aren over the past week. "He's out of the hospital and is as okay physically as he can be but mentally, he's going through a lot."

Brielle frowned. "Poor kid."

I hummed in agreement and caught the piece of quesadilla that almost fell onto Alina's clothes. She wasn't a very messy eater but preferred to use her hands for most things that didn't necessarily require cutlery. Tristan reached for the kitchen roll and handed it to me.

"Would the wolfsbane blind his wolf?" Markus questioned curiously and I tilted my head as I thought about it.

I ended up not knowing the answer. "I guess time will tell. He has another four years before he can expect to shift."

Tristan finished his breakfast before we could move onto the next part of our meeting and stood up to clear his and Alina's plates away. He helped her clean up a bit and as she ran off to put her outside wear on, he cupped my face in his hands and pressed a delicate kiss to my forehead.

"I'll see you in a few hours, αγάπη μου. I love you." His deep blues were warm with love and I instantly smiled. Our mornings never ended with just a forehead kiss but I knew that since we had company, he had to forego the deep goodbye kiss.

I leaned up and kissed his cheek. "I love you too."

He caressed my cheek gently before pulling away and smiled at Brielle and Markus. "See you guys at the pack hunt."

They smiled. "Bye, Alpha."

My gaze followed him to the door and he pulled his jacket on as he adjusted Alina's hat and scarf. She waved at us three and I waved back with a bright smile before they left.

Brielle was smiling softly when I looked at her. "It's always so nice to see how madly in love you are with each other."

My face heated up slightly but I couldn't deny that it was crystal clear for everyone to see just how in love we were with each other. It had always been like that—the small displays of affection that meant so much. "More and more every day."

Markus smiled too. "I can't wait to find my mate. To have her look at me like you look at Alpha Tristan."

He was the same age as me, twenty-six, and he hadn't found his mate yet. It wasn't common for a werewolf to find their mate right after they shifted for the first time so a few years wasn't much to worry about. But, for Markus, it did mean that his mate wasn't in our pack so if he really wanted to find her soon, he would have to leave and search for her.

"You'll have that," I spoke genuinely. "She'll be incredibly lucky to have such an amazing person like you as her mate."

His countenance brightened and Brielle dropped her two cents in.

"I agree. You have your fair share of admirers in the pack already."

He chuckled. "You mean the eighteen-year-olds who really want me to be their mate?"

Brielle rolled her eyes and I laughed out a response. "Hey, there are some twenty-year-olds in that mix too."

Markus shook his head as he scoffed playfully. He ran his fingers through his short auburn hair. "My mate isn't in our pack—I can feel that much."

I stood up to take our plates. "Who knows? Maybe you'll meet her soon." I smiled and after cleaning up a little bit, we continued the rest of the meeting. I had a lot to deal with but the day went by so quickly that before I knew it, it was time for the pack hunt.

—————

"Alina! Can you come out to the garden?"

She was inside colouring and Tristan and I were getting ready to shift into our wolves. We decided it would be a good idea to get her familiar with our wolves since she had a good understanding of what we were.

"You're not wearing shoes!" she pointed at our bare feet and stayed at the threshold of the door.

Tristan was dressed in only black shorts and I had one of his shirts on. The snow felt like a slight tingle but wasn't too painful. I nodded and turned my head slightly when I heard our front door open. I caught my parents' scent and I felt more comfortable shifting in front of our daughter now.

"Sweetheart, we have to show you something." I cracked a small smile. "You know what we are, right?"

She nodded enthusiastically. "Werewolves. Grr!"

Tristan laughed loudly at her cute attempt at a growl and I joined in. She giggled and did it again. I spoke through my laugh. "We're going to show you our wolves, okay? Daddy is going to go first."

"Okay!" she clapped her hands and grinned.

Tristan glanced at me with a soft smile and then directed it Alina's way. "Okay, close your eyes, χαρα μου." She closed her eyes and he pulled his shorts down, stepping out of them and sinking down into the snow. He closed his eyes and triggered his shift and in the silence, his bones cracked and reformed into his wolf.

His dark grey wolf stood tall and the full moon gave his fur a light sheen. I stepped forward and dragged my hand across his neck. I turned to Alina.

"Open your eyes now, honey."

She opened her eyes and gasped excitedly. "That's Daddy!" she exclaimed, running out onto the snow to approach him. She was a small child so Tristan towered over her immensely.

I knew she could recognise his eyes anywhere and her hand raised to touch his fur. He dipped his head before lying down on the snow. His eyes glazed over and Alina squealed a few seconds later. Her eyes did the same and I knew they were talking in a mind-link.

Then, she wrapped her thin arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. I felt the happiness that blossomed in his chest and he leaned into her.

"Okay. Me next."

I took the opportunity of her hugging Tristan to take my shirt off and quickly shift. I stood in wolf form a few moments later and Alina pulled back to look at me. My wolf was much darker than Tristan's. While his was dark grey, mine was black and in wolf form, my eyes were a honey brown.

"Wow…" she was amazed and reached out to touch me too. "I wanna be a wolf!"

I exhaled harshly to laugh and spoke in her mind. 'You will be when you're older.'

She seemed excited and clapped her hands again. My mother came out into the garden and reached out for Alina. "Your feet are going to freeze. Come back inside, darling."

Alina suddenly realised she wasn't wearing shoes and jumped on her feet all the way back to the door. She took both of us in and Tristan stood back up again. "Can I go with you? Please, please, please?"

My father came behind her and settled his hands on her shoulder. "It'll be too cold for you. They'll be back for dinner."

She wasn't the type of child to throw a tantrum so she frowned and held my mother's hand. "Okay…I'll miss you, Mummy and Daddy!"

'We'll miss you too, Alina.'

They all went back into the house and with that, we set off in the snow towards the clearing.