I had been snooping through the vanity drawers when I heard a knock at the room door. Getting out of the accompanied chair, I walked over to answer and had to resist the urge to shut the door again. Jacob stood outside with a stoic expression.

"Dinner will be in half an hour, you'll be dining with me and my parents. Do you need any help with preparing for it?" He asked, and though I wanted to say no, I knew choosing my attire probably wasn't the best idea in this scenario. The last thing I wanted was to offend the Alpha or Luna. Unlike Jacob, they were known for being kind to everyone regardless of rank. These were people I didn't mind making an effort for.

"Help..would be appreciated." I all but muttered, to which he pushed open the door, coming inside. Stepping back, I watched him stunned. I didn't think he meant he would be helping me.

The brunette headed over to my closet before opening it, and began to look through the available dresses. He shuffled several to the side for being too big or too small for me.

"This'll do fine." He said after a minute, pulling out a dress of deep blue. He handed it to me, along with a pair of matching shoes that also came from the closet. "If this doesn't fit, just look for something similar. It's not hard. If the shoes are uncomfortable, try to find some black shoes to wear with it." He suggested briefly and shut the closet, starting for the door.

"Thanks." I said honestly, looking at the clothes in my arms. When I glanced back up, he was standing in the door way with the door knob in one hand.

He didn't say anything, simply eyed me before nodding once and shutting the door. I didn't even get the chance to ask what I was doing here, or why I was dinning with the leaders of the pack.

What a strange guy. I'd only seen him a few times while in school. Only knowing of him rather than knowing him personally. Unless you counted his drunken visits to my dad. But even then, I would be shut up in my room until he and his friends were gone.

To be honest, his demeanor confused me. What sort of person was he? Violent and bitter? Manipulative? Or was he calculating? Each of these descriptions had rather negative connotations. He seemed to be driven by his own wants not caring about anyone else's..but he had agreed to think about my suggestion when I said please. He had also agreed to leave my father alone without hesitation. Even now, he was helping me make a good impression, and had been trying to keep me safe on the way here. But that was because, for some reason unknown to me, he wanted me here. Why? What did he want?

Shaking my head to dispell my thoughts, I held up the dress by the shoulders and looked at it. It was long, and I found myself praying I didn't end up tripping over the skirt. If I ripped this thing, I'd probably be in debt for the rest of my life.

Getting dressed wasn't difficult, I simply slipped the cloth over my head so I wouldn't have to worry about stepping on the skirt. It fit like a glove, but it was strange being without my jacket. I didn't want to think the Alpha or Luna would care if I was a half breed. But being without the smell of leather was daunting nonetheless.

As I brushed through my hair, I chewed at my lip from nerves. Jacob had forgotten to mention where dinner would be served. There were two kitchens, but the Alpha could decide to eat somewhere else entirely. I didn't want to end up wandering around the house like an idiot.

I held my hair up in my hands but soon dropped it around my shoulders. It was weird enough without my jacket, and oddly chilly. Surely they wouldn't mind if I left my hair down. Right?

There was no point in trying to hide my hair. Putting it up in my beanie would only bring more attention to it.

So I brushed through it, twisting the brush to give my hair a little more curl at the ends and messed with my bangs.

The neckline of the dress had quite a flattering curve that dipped lightly towards my chest. Jacob had good taste. I turned my head side to side to check the back of my hair before splitting it in half and laying it all over my shoulders.

I often messed with my hair at home, but I didn't really show any of my hairstyles in public. Again, just wanting to avoid unwanted attention. So it was a bit strange, and a little exciting to think I'd be able to show it off infront of the Alpha and his Luna.

A small smile lit my expression as I looked at myself in the mirror. It was a simple onsomble, but I looked nice.

There wasn't a clock in my room, but as I put my clothes and hairbrush back into my bag, I couldn't help but wonder how long it would take for half an hour to pass. Would I have to wait long? Putting myself together really wasn't that hard or time consuming.

I sat back in the vanity chair with a sigh, pondering about all that had happened today.

Terrence was a peculiar person. I don't think I had ever seen him before. I certainly would have remembered him if I had. His skin was pale, and with such a cold hand, it made me curious about him.

Then there was Nathaniel. A rogue who had attacked us, for seemingly no reason. Yet, when he looked at me, it was with a welcoming smile. He wasn't like the rogues I'd heard of as a child. Sure his hair was messy and he wasn't the most elaboratey dressed, but he wasn't exceptionally dirty either. He wasn't missing any teeth or extremely thin from hunger. Quite the opposite in fact, he looked strong, with broad shoulders and arms thicker than Jacob's. Even chained and injured, he had a sort of strength in him that caused a stirr in my chest. He was..

My thoughts were interrupted by a knock, and I flinched out of my daze. I stood quickly and answered the door. Jacob stood outside in a semi casual looking suit. "Are you ready?"

I nodded dumbly at his question when he gestured down the hall, just as he had when we were leaving my house. Did he expect me to lead the way?

"Where are we going?" I asked, as I shut the door behind me, heading the way he had directed.

"We'll be eating in the family dinning room." He said, which did not help at all. Both kitchens seemed to have connected dinning rooms, and Terrence hadn't shown me any others. But the 'family' dinning room sounded like a place that wasn't normally open to guests.

"Ah, of course." I frowned, letting him lead the way, but even when I did, he walked next to me rather than ahead.

Soon enough we reached a small room off to the side of the house on the ground floor. There was a sliding glass door that let you see into the Luna's garden, and a simple table that had the smell of potatoes and different kinds of meat that mixed together.

I resisted the urge to bite my lip at the smells, how long had it been since I'd last eaten? I hadn't even thought about food before Jacob came to get me. I was too wrapped up in packing and nerves.

Jacob approached the table before me, picking out a chair for me. I then noticed that there were only four chairs. Two of which were already occupied.

I didn't dare look at the individuals without being addressed, and simply sat down, letting Jacob push in my chair for me.

"So this is the guest you told us about." A voice spoke from across the table, both gruff and smooth. Jacob sat to my left, already starting to grab some food as he spoke.

"Her name is Moon. She's Gerard's daughter." He said casually as I tried rather hard to keep looking at my empty plate.

"Moon is it?" A light and pleasant voice said from my right. It took me a moment to realize I was being addressed, but I lifted my head and tried to look polite as I took in the woman's features. Her gray hair drifted down one shoulder, and she was dressed in a similar gown to mine. With a calm sense about her, the Luna smiled at me. "That's a lovely name." She said before gesturing at the table. "Please. Have all you would like, enjoy."

Having been given permission to get food, I took the chance to first look at what was provided.

As I had smelled before, there were mashed potatoes and a plethora of meats to choose from. Along with a slick gravy that looked as though it would blend with the potatoes nicely. I tried my best to be tidy about getting food as I started to eat. It was delicious. The potatoes warm and soft, and the chicken practically fell apart in my mouth.

"You can probably guess where she got her name." Jacob said with a tone that wasn't, quite pleasant. Was he mocking me?

I spotted the Luna's frown as she also picked up on his tone. But I simply continued to eat. If Jacob had invited me all this way, gave me a nice room and dress just to bad mouth me infront of his parents, it was a sorry excuse. In fact, I didn't care what he said about me, and if he thought he could humiliate me this way, well that was egg on his face.

"Yes, I suppose it's not hard to see." The Alpha's voice spoke up as I could also hear him eat. From the sound of it, he seemed to care as little as the Luna did for Jacob's tone.

"You could almost say it's more than a coincidence." Jacob spoke through gritted teeth. Now I was confused. Was he still talking about my name? Yeah, my hair is white, like the moon, this had already been established. Why was he stuck on that?

"Coincidence or not, I say it's a lovely name." The Luna chimed in. But Jacob didn't answer. I took a glance, and saw he was staring undoubtedly at his father.

"Doesn't she remind you of anyone?" He asked, as the Alpha and I both continued to eat.

"..She looks like her mother."

I paused at that. Barely keeping my head down. The Alpha knew my mother?

"Anyone else?" Jacob pressed, and I could hear his fork bend as he clenched it tightly. A deep sigh came from the opposite side of the table.

"Grace. Why don't you show Moon your garden?" He suggested as I stared at my plate. I'd finished the potatoes I'd gotten, along with the chicken. But I'd be lying if I said I wasn't still hungry. Despite that, I knew that Jacob was pushing a delicate subject. So when the Luna invited me into her garden, I went along without complaint.

But I left confused. What were they going to talk about, and how did the Alpha know my mother?

Gonna be honest, 1k followers still feels surreal.

Hope this book is more entertaining than before. We're getting lore that wasn't previously part of the story, and I like it much better.

What do you think?

G'Night Stars

Song: https://youtube.com/watch?v=HA_kPxzO-2M&si=a2XkxwY7EZRgD5OI