Chapter Three

Chapter 3

As Cora pulled off the highway and headed into Flint City, the symphony of new scents floated into the car through the open windows. Flint City was a human town, so it smelled very different from the Half Moon Pack lands along the Jasper River. The majority of the humans in Flint City were completely unaware that three werewolf packs lived within 100 miles of their town, truly, most of them didn't believe werewolves existed at all. The Alpha's of the Three Rivers Packs had a deal with the human leaders in Flint City. The humans stayed out of pack lands and allowed pack members to visit and shop in their town and the werewolves would not harm any humans. The relationship between the human leaders and the Alphas was long standing and had evolved in recent years into the humans hiring the werewolves for a variety of security operations including protection from Drifters. Hired security for the humans was one of the many responsibilities of the Alpha's Guard and all three packs contributed warriors for the task.

It was min-morning, and the shopping district was already buzzing with activity. Cora parked along the town square and the three friends walked through the crowded sidewalks until Lexie spotted a boutique on the corner. The town square was fairly small, but Jake spotted a bookstore two doors down from the boutique. He decided he would rather peruse the shelves for a good book than sit on a bench while the girls tried on outfit after outfit.

"I have my phone, so text if you need anything. I'll meet you back here in an hour, is that enough time for you two to find party worthy outfits?" Jake asked with a devilish grin.

"That should be just enough time…barely" Cora teased. "See you in a bit."

Lexie's hand was already on the doorknob of the store as Jake turned and headed down the sidewalk. Cora followed Lexie into the three-story brick shop, appropriately named Luxe. For being located on the square of a small town, the boutique was quite fancy with exposed brick walls, dramatic lighting, racks upon racks of beautiful clothes, and plush chairs and couches spread throughout. Cora knew she would have no problem finding the perfect dress for the party.

Lexie was looking around with wide eyes taking in all of the jewelry, purses, shoes, and clothes. "Dang, this place even smells expensive!"

"Lexie! Sh! Don't be weird." Cora chastised grabbing her friend by the elbow, she headed for a rack of dresses near the back of the shop. "These inter-pack parties are a big deal, Lex. I think it is well worth the splurge for you and I to look good. Sorry, but your usual black t-shirt and shorts won't cut it."

Lexie rolled her eyes "Fine, but remember I said not too short or too tight."

Cora began scouring the numerous racks of clothes while Lexie browsed through a display of jewelry. After several minutes of searching, Cora had come up with options for both girls. "Ready to hit the dressing rooms?" she called to Lexie over the heap of clothes in her arms.

"Jeez, how many parties are we going to?"

"Just the one, but we need to have options. Here, these are for you to try." Cora shoved half of the pile into Lexie's open arms as they moved toward the dressing rooms. Once they were situated in neighboring stalls, the parade of dresses began. Dress after dress, skirt after skirt, they made their way through Cora's selections. Lexie with a half scowl and Cora grinning from ear to ear. Finally, the girls made their selections and headed to the register to pay. Just as the friendly cashier was bagging up their items, Jake walked in carrying a small bag that had "The Book Nook" printed on it in bold black letters.

"I really do have impeccable timing, don't I?" Jake mused to the girls. "It looks like you all found something to wear, now how about we find ourselves some milkshakes!"

Cora's stomach rumbled, "Maybe some real food too, I'm starving!" Lexie grabbed her bag off the counter and Cora tanked the cashier as they left the shop. Cora remembered seeing a diner on the other side of the square, so they headed through the bustling sidewalks once again.

The diner was a cute little place, the kind you can find in small towns throughout the countryside. Adorned with décor that was slightly dated, but not quite vintage, oldies on the radio, and mismatched coffee mugs at every place setting. Lexie picked out a cozy corner booth for the three of them and they began studying their menus. Cora's stomach was still rumbling and the delicious smells coming from the kitchen weren't helping "Everything on the menu sounds good. I don't know why I have been so hungry these past few weeks."

Jake leaned in close with his voice low "You're a full-grown wolf now, Cora. You will need to eat more satisfying food and more often than before. A wolf's body is like a machine, you are going to have to start fueling it better."

"Not to mention your daily runs at the freaking speed of light" Lexie chimed in. "I'm guessing you burn even more calories than a regular wolf. Maybe I can ask my mom to put together a meal plan for you. It's not good to starve your wolf, even if it is unintentional."

Cora felt like an idiot for not having put two and two together on her own. Her friends had both turned 18 months before her and seemingly already knew so much more about being full wolves. Her extraordinary speed was not something that crossed Cora's mind very often. It's not like she had a hyper speed button on her wolf, it's just who she was. Speed was as natural to Cora as breathing, but it was obvious that it was not so ordinary to her friends. The last thing she wanted was to do anything that would be detrimental to the health of her wolf.

"Yeah, that would be great, Lex, thank you. I guess it just hadn't crossed my mind that adult wolves need more food. Newbie here, still trying to learn the ropes."

They had to stop their conversation when the waitress came to take their order and Cora was glad. She was ready to talk about something other than the fact that she was a novice wolf who obviously had not paid enough attention in her wolf training and education courses last year. What kind of idiot doesn't know that a full grown adult werewolf will need to put away more calories than a teenage girl…ugh, she needed to get her shit together.

As they ate, the three friends chatted about summer and made plans to take a trip to the River Cross Camp to swim at Diamond Lake. River Cross Camp was situated at the intersection of the Jasper, Gypsum, and Obsidian rivers, right at the point where they converge to become the massive Moonstone River. The Three Rivers Packs shared the camp and many pack members vacationed at the lake houses there during the summer. Lexie and Cora had been wanting to plan a trip for some time, but their parents would never let them go on their own, too dangerous with the Drifters roaming the woods. There was a much better chance of getting permission if Jake went with them. It seemed that having a friend who had joined the Alpha's Guard had its perks.

Stuffed to the gills, they paid for their meals and started towards the blue sedan. Jake asked if he could drive home and since Cora was full and felt like she could use a nap, she happily obliged. Lexie took the back seat once again and cozied up to the book she had left in the car while they shopped and ate. It was a quiet car ride back to Cora's house with Lexie reading and Cora dozing off a few times. Jake pulled the car into Cora's driveway and climbed out, stretching his body, stiff from driving.

"Thanks for the invite girls, it's always a pleasure to spend the day with you two. Let me know if your mom and Kate agree to a lake house trip, I'd be down for that." The girls said goodbye to their friend as he dipped around the fence, once again emerging as a black wolf with one white paw and a backpack in his mouth. Jake moved so quickly in his wolf form that he was down the street and around the corner before Cora and Lexie even made it to the front door.

Cora's dad was still at the Hospital when they got home and there was a note from her mom that said she was meeting a friend for coffee so the girls had the house to them selves for a little while. They took their shopping bags up to their rooms and decided to go ahead and get a start on their laundry. "Look at us being so responsible" Cora teased as the washing machine filled with water.

"Oh yes, we are regular Martha Stewarts. Next thing you know we will be sewing our own party dressed." Lexie laughed and tossed another arm full of clothes into the wash. Truth be told, Lexie was not much of a cook and was generally averse to housekeeping. She would much rather be studying or training at the hospital with Leo. Cora on the other hand had definitely inherited some of her mother's skills in the kitchen. The two of them were always baking something together for Leo to bring to the healers and patients at the hospital. Cora really had the best parents, something she knew she took for granted way too often. Knowing how busy Lexie's mother was and how much her parents had always wanted another child made Cora glad for their friendship. They were more like sisters than friends and she hoped that they always would be, even after this summer.

Later that evening, the girls were sprawled out on the floor of Cora's room folding laundry and watching another sappy romance movie. Cora had asked her dad about needing extra calories at dinner. He had agreed that she needed to increase her food intake and that her need was probably even higher than most due to her increased speed. It felt good to have her suspicions confirmed by her dad, after all, he was the best healer in the Three Rivers Packs.

"Lexie, I've been thinking"

"Oh boy, do I need to brace myself?"

"Stop, I'm being serious!" Cora gave Lexie a light shove. "I'm so happy for you that you get to study under my dad, you will be an amazing healer one day, I just know it. Having a good teacher is such a big part of ensuring a good future in the pack."

"Thanks, Cora, your dad is so smart, I'm lucky to learn from him. And don't worry, you will figure out what path you want to take. Have you given it anymore thought?"

"Yes and no. Every time I think I might have an idea for a future path, I think of a hundred reasons why it's a bad idea. If I could just get started down a path, I know I could commit and learn, it's just the deciding part that I have a hard time with."

Lexie gave Cora a reassuring smile "You'll get there, just keep an open mind. Who knows what this summer will bring."

"As always, you're right. Thanks for the pep talk."

"Anytime girl, anytime."

The girls finished their laundry and decided to call it a night. Cora wanted to get her beauty rest before the party tomorrow night. As she was trying to fall asleep, she couldn't get what Jake had said in the car out of her head. Why did she care so much about looking cute for the party? It was true that her mate would think she was the most beautiful wolf in the world regardless of her outfit. There was also no guarantee that her mate would even be at the party. She was certain though that the party would be full of good looking, young, unmated wolves. Cora was saving her virginity for her mate, but she could certainly look, and dance, and flirt with a hottie or two while she waited on her mate.

Cora kept tossing and turning in her covers. She had butterflies in her stomach which made sleep hard to find. Her thoughts were stuck in anticipation of Alpha Elias' birthday party. What if Lexie or Jake found their mates tomorrow night? The party held so much potential for all of the young wolves of the Three Rivers Packs. Finally, after what seemed like hours of tossing and turning with unquenchable excitement, Cora's mind and body finally let her rest. As she drifted into the sweet silence of slumber, a familiar character made an appearance in her dreams for the second night in a row. It was the same handsome raven-haired man, only this time she could make out a pair of coal black eyes that paired perfectly with his dark hair. Again, they danced through her dreams all night long.