When The Moon Rises

Sienna’s POV.

I go up to the double doors and press my ID against the keypad on the wall, the door clicks open for me.

Only pack members can enter the Alpha’s house. I walk down the corridor, breathing in the comforting smell of the oak floorboards and panelling. I knock on the door and wait for Alpha Jon to call out.

When he does, I step inside and shut the door behind me. Walking up to his desk, I lower my head as a sign of respect.

“Alpha,” I greet and wait another moment before raising my head. Alpha Jon smiles at me.

“Please sit down, Sienna.” He gestures to one of the chairs in front of his desk.

“I presume your mother explained what you’re here for?”

“To meet a man who will be joining our pack for a while?” I reply and Alpha Jon nods.

Alpha Jon is in his early forties, he’s mated to our incredible Luna, Tia, and they have three children together.

“Yes. Now, I don’t want you to be alarmed, but I think you should know that this man is from the Black Mountain pack,” he tells me, his eyes watching me carefully.

“Excuse me, sir?” I sputter, completely shocked.

The Black Mountain pack is the biggest threat to our pack, they’re violent and regularly challenge nearby packs for land. Just last year, they decimated the Clearwater pack for their land. Apparently, they had asked politely first, and then took the land by force when the Alpha had declined.

Their Alpha Fane is cruel and fierce. He is greedy for land, and we are lucky that they don’t view our territory as valuable. We are never allowed to venture onto their territory, nor would anyone ever want to, as it is rumoured that trespassers are killed on sight.

“I know it may seem alarming, but this man is actually very friendly and polite,” Alpha Jon explains, wringing his hands nervously.

“Why did you agree to it?” I blurt out, momentarily forgetting my place.

“His Alpha was very...persuasive,” Alpha Jon says, and I realise Alpha Fane must have threatened him.

“Anyway, his name is Cade and he’s going to be with us for two weeks, working for Doctor Greene. It seems to qualify as a pack doctor he needs to practice somewhere other than his own pack.”

“What, like work experience?”

“Yes, exactly like that. He needs to have a reference from us to pass his exam. It’ll only be for two weeks,” Alpha Jon explains.

I get the feeling that our pack was chosen because no other packs would agree.

“Um, okay, that’s fine,” I agree uneasily.

I’m not entirely sure what to expect when I meet him.

“I’ve told everyone that he’s coming from another pack, you are the only one who knows his true origin and I would prefer to keep it that way. It’ll cause alarm and probably create a lot of issues for Cade,” Alpha Jon clarifies. “That being said, I would like to keep an eye on him at first. Keep him on the territory so that, if he does try anything, you’ll be safe.”

I nod silently.

“I only need you to show him around, make him feel welcome. He’ll be staying in my house, don’t worry.”

“That’s fine. Just a quick question, Sir, why me?”

“You are one of the more...accepting members of the pack. I know, should he let slip which pack he truly comes from, others wouldn’t take it so well,” he replies, and I feel flattered that he has chosen me.

“Right, if you’re ready, you can go meet him now. He’s with Doctor Greene in the practice.”

I thank Alpha Jon and exit the pack house, walking directly across the square to the pack’s medical practice. I push open the double doors and approach the receptionist as she sits behind her desk.

“Hi, I’m looking for Cade. He’s new here,” I explain, and she smiles at me.

“Doctor Greene told me you were coming. They are in room 2,” she replies, gesturing to a door behind me.

I thank her and knock on the door, stepping inside when Doctor Greene tells me to enter.

Doctor Greene is in her thirties, with auburn red hair and warm brown eyes. Next to her, is who I presume is Cade. I don’t know what I was expecting, but he’s not it.

I thought every member of the Black Mountain pack looked menacing and scary, with lots of tattoos or scars or something.

Cade is tall, about 6 ft, with light brown hair that comes down to his shoulders and pale grey eyes that aren’t menacing at all. He’s well-built and obviously works out, but other than his large muscles, he doesn’t look like a Black Mountain pack member, no piercings or tattoos or scars.

“Hi, I’m Cade,” he introduces himself, smiling and putting out his hand for me to shake.

Never in my life would I have thought I would be shaking hands with a Black Mountain pack member.

“I’m Sienna, nice to meet you,” I respond, shaking his hand politely.

“Good to see you again, Sienna. Cade’s finished his training for today if you two want to head out,” Doctor Greene says and I nod, leading Cade out to the square.

“So, what do you want to do? Do you want a tour?” I turn to face him, eyeing him up curiously.

He is just so not what I expected.

“Um, sure, that sounds great.” He smiles at me.

I begin to show him round the pack. It doesn’t take long, seeing as our pack is so small. Cade is very polite, showing genuine interest in everything I tell him about the buildings and our pack’s history.

For a brief moment I wonder whether he’s been sent here to collect information on us so that they can attack our pack, but after seeing how sweet he’s been today, I find that hard to believe.

We end up in a coffee shop on the territory, and stay there for two hours, just chatting about our lives. I find myself smiling most of the time, we have so much in common and he’s very funny.

He talks mainly about his interests, he dodges my questions about his family, but I learn that he’s twenty-two, he doesn’t get on that well with his parents, his father in particular. I can relate to him on that.

I ask him whether it is true about his pack killing trespassers on sight and he explains that it is only if they are deemed a threat, but executions are a regular occurrence in his pack.

Determined to make him feel welcome, I invite him back to dinner at my house. My parents like him, my dad especially when he finds out Cade poses no interest in me. I find it funny how nice and friendly my parents are to him, clueless to which pack he comes from.

If only they knew, they would never let him enter the house, let alone sit at the dinner table.

Later on, in the evening when Cade leaves, I call Cass and Kayla to let them know what he’s like. I’m meeting with the girls tomorrow and I decide to invite Cade along with us, so they can meet him.

I pick Cade up from the practice after lunch when he finishes.

“Hi! How are you?” I ask, pulling him into a hug.

I’m surprised when he hugs me back and I lift up onto my tip toes, I’ve never had any guy friends this tall before.

“Good, thanks. What about you? How was your day?” He asks me and I smile, he’s so polite.

I drive us to Cass’s house. I introduce them and just like I predicted, they all get on really well.

We spend the next few hours just chatting and watching TV. I feel kind of guilty for judging Cade before I knew him. I thought he was going to be some angry, menacing dickhead, but actually, he’s incredibly sweet and polite.

He explains that he likes being able to talk to us girls for once because nearly all the girls in his pack are mated, making it very hard to be friends with them without jealous mates getting in the way.

For the next week, I meet him after work, and we hang out together or with the girls. I’m glad he’s come to visit our pack; he’s definitely made life more interesting for us all. I’m surprised that Cass and Kayla haven’t made a move on him yet, he’s very attractive, but he’s not my type. He’s too sweet for me, but I enjoy his company a lot.

On Saturday night, we decide to have a girls” night out, plus Cade. The alcohol makes Cade relax more and he tells us about his overbearing father and how he’s never really felt like he fits in in his pack. He doesn’t tell us anymore about his life back home, he doesn’t ever talk about it.

Kayla and I go get drinks whilst Cassie takes Cade off to dance.

“Poor Cade, she’s eating him alive,” Kayla comments as we stand and watch Cassie turn around and grind on Cade.

I burst out laughing as I see the blush on his cheeks.

“She’s doing it on purpose, bless him.” I sigh, he’s definitely not my type.

I’m always blushing, I can’t be with a guy who blushes all the time as well, we’ll be hopeless together.

“Yeah, she is. Just you wait until she meets her mate, he’ll definitely meet his match with her I’m sure,” Kayla says. She means it as a compliment, I wish that I’m as fierce as Cassie.

“I know, Goddess save him because he’s going to have his work cut out for him,” I mutter jokingly and pay for the drinks.

We grab the drinks and head back to where Cass has thankfully removed her claws from Cade.