Tara's Story

Chapter 11

I woke in the morning to find Mirabelle wasn’t in her bed. I rubbed my eyes and looked at her alarm clock. It was 9 a.m. Geez, she gets up early on Sundays. Well, at least for werewolf standards. I got up and rummaged through my bag and found a green t-shirt and a pair of holey jeans to wear. I dressed, and went upstairs in search of breakfast. Emily wasn’t around, and I didn’t see Mirabelle either, so I just searched every cupboard until I found some Chex cereal. I poured myself a bowl and was eating when Leah walked in. “hi.” She said bluntly.

I waved, since my mouth was full. She sat down by me. “So what’s new?”

I swallowed and answered. “Not much. Still waiting on a reply from Sam if I can be in the pack or not.”

“I hope he does. I think he will too. But it would be nice to have another girl werewolf in the pack. It gets kind of annoying when you’re surrounded by testosterone 24/7.”

“You know, when I was traveling I met two girl werewolves in northern Wisconsin. Nice girls, but the pack was wary of me. Then, I sucked blood in front of them and they freaked out and politely told me to leave.”

“Really? I didn’t know there were others until you came along. It seemed for awhile I was the only freak of my kind in the world.”

“Yeah, I know the feeling.”

I heard a car door slam and Leah looked at me and smiled. The first smile I’d ever gotten out of her. “I’m going to go now.” She said, slipping out of the room as Emily opened the front door and walked in.

I smiled at her. “Where’s Mirabelle?”

“Well I just dropped her off at church.”

“She goes to church?”

“Yeah, I guess. I don’t know.” She said, just as perplexed as I was.

I shrugged and continued on with my breakfast. “Oh and where’s Sam?” I asked. “He said he’d give me an answer.”

“Um, I don’t know. Probably patrolling with the boys. He should be back soon.”

“Ok.” I said, turning my attention back to breakfast.

“Well, I’m going out to the garden if you need me.” She said and went back outside.

I finished breakfast and combed out my long hair and put it in a long, thick braid. I sat on the couch in the living room and looked outside. It was fall and the leaves were turning pretty shades of brown orange and yellow. Back in Montana, it would be brilliantly beautiful with every look. I sighed, missing Mom and the place which I used to call my home.

Outside, I saw a few flashes of fur in the forest, then Sam, Quil, and Embry appeared. Sam jogged over to Ann, who hadn’t seen him appear, and gently grabbed her from behind. She smiled and he nuzzled her neck. I looked away. I was partially disgusted, but it was more heart-throbbing than anything.

After a few minutes, Sam and Emily walked in and I jumped off the couch. “So?” I asked eagerly.

He smiled. “You can stay here. You will be a partial pack member, fighting in our fights and patrols but you’re not obligated to stay. For now, you can stay in Mirabelle’s room downstairs, but if you’re going to stay long-term, you should probably get your own place.”

“Oh thank you!” I said jumped up and hugging him. He was a little shocked at my reaction for a second, then laughed. I retracted, while still smiling. “I can’t wait for Mirabelle to get home, so I can tell her the good news!”

They just smiled and walked off I went off running into the yard, jumping around because I was so happy. I’d finally found a new home.

Later on, in the afternoon, Leah found me again by the garden. “Did you hear the good news?” I asked excitedly.