Under A Latent Moon (A Werewolf Tale)

Chapter 8

The following day, clouds spread across the sky. With those clouds came a certain quietness that made it a perfect day for reading.

Harley loved any day that involved reading.

After her work shift, she spent almost two hours finishing up her latest book. The characters Dorian and Taylor finally got together, thank God, but the ending was her favorite part. All of the loose ends were tied, the antagonist taken care of, and the reader could tell that the two would have a very happy ending.

Harley didn't mind reading about happy endings, but she knew that in real life they were a whole lot harder to come by.

In real life, fate didn't play a role in who you ended up with. In real life, there wasn't always—if ever—a man ready to take on the whole world to keep a woman by his side.

No, in real life families died, houses exploded, and little girls lost everything they've ever known.

Maybe that was why Harley liked to read so much. Fake worlds always had happy endings. It seemed like a way better way to live.

Someone knocked on the doorway.

Harley read an article once about the importance of keeping your door open in college, and while she'd never been to college, she still felt the advice could be used. Unless she was changing, she'd made a habit to keep her door open. Then, anytime anyone walked by they could either stop and talk or say hello as they passed.

It wasn't a big difference, but the little hellos given by the other pack members made her feel more welcome.

Or not.

"Dad wants to talk to you." Jamie grumbled from the doorway. Today, her long blond hair had been swept up into an elegant looking pony tail. Combined with the flowy pink collared shirt and tight black skinny jeans, Jamie looked like she was more than ready for a retail photo shoot.

Jamie was the one person Harley more than struggled to connect with. She didn't have a problem with her, but that didn't mean she couldn't feel the invisible barrier between them. There was just something so closed off about the girl—it made Harley want to stay away from her.

Harley closed the new romance book she'd opened. "Oh. Okay. Did he say why?"

Jamie smacked on a piece of gum. "Does it matter?"

"No." She climbed off her bed, feeling suddenly awkward and out of place. "I guess it doesn't. I'll be right there."

"Whatever." Jamie cast a quick look around her room. "This place is so boring."

It didn't take Harley long to see the place like Jamie did. Her room contained nothing more than the basics: a bed, a white dresser, a matching white nightstand.

The suitcase under her bed was still packed. She hadn't had the effort to pull it out and unpack it yet. Not that she wanted to.

There wasn't anything on the walls save for a generic landscape picture hung up before she'd arrived. The only thing that indicated someone lived there was the unmade bed and the stack of books on the nightstand.

"I haven't done anything with it yet." Harley defended herself.

Jamie stepped away from the door. "Well, you know what they say...a bedroom tells you a lot about a person."

And with that, Jamie left, her long hair trailing behind her.

~

The Alpha's office door had to be the most intimidating door in the entire pack house.