After a long but much-needed night with the twins, I woke to an empty bed. Well, it wasn’t completely empty. The first thing I saw as I opened my eyes was a head of flaming hair, followed by Kat’s smirking face. She was perched on the edge of the bed, her chin resting on her hands.
“Um, how long have you been here?” I grunted, my voice thick with sleep. As I rubbed the cobwebs from my eyes, she straightened and flashed me a cheeky smile.
“Oh, about half an hour or so.” She shrugged, brushing some strands of hair from her forehead.
As my senses sharpened and the thick haze of sleep faded, I noticed she was wearing an emerald sports bra and black leggings. Her thick curls were pulled back from her face, and her round eyes held a flicker of impatient excitement.
“Do you always watch your friends sleep?” I snickered, sitting up against the wooden headboard.
“I most certainly do not. That is an honor bestowed only upon my Luna.” She smirked, which quickly turned into a humorous grin. “I must say, Luna Sophia, you have horrible bed-head in the morning.”
“Oh, shut up,” I hissed, tossing one of the plush pillows at her face.
“Testy!” She tsked, jumping from the bed before the pillow managed to hit her. “Ethan and Kieran must love morning Sophia. So feisty, so fierce. Keep that mindset for training today; you’re going to be one grumpy Luna when we’re finished.”
I grumbled incoherently as I stood from the bed and meandered over to the walk-in closet across the room. I had learned pretty quickly that Kat was one of those infuriating people who could wake up at five in the morning, chipper as can be. It took me a little longer to wake up, and even longer to shake the initial grumpiness that followed. Caffeine helped, but I had always hated waking before the sun crested in the sky.
“Chipper as always, I see,” I snorted, rummaging through the clothes hanging in the closet.
Ethan and Kieran’s mom had taken it upon herself to purchase me an entirely new wardrobe. Her style was very different from my own, but I was beginning to like the clothes she had chosen for me. What made me most uncomfortable were the frilly sets of bras and underwear; I would probably never get used to them.
While I was getting used to the idea of Ethan and Kieran as my mates, the accepting nature of their family was taking a bit longer. They had opened their home to me without issue, even letting the three of us share a bedroom. Ethan and Kieran had briefly told me that werewolves weren’t worried about mates being intimate with one another. It was a natural occurrence, they said.
“Oh, you’re not going to want to wear that,” Kat shook her head, leaning against the door frame.
“Why not?” I asked, raising an eyebrow at her.
I stuffed the black t-shirt I had clutched in my hands back into the drawer it had come from. The shirt belonged to Ethan, just as the sweatpants I had picked out belonged to Kieran. Their clothes were more comfortable to roam the house in and had the added bonus of smelling like my mates. They never minded when a few articles of their clothing went missing, only to reappear days later on my body. If anything, they enjoyed the pleasure of removing said clothes at the end of the day.
“You’re going to be miserable wearing that.” She shrugged and chuckled boisterously. “All sweaty and whatnot. Opt for a sports bra and leggings. You’ll show a bit of skin, but think of how much Ethan and Kieran will enjoy that later on.”
“Fine,” I scoffed, rummaging through the drawers of the dresser that sat in the walk-in closet. “Only because you put it that way.”
“Tell me, what’s it like having two mates?” She giggled, ending her words with a devious smile. “At this point, I’ll take one!”
A horrid blush stained my face, and I could practically hear her thoughts about what everyone knew went down between the three of us. The day after first sleeping with Ethan and Kieran, I had noticed a change in my own scent. I seemed to carry a piece of Ethan and Kieran wherever I went and couldn’t ignore the knowing looks I received from quite a few people. They had sheepishly told me that when first mating, our scents would merge. Not only did I carry a piece of them with me, but they carried some of my scent as well. As much as I wanted to be angry with them, I couldn’t-not when I could feel their emotions and see the happiness on their faces.
“It’s fun, more fun than I initially thought,” I smirked, offering no further details. “I’m sure you’ll find your mate eventually.”
“Oh, come on!” Kat groaned, a hand against her heart. “Give me some juicy details! Judging from the blush on your face, I’m sure there’s plenty of nice tidbits you can tell me.”
“I should probably get dressed now, before we’re late for training.” I smirked, stepping into the bathroom with my clothes clutched in hand.
I could hear Kat’s groan from inside the bathroom and chuckled at her expense. I tugged down the thick hem of the sports bra I wore, scowling at how my entire midsection was exposed. It’s not that I typically dressed modestly, but I had never worn something quite as revealing as this. If what Kat had said was true, I’d take an exposed stomach over being hot and miserable any day.
Ethan and Kieran’s mom had set out an entire breakfast for us, one I was dying to dig into. It was my turn to groan when Kat handed me a foul-looking smoothie and a couple of protein bars before dragging me out of the house.
“It smells like feet,” I commented, wincing as I took a large gulp of the fruity concoction.
“Plug your nose,” she teased. “It’s a protein shake, Sophia. They’re not meant to taste fabulous.”
“Are there vegetables in this?” I grimaced, glancing down at the dark green shade of the shake.
“Among other things,” was all she said, snorting at the look of horror on my face.
When we pulled into the parking lot of the local gym, a look of confusion formed on my face. The gym in our pack was nice, much nicer than the one that sat by the high school I went to. What confused me was why we were here to begin with.
“Here, you’re going to need this. Layer up, Luna!” Kat chuckled, tossing a small stick of deodorant at me.
I did as she said and layered the deodorant on my underarms, shrugging as a strong floral scent wafted into my nose.
“Better than stinking like sweat,” I murmured appreciatively.
“You gotta train in your human form first,” Kat commented, rummaging through the trunk of her car for a large, pink duffel bag.
“The stronger you are in your human form, the stronger your wolf will be.”
“Does that mean I’ll be lifting weights?” I grunted, a slight sour tone to my voice.
It was no secret that I had the coordination of a toddler, but I had yet to see what finally shifting had done for me. Back when I absolutely failed at sports, I had thought I was merely human. My senses were sharper now, my eyesight crisp in a way it hadn’t been before. Above all, I desperately hoped I could be useful to this pack-besides my strange white-wolf abilities. I wanted Ethan and Kieran to know that I could take care of myself instead of relying on a power I had no idea how to control.
“We’ll both be lifting weights,” Kat quipped with a cheeky grin. “Don’t worry, we’ll firm up that perky behind in no time!”
“It’s not my behind I’m worried about,” I huffed, following her to the front door of the building. “And my behind is already perky!”
The gym in town was a large, modern building with a parking lot that could easily accommodate everyone in town. A large window gave me a clear view inside the gym, where I could see a multitude of men and women wandering from machine to machine.
We stepped inside and were greeted by the scent of disinfectant and something similar to leather. Upon entering, I found myself surprised. Whenever I thought of a gym, I had a pretty clear image in my head: a bunch of muscular, sweat-stained men grunting as they flexed and lifted weights in front of a mirror. It was just another thing I had been wrong about.
Sure, there were plenty of muscular men in this gym, but there were also just as many women. The scent of sweat was so diminished, it was easily ignorable. If anything, the most noticeable scent was that of cleaner and deodorant.
The bottom half of the gym was huge. Apart from a long desk that sat a few feet from the entrance, the rest of the room was filled with machines of all types. Half of the wall was lined with floor-to-ceiling mirrors, and there were a plethora of water bottle refill stations everywhere.
The woman at the front desk was casually dressed and merrily chatting with some of the current gym-goers. Her golden hair was pulled up in a high ponytail, and she wore similar athletic clothes to what Kat and I wore. When she caught my eye, her spine seemed to straighten a bit, and just a tad of that easy-going humor left her eyes.
“Luna Sophia, it’s an honor to have you here!” She grinned, coming around the counter to approach us. She gripped my hand firmly and gave it a shake before flashing Kat an equally polite smile. “Everything here is at your disposal. Your trainer is upstairs in one of our private rooms. Feel free to use any of our facilities. On the second floor, you’ll also find a smoothie bar, and on the third floor are the locker rooms. We have showers, and even a sauna, if you’re into that sort of thing.”
I managed to stammer a suitable thank you and followed Kat through the maze of weight machines. The quiet sound of weights clicking could be heard, along with the ever-so-silent murmur that came from many of the people working out. While many eyes darted over to meet my own, none strayed any lower than my face. Men and women of all ages greeted me with a slight nod before turning back to their workouts.
Ethan and Kieran had explained the pack dynamics to me a few days ago. They hadn’t planned on introducing me so soon, but my appearance during the rogue battle had spurred attention. Men and women of all ages would show me nothing but respect, as my word was also law.
“While I love and respect you, my benevolent Luna, I will never hesitate to call you out on your shit,” Kat grinned, wrapping an arm around my shoulders as she steered me toward the stairs.
“Honestly, I appreciate that,” I chuckled along with her. “I’ve been treated like vermin my entire life, and now I’m suddenly royalty. It’s really strange, and kind of unnerving.”
“You’ve been surrounded by worthless assholes your entire life, what did you expect?” She grunted but quickly wiped away the grimace that formed on her face. “Think of it this way: now you’re surrounded by people who know how awesome you are.”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t all go to my head,” I laughed.
“That’s also in my job description,” she winked. “As the Luna’s best friend, it is my job to make sure you don’t become all snooty and full of yourself.”
“I hope you know I’m not paying you for this,” I scoffed.
“To be in your glorious presence is payment enough, Luna Sophia,” she cooed, poking her tongue out at me.
“If you keep talking to me like that, I’m definitely going to get a big head,” I replied, giving her a genuine smile.