Page 4 of The Alpha’s Forced Rejected Mate (Silverlight Valley Alphas #1)
Luna tried and failed to catch the book. It hit the floor with a thud that echoed through the quiet library. She quickly picked it up, checking for damage before sliding it back onto the shelf.
“Everything okay over there, Lily?” Jenny called from her desk in circulation behind the tall oak bookshelves.
“Fine!” Luna replied, smoothing the creases in her blue cardigan. “Just butterfingers today.”
She forced a light laugh. The book cover had surprised her, a black wolf with piercing silver eyes, standing majestically against a moonlit forest backdrop.
Get it together. It’s just a children’s book.
Luna took a deep breath and continued shelving, her fingers lingering just a bit longer than necessary on each spine. She had always loved books, and her repetitive task usually calmed her. But today, her mind refused to settle.
In the six years since she fled the Silverlight Valley Pack with only the clothes on her back, she had not had a more confusing day.
Six years.
It had been six years of her pretending to be just a regular human. She had dyed her silver hair brown when she arrived here and began the process of becoming Lily Coleman instead of Luna Mitchell.
“Hey, Lily. Sorry, can you help set up for story time?” Jenny’s voice put a pause to her thoughts. “The kids will be here soon.”
Luna was grateful for the distraction. “Okay, I’m coming.”
She made her way to the children’s section, tucking a stray strand behind her hair. This section was more colorful, with rugs and miniature furniture chosen to create a cozy reading nook.
The bright yellows and blues of the space always lifted her spirits, reminding her why she’d chosen to work at the Oakridge Public Library. Books had been her escape during those first terrifying months on her own.
It was a no-brainer picking it for her profession.
Luna adjusted her cardigan again. She had worn it over her burgundy dress, and no matter how large a size she got, her cardigans always clung to her curves.
The dress was one of her favorites, slightly more fitted than what she usually wore, with a hem that fell just below her knees. Today, she’d paired it with black tights and ankle boots.
At least no one here judged her for her size.
She was grateful that in the human world, being plus-sized wasn’t seen as a failure, because not everyone here was slim or able to shift. Here, she was just Lily the librarian.
She smiled to herself as she arranged the children’s chairs in a semicircle.
“Ms. Coleman!” A small whirlwind in the form of seven-year-old Mia burst into the children’s section, clutching a well-worn copy of an Enid Blyton book to her chest. “I finished it! You were right—it was amazing!”
The little kid brought a genuine smile to Luna’s lips as she crouched down to her level. “Already? That was very fast, genius! What was your favorite part?”
As Mia retold the story Luna herself had read more times than she could count, two more children filtered in with their parents. Luna nodded in greeting.
These moments had become precious to her over the years. Especially whenever she missed home, even though they didn’t want her.
This was enough. This had to be enough.
By the time story time ended, the library had filled with its usual mid-day crowd—retirees browsing the large-print section, college students sprawled in the study area with laptops, and young mothers with toddlers.
Now on her lunch break, her sandwich sat uneaten on the table as she scrolled through local news on her phone. The last thing she needed was another relocation.
She always checked for any occurrences that could signal a supernatural presence in the area. Nothing today, which was a relief.
Three towns in six years was enough moving for a lifetime.
“Mind if I join you?” Jenny slid into the chair next to her, unwrapping a salad. Her blonde curls bounced as she studied Luna’s untouched lunch. “Are you okay? Not hungry?”
Luna picked up her sandwich, taking a bite to appease her coworker’s concern. “Just distracted, thinking about where to put the new shipment of books.”
“Always working,” Jenny teased, waving a tomato slice with her fork. “You should come out with us on Friday. Trivia night at the bar down the road. We are putting together a team to win the hundred-dollar coupon.”
Luna smiled but shook her head. “Thanks, but I’ve got plans.”
Plans for her now meant curling up with a good book, all points of entry locked and curtains drawn.
No one was chasing her, but better safe than sorry.
“One of these days, I’m going to wear you down,” Jenny said with a good-natured shrug. “You can’t hide from fun forever, dear.”
The irony of Jenny’s comment wasn’t lost on Luna. Hiding was exactly what she’d been doing—and not just from fun.
If only she knew.
Dominic had told her to run away, but as a runaway wolf from a pack like theirs, she knew that the Elders would want her brought back. They would have guessed the rumors were true and she was a witch.
She would never go back.
Luna resumed her tasks after her lunch, pleasantly losing herself in the rhythm.
The afternoon sun slanted through the west-facing windows when a commotion near the entrance caught Luna’s attention. A woman stood at Jenny’s desk, her voice rising with panic.
“—can’t find him anywhere! He was right next to me in the children’s section, and then I turned around and—” The woman’s voice broke. “He’s only four. He wouldn’t just wander off.”
Luna approached slowly, fighting the instinctive urge to rush forward. “Is everything okay?”
Jenny turned, relief evident at having some help. “Lily, Mrs. Reyes can’t find her son, Lucas. He was here just a few minutes ago.”
Mrs. Reyes clutched her purse with white-knuckled fingers, her eyes red-rimmed and frantic. “I’ve looked everywhere I could think of. He’s wearing a green dinosaur T-shirt and blue jeans. Dark hair, about this tall.” She held her hand about three feet from the ground.
“We’ll find him,” Luna assured her, keeping her voice calm. “Kids often get distracted by books and wander off. The library isn’t that big.”
Jenny nodded. “I’ll check the basement and let the other staff know.” She hurried off, leaving Luna with the distraught mother.
“Come with me,” Luna said gently. “We’ll start with the back corners and work our way forward.”
As they searched, Luna discreetly studied the woman. The genuine fear in her eyes stirred something in Luna’s chest. She’d seen too many families torn apart, and had experienced that loss herself when her mother died.
After fifteen minutes of searching with no sign of Lucas, Mrs. Reyes’s composure began to crack. “What if someone took my boy? Oh God, what if—”
“Let’s not jump to conclusions,” Luna said, though her own concerns were growing.
The library wasn’t large enough for a child to remain hidden this long, not with multiple staff members searching.
They returned to Jenny, who shook her head. She had no luck finding him in the basement or staff areas either.
“I should call the police,” Mrs. Reyes said, searching in her bag for her phone.
Luna made a quick decision. “Give me just a minute. There’s one place we haven’t checked thoroughly.”
She guided the worried mother to a bench near the entrance. “Wait here. I’ll be right back.”
Luna headed to the family restroom, and knocked before entering the empty space. She locked the door behind her and leaned against the sink.
This is stupid. You’re supposed to be hiding.
But the image of the mother’s desperate eyes convinced her.
Luna closed her eyes and did her best to focus on the boy, trying to picture a green dinosaur shirt and dark hair. She felt the familiar tingle of magic stir in her veins, a gentle current compared to the huge wave of power she knew she could access if she dared.
In her mind’s eye, a thin silver thread materialized, stretching from where she stood across the library and…outside?
Luna’s eyes snapped open. Her heart sank as she confirmed what the tracking spell had shown her—the boy had left the building. She rushed from the restroom.
“Mrs. Reyes,” she called, hurrying back to the entrance. “I think we should check outside. Has Lucas ever gone to the playground across the street before?”
The woman’s eyes widened. “Yes, we stop there sometimes after story time, but he knows not to go without me—”
“Children don’t always remember rules when excited,” Luna said, already heading for the door. “Let’s check there first before calling the police.”
They crossed the street to the small community playground, where they found a small boy in a green dinosaur shirt attempting to climb the ladder to the slide, oblivious to the panic he’d caused.
“Lucas!” Mrs. Reyes cried, rushing forward. “Oh my God!”
The boy turned, his face lighting up. “Mommy! Look how high I can go!”
Mrs. Reyes scooped him into her arms, alternating between hugging him fiercely and scolding him through tears. Luna relaxed then, smiling as she watched the reunion.
Totally worth it.
She could feel the tracking spell dissipating, the magic returning to her core.
“How did you know?” Mrs. Reyes asked later, holding Lucas’s hand firmly as they prepared to leave the library.
Luna shrugged. “It was just a hunch. Kids like to have fun.”
“Well, thank you,” the woman said, sincerity heavy in her voice. “You were calm through everything. You must be good in a crisis.”
Luna smiled at her and her son. “Just part of the job.”
After they left, Jenny cornered her at the biography section. “That was impressive, Lily. How did you know where to look?”
“Lucky guess,” Luna replied. “Anyone would have thought to check outside eventually.”
“Well, you saved the day. That’s what matters.”
For the remainder of her shift, Luna couldn’t shake a sense of worry. Using magic always left her feeling exposed, vulnerable. Like she’d briefly stepped out from behind a curtain and anyone tracking her could find her.
It was stupid. Reckless.