Page 18 of Violet Moon (Pitch Mountain Pack #1)

Sera came back to her senses in the forest, lying on her furry belly with the pack around her.

Jo was on one side of her, curled up in a tight ball.

Parisa was on the other, body aligned with Sera’s.

One by one, humanity returned to the wolves, until the only ones still lost to the moon were the youngest members of the pack.

This was often the hardest part for Edgar, Benny, and Jo.

After being untamed for two days, their wolves were unwilling to return to their mostly dormant state.

As they awoke, their aggressive sides came to the forefront and their wolves fought to maintain control.

With dawn blooming over the horizon and the peak of the full moon well over, the elder members of the pack encircled them. They all watched Parisa to see what to do next, following her every move.

Parisa twitched her head to the side and Sera jumped into action, pinning down Jo while Wilma and Lock got Edgar and Benny.

The three younger wolves squirmed and growled as they tried to break free.

Jo’s teeth were on display and they tried to lunge to bite Sera’s leg, but Sera was undaunted and Jo’s strength was no match for her own.

Edgar continued to fight until Parisa helped Wilma subdue him.

Gradually, all three submitted to power stronger than their own.

Sera stood and let Jo go, knowing the younger wolf wasn’t going to fight her any longer.

The sun warmed the horizon and split through the trees, cracking through the thick fog that surrounded them.

Dew glistened on the grass beneath their feet and the birds told them there was no time left to enjoy.

Sera looked up at the canopy and savored these last few moments before she started the transformation.

For the younger wolves, this happened involuntarily, but for those more in tune with the wolf, they could choose the moment they said farewell to their full moon strength until the next month.

Back at the edge of the forest, they dressed themselves in the now quite damp and crumpled clothes they’d abandoned the first night. Everyone was covered in dirt and happily exhausted. Jo looked wrung out, and they leaned on Harry as they walked back towards the Crooked Creek Pack house.

There was no big meal, no grand send-off like their arrival, but the Pitch Mountain Pack was hardly in any condition to head home right away.

It was normal for Clyde to offer them some rooms to rest, showers to clean up, and plenty of cozy space in the large living areas to catch up with friends in the Crooked Creek Pack.

Sera was too tired to think much about the arrangements until she opened the door to her usual small, borrowed room to find Parisa lounging on the far edge of the bed, one arm thrown over her eyes.

She shut the door and stared at the wood as she stood in the hallway.

She always shared with Parisa. It was never an issue, but now Sera couldn’t even open the door fully, let alone lie down and rest. There would be no sleeping in that room.

She turned to walk away and spun around to find Wilma walking up behind her.

“Are you going to rest?” Wilma asked.

“Maybe.”

“I usually do, but Jo is starting a card game in the main living room and asked me to come, too. Do you want to join us?”

Just the thought sounded exhausting. Her bones ached and all she wanted to do was sleep before heading home. Sera shook her head. “Thanks, but I’ll pass.”

“Have a good rest, then,” Wilma offered as she walked past.

“I’ll try.”

She could do this. It would be even more strange to share a room with someone else, no matter how much she loved her pack. This was nothing. She’d done it every month for years.

Sera huffed out a breath, opened the door, and stepped inside. She felt like a coiled up spring.

Parisa slid her arm off her face. “I thought that was you,” she said with a yawn.

Sera melted. She was so cute when she smiled.

Parisa scooted over, making more room for her. “I promise not to try and hog it all like last time,” she added with a chuckle. She yawned again and started rolling over onto her side, her back towards Sera. “I’m exhausted. How about you?”

“About the same.”

“These full moon nights are taking more out of me than they used to. Remember what it used to be like?”

Sera took several hesitant steps towards the bed. “Yeah, when we could run for two nights, come back, and spend the day with a bottle of whiskey and our Crooked Creek friends?”

“Clyde could really drink back then. So could we.” Parisa peeked over her shoulder. “Are you going to sleep or stand?”

“Sleep.” Sera inched towards the bed and finally sat down on the edge. She glanced at Parisa beside her, her thick, brown hair spilling across her pillow, her shoulder rising and falling with every breath.

Exhaustion tugged at Sera’s eyelids. Her head dipped as her neck relaxed on its own. With her arms and legs as stiff as boards, she lay down on the bed, hanging onto the edge. Behind her, she heard sheets rustling and felt the bed dip.

Parisa poked her between her shoulders. Startled, Sera nearly fell off the bed.

“Do you ever feel like you blink and ten years go by?”

“Sometimes,” Sera squeaked. Her back tingled where Parisa had touched her, her skin radiating warmth with her so near.

“Some humans long for these lengthened lifetimes, and yet, here I am with mine, spending it doing the same things every day.”

Sera couldn’t think of anything to say, but as the silence stretched on, she needed to fill it, if only to distract from the sound of her own heartbeat in her ears. “Routines can be a good thing.”

“Don’t you ever want to do something more daring?”

“Like what?”

Sera tensed as Parisa’s fingertips skimmed along her arm, and then her hand was gone. “Like nothing I can share out loud.”

The bed dipped behind her again as Parisa moved, then she felt her Alpha’s back along her own. “Rest well, azizam .”

“You, too, Pari,” Sera managed to say.

She shut her eyes and focused on calming her own heartbeat, knowing Parisa could sense it.

The only thing that helped was the sound of Parisa’s steady breaths behind her.

The more she listened to the sound, the easier it was to calm her breathing and slow her racing heart.

As Parisa drifted off to sleep, Sera matched her breathing to hers and soon the exhaustion she felt in her muscles won and she fell asleep.

When Sera woke up, it was dark outside and she was on her back with a heavy weight on her arm. Panic gripped her in the darkness as she wondered what was holding her down, but as her rational mind awoke, too, she realized it was just Parisa.

Then, another type of panic settled in. Sera clenched the hand that wasn’t currently wrapped around Parisa’s shoulder, digging her fingernails into her palm.

Parisa smelled like the forest and, somehow, like the rose water she used in the bakery.

She was too close for Sera to handle, but also not close enough.

Sera longed for more. She wanted to nuzzle into Parisa’s soft hair and press a kiss to the top of her head.

She wanted to curl her arm around her and pull her closer.

She wanted to kiss her. She pictured it so clearly in her mind.

They’d start out innocently enough, but it would melt into more as Parisa relaxed against her in the darkness.

She stopped herself. She’d promised not to let those feelings overtake her. She thought of anything else — the pack, the forest, favorite customers at the bakery — until she’d buried those thoughts like everything else she didn’t want to deal with. It worked well enough for Sera to function again.

She weighed her options. She could continue to lay here until Parisa woke up or she could carefully pull her arm away and slip back out of the room. There was a clear correct choice, given the fact that her feelings for her Alpha were threatening to take hold again. She needed to leave.

But she couldn’t.

In the darkness, Sera let her selfishness win. She closed her eyes and curled her fingers around Parisa’s shoulder.

If she couldn’t have this for real, then at least she could have it for now.

The Pitch Mountain Pack gathered in the foyer of the Crooked Creek Pack house to say their goodbyes and share their gratitude for another full moon spent together.

Clyde seemed more haggard than usual, though he was smiling, and Jason was nowhere to be seen.

Parisa was also missing. When Sera awoke again later that evening, she’d already left.

“How are you feeling?” Sera approached Jo who was leaning against the wall.

“Everything hurts,” Jo said with a weak grin. “It gets better, right?”

Sera nodded, heart aching for the younger wolf. “Like with most things, time makes a world of difference.”

“I guess I’ve got nothing but time now.” Jo chuckled and then grimaced, holding their arm closer to their body.

“Yes, but time still passes quickly. If you blink, you’ll miss a decade or two. If you can, enjoy what you have now and know just how much better things can be in the future.”

Parisa reappeared with none of the joy in her expression from before. She said nothing as she stepped through her pack and out the front doors, signaling that it was time to leave.

Clyde stepped beside Sera. “How is she?”

She shook her head. “I don’t know. Sometimes she’s the same Alpha I’ve come to know, then other times it’s as though she’s changed into someone I don’t recognize.”

“Like all Alphas, the weight of her pack lies heavy on her shoulders. She bears it proudly, but it doesn’t mean it’s easy.”

“I know.”

Clyde clapped her on the shoulder. “Until next time, my friend. And don’t be a stranger. If you need us, we’re here.”