"I wish you didn't have to go back," Violet complains, packing up her cot.
Trust me, I don't want to go back either, I think to myself.
"You know I don't have a choice," I sigh. "The Mating Gathering is tomorrow night. Pack Laws are a real hassle."
"Too bad you're not permanently with the Viatoribus," Violet teases. The Viatoribus follow their own code, and don't abide by Pack Laws, and therefore don't have to go to the Mating Gathering if they don't want to.
Not that I don't want to go to the Mating Gathering. I actually hope I find my mate, as this is the first year I'll be able to attend.
I just don't want to go back to Crimson Shadow.
"And it sucks that this will be the last summer you'll spend with us," Violet continues. "Guess I'll have to get used to calling you Alpha Maeve."
I cringe, continuing to pack up my stuff. It doesn't take long, because when I stay with the Viatoribus, I only own what I can carry on my back.
"Are you ready?" Akoni says, stepping into the tent. "Your father will be here soon."
"All ready," I say with a fake smile, reaching into my pocket and popping a Skittle into my mouth.
Akoni stares at me for a moment. "Congratulations on the raid. It's the largest coven we've ever taken down."
"Ah, well, kicking names and taking ass, that's the motto," I tell him, and Violet snorts, making me chuck a Skittle at her.
"We couldn't have done it without Mae," Violet tells him. "Her plan worked flawlessly."
I make a throat cutting gesture with my hand from behind Akoni, signaling for her to stop talking.
"Plan?" Akoni says in confusion.
Violet looks at me questioningly. "Yeah, her plan. She got imprisoned by their coven leader to distract him while we wiped out the rest of the coven, and then she took him by surprise and killed him."
Akoni turns to look at me, and I smile innocently.
"You allowed yourself to get imprisoned by the leader of a vampire coven?" he asks in disbelief. "Do you realize how dangerous that is? Any number of things could have gone wrong."
"In my defense," I begin, popping another Skittle into my mouth. "It was more of a fun kind of danger instead of a dangerous danger. Does anyone have more food? I'm starving."
Akoni glares at me. "You know you're supposed to run your insane plans by me first. Your mother would kill me if she knew that you did that."
"If you mean insanely brilliant, then yes, the plan was insane." I grin.
Akoni frowns, but Violet laughs. "Don't worry, Akoni, I approved the plan," she tells him.
He sighs, rubbing his temples. "I wonder how many less stress-induced migraines I'll have once you leave."
"Yes, but think of how much less fun you'll have." I laugh.
"You nearly burnt down our entire campsite last month."
"I was testing an invention!"
"You tried making a blow torch using hairspray and a lighter."
"Tried, and succeeded," I clarify. "Let the record reflect that it did indeed work. Maybe a little better than I expected, but it worked!"
Akoni sighs, but pulls me in for a hug. "Promise me when you go back to Crimson Shadow you'll keep the insane plans to a minimum, okay?"
I mumble incoherently.
"I hope that you just said, Yes, Akoni, I'll be careful." He frowns.
"I think she said: It's only insane if it fails?" Violet correctly guesses.
Akoni's frown deepens, wrinkles crinkling around his eyes.
"Akoni, you get more wrinkles every time I see you," a voice suddenly says.
"Dad!" I sing, throwing my arms around him.
"Hey, Kiddo," he greets, patting my head. "Is it safe to assume that you're behind poor Akoni's rapid aging?"
"No," I say quickly as Akoni and Violet say, "Yes."
"Atta girl," he says proudly. "Only harmless pranks, right? No dangerous plans? Your mother nearly had a stroke when she heard about what you did last summer."
I laugh, thinking about when I cast an illusion to make me look like the witch coven leader, and killed them off one by one over a period of two months.
"Actually-" Akoni begins.
"I was the perfect lady," I interrupt, mock-curtseying, and giving a warning glare to Akoni.
My dad snorts. "Kid, if you're going to lie, at least make it believable. I raised you better than this."
"Fine, I was a moderately well-behaved lady," I amend.
He nods. "Better. Make it more convincing when you tell your mom about this summer, okay?"
"Deal," I laugh.
"We should get going," my dad says. "Nice seeing you again, Akoni."
"Give Katrina my best," Akoni says, dipping his head in respect.
My dad puts his hand on my shoulder, saying seriously to Akoni, "She Saw that you would be bald in the next three months."
Akoni's mouth drops and my dad laughs before teleporting us back to Crimson Shadow.
"Nice one," I laugh when we land in the Pack House.
He grins, but it falters slightly. "You were safe, right? You know that insane plans are only okay if they work."
"They worked," I confirm.
"What worked?" My mom says, walking into the room with my sister, Kiera.
"Nothing," we say unanimously.
Her green eyes narrow. "Just because my Sight doesn't work on either of you doesn't mean I don't know when you're lying to me."
My dad nudges me. Come up with a good lie before she makes me sleep on the couch.
"I made a homemade blow torch with hairspray and a lighter," I say quickly. Technically true. "Ask Akoni. He took away all seven of my lighters. Luckily, he let me keep the hairspray, otherwise my hair wouldn't be half as voluminous."
My mom relaxes slightly, and Kiera rolls her eyes.
"How is Akoni?" she asks, letting it go.
"Bald," I say at the same time as my dad says, "Wrinkled."
She sighs. "Apart from aging?"
"He's good," I answer. "Hey, are you making dinner? I'm starving."
****
"There's something we should tell you," my mom says, placing a piece of cake in front of me, and offering one to Kiera, who declines.
I have no idea how we're related.
"What?" I say, mouth full of cake.
"Blood Lake took Red Crescent," my dad says slowly.
I choke on the cake. "They what?"
"Last week," My sister chimes in. "It won't be long until they go after Iron Claw. Aunt Maryn said she overheard her mate talking about it."
"Well, that's not good," I state the obvious.
"We need to do the Alpha Transference soon," my dad tells me. "You turned 18 almost a year ago. It's time."
I freeze. "Uh, are you sure? Because I still don't know how taxes or the economy works so I'm not sure I'm ready to run a pack. In fact-"
"Packs are starting to wonder why the Transference hasn't taken place yet," my mom chimes in. "They think it has to do with you being female, and they're calling your strength into question."
I snort. "Who? I'll kill them. Or at least give them a very unsightly illusion and destroy their sanity."
"Let's just do the Transference," my dad says calmly. "You'll be fine. I'll be there to help you take over. You won't be alone. Kalen became the Beta while you were gone. Isaiah is passing the Gamma position to Jacob next week. It's well past time for you to become the Alpha."
I cringe. I'd been pushing this off for as long as I could. "When?"
"After the Mating Gathering," My mom says. "The next day is a full moon, it'll make the Transference easier."
"Yay," I say, faking a smile.
"You'll be a great Alpha," my dad says proudly.
"Sure. Hey, are you going to finish your cake?"
****
"Excited for the Transference?" my sister asks, following my into my room.
I toss my backpack on the bed and begin to unpack. "Thrilled."
"You don't sound like it."
"Hey, I brought you back something," I say, rummaging through my backpack until I find it and toss her the present.
She catches it, looking at it in confusion. "A pocket watch?"
"It was on sale."
"So you stole it."
"It was a 100% off sale."
She sighs. "Where did you get this? It looks like an antique."
"That's probably because I stole it off of a 400-year-old vampire," I laugh.
Kiera raises an eyebrow at that. "How's Violet?"
"Mad that you didn't come back this summer."
She shrugs, sitting on the edge of my bed. "I turned 17 a few months ago. Dad said I'm old enough to choose if I go or not."
"Why wouldn't you want to?" I question. "This summer was a blast. Wish you went."
"The Viatoribus are not my pack," she answers. "Crimson Shadow is. You shouldn't have gone, either. You should have been here preparing to take over for Dad."
I roll my eyes. "I was getting hands-on experience."
"You're avoiding the Transference," she deadpans. "Why?"
"Nope," I answer casually, putting my bag back in my closet. "Couldn't be more thrilled."
"Liar."
"M&M?" I offer, holding out the pack.
"No. Stop dodging the question."
"I'm not!" I say defensively. "I can't wait to be the Alpha. I'll have absurd amounts of strength and power. Who wouldn't be excited?"
Her eyes narrow, and with those green eyes and red hair, she looks identical to pictures of my mom when she was around my age.
"Fine," she acquiesces. "Then stop messing around. You know how much responsibility you'll have as an Alpha. You can't keep playing your little tricks forever. Not when the Blood Lake threat is as serious as it is."
"Do you think we'll really go to war?" I ask, knowing she'll give me her honest opinion. She's smart, has a keen mind, especially where battle is concerned.
"Yes," she says immediately. "Alpha North won't stop until the continent is completely under his control. If he tries taking any other pack, you'll have to get involved. They already have too much power."
"Kicking off my Alpha reign with a war against the Blood Alpha," I laugh, but anxiety makes my stomach turn. "It's good to be home."
"Welcome back," Kiera says, squeezing my shoulder. "Go shower. Traveling with a nomadic group of wolves is no excuse to not bathe."
I roll my eyes, watching her figure leave my room, and think about what she said.
She's right about me delaying the Transference, for a reason nobody, especially my parents, don't know.
I don't want to be the Alpha.