A Runt Luna
Chapter 23

"Where are you guys?" He thought back. Almost instantly his mind was flooded with their surroundings, and having studied all of his territory he knew exactly where they were.

It took him a matter of minutes to reach them, and sure enough Rory was curled into a ball sound asleep. Part of Kole was proud that she was comfortable enough around his sister and her mate to sleep around them, the other part of him was worried about how quickly she had gotten tired.

"How long did you guys end up running?"

"Maybe 20 minutes."

"She probably needs to work with the others, build up her endurance." Alex suggested from his spot next to Georgia.

"That's a good idea." Kole nodded, glancing down at his mate once again. He was still surprised by her dusty fox. He never thought that his mate would be so unique, but he wouldn't change her for anyone.

Kole laid down next to her, and smiled to himself as she automatically curled into his warmth. Laying his head on his paws, he kept watch as his mate slept.

*~*~*

She woke to the sun in her eyes, and warmth surrounding her. Blinking her eyes, she almost panicked when she saw she was outside, before she remembered about the full moon the night before.

Tilting her head up, she noticed Kole's eyes on her lying next to her in human form, a smile on his face, thankfully in a robe and had one covering her fox form. She wasn't ready to be that exposed yet. Shifting back she couldn't help but return the smile, pleased with how the full moon had gone. The last thing she had remembered was curling up with Georgia, and Alex in their own little puppy pile, something Georgia told her about when she was with Darren's pack. Nothing could prepare her for how touched she was to have that moment of comfort, of that family time; it was perfect. She had only been with them for a little over a month but she had been so happy to finally be accepted somewhere.

"Good morning." Kole smiled.

"Morning." She yawned, shielding her mouth, not wanting him to get a whiff of her morning breath.

"Did you have fun last night?" Kole asked, reaching out to push a lock of hair behind her ear.

"It was perfect." She nodded with a slight smile.

"Good. I know I got dragged away early yesterday, but I was hoping that we could spend some time together?" Kole asked.

"I would like that."

He slowly worked his way to his feet before extending a hand to her. Without hesitation she grab it, letting him pull her up.

"Why don't we go get dressed and then I'm sure breakfast will be ready." Kole spoke.

"Sure." She nodded. Together they walked hand in hand to the house, where to her surprise many of the pack members were hanging about.

"We usually all eat breakfast together after the full moon." Kole said seeing the surprise on her face.

"That's nice."

Rory made her way into their closet a smile on her face at her belongings hanging next to his. She still couldn't get used to having more than four outfits, let alone having a spot for them.

Normally she wasn't one to eavesdrop, but with her heightened hearing and the sound of her name, the whispers from the hallway caught her attention.

"Her name is Aurora, what type of name is that? Is she a Disney princess?" A harsh voice spoke, the amusement clear in the owners voice.

"There was nothing special about her, Kole could do so much better." A female giggled in response.

"I know, it should be you Rachel."

"It really should. How is she going to be able to lead ours when she was a runt in her old pack?"

"Maybe you need to make Kole see the truth."

"I may do just that." She hear Rachel speak, she didn't have to see her to know she was smiling. Her tone said it all.

As much as Rory didn't want to listen to them, she knew it was the truth. Even if they weren't telling her to her face, it was clear what these two females truly felt about her. Her doubts about herself leading the pack were consuming her. She didn't want to tell anyone because she was embarrassed, and if she asked Georgia for help, Kole would replace out. The last thing she wanted was for Kole to change his mind about her.

Not feeling too great about herself, she picked out a simple outfit consisting of jeans and a tee-shirt. Much like something she would wear in Darren's pack but not as worn out.

"Hey are you ready?" Kole asked oblivious to what she had just heard.

"Sure." She nodded sliding on a pair of red converse and pulling her hair up to a sloppy bun.

"You look nice."

"Thanks." She said glancing down at her outfit, that was nothing special.

"I was thinking after breakfast we could go to a park and just hang out." "That sounds nice." She fiddled with the hem of her shirt as the made their way to the dinning room, where many were still eating. Kole sat at the head of the table, gesturing for her to take the empty seat to his right. Rory was slightly hesitant because she didn't know anyone who was around her.