From Rags to Richmond

The car drove off as Katherine Bell looked through the rear window, waving goodbye to her family until they were mere specs in the distance. Katherine, the daughter of the Desert Fringe Pack Alpha, was headed to Montana where the Northern Crest pack lie, where her betrothed, the son of their Alpha. She didn't like this idea, but she would do anything for the good of her people, including marrying Samuel Wallace.

Their fathers' thought at an early age that allying their two packs through the marriage of their children was an excellent idea. It found Katherine a good home once her brother took over as Alpha and the hope that Katherine would provide a stable influence on Samuel. Katherine had heard many stories of Samuel, none of which were given in good light. He was reckless, cavalier and hot-headed. But she trusted her father's judgment, surely this was just the phase of a young man in his early twenties and he would become level-headed and thoughtful of his actions.

The ride was long with many stops for fuel and bathroom breaks. The two men sitting in the front took turns driving so that they never had to stop for sleep. Katherine slept when her body told her to but her spirit Lycan was so restless at the idea of marrying someone that wasn't her mate. It had been almost a century since someone other than the royal family could turn into their Lycan form. So it was easy to blend with the humans and on the full moon everyone of age to possibly turn simply stayed indoors. The packs still had their rituals to the Moon Goddess and had strange-looking eyes compared to the humans.

It was almost morning the next day when they pulled into the Northern Crest pack territory. Katherine was nervous to meet the Wallace family, though she expected no one would be awake at this hour. Katherine had to go through a pack-binding ritual before she was even presented to the pack as their future Luna. It was a painful process her father had told her as she would lose her binding to the Desert Fringe Pack, unable to join again but he believed in her silent strength that she could persevere without anyone noticing.

The car pulled up to a large packhouse. It was a three-story-style house. One of the men opened her door and escorted her into the packhouse while the other unloaded her luggage. Katherine had decided not to bring much as she would probably need more seasonal wardrobes here in Montana. When she entered she was greeted by the Alpha and Luna themselves.

"Katherine Bell! So good to see you again, it's been a while." Clive Wallace's voice boomed through the empty foyer and extended his hand to shake Katherines. He was a large muscular man, as most Lycan men were built, his hand engulfed her petite hand.

"It's an honour to become a member of your pack Alpha Clive," Katherine said more demurely with a slight head bow.

"Sweet Katherine, you look so much like your mother." Tracey Wallace opened her arms and embraced Katherine. Tracey was a petite woman but she was muscular in her own right.

"Luna Tracey. Thank you for your generous compliment. My mother is a beautiful woman and I'm proud to look even a portion like her." Katherine bowed her head again when they separated from the embrace.

"Sarah will show you to your room, Katherine, breakfast will be served in the great hall in a few hours, that should gain you a bit of rest beforehand. Clive will meet you in his after promptly at nine to swear you into the pack."

"Thank you, Luna." Katherine followed a woman in her later years up the grand staircase to the second floor. There were over two dozen bedrooms on this floor, specifically for guests and dignitaries, the third floor was for the Alpha's family and any single member of their counsel. Mated members had a place of residence along either side of the packhouse.

"Here is your room, Miss Katherine," Sarah said after they had turned to the left of the staircase. She opened the door, turned on the light and motioned for Katherine to go in first.

Katherine looked around, her two trunks were stacked by the bed, though it was fairly dark with the curtains drawn over the windows even with the light on. Sarah had made her way past Katherine and pulled the curtains open. The sun was just peaking over the horizon. "Your bathroom is just through that door and your closet is through those doors beside the bed. You can make sure of everything in here to your whim. I will come and knock on your door at six forty-five to wake you up for breakfast." Sarah left and Katherine let go of a breath she didn't realize she was holding. Without a second thought, Katherine walked over to the bed, took off her shoes and laid her head on the pillow, instantly falling asleep.

~

A knock on the door came all too soon and Katherine could hear Sarah announce the time. She decided to at least needed a quick shower and a change of clothes before going down and meeting everybody. Katherine found her bathroom bag and made her way to the bathroom. It was fairly opulent with beautiful tile and gold faucets. 'This is a dignitary's room. Wonder why they gave it to me?' Katherine thought as she turned on the water and after a moment went into the stand-alone shower. To not wet her hair, Katherine had put it in a high bun, though she desperately wanted to just stand under the scalding water until every muscle stopped aching. She washed briskly, dressed in a navy blouse tucked into a pair of high-waisted dress pants and slipped on a pair of ballet flats before going down to the great hall for breakfast.

As she entered the room there was already a bunch of people seated and mingling. Katherine made eye contact with Luna Tracey who waved her over. Katherine nervously took the seat beside Luna Tracey. She had been taught that the seat next to the Luna was sacred and was never filled by anyone outside of the counsel. 'Not all packs are the same Katherine' a whispy voice echoed in her mind. Astrea, her Lycan spirit, had finally come out of her hiding place deep in Katherine's subconscious. Astrea was right, Katherine was in for a major learning curve. She sat down and folded her hands on her lap, awaiting instruction.

"Were you able to rest a bit, my dear?" Luna Tracey leaned over so that Katherine could hear her over the noise coming from the rest of the room.

"It was sufficient enough. I did get some sleep during the drive up here."

"Good. Well, eat up before it's all gone. We've got a busy day ahead of us, lots of teaching and wedding planning to do. It's only a month away now."