Amber was seriously worrying her. When she saw Amber a few days ago, she had been so strange, suddenly forgetting Dawn’s name, and being downright cruel to Ezra. Dawn had called Ezra the night after, and broke the news to him slowly, but even telling the tale at a marginal pace, and checking to see if he’s okay every so often, the eighteen-year-old boy still broke into huge, crippling, excruciating, sobbing tears that drenched his hoodie. When he couldn’t cry anymore, he let out a sarcastic, bitter laugh, that bubbled down in his throat, and his tear-streaked face was crippled in misery. He laughed, a maniacal, bitter, unbelieving laugh, and ludicrously giggled, “She promised to love me forever. I guess forever really is the shortest period of time.” And burst into laughter, rocking his chair.

Dawn felt pity for Ezra, after all, he hadn’t been the only one betrayed by Amber. She had opened up to Amber, and considered Amber a very good friend (Considering she had only had 4 friends). She knew this was barely anything to the loss felt by Ezra, but still…

Dawn sat by the rock pool in the moon-lit valley, watching the waterfall crash down onto the rocks. It was a peaceful night, the shining, pearly-white moon glimmering and lighting up the cool, shady, purple-green grass of the island, which turned whitish-blue in the pale moonlight. She found the scene beautiful, while many others, including some pack members(ahem… MELLIE ahem…), found it dim, dull and ugly. There was a kind of serene peaceful atmosphere in the clearing, and there was a rustling noise as someone sat down beside her.

She jumped up, growling, but saw it was Dusk, who smiled warmly at her as her cheeks blushed with embarrassment. 

He leaned over, and said, “Hey! By the way, I would like to ask about the request I made the other day? I asked Amber to pass it along to you?”

Dawn placed her head in her palms, and muttered, “Sorry, I completely forgot to get back to you about that.”

To which he chortled, and placed a comforting arm on her, and they just sat there, enjoying the tranquility, and watching the starry sky. Eventually he asked, “Would tomorrow be good? I can pick you up in the morning at around seven?”

She agreed, and they sat there for a while, just enjoying each other’s presence, then going back to their homes.

She woke at five-thirty a.m., just around her favourite time to go see the dawn. It was ironic really, her favourite times of the day were dawn, twilight, and midnight. She really was more of a nighttime and morning kind of person. She quickly tied a set of clothes around her ankle, while shifting into her wolf form, exiting her house, and locking the door.

She streaked across the semi-moonlit, semi-sunlit purplish-green hills, running to a spot in the woods by her favourite creek. It was bright, the cool water shimmery as she lapped it up enthusiastically. She dived into it, rolling around, after all, there was nothing like a morning creek-bath to wake you up.

She got out, shook herself off, and got back to her house at six-fifteen, and got ready, pulling on a t-shirt and a pair of shorts, as she was used to the chill of nighttime, the morning cool breeze barely affected her. She relaxed, and let her crystal out, while also munching on a drowned vole she found in the creek. She definitely preferred rabbits or bison, but it had to do. 

As Dusk promised, he arrived at seven o’clock, on the dot, ringing her door-howler. Like normal doorbells, door-howlers were installed by the door. But unlike them, they were small wolf-heads made of crystal, normally made to resemble the wolf inhabiting the house, with the name of the wolf etched above the wolf-head. When you pressed their nose, they let out a little howl, not too loud, but not too soft either, and it was rather magnificent, as when the lepto and jia worked together (this time Dawn worked with Starry), they could make the wolf throw back its head to let off a cute little howl.

He showed up in casual clothes too, and Dawn was relieved that she hadn’t messed up and read the room wrong, dressing in casual clothes too. She would’ve been mortified if she had dressed up casually to hand out with her crush. Honestly, she was a little confused why they were hanging out. According to the books and films she borrowed from the university on romance, they were supposed to not hang out, and barely know each other. She knew they were friends, and truly? She found the friendship good, and worried it would be ruined if she said she wanted to be something more, and he declined. 

They walked out, and once they got to the tree-line, they split up to change. Dawn had been tinkering with fabrics some time ago, and she actually managed to create a nice clothes pouch, which she had sewn to be able to make items larger than itself fit comfortably with room to spare. She hurried over behind a tree, and was just about to start preparing for shifting, when a snooty voice said behind her, “Hanging out with my boyfriend, I see?”

Dawn sighed. She respond wearily, “No one said he was your boyfriend, Mellie, including him,”

Mellie let off a giggle and spun Dawn around, cupping Dawn’s face with her perfectly manicured hands. “Awwwwww,” she whispered. “No one reminded Dawn that I counted, did they? I’m sure it’s not her fault. She’s just so uncivilised as a human-reared werewolf!”

Dawn growled at her, to which she replied, “No, no little Dawny, you’re not allowed to hit big Mellie! Toodles!” And giggled as she waved a hand and arrogantly swaggered off. 

Growling in frustration, at herself for letting Mellie hit a nerve, and Mellie for being so absolutely insufferable, she shifted, carefully placing her clothes in her pouch, then tying it up and sprinting back to the clearing. She spotted a slightly disgruntled Dusk, who asked, “Where were you?”

She muttered, “Nowhere, just took some extra time. Anyway, what do you want to do today?”

Dusk didn’t look completely convinced, but they still bounded down the path into the woods. They hunted for a while, and while Dawn’s expression was somber, Dusk’s was playful, and he batted a paw at her, before rolling in front of her with a silly grin on his face, his tongue lolled out. She giggled and shoved against him, but he refused to move. Only when she bounded over him in a great leap, did he get up and start chasing her through the trees. They happily yipped and yowled, not even caring that they’d probably scared away a bunch of prey. 

They continued sauntering through the woods playfully, like the wolves they were, until Dawn’s expression was that of joy, not somber brooding anymore. Dusk nudged her, and then nodded towards a gargantuan bison. She spotted a clip in its ear, and she remembered a large bison she had been unable to catch. She agreed, and they set off, tailing it. Dawn moved around to the other side, and she jumped out charging at the bison. 

It fought back, but she planted a good bite just off its right jugular, and sent it scampering off to Dusk who charged out, and bit down hard. Yes! They both wagged their tails happily. They hunted a few rabbits each, then they were about to catch a moose, Dawn chasing it towards Dusk. Suddenly, a loud boom rang out through the clearing. Mellie had leapt on top of the moose, almost crushing Dawn in the process, and then she leapt off the moose, and ran straight for Dawn.

Dawn screeched, and sprinted into the woods. Mellie gave chase, an angry lunatic, before Dusk finally found Dawn panting in clearing, the sounds of Mellie’s footsteps gaining on them. When Mellie burst into the clearing, she spotted Dusk and Dawn together, and similarly to how she ran in, she burst into tears.

She asked, sobbing, “What are you doing, with her?”

Dusk answered, “Why should I tell you?”

Mellie sniffed, and wailed, “I thought you loved me! I thought we were dating!” While Dawn was trying to ease out of the awkward situation, and escape before it escalated too much, as it seemed the fight was about her.

Dusk said, coldly, “We aren’t dating. We aren’t anything. We lost that connection long ago.”

Mellie seemed lost for words. She suddenly turned towards Dawn, and growled, “And you! What do you think you’re doing with him?”

Dawn stammered, “H-he wa-as the one wh-who invited m-me!”

Mellie sneered, “Oh, really? So I guess he invited you to tramp all over my heart? I guess he invited you to help himcheat on his girlfriend?”

Dusk interjected, “You know Mellie, I’ve already said a thousand times we weren’t dating, and we never have been. Where did you get that idea? And besides, me and Dawn are just friends, enjoying ourselves for a day together to detox. Why are you attacking her anyway?”

Mellie responded to the second question, but seemed to take no notice of the “not-dating” notice. “Ugh! She was attacking my mate! Well, not really, but she was obviously driving that moose to attack and kill you, Dusk!”

Dusk buried his face in his hands. “How misinformed are you? We were hunting together, not anything like you’ve been suggesting.”

Mellie exclaimed, “Aha! I caught you cheating! I knew it!”

But Dusk just sighed, grabbed Dawn, saying, “Come on, let’s go Dawn, let’s not bother with this lunatic anymore!”

They left, went and hunted a different moose and a rabbit, before going back to the pack. An angry Lily confronted Dusk, growling and snarling his head off. Dawn was very uncomfortable, wishing they could just relax instead of having to go through all this. She knew it was selfish for her to be anxious and worked up when she wasn’t directly involved in the situation anyway, but she still sneaked out and into the woods. She sprinted to her little secluded shooting-range (she still rarely hit any animals), and patched up her bow, only needing to add a little bit more mixture and twine a few extra hairs.

She shot an apple in the air, in frustration, then lifted a leaf and dropped it, pinning it against the wall with a precise arrow. This was one of the few therapy methods she made for herself to cope. She then hunted some more prey, and when she deposited them, a worried-looking Dusk approached her. “There you are!” He exclaimed, and pulled her back into the woods. “Listen, I won’t be able to do much today, but after all, today is Saturday. Would you like to rearrange to tomorrow?”

When she didn’t respond, he looked awkward and embarrassed and scuffed the earth with his foot. She laughed, a little nervously, and said, “Ok!” A bit too enthusiastically, leading him to laugh too, and both of them giggling together, almost without a care in the world. 

Later, at the dinner, Alpha Lily approached her. Dawn could tell the difference between her two modes, Alpha, and normal, friendly Lily. She was also a very caring aunt, whose niece was sadly Mellie. That was why Mellie had never gotten into trouble for all her harassment and bullying of Dawn, Dusk, Luna and the others. She had her own little gang, but that took up quite a lot of the percentage of the population of the pack. Actually, there were many empty houses, from the time when werewolves were hunted down, and killed. There used to be around two hundred wolves in the Lunar Dimension, and in each pack. Now there were only twenty-five to fifty in each pack. 

Lily said in her strict Alpha voice, “Dawn, I must stress the importance of this message. My favourite and only niece Mellie has complained to me about you and Dusk hanging out, and as she has romantic interest in him, she would like you to stop speaking to him at all,” 

Dawn silently wondered how Lily could say all that with such a serious tone, without breaking into laughter. She chortled under her breath, until what Lily said got back to her. Her face instantly switched to disappointment and protest, saying, “But—“

Lily interrupted, “Fine. You were one of my most favourite Betas. Chris and I, before he retired, had many excellent Betas in the couple of hundred of years, and you are one of the most intellectual and loyal ones we have found. I will allow you to spend time with him, but only in a strict friends-only relationship,”

Dawn still thought it was unfair, and was going to protest, but Lily wagged her finger, and Dawn sagged. She said, “Yes Alpha,” and sighed dejectedly. Come to think of it, she always forgot how old Lily was, as she looked no more than a day over twenty-five, but it was more like two-hundred and fifty. Lily’s mate Chris had retired from being an Alpha at a very young age, two-hundred and eighty, to pursue a full career in teaching more advanced, as he called it, “Werewolf University” topics and lessons. Whilst Lily and Chris had a thirty year age gap, it was honestly more like three due to their current ages, and their future ages.

According to her werewolf biology class she had taken, by Chris, they stayed looking twenty from the second they turned twenty to the second they turned two hundred. From that point on, they aged a year a decade, and that was why many humans spread the simplified rumour, that werewolves aged a year a decade, which would make it that the children aged super slow. This was why most under-twenty werewolves spied, because the humans would never suspect anything, and the werewolves never corrected it.

Later on, she went back to her home, got ready for bed, and collapsed into her warm and enveloping mattress. She always loved it, as it felt as though she was sleeping on a cloud. She draped herself in her duvet, and drifted off into a blissful sleep.

The next day, at the same time, Dusk stopped by to pick her up. He showed up with a lovely bouquet of orange, blue, and violet tulips. She silently wondered if Lily had told Dusk to stay away from Dawn too, and if so, was he defying her orders? Dusk told her, “It’s fine, just a bouquet of flowers between close friends. As you know, Lily is very insistent on that, but she did agree to keep Mellie away today,”

Dawn couldn’t help but chuckle a little. Dusk was so earnest, but so funny, and, to be honest, she wished it was Mellie that Lily had insisted to stay away from Dusk, not herself, Dawn. 

They shifted, and burst into the tree-line. Dusk immediately ran straight into a tree, and he fell backward, almost comedically, and rolled around on his back, flailing his legs in the air. At first, Dawn was worried he was hurt, but when she saw his cheeky grin she knew he was being silly. She laughed, a rather strange sound in the voice of her wolf, and she bowled him over playfully, until they were play-fighting like they did together when they were pups. After a short fighting session, Dawn remembered what Lily had said just as Dusk rolled them around again until he was on top of her. They stared into each other’s eyes, and the situation suddenly became extremely awkward. They almost practically jumped away from each other, both a little skittish and awkward as they just sat there for a while, no one daring to break the silence. Until finally, Dawn suggested, “Why not go hunting again?” 

And so, off they went. They tackled a nice juicy large male moose and an extremely large bison, that had to be the head of its own little herd. Oh well, it would probably be very easy for another leader to be found. They dragged the carcasses back to camp, and on the way, they spotted a distraught bison herd staring at them as they dragged their leader away. Maybe they shouldn’t have killed the bison. When Dawn and Dusk were on the way back to the woods, they spotted the same herd, but a slightly smaller male was commanding them. It seemed the loss wasn’t too big.

Afterwards, they just hung out a little more, chattering away like birds, and watching the sun set together. They bid each other farewell, and promised to meet each other during the night.

That Sunday night happened to be the annual masquerade ball, and, as stated in the name, its theme was a masquerade, and as many older werewolves loved playing matchmaker, they would pair up young, masked werewolves into prospective chemistry-filled couples. Dawn couldn’t believe she had forgotten. The Masquerade ball happened yearly, always in December, and was specifically for courtship, because the mating season was coming up, and it was better to start meeting people now, before everyone’s hormones were driven crazy. It only started at fifteen, and most people chose to ignore it, as it wasn’t that bad until the a hundred and eighty years they were twenty for, with the strongest effect during the mating season.

All the fifteen and up unmated werewolves signed their names, from all over the world! They invited many different packs to get the best picks for their own juvenile wolves, and for the other packs to, too. The main matchmakers were actually the therapists, although the elder werewolves placed many pairings, sometimes by name, sometimes just by the gist of each, and the chemistry between them. Everybody got at least five dances, like a roulette round, and if they felt that chemical spark, they were able to leave the ballroom, and talk. No one was allowed to leave without a pairing (apart from the pups and the mates unless it’s their mate), although they didn’t have to pursue the pairing after exiting.

Dawn waited nervously in line for signing up. She had been first introduced to it last year, and the system was a little broken at the time, pairing random people with random people, due to a bug in the algorithm that sorted the requests and suggested pairings. Her mask name (they were supposed to be anonymous), was “Sapphire Flight”, a sapphire mask encrusted with cornflower sapphires and wings. She had sewn her own dress for the event, as her last year’s “Azure Promise” mask and ball gown were too small, and easily recognised because she was literally paired with everybody. She had been quite proud of the “Azure Promise” as it was a delicate magenta and pink lace ballgown with many azure-coloured crystal flowers and butterflies sewn on, as well as a butterfly mask decorated in lace flowers. Many people had asked her to sew their dresses too, so she had first made her lovely “Sapphire Flight” which was a periwinkle and sapphire masterpiece, then she had made Lily’s “Royal’s Wonder” which was a lovely violet mixed with gold, as well as a high slit, and Starry’s “Midnight Delight” a blackish-whiteish haze-y tulle dress that seemed to float like moonlit clouds. She was really excited for Luna’s first Masquerade Ball, so she also made Luna’s “Moonlit Dance” which was a dark blue tulle and white lace details as well as a half moon on her dress. Of course, Dawn only rarely wore any revealing clothes, so she went out of her way to create a sweetheart neckline and floating sapphire tulle for her ballgown.

As she waited in line, thinking furiously to find something to tame her boredom while she watched the infinitely long line, she remembered just how far the organisers of the event went to keep the anonymity at a high. They had enlisted Merlina’s help, as Dawn was still a teenager while Merlina was happy being a single sorceress, her love for the magical arts overtaking any romantic feelings. They had made a spell to make all facial features hard to differentiate between all of them, also a curse to make their voices all sound the same for males, and all the same for females, and an enchantment to make all their heights the same, and an incantation to make it absolutely impossible to differentiate between anybody, unless it was their destined mate.

Most werewolf packs (excluding the hybrids) believed in the one mate one life theory begun by Lupa, who had studied it with the Wolfiens and her Wolfien mate. One mate one life referred to how your mate is your soulmate, and there is only one mate in your entire life. They would be your bestest friend, your closest comfort, your biggest supporter, and the other half of your soul. There was only one destined mate for you, and you never would be truly whole without them. Mates also had a closer connection, being able to chat no matter how far away, no matter the time of day. Although this only happened when they found their mate, and performed the mating ritual. All the packs that supported this were invited to the annual masquerade ball, as stated. This was commonly mistaken for no mate no life, which believed that if they couldn’t find a mate by eighteen, they deserved to die. And of course, there was the no destiny, who believed in were free for whatever, although they lived half the lifespan of other werewolves because they were slowly decaying in soul from loss of their mate.

She finally reached the front of the queue, and the receptionist tossed her a set of forms, and told her to make her way over. She was about to bristle and scold the receptionist for such disrespect, when suddenly she sighed. Oh. She was wearing her mask. It was an important party of anonymity, which the therapists insisted on, and the receptionist was the Omega after all, as he was the only one free to do it while everyone else was partying. She couldn’t expect him to figure everyone’s identity out. She looked down at the forms, and filled them out.

The Omega’s eyes went wide with shock, and he began apologising profusely, but Dawn quickly shushed him, and whispered, “Anonymity, remember?”

He nodded, and let her through to the main entrance hall, where she spotted many more unmated werewolves. She spotted Starry dancing with Remus, as just because they were mated, it didn’t mean they couldn’t enjoy it. She also saw Chris and Lily chatting away, sitting on a bench together. Her eyes flitted around the room, until she saw Luna, twirling in her Moonlit Dance ballgown. It was absolutely stunning, layers upon layers of floating blue tulle, and she had gathered her own little crowd of admirers even though it was her first time. 

Dawn twirled around the ballroom, acting like a sweet little sixteen year-old who had no clue what pack law was about. She found it fun, messing with people’s heads, then proving everyone absolutely wrong. 

“Hello sir,” she dipped a curtsy to the man. 

"Hey, little werewolf," The man replied. Dawn blanched. She remembered that actually, everyone was the same height, all males at five feet, six inches, and the females at five feet. She might've been "little" , only a short five feet in real life at sixteen, but all females were the same height! And, if that male actually knew her, size didn't matter for her power and strength. The way his hips swayed in the beat, and the way he was holding the wine glass made her realise exactly which pack he was from. She narrowed her eyes. Merlina might've tried her best at disguising everyone, but Dawn was still able to figure out, at the very least, the pack of which the person belonged to. A Fringey pack member, known for trying to seduce any werewolf they could find, and a cowboy-like stance, as well as dress code, hence the name “Fringey” due to their Cowboy Fringe style dressing.

“Attention!” The head matchmaker, a LunarMoon pack therapist, was clinking her spoon against her glass, a bright pink mask adorning her face, though her identity wasn’t disguised, and her mask very clearly bore the symbol for the head matchmaker of the year. “It is now time for the first round. This round will be truly random pairings, and they haven’t been checked yet. This is just to keep you entertained until the real matches start flowing in, based on chemistry between unmated wolves on the dance floor. Mated wolves, come this way to place votes!”

Dawn waited patiently, until the cry rang out. “Sapphire Flight, is paired with…,” The roulette spun. “Suits are my life!”

She snorted. Suits are my Life? What kind of masquerade name is that? Until she glimpsed him. Dressed in the most immaculate suit, he was wearing a badge that said “Suits are my Life” with the small symbol of the RedHowl Pack under it. After all, Dawn’s Mask had the tiniest Lunar moon on it, as well as the words “Sapphire Flight” emblazoned across her mask, in shimmering blue sapphire.

“Care for a dance?” The strange boy asked. They normally did the random pairings with the same age groups, so he couldn’t be more than eighteen, or less than fifteen. There was something oddly familiar about him, that she couldn’t place her finger on. “At least, before they pair me with my true love, Dawn of the LunarMoon pack, in the real rounds,”

Now, she had a faint guess, and a smirk pulled lightly at her lips. She thought it might be Dean, who always talked about how they were “mates” though neither would know as they hadn’t actually completed the mate bonding ritual yet, and Dawn would never settle for anything else when Dusk was still unsure of his true mate. Even though she knew the chance was small, and all her high-school “friends” from back in the United States would say she was a “pick-me” girl, she really just wanted a chance with him.

“Now, could you be Mellie, I wonder? Dawn’s around the same age as you, or could you be Luna, Dawn’s best friend? If so, please, please pass on a message, saying that I’ll do anything for her!” Dawn almost laughed ludicrously. It was strange being talked to about herself, whilst she was actually herself, herself. She was now almost certain it was Dean. “Or could it be… That you are actually Dawn, and I just embarrassed myself completely?”

Dawn tried to stifle a laugh, because it was absolutely ridiculous how he was trying to pair up with her. Dean, she was sure it was Dean now, said, “Okay, Dawn, I get it. But please, just give me a chance? I’m kind, I’m generous, and I genuinely care about you!”

Dawn awkwardly made her way away from Dean, trying to get lost in the crowd before he found her again. Dean wasn’t a bad guy, and she was sure he would be perfect for someone else, but just not… her. She nervously shimmied away, and made sure she got lost in the crowd.

And so, the pairing race began. The votes had begun flowing in, and the pairings for the first real round were confirmed. She had been paired with a person called “Why am I here???”, who seemed to be lax, and perhaps Amber would say he was “chill”. She wanted to clutch at her chest. Amber! She thought they were real friends, and she could already envision what Amber would say to this, and consider it all good fun. Ugh! Why did everyone except Luna, leave? They all were here, up until one point, and then they vanished off, whisked away to either a different pack, or a kingdom of black-everything, or they had become a ruthless killer. Why?

Someone prodded her shoulder. They prodded it again. Dawn turned, and saw “Why am I here???” Standing in front of her, flashing a dazzling smile under his half-mask, holding a single rose. She leaned in closer, half-wanting to feel the warmth radiating off him, which was strange because she had only felt any attraction toward Dusk; and half-wanting to see his pack. She sucked in a breath sharply. He was from the LunarMoon Pack! Which narrowed it down, to only a few wolves. Her guess would be that it was not Dusk, because neither Lily or Mellie would accept any pairing except from Mellie and Dusk. It was like a bond “set in stars” according to them, though in her opinion it should’ve been a bond “that the other party was forced to accept”.

“We could dance, or we could not, it’s up to you,” The boy said, somewhat tentatively. He seemed very different to the flirtatious teen he was a few seconds earlier. It was like he had felt something that made him suddenly change personalities, though to his true one, or to a fake mask, Dawn wasn’t sure. 

Dawn responded with a quick, “Why not?” And led him onto the dance floor. They were playing a lighthearted, quick beat song, which reminded her of the adrenaline-filled feeling of hunting, streaking through the forest, on a chase to catch food for the community. She started off, moving with the music, and circling Dusk — wait, he still couldn’t be Dusk could he? She shook her head mentally, and continued circling Du— the boy. He joined in, and spun her around, as they started breaking into dance, which seemed somewhat familiar, though she herself was doing a different version, which she had created using the hybrid music skills she had learnt in the scavenger pack, a mix of the Lunar dance and the Wolfien dance, which she had only learned over one of her more recent moonstone visits. She had also added in her own moves when it came to the crescendo at the best part of the song. They whirled around the dance floor, laughing, feeling freer than they had before, until they announced the end of round one.

Why she had been feeling sad, Dawn didn’t know as she gently let the fingers of the boy’s hand slip out of her own grip through her gloves. She stood there, staring up at the podium, until they began announcing pairings again. “First up, we would like to say our chosen continued pairs are the “Sapphire Flight” and “Why am I here???” Duo, as well as “Bell’s light” and “The most tuxedo-like tuxedo” duo.”

Dawn felt her heart beat speed up. She would be spending the rest of the night with the boy? She couldn’t believe her luck. She walked back towards the boy, who was looking back at her, and came back, closer. They danced together for the next three rounds, always knowing that they would have their round together. 

At midnight, the clock struck, and the announcer stepped up, looking tired. “It is now time for the fifth and final round. All duos are expected to stay in a room for private dancing and getting to know each other. If they decide they are truly sure they would like to get into a relationship, they can take it outside.”

Dawn and the boy made their way to a room labeled “2” the number assigned to their pairing. They got in, and began dancing a little more, talking over interests, and Dawn wondered if the boy talking excitedly in front of her could actually be her destined mate. 

They decided to take it outside as the person said, and went out together to enjoy the moonlight, sitting on a stone bench, when they heard a crash. “Bell’s Light” and “The most tuxedo-like tuxedo” crashed through the door, and they began kissing furiously. Dawn averted her eyes, as it was just a little awkward to stare and watch. 

She heard them revert to their real selves, then a sharp gasp cut through the air like a knife. “You-you’re not Dusk…” Dawn surveyed the scene. Mellie, Bell’s Light was standing, staring at the boy she had just kissed. Dawn recognised him, Jamie Poet of the LunarMoon pack, a fifteen-year-old boy, who happened to be the only Moon werewolf with even the most minute bloodline to a human.

Mellie hissed angrily, and stormed off. Dawn looked questionably at Poet, who always hated being called Jamie, who looked over miserably at her, mouthing “I actually thought I had a chance”, and he walked off into the starry night.

Dawn leaned in, and whispered to the boy, “Maybe we best better be off then.”

He replied, a slight smirk tugging at his lips, “To where then?” 

And to which she tugged him off into the night. They ran through the woods, and came to a whimsical, moonlit little clearing Dawn knew dearly. It was the place where Dusk had met her, only a few nights prior, and something about it made her happy. They talked, laughed, and danced, until one point they broke into the LunarMoon pack signature dance. A left step, a twirl, a float, an ear twitch, a right step, a half-morph, a tail twitch, a full wolf morph, then back to the half-morph form, whilst still dressed, then twirling and bounding across the floor. Those were her favourite combination, which mainly only happened during the chorus. The boy’s eyes widened as he performed the nest section, then they performed the last section together. 

“You’re a Mooner too?” The boy asked. 

“Of course!” Dawn let out a laugh. “See, look at my pin. I saw yours earlier, why didn’t you notice it?”

He looked at her face, and, took a pace closer to her. Her breath seemed to catch in her throat. “You don’t have to kiss me back, if you don’t want to…” His words trailed off. Instead, he said, “Maybe we could reveal our true identities first?”

Dawn nodded, and murmured the spell to revert herself under her breath. When she opened her eyes, the most beautiful wolf on earth stood in front of her. The one she thought could never, ever be the one she was paired with at the masquerade. It was Dusk. He glanced at her, then stumbled back. 

“W-what? That can’t be right! I would’ve thought they paired me with someone else! Umm-umm… Goodnight! Goodbye!” Dusk ran off into the woods, and Dawn sunk to her knees. 

Of course it was Dusk. She really thought she had found someone else, but she couldn’t have. It was always Dusk, and it would always be Dusk. She had never been bitter, until this point. But… What if she didn’t have to wait for him anymore? That would be… great, actually. She hugged her knees, curling up by the tree, and considered giving up Dusk. The old her would’ve piped up, “Don’t be silly!” But now… The voice in her head was silent as she lay on the forest floor.