Because everyone (who is reading it) loved my little Luna Quinn cameo in His Retaliation, I thought I would do a funny little series of mini-adventures of Luna Quinn!

Our first story begins in a time before Facebook and Instagram when many still had dial-up internet. Phones were not smart and computers still supported floppy disks. Let’s take a look at Quinn meeting Michael.

QUINN

Taking my brother to the local pool for the day was not my idea of fun. I wanted to hang out with my friends, not babysit. I hated when Mom got called in to cover shifts. She would be taking my brother if someone else hadn’t called out of work.

“Let’s go, brat,” I said, grabbing my backpack. My brother was busy shoving things inside his own. “Can you even go that far on your bike?” I asked.

“Don’t be mean! Mom said you have to be nice to me,” Kent taunted. I rolled my eyes.

“Just hurry up,” I said. I grabbed my house key from the hook and headed out to get my bike. Kent followed behind me quickly. While he grabbed his bike, I locked up the house then we headed to the pool. We could have gone to the packhouse but my friends didn’t like going there because the Alpha’s kid and his buddies were supposed to be jerks. I had never met him and hoped to just stay away from that kind of drama when I started high school in the fall.

It took twice as long as normal to get to the pool because my brother was so slow. When we finally got there, I pulled my phone out of my bag and saw a message from the guy I liked. He said he would come by later to hang out. I let out a little squeal, excited.

After locking out bikes up, I bought our passes and we headed inside. I scanned the crowd, looking for anyone I knew but didn’t see anyone. We found a couple of chairs to drop our stuff onto and Kent took off into the water. “Don’t drown!” I called to his back.

I sat down in my chair and pulled out a book to read; I had no interest in following him around in the water. I only got one chapter into my book before the lifeguards blew the whistle to signal break time. Kent came ambling over to grab his towel.

“Can I go hang out with Tyler?” he asked.

“I don’t care what you do,” I told him, trying to ignore him.

“You could like swim or something,” he said in a bored voice. I just shrugged.

“I’ll do me, and you do you. We just have to be back for dinner and my obligation is fulfilled,” I told him.

“Nerd,” he said before leaving me alone again.

I let myself get lost in my book for a little while longer before I realized I was starting to burn. My stupid pale skin never figured out how to tan. I skipped right to the pink stage. Kent on the other hand could walk out into the sun and have a beautiful bronze glow in minutes. I stuffed my book in my bag and checked my phone for another message; nothing.

I decided to get in the water and at least check on Kent. I had never met this Tyler kid so I wasn’t sure who he was even with. I went to the steps and slowly treaded into the water. The pool wasn’t too busy today even though it was pretty hot out. I found Kent in the corner where the pool turns from medium depth water to the deep end; that was the area I liked to stay in any way being only four and a half feet tall at age 13.

“Hey!” I called out to my brother as I got closer. Kent and his friend turned to me.

“Is that your sister?” the other kid asked. That must be Tyler.

“Yea,” Kent said.

“Keep her away from my brother,” he said.

“Who is your brother?” I asked, stopping in front of them. Before Tyler could answer that question, someone jumped in the water next to us. Water splashed up wildly, drenching me completely.

“That is my brother,” Tyler said with disdain as we all wiped the water from our faces. I turned around to see the culprit coming up from beneath the water’s surface. I had to swallow the immediate lump in my throat. He was hot.

He laughed as beads of water ran down his deeply tan torso. He pushed his fingers back through his wet hair that was just long enough to flop messily over his forehead. He had a cocky smile over his face but judging by his physique, it was probably well earned.

“Michael,” he said. “The brother you should stay away from.”

“Quinn,” I said.

“I don’t think we’ve met before. What grade are you in?” he asked.

“I start as a freshman in the fall,” I told him.

“I can’t watch this,” Kent said.

“My brother will try to get in her pants…” Tyler told him. I turned and looked at him with a confused look.

Kent shrugged. “My sister is a prude. Won’t happen,” he said. They both turned and started swimming away. I felt eyes on me and became self-conscious for the first time.

“Freshman, eh?” Michael said, getting my attention again.

“Yea,” I said. “Do I know you?” Looking at him again, he looked a bit familiar but I couldn’t place where I had seen him. He just shrugged casually as he moved toward me.

“It’s possible,” he said. I froze as he got closer. As he approached, he turned and went around me, still facing me. He backed his way to the wall behind us and leaned against it. “How did you end up here all alone?”

“I’m not,” I said quickly. Michael raised an eyebrow. “I’m waiting for someone. Plus my mom said I had to bring my brother.”

“How funny,” he said. “My mom made me bring my brother as well. I was waiting for someone but they aren’t coming so now I am bored.”

“Well, that is unfortunate,” I said. Michael was giving me a weird look that made me uncomfortably warm in the cool water. “I was just coming over to check on my brother so I am going to go…”

Michael’s face fell. He was pouting but it was practiced and adorable. “You’re just going to leave me all alone? What if I drown?”

It was my turn to raise an eyebrow. “I think that is the life guard’s job,” I said.

“Just keep me company until your friend gets here,” he bartered. I looked around, hoping for some way to get out of this politely. This guy was dangerous. He was the kind of guy that girls fell over themselves for, I could just tell. He knew he was good-looking, and that just made him more confident.

To my relief, I saw Brandon coming through the gate. “Sorry, my friend just got here. See you around,” I said, waving goodbye. I pushed my way out of the water as quickly as I could manage, heading toward Brandon.

MICHAEL

She was cute. Really cute. There was no way she was just a freshman. She also had no idea who I was which was nice, although it meant she was either entirely clueless or new to the pack.

“She uh… fills out that bikini,” Eros said. I had to agree. She was tiny but very well developed.

I pushed myself up out of the water and sat on the edge of the pool as I watched her wade toward the stairs. She rushed out of the water and over to some guy. I left out a huff.

“Competition,” my wolf said. “Rip his throat out.”

“No need. I don’t need to kill him to win her over,” I told him confidently. That little she-wolf was already mine, and she had no idea.

“Time to break up with Andi,” Eros said.

“I’ll text her later,” I waved him off. My mind was spinning with all the ways I could interrupt little Quinn’s playdate with that guy. I had never been so happy that the packhouse pool’s pump was broken.