POV: Desi Whitmore
That acceptance letter from Moonrise Academy sat right there on Desi's polished mahogany desk, glinting like a golden ticket to everything she'd ever dreamed of. Top-notch education. Powerful political connections. The chance to rub elbows with the supernatural world's most influential leaders.
So why did it feel like running for the hills?
"Got cold feet?" Her mom, Patricia, appeared in the doorway, perfectly put together even at seven in the morning. As one of the Southern Alliance's sharpest diplomats, Patricia Whitmore never left anything to chance: never a strand of hair out of place and never a plan without backup.
"Just thinking about timing," Desi said, nodding toward the window that framed the sprawling Whitmore estate, stretching out into the Georgia pines. "The Omega Protection Initiative is finally getting some serious momentum with the pack council. If I leave now..."
"Someone else will carry the torch," Patricia said, sliding into the antique chair beside her daughter. "Movements don't hinge on one person, kiddo. They're bigger than any one voice."
"But what if the pack isn't ready? What if without me pushing it..."
"Then you'll have learned a vital lesson about making sustainable change," Patricia said, her smile both proud and sharp. "Real reform isn't about one passionate champion. It takes institutions, systems, and widespread buy-in."
Desi let out a breath, the lesson tucked inside her mother's words crushing and enlightening all at once. Patricia never offered comfort without a side of tough love, a pinch of perspective, and a heap of strategy disguised as motherly advice.
"People are still pissed about the Summer Gathering," Desi muttered.
"Let them be," Patricia said, her voice steel: exactly the tone that had earned her legendary respect during pack negotiations. "You stood up for what was right. But anger doesn't move the needle, kid. Strategy does."
That Summer Gathering. It was just three months ago, but to Desi, it felt like yesterday. She could still see Tommy Chen's scared, twelve-year-old face, fresh into his Omega designation, cornered by three teen Alpha heirs who thought tormenting someone weaker was a game.
She still felt the fire that had ignited inside her when she'd stepped in: the kind of righteous fury that made her forget every lesson about diplomatic finesse her parents had ever drilled into her.
"Maybe I could've handled it better," she admitted.
"More diplomatically, maybe," Patricia nodded. "But not more righteously. Sometimes those two don't line up."
A soft knock interrupted their conversation.
"Come in," Desi said.
Her dad, David, walked in carrying a breakfast tray filled with the scent of fresh coffee and her grandmother's famous peach scones. At fifty-two, Beta Prime David Whitmore still had a commanding presence: tall, calm, and sprinkled with an unmistakable air of authority that demanded respect without yelling for it.
"Thought you might need some backup for this serious talk," he said, setting the tray down with a wry smile. "Walls are thick, but not thick enough to drown out Patricia's 'lesson time' voice."
"Dad." Desi accepted her perfectly brewed coffee: cream, no sugar, just like she liked it. "Do you think I'm making the right call? Moonrise Academy?"
David settled into the window seat, his expression softening into something more fatherly than the Southern Alliance's second-in-command.
"You've got passion for justice, no doubt, but you're light on political savvy," he said finally. "Moonrise will teach you how to focus that fire."
"But..."
"You'll have to wrestle with compromise and patience. Wanting to change the world is a beautiful thing. Actually doing it? That takes playing a slow game inside a system that hates change."
"And what if the system's broken?"
"Then you learn to shift it. But you do it with strategy, with allies, with long-term plans. Not with fiery speeches that embarrass the Alphas in public."
His words stung because they rang true. At the Summer Gathering, Desi's emotions had overridden her sense of strategy. The ripples were still shaking the pack's politics three months later.
"Tommy's doing better," she whispered. "He's gaining confidence. The bullies backed off."
"Because you made it clear someone was watching. Someone with enough influence to make their lives miserable if they kept it up," Patricia said, leaning in. "But that kind of protection isn't built to last. What happens when you're not around?"
"Someone else steps in."
"Or the bullying goes underground, targets others, or gets more cunning," David said, his voice heavy with decades of hard-won experience. "Real change requires systemic fixes, not individual heroics."
Desi stared into her coffee, caught between what the Whitmore legacy demanded (diplomatic skill, political finesse) and her gut screaming "act now!"
"Lead with your heart, but think with your head," David went on, echoing the Whitmore family motto that had steered three generations. "Your heart was spot on that day. But your head could've found a sharper way."
"What would you have done?"
"Gather the right people first. Find allies in the Beta families. Document the problem. Take it to the pack council as a systemic issue. Pressure the institution to act instead of confronting individuals."
It sounded smart. It sounded solid. It sounded like it would have taken forever, all while Tommy kept getting picked on.
"How do you balance urgent needs with playing the long game?" Desi asked.
"Very carefully," David answered. "And sometimes you accept smaller injustices so you can stop bigger ones."
"That feels like giving up."
"Feels more like growing up," Patricia said softly. "Leadership means tough choices, kid. Moonrise will show you how to make those calls."
As her parents left her to pack, Desi felt the heavy weight of the Whitmore name press down on her: generations of diplomacy, public service, political sharpness.
But also the weight of caring. Of standing up for those who couldn't stand for themselves. Of using her place to craft a fairer world.
Moonrise wasn't just the next step. It was the chance to learn from the best, build connections, and become the kind of leader who changes the system, not just puts out fires.
She just hoped she could hold on to the passion that made her want to fight for justice in the first place.