The Alpha's Luna

Chapter 16

Daniel's POV  

     I approached my mate. When I was standing close to her she looked up and immediately recognized who I was. I opened my mouth to introduce myself and explain our connection, but she placed her finger on my lips. 

     "Shhh, I know. You don't have to explain. I'm Gabriella. What's your name?" She said removing her freshly manicured finger from my lips.  

     "Daniel," I said trying to force myself to focus on the connection. It was there, no doubt about that, my wolf and I just didn't want it to be. It was like a separation or barrier that was blocking us from what we really wanted. I tried to give in, tried to force myself to forget about Angel, and my body would let me take this Gabriella right now but my heart kept reminding me of Angel. But I wasn't going to let her ruin my life and torture me anymore. Tonight I was going to focus all of my efforts on Gabriella. She was mine.

Gabriella's POV

     Daniel. His name sounded so perfect to me. I had to admit that I couldn't wait to get to know him more. My wolf urged me to dance with him and it was so obvious that he was craving my touch as well so I took him by the hand. "Let's dance," I said as I put my hand on his back, gesturing for him to walk with me to the dance floor. He did not decline, instead he wrapped his strong arm around my waist and walked me onto the dance floor. It was time to experience the strongest connection of my life and nothing was going to stop this from being the most magical night of my life.

Almost immediately, when we stepped on the dance floor, a slow song came on. 

     "Looks like its my lucky day," he said with a crooked smile as he pulled me into him and placed his hands on my waist. I wrapped my arms around his neck and rested my head on his chest. It was more of a long hug than a dance, but I didn't mind and I could tell he didn't either. He looked down at me and I looked up at him. Then he slowly started to close the gap between our faces, when our lips finally touched I couldn't help but smile. My mate had just kissed me for the first time and I was trying to take it all in. But he continued in a way that told me that this was no ordinary kiss. He moved extremely fast and before I had time to respond, his tongue was exploring my mouth. I could tell he was acting on need and lust, not want and love. But how could I not respond the same way? I wanted him so bad. So I let him move quickly, but I kissed him back with equal amount of speed and passion. It was obvious that I surprised him, but he didn't stop. The passion and need made the kiss extremely intense, both of us fighting for dominance. We both enjoyed it and when our lungs could take it no more he stopped. At first I was disappointed. I didn't want the kiss to end. But then he started kissing my neck and my happiness was restored again. I couldn't believe the way it was playing out between us. I'd never experienced a kiss that intense in my life. If every kiss with my mate was going to be this way then I was going to spend the rest of my life kissing Daniel.

     The feeling of his lips on my neck was the most pleasurable sensation that I had ever experienced up to this point in my life. It was so strange because I felt like I had known him forever but we had just met. I'm not sure that it was the same type of feeling as love at first sight, but we definitely experienced something at the first sight of each other. It was my first time in a werewolf club and I met my mate, that was destiny and I was so thankful for it.

     The slow song ended much too fast but we continued to just hold one another even longer. I had no idea which songs started to play after that. I couldn't hear anything, I couldn't see anyone, and I had no idea where I was; I only knew that I was with my mate and he was proving the strength of the connection between mates. Between his hands getting lower and lower on my waist and his lips getting lower and lower on my neck, I couldn't control the moans that escaped my lips. Then, unexpectedly, his teeth pierced into the back of my neck and my entire world changed. My mate had marked me and I knew our love story had just began. My life would never be the same again.

Daniels POV 

     My teeth penetrated her skin and my wolf snapped me back to reality. Confusion filled my mind as I remembered that this is not what I wanted. But wait, is it? If I couldn't control myself enough to keep myself from marking Gabriella, then that had to mean something right? How could I be sure? Was it possible to both love Angel and be connected to Gabriella? I had no idea what was going on at this point. I thought it was clear what I wanted but now my emotions were clouding my judgement and my life was falling apart before my eyes. Maybe this was all happening for a reason. I didn't know what I wanted anymore, all I knew was that I needed a drink. So I pulled away from Gabriella and she was smiling brightly. Without thinking, I returned her smile and I saw her cheeks flush a bright pink color.

     "Drinks?" I said in an all too happy voice. 

     "Yes please!" She replied. I ordered another tall drink that I was begging to clear my mind and she ordered a sprite. I give her a questioning look. 

     "I'm only 19. About to be 20," she responded to my facial expression. 

     "Oh, okay. I'm 25," I told her. "But you know at a werewolf bar you can drink at 18, right?" I told her.

     "Yeah, I know. It's just not really my thing anyways," she said. I laughed and poured the burning liquor down my throat.  When I opened my eyes after drinking it, I realized what I had done. "So," she said happily, "tell me about you. Did you go to college?" she asked.

     "Yeah, two years," I responded, trying to keep the conversation as short as possible.

     I still wasn't sure that this was what I wanted and I started to feel disconnected from the conversation, the club, and the whole situation in general. My thoughts started to drift to Angel. I didn't have to turn my head and look out on the dance floor to know that she was certainly dancing with Clayton, but I did my best to picture her dancing alone. Then Gabriella touched my arm and I realized I was still sitting here with her. What had I gotten myself into?

     Maybe it was possible for me to connect with my mate. Or maybe she could help me get over my infatuation with Angel. Maybe this was a way out for me? But when I looked at her I could feel all of the feelings and emotions of meeting my mate, yet I was disappointed that destiny had not been kind enough to make it Angel. I had spent years dreaming that Angel and I would both remain without a mate and eventually find each other and decide to quit searching and just be happy together. Tonight changed everything and I saw that was clearly not going to happen. She was happy where she was and I had every reason to be happy standing right here before Gabriella. Yet I couldn't take on the joy I knew I should be feeling. Something still felt wrong.

     "Are you here with anyone?" She asked me loudly over the music. I pulled her closer to me so she was standing directly in front of me between the stools.

     "I came alone but ended up catching up with an old friend," I told her. Touching her dulled the sharp pain that was there before. I let myself feel her bare skin on her back where her dress was open.

     "That's nice! I came with a couple of friends but one left with an old friend and one is upstairs with someone," she laughed. Her laugh caught my attention. I was trying to give my full attention to her, I was just so confused. 

     "Well, take advantage of the time alone with me," I whispered in her ear as I began kissing her neck again. I traced over the fresh mark I had just left on her. It felt good to both my wolf and I to retouch the mark I had made. It was clear that she was liking what I was doing as she put her hands on each of my arms. She started to come onto me and my wolf was accepting of it. In moments she had her legs on either side of me while I was sitting on the barstool just as I was picturing earlier with Angel. This was all wrong and it hurt me that I might hurt my mate, yet I wasn't sure if I should be doing this with her. But I decided to feel all of the fire on my skin fully and let her engage me with her body as she whispered in my ear all the things she was thinking.

     Physically, this was a no-brainer and I needed Gabriella tonight. But mentally, I was torn and disconnected from all of the things happening to my body in response to her touch. She seemed so happy to be here with me and I felt my wolf wanting her to be happy, so why did I also want to reject her for Angel? Everything felt uncertain and the alcohol wasn't helping my judgment either. I leaned in and felt her for a moment before pulling away to look into her eyes.