Luna Zahra

Chapter 20 - Raw

I waited impatiently in the living room while Ryder took what seemed like forever to get ready for our date. At one point, I even found myself pacing, both from being excited to see what he had planned, and nervous to see how it all went.

When he finally appeared from the bedroom, he was dressed in a pair of khaki shorts, a white, short-sleeve button up shirt, and tan sandals. The bright white of his shirt really accentuated the golden tone of his skin and hair, as well as the bright turquoise in his eyes.

He too went for a casual look, which made me feel a bit relieved, but I couldn't keep myself from watching him as he entered the room. He looked damn good.

Our eyes locked, and he smirked. I'd been caught.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked, surprisingly not commenting on me very obviously checking him out.

"I was born ready," I said rather dramatically. I flipped my hair over my shoulder for extra flare, earning a chuckle from Ryder.

Together, we walked downstairs and then out of the pack house, where Ryder then took the lead. I didn't know what he had planned or where we were going, so I figured it was best to follow.

He led me down the walkway that ran in front of the packhouse until we reached what I referred to as the "community" part of pack territory. Every pack had an area like this, usually off to the side of the packhouse. There were typically small cafes ran by pack families, boutiques, and a variety of other venues which varied in each pack. Back in Night Fire, we had jewelry stores with locally made jewelry, health and fitness stores, and even a roller-skating rink, which the teenagers usually enjoyed. In Moon Wave, however, I figured things may be slightly different, and that assumption was proven correct as we started down a widened, paved path that ran between the little buildings.

The first places that caught my eye were an art store with an attached gallery, a book store, a fragrance store with candles and oils, and then a bowling alley.

Very different indeed.

I noticed Ryder had been watching me as I took in my surroundings, and I suddenly felt a bit ashamed that I hadn't ventured over here yet on my own. Although art and books weren't really my thing, a cute boutique always put me in a good mood.

"I figured we'd have dinner first at one of our cafes. They typically serve more of a variety of food than what you'd get in the dining hall," Ryder explained, gesturing towards the small café we were approaching.

There was no sign outside to indicate what kind of food may be served here – only a number painted in the corner of the window along with the view of many tables and chairs.

Once inside, an older woman greeted us happily and ushered us to a table right at the window. There were a few other pack members inside, eating with their families, but it wasn't crowded. I was thankful for that, given my current circumstances.

I opened the menu and scanned the pages, quickly picking up on the fact that pasta dishes seemed to be a specialty here. I typically didn't eat carb-heavy foods like that, but tonight, I'd make an exception.

Ryder ordered shrimp alfredo, while I decided to go with the chicken parmesan. I'd never had it before, but the picture on the menu made it look pretty good.

"Are you alright?" Ryder asked, causing me to realize I'd been very quiet since we sat down at our table. Quiet was not typical Zahra behavior, so it made sense that he would ask.

"Yeah, sorry," I replied, smiling softly. "This just...isn't my usual thing. I'm taking it all in."

Ryder raised an eyebrow at me, "Not your usual thing?"