The Luna and Her Moon

Chapter 31

Pack members milled around Xavier and I as they attempted to form a line. It was a fail as it was about four people wide rather than one and all I could hear was the cries of "get out of my way!" and "I got here first!". It was heartwarming to know just how excited they were, and that they were willing to fight for the front of the line.

Looking to Xavier who was standing to my left, I let out a chuckle. He sent a hearty smile my way before he wrapped his arm around my shoulders, pulling me into his side. I returned the favour as the first two individuals approached us.

Two elderly ladies with silver hair approached us, short in stature making me smile at the grandmotherly aura that radiated from them. Though all of the younger pack members were shoving each other to reach the front, the elderly ladies remained untouched and secure in their spot to meet me first.

"Hello, Luna Anna, it's a pleasure to welcome you to the Eclipse Pack. I'm Martha and this is Diane." Martha said as she pointed to the beaming lady to the left of her. "We've been waiting years for little Xavier's mate to come, ever since he was in diapers."

Before I knew it, Xavier was having his cheeks pinched by Diane. The best part was that his cheeks turned pink however he only looked at the older lady with admiration."Oh, you have that right! We had also wondered what his mate would look like and I must say you exceed expectations darling." I was now matching Xavier's red cheeks with a pair of my own as I thanked Diane, shying away with my hair as a shield.

Xavier began to chuckle as he gave each of them a hug. "Alright, you two know I'm not a kid anymore, I'm an Alpha now and I told you to stop pinching my cheeks." Eyebrows raised, he playfully crossed his arms as he awaited Diane's comeback.

She copied his stance as she stared him down with those eyes of wisdom. "And I thought I told you it would never happen. Maybe you should blame your mother for producing such pinch-able cheeks."

I let out a laugh at that as I automatically fell in love with these two women. I wasn't sure who they were to Xavier but nothing would change my mind on these two.

Xavier seemed to have dropped the argument in tune with his crossed arms as he turned to me. "Anna, I'd like you to meet my past nannies. Diane and Martha used to take care of me whenever my parents went away on pack business or had affairs to take care of. We consider them our closest family."

This allowed everything to become clearer, making it obvious why they were so comfortable with Xavier and why they don't refer to him as Alpha. "It's so nice to meet you both. I hope we can talk more about Xavier as a child. Do you have any embarrassing pictures?" The giddiness at the idea of seeing my mate in his younger years practically exploded from me as I bounced in anticipation of the answer. I was hoping to learn of all the awkward experiences Xavier had considering he always found a way to embarrass me.

Martha's eyes lit up as she clapped her hands with joy. "Oh, of course! I've been waiting for someone to ask for so long, but I couldn't because I already showed everyone around here. This is just perfect, I love you already."

Diane cut her spew of excitement off as she grabbed her wrist, gently pulling her away from Xavier and I. "Okay, we better go. There is quite the line behind us so we will leave you to it."

I sighed as they stalked off in the opposite direction, leaning into Xavier's side. "I love them."

Xavier beamed with admiration before he squeezed me close. "I'm glad you do."

For the next few hours we made our way through the line, most conversations short with welcome's and general introductions. To my shock my anxiety remained pretty stagnant, only fluctuating in the first few seconds of meeting a new individual. Once we began conversing it seemed to level out which I was extremely grateful for.