I felt hungry for more as his lips expertly massaged mine. I grabbed his hair, greedy to get any closer than I am now. He grabbed my hips and placed me on the sink. I don't remember how long we were getting lost in each other but I didn't care. This was perfect, he was perfect and we both pulled away for air. We gazed into each others eyes and he placed his forehead on mine.
"Why does this feel so normal?" I whispered. Everything about this didn't feel rushed it felt like it was supposed to happen. His lips on mine, his hands on my me felt like they were supposed to be there, his hands only. I felt like I already knew the reason why but I needed him to confirm.
"Remember when I said 'you'll find out' if you agreed to the bet?" He said while running his thumb over my bottom lip. I nodded.
"The reason why I choose you is because you're my mate...not by choice but by fate. I couldn't be more happier," he said searching my eyes. Mates....me....him...fate. Those words rang throughout my mind. It made sense why I felt this way towards him. I found him attractive instantly and I was drawn to him as soon as I laid my eyes on him. I felt like I already knew, it was the mating pull that gave me a sense of familiarity after all. I was supposed to all along. Instead of fear I felt calm, almost complete.
"We're mates..." I said testing the word out. It felt just right rolling off of my tongue.
"You're my mate. The one i'm supposed to mark, protect, love, and cherish," He said with such passion that left me speechless.
I knew human/wolf pairings were rare but I couldn't understand why me? Looking at him, I didn't think I was special enough to deserve someone like him as my Mate.
The prospect unnerved me. Something that's usually shared between two wolves is now mine? I couldn't help but feel nervous but happy at the same time. It really made sense but I asked myself-What will our parents think? The pack? Will they accept me as their Luna? Who gives a shit get your man girl! My subconscious screamed.
"Why me?" I asked, I was extremely happy because I met my other half but the curious side of me needed to know why I chosen.
"Luna dea, or the moon goddess allows an Alpha male and a human female deemed worthy to Mate every few decades. It's to preserve the rare species of hybrids that exist... in secret. They're the ultimate weapon just in case if evil forces of nature try to disrupt the natural balance," He replied slowly.
The books about hybrids never went into detail about why the human/wolf pairings were allowed to be. Everything made perfect sense now. I felt overwhelmed, the Moon goddess choose me out of all women to be mated to this powerful man in front of me. I racked my brain to try and form a response after taking in this revealation.
"Okay" I blurted out. Okay? After everything he's just told me that's all I had to say? I mentally faceplamed myself.
"Okay? As in you accept or okay I'm getting the fuck out of here, " He said sounding worried.
"Okay as in I accept you as my mate Rayne," I said laughing at his expression.
"Thank goodness," He said pulling me into a hug. I didn't want to let go. In his arms was where I felt I belonged.
"It's a tradition for the Alpha to recognize and present the bond in a ceremony to the pack." He added after pulling away from our embrace.
"When? What happens in the ceremony?" I asked.
"On the next full moon, a few days from now. I'm the future Alpha of the pack which makes you my Luna, we have to bond you with the pack through blood. After that you will have our strength, lifespan, and you will officially be one of us human or not." I swallowed hard.
"Don't worry. Your father is a powerful man and the main reason why this town is so successful at keeping peace between our kinds for years. They've always respected you and will even more when we present you." He said reassuringly.
After discussing more details about the ceremony, we made our way back to the party in search of our parents. I insisted on waiting to tell them but Rayne convinced me it was better now than later. I knew my mom would be okay with it but my dad is a whole different story. He's the reason why I never seeked boyfriends.
He raised me to only focus on school and learn to provide for myself instead of entertaining guys with bad intentions. I was raised to be a leader because one day, I'll be taking over the head council. I needed his approval more than anyone. I looked up to my father because of his hard work and everything he's sacrificed to get to his status and to give my mother and I a better life. Telling him that Rayne and I were together could go eiether way. He could accept Fate's plan for Rayne and I or reject our pairing because of fear that I couldn't handle Rayne's nature. I was deemed worthy to be his, I had no doubt that I could handle him.
"It'll be fine," Rayne said sensing my nervousness and rubbing the back of my hand.
Spotting our parents in the living room, we made our way over and I grabbed Rayne's hand for comfort.
"Ah there you kids are!" My mother exclaimed. My father had an oh hell no look on his face when he saw Rayne and I holding hands while approaching them.
"We have something to tell you all. Mom, Dad, Marcus, and Clara...Ashlyn and I are mates. Although this bond is rare, she and I were deemed worthy of each other. I vow to protect and care for her with everything I've got. We would like your approval to proceed with the ceremony," Rayne said pulling me closer. Our parents were silent in thought until my mom spoke up.
"I'm so proud of you baby, I have a future son in law!!" My mother shouted excitedly while pulling me into a hug.
"Mom slow down!" I exclaimed. She would find ways to bring up marriage because she wanted me to start out young. She thought I was mature enough... and she really wanted a bunch of grandchildren. I wanted kids but definitely not now.
"Better yet, he's an Alpha! Good job baby!" She added. I chuckled and squeezed her even tighter.
"Dad?" I called to him cautiously.
He was eerily quiet the whole time. He looked between Rayne and I for a long moment and then sighed.
"I believe you Rayne. When you said you'd care for and protect her. She's my little girl so you better take very good care of her. You have the councils approval, who am I to get in the way of Fate." He said sternly, sounding like he was trying to convince himself. I looked at him in relief, glad that he understood what was happening. I was tense the whole time waiting for his reaction. He handled that better than I expected. My overprotective father was handling this properly, It reminded me of how he acted in council meetings. He then placed a kiss on my forehead and whispered to me.
"I love you honey. Surprisingly, I'm not mad at this pairing, the Alphas are good people. But, If anything happens, I have a whole stock pile of wolfsbane-"
"Dad!? They all can hear you!" Everyone bursted out laughing at my horrified expression. Wolfsbane was deadly to them! I couldn't imagine wanting to cause them any harm.
"I couldn't have choosen a better match for our son. You have our approval." Luna Aria said and Alpha Jackson nodded sternly.
"As a century old tradition we will have a ceremony to present you two in a few days time." Alpha Jackson said.
"Thank you Mom and Dad." Rayne said and bowed his head. I was still processing everything. This was really happening.
Rayne stayed behind to speak with our parents about preparations for the ceremony. I searched for Ella to tell her the news and spotted her sitting by the window on her phone.
"Lynnie there you are! I called you 8 times!" Ella shouted while waving her phone in my face. Before I could reply she sniffed the air and then sniffed my shoulder then smirked.
"You reek of him. Is that why you were ignoring me you guys were too busy sucking on each others faces!" she said slyly.
"Ella we're mates!" I blurted out. I swear her jaw dropped to the floor.
"I'm so happy for you girl," She said after a moment with glassy eyes.
"El, what's wrong?" I said concerned. Her mood just took a dark turn.
"I'm just missing Connor that's all, don't worry about me girl," she said taking a deep breath. Connor is Ella's mate who's in command of the Oscala base further south so he's been gone for a few months.
"He'll come back, soon El. You have me to keep you company in the meantime." I said pulling her into a hug.
"I love you girl!" Ella said as she squeezed me.
"Love you more El!" I said as my air supply was slowly cuting off.
"Sorry to interrupt this BFF moment but the parties over..." Kevin said awkwardly.
I looked around and saw the place was almost empty.
"Oh shit." Kevin's face went blank and sniffed the air then raced outside.
"We have an unwanted visitor." Ella said as she sniffed the air too and followed behind her brother quickly.
All the playfulness left her voice and I knew this was serious. I looked outside the window to see the members of the pack snarling and growling at a man in a black suit with his hands in his pocket. Shit was about to get real.