After Hana walked me back upstairs, we talked for a few minutes before I assured her that I was okay and would prefer to be alone for a little while. Although, once she left, I found myself wondering what to do. My mind was swirling with conflicting thoughts and emotions. My mate publicly claimed me and made me his Luna, which made me both happy and upset. He then arrested my father in front of the entire pack, which once again, was both relieving and terrifying.
What was I supposed to think? I hadn't a clue, but then again, I probably should've expected this. My mate was an Alpha, after all.
I couldn't help but wonder where Dean had gone after he shifted, or why he whined so sorrowfully as I entered the pack house.
Part of me was tempted to seek the answer, but luckily, that part of me was still rather small compared to the normal, cowardly parts.
Releasing a rather long sigh, I shook my head and walked to the living room window. It was still very dark outside, as sunrise wouldn't be for another few hours. I knew I should attempt to get some sleep, but I didn't know if that was even a possibility for me at the moment.
I continued to stare out the window, seemingly at nothing, as the darkness seemed to go on forever. I could barely make out the tree line until something caught my eye.
A light glow.
I strained my eyes trying to find the source of the glow, but the darkness was too intense, especially in contrast to the light of the living room.
Then it moved.
As the glowing object moved closer to the pack house, I realized it was a pair of eyes...two different colored eyes.
Dean's wolf.
I froze and stared out the window at the wolf, only to realize he had been looking up at me the whole time. Was he trying to get my attention, or had he simply been watching me from afar?
"Audrey," a deep voice within my head interrupted my thoughts, startling me at first. It took me a moment to realize the voice was Dean's, as I'd forgotten that him marking me provided us with a mind-link.
"Come to me," he requested as I continued to watch him.
"You're angry," I replied timidly. Hearing my mate's voice in my head was a bit unsettling.
"My wolf wants to spend time with you," he insisted as he stared up at me, cocking his head to the side.
I sighed and began fidgeting with my thumbs nervously. I hadn't shifted in so long, and although my wolf was begging to be free, being around Dean in my wolf form brought about all kinds of new anxieties and complications for me.
"I want to be with my mate," my wolf growled at me, finally forcing her way through the wall I'd put up the past few days.
Taking a deep breath, I nodded.
Once I was downstairs, I made my way outside to the main yard where Dean had been only minutes before. Now, however, he was nowhere to be seen. I wasn't sure what made me more uneasy: not knowing where Dean was, or being outside alone in the middle of the night.
Forcing myself to move forward, I slowly walked to edge of the forest, making sure I paid attention to my surroundings. Besides Dean's sudden absence, nothing seemed too out of place. The forest was dark and quiet, other than the sound of insects chirping about in the night.
Sliding behind a tree, I quickly stripped off my clothes, hung them over a tree branch, and shifted into my wolf form. I still wasn't comfortable with the thought of Dean seeing me naked, so I made sure to move as quickly as possible.
As my bones began to shift around and snap into place, I felt my wolf come to the front of my mind. The darkness was now much brighter, sounds around me were louder, and my sense of smell was heightened more than normal. Goddess, I had forgotten just how lovely it was to be in my wolf form. It had to have been a year since my last shift, and although that made this one a bit uncomfortable, I welcomed it.
After shaking out our fur, my wolf sniffed our surroundings, desperate to be united with her mate for the first time. Catching a hint of his scent, she took off in the direction it came from. I sat at the back of our mind, allowing my wolf to have the freedom she deserved. The feeling of the grass under our paws, the wind in our fur, the stretching of unused muscles – it all felt glorious.
Just when we finally felt that we were on his trail, a large force came through the trees and slammed into us, knocking us onto our back. My wolf grunted and sneezed as she forced herself to regain composure. She rolled over onto her side and looked up to see Dean's wolf standing in front of us, staring down with his tongue out and tail swaying.
He wanted to...play?
Wasting no time, my wolf jumped back up and launched our body at Dean, hoping to pounce him just as he had done to us. As an Alpha, Dean's reflexes were incredibly fast, and he managed to dodge us, causing us to land face-first in the forest floor.
My wolf huffed and shook out our chocolate-brown fur as she stood up once again.
"Mate," I heard through our mind-link. The voice was very obviously Dean's, but there was a certain feral gruffness to it that told me his wolf was now at the front of his mind as well.
My wolf swayed our tail in a rather flirtatious manner before circling Dean's wolf, taking in every part and angle of his body. He towered over us, but that didn't intimidate my wolf at all. She appreciated his large stature and well-built muscles, and Dean's wolf seemed to appreciate her admiring his body. I, on the other hand, was blushing internally at my wolf's bold behavior.
Dean's wolf then stepped forward, forcing my wolf's inspection to come to a halt. He stared down at us for a moment with his blue and brown eyes before leaning forward and nuzzling us. He then nudged us, insisting that we lay down. My wolf complied and watched Dean's wolf intently as he began to circle us, sniffing and licking every inch of our body, rubbing his scent every place he could get it. My wolf was basking in the intimate attention we were receiving from our mate, but I didn't know what to think about the situation. My instincts screamed yes, but my anxiety screamed no.
Dean's wolf finally stopped, finally satisfied with his work, and then out of nowhere, he sprinted off deeper into the woods.
My wolf forced us to our feet in a matter of seconds and took off after him. Unfortunately, due to our small stature and overall lack of strength, we were no match for Dean's speed. Sensing that we were far behind, Dean's wolf turned and circled back around so that he was running just slightly behind us, nipping at our tail playfully.
After running together for several more minutes, we suddenly found ourselves knocked to the ground once again, and this time, Dean's wolf had his pinned. He stared down at us for a moment before leaning down to lick at our snout.
"You need sleep," Dean's voice cut into my mind, this time sounding much more like himself and less like his wolf.
My wolf whined at the comment, not wanting her freedom or time with her mate to end. Dean's wolf nuzzled her affectionately, silently assuring her that they would have their moment again.
As soon as Dean's wolf moved aside, I urged my wolf to go find our clothes so that I could shift back modestly. She didn't have a problem with our mate seeing me nude, but I was not having such a thing.
It didn't take her long to find the tree with my clothing laid upon it, and once we did, I began to focus on shifting back. My wolf whined at me, still upset that her freedom was coming to an end for the night. I simply scoffed at her and focused on regaining my control.
Once I was back on my own two feet, I wasted no time getting dressed. I couldn't risk Dean coming to find me only to see me completely naked! My wolf may have been okay with it, but I knew that although our relationship seemed to have improved, it still wasn't to that level yet.
Fully clothed and ready to go, I wandered back through the woods in search of Dean. I didn't think he'd leave me out here alone. Although Dean went about it in an odd way, I could tell he was protective of me. It made me happy, but was a lot to deal with at the same time. I wasn't used to having anyone care about my well-being.
"Dean?" I called out, as I couldn't see him anywhere nearby.
As if on command, a very shirtless Dean stepped out from behind a nearby tree.
"Looking for me?" he asked with his eyebrow raised and a rather sly look on his face.
I simply nodded in reply, as the sight of his shirtless, muscular body decorated in tattoos was making me blush furiously.
"Let's get you to bed," Dean added more seriously this time. He held out his hand for me, and I assumed he wanted to take it, but me being me, I stared down at his wide-open palm for several seconds before placing my small hand in his large one.
Dean held my hand tightly as he led me back to the pack house. It was almost as if he was afraid I'd slip away or someone would take me from him at any moment. I couldn't deny that I felt safe with him. Even if everything else wasn't even close to being perfect yet, I knew I could count on him to protect me.
Upon entering the pack house, we were greeted with nothing but utter silence. I'd never been awake at such an hour before, much less roaming the pack house. Despite the Luna ceremony being only a couple of hours ago, everyone was now tucked away in their personal quarters.
Just as we started to make our ascent upstairs, a deep, voice caused both of us to freeze.
"Well son, she's prettier than I imagined."
I turned around to see who had spoken to us, only for Dean to pull me tightly against his chest.
"What are you doing here, father," Dean growled.
Father? Archibald Whittaker?
He chuckled darkly, "I live here, in case you've forgotten, son."
"I told you to stay away from her," Dean snapped.
"What a shame. I can't even be introduced to my daughter-in-law? My pack's Luna? I thought I'd raised you better than that," Archibald scoffed.
"Look at me, child," Archibald added. I couldn't help but be taken aback by his little name for me. I may be many things, but I was not a child.
I squirmed in Dean's arms until I was able to look over my shoulder. There, directly behind us, stood a man who appeared to be a much older version of Dean. They shared the same skin tone and dark hair, but Archibald's hair was streaked with silver and gray.
"Ah, you are quite a pretty thing. Although, I did expect much more for my son and my pack," Archibald said, his tone laced with a hint of disappointment.
Dean growled in response, "Don't you dare insult my mate!"
"But you know what really intrigues me, son?" Archibald questioned, completely disregarding Dean's threat. "How does a she-wolf who looks so weak, have this aura of power surrounding her? Becoming a Luna doesn't make weak she-wolf, strong. Quite interesting."
My mind was spinning. I'd been complimented, insulted, and questioned all in a matter of minutes by my mate's own father – my former Alpha. I didn't understand anything he was saying. All I knew, was that I wanted to be far away from him.
"Be gone!" Dean growled, this time with much more power. "If you come near her again, I'll make sure you find your place in the dungeons, where you belong."
Uh oh, for those of you who have read, Luna Lena, I'm sure you're concerned at this point! What do you think is going to happen with Archie in the picture?? Please continue to read, vote, comment, and follow!
Thank you all so much for ALL of the love on ALL of my books! I promise I have some surprises coming very soon, and I'm really trying to update as much as I can while juggling school, work, boyfriend, puppy, etc. etc. Check out Luna Hana, Luna Lena, and Luna Zahra if you haven't already!
xoxo -V