Finally Finding My Luna

Chapter 9

{Zader POV}

After we got back in the car, we headed to the nearby airport. Rylan had packed all of my and Analia’s stuff and brought it with him so we wouldn’t have to waste time by stopping at the hotel. We got out at the terminal and made our way inside. 

The lines for security were incredibly long, but luckily we didn’t have to go through it. Since I owned a private jet, we never had to deal with the regular security precautions. I guided Enslee with my hand on her back towards the far right side of the terminal where we slipped through unnoticed. 

As we got through the gate, a loud whistle caught our attention. I looked behind us, where a few men were starting to run towards us. 

“Those are pack guards!” Enslee whispered hastily. 

I growled menacingly, and grabbed her arm. I started walking faster, and Rylan was doing the same with Analia. We rushed to our gate, where the stewardess asked us for tickets. 

“We don’t have tickets. This is a private jet, and I am the owner. We need to board now, as we are very late.” I said trying to get the lady to open the door so we could pass. 

“Sir, I am sorry, but I need to see some identification.”

I rolled my eyes and dug in my back pocket for my wallet. I could hear a commotion near the security lines, where the men were yelling at us. I showed her my driver’s license, but she wouldn’t let us through. 

“Sir, I’m sorry, but I need your passport as well.”

I growled loudly and slid my backpack off to search for my passport. By this time, the wolves had gotten past security and were stalking through the terminal searching for us. 

“Here. Now please let us through. It’s an emergency.” It was all I could do to hold back my anger. 

“I need to double check with the flight crew that they are ready for you to board. Please wait here.”

The lady picked up a phone and began dialing a number. I was about to say something threatening to her, when a small growl came from behind me. I stepped aside to see Enslee who was visibly fighting her wolf for control. I could see her eyes starting to glow, which only happens when a werewolf is starting to shift. 

“LET US THROUGH NOW! He showed you everything you asked for! Open the DAMN door!” Enslee yelled. I was impressed. My little mate had some guts. 

The woman slowly put down the phone and ran to open the door. By this time, the wolves had caught our scent and were only a few gates away. We grabbed our luggage and bolted down the gangplank. The wolves growled and started to chase use through the tunnel. 

I mindlinked the stewardess to get ready to close the airplane’s door after we got through. We turned down the last corner, when the wolves appeared at the top. I drug Enslee onto the plane after me with all our luggage, and as soon as Rylan and Analia were clear the stewardess slammed the door shut and latched it. 

We could hear growling and clawing at the door, but they wouldn’t be able to get through it anytime soon. The pilot slowly started pulling away from the gate, and the banging and clawing stopped. I let out a sigh of relief and picked Enslee up off the floor. We had fallen in the last leap, and I had jerked her out of the way so Rylan and Analia could get in too. 

I showed her to the main cabin where there were large seats and a mini bar. She sat down across from Analia and I took our luggage to the back of the cabin. Rylan and I sat across the aisle from our mates and I threw my head back and sighed. 

“Holy s**t that was intense.” Rylan huffed. I looked at him and smiled. Rylan and I always knew how to get into trouble, and we had lots of memories together. This would be another story to tell one day. 

We started laughing, but we suddenly stopped when we glanced at our mates. Analia was staring daggers at Rylan, and mine was looking down at her shaking hands. She was terrified. My heart instantly broke, and I got up to comfort her. 

I reached out my hand to stroke her face, and she flinched when I moved closer to her. She looked at me, and for split second she was terrified of me. When she realized who I was, her features softened. 

“I’m sorry. I just got freaked out for a second. I couldn’t help thinking about what would have happened if we hadn’t made it in time. They would’ve taken me, taken me ba-...” 

She hiccupped and tears started falling from her eyes. I knelt down beside her and whispered.

“Is it alright if I take you somewhere more private? I think you might need some time to breath and process what just happened.”

She nodded and looked at me. I picked her up from the seat and carried her bridal style to the back of the cabin through a curtain. I took her down the long skinny hallway that led to the rest of the rooms on the plane. My plane had three private bedrooms and a master sized bedroom in it that had a bathroom attached. 

My bedroom was the last room close to the back of the plane. We finally made it and I pushed the door open with my foot. She was still shaking, but it was her whole body this time. I sat down on the bed with her in my lap and held her close to me. 

She cuddled into my chest and started sobbing. “I’m so sorry. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I never cry this much.”

I stroked her hair and reassured her. “There’s nothing to be sorry for. You’re most likely experiencing a form of PTSD. It’s completely normal after the events you’ve gone through. You can cry all you need.”

She sniffled and wiped her nose. “Yeah, well crying is one thing. But now all of you are in danger because of me. I am such a burden to you and your pack members. I am only bringing trouble with me.”

I wiped the last stray tear away from her eye and hugged her close. “You’re not a burden. It’s our honor to protect our Luna. Rylan and Analia feel the same way, and if you don’t believe me, just ask them. Everything’s gonna be alright.” 

She nodded her head and leaned into me. A few minutes later, I felt her breathing slow. I looked down and saw that she had fallen asleep. I stood up and carried her to the side of the bed. I laid her down and covered here with a throw blanket. 

I watched her sleep for a few seconds and smiled. My mate was here with me, and she was safe. I turned around and walked back to the main cabin where Rylan was drinking whiskey. 

“Where’s Analia?”

He looked up at me and shoved a glass of scotch my way. “I took her to our room for rest. She’s fiercely loyal to the Luna and you, but being pregnant wears her out faster than normal.”

I nodded and sipped on my drink. Analia was one of the pack’s strongest fights, even more fierce than some of the male wolves that trained. Her and Rylan had decided to wait a while on having a pup, since she wanted to continue training. 

“Hey I have a question.” I sat down on a barstool next to Rylan.

“What’s that?” His eyebrows rose in questioning as he took another gulp of whiskey.

“Was this pup planned or were you both still trying to wait a while?”

I was genuinely curious. Most mated pairs, especially high ranking wolves, have wolves as soon as they can. It was almost in our nature to reproduce in order to secure the future of our bloodlines and packs.

He smiled and looked at his drink intensely for a few moments before answering. “Well, we didn’t have a definite timeline as to when we were going to start trying for a pup, but it was definitely not going to be this soon for Analia. You know I have wanted a pup since she and I mated for the first time, but I wanted to make her happy.”

“She wanted to train and be a warrior, so I wasn’t going to stop her from that. I know she enjoys fighting and serving the pack that way. But in all honesty, part of her decision to put off pregnancy is because of the fear that she wouldn’t be a good mother.”

I shook my head incredulously. “What?? I have seen her with the younger trainees. She is an excellent role model and loves spending time with them.”

Our pack started training warriors at 16, but both males and females could start at 13 if they wished to. Analia was one of the youth trainers in our pack, and specifically because she was great with the younger kids and teens. 

“I know. I have said the same thing, but she doesn’t listen to me. You know about her mom. That affected her more than I truly knew at the time.”

I did know about Analia’s mom. Almost everyone in the western half of the U.S. had heard about what happened. Andrea was the Beta Female of Analia’s home pack, Crescent Moon. She had found her true mate, the Beta and had quickly fallen in love and gotten pregnant with Analia. 

It wasn’t long after Analia was born that Andrea left her family and pack for another man. She had fallen into a deep postpartum depression after the birth of her daughter and sought relief at a nearby club. She’d met a human there who she had an affair with and eventually ran off with. No one has seen or heard from her since. 

“Analia never had the chance to really meet or get to know her mom. She is scared that she’ll fall into a depression like Andrea did and freak out or something. She doesn’t want to take a chance of leaving me or abandoning our baby.”

Rylan finally looked back up to meet my gaze and shrugged. “I can’t blame her really. I know it’s scared her for her whole life. She was on birth control, but she forgot to take the pill one night. It was one time, but that is apparently all it takes.”

I c****d my head to the side watching him carefully as I asked my next question. “So how did both of you feel when she figured out that she was pregnant?”

“I was overjoyed of course, but she was nervous. She wasn’t sure she was going to keep it, which nearly crushed me at first. I couldn’t bare the thought of aborting our child, but I also couldn’t stop her if she had really wanted to. I told her I would stand by her no matter what, but that I hoped she would let me help her.”

“So how did y’all come to the decision to keep it?” 

“Well Zader, it was about a week after she figured out she was pregnant. We went to the first doctor appointment, and she listened to the baby’s heartbeat on the ultrasound. She said she instantly fell in love right then and there. She looked at me and told me she wanted to be a mom.”

I smiled and nudged him on the shoulder in the brotherly way we always did. “You’ll make a great dad. And I am going to be a damn cool uncle.”

---

It was midafternoon when we finally landed in Seattle. Enslee had slept for most of the trip in the master bedroom, and I took a small nap in the room next door. I didn’t want to try my luck with sleeping in the same bed as her again without her permission. 

The stewardess came to the main cabin to announce that we’d land in about 10 minutes. Rylan and I walked back to the bedrooms to gather everything and bring it to the front. We left the girls chatting quietly over their cups of tea in the chairs closest to the front of the plane.

I walked into the bedroom where Enslee had been sleeping and started gathering the few things she’d strewn about the room. She’d changed into a set of fresh clothes during the flight to prepare for arrival at the pack. 

As I grabbed the old t-shirt off the bed, I noticed tear stains on the pillow where I’d laid her head when she fell asleep. I was sad to see that she’d been crying and didn’t come find me to let me comfort her. I knew she was still warming up to me, but I hoped in time that she’d seek me out as a refuge from anything and everything that caused her pain. 

I wouldn’t pressure her though. She’d had enough of that to last a thousand lifetimes already, and I honestly didn’t know a whole lot about her besides the fact that she’d been severely abused for half her life. 

I shoved the clothes and other things into her tiny, torn duffle bag and carried it along with my luggage back to the main cabin. I laid them by the airlock door and went to sit where I had been before.

“Wait!” Enslee raised her voice to catch my attention, and I swiftly turned to see her.

I stood there staring at her as she held her mug with one hand and covered her mouth with the other. I c****d my head in a questioning glance.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to yell. I was going to ask you to sit by me, but I understand if you’d rather have your own space.”

She removed her hand from her, and I could tell that she was biting her inner lip from nervousness. I smiled and happiness engulfed me. She wanted me near her. She wasn’t completely terrified of me. This, no matter how small, had to be a good sign surely. 

I slowly walked over and sat in the chair to her right. “I would love to sit beside you, always.”

She smiled a lopsided grin and used both hands to take a sip of her tea. Analia cleared her throat and began chatting about whatever they’d been talking about beforehand. I was barely listening. All I could do was watch my beautiful mate as she turned back to face Analia to engage in the conversation. 

A few minutes later we landed and had to get up. I cursed the pilot for landing so soon and breaking my euphoric trance. I reluctantly got up as Rylan nudged my shoulder finally forcing me to return to the world around me. 

Analia and Rylan got off the plane first, and I followed behind. On the way out of the door, I picked up Enslee’s duffel bag, my small suitcase and my backpack.

“I can carry my bag Zader.” said a tiny voice from behind me. I stepped to the side and turned to look at Enslee who shyly stood there with her hand out. 

“I know you can do it, but now you don’t have to. I’m your mate, which means I take care of you now. That doesn’t mean you aren’t perfectly capable of doing so, it just means you don’t have to do it alone anymore.”

Her eyes widened and mouth dropped. She wasn’t used to this at all. She fended for herself all those years. No one was going to do it for her, so she learned to do it on her own. I found her strength and independence extremely attractive and sexy. I could feel the bulge in my pants grow at the thought of just exactly how I wanted to take care of her. 

I quickly drew her duffel bag to the middle of my body to hide the evidence of my arousal and started walking up the gangplank. She followed silently behind me as we emerged into the terminal. Rylan and Analia were waiting just past the busy walkway and led the way as we walked toward the exit. 

Enslee lengthened her pace to try and keep up with me and walked next to me as we weaved through the crowd. That’s my girl. She doesn’t follow, she leads. I smiled and shook my head at how lucky I was to have this woman as my mate, and I still had so much to learn about her. 

We eventually made it to the parking garage where I had parked the car days before. We all loaded the bags into the back, and Analia and Rlan climbed into the backseat. I started to get into the driver’s seat, when I noticed Enslee hesitate on the other side of the car. 

“Baby, what’s wrong?”

She bit the inside of her lip and looked at me with big doe eyes. “I’m riding up front?”

I nodded my head trying to figure out what the problem was.

“Why me? Shouldn’t Rylan be up front? He’s the Beta after all. I am not that important.”

“What do you mean you aren’t that important? Rylan is the Beta, but you’re the future Luna. Baby, you outrank him, and he knows that. He’s not mad about it, it’s just the hierarchy of the pack. You’re my equal as the Luna. The only person you answer to is me, and the only person I answer to is you. You will always be at my side, even when we are simply riding in a car.”

“Are you sure?” she questioned nervously. I nodded again, this time with more conviction. She shrugged her shoulders, opened the passenger door and disappeared into the car. I was going to have a bigger battle on my hands than I originally thought. She was brainwashed to think that she wasn’t important or good enough for things that were her birthright. 

I got into the car and started it up. We circled down the levels of the parking garage and hopped on the interstate. Everyone settled into a comfortable silence, but I could see Enslee chewing on her inner cheek out of the corner of my eye. 

“What’s wrong baby?” I asked. 

“Well, I have lots of questions.”

Analia piped up from the backseat and put a reassuring hand on Enslee’s shoulder. “Well ask away. You can trust all of us, and we want to help you however we can.”

I was very grateful for Analia’s presence. She was truly being a real friend to Enslee, which is something she needs right now. 

“Will the pack like me?”

Everyone was silent for a few moments. I decided to speak up. “Of course sweetheart. They will love you. You’re their future Luna.”

She nodded but continued to look out of the window at the passing trees. 

“What will they think of a Luna that only has ratty clothes to wear?”

Analia decided to take this one, and with great pride too. “Oh, honey. That’s no worry. Your mate is one of the richest men on the western seaboard, even if you count humans. I will gladly take you shopping tomorrow.”

Enslee’s eyes popped out of her head as she looked at me for confirmation. “I wouldn’t say I was one of the richest, but I do have money. And yes, Analia can take you shopping.”

She smiled to herself and looked down toward the floorboards. 

About ten minutes later, we pulled up to the edge of the pack territory. As we passed through the front gates, I could hear Enslee gasp. Our pack was very large in numbers but also in land size. 

We had a small town just about. There were shops, cafes and other small businesses that pack members owned and worked out. 

Humans would often come visit our town for the views of mountains and the small town feel. They offered a source of income for the surrounding businesses. Of course, they didn’t know we were werewolves. 

Our pack members also lived in houses spread out through the territory. There was a main road that led through the heart of the land, and we eventually made the corner where the packhouse came into view. It stood out against the green treeline that loomed behind it.

There was snow on the ground and on the trees, and the mountains that rose in the far distance were also topped in snow. Enslee gasped once more, and her eyes went wide with astonishment. 

I pulled the car up in the large circle drive in front of the packhouse. Rylan and Analia got out and went around to the back to start getting the luggage out of the trunk. Enslee looked over at me and smiled the biggest smile I had seen from her. 

“What’s up?” I asked in curiosity. 

“I don’t know...I just- I feel like-- It feels like home.”

I grabbed her hand and kissed the back of it gently. “It is your home.”