Losing The Light Of The Moon

It's Nice Having A Crush...

Chapter 27: It’s Nice Having A Crush...

TATIANA

Following our successful demonstration, I enjoyed seeing all the excitement on the faces of Auntie’s army—they earned all the praise they were receiving from both spectators and our inner circle after their hard work. I did have to laugh at the sweat above the brows of Nicholas and Jace, who were a bit out of sorts after my finale—it seems the training fields hold a very special place in each of their hearts and my momentary destruction of it sent both of them into a panic—leading to a bit of a lighthearted moment with my beloved Alpha and Delta, who both hugged me tightly in appreciation of the restoration and slight upgrade—oh ye’ of little faith!

But afterwards, my Jace wrapped me in another tight hug—the tightest embrace that held within it overwhelming pride and love—before looking down at me with the same immense pride and profuse love in his eyes as he relayed to me the sweetest words of praise—that moment was the most special for me. That and the fact that Tink, Beast, Umar, and Horacio had bonded closer than I ever anticipated, continuing to talk and laugh with one another even after the demonstration was over.

I was a bit concerned about my sisters—particularly Persephone—being alone with Altalune and Priscilla, Persephone lovingly assured me that she did as I would have wanted and kept things civil between them—something Aruna sweetly confirmed. While Reina had come to ignore any jabs towards them, Persephone was a bit more defensive, so I was proud of her for loving me enough to let it go. My sister has come a long way over the years.

The Howling Wind army provided a little humor as they requested that I come back down with Soren to express their appreciation for the demonstration. Apparently, Jace, Horacio, Soren, and Umar designated themselves as my protectors against the enamored young men, standing all around me, arms folded across their chests, as the warriors were making their best attempts to have me come visit them soon and as often as possible, invoking another round of laughter for me.

Afterwards, I enjoyed visiting with Celestia, Mattias, Guntur, and Caelus, who not only praised me, but Umar and Horacio as well. Celestia was especially proud of Umar, her beautiful gleaming smile and dazzling blue eyes focused primarily on him as she sweetly ran her fingers through the side of his hair while we chatted on the side of the field.

That night, as it was quite cold outside, Nicholas and Madeline held a nice dinner in the rarely-used great dining hall at the main house. Thankfully, the pleasantries continued between my sisters, Altalune, and Priscilla, though they did their best not to interact with one another too often.

Mattias and Guntur were a bit reluctant to stay at Crescent Moon, wanting to return home to Howling Wind, but were given no choice by Umar and Soren and soon returned to their usual jovial selves animatedly chatting with Caelus and a few of the other warriors at a table just to the side of us.

As we made our way to the center table, Horacio linked to ask if it would be alright to sit beside me at dinner before joking that he was doing it so he could make sure I wouldn’t freeze to death in the drafty room. Regardless of his reasons, I found myself feeling very happy that he asked, immediately accepting, and soon smiling brightly at him as he appeared behind me, pulling my chair out for me as we took our seats.

Well, I see your battle clothes aren't the only outfit to turn their heads, Horacio privately teased in my mind, eyeing the warriors sitting along the outside edge of the room, That is a pretty dress, though. My two favorite colors—red and blue. Nice job on Tink’s outfit too. She looks nice. Probably why Beast stole her away a while ago.

Glancing down at my dress, a long plunging deep blue V-neck maxi with red floral print blooms and long sheer sleeves, I appreciatively replied, Thank you. Though I am curious where those two disappeared to. She does look lovely, doesn’t she? Two of my latest creations. Though I may pay for the sheer sleeves later. Glad you are here to block the chill. I’m also glad to know your favorite colors—I still owe your wolf a new look.

Horacio instantly countered, Liar! You wouldn’t do that to one of your Auntie’s army warriors! Plus, I think I’m your favorite, Fairy Queen. I am so very warm, remember?

I had to cover my mouth and pretend to lightly cough to hide my giggle, bringing a small, satisfied grin to Horacio’s face. Looking at him out of my periphery, I couldn’t help but notice how nice he looked in his deep blue button-up dress shirt and black pants—I liked how he left his shirt slightly open at the top and the long sleeves fit just snug enough around his bulky arms to reveal their firm outline—playfully complimenting him, Well, I don’t know about favorite, but you do look very handsome this evening. I rarely see you dressed up. I believe your blue shirt almost matches my dress.

How about that...I believe it does. Horacio thoughtfully replied, Thankfully, I brought these in case I needed them. Nicolas and Madeline seem to like entertaining. Surprisingly, I’m not minding it though...it’s kinda nice.

Just then, Celestia leaned over to compliment Horacio before she and Umar began to chat with him as Jace did the same before he and Constance started chatting about taking me to their lake house soon. Jace was a bit nervous about it—admittedly, I was too, as it was on the spot of mine and Julien’s home...a home he also shared with Callisto—but I was touched when Constance sweetly asked if I could help her with a garden there. Horacio must have overheard a bit of the conversation, privately checking in on me to make sure I was okay afterwards.

In fact, from time to time during our both our separate and joined conversations during dinner, Horacio and I would link with one another and chat--sometimes with just funny little comments about things or conversations happening around us—our own little private inside jokes, as he called it—adding an additional layer of fun to the evening.

I found myself continuing to glance at him out of my peripheral when carrying on our separate conversations, admiring how truly handsome Horacio was—his black mussed hair, mustache, and beard shaded with just a bit of white, giving him a rather regal look, how the inside of his closely shaven beard came up rather nicely to the end of his inner cheekbone, the wisps of short dark hair that fell along the edges of his rugged chiseled facial features, his full lower lip and how the top was slightly thinner...and his blue-grey eyes that I had grown incredibly fond of...

Feeling slightly embarrassed at my thoughts, I felt a slight heat rise through my cheeks—Horacio must have noticed, as I soon heard him in my mind—You feeling okay? Your cheeks are a bit flushed.

Quickly covering my true thoughts, I replied, I’m fine. Guess I’m just a bit embarrassed at the attention from our young warriors. I’m rather astonished that they are so enamored with an old lady...

You’re not an old lady, Horacio immediately defended before sweetly adding, You’re a beautiful Fairy Queen...your beauty is something that all are fortunate to admire.

*****************

MATTIAS

Sitting at the table with Guntur, Caelus, and my other warrior friends, I was starting to think that maybe it was a sign that we had our last rebellious outing delayed again.

“I’m actually glad the girls couldn’t go again this afternoon,” Guntur murmured, “This is a nice party and Tatiana looks stunning!”

“You have a serious crush on her, don’t you?” I chuckled, before quietly stating, “I’m glad the girls couldn’t go either, truthfully. Maybe we should just cancel the whole thing.”

“Will you quit staring at her?” Caelus broke in, “Dad’s gonna kill you if he catches you. Not that I haven’t glanced myself—not that most of the guys at our table haven’t, she’s a knock-out—but be a little less obvious, huh?”

Waving his brother off, Guntur leaned towards me to whisper, “Just let me know what you want to do. I’m up for whatever. This is all about you, my friend!”

As he turned his gaze to look ahead again, I saw his eyes widen. Following his gaze, mine did as well—Tatiana was about to walk right by our table, headed back towards the house, leading me to blurt out, “You aren’t leaving, are you Tatiana? If Horacio said something stupid, we could get Umar to set him straight.”

Our whole table went silent as we all anxiously waited for her answer—all eyes staring at the beautiful petite witch, who immediately started laughing—she did have the prettiest smile...

“Good evening, gentlemen,” she kindly greeted, “I’m just stepping outside for a moment. But thank you for your kind offer. It’s good to know I have backup if needed with Horacio! As you all know, he can be quite a handful.”

“You look really pretty tonight, Tatiana,” Guntur told her through an amorous grin, “In fact, you won the vote!”

“Vote?” Tatiana giggled out, “What vote?”

“Might sound silly and we mean no disrespect, but to help pass the time, we vote amongst ourselves for the best dressed woman at parties,” Caelus shyly grinned, “You won tonight.” All our friends slowly nodded in agreement with wide grins.

“I see,” Tatiana slowly replied before she brightly smiled at us, looking all around the table, “Well, thank you for the honor tonight, gentlemen! I am deeply humbled and appreciative of the award!”

Just then, Tink asked from behind us, “What award?” We all turned to see her and Beast walking towards Tatiana. I was shocked when I saw Tink—I’ve never seen her in anything but a t-shirt and jeans. But tonight, she had on a long red shirt with sleeves that cinched up at her elbows and black pants. Her black tennis shoes had thick red fabric for laces and she was wearing a really cool long open black vest that came past her knees with neat red buckles on the sides of her waist. And her hair—it was down and all curly. It was a really nice look on her.

“Favorite witch,” Tatiana quickly covered for us, winking at me as I turned my stunned eyes to look at her, “Just don’t tell your aunts, they take being the favorite very personally.”

“Wow, Tink!” Caelus grinned, “You look pretty. Cool shoes and necklace...and that vest is awesome!”

*********

TINK

Turns out my huge hunk of testosterone really liked Auntie’s surprise for me—so much so, after he saw me, we snuck back up to our room at the main house because my big guy wanted to show me how much he liked my outfit. Man, does he ever love it! It took us a bit longer than I anticipated to get back down to the hall for dinner, though...at least our room wasn’t as destroyed as the training field earlier...

As we walked in, I saw Auntie standing in front of a table full of the Howling Wind warriors and walked over to make sure she didn’t need to be rescued from them crushing over her. I thought it was pretty funny they awarded her a ‘favorite witch’ title—not that she didn’t deserve it!

And now Caelus was complimenting my shoes and vest—kinda cool—making me grin as I replied, “Yeah, pretty awesome, huh? Your favorite witch has some mad tailoring skills! And the necklace was a gift from her too.”

That’s when it hit me—Caelus said I looked...pretty—that was a first—well, from someone outside of my big guy and family...not sure how to react to that...

Looking over at Auntie, I privately asked, Did he just say I looked—pretty?

Beaming at me, she echoed back in my head, He did—and you do. I was just coming to look for you. Where have you been?

Uhhhh—grand entrance? I awkwardly replied, shooting her a sheepish grin.

Just then, one of the other warriors, Esen, laid another compliment on me, his tone all soft and sounding—mesmerized? “Caelus is right, Tink. Those shoes and that vest are badass! Almost as badass as those moves today on the field. I don’t know of any she-wolf who could hang like that with Umar, Horacio, and Beast in battle.” Several of the other warriors nodded in agreement.

I felt my big guy’s arm quickly wrap tight around my waist, pulling me into him like—protectively. Well, I guess I know his reaction to this weird conversation...Huh—this is different—

“Hey, we mean no offense, Beast,” Guntur politely said, “We’d be pretty stupid to anger you. But, no one can deny how impressive Tink is out on the field—or you, for that matter, especially after today. And you gotta admit, she looks really cool tonight. You’re a lucky guy and we’ve got nothing but respect for both of you.”

My jaw dropped slightly before I heard Beast kindly reply behind me, “Thanks. I’m very lucky.”

Clearing her throat, Auntie smiled at them, “Well, thank you all again for the compliments and I’m sure Tink appreciates your compliments as well, but I believe dinner is about to be served, so perhaps we should make our way back to our table now.”

“Good idea,” my big guy quickly agreed, gently guiding me forward before offering Auntie his other arm.

Turning around and smiling at them, I appreciatively said, “Yeah, thanks for the nice compliments, guys. See ya.”

“See ya, Tink,” they all sang out—so weird—this whole thing is so weird!

As we walked towards the table, Auntie giggled out, “Sorry if I caused a bit of trouble this evening, Beast!”

“All good, Auntie,” Beast chuckled, looking down at her and smiling, “My Tink is badass!”

My huge hunk of testosterone immediately added privately, And you look really pretty tonight too, so I get it—and I won’t kill them—I’m just glad you're MINE!

***********

HORACIO

Lying on my bed, I reached down, grabbing the bottom of my dress shirt with my fingers, aimlessly fiddling with it for a moment before pulling it up slightly to look down at it—the blue—as the vision of Tati in her beautiful dress floated to the forefront of my mind. She looked so beautiful—and my shirt matched her dress...

Defeatedly releasing the material from my grasp, I brought both of my hands up, closing my eyes as I rubbed them up and down hard against my face, exhaling out heavily, “Oh, what the hell is wrong with me! I’m not like this—this isn’t me!”

The words that came to my mind made it worse—There’s nothing wrong with me! This isn’t wrong! What I feel—for Tati—it’s right! All this time—I’ve wanted to be close to someone like her for so long, even if it is only as friends!

I’ve loved every minute of the last week—being a part of Auntie’s army, especially working with Umar, Tink, and Beast, the practices and getting to know the others in our group better, coming together as a solid unit so easily, the demonstration, which I enjoyed more than I ever thought I would—and being here at Crescent Moon—seeing Tati every day—our long talks...I was going to miss it...

Dropping my head back to look at the ceiling, I let out a desperate sigh, only for my thoughts to continue on against my will—I didn’t want to leave tomorrow—which made me happy that I agreed to Alastor’s request about the integrated army and hoped The Council would make Auntie’s army a permanent fixture as a specialized team—I could figure out a way to balance between the two packs—Alastor had been able to do it, so obviously I could too—and I could figure out a way to balance what I was feeling and what Tati wanted—friendship...

Throwing my hands up in the air, I closed my eyes again, allowing my arms to weightlessly fall behind my head as I chastised myself, “i***t or not, this is stupid! Just do it already!”

My eyes still closed, I cautiously called out, lost in the darkness of my mind, Hey, Fairy Queen, you still awake?

I am. You can’t sleep either? Tatiana immediately answered.

Nope. I was going to ask if you wanted to chat for a while in your room, especially since I’m leaving tomorrow, and this will be our only way to communicate for a few days...if you want to, that is. But with so many people here, they might get the wrong idea. So, if you want, I guess we can talk for a while this way.

There was a long pause that left me worried I was an i***t—pushing too hard—but then Tati surprised me, replying, You know, I am able to just pop you over. No one will know as long as we keep the inevitable banter quiet. If you want to, that is.

Pop away! I’ll do my best not to rile you up, but promise nothing! I humorously told her, excitedly jumping up out of bed and waiting to magically appear in her room. It didn’t matter that all she wants is friendship—that’s enough for me, because just being with her makes me completely happy and content. And it was nice...feeling completely happy and content for once.