A Luna's Awakening

S1 E6

River's POV:

I felt frustrated as Maddie examined Marisol's arm. Why was it still injured? Was my healing not good enough for my mate? She had fought me about it, but I thought she had accepted it pretty well in the end. I could feel my inner wolf tail flick in annoyance. Not only that, but she wanted to leave me. She didn't want to stay with me. I was her mate. She couldn't feel the bond, but surely she felt something. Right? How did it work for human mates? I would ask one of the elders if I wasn't afraid to leave her alone. She might run off.

"You could try again and see if you can heal her arm," Maddie said, and I saw the fear flash in my mate's eyes. I shook my head softly, and she started to wrap her wound up again. "Very well. I'll cover it up then." I saw the annoyance in her eyes as she tended to Marisol and I growled at her. She flinched slightly.

"Marisol is my mate. Regardless of how you feel about humans, you will show her respect." She clicked her teeth softly at being caught.

"My apologies' Alpha, Luna. It will not happen again." It was stiff and insincere, but I knew it would be the last time. Maddie was always careful about her words in this regard. She would make sure not to slip up again, though her feelings were unlikely to change. I can't dwell on it right now. Once her wound was wrapped up, I frowned softly. I had to convince her to stay. Before I could say anything, her stomach growled.

"Would you like something to eat?" I offered and she gave a slight nod. "Come with me then. I'll get you something." I held out my hand to her as she shifted to the edge of the bed. She frowned softly but took it to help balance with her bad arm to get down. The touch of her skin on mine filled me with joy every time. We weren't even fully mated, and already I wanted more of her. As I held open the door for her and started to lead her to the dining hall, she frowned.

"What exactly are you?" She asked suddenly and I flinched.

"You've heard of werewolves, yeah?" She nodded and I scrunched my nose slightly. "We prefer just wolves, but that is what humans call us." As we passed through the halls we saw almost no one until Grayson saw us near the dining hall. He ran over.

"Alpha!" He stopped and acknowledged Marisol with a short bow. "Lovely to meet you, Luna. I'm beta Grayson" I smiled slightly at the respect he showed her, and then he turned to me. "The young ones said Zeke attacked her first," I growled at the information and looked at Marisol, who nodded softly to confirm. It was one thing to attack another wolf in our territory, but in self-defense. He would get us into a war with that attitude.

"I want to see him." Grayson pointed to the dining hall and I stormed over to the doors. The room was mostly empty. The scouts who had just gotten off duty with the humans having left were eating. Zeke included. They looked up and when they saw Marisol their eyes went wide. "Let's get you something to eat first," I said to my mate as I led her towards the kitchen window. I knocked, and the chef popped up from where he was getting ready to make dinner. He smiled at me.

"Alpha! How nice to see you! How can I help?"

"My mate is hungry. Could you make her something now?" His eyes widened as he looked down at the smaller woman next to me.

"Of course. Anything for my Luna. What would you like?" She glanced towards the table of scouts and then back to him.

"A steak like that looks nice," she said, and he beamed brightly.

"Ah. A healthy appetite. Wonderful. I'll make it right away." He turned and walked towards the food storage and I led Marisol over to a table to sit. One of the scouts approached.

"Alpha, I have something to report." She said with a glance towards Marisol. I frowned softly but motioned her to follow out of earshot. "One of the humans remained. She has your mate's scent on her, so I assume they are close. She is staying in town." I frowned softly at this. A determined one.

"Let me know if she comes back, but don't follow her to town." The scout nodded softly, and I looked back over to see Zeke with his hand on my mate's shoulder. I growled and stomped over, quickly grabbing his wrist and bending it back. He grunted loudly in pain. "You are not to touch her. Not after what you did." I growled deeply at him. I shoved him away and he stumbled slightly.

"It was a mistake, Alpha. I was only defending the young ones." He tried to argue as the other scouts were now listening. I growled loudly as he tried to spin this.

"The young ones have both said you attacked her first. As has my mate. She's not even a wolf! You could have killed her!" The room fell silent and cold as all eyes turned to Zeke. I saw true fear on his face for the first time as he realized just how much he had f****d up. "Out of my sight. Take your food and go to your room. Tonight I will decide your punishment." He hesitated, and he looked at my mate as if she would be on his side. "Now!" I ordered in my alpha tone, and he scurried to grab his tray of food and rushed off. I growled softly at his running back. I will deal with him later.

"Was he?" I looked back at my mate as a shiver of fear ran down her back and she held the shoulder Zeke had touched. I placed a hand on her head softly.

"He will not hurt you again. I will make sure of that. I am the Alpha here. No one will hurt you on my watch." As I spoke my eyes swept towards the scouts, who flinched and went back to their food, ignoring us. I sighed deeply and sat across from my mate at the table, running a hand through my hair. She watched me silently as I fumed internally. Grayson approached hesitantly. I waved him over, and he walked to my side.

"Alpha the pack is abuzz with the news. It would be best if you made an official announcement this evening rather than wait. Word has spread about the new she-wolf." His eyes went to Marisol and she flinched.

"Me? You mean me? I'm not a wolf." She said and Grayson's jaw fell open. I groaned softly and ran a hand down my face.

"I'll make an announcement tonight. My mate is correct though. Maddie confirmed she has no wolf." As the chef approached with food, I waved Grayson off, and he scurried away to give us privacy. As soon as the scouts had finished eating, they also left the room, each with a short bow of respect to their new Luna and I. Marisol frowned at them and then at me.

"Why is everyone bowing to me?" She said between bites of her food.

"Because you are my mate, and therefore you are the pack's Luna." I frowned softly as I tried to think of a way to explain it in human terms. "You are the queen to a king basically," I said, and her eyes went wide.

"How am I your mate, by the way? You don't even know me." I leaned forward and reached across the table to twist a finger in her curls. She blushed softly at that and I felt my insides stir at the sight. I wanted to see such a face more often from her.

"Your scent tells me you are. The moon goddess selects mates for each wolf before they are born. The person fated to be theirs. When a wolf meets their mate, they know it instantly."

"So you are forced to love someone you don't even know? Like an arranged marriage?" I scrunched my nose up at her as she frowned.

"On the contrary. I am drawn to you. Like what humans would call true love. The moment I laid eyes on you, I knew you were my everything. I knew I would give my life to protect you."

"Is it common for werewolves to have a human mate?" I flinched and she scrunched her nose softly. "Wolves, sorry."

"It is rare, but it does happen," I answered her, and she tilted her head to the side slightly.

"Do those humans feel the mate bond then?"

"I don't know," I said with a frown. "I have met very few wolves with human mates. I will ask the elders this evening. They would know." She looked down at her food and I looked her over once more. She was gorgeous beyond words. Every small feature was appealing, but most of all were the freckles on her face. They had been covered when I saw her at first, but after cleaning the dirt from her, they had been revealed. I wanted to trace my finger along the path between them. I took a deep breath of her scent once more. "I don't think you are as human as you think though," I said suddenly and she flinched.