Embrace My Rogue Luna

Chapter VIII

Lycus' POV

I managed to keep myself busy for over an hour before I couldn't wait any longer. Plus, Baron was driving me insane wanting to go see Fae. I opened the door to the laundry room and found my little mate in tears.

"Fae?" She turned her back to me clearly trying to stop crying. "What happened?" I rushed to her, wrapping my arms around her.

"They're all ruined."

"What?"

She held out the clothes I hadn't noticed her holding against her body. As she held up her tops I saw the problem. There were holes in everything.

"So, they didn't survive being washed?"

She shook her head. "What am I going to do? This was all I had left. When I first got Adeline, we ruined a lot of clothes those first few months. Constantly shifting but we eventually learned control."

"It will be okay Fae. I will take you for a whole new wardrobe first thing in the morning."

"Lycus, I can't pay for anything."

I shrugged, this was something I could help with. "I can."

"But I can't!"

" I am your partner now. I will get you some new clothes and, if it means so much to you, you can earn the money here."

"How?" She looked up at me with interest. I guess the thought of being paid for working was fine. She just didn't want me to give anything to her she didn't feel she had earned.

"Well, I bet they could use some help at the hospital, or the school, or even the library."

That got her attention. I tried not to laugh when I saw her eyes light up at the word library.

"So, it would be like an advance?"

"If that's how you want to look at it yes." I smiled at my sweet mate. "Now how about we toss the clothes that didn't make it and go upstairs for the evening. Just you and me. We can talk, read, whatever you want."

"Okay."

I didn't say anything as she placed her ruined clothes back in her backpack and slipped it on. I just took her hand and we headed upstairs to my room. She was glancing around the whole way.

"We didn't get very far on our tour, did we?"

I shrugged. "We saw about half the house. You'll see the rest soon. You can wander all you'd like."

"I was surprised by one thing."

"What?" I was very curious what had interested her.

"You knew the laundry Omegas' names. The cooks I get because they've probably worked in the kitchen your whole life but Rose and Jerricka are younger."

That wasn't what I was expecting. "Well, of course I do. They work in my home. I won't admit to personally knowing every wolf in our pack, but I think I know nearly everyone by name at least. As for the wolves who work in the pack house; yes I know them all fairly well."

"Don't you consider them beneath you?"

"Why would I?" I reached out, opening the door to my room and guided her in as I waited for her answer.

"Well, most Alpha's, or even future Alpha's, wouldn't see the value in knowing the names of their Omega's. They are not ranking members of the pack."

"My father and I refuse to run this pack like that. Every wolf is important. Who cares if they are ranked? Every wolf contributes to our pack in their own way. I have clean clothes every day. I never even question whether there will be clothes in my closet when I open it and yet I never do laundry. Why wouldn't I see the value in that? Their work is important too and they take pride in their work."

"I agree. I'm just...surprised. That's all."

I followed her across the room to the couch.

"You know, they called me Luna."

"Oh?" I smiled. "Well, you will be their Luna."

"You're not the Alpha yet."

"No. We were waiting for you to come. Now that you're here, I imagine my father will be in a hurry to pass the title."

I saw a shadow cross her face. "Rose and Jerricka said the same thing. What does my being here have to do with anything?"

"Well, my father wouldn't pass the title of Alpha until I had a mate." I felt dread but wasn't sure why.

"Oh, so that's why you were so excited about finding me. You get to be Alpha now? That's why you want me to stay?" She was on her feet looking like she was ready to run for the door.

"What?!" I was floored. "What do you mean? Of course not. I could have taken a chosen mate at any point and been Alpha already. I was waiting for my true mate."

"But that's why you're happy. That's why you don't care that I'm a rogue. Because it didn't matter who I was as long as you could be named Alpha."

"Fae, that's not fair. That's not what I said at all." It didn't matter though. I was talking to her back as she walked out.

Fae's POV

Come on Fae. You know that's not what he's like

Do I?! He needs something from us. Just like every other time we've attempted to trust someone.

He didn't need us to be Alpha. Look at him. If he wanted just any mate he would have one.

The first thing he said when he saw us was Finally. It wasn't finally I found my true mate it was finally! I get to be Alpha.

You don't know that is true.

You don't know that it isn't.

I ran out of the front door, ignoring the looks I was getting from everyone who happened to be around. I heard Lycus call my name but I ignored him. I just kept running.

Stop running. You know you're not leaving because of what he said. You were looking for any excuse.

No I wasn't.

Yes you were. You don't think you're good enough for a pack.

Packs are oppressive.

None of those wolves looked oppressed. You know what oppression looks like. Does it look like that?

She might be right, but that didn't mean I was ready to go back yet. I kept running into the forest even though I had no idea where I was going. I really just needed time away from him to think.

I came to a clearing with a small pond. Off to one side there was a stack of rocks that hung just over the pond and I found myself drawn to it. I climbed up and sat on the rock looking down at my reflection in the water.

It's nice here.

Yes. It is.

I laid down looking into the water just relaxing.

"I see you found my hide out."

I jumped, looking to find the person attached to the deep voice. My adrenaline started pumping as I prepared to face a stranger. Should I run?

"Yeah, I did." I started backing off of the rock, getting ready to run if I needed to.

"Don't worry Fae." He held his hands up to show he was no threat. "I'm not going to hurt you/"

"How do you know my name?"

He laughed.

I should run.

Just wait a second. We're fast. I'm sure we can outrun him if we have to.

"Are you kidding? You're the talk of the pack. Everyone is so excited Lycus finally has his mate."

"Oh, right."

"I'm Kenneally Nowling, Lycus' brother."

I immediately relaxed. "Oh. Good grief, how many of you are there?"

He chuckled "Five. In order, it's Lycus, me, Conri, Phelan and Rica. Think mom wanted to make sure she had a girl."

I laughed, feeling much calmer. "So, it would seem. Poor Rica."

"Oh please," he smiled, "that child is so spoiled."

"I noticed that. I really like her though."

"She likes you too. So, what are you doing way out here?"

I shrugged. "I guess I just needed some space."

"Yeah, I get that. That's what usually brings me here too. Can I join you?" He pointed to the rock I was still standing on.

"Oh, yes, of course." I stepped back, giving him a wide breadth to climb on the rock and I sat on the end, leaving him sitting over the water.

"Thank you."

I was anxious, expecting some big interrogation, but instead we just sat in silence for awhile. I felt myself relaxing, the tension draining from my shoulders.

"Have you always had to be so prepared to run?"

His question came out of nowhere. "Yeah, I guess so. It's better to be ready to run and not need to than to be surprised."

"Hmm...I understand that feeling."

"Oh?" I was surprised to hear him say that. "How so? Lycus talks about this pack like it's some kind of nirvana."

"No place is perfect. Things have improved and they continue to improve, but I doubt it's easy to be different anywhere. Especially when you're a teenager."

"You're an Alpha's son."

He gave a humorless laugh. "Yes, I am, but that didn't keep me from hearing what people said when I was younger. It was years before I was comfortable enough to ignore the whispers."

"What kind of whispers?" I was so anxious to hear his story. Plus, it was nice to be talking about someone other than me.

"Cruel, ignorant ones." He shrugged, clearly trying to dismiss the pain. A feeling I was very familiar with. "So, what were you hoping your life would look like?"

"What do you mean?" I was confused.

"Well, you didn't want a pack." I shook my head. "Did you want a mate?"

"That's hard to answer."

"Why's that?"

"Well, when I was young I wasn't going to get my true mate, unless it happened to be the person my Alpha had chosen for me, which seemed unlikely. Then, after I left I would go so long at a time without even talking to others; I figured I might not ever meet him and even if I did, I am a rogue. He would probably reject me." I felt tears welling behind my eyes which was annoying.

"He's not going to reject you."

"Well, yeah. Because he wants to be Alpha."

"Do you really believe that? I know you just met him but do you think he's like that?"

"I don't know," I admitted, chewing on my finger.

"He's been waiting for you for a long time. He is so happy you're here."

"Tell me about you. Do you have a mate yet?"

"Oh, no." he shook his head. "I won't get a mate."

"Why do you say that?" I tilted my head, not understanding why he sounded so sure.

"Well, the mate bond is to help ensure strong offspring."

"Ugh...wait what?" I was surprised. "Outside of the pack I came from I've never heard anyone describe the mate bond as anything other than a gift from the Moon Goddess."

"Yes, that's a lovely bedtime story. However, biologically speaking, it makes sense that we would be attracted to a mate who is most likely to give us strong pups. It helps with the survival of our species."

I was really thinking about what he had said. "Okay but what about, wolves with fertility issues?"

He waved his hand dismissively. "The mate bond simply tells us who has the most potential for strong offspring. I theorize it's a pheromone thing. It doesn't take into account sperm count or damage to the uterus."

"Hmm...okay so if that's true why do you think you won't have a true mate?"

"Well, because I'm gay." He made a gesture with his hands as if to say obviously. "So, I will never feel the mate bond."

"I don't know if I believe that." I understand the issues he might have had when he was younger now. "I think there's a mate for everyone."

"If you believe that, then why are you running from yours?"

"Huh...I didn't think about you turning that back on me."

We both laughed.

"But really Fae. Why don't you give him a real chance? He might surprise you."

See! He might. Can we please go back to our mate now?

"Alright. I'll go find him."

"Oh, there's no need in that." His eyes lost their focus and then not three minutes later I heard someone crashing through the woods.

Mate!!!

"Has he been this close the whole time?"

"He couldn't hear us, but come on Fae. After the few things he knows you've been through, he wasn't going to risk something happening to you. It took some massive control for him to stay as far away as he did."

At that moment, my mate came crashing through the trees. As soon as our eyes met he skidded to a halt and started walking toward me like someone afraid of spooking a wounded animal.

"Hey little mate, how are you feeling?"

"Do you only want me so you can be Alpha?"

"No. I want you because I have been waiting my whole life for my mate. Seeing the love my parents have for each other made me want that. They came from completely different lives, but that didn't matter. They were meant to be together."

He had made it nearly to the end of my rock as he spoke. I couldn't help myself. I reached my arms out and he raced forward, pulling me into a hug. Then his mouth was on mine, kissing me with so much passion I forgot any argument for why we might not be right for each other. He's my mate.

When we finally came up for air, I glanced around. "Kenneally is gone." I laid my head back on his chest listening to his heart beat. It was a very relaxing sound.

"He's probably heading back to the hospital. I think he just ran out when I told him I thought you needed to talk to him."

"The hospital?"

"Yep. My brother the doctor." There was obvious pride in his voice.

"Ahh. How did you know he would be the right person to talk to?"

"Ken has a different perspective on pack life than the rest of us. Really, I think if it hadn't been for the family he might have gone rogue when he was about the same age you were. His teen years were...harder than they should have been."

"What about now?" I looked up into his face.

"Oh," His face broke out into a broad smile that left me a little breathless. "He's completely accepted for who he is. He should have been from day one, but after he left for school...I don't know, people grow. By the time he got back, it didn't seem important. Everyone just seemed happy to have him home."

"I'm glad for that at least."

"Me too." He smiled and kissed my cheek. "Now can we please go home?"

"Home." I found myself testing the word.

"Yes, home."

"Alright. Let's go."

He smiled and swung me around in the air while I giggled.

He laughed, setting me on my feet. He stole a quick kiss and we headed back towards the house.

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