THE HUMAN LUNA

Chapter 3

"DISMISSED!" I roar out in frustration at the teenage wolves who scurry away quickly. Incompetent, lazy, weak pups! They will soon have a rude awakening with the regime I have planned for them. No one in this pack slacks off, everyone here pushes themselves or I shove them! I refuse for anyone training under me to be a warrior to be weak. Weakness is death. My chest is heaving from my pent-up anger, the veins on my forehead visible. My wolf Dex has been pining since this morning, the air shifted in the pack lands, a new scent perhaps? My wolf has not shut up about it. It's had us both on edge constantly, my wolf has no idea what it is, but he is nervous, he is NEVER showing emotion, not to me or anyone, and it's really starting to agitate me further. "So irritating, just tell me what the f**k you want me to do about it!" I growl out in annoyance at my wolf. Something about today just felt different, it made me feel more pent up than usual. "IT'S MATE! I have a feeling mate is close... we must get close to mate, it has to be mate... I never smelled this before... it's her, she's here! Mate!!" What the f**k did he just say? 'Mate'? Just as I was about to freak out sniffing the air like a f*****g hound dog and banging on people's doors to show me proof, my beta voice comes through mind link, making me halt as I almost went into meltdown.

"I need to see you, it's about Amanda's friend..." Her friend? What is the problem now? This is exactly why I avoided letting anyone in other than family, I have no f*****g time to deal with the problems of strangers, especially outsiders. "I'll be at the packhouse in 2." I say in annoyance. I already gave him and Amanda permission for her to enter through the border, my wolf's sudden interest in the thought of this human girl has him even

more on edge, he has never made his opinion known before on a weak human, so why now? I run back to the packhouse in wolf form, I make it to the edge near the house then transform back into my human form, I go to pick up the shorts I stashed near a tree and I start putting them on. I see Ryan already here waiting for me at the forest edge close to the packhouse. When I get closer to Ryan, I notice instantly that he smells good, amazing actually. I sniff the air and it's coming from around him, glancing around the packhouse then around outside. My wolf caught the scent also and began panting in my head, the strong scent coming from him was making our senses go on high alert and making us feel not in control. Could what Dex said be true? I have a mate in the pack right now? Does that mean she's younger? Is that why I couldn't find her? So many questions, but I couldn't speak, my thoughts were working in overdrive and all I could think of is... I need to see her, now. My voice comes out quieter than I wanted it to, I barely recognize it. "Whose smell is that?" Ryan's eyes widen slightly in shock, then he looks happy when his eyes flicker with realization.

"Emily... Amanda's friend... is... is she your-" I interrupt him, losing control of my wolf. "Where is she?!" I growl out. My wolf comes out forcefully, my eyes turning red. "WHERE. IS. MATE?" Dex

Growls out into his face, making Ryan lower his eyes submitting to the authority of me and my wolf. "Jack.. she's human... she got here this morning-" I grab him by the neck and hold him above ground, my anger was coming off in waves, Dex had full control of my body and was making it hard for me to take it back. I couldn't help myself from growling at his comment 'she's human' humans are weak... but- as soon as the thought came to mind, I got a stabbing pain in my chest. Ryan is thrashing at my hold and I release him, cursing my wolf back, snapping at Dex for doing whatever the f**k he wants, and because we've had no mate he can freely do as he pleases, f*****g fantastic for my anger getting the best of me.

I rub my hands down my face and squint my eyes, my senses are flooded by her smell, her heavenly smell, it's suffocating me at this moment. I needed to see her, I need proof.. I need to know she's actually real with my own two eyes. "You need to calm down Alpha. You will scare her if you show up like this." Ryan growls out at me, making me glance at him on the floor where I dropped him. Suddenly annoyed by how I treated him. "s**t Ryan, f*****g Dex doing whatever the f**k he wants since... and now a human mate?" I ramble on unable to stop. "Is..." I clear my throat nervously to the question I'm about to ask. "Is she safe?"

"Jack, she's with Amanda." He says grinning as he walks over to me and pats me on the back. "She's a bit shaken up, some.. er issues made her come a day early.. she's staying with us. She's staying here in Deepwater." She's staying? There was so much to learn- to find out, the day was here and I didn't know how to process any of the words going out of Ryan's mouth. When did she get here? Where's she from? What things? I want to shout for all to hear me that I have a mate! But I just nod, so much was running through my head that I couldn't think straight, only one thing I want to do right now and that's to go to her. I have a mate. I have a human mate.

She's real and she's here. I should feel sad, some emotion that made me hate the fact she wasn't my species, but the thought never came, it washed away the moment I found out she's minutes from my reach, my gaze... f**k. "I want to meet her." I say confidently. My body was ready for this, itching to go to her, but my mind was in complete freak out, I was nervous- I'm never nervous. I need to shower, dress nice... s**t, what do I wear? What color is her favorite? I feel my back sweat with how much I'm freaking out internally.

Dex and I never thought this day would actually come. We've traveled everywhere to search for our mate... turning 18 it was all I wanted to do, find my mate, rule the pack together as Alpha and Luna, have pups.. many years went by and those around me whispering how I don't have a mate, at 30 I went into depression and stopped looking for her. It made me and my wolf distant, blaming each other for how we couldn't find our mate, hating everyone who found their soulmate. It left me bitter for years and I hated being around anyone who had a mate, they had theirs and

I was running out of time to find mine. Eventually making it hard for pack members to make eye contact with me, they feared me. I hated myself, I fought packs, ruled with an iron fist and an iron heart, having no mate made things easier, like going to war with packs, I never had to worry about anyone but yourself. But I always would think about her, who she was, what she was doing, without a second thought I would always hold onto the dream of finding her one day, and having what others around me had. Who knew she would be the one to find me. "Let's go" I say towards Ryan who nods with a grin on his face. Let's go meet our mate. We take Ryan's red truck, both not wanting to show up in wolf forms, and scare the living s**t out of my human mate.

This is going to be a lot more f*****g complicated than I thought. "She's a painter, from London, short little thing, a bit timid but she has spark." Ryan says with a laugh. "She's shy, you're going to have to take it slow with her.. especially since she just got out of a relationsh-" "WHAT!" My wolf and I are now growling. "SHE'S MY MATE!" spit with dominance, hearing my blood pumping throughout my body as I feel myself grow protective of her, despite not even meeting her. She is MINE I will snap the neck of any man who will dare to even LOOK at her! Ryan laughs nervously. "Alpha, she's a human, she has no idea about wolves and about our customs.. about Amanda or what a Mate is.. you will have to try not to scare to her away." He grins out and I begin to panic all over again.