The Lunar Destiny Series

Chapter 9

For about four hours we sat in the bed talking. I told him about myself and answered some questions that he had, then he did the same. I learned that he actually was quite the hermit and preferred to be alone whenever he got the chance. He’s an avid reader; he’ll read anything no matter how long the book is. In high school he was on the football team, as well as track. He still goes for a run a few times out of the week but in this case he runs through the woods in his wolf form.

I was the most surprised to learn what he does for a living.

He has his own architecture company called Tri Build Architecture; it is one of the top five companies that is invested in most in the stock market. Tri Build shot up to the number two spot earlier this year, so he was financially secure. He was born in Aiea, Hawaii on October 27th, 1981 making him a Scorpio. There was a ten year age gap between us which wasn’t too bad; I didn’t mind it at all. The small details weren’t much but knowing a little bit more about him made me feel somewhat better.

“Can you tell me how a person becomes a shifter? There are a lot of horror movies and books out there telling so many stories. I know those are just a bunch of Hollywood stories but, I figured you’d like to clarify some things for the record.” I said with a smile.

Lio laughed a little at my question and I could see his canines peeking from under his upper lip. There was always a slight tinge of anxiety when I would see them, but I accepted that it was just a part of him that I had to get used to.

“There’s only two ways a person becomes a shifter; you’re either born with the gene or infected with the disease. I don’t really like to think of it as a disease but it’s in our blood so it can only be thought of as an affliction. A long time ago, there was a rumor that one could be turned into a shifter by the use of dark magic. We haven’t been able to prove this so we discredited it.”

I nodded as I listened to him; I was thoroughly captivated by his explanation. I didn’t really believe in magic but after seeing werewolves I started to question a lot of things. A long yawn escaped from my lips and I wondered what time it was. I lifted my wrist to see the time on my watch; it was just after one o’clock in the morning. My eyes widened slightly.

“What is it?” Lio asked, sounding a bit tired.

“I had no idea how late it was. It’s a little after one o’clock in the morning, we’ve talked longer than I thought we would.” I stretched a little as I said this.

“I know. I’m glad we did though.” He said smiling at me, flashing those pearly whites of his once more. I found myself curious about something else that I hadn’t thought to ask before.

“Lio, does anyone in your pack have a family of their own? Kids?”

He put his hands behind his head and looked up at the ceiling, stretching his muscles from his arms to his abs. s**t, he was teasing without even trying. This was going to be a long night.

“Most of them married within the pack but our females’ ability to have children is non-existent. The change is too devastating for the baby to survive, so none of them have children. A few of the men have human wives and they’ve been able to have children of course. Whether or not the children will have the werewolf gene is unknown until they reach puberty in most cases.”

I nodded slowly, thinking of how hard it must be trying to live a normal life when you’re not so normal. I couldn’t imagine how deeply the women are hurting because they can never have children of their own.

“Do you want kids Lio?”

I was betting he did. I was human and he wanted me as his mate; I had no doubts children were in his plans.

“I want children, I’ve always wanted them. What about you?”

I hadn’t really thought about being a parent since I had been with Julian. Considering that situation, my trust issues forced me to believe that all men would just knock me up and run out on me; or cheat. Here’s hoping Lio wasn’t like that.

I sighed before answering him and he turned his head to look at me.

“Well, one day I want to get married and have a big family. I’m the only child my parents had so I’d want a big family.” I said, shrugging my shoulders.

“Good to know.” He said.

I yawned and blinked a couple of times, I was exhausted. Usually I take a nap after work but certain events from earlier didn’t allow it.

Lio turned over on his side facing me with one leg covering himself. He scooted down on the pillows so that he was a little lower than me. Those silver pools that were his eyes looked up at me.

“Your eyes are like nothing I’ve ever seen before, they’re beautiful.” I watched a grin form on his lips.

“Thank you…You should let me hold you so you can get a closer look at them.”

His voice was gentle and coaxing but it still held that deep, masculine tone. I didn’t think getting closer to him was wise. It was hard enough trying not to be aroused in this situation; I knew he’d smell it on me. When he saw that I was hesitating he put one arm around my waist and started pulling me towards him. I was either coming to him willingly or making him pull me down and end up falling on him. I chose the first option since I was still sitting up.

I laid down close enough that our faces were only inches apart but not so close that I’d go cross-eyed trying to look at him. He kept one arm over my waist, holding me. I could feel almost every inch of his warm body against mine. The basement was cold so I couldn’t have asked for a better way to get warm.

“Do you still want a break? Time away?”

I averted my eyes before I answered him.

“Yeah, I think it would be good for me. These past few days have been a lot to handle.” I said, looking him in the eyes again.

“All right, then I have a proposition for you.”

He paused for a moment and I raised my eyebrows.

“How about you have time away with me? I can keep you safe and you’ll get time away from pack affairs. How does that sound?”

I wasn’t expecting him to suggest something like that outright but I took a moment to think about it. I wanted to be alone but I would be making myself vulnerable to the enemy.

It was a good idea, I just hoped that I could handle being completely alone with him.

“That sounds good…”

I felt myself slipping out of consciousness and closed my eyes before quickly opening them again. Lio was smiling at me.

“You’re tired, go to sleep.” He said rubbing my back gently.

“Can’t…I have to keep an eye on you.” I whispered in a voice thick with drowsiness.

“I promise I’ll be a good wolf…”

I smiled and he kissed me, the slightest press of the lips. I felt my eyes getting heavier and heavier until I finally faded into a peaceful slumber.