From Beta to Luna

Chapter 7 — The Morning After

    I was woken up by soft sunlight streaming into the room and directly onto my face. Groaning slightly, I opened my eyes and tried to turn away from the window only to find I was trapped by a muscular arm pinning me against an equally muscular chest. I turned my head and smiled at the sight of Owen sleeping peacefully, his cheek nuzzled and resting against the top of my head. 

    The memories of last night came flooding back to me suddenly, and I couldn’t help but to feel the warm blush slightly creeping up my cheeks again in embarrassment. 

If I thought he was a good kisser? It was nothing compared to how he actually was in bed. I’d never slept with anybody who made me feel even half the things Owen made me feel last night, although I’d never tell him that since it would only feed into his ego. 

    “Owen,” I quietly called. 

    No response. 

    “Owen,” I tried again, a little more insistently this time. 

    “Mmm,” came his groggy response, but he made no movement to release me. 

    “Owen, let me go, the sunlight is hurting my eyes, and I wanna turn the other way,” I whined, which caused him to loosen his arms just enough for me to turn in his arms so I was facing his chest and away from the window. 

    I yelped in surprise when he suddenly rolled us over and was now hovering over me, his eyes sleepily opening to finally look at me with a cute, boyish grin on his face. My face was warm as I brought my hands to his chest to try and push him away, but he easily grabbed my wrists and pinned them on either side of my head, the full weight of his body now resting on mine. I was suddenly hyper aware of the fact that we were both still naked, which caused my blush to deepen.  

    “Mmm, good morning, beautiful,” he greeted, flashing me a bright smile that made my stomach flutter in anticipation. 

    He planted a chaste kiss on my lips before murmuring against my lips, “I could get used to waking up with you in my bed.”

    I rolled my eyes and scoffed at him. “What am I, girl number 4 this week? You’ll go back to your regular flings once I head back to Silver Moon territory next week.”

    His face darkened a little at this, and I noticed a bit of a sad expression taking over his face. 

    “I wish you didn’t have to go,” he muttered quietly, almost longingly. 

    I stiffened slightly at this. 

    Was Owen catching feelings for me? 

    I thought this would just be a hot little fling for the time that we were both here. Granted, we never actually discussed what this would be and practically went ‘straight for the bedroom’—as Xander had so expertly put it—but I thought he knew I wasn’t interested in finding a mate, or even anything in between. He knew the reasons why. 

    “Owen, I…” I trailed off, unsure of what to say to him at the moment. 

    He smiled at me, his eyes giving me a soft and warm look. Releasing my left wrist, he brought his hand up to tenderly stroke my hair away from my face. It was such a simple act, but my heart fluttered uncontrollably at how unbelievably sweet he was being to me.

    “I know we’re not mates, and I know we only just met, but I really like you, Raina,” he said thoughtfully. “I’ve never met anyone else like you before. I know the chances of us actually being together are slim, I’m not stupid. But still… I just wish there could’ve been a way. How much easier would it have been if we could’ve just been mates?”

    He studied my face for a moment, and when I didn’t say anything, he quietly asked, “What’s going through your head right now? Do you feel the same way?”

    I smiled at him, bringing my free hand up to run my fingers through his hair, which caused him to close his eyes and groan quietly in contentment. He rolled over from laying on top of me so he was now laying beside me, and he pulled me closer to him. I nestled into his side and laid both my head and my hand on his chest as his arms wrapped around my body. 

    “Owen, you already know my feelings about the whole mate thing,” I finally responded in a distant voice, as my fingers traced random patterns on his chest. “And I know we’re not mates, but my feelings remain the same about any relationships at the moment. I just… My duties and my loyalties lie with my pack. I’m sorry I can’t offer you anymore than this at the moment.”

    He chuckled at my response, the deep vibrations of his chest sounding pleasant against my ears. 

    “Silver Moon is extremely lucky to have such a dedicated Beta,” he replied in an amused tone. “Now, as much as I would love to stay in bed with you all day, we both have to get up and get ready for the meeting in an hour. And you definitely have to shower.”

    I gasped at this, raising up from his chest and taking his sheets with me to keep myself covered. 

    I stared at him with wide eyes, indignantly asking, “Are you saying I stink?”

    He laughed at this, one hand coming up behind my head and pulling me down towards him for another deep kiss while the other ran down my bare back, sending instant shivers down my spine. 

    Dammit, if he didn’t stop this, I won’t be able to control myself, and we’ll definitely both be late for the first meeting of the conference. 

    Breaking the kiss, he looked at me directly in my eyes with a sly smirk on his face as he replied, “No, love, I don’t think you stink. On the contrary, I love the way you smell right now because you’re covered in my scent… I just didn’t think you’d want anyone else to smell it on you.”

    My eyes widened at this as I gasped in realization. 

    Oh f**k me, I completely forgot about that. I obviously can’t smell it on myself, but since I was an unmated and unmarked female, any male wolf would be able to smell the scent of another male on me, which means— 

    I groaned, my head falling in my hands. “Xander and Nathan are never gonna let me live this down. All the other packs are going to think I’m some easy slut!”

    Owen laughed before sitting up in bed, the sheets bunching up around his waist. Grabbing my wrists and removing them from my face, he planted soft kisses on the back of each hand before softly shushing me.

    “Raina, it’s okay,” he reassured. “There’s a special shampoo and bodywash in my shower you can use that will erase my scent from you completely.”

    I raised my brows at this, biting back a teasing smirk. “Why am I not surprised by this information?”

    He growled playfully before ordering, “Hurry up and get your ass in the shower before I decide to join you and really make us late for the meeting.”

    I yelped at this, quickly running to the bathroom and locking the door behind me. As I turned the water on and waited for the temperature to be just right, I took this time to remove the remnants of last night’s makeup. I studied my reflection in the mirror, taking in how swollen my lips looked from all the kisses Owen had showered me with last night. 

    There were love bites all over my body, but they were thankfully in places that could easily be hidden by clothes and would probably be healed by the end of the day today. I smirked slightly at this. Of course Owen was experienced enough to know exactly where to leave marks where no one else would be able to see them. The only people who would know they were there would be me and him—a silent way for him to stake his claim on my body. 

    Turning away from the mirror, I stepped into the shower and groaned quietly as the hot water ran down my body. I used the shampoo and bodywash that Owen had told me about to scrub every inch of my body and hair. After rinsing everything off, I did a second scrub down just to be extra sure his scent was off me. 

    Realizing Owen also needed time to shower and get ready, I turned the water off and stepped out, grabbing one of the white towels hanging there before patting myself dry. Grabbing a second towel and carefully wrapping my hair up, I walked over to his closet and pulled down a plain black T-Shirt that I was sure was regular sized on him, but on me, looked more like a dress. 

    I pulled it over my head, suddenly aware that I wasn’t wearing anything underneath since all my clean undergarments were still in my guest bedroom two floors down from here. I sighed, suddenly feeling anxious when I realized Amelia was now pacing agitatedly in my head. 

    “Amelia, what’s wrong?”

    “Something’s coming, Raina. I don’t know what it is, but I feel like something’s coming. We have to be prepared, we have to stay away from Owen.”

    I frowned slightly at this. It wasn’t like Amelia to be completely losing her cool like this, but something was off today. It sounded like she was unraveling. 

    “Amelia, Owen won’t hurt us. It’s okay.”

    “No, Raina! Something bad will happen if we keep seeing Owen. I don’t know what is, and I don’t know how I know…. but I feel it.”

    She was starting to scare me a little now. Owen obviously wasn’t the first guy I’d ever slept with, but she’d never reacted this way with any other guy before. And usually any premonitions or gut feelings she had about things ended up being right, which is why I usually completely trusted her without question. 

    But this time… What could possibly go wrong from me being involved with Owen that could have Amelia this worked up? Unless…

    “Amelia, is it our mate? Is he near? Are we going to meet our mate this week?”

    “…I don’t know… I don’t know what’s going to happen. But something is coming. Just be careful, Raina.”

    I shut my link with her, trying to calm the anxiety that was now raging inside of me. What was going to happen? Why would something bad happen if I kept seeing Owen? Would there be a threat that popped up this week that endangered all the other packs?

    “Raina, where are you? The meeting starts in less than 30 minutes, and you’re not in your room.”

    I jumped at the sudden intrusion of the mindlink, recoiling slightly at the realization that Xander must’ve been looking for me all morning. 

    “I’m getting ready right now, just finished showering. I’ll be down in a minute,” I replied to him, making haste to hang my towels up on the rack to dry and quickly running Owen’s brush and hairdryer through my hair. 

    “Oh, you’ll be coming down in a minute? Where ya coming down from?”

    I blushed in embarrassment as Nathan’s teasing voice entered my mind, groaning quietly at the realization that they both now knew I had spent the night with Owen last night. 

    “Shut up, I don’t wanna talk about it,” I shot back before shutting off the mindlink. 

    After my hair was only slightly damp, I left the bathroom, apologizing to Owen for taking so long. He stared at me, his eyes traveling up and down my body, before coming back to rest on mine. His eyes were darkened a few shades as they stared at me hungrily with lust. I rolled my eyes and held up a hand to stop any dirty thoughts he had going through his mind from progressing any further. 

    “Owen, we’re already running late, do not give me that look,” I ordered, glaring at him as if daring him to make a move. 

    “But how can I resist you when you look so good in—” 

    He cut off for a moment as his eyes flickered over to my forgotten dress and bra and panties strewn all over his bedroom floor. 

    He smirked, his eyes making its way back to me, almost completely dark with lust now, as he continued his previous statement in a husky voice, “—nothing but my shirt?”

    I flushed red in embarrassment, suddenly feeling exposed to him even though I was completely covered. 

    “Sorry, I’ll return the shirt when I can get changed into my own clothes downstairs. I didn’t have anything else up here,” I quietly mumbled in response. 

    He chuckled and walked towards me, about to grab me into his arms, but I smacked his arms away before he could reach me and sidestepped away from him. He raised his brow at me in curiosity, but I held firm in my resolve. 

    “Nuh uh,” I started, careful to keep my distance. “I had to use that shampoo and bodywash twice to be sure I could get rid of your scent. If you touch me or grab me or do anything that hints to anybody else about what happened last night, I’ll kill you.”

    He pouted slightly before sighing and agreeing. Finally, I shooed him into the shower so he could start getting ready for the day, while I took this time to grab my things, folding my bra and panties into my dress so no one could see them. Opening the door, I carefully peeked my head out and looked both ways down the hallway. 

    Owen shared this floor with Olivia, but I couldn’t sense her or anybody else on the floor, so I quickly made a run for it. I thanked the Goddess that I didn’t run into anybody the entire two flights of stairs, and before I knew it, I found myself back in the comfort of my own guest room. 

    I turned the light on and screamed loudly, startled by the figure that suddenly seemed to appear out of nowhere. I grabbed my chest as my heart beat wildly, threatening to bust from the confines of my rib cage. 

    “Nathan, I’m gonna kill you!” I snarled, getting ready to launch myself forward to punch him before I realized the precarious situation I was in being completely naked underneath Owen’s shirt. 

    Nathan only laughed at me, clearly taking amusement from my genuine fear a moment ago. 

    “Scared of a little ole Gamma? That’s not very Beta of you,” he teased. 

    “Shut up,” I murmured before going towards my dresser to grab a new, clean set of undergarments, “and get out. I have to change and hurry to the conference hall.”

    He raised a brow at me when I turned to look at him, a teasing smirk now on his face. 

    “Oh yeah? Whose shirt is that?” he asked, a knowing light in his eyes. 

    I flushed in embarrassment as he howled with laughter. 

    “You move fast, Sterling, but I guess if you know what you want, why wait, right?” he teased in between his fits of laughter. 

    “Ugh, shut up, it’s not like that!” I groaned in frustration. 

    After what felt like an eternity of him laughing at me and me yelling at him to shut up, he finally calmed down a bit. 

    After calming down completely, he stared at me in a calculating manner and asked, “Don’t tell me you actually have feelings for him, Raina?”

    I paused for a moment, staring at him in between my fingers from the hands that were covering my face in embarrassment. I pondered this notion for a bit before shaking my head. 

    “No, I’m not stupid enough to catch feelings that quickly for someone it could never work out with,” I responded. “I just… He’s really fun, and easy to talk to. And for a moment, it made me wonder if I were to meet my mate… I wouldn’t mind it all too much if things were the same way as they were with Owen.”

    Nathan stared at me in disbelief, his mouth slightly agape at what I had just said. 

    Bringing a hand up to run through his hair, which he only did when he was either stressed or overthinking about something, he said, “Goddess, Raina, are you sure you don’t have feelings for him? It sure sounds like it. I’ve never once heard you mention the mate bond in a positive manner.”

    I shook my head at this instantly, trying to clear away the confused thoughts in my head. 

    I was just so confused about it all! I knew I liked Owen, but I was confused as to how and why I could feel so strongly about someone I had just met! What was it about Owen Clearwaters that made me feel this way? Was he my mate, and I just didn’t realize it all along? Was this what the mate pull felt like, and I just had no clue?

    I instantly ruled that thought out because even Owen himself said he wished we were mates, which clearly means that he didn’t feel the mate pull for me either. And everyone always says that once you feel the mate pull—really feel it for real—you’ll know. 

    I groaned loudly in frustration before snapping, “I don’t have time for this! I need to get changed and get ready, the meeting starts in 10, and I don’t wanna be late! Now get out!”

    I shoved him out of the room and shut and locked the door behind him before sighing. I didn’t have time to think too hard about things since I was absolutely running late now. 

    I threw on the fresh black panties I had grabbed from my dresser earlier, and a matching black sports bra. Thankful that the meeting today was casual, I slid into a pair of black yoga pants, a loose fitting, off the shoulder white shirt, some socks, and the same pair of black Nike tennis shoes I had made the trip here in. 

    Running my hand through my now dry waves, I prayed that my hair looked presentable as I grabbed my phone and made my way towards the door. Throwing the door opened, I was slightly startled to see Owen standing there, his hand raised as if he were just about to knock on my door before I opened it. 

    I laughed at this, noticing he was now showered and clean and in a pair of dark wash jeans and white Henley shirt which had the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and the buttons at the collar all unbuttoned. 

    He flashed me a smile before saying in an almost shy tone, “I thought we could walk to the meeting together. You know, in case you got lost to the conference hall or something.”

    I chuckled again and nodded, grabbing him by the hand and leading him down the stairs. Once we reached outside, I let go of his hand and allowed him to lead the way. 

    The walk over was filled with easy conversation, and without even knowing he was doing it, he was alleviating a lot of the anxiety I was feeling about heading into this meeting. 

    At that moment, I wondered how anything bad could happen if I continued seeing Owen. I know it wasn’t something that could last forever, and I wasn’t trying to delude myself into thinking otherwise. But all I could think about was that in this precise moment, nothing else mattered, and I was perfectly content with this sweet little fling that would surely come to an end soon. 

    Before I knew it, we had reached the doors of the conference hall. I paused, suddenly nervous again, as my heart began beating erratically in my chest. He grabbed my hand and squeezed it, giving me one last reassuring smile, before letting go and nodding. 

    Giving one last sigh, I opened the door and headed inside.