From Beta to Luna

Chapter 4 — The Unexpected Request

    “So what do you think of all this?” Nathan asked me, laying on my bed in the guest room and following my movement with his eyes as he bit into his apple. 

    I sighed softly as I finished folding and putting the rest of my clothes away in the dresser. Although we’d only be here for a week and a half, I was always taught to unpack my things if I were spending more than a day in any place, and it just became a habit not long after. 

    “Olivia is f*****g beautiful,” I finally responded, which caused him to laugh. 

    “Jealous?” he teased with a smirk. 

    I laughed in return and shook my head, denying his statement even though it was a little true. She was a f*****g goddess, after all, how could any girl not be a little jealous around her? 

    “She’ll be a good Luna to us. Xander’s been waiting for her for years, and to think she was right under his nose this entire time,” I said with a slight chuckle. 

    It made sense why Xander hadn’t realized it sooner despite having known Olivia for years. Olivia was the same age as me, meaning she unlocked the ability to feel the mate pull last year, but since she had been living with her grandparents the last few years to help look after them and care for them, she and Xander never had the chance to realize it since you’d only know for sure who your mate was after making eye contact with them. I smiled softly to myself at the thought of Xander finally finding his mate. I was so happy for him, I know how badly he’d been wanting to find her, and if anybody in the world deserved happiness, it’d definitely be him. 

    “What’s really going through your mind right now?” Nathan asked in a concerned tone, raising his brow at me as if daring me to lie to him. 

    Damn him. Sometimes I hated how easily he could read me. 

    “It’s just…” I trailed off for a moment, trying to carefully choose my next words so I wouldn’t sound crazy. “I don’t know, Nathan. What if… what if he gets so caught up in his love for her that he forgets about me? I know it’s crazy and stupid and insecure of me to say that, but you and Xander— you guys are all I have left. If I lost either of you, I don’t know what I’d do. And I know she’s his mate and my future Luna, and I have no animosity towards her or anything, but I just— I don’t know, okay, I just don’t know. I don’t know what I’m feeling right now.”

    Nathan stared at me for a moment before bursting out in laughter. I scowled at him for laughing at me even though I knew how irrational I was being.

    After a moment, Nathan calmed himself before expertly tossing his apple core into the trash can in the corner of the room behind me. He stood up from his comfortable position and walked towards me, placing his hands on my shoulders when he reached me. 

    “Listen, Raina,” he began with a sincere look on his face, “you don’t ever have to worry about Xander forgetting about you. He loves you, okay? And he trusts you more than anybody else in the pack. You’re just as much family to him as he is to you. Neither of us are going anywhere, mate or no mate. You never have to worry about either of us leaving you.”

    I smiled weakly at him as I let his words sink in. Placing my hand over his left hand, I leaned my head to the side and rested my cheek against our hands. I know deep down what he was saying was true, but I also know what I said was just as true— he and Xander really were the only ones I had left. I mean sure, I have the whole pack that I consider family as well, but it wasn’t the same. Xander and Nathan were the only two people in the world whose opinions I valued the most, and if I lost either of them, I really don’t know what I’d do. 

    “You’re right,” I finally agreed, choosing to push the negative thoughts out of my mind. “You’re absolutely right.”

    “Now then, let’s talk about something else. For instance… how f*****g insane is it that I was right?” he asked with a mischievous light entering his eyes. 

    My brows furrowed in confusion as I straightened from our position and leaned back to rest against the dresser. 

    Crossing my arms across my chest, I shot him a quizzical look. “Right about what, exactly?”

    “Xander found his mate this week!” he exclaimed excitedly, his face beaming with a smile as if he were a child who just woke up on Christmas morning. “Now how insane would it be if you also happened to find your mate this week?”

    My eyes widened at him as my hand instantly shot out and smacked on the back of the head. 

    “Don’t you dare put that bad juju on me, you jerk!” I cried with a pout. 

    He laughed as he grabbed me by the wrist to stop me from assaulting him further. I stilled my attacks while staring at him with a curious look, confused by his sudden serious facial expression. 

    “You never answered my question, by the way,” he stated quietly, which only further confused me. 

    “What question?” I asked as I pulled my wrist from his grasp. 

    “Is Owen Clearwaters your mate?” 

    I scoffed loudly, my scoff soon swallowed by my uncontrollable laughter. I flicked him on the forehead, which caused him to yelp in surprise and scowl at me. 

    “I’m serious! Is he your mate or not?” he cried indignantly, rubbing his forehead with his hand. 

    Rolling my eyes with another small chuckle, I responded, “No, Nathan, Owen isn’t my mate, calm down. I just think he’s extremely hot and was contemplating if I wanted to jump his bones now, or later.”

    “Well, I’m certainly glad the attraction isn’t completely one sided.”

    The sudden intrusion of the deep voice startled me as I looked to the door. My surprise quickly gave way to overwhelming embarrassment when I saw Owen leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed, a playful smirk on his stupidly gorgeous face. I felt the warm blush instantly flood my neck and face, as I brought my hands up to my cheeks to try and cover my shame. 

    I was mortified. I can’t believe Owen heard me say that out loud. 

    “Owen, I— I—” I stammered, unsure of what I could possibly say to alleviate the awkwardness I’d managed to land myself in. 

    Owen roared with laughter, and I hated how I instantly noticed how perfect his teeth were and the cute way his eyes crinkled while laughing. I wanted to mentally slap myself. I had to get these thoughts out of my head. This was not only the future Alpha of one of our strongest allies, but also the brother of my new Luna, and therefore, the brother-in-law of my own Alpha. I could not cross that line with him. 

    Despite all this, I couldn’t help the overwhelming, purely physical attraction I felt towards him. He was smoking hot, and all I could picture was what it would feel like to have his full lips against mine while my hands tangled in his thick auburn hair. I inwardly groaned. 

    Maybe I’m just feeling this way because I hadn’t been laid in awhile. Maybe if I just find someone else to hook up with, I’d stop having these thoughts about Owen, who I had already mentally marked as off limits the moment I found out he was my new Luna’s brother. 

    “It’s ok, Raina,” Owen reassured when his laughter finally died down, “I’ll take it as a compliment that you find me that attractive. If it makes you feel any better… the feeling is definitely mutual.”

    That mischievous glint in his eyes was back as his signature smirk donned his lips once more. I couldn’t help but to chew my lower lip nervously, as my heart beat wildly in my chest. Okay, so maybe it was a bit of an ego boost to hear someone as hot as him admit that they’d also bang me if given the chance, what can you do, right?

    “Ew, gross!” Nathan cried, his hands flying up to cover his ears. “That’s my little sister you’re talking about, dude, I do not want to be here while you guys are eye f*****g each other from across the room!” 

    I gasped as I immediately launched myself forward to punch him, but he expected I’d retaliate, so he quickly sidestepped away from me and swiftly ran past Owen and out of the room, his laughter trailing behind him down the hall. I wanted to scream for him to come back, to please not leave me alone with Owen because I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to control myself from actually jumping his bones. 

    Goddess, Raina, pull yourself together! Go get laid already so you can stop these impure thoughts!

    “I’m going to strangle him when I get my hands on him next,” I muttered, averting my gaze away from Owen’s smoldering stare. 

    “So, did I hear Nathan correctly a moment ago?” Owen asked me, forcing me to look back at his dumb, hot face. 

    “What do you mean?” I questioned, not entirely sure what all he heard before he suddenly interrupted mine and Nathan’s earlier conversation. 

    “You haven’t found your mate yet?” 

    My brows knit in confusion. Why would he be wondering whether I’d found my mate or not? I wasn’t marked, which clearly indicates that I don’t have a mate, so why would he suddenly be asking that now?

    “No, I haven’t,” I finally responded, silently wondering where this conversation was leading. 

    “Good, that makes this easier then. Let me take you on a date, maybe tomorrow night before all the other packs arrive and we have to get started on official pack business?” he asked, his dark brow raised as if to emphasize his question. 

    My eyes widened in surprise. Of all the possible things I had expected to come out of his mouth, that wasn’t one of them. A date? Is he crazy? We’re here on official pack business, and I’ve been mentally preparing myself for the hell that's about to come from having to fight for my right to be accepted at the Alpha and Beta’s metaphorical table, and this dude wanted to take me out on a date?

    “Before you ask, I don’t have a mate yet either,” he interjected my mental babble with an easy smile, “but I’m not like Nathan. I don’t believe in saving myself just for my mate, whoever she may be. She’ll come in my life whenever the Moon Goddess decides it’s the right time, and I’ll be loyal and faithful to only her when that time comes, but I’m young and single right now, so I think I should be able to have fun until I get tied down with the love of my life, don’t you agree?”

    I laughed at this. If Nathan were here right now, I’m sure he’d be having an aneurysm at Owen’s words. That was the one thing he and I never agreed on. Nathan believed that you should save yourself for the one person made specifically for you, while I shared the same sentiments as Owen. To be fair, I didn’t even want a mate to begin with, but that doesn’t mean I’m not a girl with needs, too. 

    “Why would you even want to take me on a date anyways, we just met,” I retorted, completely ignoring his question he had thrown at me. “And besides, nothing can happen between us. You’re my Luna’s brother, and my Alpha’s future brother-in-law.”

    “Oh please, Raina, we’re both consenting adults,” Owen replied with a roll of his eyes. “Olivia and Xander wouldn’t care, and even if they did, why should we care that they care? As for why I’d wanna take you out… I find you extremely attractive, and not just because of your looks, but because I think you’re a total badass for being the first female Beta ever. Who wouldn’t wanna take you out?”

    I blushed at the bluntness of his words but didn’t say anything as he continued speaking, “I wasn’t going to say or do anything since I wasn’t sure if you had a mate or even felt the same way, and I didn’t want to make you feel weird about it, but clearly from your earlier conversation, neither case is true. So c’mon, just agree to go on a date with me already!”

    I pondered his request for a moment, going through the possible consequences I would face—of how Xander would potentially react—if I got caught sleeping with the Crystal Moon’s future Alpha.

    Well, that’d be one way of strengthening ties between our packs, that’s for sure.

    I mentally laughed at my own joke before shaking my head slightly and looking up at him. Just a date wouldn’t hurt right? As long as I didn’t actually sleep with him and cross that line? If it was just going out to dinner or something with him, I could just chalk it up to getting to know the future Alpha of our strongest ally pack better if anyone ever found out and asked. 

    “Okay, fine,” I finally responded after making my decision, “but just the date. I’m definitely not gonna be sleeping with you after.”

    He smirked at me again, that mischievous glint dancing even brighter in his dark hazel eyes, which only made my heart beat even wilder in my chest. 

    “Ehhh, we’ll cross that bridge when we get there. I’ve been told that I’m extremely charming, are you sure you’d be able to resist once you’re out with me?” he lightly teased. 

    I rolled my eyes at his words and bit back the smile that was threatening to show how much I was enjoying our banter.

    “Owen Clearwaters, you’re crazy if you think you’re the only one who can be charming,” I light heartedly countered. “The question is, would you be able to resist me once we’re out?”

    His eyes suddenly darkened a few shades, causing my breath to hitch at the realization that he wasn’t joking earlier. He was actually interested in, and attracted, to me, his eyes a clear indicator that he’d 100% be down to do the deed right here, right now if I just said the word. 

    His smirk made its way back onto his lips as he studied my face with an amused expression on his own face.

    “Oh, don’t worry, I already know the answer to that question is no,” he responded with a sly smile. “I 100% would not be able to resist you. If you look this good after a 3 hour road trip and pajamas, I can’t imagine what you’d look like all dressed up for a date.”

    He laughed again when I just stood there, a witty response completely escaping me at that moment. 

    He took this time to straighten himself from the door frame and give me one last lingering look before saying, “Alright, Beta Raina, it’s a date. Tomorrow night at 7, I’ll take you to my favorite restaurant in town. Wear something red, it’s my favorite color.”

    The blush on my face intensified as he winked at me before turning on his heel to leave the room. I brought my hands back up to my face, cupping my burning cheeks and contemplating every life choice I’d ever made that led me to this moment. 

    Did that really just happen? Did I really just agree to go on a date with Xander’s future brother-in-law just hours after meeting the guy? Have I been going through such a dry spell that I was that desperate to finally get laid again?

    Moving my hands away from my face, I sighed as I walked towards the door to shut and lock it before turning off the bedroom light and making my way back towards the bed. Getting in under the covers, I made myself comfortable but couldn’t fall asleep right away as the events that just transpired kept replaying over and over in my mind. 

    Maybe I should cancel. Maybe I should just wake up first thing in the morning and go and tell Owen that it was all a big mistake, and there was no way I could do this and risk embarrassing Xander and the pack if I got caught messing around with our ally pack’s future Alpha. Despite all the thoughts swirling around in my mind, I couldn’t deny that a tiny part of me was actually excited for the date. 

    Even though I had just met Owen, there was something about him that made me feel at ease. He reminded me of a mixture between Nathan and Xander. The cool, easy going attitude of Nathan, and the strong, Alpha energy of Xander. The physical attraction was definitely there because Goddess was that man fine as hell, but I also realized that I just genuinely enjoyed talking to him. It was so easy to talk to him from the get go, and not to mention that he fully accepted me as my pack’s Beta, not even questioning if I were fit to help run the pack, which was an obvious plus. It had been awhile since I felt this kind of attraction to anybody, and it was a little refreshing. 

    I smiled to myself as I closed my eyes trying to will myself to fall asleep. I guess this was happening. Tomorrow night at 7, I’d be on a date with the Crystal Moon Pack’s future Alpha and Xander’s future brother-in-law. 

    Goddess, I just hoped this wouldn’t come back and bite me in the ass later.