Captive Luna

Chit Chatty

    Daniel awoke, his alarm blaring. He reached over to his phone and hit the snooze. He knew he would be late for training, but this time he didn’t quite care. He had gone out last night, to a new bar. It was further into the human town than the normal one he frequented. He had met this girl, who he was pretty certain was his mate. Her name was Sandra and boy, was she a knockout. He spent a good amount of time chatting with her, but she abruptly left. He didn’t know where she went, or why, though he was pretty inebriated having drunk a lot of wolfsbane. All he knew was that he needed to find her.

              He rolled over only to be met with a head full of hair. A mop of curls. Definitely wasn’t his, and definitely wasn’t his mate’s. The hair moaned a soft moan. She rolled over; he anticipated her face.

              “Captain,” she mumbled, eyes closed. This was not his Sandra. He groaned inwardly. How did he let this happen?

              Slowly, he rolled out of bed, getting dressed and figuring out which was the best way to get this random female out of his bed. She turned to face him, eyes wide awake.

              “Hey Cap,” she breathed, smiling.

              “Um, hi.” He mumbled. s**t. What in the world happened last night?

              “Is that how you say good morning to your mate?” she grinned.

              A very confused Daniel looked around for his shirt. She wasn’t Sandra. Where did Sandra go?

              “You aren’t my mate,” he said firmly. “Where did Sandra go?”

              The woman sighed.

              “Last I saw, she left abruptly,” she said, rolling over in his bed to face him. “We met, got hot and heavy, and found her. We brought her here. We thought she left again. You and I did the nasty and last I saw her, she was under the bed, Captain.”

              His eyes widened. f**k, f**k, f**k!

You i***t! His wolf, Arctic, yelled.

              Daniel scrambled to his knees, peering under his bed.

              “Dan, I – “Bailey said, pushing Daniel’s door open. “Oh.”

              The she-wolf in Daniel’s bed pulled his sheets up to her chest.

              “Um, whatcha doing Daniel?” He asked him, eyes darting from Daniel to the she-wolf.

              “Hi,” she said, holding her hand out tentatively. “I’m Bernadette. Looks like your friend is looking for who he believes to be his mate called Sandra."

              Bailey held back his laughter, the pinkness traveling up his neck. Seeing a half-naked she-wolf introducing herself as if it was the most normal thing in the world... The situation at hand was definitely amusing, to say the least.

              “Hi Bernadette, my name is Bailey.” He laughed finally as he shook her hand. He peered down to the hilarious view of Daniel on his hands and knees, still searching under his bed for Sandra.

              “Dude, Sandra’s not there,” he guffawed. Despite getting dumped, this whole situation lifted his spirits. His best friend found his mate, somehow ended up in bed with another she-wolf instead, and is now looking under said bed for his mate, as if it were an entire world under there, for Goddess's sake. This made for great comedy television!

              Daniel swore under his breath as he ungracefully got to his feet nearly falling face-first into the bed as he rose. He took one last long look at the floor under his bed. Why had she hidden? How did he end up in bed with Bernadette?

              “How did we end up here?” Daniel asked her as he rubbed his face.

              “Well, you and I had much to drink. Sandra was watching you as you drank. I flirted with you, while she watched. She disappeared for a little bit, but you insisted you look for her, so you did,” she explained as her eyes darted around the room. They finally came to a rest when she saw her clothes in a heap on Daniel’s floor. “Could I maybe get dressed before continuing the Spanish Inquisition?”

              Bailey stooped and gathered her clothes, dumping them on the foot of the bed.

              “Come downstairs when you’re ready, we’ll make some coffee,” Daniel told her as he and Bailey headed for the door.

              They made their way downstairs. Daniel’s place was small but he had furnished it very modernly. Sleek black furniture against pure white walls, the kitchen was open concept, and very much the same. Daniel grabbed the electric kettle and began to boil water. He grabbed the coffee to put some into his coffee press. Luckily it was a bigger coffee press, so there would be enough for the three of them.

              “She broke up with me,” Bailey said suddenly. He couldn’t keep it in anymore. “We had spent the night in the meadow, I asked her if I could mark her again, then she felt pain suddenly. I rushed home and got Dr. Brennan to come.”

              “Oh, what the f**k?” Daniel said, surprised eyes wide with surprise. He knew that Claude liked Bailey a lot, she seemed to like it anyway.

              “I thought she was having a heart attack, but Dr. Brennan said that it was because her ex-mate didn’t accept her rejection, so the pain she felt meant that he was having… relations… with another wolf.”

              “Oh, what the f**k?” Daniel repeated, this time more loudly. He had never heard of mates needing to accept a rejection before, though rejections were few and far between. He had just assumed one didn’t have to accept a rejection since once a wolf feels like they don’t want their mate, there wasn’t much the unwanted mate could do about it. This was new.

              “Right?” Bailey responded. “Apparently if mates are equal or one is of a higher rank, the higher ranked wolf must accept it. So, Dr. Brennan said that the only way for this to stop happening is if I mark her.”

              “Wait,” Daniel said, c*****g his head to the side. “If she felt her ex-mate, then that means surely, he feels when you and Claude have s*x, right?”

              Bailey nodded slowly.

              “This is straight Twilight Zone s**t,” Daniel exclaimed. “Or maybe Twilight the movie shit.”

              Bailey’s mouth pulled into a small smile.

              “Dude, our lives are way different than Twilight. Jacob Black has nothing on us!” he declared, laughing. “But yeah, she broke up with me,” he added sullenly.

              “I’m sorry to hear that man,” Daniel said quietly.

              “She said she just needs some time to absorb it.” He sighed. “Anyway, mate. You found yours. What’s the deal with that? And how did Bernadette end up in your bed on the same night you found your mate? Shouldn’t that be your mate upstairs instead of her?”

              “You’d think,” Daniel rolled his eyes. “If Sandra saw us then she definitely is rejecting me. Let’s just hope she’s an equal of mine so I have to accept it!”

              “True,” Bailey replied.

              Bernadette appeared at the foot of the stairs. Because of the open concept, Daniel and Bailey needed only to look toward the stairs to see her through the entire room. She made her way to the kitchen where the two men stood.

              “So,” she began, taking one of the coffee mugs from the counter. She went to the fridge to get some milk and reached into one of the cabinets to grab the sugar. The men eyed her questioningly. She was making her way around his kitchen as if she was mated to him on an official level and had been for a while.

              “Milk and sugar are in the fridge and the cupboard,” Daniel said dryly, trying not to laugh after she successfully retrieved her condiments. She rolled her eyes at him.

              “So,” she continued, glaring at Daniel. She mixed her milk, sugar, and coffee. “Sandra is your mate, huh? I actually know her.”

              She took a small sip of her coffee, eyes wide but downcast.

              “What?” Daniel spat his coffee out onto the counter. “You know her?”

   Bailey wiped the remnants of Daniel's coffee from his shirt. Thankfully he chose a black t-shirt today.

              “Yes,” Bernadette continued, sipping her coffee.

              “How?” Bailey asked her as he sipped his own.

              “She is actually my best friend,” Bernadette confessed as she put her coffee mug down carefully on the counter.

              Daniel, eyes wide, set his own down on the counter and made his way around the kitchen island to face her.

              “So, if she’s your bestie, why would you end up in bed with me?” He questioned her harshly.

              “You don’t get to do that to me,” she countered, irritated. “I didn’t know you were her mate. I literally was flirting with you all night. If I knew you were, I wouldn’t have continued! And you disappeared for a bit at the same time she did, which means you found each other. You’re the asshole who came back to me, flirting, and took us home with you!”

              “Okay,” Daniel retorted defensively. “Yeah, I f****d up, but I don’t know what the hell was in those drinks! I can’t remember half of what happened. Can you find her?”

              “Fine, call it a drunken mistake,” Bernadette fumed. “Goddess knows I will,” she added, more to herself.

              “Can you find her?” Daniel repeated loudly.

              “I think she can hear you, bro,” Bailey snickered.

              “I can try,” she responded glaring at Daniel while picking up her coffee. She paused before she pulled out her phone to contact Sandra. She sighed.

              “Isn’t it easier to just mind-link her?” Daniel said, exasperated.

              “No s**t, Sherlock,” she mumbled as she typed out a text to her. “I just tried, and she’s blocked me.”

              “f*****g s**t,” Daniel muttered. “Okay, just text me when you find her.”

              He took her phone and typed his number in. He handed it back to her. They sipped their respective coffees quietly for a few moments.

              “I’m sorry,” Daniel said suddenly. “I normally don’t treat women like this. I usually treat them to breakfast the morning after. But I’m sure you understand.”

              “Completely,” she responded, a smile forming on her face. “I normally don’t sleep with mated men, especially if they are the mate of my friends or family.”

              She held out her hand to Daniel for a handshake. He took her hand and shook it firmly.

              “It was nice meeting you,” he said, smiling genuinely, feeling the warmth of her hand in his.

              “Likewise, though I wish it were under different circumstances,” she responded, letting go of his warm hand and walked to his door. She smiled as she let herself out.

              Daniel rubbed his face aggressively as he plopped down on his sofa. Bailey sighed, and followed, lost in his own thoughts. The men were failing hard with their mates. Though Bailey thought for sure there was something with Claude. Daniel pretty much screwed himself with his mate.

              “You’ll have to bring her dinner for a while,” Bailey finally said, getting up. “She doesn’t want to see me.”

              “Got you, man,” Daniel sighed, seeing Bailey to his door. “I’ll try talking to her.”

              “Please,” Bailey said as he walked out. “I’d appreciate that. Let me know when Bernadette finds Sandra.”

              Daniel nodded as Bailey headed down his driveway. He pulled out his phone as he shut the door. He typed in a text to Bernadette and almost immediately she responded.

Dan: Have you heard back from her yet?

Bernadette: No, not yet. She’s still blocking me. I’m headed to her house to see if she’s there. I’ll let you know.

Dan: Okay, thanks. And again, I’m so sorry.

Bernadette: No need to apologise. We’re good.

Daniel paused before texting again.

Dan: So… do you remember everything?

Bernadette: ??

              He sighed.

Dan: Forget it, lol.

              He went to the kitchen to clean the mugs and the coffee press they had used. He heard the audible ping of his phone.

Bernadette: If you mean, were you good? Yes. Yes, you were. Extremely good.  Probably the best I ever had, if I’m honest. Sandra is a lucky girl.

              Dan laughed as he pumped his fist in the air. He never really had feedback from his… performances before. Something about Bernadette made him feel comfortable, though.

Dan: Is it bad that I wished I remembered our night together?

              A few minutes passed and he put his phone away. Bernadette probably wasn’t going to respond to that. He was mated after all, even though he only got to chat with Sandra for a little while. He had felt the pull to Sandra last night and loved chatting with her. He liked the way her voice sounded, but he didn’t understand how if they were mates that he would go and sleep with her. He was confused. Unless Sandra wasn’t actually his mate.

              He racked his brain trying to remember if he had touched Bernadette. He didn’t recall touching her at all, surely if he felt the sparks, he’d remember it, though maybe it was the wolfsbane he had been drinking. Since regular alcoholic drinks hard affected wolves, wolfsbane was considered a narcotic that was only purchased at bars to be added to regular alcoholic drinks. It didn’t take much for it to show its effects on any wolf, though one shot was more than enough to get a good buzz going. Too many, and a wolf would be knocked on their ass so quick it would make their head spin.

              He could only recall drinking a few drinks with the teaspoon full added, as a full shot glass straight could very well render a wolf near death. But the sparks, would he be able to feel them drinking as much as he did? But when he saw Sandra, his wolf recognised her as his mate, though he didn’t touch her. They only chatted a little before they went back and he talked to Bernadette, then she disappeared.

Ping!

Bernadette: I wish you did.

              He had his read receipts on, so she saw he had read it.

              Bernadette sighed as she stepped into her shower, thoughts of Daniel in her mind. She didn’t understand why he thought Sandra was his mate. She felt the warmness on his hands, which was pleasant. Was the warmth different from sparks? She had never met her mate, but she had never experienced the delicious warmth of his touch. Perhaps it wasn’t sparks but just a warmth that occurred between two wolves?

              She remembered everything about that night. She was flirting with him prior to Sandra disappearing, and he did too for a little bit. They both came back, smiling and laughing. But he came back to her to dance while Sandra was right there. That had to mean something. Didn’t it?