Loving Luna - Emily

Chapter Two - Jennifer

Carl rushed to his quarters. His wolf was trying to take control and he was struggling to keep him at bay.

“Holy crap, what was that?” he wondered aloud. When Jeffery had approached him about an arranged marriage to form an alliance with a neighboring pack, he had shrugged it off and said yes. Not in a million years would he have expected her to be as beautiful as she was and not only that, she was his mate. His wolf definitely had the hots for her as he had screamed out ‘mate!’ when she had entered the room. His observation of her was more of him trying to control himself than anything else. Pure perfection, as far as he could see, and her blushed features gave him a raging hard-on. He noticed her bag was placed on his king-sized bed and he growled out as he sniffed the air. Her mouth-watering citrus scent had already coated his bedroom and he loved it.

“Satisfied?” came the voice in his head. It was Peter, mind-linking him.

“Hell yeah,” he answered. Peter laughed and Jeffery joined in on the conversation.

“So, she turns out to be your mate,” Jeffery remarked.

“What?” Peter shouted out.

“Unexpected but yeah, my wolf definitely recognizes her as my mate,” Carl said, thinking about how long he had been waiting to meet his mate and had given up about a year and a half ago. His phone beeped and he looked down, it was a message from his mother, asking if he could come to see her urgently. Worried, as she was sickly, he quickly excused himself from their teasing and rushed over to his mother’s house, greeting members of the pack as he did so.

“Mom?” he called out as he entered the small house.

“In here son,” she yelled out from the sitting room. He made his way to the living room and he could already pick up her scent. What was Jenny doing here? He wondered. Sure enough, he found the two of them sitting on the couch, enjoying a cup of tea.

“Mom, what’s going on?” His mother, Audrey, smiled innocently at him.

“Jennifer stopped by and I thought you may want to see her,” He looked over at Jenny and caught her giving him a weird look.

“What?”

“You smell different,” she replied and he shrugged, looking back at his mother.

“Mom, I told you that Jenny and I broke up. I’m getting married to Emily,”

“Who?” his mother asked, and he growled out in frustration.

“Omg, she’s your mate!” Jenny suddenly burst out. “No wonder you smell odd,” she added. Audrey made a ‘tsk’ sound and Jenny quickly got up and left.

“My son, you’ve chased away the only wolf you’ve ever loved. Now come sit and tell me who is Emily,” Carl growled again, he had been with her the whole day and all he wanted to do was go back home and be with Emily. His mother had called him here under false pretense and he didn’t appreciate it.

“Look, mom, I told you that Jeffery made an alliance with Night Drifters pack and that I am going to marry the eldest daughter of the alpha,”

“And she is Emily?”

“Yes, mom,”

“And she happens to be your mate?”

“Yes mom,” he rolled his eyes as he watched her process the information.

“Poor Jennifer,” she remarked softly. “You should’ve claimed her as your mate months ago,” Carl stood up, his wolf raging at her words.

“No mom!”

“My son, Jennifer is such a nice wolf and you two have been so good to each other after all these years,” Carl sat back down, listening to her. He had known Jenny since she was a pup and when she had transitioned and come of age, she had made it her mission to claim him. At first, he had dismissed her as he had been intent on finding his mate. Just a little under two years ago, he had given up and allowed Jenny into his heart. He loved her. He cared for her. The s*x was awesome. He had been planning on claiming her, but Jeffery had called him in and spoke to him of the alliance before he could make that move and he couldn’t refuse his Alpha. It was his duty. He had felt so guilty when he had broken things off with Jenny but the moment, he smelt her scent and knew she was his mate, Emily became his sole purpose. He wished Jenny the best and hoped that one day she’d find her mate.

“Mom, how can you argue about this?” he questioned her. His mother sipped from her tea and gave him a weak smile.

“My son, I was raised by wolves only to find out I was a half breed, when I met your father we fell in love just the way you and Jennifer did, she is the one for you, not this Emma girl,”

“Emily,” he corrected her.

“Whoever, all I’m trying to say to you is, don’t rush into this just because the gods have fated it, we make our own destinies,” Audrey gave him a look and he considered her words before answering.

“I appreciate the guidance and advice, but I owe it to myself and to Emily, to give this a fair shot. Please, mom, trust me on this,” he got up and went to her, kneeling in front of her, he took one of her hands in his. “I know it’s been hard for you to watch me struggle and look for my mate and only to be disappointed at not finding her, but she’s here now, I can’t turn away, I’m sorry,”

“I support your decisions, my son,” he smiled at his mother and got up to leave. “Oh, one more thing?” he turned to look at her. “Be careful,” she warned him.

“I’m always careful,” he winked at her and made a hasty exit before she dragged him back in. He wasn’t surprised to find Jenny waiting for him.

“So, she is the one huh?” She asked him. Carl gazed at her, she was one of the sexiest she-wolves he had ever had the pleasure of meeting and being with. She was small, petite with long golden blonde hair and the bluest eyes he had ever seen.

“Look, Jenny-” he started to say but she stopped him as she put her hand up.

“Whatever it is you think you need to say, don’t,” she came closer to him. “Just know that I love you, that I will always love you, and when Emily fails you, because she will, just remember that I will always be waiting for you,” Jenny quickly pressed her lips against his, kissing him softly before walking away. Carl stood frozen as he watched her leave. His wolf was quiet, but his heart was racing. He was still in love with Jenny and he didn’t know what to do about Emily. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he focused on giving Emily a chance, on giving himself a chance.

“Carl Kahn! Where the hell have you been?” Victoria yelled as she saw him entering the castle grounds. Carl groaned as he walked over to where she was sitting. Jane was playing with her dolls on the grass and he gave her a small wave as she looked over at him.

“I was at mothers,” at his words, Victoria’s expression softened.

“How is she?”

“All in all, she is doing alright,” he sat down next to her. “She wants me to create my own destiny,” he confided in her.

“Mmm, Jeffery told me that Emily is your mate,”

“Yeah, can you believe that? I’ve been searching for years and then boom, here she is,” Victoria smiled gently at him as she took his hand in hers.

“Carl, all you have to do is follow your own heart and your gut. Do what you feel is best for yourself, don’t think or worry about what your mother will say or how she will feel. Or any of us for that matter, the only one that can make you happy is yourself,” He grinned as he listened to her words. Victoria never ceased to amaze him at how caring, loving, and honest she was. Jeffery was a lucky wolf to have found his mate and the pack was truly blessed to have such a wonderful Luna.

“Thank you, Luna,” he whispered to her as he stood. “I owe it to myself, after so many years, to give Emily and I a chance at happiness,” she beamed up at him.

“I knew you would make the right choice, now go find her, I heard she was wandering around the castle,” she giggled, and Carl smirked as he imagined Emily lost. He bowed in respect and hurried into the castle, sniffing as he went along. When he found her in the library, he stood watching her as she gazed around the room.

“Hello, my little mate,” he called out to her. She spun around in surprise and smiled. Carl was once again taken aback by her raw beauty. He loved the fact that she didn’t flaunt it as Jenny did. “What are you doing here?”

“I was…well, honestly, I got lost and I found this amazing library,” he chuckled at her and enjoyed her honest persona.

“You like to read?”

“Sometimes, although I prefer painting,” this shocked him, he would never have thought she was an artist. Although as he stood looking her up and down, he knew she would be amazing in his bed underneath him.

“Emily, I know this is hard for you, moving to a new home, meeting me,” he paused as he watched her, she didn’t hide her emotions and he could see that she was nervous. “I’m not the big bad wolf and as we get to know each other you will see that for yourself,” she blushed and moved closer to him, her scent surrounding him and making him groan in response. She stopped as she tilted her head in question. “Your scent drives me nuts,” he explained, and she went even pinker.

“Oh, your scent, um…yeah makes me go crazy too,” she admitted. Carl had to taste her; he couldn’t wait any longer as he closed the distance between them. She gazed up at him as he gathered her against his chest.

“Emily, may I kiss you?” he asked the question and as her lips slightly parted, he took that as a yes and leaned down, softly pressing his lips against hers. His silent wolf began to howl in pleasure and Carl whimpered at the sheer pleasure of feeling her against him. She responded as she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer to her as the kiss deepened. His senses where all over the place as he devoured her sumptuous mouth. Her taste alone nearly undid him. Carl had to force himself to break the magic as he breathed hard. His heart was pounding as he continued to hold her against him.

“Is it always like this?” she whispered, and he chuckled. In all his years, he had never felt anything like that before. He had no idea if it was always like that, but he wouldn’t admit that to her.

“Between us, yes,” was the answer he decided to give her. He was rewarded with her gorgeous smile and he gently released her.

“Are you a virgin?” he suddenly asked her. She blushed deeply and he wished he could take back the unnecessary question.

“Yes,” she answered simply, and once again her truthfulness took him by surprise.

“Here you are! I’ve been searching everywhere for you,” Carl and Emily turned to see Jenny watching them.

“Me?” he asked.

“For me?” Emily questioned and Jenny giggled as she came towards them.

“For you, silly,” she grabbed Emily’s hand and looked at Carl. “Sorry but I have to steal her away for a while, duties and all that,” He stood back, putting up his hands.

“Go ahead,”

“Um…” Emily started as she looked at him and he smiled at her.

“It’s alright, I’ll catch up with you later,” he quickly kissed her cheek, making her blush again, and left the room, making his way to Jeffery’s office. Happy to find the room empty, he closed the door behind him and went over to the couch. Throwing himself down, he moaned as he thought about what he was going to do. It didn’t help that every time he was around Jenny, she made his blood boil with lust. Then his mind drifted over to Emily and his heart sang. Lust wasn’t what he needed nor wanted. He had always wanted to find his mate, and now she was here, and she deserved his whole heart, body, mind, and soul. Carl wasn’t sure what Jenny had meant by ‘duties and all that’ but he could only hope that she would take care of his mate. He realized that he would have to tell Emily about Jenny as soon as possible. He didn’t want her to find out from someone else and get the wrong idea. He thought about his mother’s advice and then Victoria’s. He had meant what he had said. He was going to give this a chance.

“Carl?” he looked up to see Jeffery standing over him, questioning him silently.

“Sorry Alpha, I needed some alone time to think things through,” Jeffery nodded in understanding and went over to his desk.

“If you are unsure in any way about Emily, then please let me know so that I can make alternative arrangements,” Carl was shocked at this and stood up.

“What do you mean?”

“Carl, I know you and Jenny have had a thing for a while,” he gave Carl a pointed look, to which he blushed. “But I would never have approached you about a marriage alliance if I thought she was good for you,”

“What are you saying?”

“Don’t get me wrong, Jenny is a nice enough she-wolf, but she isn’t the one for you and you know it,”

“But-”

“But nothing. s*x isn’t everything. I am all male and have desires of my own but trust me when I tell you that letting Jenny go was the best thing for you,” Carl felt the anger building up as he began to pace the room. “Carl, you and I are like brothers, I know you and I know you’ve been waiting and searching your whole life for your mate. Do you remember when I met Victoria?”

“Yeah,”

“Then you know that you don’t want to mess this up,” Jeffery stood and came over to him. “You saw first-hand what having a mate does to a wolf, you want that, I know you do. Don’t let your history with Jenny interfere with your future,”

“I know, it’s just-”

“No, Carl, stop. Just stop overthinking it. Emily is wonderful, even I can see that.” Jeffery looked at him seriously. “Do not hurt her just because you can’t see what is right in front of you,” Carl nodded in understanding. He didn't want to hurt Emily. He didn't want to hurt Jenny, either. Carl knew he had to follow his gut.

"You don't need to make any alternative arrangements, I will marry Emily and I will make her happy," Jeffery considered his words and then seeming satisfied he smiled.

"Good,"