Gypsy Moon

Chapter Two: Aiden

. . . . . . (late June)

"LUNA MARIE!" Gigi's voice made everyone freeze in reflex.

I closed my eyes before I could roll them while Rhys howled with laughter in the back of my mind. Rhys fücking LOVED Gigi. She never really got over being the one who found me in the woods when I was six, and she couldn't seem to process that I wasn't the skinny little wisp she fretted over for a week anymore, so she still acted like I was four-two and forty-five pounds, not six-four and a pillar of solid muscle. Rhys thought it was hilarious that Gigi treated me like I was just a puppy still and was always at full attention whenever she was around. Marie looked like a deer in headlights as Gigi approached and pointed at me.

"What did you just say to my precious Sunbeam?" I could feel Rhys rolling in my mind, wheezing with laughter while Marie bit her lip and fought to keep a straight face. The whole pack almost dies every time she calls me that. I smothered my own chuckle and swallowed hard to keep my face blank before turning towards Gigi.

"She just got back from the movies; I think it was supposed to be a compliment."

"How is that possibly a compliment, Sunbeam?" She snapped. I had to get on one knee to be level with her as she put her hands on her hips and glared at Marie, who was turning pink from holding in her laughter.

"Well, I'm pretty sure they saw a spicy movie, Gigi, full of obnoxiously attractive humans. I think Luna Marie might not be thinking as clearly as she should after such a display, if she thinks I could compete with the likes of those actors." I fixed my face in a pout and gave her the best puppy eyes I could, like I didn't know I also fell in the category of 'obnoxiously attractive'. I could probably get away with murder with that face.

It worked, Gigi forgot about Luna Marie, who winked and mouthed a thank you while I let myself be led away by Gigi, who was patting my hand and rambling about how no human could possibly be better in any way than her precious sunbeam. I smiled and nodded like I was listening. I've used this tactic to either get out of trouble or score fresh cookies many times since I was six. It's not like I hadn't heard it all before.

/:Oh man, I wish Gigi could be our mate.:/ Rhys's amusement was palpable, and I chuckled, shifting my gaze to the pocket-sized she-wolf fondly.

/:We would get so fat.:/ We smiled together as the jar of cookies was offered the moment that we made it to Gigi's desk.

/:Worth it.:/ He sighed as I put an entire cookie in my mouth, snagging a second one before the jar moved away. I used my overly full mouth as an excuse to mutter something unintelligible to Gigi and bow out of her office when her nurse brought a chart for her to look at.

I spotted Derek on the training grounds with a group of younger wolves and started to jog over to him, ready to tease him about his mate going to see a trashy movie when Rhys spoke up again.

/:Maybe you should.:/

/:Should what?:/

/:Be a stripper.:/ I choked on the second cookie and stumbled, earning a raised eyebrow from Derek.

/:What? Why should I do that?:/ I could feel Rhys thinking to himself for a few moments and I slowed to a stop next to Derek. He kept his eyebrows raised in question but waited for me to speak first.

"Your mate is in trouble, bro." I grinned at him while he sighed in mock defeat.

"What did she do this time?"

"She didn't even mean to; she and the girls went out and watched that stripper guy movie and she told me I should be a stripper as a joke but forgot to do a Gigi check first." He laughed and tossed his towel on a bench.

"Keep practicing, I'm seeing good improvement." The younger wolves all bowed to him in response as he turned away. "What did you say to save my mate from her fatal blunder?"

"I told Gigi that our Luna was clearly delusional if she thought I could compare myself to such bastions of manliness." Derek snorted.

"Says the Viking god. And then you went and got cookies."

"Hey, any excuse for cookies?"

"You're going to get fat." I laughed and pushed him towards the packhouse.

"That's what I'm waiting for. Go take care of your mate, I'm sure she'll be receptive, if you know what I mean." I winked and he tossed back a knowing smirk.

I watched him jog towards the packhouse and I stretched, lazily sniffing the warm summer air. I could pick up the scents of several pack members on patrol, exactly where they should be. I focused my hearing until I could hear their quiet footfalls, calm and steady, nothing out of the ordinary. I stood perfectly still for several moments, my head tilted back slightly, eyes closed, enjoying the scents and sounds of the forest as they floated towards me with the breeze.

I felt Rhys perk up in my mind as I pulled off my shirt and gave him control of our body. He wasted no time shifting to our wolf form, somehow managing to kick our shorts off before they were destroyed, and we sighed together in contentment as the sun washed over our pale fur.

Even my wolf was considered 'pretty' amongst wolves. He was obviously an alpha wolf in size, but sporting long, silky metallic fur the color of golden desert sand, that faded slightly over our muzzle and legs. Derek pointed out that my fur was the same color scheme of a white chocolate macadamia cookie, which seemed fitting since those are my favorite. Unfortunately, a giant, golden blonde wolf is really easy to spot in a dark green forest, so I was effectively useless for anything stealthy. So, what do we do? We flaunt it, of course.

Rhys took off into the woods with his head high, tail wagging like a big white banner behind us. I settled back in the back of our minds as he roamed, following scents as he came across them as we headed to the pack's territory line. Only another werewolf should be able to find this invisible line, marked with scents normally, but Rhys likes to show off how big we are by clawing the trees as well. In the two and a half years we've been together, I'm pretty sure he's clawed almost every tree on the borderline. You could almost say it was Rhys's hobby. I wasn't paying attention today, so I was a little surprised when he flopped down in the middle of a clover filled clearing instead.

I definitely wasn't expecting his wistful sigh, but he spoke to me before I could even question him.

/:Do you think we could find our mate that way?:/ His voice had a sudden longing I had never heard from him before.

/:As a male stripper? Hey, man. You tell me all the time, 'the Goddess will bring us our mate when she feels it's right'. We're only eighteen.:/

/:And a half.:/

/:Man, you say that like we're old.:/ He just sighed in response. I wasn't used to him acting like that. Until that moment, he'd acted as if finding our mate was the absolute last thing he was worried about. But the loneliness in his heart echoed my own. The Moon Goddess sure was making us wait, and I had to admit, I would be good at it, the way I looked.

/:We can try.:/

. . . . . .