Luna Catalina (ENG)

Chapter 10

The rest of the week passed quickly. From 7am to 9:30am Miguel and I trained the elite corps. Two days after our confrontation, Caleb had rejoined the training, this time without resistance. From 9:30 am to 1 pm we, Full Moon warriors, trained. Even if we were not in our pack, and had come to train other people, we could not lose our fitness. The rest of my day was taken up with patrol shifts and the paperwork I had to go through and organize. 

I had barely seen Kayden all week. I couldn't fool myself, I missed him terribly. Every time I walked around the house I would walk through the rooms and hallways wishing I could run into him. I didn't want to feel that way at all, in fact, I was furious with myself, but I couldn't control it. I had only seen him one day, at a meeting where we had gone over the changes Miguel and I had made to the patrols and reported on how the training was going. It had been anything but an intimate moment, as there was his Beta, his Gamma, Bruce, Maximo and Miguel. Kayden had barely looked at me the entire meeting, and that had created a huge wave of sadness in me. I hated that Kayden could make me feel that way, and I knew it wasn't his fault, it was mine. He didn't want me as a mate, and I couldn’t believe anymore the excuse that I didn't accept his rejection because he wouldn't give me an answer to my question. The truth is that I couldn't see myself losing him. 

On the other hand, my bond with Lily had been strengthened even more. Lily was like the daughter I knew I would never have. I had realized that this was how I saw her. Ever since I was little, I had always wanted to be a mother, I love children. But after what happened with Richard, I assumed it would never be possible. It's practically impossible for a she-wolf to get pregnant by someone other than her mate. Lily looked at me with admiring eyes and loved me as if she had known me all her life, and not just for a week. Lily generated a happiness in me that I thought I could never feel again. Nico and Juan also adored Lily and joined in our afternoons of games. One day the four of us had even gone to the beach for the afternoon. 

Bela and Miguel were starting to develop some kind of relationship. I saw them spending a lot of time together. They were always spending time together in the garden, eating together in the dining room or walking around. Miguel had always been a quiet boy, but when he was with Bela he never seemed to run out of topics of conversation. I knew nothing had happened between them yet, because Miguel would have told me. But I was beginning to develop suspicions about what kind of bond linked the two of them. Lily had told me that Bela was turning 18 next Friday, and that she was going to throw a birthday party. We'll see then if my suspicions are true. 

I had taken advantage of my sleepless nights to explore Kayden's territory. It was a spectacular place. A small town, far from humans, surrounded by huge forests and steep cliffs. Every night I would run up to the cliffs. I would sit on the edge, letting my feet dangle into the void, and breathe in the sea breeze. 

Today was finally Friday, which meant our work week was over. Except for our patrol hours, we warriors had the weekend off. We could finally get out of uniform and go out and enjoy ourselves. 

All the Full Moon warriors were sitting around discussing what to do that night. I was with Nico, Juan and Miguel going over how the training had gone that week. The higher-level warriors were very well trained, although they were barely proficient in the use of weapons. 

-“I could be in charge of teaching them archery, I think I'm the best shot of all of us here,"- said Juan.

-“Excuse me ?!.”-I exclaimed indignantly, -"I think we all know that I'm the best at throwing arrows, so it's best if I take care of it.2

-“What are you going to do?"- said Nico with a laugh, -"We'd better get a blind man to train them".

-“Do you think you'd do better?" I asked annoyed.

-“No doubt about it.”

-“What do you think, Migue?" I asked him, sure that he would choose me. 

-“I honestly think I should train them myself. Of the four of us, I'm the one who got the best score last time," -Miguel said with a shrug. 

-“You know the only way to solve this, don't you?"- asked Nico with a grin from ear to ear. 

The four of us smiled and ran off. I climbed the stairs three at a time until I got to my room and grabbed my bow and training arrows, which were not made of silver. Once I had everything I needed, I ran down to the garden. I loved nothing more than a challenge, especially if it was against my brothers and Miguel. The four of us were super competitive.

-KAYDEN’S P.O.V.

Ian and I were on our way up from my office when, as I looked through the window, I noticed that there were quite a few people in the garden. Most of them were the warriors from the other pack, but there were also people from my pack. I looked at Ian questioningly, and he just shrugged his shoulders. So, we decided to go out into the garden to see what was going on. 

As soon as we arrived in the garden, my eyes were immediately drawn to Cat. She was like a magnet to me; I couldn't help it. She looked as stunning as ever. Her hair was in her usual plait. She was still dressed in her uniform. In her right hand she held a huge bow, and on her dangling sword she carried a leather cylinder full of arrows. I had hardly seen any emotion on her face since I met her, except when she was with Lily. But right now, she seemed especially excited and wasn't bothering to hide it. 

I then noticed that her brothers and Miguel were also carrying a bow and some arrows. The four of them were arguing rapidly in Spanish, so I couldn't make out what they were saying. A few meters away from us was Casandra with the red-haired boy she fights with. They were talking animatedly, ignoring what was going on a few feet away from them. Ian and I approached them. 

-“What's going on?" Ian asked Casandra after giving her a kiss on the crown of her head.

-“They?" Cas said, pointing at the group. Ian nodded. –“They always do the same thing, those four. They love to compete to see who the best at something is. The three of them have to prove they're the most macho, and Cata loves trying to prove she's better than them. Every once in a while, they come up with a competition and bet on something absurd.

-“What did they bet?" I asked, trying to hide my curiosity. 

-“They want to see which of the four of them has the best aim with the bow,"- Cas snorted. She was clearly fed up with this kind of confrontation. –“They're discussing what they're betting on. Now, when they come to an agreement, they will announce it in English for everyone to understand and witness."

I nodded. Ian and I pulled up some chairs and sat down to watch the events unfold. My eyes never left Catalina for a second. She was the most spectacular woman I had ever met in my life. She had gained the respect of my entire pack in just a week, making my admiration for her grow even more, if that were possible. Every time I saw her, I cursed the Moon Goddess for giving me the perfect woman as a mate, knowing I had to reject her.

I had been avoiding her all week. After seeing her with Lily on the rooftop, I couldn't stop having dangerous thoughts. I wanted to mark her, to make her mine, to make sure she would be mine for the rest of her life. After seeing the affection with which she treated Lily, the bond that had developed between them, Zeus kept projecting images of our possible family, our children.  Now I longed to have something that until a few days ago I didn't know I wanted. Even though I knew I had no right to it, every day I saw her I was one step closer to giving up on my promise. For that reason, I was avoiding her at all costs. I had always considered myself to have enormous self-control. But, with Catalina, I felt like an alcoholic desperate for a drink. I would sacrifice anything to see her, to smell her, to kiss her. 

Lily would only talk about Catalina. I was aware that I couldn't give Lily what Cat brought to her. I had raised Lily since she was a baby. I was barely 16 when I had to take on the role of raising her. But, it's not easy being the cruel and feared Alpha of the biggest pack in the country and, at the same time, being the loving and caring brother Lily deserved. Bela helped where she could, but she was still a teenager. Lily's love and admiration for Cat, and the way Cat was taking care of Lily, made the dark desire inside me that Cat would never come to accept my rejection grow stronger. 

-“What are you all doing here?"- Mark asked, snapping me out of my thoughts as he sat down next to me.

-“Witnessing how Cat embarrasses someone else today," Ian replied with a grin. 

-“I should warn you that Cat doesn't always win, Miguel does,"- said Casandra, jumping into the conversation,- "What's more, last time Cat lost and spent a month doing Miguel and her brothers' laundry.”

-“I'm sure our Luna will win," said Mark, looking at me with a smile on his face. 

Another one who liked to get on my nerves. I punched him, feeling his nose break. Mark let out a groan of pain, but he immediately put it back on and pretended it was nothing. I wish werewolves didn't heal so fast. Ian and his mate grinned at us in amusement, but I decided to ignore them and turned my gaze back to Cat.

-“Dear audience,"- said one of Cat's brothers, I don't know which one, because they're the same, -"We're going to compete to see which of the four of us has the best aim. The winner will not have to patrol for a week, being replaced by the other three."

One of the warriors placed a stool with an apple on it about 200 metres away. The four of them managed to put an arrow through the apple. The warrior kept pushing the stool with the apple away, until finally Miguel missed and was disqualified. The next round consisted of sticking the arrow into an apple in the air. Miguel threw the apples into the air, until finally one of Catalina's brothers missed, disqualifying him. 

In the last round Miguel had to throw 10 apples to both of them into the air as fast as possible. Whoever hit the most apples with arrows won. Cat's brother started. Although he moved his bow very quickly, it was impossible to hit them all. He got through 6/10. Catalina prepared for her turn. Her face reflected absolute concentration. She made sure she had quick access to the arrows and put the bow in position to shoot. Miguel began to shoot the apples. With spectacular speed Catalina began to shoot. When she finished shooting Miguel counted Cat's hits: 8/10.

Cat began to jump for joy, celebrating as if she was a sportswoman who had just won the most important competition of her life. Seeing her so happy, I realized that I had never seen her smile from the heart. She always smiled politely or forcedly. I wondered then if there was something in Catalina's past that didn't allow her to be happy, or if she was just not very cheerful. I knew nothing about her, though I wished I knew everything. 

Cat was walking towards us, grinning from ear to ear. I imagined she was going to approach her friend to celebrate her victory, so I was surprised when she stopped in front of me. 

-“Good afternoon, Alpha,"- I noticed that she always called me Alpha, emphasizing the word in a mocking way. I am aware that she was doing it on purpose to make me angry.

-“Catalina" - I noticed how Ian, Mark and Casandra's eyes immediately fell on us. 

-“I wanted to ask you a favor, Alpha," she said, putting on a good girl face. 

-“What favor?" I asked, hiding my intrigue. 

-“At Full Moon, every Friday, we gather to drink, play guitar and sing in the garden of our packhouse. Everyone is invited. It's a good way to relax after the week's work," Cat explained. I actually found it hard to pay attention to her, because I couldn't take my eyes off hers. –“I wondered if it would be possible for us to do the same thing in your garden tonight.”

She looked at me with her big green eyes, expectant. The woman didn't realize that I would never be able to say no to her. I said yes and she smiled even more if it was possible. Zeus shook his tail, glad to have made our mate smile. 

-“Thank you so much, Alpha,"- she said, still smiling, -"I know Ian won't be there because he has date night with Cas, but you should both come,"- she said, looking at Mark and I, -"I'm sure you'd have a great time. I promise we are fun and we won't speak Spanish."- Mark seemed delighted with the plan and accepted the invitation without hesitation, - "Tell Kate to come too. I'll see you later.”- Cat nodded goodbye and went into the house. 

I went to school to pick up Lily and spent the rest of the afternoon with her. I spent the whole afternoon weighing up whether I should go or not. Spending time with Catalina was a danger. I was aware that if I continued to spend time with her, I would break my promise. It was inevitable. So, the rational part of my head told me I shouldn't go. But Zeus insisted and insisted. So, finally, I decided to go, but I would keep my distance from Catalina, I promised myself. So, I put Lily to bed and went downstairs.

On the way to the garden, I met Mark and Kate. Together we walked to the part of the garden where the people were gathered. There were at least 40 people there, many were Full Moon warriors, but others were people from my pack. There were people standing and people sitting. Everyone seemed happy and relaxed. They were drinking and chatting animatedly. Two of the Full Moon warriors were playing guitar and singing. I hadn't seen such a happy atmosphere here since the incident.

 Immediately, my eyes searched for Cat. She was with the guitar boys; she was singing animatedly and had a beer in her hand. I looked at her in rapt attention. Her skin had started to turn brown from training in the sun, highlighting her green eyes. In addition, her hair had lightened several shades, approaching the blonde of her wolf. She had let her hair down, letting its waves fall down her back. She wore high-waisted black jeans, which were tight in the hips and bum, but then wide in the legs. She had paired them with a lilac blouse. For shoes, she was wearing black Converse. 

Catalina saw us and approached us happily. She was still in a good mood from her victory. 

-“I'm so glad you've come," she said, inviting us to follow her. –“I'm going to introduce you to my brothers and the rest of the people. Miguel isn't here today because he's on patrol, but I'll introduce you to him some other day," Cat dragged Kate over to her brothers and made the introductions. 

She invited us to sit with them and gave us each a beer. The evening went on in a lively manner. To my surprise, I certainly felt at ease among these people. I liked Catalina's brothers better than I expected. They were nice and had a very good relationship with her sister. Moreover, they were constantly looking out for her. If they took care of Catalina, they had my approval. I relaxed as the evening wore on, it had been a long time since I had stopped to enjoy myself. I had been burdened with so much over the last few years, I hadn't had a second's rest. My eyes kept darting to Cat, often meeting her beautiful green eyes.

The alcohol was beginning to take its toll on Cat, who seemed to be getting lighter and more relaxed. She was singing along to the songs her friends were playing and occasionally, she would break into a dance, dragging Kate or one of her siblings with her. The alcohol had brought out the real Catalina: a person who radiated happiness and joy. It made me wonder what made her so serious and unhappy when she was sober. The thought saddened Zeus, who was yelling at me to go fix whatever was causing our mate to be so unhappy. 

Catalina approached Mark and me, dragging Kate by the hand. The two of them had hit it off. 

-“Kate and I are going to the club with my brothers, are you coming?"- she said, looking first at me and then at Mark. 

-“If Kate's going, I'm going,"- Mark said, getting up to hug his mate. 

-“Alpha?"- Cat asked, c*****g her head questioningly. 

-“Kayden," I replied, correcting her.

-“Alpha Kayden,"- she said with a smirk. I grunted in annoyance but nodded. My body wasn't ready to part from her. Right now, I would follow her to the end of the world.

- "Great! I'm going to get my bag from my room, I'll meet you in 3 minutes in the hall."- As soon as she said that she ran into the house and her brothers followed her. 

A while later, Kate, Mark and I headed up to the front door. As soon as we got there, I wished I hadn't gone. One of Cats's brothers was holding her down as she tried to break free to hit someone. Her face was pure anger. She looked ready to kill someone. I would never have thought that such an angelic face could contain such a hateful look. I turned my head and found a tall, dark, green-eyed woman.

Amanda. Oh, s**t. 

When Cat noticed my presence, she seemed to pull herself together. Her face returned to its usual expressionlessness I was so used to. 

-“Kate, Ian, it seems Alpha Kayden already had plans for tonight. So, we'll have to go without him."- Without even giving me time to react, Cat was out the door, followed by her brothers.

Kate followed without looking at me. Mark looked at me apologetically with his eyes and followed his mate. I could feel the anger rising inside me, Zeus was furious. Everything was going perfect with Cat tonight. Why did Amanda have to show up. 

-“What are you doing here?"- I asked angrily. Amanda trembled with fear at my tone.

-“I've come to satisfy my Alpha, that's what a good Luna does," Amanda replied, failing to hide the fear in her voice, as she ran her hand down my chest flirtatiously. Her touch disgusted me. Feeling a woman who wasn't Cat touching me turned my stomach. 

-“I've told you a thousand times that you are neither my mate nor my Luna. If you ever come near me again, I will kill you."- Terror flooded her eyes and she ran away. 

Zeus howled angrily, wanting to run after Catalina.

I went up to my room. The damage was done, and it was better this way. Amanda had done me a favor.

Today I let my guard down, and it won’t happen again.