Forsaking His Luna

Road trip

I walked past Diego.

"Let's go?"

Coming from behind me as I started walking to open the boot.

"Sure! How are you today? No kiss for me?"

"My dad is probably watching from behind the blinds in his office, and he said to tell you to drive carefully," I smirked. That seemed to leave him scared, and he gulped down.

"Your dad? Of course, I will, no worries."

"Good. How do I open the boot to put my bags there?"

"Yeah, sorry, give me your bag."

I did, and he put it in the boot. I went to sit in the passenger seat, and soon after, Diego was driving towards Mafalda's house.

I took the time to send her a message, letting her know we were on our way.

He turned on the radio and changed to a cd player, playing drum and bass music. I gave him a side look.

"What?" he asked, knowing what I was going to say.

"Nothing, I don't like this music. It stresses me out. Can you change it, please? Anything else is better than this."

"You know, when you look at me like that and give me orders, you look even more beautiful. It makes me want to kiss you."

He said this in a severe sexy tone of voice.

"Don't be silly. Just drive." I said, laughing it off.

"Yes, chief!" He said, changing the music and focusing on driving.

We arrived shortly after at Mafalda's house. I grabbed my phone and called her.

"Yo-yo, we're here. Come out."

"Okay, coming!"

I saw her coming out with a massive backpack, a small trolley and her handbag.

Her mum came from behind her to assist her. She had the most extensive arsenal of make-up any girl our age could dream of, and she took it everywhere.

She was 1,75m, slightly taller than me. With dark blond hair, light grey eyes (which were incredible, by the way), tanned skin and a cupid-shaped face, she had a perfectly proportional body. She was pretty, far more than I ever considered myself to be.

I was 1,65m, had dark green eyes, curly dark brown hair with hazel-coloured shades, and my clothes had to be size medium that sometimes reached a large size because of my breasts. I was average, and I was okay with it.

"Hey, Bea! Hey Mafa!"

"Hi Miriam, darling, how are you?" I loved Bea like a second mother; she was always there like my mother was always there for Mafalda.

"I'm good, thanks. I came to take my best friend on holiday!" I said, giggling.

She smiled tenderly at me, "Just make sure to call me when you get there, and don't let her get lost or drink too much!"

"Hey! I'm right here!" Mafalda protested, pretending to be annoyed.

"Calm down, we were joking, and we will keep each other out of trouble. Now, put those bags in the boot and let's go!"

Diego came out of the car at my words, showing the pack beta his respect.

"Hello, Mafalda! How are you? Bea is good to see you." Diego said, nodding his head, to which Bea nodded as well.

"Good, thanks! Ready for fun?" Mafalda asked him.

"Sure I am! Let's hit the road. We can still make a good time and arrive before the rest of the group, which is good because we have to get everyone's bracelets."

With that, Mafalda said farewell to Bea, and without further delay, we left.

In the car, I went to the back, and after half an hour's drive, they started talking about gossip in the pack. I knew most people. They used to be my neighbours when I lived in Sintra. It's a small town just outside Lisbon. Surrounded by mountains usually covered by fog, everything there is green. I loved living there, but one day my parents decided it was better to move out of there. They discovered the wolf's secret and swore not to tell anyone about it. I can understand how they felt. Although we went to the same school, I always missed going to Mafalda's house as she came to mine.

Even though I was the only human, I wasn't afraid.

I have watched many moonlight shifts. Mafalda's wolf, Mena, has light grey fur; the paws, snout and end tail are white. She's gorgeous. I love to pet her, and she looks pretty protective of me, just like my friend.

Bea was the beta female, a widow, and her husband died three years ago trying to protect someone. It was classified, and not even Bea knew who it was or how it happened.

Alone, she raised Mafalda and her brother Joao; even with pack duties and a regular nine-to-five job, she made it work.

Diego is supposed to become the alpha of the Mago Moon Pack in September. After the summer holidays, he's not going to uni; instead, he's been working alongside his dad after school for the last three years.

I know everything about their race, existence, and kind, all aspects of their life as a pack... including the mate bond.

It's one of the reasons why I want to avoid getting too involved with Diego. I can't imagine being with him, guessing he belongs to someone else, especially if it's someone I know. That would make things awkward and tense, there's no need for more drama in my life, and I wouldn't say I like it.

The idea of Mafalda being his mate made me distance myself from him. I could never hurt her like that, and I prefer to suffer in silence if I have to. She's been through enough.

Mafalda spoke, interrupting my thoughts, "Miriam, what are you thinking so hard about? I can see smoking coming out of your ears..."

"Oh, uh, sorry guys... just lost in my thoughts of a few music lyrics, that's all.." - I neither lied nor told them the truth.

Diego looked at me through the rear mirror with a smug expression.

"I know you are going to a phase where rock seems cool, but come on, Miriam, why not enjoy other music types?"

Here we f*****g go again. Diego adored taking the piss at my music...

"I do enjoy other music types! Sometimes I like to feel what I listen to. Is that wrong, Diego?"

He shrugged, "Not at all... sorry I mentioned it.".

Rolling my eyes, I remembered why we didn't have anything in common.

"I didn't mean to sound like a d**k. Don't make me feel bad."

Faking a shocked look on his face, he got a snort out of Mafalda, "I would never .... how dare you?" it made me laugh.

Giving up the fight, I just shook my head at them.

"Anyway, what were you guys talking about?"

Mafalda made a disinterested gesture, "Pack gossip. Patricia and Zeca are almost 100% mated."

Confusion clouded my thoughts, "How do you know?"

"Because they can't spend one day without running to the woods to do the Goddess knows what."

Diego snorted, "One day? More like two hours."

The realisation hit me quickly. "Do you mean like..."

Mafalda looked a certainty, "Yes, Miriam, just like that."

I gulped down, remembering the heartbreaking stories Bea told me and Mafalda years ago.

"Hmm, what if they're not?"

"Well, you can never know. You should live without regrets, and a mate is supposed to understand that you had a life before them.

"I agree with Diego, Miriam... It's our way. Everyone knows the consequences, some might be okay to live with them, and those who aren't shouldn't take the risk and also shouldn't judge."

Very quickly, Diego interjects.

"There are also cases when you can just reject your mate if you love someone else."

When those words left his mouth, Mafalda and I tensed. It's against a wolf's nature to do such a thing, and it could damage both the human and the wolf's soul. While the rejected suffer pain at the rejection moment, the moon goddess places in them a blessing that protects them from the loss. Sometimes they find a second chance, mate.

However, for the one who does the rejection, their soul becomes restless as time goes by. It could take a lot of time for the consequences to show, going feral or losing the ability to transform into their wolf form. It's different for every wolf.

"Diego, you can't be serious?! You know it's against nature!"

"Mafalda... yes, I know all about that, but I also know that there are spells that can prevent you from going nuts. With just a few phone calls, and also, what if it's someone who's your mortal enemy or another race besides wolves or humans? You walk away from your pack? Give it all up? And for what? An exceptional f**k? No thanks!"

I couldn't believe what I was listening to. Mafalda was still trying to make him see reason, "Diego, listen to yourself. That's wrong. Of course, you give it all up. Look at your brother! How happy he is!"

At the mention of his brother, his jaw clenched, and his expression annoyed. "Oh yes, how great to give up an alpha position to live in France with a 200-year-old witch. Sorry if I can't be happy for him leaving his family and duty."

"Couldn't your dad have allowed them to live with you?" I asked because of mere curiosity.

He gave me a stern look, raising his voice.

"What a filthy witch! No way! Our ancestors were hunted by them, probably even by her, and now he has forgotten all about it? They took everything from our pack after we hid it from the church during the inquisition. Taking newborn pups for sacrifice, killing everyone in their way, just for a prophecy that could never even happen."

I couldn't help myself. "What prophecy?"

"Enough! That's pack secrets, and you already know too much. It's for your good."

"Wow, chill. There's no need to get aggressive, Diego. You started talking about it!"

"I know! Let's change the subject."

So, without further delay, I grabbed my mp3 from my bag, followed by a brand new novel.

"Hey, you're not going to tune out, are you?"

"I know when I am in the way of pack business."

After that, I put on my headphones and looked one last at Diego's annoyed expression in the rearview mirror.