The Lost Werewolf's Mate

Some explaining to do

Thomas cleared his throat before proceeding, “So, are we eventually going to speak of the tiny elephant in the room?” He asked, raising his eyebrow. “I, for one, would like a proper introduction to my Luna, the one I’ll swear to protect.” He grinned at her and Gabriel. “What happened? The proximity between you two suggests you are mates. I don’t understand why you didn’t feel the mate bond before, Gabriel.”

Gabriel gave them the biggest grin. Markus and Gloria sat down. While they knew most of this, they were so happy for their son to have found his mate; they could listen to the story repeatedly.

Gabriel kissed the top of Lila’s head. “Matthew, Thomas, I’d like to introduce you to Lila, my mate, and your future Luna.” She smiled at them while she nestled closer to him.

By the intrigued look that Thomas and Matthew were giving him, Gabriel understood they wanted more details, and he happily obliged to fill them in on the previous evening’s events.

Gabriel was so smitten with his mate that he hugged her even more. “After a while, we headed back to the hospital. Lila stumbled, and when I caught her…” he paused to look deep into her eyes. “I felt electricity run through my body.”

Lila continued, “I have felt nothing like that.” She smiled at him, lost in his eyes, forgetting others were in the room. Gabriel would have loved to be alone with her right at that moment. He stole a kiss from her. He was making her blush.

Markus cleared his throat, catching their attention.

“We got lost in each other’s eyes. With the glow of the blue moon, it could not have been more romantic. We shared a first kiss, and then her wolf, Venus, told her to shift. Once she had shifted, I could finally smell her, and so did Zeus. They both called each other out as mates.

I asked to see my father when we got in last night to see if he could make sense of this.”

Gabriel stared at his father. “I haven’t been able to do anything yet, son, other than to inform the order of the elders that I’ll be visiting the supernatural library. I’m leaving tomorrow morning.” Gabriel nodded.

He paused, taking in Thomas and Matthew’s wide eyes. “Lila got her memories last night, well, more during the night. She had a first flashback that seemed to open the floodgate of memories. We can’t be sure of this,” he looked carefully at Lila, “but I wonder if us finding each other has anything to do with you finding your memories?”

Lila shrugged. It would make sense.

Markus interjected, “That’s an interesting hypothesis, son. I’ll have to look into this.”

Matthew finally said, “Gabriel, you need to tell Isabella. She’ll kill me if she’s not among the first to know you finally found your mate and Luna.”

“Sure, send her a mind link. I hope she controls herself.” Looking at Lila, he continued, “She can be a bit much, so I apologize in advance, pretty one.”

Matthew opened a mind link with Isabella. “Bella, my love. Could you come up to your brother’s quarters?”

Isabella replied, “OK, give me 20 minutes, and I’ll be there.”

Mathew closed the mind link. “She’ll be here in about 20 minutes.”

Thomas chirped in. “Good, it gives us time to get to know our Luna before Isabella steals her away.”

Gabriel tightened his grip on Lila. “Mine,” he and Zeus growled. He was not intent on sharing his new mate. Everybody rolled their eyes. Mates can be possessive. Especially Alphas. And this Alpha had been waiting for his mate for a long time.

“So, Luna, what does Venus look like?” Thomas asked. He was so curious about her, her wolf, her past.

Gabriel grinned proudly. “Her fur is silver, like moonlight on water… Her face is angular and fierce, with piercing blue eyes that seem to hold a deep sense of mystery and strength. She’s the most beautiful wolf in the world.”

Matthew and Thomas made gagging noises. “Oh my, you’re going to be one of those…” Thomas trailed off.

“One of those who worship the ground their mates walk on? Absolutely.” Gabriel offered, smiling like a kid in a candy store. “You’re just jealous.”

Lila’s stomach grumbled, interrupting the friendly banter.

“Hey, pretty one, is it time for food?”

Gloria asked Gabriel, “Could we squeeze in around your dining table? Could we spend more time with Lila before we leave you two lovebirds?”

Gabriel wished he could spend all his time alone with Lila, but he understood they also wanted time with her. As if she could hear what he was thinking, Lila said, “It would be wonderful to have some time to get to know you all.”

At that moment, Isabella entered, “Bella, sister of Alpha, reporting for duty, sir!”

She scanned the room and saw a she-wolf sitting on her brother’s lap.

“What is this? Why did no one tell me about this?” she said, pointing at Lila. “Matthew, Gabriel, you guys have some explaining to do!”

Everybody rolled their eyes at Isabella’s theatrics. While she was usually calm, she liked to put on a show occasionally. She was the baby of the family, after all.

Matthew stood up and went to greet her. He hugged her, took her hand, and walked back to the living room. “That’s why I asked you to come up, babe. Didn’t I say Gabriel had something to tell you?”

Gloria stood up. “While you guys get Isabella up to speed, I’ll request dinner from the kitchen staff. Lila, dear, anything you would like to eat?”

Lila shrugged. “I don’t have any preferences. Whatever the cook’s making is good for me.”

Without missing a beat, Isabella went into interrogation mode. “So, Lila, is it? What are your intentions with my brother?”

While she wanted this to be light banter, the growl that escaped Gabriel scared her. She looked at him with wide eyes, then at Matthew. She opened a mind linked with Matthew. “What did I do? What did I say?”

Markus spoke up, “Gabriel, this is enough. Isabella doesn’t know about Lila’s past. She meant nothing by it.”

Lila cupped Gabriel’s face and kissed him on the nose, and he melted in her hands. Then she looked back at Isabella.

“My intention,” Lila offered, looking at Isabella, then at Gabriel, “is to love him and worship him for the rest of my life.”

Isabella gulped, happy to hear that but still worried about her brother’s reaction. “Will someone tell me what’s going on, please? Gabe, I swear. I didn’t mean any disrespect.”

Gabriel huffed, “I know, Isabella, it’s been a long 24 hours.” He paused, scratching the back of his neck, and he took the time to explain the situation to her.

Gabriel paused, looking at Isabella. “OK, I don’t know why that warrants you biting my head off.”

Markus said, “Isabella, Lila escaped from the Blood Moon pack. To her knowledge, she was held captive there for the past six years.”

Isabella gasped and went to sit beside Lila and Gabriel. “Sweetie, I’m so sorry. That one is a jerk of the biggest kind. I’m so happy you made your way to us and my brother. He’s been waiting for you for so long.”

There was a knock at the door. Thomas jumped up and yelled, “FOOD!!!”. Everybody laughed and headed to the dining room to set things up. To their surprise, Gloria was on top of things.

The omegas brought in the food and set it up while the group sat down and dug in and continued the conversation.

After an excellent dinner, Gabriel hinted at how time flew by and that he needed to rest. The group got the clue and headed on their way.

Everybody left. There was just Gabriel and Lila.

She detested the distance between them, yet she was not ready to be too close to him when alone. She didn’t trust herself or Venus.

“Why do you want to keep us apart from our mates?” Venus asked, insulted. “I want to be close to my mate! It doesn’t mean I’ll do something you wouldn’t want. Why don’t you trust me?”

Lila sighed. Maybe too loudly. Gabriel’s head jerked up, and he closed the distance between them. “What’s wrong, pretty one, another memory or flashback?” He embraced her with all of his body. She fit perfectly in his arms, against his chest.

“Not a memory, more a disagreement with my wolf.” He looked at her, curious to know more.

But Lila yawned. She needed to get away from him before she couldn’t stop herself. She desired him so very much. But she wanted to take things slowly. She looked up at him. “I think I need to go get some sleep if that’s OK with you.”

He nodded and started following her. She headed to the guest bedroom. He let her lead, not wanting to make her feel any pressure. She entered the room and turned back to face him. “Good night,” she said and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, closing the door before he could say or do anything.

Gabriel and Zeus yearned for her scent and touch, causing them to have a sleepless night. Although he understood she needed time to adjust, he recognized it would be a sleepless night for him and Zeus.