Alpha's Untamed Mate

Blue Jay

Luna drummed her fingers on the kitchen counter, bored out of her mind. Her days started early, and she always had a ton to do: tending to the garden, fetching water, and preparing food. Here, she just felt useless. It had only been twelve hours, more or less, but it was the longest she had ever gone without doing anything.

"What's on your mind, little mate?" Asher chuckled, placing his hand over hers to stop her from making impatient drumming noises.

"Why do you keep calling me that?" Luna asked.

"Because I like it," he smiled, gently caressing the back of her hand. "What I don't like is the way you're looking out that window right now. Are you still on the run?"

"I have been for a long time," she sighed. "I am not used to sitting around doing nothing. I am constantly moving when I'm home."

"Home," he repeated. "This can be your home. If you let it."

"Aren't you the slightest bit afraid?" she asked, her brows furrowed.

"I am afraid of you leaving," he admitted. "But other than that, no. I am not afraid of loving you. Without a doubt, I know I can. I know you are afraid though, which makes me want to take that away and make you see that everything is alright. You are exactly where you're supposed to be."

"You have a way with words, don't you?" she couldn't help but smile at him.

"It's just the truth."

"Okay," she watched as he took her hand in his, carefully playing with her fingers. "But if I am staying..." His eyes lit up. "...I need something to do. I can't just sit around doing nothing."

"What would you like to do?" he asked excitedly. His eagerness made her laugh as she laced her fingers through his. This wasn't so bad, was it? Maybe what they'd been saying could be true. She could have a home here, safe and sound for the rest of her life. A life she could spend with her mates, filled with love and happiness.

"I don't know. Work. I need to work with my hands. It's what I do. Did."

“Hm,” he hummed and nodded in agreement, “we don’t really build stuff around here anymore. And, no offense, but your place looked like it couldn’t withstand the next storm.”

She shoved him playfully, “it withheld a lot of things. Don’t be mean!”

“I’m not,” she smiled, “just stating facts.”

“No, you’re just stating assumptions. You didn’t spend much time at my cottage. You wouldn’t know what it can and cannot do.”

“Well,” something shifted in his eyes, making them appear a little darker, “maybe one day you can show me exactly what that means,” he gave her hand a little squeeze, sending a warm tingle straight to her groin.

“Stop flirting with her,” Aiden chuckled as he finally entered the kitchen. He didn’t even hesitate to lean in and kiss her as if it was the most natural thing to do. The action made Asher green with envy. But his brother has always been the bold type. The type who took what he wanted and that was Luna.

“Why would I?” Asher cleared his throat, brushing his thumb over the back of her hand, just to remind her that he was still there.

“Point taken,” Aiden grinned and winked at their mate, before he headed to the fridge.

“So?” Ash asked her, watching as her green eyes shifted from his brother back to him, “what was your favorite thing to do back at your cottage?”

“Gardening,” she shrugged, “I liked doing that.”

“Really?” Aiden took a large sip from the orange juice, straight from the box, because that’s just who he was. “Flowers or crops?”

“I didn’t grow crops,” she smiled at him, like she was explaining something to a child, “if I needed flour or sugar, I got it from the village.”

“You bought it?” Asher asked.

“With what money?” Aiden added.

“I made some-,” she told them and turned Asher’s hand in hers, so she could see his palm. She traced the lifeline in the lower half of his palm, “-telling fortunes. I went once a month. Villagers knew I was coming, and they came to me to learn about their fate.”

"Really?" Asher mused. "What's mine?"

She sighed and closed his hand into a fist, shielding it with both of her hands. Her eyes fixed on his. "I do not know."

"So, you made it up?" Aiden asked.

"No," she shook her head. "But I can't... see your future."

"But reading palms is not about seeing anything, is it? There is no such thing as seeing the future," Aiden chuckled, but Luna stayed silent, lowering her gaze.

"Luna?" Ash noticed. "What is it?"

The truth lay there at the tip of her tongue, but she couldn't bring herself to form the words. She couldn't tell them that she was the reason her former pack was killed. She couldn't tell them that the council was after her for what she could do.

"Nothing," she lied instead. The twins looked at each other. They knew it was a lie, but luckily, they didn't push her to tell them. If she wanted to stay with them, she needed to tell them. But not now. She didn't know how to do it without falling apart in front of them.

"Luna," Aiden started, but a loud commotion at the window interrupted him. It took her a moment to understand what she was seeing, but it made her smile. She quickly moved to the window and opened it for her bird friend to fly inside.

"What the hell is that?" Aiden frowned, just as the blue jay settled on Luna's palm.

"You found me," she smiled at him as he flapped his beautiful wings.

"You have a familiar?" Asher asked in confusion. His sister grew up with one—a side effect of magic, they called it. But Indigo was a raven that looked like he wasn't from this world, which he wasn't. He was created when Bella cursed Annie. A familiar—that's what he was, and those things were only attached to something magical, a curse or something similar.

"No," she looked at him and shook her head. "That's just a bird. He's my friend, though," she smiled, brushing a finger over the animal's head as it took in both Asher and Aiden. It did look like a regular blue jay, but there was something in his eyes that almost seemed human.

"Is it?" Aiden frowned. "Are you sure about that?"

"Pretty much. Do you have some nuts or something for him? I used to feed him every morning."

"We might have some birdseed somewhere," Asher stated and moved to one of the cupboards. They always stored some for Indigo, though the animal seemed to prefer meat. He handed her a handful of corn and whatever birds liked.

The blue jay chirped and picked it out of her palm. Maybe this was just a bird, but something seemed different about it.

"Do you want me to show you around today?" Asher offered.

"The pack?" she asked, her eyes still on the bird in her hands.

"Yes. Maybe you'll find something you would like to do. We do grow crops around here. A few flowers too, but I'm not sure if that's what you want to do. You can have a look and decide."

"Okay," she smiled, distracted by her friend.

"Aiden," he turned to his brother, "maybe you want to take care of the Bellini thing?" Bellini was the last name of their godmother. Bellacosta Lavender Bellini was a witch. She and their aunt used to work for the council, but apparently, they had their own agenda. He never really understood what that was all about, but it definitely involved their sister.

"Because of..." Aiden nodded in Luna's direction and the bird in her hand.

"Yes!"

"What's a Bellini?" Luna asked as her bird flapped its wings and flew out of the window.

"Family," Asher answered and put his hand on her lower back. "Shall we?"

"Now?"

"Unless you want to keep sitting around doing nothing for a little while longer, yes."

"No," she smiled at him, brushing her hands clean on her pants. "I want to see your pack."

"Good," he smiled at her words. For the first time, it didn't sound like she wanted to run. It sounded like she wanted to stay, and he loved that. The one thing he didn't like was that she was keeping something from them. She didn't trust them enough to tell them her secrets.

There was something about her, something only someone who fully understood the matter could answer. The reason she was able to interfere with his and his brothers' mind link, for example. Or the fact that she had a blue jay following her all the way to this pack.

Maybe it was something she didn't understand herself. Calling Bella for help wasn't because he didn't trust her, but because he wanted to help her understand. Mostly.