Luna, Make a Wish

Uhm...

The early part of the morning passed uneventfully. I don’t recall any particularly strange dreams or even waking up much, but for some reason I still felt exhausted when I woke. Serla, on the other hand, was overjoyed to be having our newfound mate coming to visit. She was sure that a few words in with him and I would be head over heals and we would mate and mark and everything would be perfect. I wish I could say that I felt the same.

I dragged myself into the shower and then laid on my bed for some time just scrolling through my phone. I didn’t feel any particular hurry to get ready and having woken up a bit early this morning, I figured I could take my time. f*******: held very few humorous memes, and Tik-Tok was a rabbit hole I promised myself I wouldn’t go down this morning. Goddess knows that’s the easiest way to lose several hours of your day by blinking.

With a groan I shuffled my way back into my bathroom and stood in front of my mirror. I blinked at myself a few times before tediously pulling my brush through my tangled hair. Once that was done, I pulled out the make-up bag I rarely used and looked inside of it. Putting on makeup was something that I did enjoy, I just had to be in the right mood for it. Today wasn’t that day. Instead, I opted for a few swipes of mascara on my lashes and a quick loose brush over of blush so that I didn’t look quite so pale.

Once I felt a little more human than zombie, I called it good and slipped into something casual but not sweatpants gear. Skintight jeans with a few carefully picked tears from the designer. I rolled them up partially at the bottom so that they were about a quarter way up my calf. The top I chose was olive green with ruched sleeves, and a simple pair of tennis shoes.

After I was dressed, I slowly made my way to my French press and kettle. Everything was set in motion and ready. I picked out my two matching mugs. Owls. One blue and one a reddish tone and set them on the counter. I glanced down at my phone to check the time. 10:45. Good, I still had time to water my plants.

I kept a pitcher in the kitchen just for this. Wasn’t anything fancy. Found it at a thrift store. I was a sucker for thrift store shopping. I know, I know, people don’t envision a pack that has poor members, but usually we’re just tucked away. Not all members are living a life of luxury, but we’re taken care of. That’s the good part of being in a pack I suppose. Even if you had to be frugal, you never went hungry.

I filled up my pitcher in the sink, making sure the water wasn’t too warm or too cold. I spoiled my plants a bit and wanted to make sure they got everything just right. Once loaded up I padded over to the door, opened it and walked out… Right into Darren’s tall form.

Water went everywhere. On me, on him, all over my porch. Pretty much everywhere except for where it was intended to go. Of course, I was absolutely mortified at this and could do nothing but just stand there in absolute shock. I basically just dumped water all over the Alpha of our pack. Goddess, Help me.

“Wasn’t quite the good morning I had been hoping for…” Darren spoke as he slung his arms downward to flick some of the water off of him. He was wearing a gorgeous black silk button up, gray slacks, and well-polished black business shoes. Or… They may have been well polished this morning but now they were likely filled with water.

There was a small chuckle in his voice, as if this was more humorous to him than anything. While I was glad for this I was also a bit surprised. I mean, I’d never heard about Darren being overly aggressive or mean, but who wouldn’t be upset getting water thrown on them on their first date?

“I..Oh! I’m sorry. I was… The plants… Erm. Not 11.” I tripped over my words worse than I had tripped into him.

“Hey, hey.” He offered in a soothing tone, gently pulling the pitcher from me and pouring what was left in it onto the nearest mini flowerbed. “It’s alright, really. It will dry quickly.”

I made a simple nod of my head and stepped back inside the house a few paces, holding my arm out to him in a gesture of welcome. “Coffee?” The tone of my voice came out a little more sheepish than I had intended it to, but I could still feel a flush of embarrassment buried into my cheeks.

“Coffee sounds amazing. Nice and warm.” He cooed at me. Serla was purring at his voice and I couldn’t help but feel the same. It was like gravel and silk and all things good and deep and Alpha that you could imagine. In fact. It was almost exactly the voice that I had imagined most of the love interests in my books with when I read them. How was I supposed to not just melt when I heard it?

I nodded again and rushed over to the kitchen while he pulled out one of the two chairs from my tiny dining table. It wasn’t much, but since it was usually just me here, it was perfect. I set out the two owl mugs and poured the rich, brown liquid into them. A cup of cream followed along with a small bowl for sugar. I didn’t often use these when I was alone, but it felt like a special occasion. This was a date… right?

I offered both to him and he declined politely, taking a sip of his drink straight black. I blinked at him, and proceeded to pour cream and sugar in my unabashed. I was never one for black coffee. I certainly wasn’t about to change my mind on that now.

“Right… So…” I stared down at the mug that I held between my fingers. I hadn’t even sipped from it yet, but the warmth it radiated seemed to sooth my nerves some. A tiny bit. Maybe. I lifted my gaze to look at him, and the way the wet silk clung to his taunt muscles made me shift in my seat. He definitely… Was a specimen to behold. There was absolutely an attraction there. I couldn’t lie about that.

“How long have you been in this apartment?” Darren asked while glancing around the little studio. The one terrible thing about having a studio apartment is that all your everything was basically on display. At least I kept the place tidy. Mostly.

“Mhh… Since I was about… 16? Yeah, Right after my 16th birthday. I was in the Serenity House before that. Ever since I can remember really.” I gave an odd sort of shrug, as if this should be common knowledge and sipped at my coffee before leaning back in my chair.

“Serenity House?” He arched what appeared to be a very, very finely sculpted brow at this. “The orphanage?”

I stared at him for a moment. “You’re not really connected with the lower rungs of the pack members, are you?”

That seemed to catch him off guard. He was the one shifting in his seat now and cleared his throat. “Duties as an Alpha are more political in nature unless it comes to war or training. Mingling with the pack is unfortunately a luxury in time that we are not often afforded.”

“Uh huh…” I took another sip of my coffee. Why wasn’t I feeling absolute fireworks? Why wasn’t I on the edge of my seat ready to jump this man and pin him to the bed? Isn’t that what others told me it was like when finding a mate?

Serla seemed to be quite happy, however. She sat near by bed, not that Darren would be able to see her until we both were marked, and was swishing her tail happily back and forth. She was quite exited to have an Alpha as a mate. Perhaps it was just nerves, but I was a little less than thrilled.

“But yes, Serenity House is the pack orphanage.” I said, making sure to say it a little more gently since he didn’t know previously. “I was little when they died. So little I don’t even remember how it happened, and the Matron said that she never knew. Never quite believed her, but her story stayed the same. Once I was sixteen I got to pick my own little place. I work a few days with the landscapers, and that covers my dues and my groceries.”

Darren was listening to every word I said. Hanging on to each of them as if I were reciting the most beautiful sonnet he’d heard. It was very strange to me, though it wasn’t a bad strange I suppose. Just something that I wasn’t used to.

“So you help tend the gardens?” He asked, intrigued.

“Mhm! I mostly tend to the herb and tea gardens. Since they don’t need pruning or watering each day, I will go check on them to make sure they are well and then I have most of the day left to myself. It’s the perfect job.” I nodded, there was an uptick in my tone because of how happy gardening made me.

“Are there others that work with you?” Darren asked. There was something in his eyes, some meaning behind those words that I almost caught but couldn’t fully comprehend.

I shook my head at him. “Not there. Most of the others take care of the flower beds around town, or the large gardens at the pack house. The little herb and tea greenhouses are just up the road a little bit. When I harvest there’s another girl that comes and takes the plucked greens to the Packhouse.”

He seemed to relax at this, and part of me was wondering if he was worried that I worked alongside other men. Not that it would matter if I did. Mate bond is solid, right? What is there to worry for? “That seems lonely.”

I shook my head again, quickly this time. “I enjoy being left alone. It’s peaceful.”

“I see.” He reached out and brushed his knuckles over the back of my hand. This sent small tingles throughout my body that initially felt pleasant but gave me an uneasy feeling after. I was sure that this was just the nerves. I’d heard about the tingly touch with mate-bond before, this was just new. That’s all.

I smiled gently at him and didn’t move my hand away. He leaned in further over the table and put both of his hands on my arms as he looked at me. “Emma, I want you to come live at the pack house with me. There’s no denying you’re my mate, and we have the rest of our lives to get to know each other. Pack your things. I will have someone collect the rest this evening.”

Oh… I didn’t like this. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end, and out of the corner of my eye I could seen that Serla’s tail stopped swishing. She didn’t like this idea either. That concerned me even more, especially after all the hopping around she did being happy that it was him.

“But…” I blinked at him. I wasn’t ready to move yet. I wasn’t ready for any of this yet. I wasn’t even sure that I was in love like I was supposed to be!

He stood swiftly from his chair and moved beside me. In one quick motion he placed his hands on my cheeks and tilted my head up towards him so that he could kiss my forehead. “No buts, my Luna. I will go ahead to make sure everything is ready. Tonight you’re mine.”

Darren’s trailed the back of his hand down my neck slowly and the sensation made me shudder. It was exceptionally pleasurable at first, and even made me feel like I needed him to touch me more. Touch me everywhere. Just as quickly as that feeling came it was replaced with a different kind of shudder. The kind that made you feel wholly uncomfortable with the person that was touching you. The kind of feeling that you get in the pit of your stomach when someone looks at you in a way that makes you not want to walk back home alone.

Before I could respond he was gone. Out the door with it closing quietly behind him. This left very little room for debating with him. With a heavy sigh I looked down at my phone. “Hm… Seems like the gardens will need tending to in exactly three hours. Oops.”