Ghost Luna

7. Strange Company

Damien Nolan watched over Lane until she fell asleep. Her rhythmic breathing told him she wasn't having a nightmare. The urge to climb into her bed and cuddle her was almost unbearable however he knew he was lucky to even be in her room. She must feel the pull to let him stay as she seemed closed off and wary, though less so with Toby. He tried to swallow his own jealousy towards Toby. Toby was family. It was just hard as Toby was unmated. Chloe wasn't really his mate. Someone he saw would be more appropriate. She was lovely and her mate had died a few years ago. She barely survived and she had found companionship in Toby. They were like humans concept of girlfriend and boyfriend but they both knew it wasn't serious as Toby eould one day meet his mate. This all made it harder to see how comfortable Lane was with him. They had been working together a while.

The day Damien got back from his 3 month trip to another territory he would never forget. He had decided to drop by on Toby and since he was on a late shift he waited up. As soon as the door opened he had smelled the most delicious scent. MATE! But to his suprise and horror it was only Toby standing in the doorway. No disrespect to the goddess but he knew he wasn't gay.

He pounced and Toby and sniffed him and found the scent was from the scarf around his kneck.

"Whose is this?" He demanded, almost strangling Toby to claim it.

"Wow there, I missed you too. Okay, it is my colleague Lane's. She left it behind today so I've taken it yo return to her on our next shift."

"Lane..." Damien inhaled, "She's my mate."

Toby's eyes almost popped out of his sockets, "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely," Damien stared him intensely in the eyes.

Toby paled but then regained his composure, "What do you want to know?"

"Everything, but first, what IS she?"

"I've been trying to work that out." Toby shook his head, "She has no parents and been working for me for two months now. She knows nothing of the other realms and appears human but she is very observant. She notices things others do not see. She seems to know things but I'm not sure how. We were filing information on a poor mother who had been shot and she knew ger name was Mary and I know she had yet to see the wallet. She went pale. Other than that she's efficient, serious and you've lucked out...she's stunning." Toby smirked.

At that Damien lamped him. His wolf just couldn't deal with the jealousy of Toby knowing him mate before him. Of course she was stunning. She was HIS. He couldn't wait to meet her but it had to be natural. If she was mainly human she wouldn't feel the mate pull and he'd have to woo her. And there was nothing creeper to a human than a man abducting you as was pretty common in werewolf to werewolf mate bonds. They just felt the pull and got it off straight away no questions asked. The goddess obviously wanted to test him as an alpha of the largest pack.

It had taken a month for Toby to find the opportunity to introduce them naturally. They were not always on shift together but Toby began requesting her on purpose. As the Chief of Police it wasn't out of the ordinary to ask for a report on a murder from a lead investigator.

When she walked into the diner her scent hit him like a tonne of bricks. It took everything in him not the claim her there and then. Toby had been giving him items with her scent on for a while to build up a kind of immunity but it was not enough to prepare him.

She was stunning. Her big doe eyes, soft brown hair and slim frame made her seem ethereal and fairy like. She was so delicate and fragile he wanted to protect her forever.

But she didn't feel him. He could tell. She was reserved. He sensed she was attracted to him but for some reason was fighting it. That was odd. The mate bond was rarely resisted. Only very stubborn or powerful creatures could put up that much resistance to the bond. A human would have wanted to jump his bones and although they would not know it was the mate bond the s****l desire was fierce no matter what. A one night stand could quickly snowball into a relationship and then the big reveal of the werewolf secret. She was something more than human but she didn't give any hints or apparent knowledge of anything else otherwise she would know - she would feel the magic.

When she spoke he almost leapt on her. Her curt responses and unwillingness to fall in line had frustrated him but aroused him all at the same time.

The drinks they shared was too much. He had left partly for jealousy but also for the need of a long cold shower. He knew that he was coming across as an areshole but it was hard to mask his constant frustrations. His pathetic lie about the jumper was a prime example. He couldn't believe she'd let that slide - well sort of.

Here he was, beside her, still unable to touch her incase he ruined everything. He fully intended to watch her all night but his phone began to vibrate.

Work was calling.

Stepping outside he took the call.

"Chief Nolan."

"Chief the autopsy result is in and on the human report it has been submitted as affiliation and then a gang hit - the mutilation a sign of gang in fighting."

"What about the real report?"

"Dark magic suffocated him and another wolf caused the damage. There was a lot of residual magic. A witch is involved. Poor Tyler didn't know what hit him."

"Somrone wants to start pack wars. SId you recognise and strange scents?"

"No. But with a witch a rouge can easily mark themselves."

" Right. Thank you. Do what you do best and lie through your teeth to the humans."

"Rodger that, Alpha."

Damien sighed exhausted. These two attacks on the West side Pack was bad news and it couldn't continue. They were being killed on his territory and it became his responsibility even if they were just wolves visiting gor a good time. Damien had always been happy to share resources across boundary lines. It promoted friendship and trust. It is why the tattoos were used. Easily identified pack alliences. Different pack had different underlying scents. You could tell without as rouges had a very disgusting smell, but the tattoo's showed a willingness to be open about who you were and built trust.

If he didn't find this murderer soon he'd been seen as weak or an enemy and he needed to avoid it for peace and prosperity.

Lane's dream matched the description of the magical traces. There was something magical about her.

Witch, fairy, clairvoyant or Sintra?

If she was any of these unknowingly no wonder she found it easily resisting the mate bond. These were all powerful magical creatures and they naturally wanted to preserve their independent power and not share it.

Witches could dismiss a mate bond as they could form a bond with a familiar instead. They had the ability to shield themselves from the bond.

Fairies preferred their own kind and could create a blood bond instead with a chosen mate. They also couls see through magic and the mate bond was a type of MAGIC. A fairy could choose to ignore it.

Clairvoyants can envision their mate before they arrive and could actively avoid them quite successfully.

Lastly, the Sintra had impressive mind blocking abilities and spent a lot of time dealing with the dead. If a Sinta decided they did not want a mate they could resist the bond very effectively. However, of all the creatures, this one was rare and most of what was known about them was rumours.

Any of these would be an issue if unknown to the person. Also, if she were a hybrid it was unpredictable which powers she would retain. All he know was she could avoid the bond and he had to woo her.