STRANGE NEW HOME
1260 Words
Chapter 3 – Strange New Home
Luna POV
I woke up in a bed that could’ve swallowed my old apartment whole.
Silk sheets. Pillows that smelled like pine and something darker—like heat and lightning. A headboard carved with symbols I didn’t recognize. For one fleeting moment, I thought I’d died and ended up in some royal version of the afterlife.
Then I remembered the man.
Tall. Dangerous. Unreasonably hot.
Zane.
The man who claimed I was his mate. Who paid off my debts like they were parking tickets. Who growled like it was a full-body language.
And now I was in his house.
Correction: his mansion.
I sat up, blinking around the room. The walls were stone, warm-toned, with tall windows that let in golden morning light. Heavy curtains. Old paintings. An oak wardrobe that probably cost more than everything I owned combined.
My first thought?
“If I break anything, I’ll probably owe him my soul.”
My second thought?
“…Did I snore?”
I was still in the clothes I’d worn last night. Someone—probably him—had thrown a thick cashmere blanket over me. It smelled like… forest and firewood. I wanted to roll in it. I didn’t.
Instead, I stumbled out of bed and toward the door, barefoot and confused.
And directly into a chest.
Not just a chest—his chest.
Zane.
Of course.
Zane POV
She smelled like warmth and sunlight and something electric—something I hadn’t smelled in a century.
Her foxfire was waking up. I could feel it.
She bumped into me like a sleep-drunk kitten and blinked up with those impossibly blue eyes. Sky-storm eyes. Eyes that didn’t know what power lay beneath her skin.
“Uh—good morning?” she mumbled, voice scratchy.
I smiled.
“You snore,” I said. Teasing.
Her face lit up like she might combust. “I do not!”
“You do.” I stepped back, arms crossed, letting myself admire the sleepy chaos that was Luna in the morning. Hair a mess. Socks mismatched. Soulmate energy? Off the charts.
She tried to scowl. Failed.
“So… am I allowed to leave the room? Or is this the part where you lock me in a tower?”
“You’re not a prisoner, Luna.”
“You kinda kidnapped me.”
“I paid your debts and offered a bed. That’s called rescuing, thank you very much.”
“Right. Prince Charming with a growl fetish.”
I laughed.
Gods, she was ridiculous.
“I thought we could talk. Properly,” I said. “There’s breakfast. And my family’s waiting.”
Her eyes went wide. “Your what now?”
“My family.”
“You have a family? I thought you were raised by wolves or something.”
“Technically… yes. But I also have parents. Twins. Come meet them.”
She stared like I’d asked her to perform live surgery.
“Do I look like someone who meets families? I didn’t even brush my teeth.”
“They’ll love you.”
She looked unconvinced.
I offered my hand.
She hesitated.
Then placed hers in mine.
Sparks. Again.
I bit back a growl.
This girl was going to be the death of me.
---
Luna POV
Zane’s mansion was the kind of place you saw in old vampire movies. Grand halls. Polished floors. Chandeliers that probably whispered secrets at night.
I kept my hand in his mostly to stay upright. Totally not because his skin was warm and made my stomach do cartwheels. Nope.
He led me into a sunlit room filled with the smell of butter, coffee, and something I didn’t recognize but wanted to eat forever.
There were four people inside.
All staring at me.
Oh good. Panic time.
Zane cleared his throat. “Everyone, this is Luna.”
Their eyes locked on me like I’d dropped in from another planet. Maybe I had.
A tall woman with auburn hair and eyes like dawn smiled first. Gentle but sharp.
“I’m Seraphina,” she said, voice melodic. “Zane’s mother.”
I blinked. She didn’t look old enough to be his anything.
Beside her, a man with silver-blond hair and forest-green eyes nodded once. Stern, but not cold.
“Rhydian,” he said. “Alpha of this pack. And Zane’s father.”
So, the king and queen of intimidating.
Cool.
But it was the two sitting at the table—arguing over toast—that drew my attention next.
Twins. Maybe sixteen.
The boy noticed me first. Grinned. “Whoa. You’re way prettier than Zane deserves.”
“Kai,” Seraphina warned.
The girl, a miniature warrior in a hoodie, just looked me over, eyes calculating.
“I’m Lyra,” she said. “Are you gonna explode soon? Your aura’s weird.”
“What?”
“She means your power,” Seraphina said quickly. “It’s… leaking.”
“Leaking?!”
Zane squeezed my hand. “You’re fine.”
No, I was not fine.
I was meeting magical werewolf royalty before coffee.
---
Zane POV
They didn’t scare her off. That was a good sign.
Luna sat stiffly at the table, chewing toast like it was a diplomatic mission. Her aura was shifting now, colors blooming beneath her skin like dawn trying to break through clouds.
Kai leaned across the table. “So, are you gonna be our sister-in-law or just Zane’s magical girlfriend?”
Luna choked on her tea.
Lyra smirked. “Tact, Kai. Use it.”
“I was just saying what everyone’s thinking!”
Luna coughed, glaring at me.
“I swear I didn’t tell them anything.”
“You didn’t have to,” she hissed. “They’re wolves. They probably smelled me from a mile away.”
Kai nodded cheerfully. “Yeah, you smell like spicy lightning.”
“…What?”
Zane’s mother patted Luna’s hand. “That’s a compliment, dear.”
This was going well. All things considered.
Then Luna’s aura flickered. Just for a moment.
A spark ran across her skin. Faint, but bright enough that even Lyra’s jaw dropped.
Everyone froze.
She looked up, panicked. “What was that?”
“Your magic,” I said gently. “You’re waking up.”
Her breathing quickened. I reached for her hand again.
She let me.
That was progress.
---
Luna POV
Magic.
Foxfire.
Royal blood.
It sounded like a fantasy. But my skin lit up and everyone saw it, and I couldn’t lie to myself anymore.
Something in me was breaking open.
Zane didn’t push. He just stayed nearby, a calming storm with a gentle gravity. I didn’t understand it—this bond. This tether.
But I wanted to.
After breakfast, he took me to a quieter room. A library, maybe. Walls lined with books, soft chairs, a fire crackling like it had secrets to tell.
We sat facing each other.
“I’m scared,” I admitted.
His eyes softened. “I know.”
“I don’t know who I am anymore.”
“You will.”
Silence stretched.
Then I asked, quietly, “Why me?”
He answered without hesitation.
“Because the moon chose you. The blood in your veins sings a song older than time. And because—” He leaned forward, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear, “—you’re mine.”
My heart stuttered.
“Are you always this intense?”
He smirked. “Only for you.”
And gods help me, I smiled.
Maybe this strange home… wasn’t so strange after all
- Writer
