Longing For A Luna

Chapter 1 - Dresses & Divorces I of II

“Babe, your hair looks beautiful!”

Nick, my husband and personal cheerleader, had caught me admiring my new cut and color in the bathroom mirror. He started running his fingers through the silky strands of my hair, taking in the caramel highlights added to my naturally dark brown locks. I’d also had several inches chopped off, leaving me with shoulder-length waves that bounced slightly when I walked. This new look made me feel unbelievably confident and sexy.

“It really brings out the color of your eyes, Dani,” he said, as he moved his hands down to caress my shoulders. He was right; the new color made the gold in my honey-brown eyes pop out.

I smiled and turned around to face him. He leaned down, pressing his forehead against mine.

“My gorgeous, brilliant wife,” he breathed out, “I will never stop wondering how I got so lucky.”

My heart melted. He was always like this with me, so loving and always paying me compliments. Even after 7 years together, Nick still had the ability to give me butterflies.

“You probably won’t feel so lucky after you find out how much I spent today,” I joked.

Nick’s blue eyes twinkled back at me, “Dani, anything that puts a smile like this on your face is worth it. Besides, you work so hard and never spend anything on yourself.”

He tilted my head back and kissed me softly.

‘Mmmm, his lips are so yummy,’ my wolf, Ana, purred.

She adored Nick and his wolf, Riker. That’s how I knew he was “the one”; Ana hadn’t liked anyone I’d dated until I met him and was very vocal about it. But then my normally sassy wolf was rather quiet when Nick and I started seeing each other. I thought she disliked him until figuring out that she was so smitten, her hidden shy streak had shown up.

Nick pulled away and glanced at his watch, “I’m going to take a quick shower and change. Will you be ready to leave in about 30 minutes?”

“Yeah babe, I’ll be ready. Oh, and I also bought a new dress for tonight. I’m sorry, but the only thing I had that’s appropriate has been worn to death around these folks. Richard’s wife even made a comment about it last time.”

Marianne, the wife of a senior partner at Nick’s law firm, had felt the need to comment on my classic, cap-sleeved LBD.

“Oh Danielle, I just love that dress on you!” she had slurred out, “And I love how you just wear it over and over again, not caring about what anybody else thinks.”

‘Trashy b***h,’ Ana had snapped at the time, ‘She’s mad no one has complimented that ugly, overpriced train wreck of a dress her fake titties are popping out of.’

I took a deep, calming breath to clear out that memory and looked up at Nick.

He kissed my temple and held me close again, “Babe, you have to stop this. You don’t owe me an explanation or an apology. Buy all the dresses you want. I want you to treat yourself without feeling guilty about it. Hell, I’d love to spoil you and buy dresses for you, but I’m hopeless at that stuff.”

He truly was; Nick had no fashion sense at all. He was perfectly fine with jeans and t-shirts but beyond that, clueless. Not long after we started dating, one of his professors blasted him for wearing wrinkled khakis and a tie with an eight-ball on it to a mock trial for class. So, he asked me to help pick out his first suit and a new tie. I’ve been in charge of his professional wardrobe ever since, and he is not allowed to buy me clothing, ever.

It’s okay; he spoils me in other ways.

‘Yes, he does,’ Ana purred before pulling up some raunchy images from last night.

I knew Nick wouldn’t care, but felt a twinge of guilt anyway. We had been reworking our budget and saving to buy a house. Our apartment was comfortable and in an amazingly fun part of the city, but it wasn’t big enough for a family. Now that we were more settled in our careers, Nick and I were ready to start trying for a baby.

‘Our pups are going to be the cutest ever,’ Ana swooned. ‘Can you imagine a little Nick, with his blond curls and blue eyes?’

I smiled contentedly at that thought. While getting ready, I daydreamed about our future children. Would they have his dimples and my button nose? I hoped they would be tall like everyone in Nick’s family; I wanted my children to be big and strong, and to be able to take care of themselves. At 5’4”, I was on the petite side for a werewolf, and there were times in my life when being taller and stronger could have saved me in some situations.

‘We may be smaller than other werewolves, but we are strong! And you are a survivor, Dani. You got yourself through those times because you are amazing and tough.’

Most of my trauma happened before I had Ana, but she had access to my memories. She has become really adept at recognizing triggers and pulling me out of the dark places my mind wants to go sometimes.

I put the finishing touches on my makeup and stood back to check it. After Nick’s comments about my hair, I’d decided to go with a smokey look to bring even more attention to the gold in my eyes; my signature neutral lip finished it off. I smiled at my reflection, trying to ignore the way one side of my bottom lip dipped, and made sure the scar there was covered. Nick came through after his shower, and I pretended to swat him away when he stole a quick kiss.

I quickly applied a shimmer lotion on my legs, arms, and shoulders to enhance the last remnants of my summer tan, then stepped into my new dress. It was the first one I'd tried on but as soon as I stepped out of the dressing room the saleslady had declared it “The Dress”. It was a knee-length, strapless cocktail dress with a sweetheart neckline and beaded details. The champagne color looked amazing with my olive skin tone. It was the complete opposite of what I would usually wear to one of these dinners. Nude pumps, small diamond studs, and a thick gold bangle were the final touches.

Checking everything out one last time in the mirror, I ran my fingers over the beading on the cinched waistline that accentuated my modest cleavage.

‘We are smoking HOT,’ Ana exclaimed. ‘I can’t wait to see the look on Marianne’s face tonight when we walk in.’

‘Oh honey, as much work as she’s had, she’ll have the same dead-eyed, frozen mask she always does,’ I mused.

‘Da-a-amn! I’m usually the mean one,’ Ana snickered, ‘I like this side of you, human.’

I giggled and turned to check on Nick’s progress. He was staring at me, frozen in front of the closet; pants and shirt on, necktie half-done.

“Nick? Baby, what’s wrong?”

He swallowed hard, his eyes flashed to hazel, the color of his wolf’s, briefly. He started walking toward me slowly, looking at me like I was prey.

“Is this the new dress?” he asked, as he started trailing his fingertips across my collarbone, making me shudder.

“Yes. Do you like it?”

“Riker and I really, really like this dress,” he said, his usually smooth, tenor voice mixed with the rough, deep timbre of Riker’s by the time he’d finished that sentence. His eyes were hazel again and the corners of his mouth turned up mischievously.

‘Looks like our boys want to play,’ Ana observed in a husky tone.