Under the Crescent Moon

Chapter two

*Devon’s POV*

“That was some quick thinking about the pizza, thanks guys!” I say through the mind link as we raced through the dark forest as wolves, back towards the Crescent Lake pack house. It was well after one o’clock in the morning by the time we finally reached our beds.

I didn’t think I would ever get to sleep, thinking about Tara and how to convince her to be my mate. It wasn’t going to be easy, that’s for sure. She was a human, which was going to be a major obstacle for us to overcome. Not knowing anything about her yet was going to make this even more difficult. Eventually though, I did drift off to sleep and I dreamed of soft green eyes and kissable rosebud lips.

“Wake up, Romeo!” Lucas prodded me awake gently the next morning. “It’s after 9:00! You’re going to need time to get ready for your date.”

That was all the encouragement I needed to hop out of bed, shower, and then carefully dress. Nothing fancy, as I didn’t want to appear out of place in the campground amongst the real campers, but nothing too ratty, either. I finally selected a loose fitting graphic T-shirt which I topped with a plaid button down short sleeve shirt, and a pair of slightly faded black denim jeans.

It takes far longer to reach the campground in my Range Rover than by traveling in wolf form from our territory, as the entrance to the national park was some distance away, and then an access road to the hot springs and the campground was angled back several miles in the direction of Crescent Lakes territory. Not that the humans had any idea. They believed the only dangerous beasts in these woods were cougars. Silly humans!

We reached Tara’s campsite a couple minutes early, and hopped out of the vehicle. A tall lanky man with reddish hair was eyeing us all rather suspiciously, while a thin blonde woman sat at the picnic table cutting up fruit. Two young teenage boys were running around the camp site chasing each other with sticks. The man shouted at the boys to settle down for moment.

Then Tara emerged smiling from the tent, looking even more beautiful in the daylight than she had in the wee hours of the morning, and I suddenly felt as if everything was right in the world. She wore cutoff denim shorts, which showed off her shapely legs and rounded ass, and a v-neck pink top. Her hair was an odd mix between blond and red, that seemed to almost glow in the bright sunlight. Her lovely soft green eyes, and pale skin that was lightly freckled complemented her beauty beautifully. I smiled when I saw her checking me out in the daylight as well. I’m pretty sure she liked what she saw.

Tara introduced us all to her folks Mike and Jessica Mason, and I greeted them back, shaking hands with her father and being very polite.

“Which campsite are you staying in, son?” Mr. Mason inquired. To which I replied with a mostly true story that me and my friend and cousin had just been visiting the hot springs yesterday evening, but actually lived in a small town near Crescent Lake. We had been heading to our car to drive back home when we met Tara on her way to the restroom.

“Yeah, dad, and they offered to take me into town for Pizza!”

“Hey, we want pizza, too!” Her brothers Gavin and Jayden piped up, grabbing onto my arms and giving me sad puppy dog eyes. “Please can you take us, too? Please!”

Jessica and Tara both rolled their eyes. I must have looked like a deer in the headlights while Troy and Lucas smirked, and Mr. Mason laughed as he pulled out his wallet and handed me a couple twenties to cover the cost of his sons meals. Then wished me good luck with a twinkle in his eye, and walked off laughing his ass off.

I have a feeling I’ve been played. But this must be the price I have got to pay to spend time with my mate.

It was a 45 minute drive into town from the campground, but it felt far longer. I still wasn’t quite sure how I got roped into bringing Tara’s rowdy younger brothers on our date. Troy and Lucas sat in the front with Troy driving. Tara and I sat in the back with Gavin in between us, and the youngest boy Jayden was sitting on my lap because he was the smallest, just 12 years old, and not having hit his teen growth spurt yet. The radio was turned up rather loud, and nearly everyone was talking excitedly about which pizza toppings were the best, and how many pizzas would need to be bought to satisfy 5 young men/boys and one girl. Apparently the answer was a minimum of four larges.

“Sorry,” Tara almost had to shout over the din. “Mom has been on a health kick lately so this will be quite a treat for us.”

“Yeah, you’ve literally saved our lives,”Gavin piped up. “Lunch was going to be tofu salad sandwiches and fruit! What kind of food is that for growing teenagers?”

Jayden suddenly started taunting his older brother, “But you love tofu, Gavin! It’s your favorite! Let’s order tofu and mushroom pizza! On cauliflower crust!”

“Shut up!”

“Make me!”

The boys commenced punching each other in the limited space until Tara threatened to have the car turned around, and then they’d all be eating tofu salad for lunch. That scared them into being absolute angels for the rest of the drive.

Dude, I can’t believe your Luna got those hooligan brothers of hers to behave. I think I’m in love with her! Lucas mind linked to me, causing me to chuckle. I remarked back, hooligans? They don’t act any different than wolf pups. Are we absolutely positive that they aren’t?

Finally we arrived in Port Angeles and located the pizza place Troy had been raving about. Apparently it was owned by his mothers sister whose husband was half Italian. Troy claims that his aunt and uncle make the best pizza in the entire Olympic peninsula.

The pizza place was like a time warp, with a dark wood and beige interior, kitschy stained glass lamp shades, and a couple arcade games and pinball machines from the 80-90’s that quickly grabbed the attention of Gavin and Jayden. Troy and Lucas went to order the food and drinks, while Tara and I found a table.

“Alone at last!” We both remarked at the same time, then we both started to laugh. Tara has such a beautiful laugh!

“So… tell me about yourself!” I prompt. Then I listen carefully as she tells me she will be 18 on her next birthday, which is September 30. And she lives in Seattle, in an area called Ballard. Thank the goddess she doesn’t live all that far from the University of Washington where I go to college. I suggest that we hang out in the Fall once I’m back there for school. Tara agrees, so we gave each other our phone numbers. So that solves at least one of my issues with having a human for a mate.

Then she is telling me about her hobbies, her pet cat Cocoa, and future plans once she graduates from high school. I notice she has the cutest little dimple in her right cheek, as she tells me she enjoys kickboxing. Everything I see and hear about her makes me realize just how perfect she is for me, except for her not being a werewolf. But I decide that I’ll give it time. The moon goddess must have her reasons for making this human girl my mate.

I’m so engrossed in our conversation, I hardly notice when Troy and Lucas discreetly deliver a pizza to our table and a couple of drinks. Apparently the rest of our little group is seated on the other side of the restaurant in order to give us a small measure of privacy, and I send them a quick mind link. Thanks!

“I wish I had a picture of you to send my friends,” Tara tells me, looking wistful. “They’ll never believe any of this story about running into you in the middle of the night and everything.”

I move over to her side of the table, put my arm around her, then take a selfie of the two of us with our heads pressed up against each other, and send it to her phone (which is apparently in Seattle). I show her the photo, and I’m surprised at how happy it made her. It kinda makes me think she might have some self esteem issues. I look forward to showing her exactly how beautiful I think she is, if that’s the case.