His Mute Luna

Chapter 9 - The Honeysuckle

Morgan

Sitting half in the driver's seat with my legs hanging out the open door, I looked over the list the nurse had printed out for me for the first time.

The scent of the late blooming honeysuckle wafted over from the house and it seemed stronger today. The same scent had woken me up this morning too, a smell I had always liked. It grew around my old bedroom window at my parents' home and it now grew around my own home and the small bakery I owned privately.

Even though this was a pretense to find my mate, I really should check each of these people to make sure they are genuinely ok. As their future pack leader, it was only right.

The first name on the printout was Tom's sister: June Greenwood, 23 and lived by the Rogue River...Ph.D. student/ecologist at Ashen Star Ecological Trust?

Huh, unorthodox.

But I discounted her quickly. She was human, so there'd be no way she was my mate. They weren't the moon goddess's children, so there was no part of their soul that a wolf could identify as a mate or join with. It was rare for a werewolf to find a mate outside of their own species in a vampire or wiccan. Shane's parents, Charles and Viola, were only mates because they chose each other, they weren't fated.

I would check on Tom's sister though, later, after I had found my mate.

The next name on the list was: Nicolette Sawyer, 23, a preschool teacher and lived on the east side of the territory.

This could be her.

'And she obviously likes pups, maybe she'll want them straight away with us?' Mars enthused.

'What part of chill do you not seem to grasp?!' At this rate our mate would reject us for being some kind of intense, obsessive creep!

'Like you weren't thinking the same thing…' my wolf quietly grumbled in response.

I had, but at least I hadn't voiced it and I had a modicum of self control.

The third name was: Philippa Weston, 24, a paralegal and lived on the southeast side of the territory.

She would also be well suited.

A paralegal? She was obviously intelligent, knew our laws and was professional. All good qualities in a leader.

'Can we go already? You're wasting more time!' Mars was becoming increasingly agitated.

I should have taken a to-go cup of my mom's damn tea. Maybe then I could actually think straight without my wolf's incessant hounding.

The last name I recognised instantly, was Harriett Batemen, 25.

I knew without a doubt it wasn't her, I had employed her to be the manager of my bakery. Her mother was the head cook at the pack house and was the one who had taught me how to make bread, a hobby I didn't have much time for in recent years, which was why I started the bakery.

I really should check on her. I knew what she was like and she would have definitely gone into work today. And it was on the way to Nicolette Sawyer's address. I could check-in quickly.

After another round of badgering from my wolf, I set off. The more I focused on my mate the more my mind drifted to last night's thoughts, the girl I saw in high school...

~~~~

I had just arrived at school and was about to put my skateboard in my locker, when a figure caught my eye.

She was helping some guy carry a large board into a physics classroom but my focus wasn't on him, it was on her.

Tall, with honey-coloured hair.

After a few seconds of her standing there, her eyes turned to me and they were like looking at a tropical ocean.

I couldn't help the smile that spread on my face seeing her.

Girls were never that high on my list of priorities. I had my mate I wanted to wait for, I had my dad's legacy to live up to, I still hadn't shifted and I couldn't even feel so much as a sliver of my wolf, but my abilities were increasing by the day. My strength, speed, healing, even my aura were all far beyond what any wolf's were, even for an Alpha. I knew what it meant...everyone knew what it meant, I was a white wolf and, surprisingly, it was from my mother's side. Her grandmother had been a white wolf and now, apparently, so was I.

My concentration on the girl was disrupted by two faceless figures that were trying to get my attention. By the time I'd gotten rid of them, the girl was gone. All I saw was the back of her disappearing into the sea of students as she took her hair out, it swirled around her back like liquid gold...

Who the hell was that?

----------

It was one of the few moments I had to myself after being in the library studying, mostly everyone had left by now. Just casually rolling along the path, past the wall, a flash of gold caught my eye from across the grass under the willow tree.

It was her.

I hadn't spotted her once since last time, so she must've been a freshman in the other campus.

She looked up, catching me staring like some creepo and I tried to wave, like that would make me look less awkward. To my surprise, she returned it with a smile before she was distracted by someone calling her.

Wait, they shouted her name! s**t, I didn't catch it because I was too busy being a weirdo and staring.

And to top off the i***t sundae I was, because I wasn't watching where I was going, I skated straight into a trash can, falling head first, right in, and knocking it over...

Just kill me now, goddess.

I chanced a look over the wall to where the girl had been to see her walking away with someone.

Fuck, had she seen?!

That was my cue to shade away and get the hell out of there before someone actually saw me.

~~~~

Oh hell...I had forgotten all about the trash can...if my mate turned out to be that girl, I really hoped she hadn't seen. That was all I needed for a first impression.

Pulling up and stepping through the door to No Bark and All Bite bakery, the scent of honeysuckle seemed far stronger inside than it did at the doorway, so strong it was almost dizzying. But it was also heavily muddled by the smells of fresh bread, coffee and the scents of the many other patrons.

I sent a friendly nod to James behind the counter, which he returned as he served a customer, and I headed to the back office where I knew she would be.

"Hetty?"

"Morgan?!" She exclaimed, throwing her arms around my waist.

"I can't thank you enough...if you hadn't come...those men…" she started to sob, like she was reliving it all over again.

"Hey, it's ok," I soothed. "It wasn't just me, it was a team effort. We'd never let some criminals take our pack. And it wouldn't have killed you to take a few days off after everything that happened."

"It was here or have my mother fuss around me. Trust me, this was the less stressful option," she laughed tearily up at me. I definitely knew that feeling.

"I just stopped by to make sure you were ok. And if you feel you need a guard here or at home, you be sure to let my dad know. Yeah?"

She nodded, looking grateful, saying she liked the idea of a guard at her home for a few days. After a few more words, I quickly bid goodbye and headed out. The honeysuckle scent caught me again on my exit. It had stirred my wolf's attention. He wanted to find the source of the aroma, convinced it was more than the plants outside...

It had to be her...she had been here!

A good few hours ago, but she was here…

Holy fuck...how long had she been coming to this place?!

How had I missed this?!

'Because, in your own words, you are an i***t sundae,' my wolf snidely remarked.

'Yes, thank you for your words of encouragement!' I snapped back.

Weren't white wolf spirits meant to be majestic, wise and noble souls? Not sarcastic, snarky assholes!

Arriving at Nicolette's home address, I noticed lights were on inside. This could be it and it wasn't too far from the bakery.

As I approached the front door, I noticed I wasn't feeling the same pulling sensation I felt at the mines. Maybe the adrenaline back there just heightened everything?

"No...this isn't the place. I can feel it,' Mars seems firm in his belief.

'Maybe she just isn't in. The lights are on so someone else may be at home,' I tried to reason, but he didn't seem convinced.

I knocked on the door, to see a man answer. By the looks of it, a warrior.

"Alpha Morgan?!" He exclaimed in shock.

For a brief second my heart sunk.

Another man, with a mark sitting on his neck, in the home of my possible mate.

Then the scent hit me from inside...nothing, it had no effect on me whatsoever. The woman of this home wasn't the owner of the beautiful honeysuckle scent I was after. And if she had been marked by another wolf before we met, our bond would have been severed before it had formed.

"Hey...I just came to see if Miss Sawyer was doing ok?" I finally said after a slightly too long pause.

"Oh, my mate's sleeping right now. As you can imagine, it's taken a lot out of her...I can't put into words how grateful I am you got her back...I was on patrol that night and I feel like I failed her," he lamented, looking down.

"Don't be, they got past all of us. But they didn't get away with it, that's what's important," I said.

He had nothing to feel bad about. He was watching over his mate now, keeping her safe. If anything, I felt envious, this was what I wanted, needed, to be doing right now.

"At least they got what they deserved then," he growled out.

I nodded, if only we could have gotten more answers out of them before they took their own lives though.

"Well, I'll leave you to it. If you need anything, contact my father, ok?"

He agreed, thanked me again and waved goodbye as I drove off.

That left Philippa Weston...she had to be the one.

But after once again pulling up and speaking to a male occupant, this time carrying a young pup in his arms, I was met with the same story. She wasn't my mate either.

Had I missed something here?

'The human,' my wolf muttered.

'It isn't possible…' I tried to reason.

No human had ever been the fated mate of a wolf. I knew there were the odd few that took one as a chosen mate. And there was the old legend of some human medieval princess mated to an Alpha, but it always sounded like some fairytale to me. Werewolves were famous for embellishing their stories...but maybe there was a grain of truth in it?

Looking at the piece of paper again, I stared at her name.

June...it really was a pretty name...and I had nothing else to lose.

If it really did turn out to be this woman, I would kick myself.

I had known Tom for about six years when he had helped build my home, and from what I remember him saying in passing, she had just gone off to college on the other side of the country.

Oh, goddess and I had helped him move two years ago! I hadn't actually gone into his old home. I had just driven the loaded-up truck to the new home I had helped him build.

I had literally been given a million chances to meet my mate and I had missed them all!

If the moon goddess was watching me right now, she would be calling me a moron.

I sped my way over to the address, recognising the house instantly. I leapt out and ran to the door, pounding on it like a mad man.

Now, this felt different. Something was stirring in my chest, like an electrical excitement.

I hammered the door again, unable to calm myself and feeling increasingly frustrated that I was getting no answer, but at least no male was answering this time. I couldn't catch any scent either, there was a double set of doors leading into the home; the main door and a porch.

Where the hell could she be?

Her brother didn't live far. Maybe she stayed with him!

I skidded almost into my truck and took off, not even bothering with my seat belt.

Seeing Tom's house through the trees come into view, I jumped out, already forgetting that my truck even existed. My fist almost went through the wood of his door as I bombarded it with a rain of knocks.

I heard his dog barking continuously from inside before the door was ripped open by an angry-looking Tom, whose face morphed from outrage to confusion in a split second.

"What the fu…Morgan?"

The scent inside of mouthwatering honeysuckle hit my face in a wave. I took the biggest lungful, as though I had been underwater my entire life and was only now allowed oxygen for the first time.

I pushed past him and leaned my head back with my eyes closed, taking in the smell that only the most perfect creature in the world could possess. My wolf wanted to find every item she owned and roll around in them to coat ourselves in her scent.

She was the one, the one I had waited my whole life for.

"Morgan, what the f**k is going on?!" He demanded.

And I was vaguely aware of his dog bounding around me for attention. He was also looking at me like I had lost my mind and, in a way, I had.

"Where's June!" I almost shouted, adding to my deranged lunatic appearance and completely ignoring his question.

I hadn't even met her and already she has taken over my sanity.

"At work...or she should be...wait has something happened?!" He exclaimed, raising his voice in worry.

"She's my mate. Where is she!"

He looked at me silently, with no response and his mouth hanging open. I think of all the things I could have said, his sister being my mate, didn't even qualify for the top hundred.

"...She's at work...out at the estuary on Rogue river," he spoke, still looking bewildered.

I turned and exploded out of his house without another word. I knew where to go but it'd take me a lot longer to drive round. I could cut through the surrounding Siskiyou forest and follow the river to its mouth far faster on foot. I probably shouldn't shift either. I doubted she'd appreciate me showing up as a naked psychopath.

As I ran, Tom's voice called out behind me.

"WAIT! There's something you need to know!" But he was already fading out of sight.

My goal was my mate, anything I needed to know she could tell me herself.

The closer I came to my destination, the more my skin practically crackled with excitement. Now that the bond had been triggered in some fashion, it was drawing me to its owner, faintly, but it was there with some concentration.

I spotted a silver truck by the reeds of the river with a mass of equipment scattered around...one solitary, honey-blonde, figure kneeling down on the ground. Her scent swirled towards me, wrapping around like vines of fresh honeysuckle. When she looked up, her eyes almost took my breath away.

Those tropical ocean irises...it was her. I'd recognise those eyes anywhere, unique in their vibrancy.

She stared my way with wide eyes, not uttering a word.

Did she feel it? The bond?

Her hand slipped behind her back, looking to reach for something in her waistband, standing up slowly.

Now that she stood, I could take in every angle and curve. She was tall, incredibly tall, around 6'2, with a full curvaceous figure. Her hair was pulled back, but she was wearing some kind of covering over her neck, but just the idea of the soft, sweet skin sitting underneath had my canines starting to elongate, wanting to sink into her sun-kissed skin. And Mars wasn't helping, in urging me to do it. There was no way I was marking my own mate against her will. Was he crazy?!

She hadn't said anything and I was still heaving for breath.

Fuck, I must've looked insane to her.

I tried to approach to break the ice.

"Hey…"

Now what?!

'If I'm ever reincarnated, I hope I get a less awkwardly stupid human! Introduce yourself, dammit! She may know who we are already, but it's polite.'

I would have retorted, but I didn't want to waste the effort...and my wolf sort of had a point.

"...I'm Morgan. I can't believe I actually found you," I laughed a little, feeling like I'd just won the most amazing prize.

She still hadn't responded, but there was a ghost of a smile playing along her plump, pink lips.

Would they taste like honey dew? I desperately wanted to find out.

'What do I do now? She's not saying anything?! Did I come on too strong?' I asked my wolf, because I had no clue what I was doing. Dammit, why did I have to be so awkward with anything remotely intimate?!

But my wolf was at a complete loss too.

A cloud of dust came barreling towards us. I stood in front of my mate, ready to protect her from a possible threat. Her brother quickly exited the truck, rushing over to us.

How the hell did he get here so fast?

"I probably broke every speed limit in the pack to get here...but Morgan, you took off before I could say anything!"

I noticed out of the corner of my eye, my mate was making some hand gestures towards Tom.

Sign language?

My eyes widened in realisation.

Was she deaf? Could she even hear me?

"It's ok June. I know this is gonna sound nuts...but you're his mate," he signed as well as spoke.

"Morgan, my sister can't speak. That's what I was trying to tell you before."

Oh, that would explain a lot.

But I didn't care, this was just a minor obstacle.

She was mine and there was nothing that would keep me away from her.