Chasing My Luna

10

REBECCA

Jim was bouncing around like crazy as I tried to wrap his scarf around his neck. He was all jittery, a bundle of energy and excitement as we got ready to go see the game.

"I can't wait, Mommy!" He exclaimed, jumping into my arms as soon as I managed to get the scarf on him. I held him tight against my chest, taking in the scent of his baby shampoo. He was already so different from when he was a newborn, and I knew that all too soon for my liking, he would change again, so I savored every moment.

"I'm glad you're happy, baby." I smiled, kissing him on the cheek and setting him down. "I'll go say hi to Vi, and then we'll go, okay?"

James nodded, and I went over to my little girl, who was playing with Uncle Wayne on the carpet. Wayne and Ravi adored the kids, and the kids adored them, and being practically next-door neighbors (we lived in adjacent buildings), it was very easy for us to hang out practically every day. For James, especially, they were a true blessing - they were the male role models he otherwise wouldn't have had. Dad, uncles, grandparents... without Wayne and Ravi, Jim would have had none of that. My parents had died when I was little,before they could give me siblings, and they had no siblings themselves, so I had never even had uncles or cousins. As for his father... best not to think about it.

"Hey, sweetie." I smiled, kneeling in front of her. Vi gave me a radiant smile and threw her arms around my neck, smothering my face with kisses. "Ready for your night with your uncles?"

"Of couwse!" She exclaimed. "Uncle Wayne said we have pizza and then ice cweam and watch Awiel!"

Ah, Wayne was a master at spoiling kids.

"And he said I can stay up mowre." She whispered, giggling mischievously.

"Just this once, okay?" I sighed, pretending to be a little annoyed. Vi nodded, her beautiful brown eyes - Reiner's eyes - sparkling with happiness.

"Okay, Mommy. Now go!" She laughed.

I sighed, shaking my head and tickling her. "Well, look at that, someone can't wait to have the house all to herself, huh?!"

Violet burst into laughter, begging me between laughs to stop tickling her. The "torture" only ended when Ravi took her from my arms, carrying her to safety.

"Mom, we'll be late!" Jim insisted, clinging to the door handle. "COME ON!"

What a little despot, I chuckled to myself.

Well, no, a little voice inside me retorted. What a little Alpha.

My happiness dimmed a little. No matter how you looked at it, it was impossible to deny, or not think about Jim's genetics. For now, he was still a child, but sooner or later, he would grow up, and his Alpha instincts would emerge.

And he wouldn't have a real pack to reign over.

A flood of anxious and somewhat catastrophic thoughts about his future and how I would manage a teenage Alpha began to press against my mind, but I pushed them away. It wasn't the time for them, not now. Now, I just had to go and spend a nice evening with my child.

With a smile, I picked him up, left Wayne and Ravi some money for pizza and ice cream on the kitchen table (Wayne rolled his eyes, but didn't argue), and then we left.

REINER

Saying that the flight from home to New York had been terrible would have been an understatement. I'd hated every single minute of it.

I didn't like flying to begin with, but if the flight was delayed, constantly jolted by turbulence, and packed with annoying people (not children - they didn't bother me at all - but rude adults)... it was the perfect recipe for five hours of pure hell.

Thank the Goddess, I sighed as I stepped off that damned metal tube from hell. I'll never take one of these things again.

I had lost count of how many times I'd said those words in my life. Unfortunately, my job required me to fly pretty often. Former job, my conscience reminded me.

An unpleasant sensation of nausea mixed with anger tightened my stomach. Yeah.

Becky had been with me most of those flights, it was she, mainly, who kept me calm and composed during them, and every time I said I wouldn't get on a plane again, she laughed and kissed me.

Not even for me? She used to joke, looking at me with those wonderful blue eyes lit with amusement. And then I caved.

For her, I would do anything. Taking a plane was nothing.

Swallowing, I pushed that memory back into the deepest recesses of my mind. Now wasn't the time to think about her. I had to stay focused, at least for document control.

After I'd left home, taking everything I had managed to cram into my duffel bag, I'd driven straight to the airport. I felt nothing but burning anger and the awareness that I could never, ever stay close to my home. It would have been... too much. I had too many memories in Oregon.

It was time for a clean break - to completely change my life. So, at the airport, I'd started looking at the flight boards, contemplating possible destinations while trying not to let the worst and darkest thoughts that were clouding the back of my mind come forward.

I was almost convinced to go to Barcelona when, by chance, I received a call from my friend Mark. It had been a while since I had heard from him, although he was one of my closest friends. As soon as he'd asked me how I was, I'd broken down. The pain anger and suffering I had kept inside for four years had simply exploded. For an endless half-hour, I'd sat on the uncomfortable airport chairs, sobbing and pouring my heart out to him. In the end, Mark had decided for me.

"Get a ticket to New York, Reiner." He said. We rarely called each other by name, and we only did it when things were serious. "You'll stay with me. You need some time for yourself to rest and get your s**t together. And send me the landing time, so I'll come pick you up."

I hadn't even tried to argue. I knew it was what I needed. Within five minutes, I had bought a last-minute ticket and sent him the landing time. An hour later, I was already sitting on the plane.

Once through the checks, I finally reached the airport exit. Before meeting Mark in front of the newsstand, I stopped to get a sandwich.

Just as I finished dictating the order to the guy behind the counter, though, I felt a heavy hand slap me on the back.

"BRO!" Mark's familiar voice echoed in my ears, bringing a smile to my face.

"Hey," I smiled, returning his grip. "How the hell did you...?"

There was no need for words, and he just made the gesture of sniffing for me to understand. He must have caught my scent.

"Make it two." He told the guy making my sandwich. "Oh, and on this asshole's tab, of course." He chuckled. "So? How was your trip?"

I shrugged. Now that he was here with me - now that I wasn't alone anymore. I felt much better. Sure, the anger and pain were still there, never subdued, but... there was also a bit of relief, which never hurt.

"Not extremely pleasant."

I paid for the two sandwiches and handed the second one to Mark, who pounced on it like the hungry wolf he was.

"Well, at least I have the cure for that." He replied, swallowing a bite and, with another brilliant smile, pulled two tickets out of his pocket. "Lakers vs Knicks, tonight".

My smile widened, and as we walked out of the airport, I thought that a good basketball game, perhaps, was just what I needed.

I had no idea how true that was.

By the time we got there, the stadium was already pretty crowded. Mark and I had spent the afternoon (or what was left of it, since he didn't exactly live behind JFK) at his house, chatting and catching up on what had happened in each other's lives with good, cold beers in hand. He already knew all about Becky and what had happened between us - it hadn't even been a year since he had last visited - but, of course, there was the latest, phantasmagorical update of my life to discuss.

Just thinking about it made me feel like my mouth was full of ash.

At least everything was running smoothly for him. He was an established pediatric surgeon and a bachelor by choice. He was not suited for married life or putting down roots. More than a wolf, he was a dog. Wolves mated for life - and that was the perfect definition to describe someone who wasn't Mark.

"A shame you're not coming with that nurse, huh?" I chuckled as we took our seats in the stands. Mark had told me that he had originally bought those tickets to bring a nurse he liked but that, in the end, she had told him no.

As it happened, just as he was trying to figure out who to give the second ticket to, he had thought of me.

Not that I believed that version much. I had known Mark for 20 years, and I knew how he thought and, more importantly, how he acted, and he was the type to drop everything if a friend was in trouble.

Nevertheless, I had pretended to believe him, because I knew that, otherwise, he would be terribly embarrassed.

Mark chuckled and shrugged. "Ah, I already have my eyes on someone else anyway. Grace." He said, looking mysterious.

I played along. "Who?"

"Neurosurgeon. She's literally like a brain..." I closed my eyes, murmuring a quick prayer to the Goddess. Who the hell would have thought of comparing a woman to a brain?

"Smart, beautiful, and with killer curves."

Doctors.

"Good," I commented. "I hope you know that, from now on, I will never again be able to see a smart, curvy woman as anything other than a human brain."

Mark howled with laughter, shoving a handful of popcorn into his mouth.

I hope there aren't any of his patients around here, I thought. Or rather, none of their parents.

Mark was one of the best in his field, but seeing him like this, if I were a father, I wasn't sure I would trust him with the life of my hypothetical child.

"Let's go Mommy let's go!" I heard a child exclaim, but there was too much noise, and I couldn't understand where he was. A laughter, cheerful and lighthearted, hovered after his squeal... a familiar laugh, which plucked painful strings in my heart.

Fuck, maybe I had had a little too much to drink.

Although it was strange, I tolerated beer just fine.

The match started soon after, I tried - I really tried - to stay focused on the game or on Mark's chatter, but it was impossible.

Since I'd heard that laughter, it was as if something had moved inside me as if that string in my heart had not stopped vibrating... awakening something that was no longer supposed to be there. Something that, until four years ago, was so much a part of me that sensing it was almost more natural than breathing.

This can't be.

"Reiner?"

Mark called me after about half an hour, putting his hand on my shoulder.

"Hey, man, what's up with you?"

I tightened my lips, shaking my head. "I don't know. Maybe I need some air. I'll be back in a minute, okay?"

Mark nodded, a shadow of doubt in the back of his eyes. "Call me if you don't feel well, okay?"

I nodded and stood up. Luckily, my seat was right next to the stairs, so I didn't disturb anyone's view by getting up.

I started toward the restrooms or the exit, but suddenly...

"YEAH!"

A festive shout, full of joy and excitement. The same child as before.

"GREAT! YOU'RE THE BEST!"

The Knicks had scored, catching up against the Lakers.

The next moment, the jumbotron that occasionally showed the crowd of fans changed subjects from the couple making out to ...

Oh, Goddess.

The wind got knocked right out of me.

I knew that face.

Just as I knew that smile, which so many times had brightened my days. Just as I knew those eyes, which at a blessed time in my life had shone for me. Just as I knew that beautiful hair through which I had run my fingers countless times.

"HAVE YOU SEEN MOMMY?! HAVE YOU SEEN?!" the little boy in her arms, who had turned to look at her just before the camera framed them, shouted again, and she laughed, a pure and liberating laugh, a laugh of pure joy.

I couldn't believe it. After all that time... there she was, as beautiful and shining as the last time I had seen her. My love. My mate. My Luna. My Becky, all smiles and laughter, her dark blue eyes shining like stars as she tried to keep the cheering boy in her arms quiet.

Both were directly in front of me, in the front row, on the other side of the field, and as soon as the boy in her arms turned around, finally showing his face to the camera...

Nothing and no one could stifle the curse that escaped my lips.

It was barely a whisper, but it felt like the entire stadium had turned to stare at me. In reality, however, the only eyes fixed on mine were Rebecca's, wide open in shock.

My mate... with my son in her arms.