The Perfect Luna

Chapter 9. Mate

Gideon was enraged.

He avoided werewolf events for a reason. They were always so… tiring. The annoying weaklings clung to him like leeches, trying to place their daughters and sisters under him. He hated it.

Yet here he was. Sitting on a private balcony, he watched everyone who was arriving for the Alpha Ball through a small opening between two curtains. He asked for this place to be ready for him specifically to have privacy during the event when he needed it. He hated being the centre of attention. He wanted to be done with the party quickly so he could leave for home, where piles of work awaited him. Something was going on at the border of his kingdom. He needed to read the reports, analyse them, and come up with a solution.

Still, the thought of two females stayed with him. One of whom was his mate. The one he had been waiting for his whole life, the one who should belong to him and him only. He saw her just a few days ago, the beauty swimming naked in the lake on the border that he was patrolling that fateful night. He could still remember how her skin glowed in the moonlight, how her breasts peeked out of the water when she was floating on her back, and how her long blonde hair flowed around her. This was a picture he couldn’t release from his mind. The picture that was driving him crazy.

Moreover, what drove him even crazier was that she did not sense him. While her scent was coating itself all over him and caused him to enter werewolf territory in search of her, she didn’t even notice him. However, what was worse was when she finally did notice him, she got scared and fled.

There was no mistake. He recognised what was his at once. He couldn’t confuse her with anyone. Why couldn’t she do the same? Why did she run away?

He told himself many times that she just got scared. Some women were like that. Especially since he was a Lycan and much bigger than a regular werewolf. He knew what kind of rumours were spread among wolves about his kind. That was probably it.

He had to find her. There were three packs close to the lake where he met the nymph destined for him. He hoped to speak to the Alphas or Lunas there in the hope of discovering her location.

There was all the more reason to speak with one particular Luna of one of those packs. She was the reason why he decided to attend this exact event and not just go to the three packs in turn.

Her voice was haunting him for some reason. And so were her words. He was in a very bad mood when he spoke to her on the phone since his mate had just escaped him. However, as soon as she hung up, he regretted everything he had said. As an Alpha King, he had to be more understanding. Besides, she had a good point.

Adding to that, Lycans owed her. They weren’t so arrogant to consider merely talking to her was a favour.

So, Gideon decided to listen to the Luna’s arguments. If she was right, he would help her get her pack back during the divorce. It wasn’t her fault that her husband couldn’t keep his word. A man shouldn’t mark a female and take her as his Luna if he was not sure that this was a final decision.

“Do you see her?” the King asked his Beta while enjoying his drink in a comfortable seat provided especially for him.

“No,” Reid replied, “but I see a lot of other fish in the sea, and I would like to go fishing. Can I?”

“Of course you can.” Gideon chuckled. “As soon as you bring me Luna Thorn, you’re free to fish as much as you like.”

“Fine!” his best friend groaned. “I’ve done my research, by the way. All the packs are talking about it.”

“What do they say?” He was interested to hear all sides of the story.

“They say that her husband found his true mate and their bond appears to be so strong he decided to bring her to his pack. He claims that this is required for his wolf’s wellbeing.” Reid snorted. “Such an asshole if you ask me. Even I wouldn’t do that.”

“What did she do?” The King took another sip of his drink.

“She didn’t throw a tantrum, that’s for sure.” His Beta sounded as if he respected the Luna. “They say, initially, she asked him to reject the other woman, but when he refused, she was actually nice towards the poor omega.”

“His mate is an omega?” Now Gideon found this funny. “Let me guess, a poor wee creature who everyone tortured? This tale is as old as time.”

“But apparently, not everyone learned their lessons from the fairy tales.” Reid rolled his eyes. “The Alpha is quite smitten with his mate. He even brought her here as his date.”

“Seriously?” The King decided to check for himself and stood up, coming closer to his friend. “Where are they?”

“If I remember the pics from the dossier correctly…” His Beta pointed his finger at a couple, a handsome man with a smug smile and a cute little redhead in a tacky dress. “That’s them.”

“The girl is nothing special,” Gideon stated plainly.

“It’s a matter of taste.” Reid shrugged his shoulders. “She is a seven at least, but if I remember my encounter with the Luna correctly, she is a freaking ten.”

His Beta continued, saying something else, but suddenly, the King stopped caring because, once again, he picked up the scent that was now too familiar to miss.

His mate was here, and he couldn’t believe his luck!

The doors opened, and a beautiful woman walked in, immediately drawing everyone’s attention to her. She had the beauty of a porcelain doll and wore a wine-red dress that hugged her body in all the right places. For a second it seemed he forgot how to breathe because she was even more beautiful than he remembered.

Any moment now she would feel that he was here too. He was curious about what she would do this time. Would she run away again? Or would she start looking for him?

To his surprise, she did absolutely nothing and reacted in no way to his presence. She was descending the stairs, the fabric of her dress flowing after her like a red cloud, while the eyes of every male in the room were glued to her. Gideon heard a few possessive growls that annoyed the hell out of him.

He let out his own. Not just a growl; it was a true roar that made everyone else shut up. His mate flinched but kept walking.

“Oh, there she is.” Reid pointed his index finger at the woman. “Luna Riannon Thorn.”