Luna and her Alpha mate

07 ~ bothered and bewildered

Luna can feel it, her body is aflame.

But she is not afraid. She’s in her bed, fast asleep and safe from a real fire.

No, she is merely burning with desire, besieged by vivid dreams about the alpha.

Whimpering low, she mutters, “Cain…”

There is a secluded beach not too far from the packhouse, or at least, in her dream, there is one.

And she is there, alone with him in a little hut, enjoying their iced lemonade, continuing where they left off earlier that day in the garden. The only difference is, this time, there is no distraction.

"Is that really what you want?" He whispers. "Just leave…before we can explore whatever this…spark is… between us?"

Spark? He’s talking about spark when it feels more like there is a raging inferno inside her right now? She’s not even sure a dip in the water will calm it down.

He dips his head to claim her lips and she moans as she finds her new favourite taste.

“You feel feverish… I wonder why…” He whispers. “I can feel your skin burning up…” Luna watches Cain put the ice cube in his mouth, curious about what he’s going to do with it… Eat it, use it on her, put the cube in her drink…maybe all of the above?

“I feel…” She gasps when he kisses her again, and then his mouth is tracing hot and cold kisses along her jaw before reaching her ear and suckling it, letting a small cube of ice roll around with his tongue. “What..?” The mix of the lemonade, ice cube and the taste of Cain’s lips on her tongue send a shiver down her spine.

“Shh… I need something sweet with that lemonade…”

Luna wakes up and sits up on the bed, her breathing uneven, her face flushed and she looks around disoriented. And a little bit disappointed that it was only a dream.

The following day is one of those really beautiful ones that just make you want to spend it outdoors and that is what most of the people in the community decide to do. They choose to do a collective picnic with everybody bringing their own contribution, aside from what the community kitchen is already preparing.

Everyone is in high spirits and even Luna can feel herself looking forward to lunch.

She goes to the kitchen and finds all hands busy preparing something. Plucking up her courage, she carefully makes her way to one of the kitchen girls that has been quite friendly since she arrived, Elizabeth.

“Hi…I’d like to help… What can I do?” She asks. The kitchen suddenly becomes quiet as everyone turns to stare at her.

Elizabeth blinks in surprise before turning towards the head cook who nods at the silent question she seems to have thrown her way.

“Um, you can help me peel and cut these carrots… and after these, the potatoes… knife and peelers on the table.”

Luna smiles and eagerly gets everything she needs and quietly begins to work. The conversations resume and she secretly sighs in relief.

After an hour, Cain suddenly comes in with one of his friends, seemingly surprised to see her there, but nods his approval and she smiles back a little shyly.

“Everything okay, ladies?”

“Never better, Alpha.” Mrs Hunt answers smartly. “Now go off with you before you distract my girls and they burn everything there is for the picnic.”

Cain grins and salutes before leaving the kitchen, making the ladies giggle and tease each other.

The kitchen girl she is helping with the peeling turns to Luna and gushes. “Don’t you just think he’s divine?”

Luna smiles and nods noncommittally, concentrating on her carrots. She almost cuts her thumb when one of the women says dreamily…

“I’d trade anything for a night with him in the hut on the beach. What!? Now we can’t say it? They’re not mates or we would have known already!” The woman whines when the others tell her to hush. “And as I see it, he’s still fair game.”

Luna frowns at her ruined carrot.

There really is a beach with a hut in this place? How odd is that!? Dreaming about a place before she has even seen it…

“Don’t mind her, Luna…she’s always been so tactless. And she’s really more bark than bite.”

Luna blinks and raises her eyes to meet the kind brown eyes of the girl next to her, confused. “Huh? Oh, no, I wasn’t…” She blushes when she realises the girl is thinking she’s offended somehow. She clears her throat and smiles as she changes the topic. “Is there really a beach here? I thought this place is surrounded by forests all around.”

The girl nods eagerly. “Oh, well, that is true… in part. The forest you can see from your window goes on for miles so that’s all you see but on the west side is the sea. The pack—that is, we have a private beach and we often go there… but these days, the beach is inaccessible because the alpha has ordered a construction there in preparation for the visitors coming to see the showcase so we haven’t been there for a while now… You can come with us next time if you want.”

“That’s very nice of you, thank you for inviting me.”

Elizabeth happily chatters on, even telling her the names of most of the people in the kitchen.

The head cook is Mrs Hunt and the girl who has the hots for Cain is Connie. The girl cutting the cold meat is her twin Emily, and the redhead girl making ganache with Mrs Hunt is Elizabeth’s best friend Taylor. Yvonne and Shaina are the girls busy making sweet macarons which are, apparently, the alpha’s favourite.

Lunch finally comes and Luna helps the others as they carry most of the food to the picnic spot. More people help carry the rest of the stuff outside, including some really burly men who carried the long table and other heavier things, being led by Cain himself.

Amidst good-natured jokes and silly banters, they are finally able to all sit down and eat. Luna finds herself seated next to Elizabeth and her twin and their friends. Everything is delicious and everyone is in such high spirits that even Luna forgets for a moment that she’s an outsider and even begins to enjoy herself.

She marvels at the two hundred-something people present. She thought that only the people living in the community house would be there but so many others arrived, emerging from the surrounding forest, in every direction. Families with young children or older people.

“The packhouse is usually just for the single people and those who can’t afford to make their own cottages yet. The families actually have their own houses out there, scattered in the woods. My sister and I moved here when we turned sixteen.” Elizabeth explains.

“Packhouse? Is that what you call this place?”

“Oh! Um, yeah…”

“Cause we’re all packed in here like sardines.” Elizabeth’s twin jokes, making everyone laugh.

“Do I hear you belittling my humble abode again?” Cain asks from behind them and Emily spits her juice. “You know you’re always welcome to sleep in the doghouse. I hear the fleas are very accommodating…” He threatens with a sickly grin.

Emily pales. “Oh, Alpha, we were just—”

He laughs and ruffles Emily’s hair. “Ehh, I’m just messing with you. You should see your face, you look like a sardine, out of air.” He mimics her expression but gasps as he sees a plate of colourful macarons on their table. “Hey! Why didn’t my table have this!?”

Emily returns his sickly grin. “Cause somebody claims to be on a strict diet but literally inhales them when he sees them?”

He smirks as he puts three macarons, one after the other, in his mouth. “Smartass!”

“Trained by the best.”

“Ah, now you’re just pushing it, smurf! Scoot!” He sits down beside Luna and smiles at her, making her feel some sort of flutterings in her tummy. "You doin' okay with this crazy lot?"

She chuckles, suddenly self-conscious. "Yes, of course. They've been nothing but kind and welcoming."

“How much did they pay you to say that?” He asks in a deadpan voice as he drinks her lemonade and makes a face, making everyone around them laugh. “What the fvck is that, pure freshly squeezed lemon!? I think my blood just got diluted…” he shivers in distaste.

Luna blushes. “I don’t like sugary drinks—”

“Shh… I need something sweet with that lemonade…” He mutters, reaching out for more macarons and taking more than half a plate, eliciting complaints from the others.

Luna’s mouth turns dry all of a sudden, remembering him saying those exact same words in her dreams.

He seems to notice her odd expression and turns to frown at her. “Hey, you okay?”

She merely nods, blushing red as his scent overwhelms her again, just like in her dream.

Cain puts a hand on her forehead. “Are you sure? You feel feverish… I wonder why…”

Damn, it’s like he’s reading a script of Luna's dream! What is happening?

“I can feel your skin burning up…” He continues to say and Luna stands up, bothered and bewildered by what is happening.

“I…I just…I think I just need to go…lie down for a bit. I’m a little tired. Excuse me, everyone.” She doesn’t wait for anyone to respond and just runs back to the house.

There is silence at the table she just vacated and Alpha stares at her retreating back in confusion. “What the hell just happened? Did I say something wrong?”

Emily and the other girls start to giggle.

“Or something right.” One of the girls says, amused.

“Huh?”

“Let’s just say if she was a wolf, she’d be in heat right now.” Elizabeth offers kindly.

Emily snickers. “From her scent, I’d say she already is, even if she isn’t one. What’s wrong with your nose, alpha?”