Chapter 11: Chapter 11

ALVARIUS

Together, we finish making breakfast in silence. Occasionally, Valery glances at me, a deep frown on her brow, but as she promised, she doesn’t question me.

I watch as she flips pancakes expertly and places them on two plates. Then my eyes stray to the broken window. I cleared away the broken glass and installed a sturdy cardboard barrier last night, but it won’t keep anything out for long, not even the chilly air.

I know I have to tell her everything. But the truth is, I’m scared. This is a lot for a human to handle. What if she doesn’t want to have anything to do with me? I’ve been watching her for so long, falling more and more in love with her. Will I be able to handle her rejection?

Best-case scenario, once she knows everything, she’ll come back to the pack house with me. I can keep her safe there. There are more of us to stand guard.

Worst-case scenario… I shake my head. I don’t even want to think about it.

We finish eating, and Valery pushes her plate away, stands up, takes my hand, and leads me to the couch in the living room.

Sitting on one end, she draws her knees up to her chin and wraps her arms around her legs. “All right, so…”

My palms are sweating, and I wipe them on my jeans as I take a deep breath. Here goes. “I already told you that I’m an alpha, a leader.”

She nods and I continue. “I’m responsible for my pack, but I would also do anything to protect you because…” My voice trails off. This is a lot harder than I thought. My heart is pounding, and I wipe my palms on my jeans once more. Valery reaches out a hand and squeezes my arm.

“You’re my mate,” I blurt out and then look at her.

Her eyes widen, and I smile weakly before hastily continuing.

“Every werewolf gets a soul mate, chosen from our Moon Goddess. This is our other half—just like what humans believe. We are to find that soul mate and spend the rest of our lives with them.”

She shakes her head, stopping me. “Whoa, wait a minute. How are you sure it’s me? I’m only a human—and we barely know each other.”

I smile and put my hand on her cheek. She’s so beautiful. “I know. I can feel it. We can sense our mates when we first see them. We sense they’re our partner. Our instinct, everything we are, we want to give to protect them. I first saw you when you took one of your walks in my forest. I smelled the sweetest scent of peaches and followed it to you. I watched you from the cover of trees while you were sitting by the lake.”

I pause for a moment to let her take everything in. I probably sound like some sort of stalker, and I pray to the Goddess she doesn’t think that. When she nods, I continue.

“From that moment on, all I wanted was to protect you, to be with you. But you are human, and I was afraid of how to approach you, so I didn’t.” I chuckle at how lame that sounds. “I was just spending my days watching over you, hoping one day I’d have the courage to talk to you.”

She smiles softly but nods, encouraging me to continue.

“I guess the Moon Goddess was sick of seeing me struggle and gave me my chance to get close to you. I couldn’t believe that you seriously wanted to help me that day. I thought you were insane. You were eager to help me, a wild wolf, not scared of your own safety.”

She bites her lip as she processes everything. “But again, how is this possible? As we’ve both said, I’m human.”

“You were born on a super blue moon.”

Her brows lower. “A what, now?”

I smile. “A super moon is a full moon that happens when the moon is closest to the earth’s orbit, and a blue moon is the second full moon in a month.” I chuckle at the perplexed expression on her face. “I promise, it’s a thing. Look it up. They’re rare. For the most part, they occur once in a decade.”

She gets a faraway look in her eyes for a moment before she focuses back on me. “Almost every year on my birthday, my mom used to tell me the story of how she would look out at the moon from the hospital window while she was in labor with me. How big the moon was, and how she pushed through the pain while looking at its light.”

“Werewolves have always craved the hunt, particularly under a full moon, but at one time, we especially craved it when humans were the prey.”

Valery shudders, and I move closer to her and take her into my arms. “The Moon Goddess was unhappy with this. She wanted us to live in harmony with humans, so she made it possible for us to mate with certain humans, lessening our desire to hunt them because we feared harming the potential mate of a pack member. Now, it’s rare.”

“Wow.”

“Are you okay?” I ask, rubbing her shoulder.

“It’s a lot to take in,” she says. “But that doesn’t explain why those werewolves are after me.”

I nod and look down. “You… If you agree to be my mate, I will mark you. You would be my luna, my pack’s luna. Basically, we would rule over our pack together. The wolves that attacked you wanted to prevent that. With you as my luna, our pack would grow stronger.”

She studies me for a second and then shakes her head. “There’s still something you’re not telling me. Please, I need to know everything.”

I chuckle and try to lighten the mood. “See? You know me.” She smiles but tilts her head, waiting for me to continue. I sigh. “If an alpha finds a human mate, one born on a super blue moon, by becoming a luna, the Moon Goddess blesses her with extraordinary abilities.”

“What kind of abilities?”

“Usually greatly enhanced qualities she already possesses. I’m sorry, but we wouldn’t know exactly until they manifested. The pack that’s after you knows your abilities would benefit our pack in ways we can’t even imagine right now, so if they kill you, that can’t happen.”

“And you? If they kill you?”

Amazed at her level of perception, I stand motionless for a moment before speaking. “If they kill me, my pack will be bound to their alpha.”

She pulls away from me and stares out the window. Shit. I watch as emotions play over her face: disbelief, confusion, awe. Before she can get too far in her thinking, though, I hasten to add more.

“Valery, I want you to know you’re free to reject me.” Her eyes dart to mine, but then her gaze wanders to the window once more. “I promise I won’t get mad. I’d understand. After all, this is totally fucking up your life,” I say, my stomach tying into knots the longer she stares at everything but me.

She’s going to say no. I can feel it. I stand and walk to the window. What am I going to do now?