Luna of Mine (4 page)

“Mother, are you alright?”
Alina asked as she saw her mother doubled over in a similar
position.

“
The
Alphas,” her mother breathed out. “They are
gone.”

Alina’s head turned at the
sound of a low growl just as her father came around the corner of
their small home. He had phased into his wolf form because the need
to protect his own was stronger than his ability to keep the man in
control.

“
Mother,
is he okay?” Alina asked her mom, knowing they could use their bond
to communicate.

Her mother nodded but
didn’t answer. She was breathing hard and the tight features of her
face testified to the extreme discomfort that she was
experiencing.

“How long will this last?”
Alina asked desperate for a reprieve.

“As long as it takes for
the entire pack to know,” her mother answered.

That was not the answer
Alina had been looking for. Theirs was a large pack. The reigning
Alpha and his mate had been good leaders, strong and fair, and the
pack had prospered because of it. She clenched her teeth together
in an attempt to keep the pain at bay and walked out to help her
mother up. Her father was staring a hole into his mate, and Alina
knew he did not like seeing her on the ground, vulnerable. They
tripped and stumbled their way into their home, and Alina helped
her mother into one of two chairs that occupied the small living
space. There was nothing left to do but wait. Alina was not good at
waiting. Her father took up sentry at the door, small growls
escaping his throat occasionally. He never moved; he endured his
pain in stillness and silence as he protected his mate and
daughter―from what she did not know.

Alina woke with a start
when she heard the door close. Her father was walking in on two
feet and he looked more tired than usual. She took a deep breath
and realized that the pain was gone. There was still a dull ache,
but it was manageable.

“
Where
have you been?” she asked him as she stared at him closely trying
to get a read on his mood. Her father could have been a gambler,
could have played any game that required a blank face. He held his
emotions in check better than anyone she had ever
known.

“There was a village
meeting. All the males were called on.”

She waited for more but he
did not continue. She let out a huff. “Aaand,” she drew out the
word hoping he would elaborate.

“
News
came in about an hour ago that the Alpha and his mate are indeed
dead, and Stefan’s son, Vasile, is Alpha now. Rumor is that he will
be making his way to each village.” His tone dripped with weariness
as he looked for a small morsel to eat.

“
Why is
he going to the villages? Does that mean he will come here?”
Alina’s voice rose with each question. “Does he have a true mate
yet?”

“
Hush,
child,” her father admonished. “The better question is 'Why are you
so interested in the new Alpha?'”

Alina felt her cheeks grow
warm as her father scrutinized her face. Alina had met―okay not
really met, more like seen from a distance―Vasile a few times over
the years. The last time had been when she was thirteen. He was
handsome, really handsome, with a muscular build, hair black as
night, and eyes so blue she was sure that the Great Luna herself
had dipped a paint brush into the sky and painted them to match. It
had been two years. Since then she had matured quite a bit not only
in physical attributes but emotionally as well. She knew the
chances of a bond showing up before the age of eighteen were rare,
but she felt so ready despite her age. True mate bonds were finicky
things. Typically they did not show signs until the female was of
age or able to conceive. The latter varied from female to female.
Alina herself had been a late bloomer in that respect and had not
had her first blood until a month after her fifteenth birthday, not
that she was complaining. Other than being able to bond with her
mate and bear a child, having a menses was not her favorite part of
becoming a mature female.

So she was slightly
enamored with him, big deal. So maybe she thought about it for days
and weeks after each sighting; that is not unusual when a girl sees
a handsome male. And maybe a few times she had tried his last name
out with hers, imagined what his lips would taste like, and
fantasized about having his pups. Okay, so maybe she was bordering
on obsessed at that point. Well, her father did not have to know
all that. She smiled up at him and asked, “It is important for us
to know our Alpha, is it not?”

Her father narrowed his
eyes at her, and she knew that she did not have near the ability to
wipe her face clean like he did, but she was pretty good at it when
she tried.

“
It is,”
he agreed. “It is also important for a female to find her true
mate. You are one such female. It has been a few years since you
have seen Vasile, has it not? You have matured quite a lot since
then; perhaps your wolf is stirring and she feels something that
you do not quite understand yet.”

“
Are you
implying that he could be
my
mate?” Alina whispered as if the walls had ears
and could share secrets that were spoken within.

“
Why? Is
that so impossible? Mind you, Alpha or not, he still will not be
claiming you until you turn twenty. Actually, I should be
saying
especially
since he is an Alpha. You need to know who you
are as woman, Alina. I do not want you to only find your identity
in your mate. I want you to be confident because of who you are,
not who you are mated to.”

Alina looked over at her
sleeping mother and stood up to be closer to her father so they
would not disturb her. She looked up at him meeting his eyes. “When
you look at me do you see one worthy of royalty? He is of a royal
bloodline, Father, and I am…,” she paused and looked down at her
tattered dress and dirt covered shoes. “I am just this.”

She felt a finger under
her chin as he raised her head until she was once again looking up
at him. Her father was a handsome man, not in the same way that
Vasile was, but handsome nonetheless.

His lips tightened, his
eyes glowed ever so slightly, and there was a gravelly quality to
his voice that only happened when his wolf was near the surface.
“You are not defined by the clothes on your body, the shoes on your
feet, or the money in your pocket. You are defined by the choices
you make, the character that you choose to have, and the respect
you show yourself and to those around you. Just because he is
royalty does not mean he is worthy of you. This is exactly why I
want you to wait. You have no reason to be ashamed. Listen to me
now, daughter-of-mine.” He dropped his hand to her shoulder and
squeezed it gently. “You are a female of worth. I know your
character; I’ve seen the choices you have made and been on the
receiving end of your respect. Even if he is your true mate, you
make him work for it. When a male wolf in the wild finds a female
he wants to take as a mate, that female does not bow her head and
tuck her tail between her legs. She makes the male show her that he
is strong, faithful and capable.

“
When
you do finally meet your true mate, do not dare tuck your tail and
lower your head. You meet his gaze, you challenge his pursuit, and
you make him prove it.”

Alina’s mouth had dropped
open at her father’s words. He had never talked with her about
finding her true mate; it was her mother who had always shared and
ask questions. She honestly could not believe what she was hearing
and it confused her.

“
What
about the mating signs? Is not that proof enough?” she
asked.

“
The
mating signs simply reveal true mates to one another. They do not
give either one the right to demand, or take, what is not freely
given.”

That was news to Alina.
She had been under the impression that once a male found his true
mate nothing and no one would stand in his way of claiming her. She
had indeed wondered just how her father was planning to tell her
mate that he could not have her until she was twenty. Alina still
was not satisfied. “What about dominant males? I thought they
became possessive of their mates and would not allow anyone or
anything to stand in their way. And won’t it be painful for us both
if we don’t bond?”

“
I am not
saying that you will not
ever
bond. All I am saying is that
things worth having usually come at a price. You need to decide
what your price is. You are a dominant female, Alina, which means
your mate will be extremely dominant. He will always cherish you,
love you, and take care of you. But if you let him, he will rule
you because he will think it is the best way to protect you, and
above all else his need to protect his mate will always come first.
It would be wise of you to set the tone of your mating by letting
your future mate know that you will respect him, but you will
demand the same respect.”

Alina watched her father
quietly walk over to his own mate and pick her sleeping form up as
effortlessly as if she was a child. He took his mate to the only
room in the cottage and closed the door, leaving Alina with her
thoughts.

Her price?
she thought. What could she possibly expect from
the male made for her? How could she demand his respect and expect
he wait to complete the bond with her until she was sure he would
treat her as his equal? Her father had given her some things to
think about that she had never considered. Of course, he was a male
so it made sense that he would know better than her mother how her
mate would act and the best way for her to respond to
him.

“
My
price,” she whispered into the empty room as she lay down on the
bed in the far corner. Her eyes slowly closed and her mind drifted
back to the first time she had ever seen Vasile. She had been in
one of the larger market places close to the castle of Stefan and
Daciana. She was all of twelve and it was the first time her mother
and father had allowed her to accompany them. She bounced on eager
feet as they walked through the crowds of people. The new scents in
the air nearly overwhelmed her, and the chatter of the vendors
trying to catch the attention of every passerby was like a swarm of
bees swirling about her head. Her eyes never rested on one thing
for too long because there was just too much to see. There seemed
to be a vendor for everything she could imagine: colorful fabrics
at one stand, fresh produce at another, jewelry, tack for horses,
tools. Her father nudged her in the direction of a hut filled with
all sorts of metal tools and even weapons. She had always thought
it strange that they made weapons when they werewolves. Their very
form was a weapon, but her father had said a good predator utilizes
all of its options, and fighting in their human form was definitely
an option and sometimes necessary.

“
Petre.”
A large man with shaggy black hair, brown eyes, and the beginning
shadow of a beard walked from behind a curtain. “Georgeta, it’s so
good to see you both.”

The use of her parent’s
first names told her that they were good friends with this man.
Alina stood silently to the right and behind her parents, looking
around the small area at all of the treasures hanging and lying on
shelves. It took her mother’s throat clearing to realize they had
been speaking to her.

“
This is
our daughter, Alina.” Her father motioned for her to step
forward.

“
It is
very nice to meet you, Miss Alina,” the large man said holding out
his hand. She took the offered hand and watched as he leaned over
and ever so lightly pressed a kiss to hers. She didn’t miss it when
he took a long, deep breath as he leaned over her. He was handsome,
but then most werewolves were. Still it did not stop her from
politely but quickly pulling her hand away.

Her mother had explained
that the older she grew, the more males would attempt to discover
if she was their mate, even if she was not of age, though they
would not take her before they were allowed. Alina had told her
mother in no uncertain terms that if some random wolf came sniffing
around her claiming that she was his, she would poke his eyes out.
Her parents had both laughed at her, thinking her jesting, but she
was dead serious, and if the man before her did not stop sniffing
the air around her, she was going to make good on her
threat.

“
Cezar,”
her father’s deep rumble and the loud clanking of the bag of metal
works that he set on the counter in front of them had the man
turning away from Alina, finally. “I’ve brought what you ordered.”
Cezar went about inspecting the tools while her parents waited
patiently.

Alina was not so patient.
She walked to the edge of the hut to look out into the busy street.
Dust rose in the air from all the shuffling feet and tickled her
nose causing her to sneeze. The sneeze made her eyes water, and the
dirt filled air only made her eyes tear up more. Because she had
been attempting to wipe her eyes with her dress without showing
anything that would be deemed inappropriate, she was bent over and
had not noticed the person that had stopped next to her.