have no idea what the creatures are, sure he’s explained them to me, but they are not things I’ve ever heard of or seen before. There’s also this pull toward them, something deeper. I wanted to go closer, but the fact that they are unknown stopped me from moving.
Xander guides me away, and it’s strange, he’s almost like someone else entirely. Someone different to who he was when I first arrived. He’s not looking at me now like he’s trying to find the lies in my words.
“Tomorrow is the True Moon event. For many, it feels like Heat, only more intense. It is not like The Calling, you can’t hide from the True Moon event, while it’s built by the moon, you don’t need to be in the moonlight to be affected.”
His words have me nodding. I didn’t read that part in the books, then again, I never got into the deeper descriptions of them. “You wish to ignore it?” I ask, sensing his unease.
He stops walking and looks at me. “I never bought you to be my mate, you need to understand that Serafine. So you being my mate is good, but also not.”
So he does want to ignore it.
“I have reservations around tomorrow night, but it’s unavoidable. It’s not something I can refuse to take part in, my wolf wouldn’t let it.”
“So what, you don’t want to take part but have to?” I don’t understand what he’s saying.
He stops again and turns to face me. “The only part of me that doesn’t want to take part, is because I understand you don’t want to.”
His words have me pause. Me? He thinks I don’t want to?
“You didn’t choose to be here, you didn’t choose me, you were forced, so yes, there’s doubt that tomorrow night could push you too far.”
“Well, from what I read. My wolf needs it to be strong, and considering I have gone years withholding that part of me, I would rather agree than to punish my wolf any more.”
He simply nods and leads me into the pack house. Food is set and I realise again that none of the pack is here.
“Do you not eat with your pack?” Alphas usually do, at least a few of the top betas and such.
“No, I typically use this time to think, consider what has happened and reflect on the day.”
That makes sense, no doubt while he’s eating no one interrupts him. “Would you rather I ate at a separate time than you?”
I would understand if he wanted me to leave. I also don’t understand why he has me eat with him if this is the time he spends considering things. It’s not like I’m his Luna, I might be his mate, but I hold no power here at all.
“No, I am happy with you being here.”
He is? Why would he be fine with me here? I don’t ask, I just stay quiet and eat slowly.
“Tonight you need to rest, and because tomorrow is the True Moon there are changes to how things work.”
Changes? I don’t know why that worries me, but it does.
“There is no teaching tomorrow, most will feel the effects of the True Moon throughout the day just not as strong as on a night. All the children are inside from four and watched over by those who don’t have mates.”
So, the change is that I won’t be teaching or in classes?
“True Moon is done outside, there will be fewer guards, hence the other safety measures in place. You are to stay away from everyone, as you don’t know who has a mate and does not; avoid all people tomorrow. That includes the maids and such.”
Oh. “Why?” I don’t understand it.
“True Moon is like Rutting and Heat. The males will be more aggressive and dominant, just as the women will be. So if you‘ re too close to others it can cause jealousy with their mates.”
Well, then I won’t go near others. “That’s fine,” I say quietly. Something tells me it’s more he will be jealous if I go near others. I’m not sure how I’m meant to avoid everyone unless I stay in my room?
Successfully unlocked!
He leans forward slightly. “Are you aware that your scent becomes stronger in Heat and exactly what that means?” My head shakes. “I know it becomes stronger, I know it’s to draw in your mate, and such.”
“Any males who do not have mates will also smell it, it might not be as strong as it is for your mate, but it will still call to their wolves. Going forward, if you’re in Heat, you go to your room and have a maid come for me, do you understand?”
1/2
His Warning
So he is jealous? He’s worried another male would touch me? “Surely my wolf wouldn’t let someone else touch me, when you’re my máte?”
“It doesn’t work like that, yes it pulls you to me, but ultimately your mate needs an alpha or Beta to knot them, so your wolf wouldn’t care in the morning. All it will want is relief.”
Wait… “I thought only Alpha’s can knot?”
“Any male is capable of it; who told you that?”
I chew my lip, I can’t remember. “I don’t know, I just remember hearing it.”
Sighing, he rubs his face like he’s frustrated with my lack of knowledge. “All males have the ability to knot. Alpha ones are different. They are far larger than others. Not only that, but our knot doesn’t last for fifteen minutes or so, it can last for an hour or even longer.” He stands and gestures for me to follow him.
“There is a book somewhere, I’m sure of it.” He steps into a library, and my jaw drops.
Woah, this is big, beautiful no doubt, but big and intimidating. “Where did all these books come from?” I whisper. “Decades of the pack collecting them.” He reaches for a book and hands it to me. “There are a lot of differences between an Alpha and a Beta.”
What about me? “Will this book contain information on female Alphas?”
“There’s no such thing.” His words are sharp, and I laugh.
“Then what am I? When my father dies, I’m his only child, and the stories say the firstborn child, usually a male, becomes Alpha.”
“Which you’re not, you’re female.”
I want to kick him. “May I stay in here and read?”
“Go ahead, but remember what tomorrow is, don’t stay awake for too long.”
He turns and leaves, and I sit down, opening the book he gave me. Surely there are answers in one of these books about !me? There has to be, right?
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