7

Maya POV

Rain was a real gentleman, that's a fact. From the moment he picked us up, he made sure to make us feel comfortable and ease our nerves. He even managed to make Eliane giggle a couple of times. But my favorite moment was when he smacked his son's head. I know it's mean but I really enjoyed it.

The Luna on the other hand was the type of person I usually try to avoid. She was the over-friendly type, the kind to wear a smile all the time and her daughter was a mini version of her. She kept talking the whole dinner about herself, her pack, her mate, and her children while the Alpha nodded at every word she said.

I checked on Eliane from time to time, the kids were trying hard to get her to participate in their conversations but she kept her responses to the minimum. I could tell that she was starting to open up to them. When the kids decided to go for a walk, I was happy to see that she was following them of her own will. I really wish for her to befriend kids her own age and her own kind. She needs to open up to all the wonders and possibilities the world has to offer for her.

"So Maya, are you excited about your job interview?" Asked Helen when the kids left.

"How do you know about it?" I asked her with a tilted head and faint smile, I appreciate her effort to keep the conversation going but I don't like it when people pry into my business. Her smile wavered a bit and I could sense Jacob tense. I guess he didn't like my tone.

"Well, it's a small town, and Bob the timber factory's manager told me that you have a job interview this Monday" she regained her composure.

"Oh, is that so?" Guess I'll have to call Bob to cancel, I don't feel like working there anymore.

"By the way, Alexia and Luc are getting married in three months. You are of course invited" Thankfully she got the hint and changed the topic.

"Thank you, we'll make sure to attend if we're still here by that time" They exchanged looks that I pretended not to notice. We ate in silence for few minutes until Jacob and Helen stood up with a worried look. I tensed, thinking immediately about Eliane.

"Oh my, I'm really sorry but something came up in the packhouse and we need to take care of it," The Luna said with another smile

"It's fine, I'll just call Eliane back and we'll.." I said standing up too

"No please stay and enjoy the rest of the dinner with Rain," Said Jacob in a hurry, "We are really sorry but the teens are always making trouble in the packhouse" They left in a hurry.

"A fight broke out during dinner," Rain said resuming his dinner, "Usually the Luna is the one dealing with conflicts but since someone got hurt, the Alpha needs to knock some sense into the idiots' heads"

"How did you..." I didn't get to finish my question since he pointed to his head, "Of course.., is it bad?"

"Not that bad, some broken bones that will heal in no time, but they broke some utilities and disturbed the others during mealtime," He said as if it was a daily occurrence. At least the injuries heal fast.

"Maya, I need to talk to you about something" He seemed a bit hesitant

"Something about Alex and Eliane?" I asked him in return, I was glad he brought it up

"She knows?"

"No, I don't think she knows"

"Then how did you find out?" He sounded surprised

"I had my doubts and then tonight I kind of figure it out"

"what do you mean?"

"Well when we arrived everyone was wary around us and avoiding her, then all of the sudden we are invited to dinner with the Alpha and Beta families and everyone is acting welcoming and friendly" he opened his mouth to say something then stopped, "Then the kids' conversations during dinner were funny, they were 'Alex this, Alex that...' and let's not forget about Alex's puppy eyes and how he's acting around her. Am I wrong?"

"Wow, and here we thought that we were subtle about it," he said shaking his head

"But I am a bit confused. She's the one who told me about the whole 'Mate' thing, how come she didn't recognize Alex? I think she's actually intimidated by him" I was really curious and I couldn't ask her directly.

"She will feel the mate bond when she turns eighteen. Besides, she never interacted with other wolves before, so everything is overwhelming for her wolf right now. She needs time to get used to her new environment" I had a feeling that he was simplifying things for me to understand.

"How much time?"

"Not much, it's a basic instinct." He looked at me, hesitating to ask something. "What about you? what are your thoughts about the whole thing?"

"What do you mean my thoughts?"

"I mean she clearly gives priority to your opinions and you don't seem to appreciate Alex"

"You can't blame me for that, you saw her yesterday, you saw in which state she was. I understand that you have your protocols and your priorities but they made sure to be extra mean to her before knowing anything. She cried herself till exhaustion".

" I know he was an idiot about it, he could've approached her in another more subtle way. But as a father, I'm just asking you to give him a chance to win her back. Mates are the only thing that keeps our wolves sane." his voice broke at the last part.

"I have no intention to stand in his way, actually I'm really praying for things to work out. I want her to be happy, I want her to leave her comfort zone and face life, and if she has a mate or friends to help her out it would make me at ease. But know this he's.., no, the two boys, are on my hit list, one more stupid move and I'll deal with them. I may be a weak human but believe me, I know how to make their lives a living hell." I looked him straight in the eyes to make him understand how serious I was.

At first, he looked at me with wild eyes not believing what I said then threw his head back and busted laughing. I resumed eating waiting for him to sober up. I was hoping he got the message and somehow transmit it to his stupid son and his friend. The other girls didn't seem like a potential threat or source of trouble.

"I can't believe you just threatened casually the future Alpha and Beta of the Northmoon pack. Oh, man! I don't remember the last time I laughed like this."

"Glad you find it funny"

"Very funny actually, I think we'll get along" He laughed some more before continuing eating. I guess confirming that I won't be actively trying to be in his son's way is all he needed to know.

When we were done, he suggested having dessert and coffee in the backyard. They had a wooden picnic table and chairs. Fairy lights were decorating the close by trees. The full moon in the clear sky gave a very serene mood. Rain went back inside after escorting me to my seat and came out after few minutes with a tray with two coffee cups and two plated slices of cheesecake.

"What about the brownies?"

"Alex locked the whole box in his room" Rain answered with a smirk, "So how is it like to be constantly in the move?" I took a sip of the hot coffee thinking about an answer.

"Like everything in life, it has its pros and cons"

"OK, some examples would be nice"

"Well, you feel more liberated cause you know that there's nothing to make you put up with shitty situations or persons. When I didn't deem the workplace, the town, or the people worth my time or my effort, I just walked away easily. I had no strings attached or commitments to anyone".

"That's an interesting way to see things and what about the cons"

"I'm always the new one, new neighbor, new coworker, new something with all the attention that is drawn to me whether it's the invasive questions and prying or the fake smile and imposed friendship".

"You mean like knowing about your job interviews," he said with a knowing smile, "But you know despite her pushy and "invasive" character, she's a nice woman with the best intentions"

"Believe me 'Most of the evil in this world is done by people with good intentions', I have been there", he nodded his head seemingly understanding what I'm trying to say, "Your turn, one example of pros and cons of pack life". He rubbed his hands on his thighs thinking.

"When I lost my mate a few years ago, I almost went feral, I left the pack and didn't look back. Jacob found me two weeks later and brought me, more like dragged me back" his eyes were on the trees with a distant look, "It took another two weeks for Jacob to beat some senses back into me. During that time, my kids were well taken care of, they told them I was on a business trip, fed them their favorite food, took them to all the nice places and most of all made them feel safe. The pack took care of me when I hit my lowest moments and took care of my kids when I failed them as a father."

I couldn't think of anything to say back to him. I somehow felt jealous of him and his kids, my mind brought up some painful old memories. I wonder, if someone took care of me or just landed me a hand back then would my bitter self be different. I closed my eyes chasing away the dark thoughts following. The what if's thoughts are the most dangerous ones.

"Sorry for your loss" I managed to say after a while.

"Thank you" his voice sounded distant as if he was lost in his memories too.

"What about the cons," I asked after a while trying to dissipate the heavy mood. He smiled getting the hint

"No privacy what so ever" He shakes his head, " Everyone knows everything about every single person in the pack, the gossip network is so frightening" It was my turn to laugh now

"That bad? So is there any gossip about Eliane and me?" I asked half kidding but the look in his eyes told me that there are actually rumors about us.

"There is nothing," He said while taking a big mouthful of his dessert

"Come one, you're really a bad liar, tell me" He looked away and it really got me curious, What did they say about us.

"Nothing really, since they know that Eliane is Alex's mate and.... Alex being Alex and the future Beta, there are no big rumors about her"

"Rumors are rumors, whether they're big or small"

"OK I'll tell you but first, promise you won't skin alive anyone from my pack" He gave me a side smile.

"I promise I won't touch the kids and the elders" I gave him a smile of my own.

"So rumors say that Eliane is a spy for the rogues, she's here to gather information on our pack"

"So what do they intend to do to her? Are they going to be mean to her or ostracize her?" My whole body tensed, she can't go through this.

"That's the funny part, while the elders, the ones you promised not to touch," he said with a wink happy he got the promise out of me, "are not feeling very welcoming, and let me precise they have no authority or power to harm her so all they can do is give her side looks" I tilted my head with a raised eyebrow, "the young ones have another philosophy: 'Kill them with kindness', they intend to show her the perfect and wonderful pack life in order to change her agenda" I snorted not believing what he said.

"Wait let me rephrase this, the Northmoon pack, one of the most powerful and feared packs in the USA, intends to fight off a supposedly rogue spy with glares and smileys. I can't believe that I spent sleepless nights worrying over such a cute pack" Rain started laughing again while I leaned back on my chair. I'm so confused, True I don't understand how this whole pack thing works and I'm so out of my element here but how am I supposed to counter back this.

"You're so fun, I didn't laugh like this in ages. The thing is no one can harm her since the Alpha gave her the OK"

"All this warm welcoming just because she's Alex's mate?"

"Yes and No. Well, her being a pack member's mate gave her a chance to explain herself" I nodded at his seriousness and urged him to continue the much-needed explanation, "What gave her a temporary free pass was herself" He paused for dramatic effect, "Meeting her was all it took to understand that she's not a threat to the pack, Jacob and I could easily sense her wolf. Rogues have a certain smell and aura, and some other characteristics that she didn't have or seemed to ever had in her life. Beside her wolf was... mmm... domesticated"

"What do you mean?"

"She is like a little puppy, YOUR little puppy"

"Again! what do you mean?" somehow I felt guilty as if I did something wrong to her and her wolf resulting in her tuning different from her kind.

"It's not wrong or bad, it simply means that her whole existence revolves around you, just like a puppy's existence revolves around its master".

" In other words, she is deemed safe but I'm the one that has to be monitored" That makes sense, I'm the outsider from another species but as long as Eliane is accepted and out of danger it doesn't really matter to me.

"See, you, you are quite different from other Humans, you have a certain immunity against us" I frowned not understanding what he meant, "Human, in general, can feel our strong aura and usually back away or coward away in front of us, especially in front of the Alpha and Beta" He looked me straight in the eyes looking for something, "You in the other hand, not only you scared the shit away from the future Alpha and Beta of this pack but you don't seem to be bothered by our strong aura, you actually brushed away every attempt Jacob made tonight to intimidate you."

"What? why would he want to intimidate me? I told him I don't want to cause any problem"

"Well you kind of talked back, interrupted, and corrected Helen a couple of times"

"Was I supposed to say Yes Mme and bow to her?" He chuckled at my indignation.

"Not really, anyway that brings us to the rumors about you"

"Let me guess, I'm the mastermind spy, an infiltrated Human using Eliane as a cover to get all your secrets" He scratched the back of his head looking away.

"Worst than that?"

"I'm not sure I should tell you, I'm kind of scared of you" He was teasing me

"What? come on I don't really care, I'm just curious."

"Well since you stared down most of our strongest warriors yesterday on your day out, rumors are that you may be.....on second thoughts I don't think I should tell you"

"Rain, do you really want to see my scary side?" He gulped

"Rumors are that you are a witch"

"Huh?"

"They say that you may be a witch since you're strong and have a Beta female under your control"

"Wait, witches are real?"

"HAHA, really that's your only concern?"

"I've been called worst, now answer me, witches are real?" He had another laughing fit

"Well they are real, they don't usually mingle with other species but they are very real" WAOW werewolves and witches, what else is out there? I spaced out imagining all the potential creatures in this world that I failed to notice that the very amused Beta next to me leaned back and was observing me.

"You're really something else. How come you're not scared of us?"

"I don't really know how to answer that, maybe because I got used to having Eliane and her wolf around that the whole werewolves thing is not scary to me anymore."

"Eliane is a sweet girl but she doesn't represent our kind"

"Well, how about this then, since I already met the scary rogues, I can tell that you are different", He tensed and his eyes turned pure black

"You never said what happened when you met them" I shuddered at the memory and at all the possible bad things that could've happened that night. Rain seemed to notice my discomfort.

"Did they......touch you" I looked away fighting hard my tears. Now that I'm in a safe place, my strength started to waver away.

"No, but... their invitation was quite explicit and then they backed away with a promise of a next time" I took a deep breath and looked back at him, his eyes were still an obsidian black. "If I was a witch, I would've cursed them not run away in the middle of the night".

"Did they try to.... hurt Eliane?" I shook my head

"No, they didn't get to see her but they got so close that I freaked out"

"You made the right choice, you saved her, you should be proud of your self", The forest green of his eyes was back and a soft look replaced the frown he had a few seconds away. He seemed to sincerely care about our well-being. Somehow I felt relieved to know that he would be part of Eliane's new life. I turned toward the forest when I heard playful screams and the boys calling out Paula.

"Could you not tell Eliane about this part of the story"

"She doesn't know?" the frown was back

"She knows that they are after her but I didn't tell her about their interest toward me" I looked back toward the trees making sure that the kids are still far, "I didn't want her to feel guilty about this messed up situation" He nodded his head with no words. Paula Emerged from the trees screaming with the boys trying to catch her and weirdly she hid behind me instead of Rain. The boys stopped in their tracks and stayed at safe distance away from me avoiding any eye contact. Rain was right, they are scared of me.

"What did you do this time?" Rain asked amused by the situation. I didn't pay attention to them, my eyes were still on the woods, waiting for Eliane to show up with the other girl, Alexia.

"He proposed and she said yes, we're going to have a double wedding, I'm going to be Eliane's maid of honor too" That got my attention, the moment I looked back at the boys, they took a step back with protective hands over their family jewels. 'Eliane must've told them, smart girl'

"Really?" I said while standing up, the boys tensed and looked at my hand, I was still holding my fork, "That's quite bold of you" I took a step toward them and they took one back and looked at Rain with pleading eyes, "Let me guess, you got inspired by the future Alpha" They both gulped.

"It's a misunderstanding, Paula got it wrong!" Alex said

"No! I saw you on one knee and I heard her say yes" The boys paled and glared at Paula

"Say Rain, Eliane told me that the mate's bond is absolute, is it true?"

"Yes, it is" Rain responded with an amused tone

"Even if the said mate is...let's say....disfigured or... missing few parts" I took another step with a sweet smile

"Yes, even if the said mate is missing all his limbs" Rain was having fun at their expense and I would be lying if I said I wasn't too.

"I can explain..." Alex has his hand up as a peaceful gesture, " I.. I was apologizing and I asked for a.....second chance.... I would never propose to her", Luc was nodding behind him

"Why? she's maybe not good enough for you?" He paled even more

"NO, NO, NO she is perfect, more than perfect,.. I meant that I..I..I would never propose to her without your consent". The two boys nodded again. This is bad, I never thought bulling these kids would be this fun.

"Good to know" I turned back and sat back, their eyes were following my every move. I heard them exhale when I put down the fork and grabbed my cup of coffee. Seconds later, Eliane and Alexia emerged from the trees smiling softly. When they saw us, Alexia went to her mate frowning at his tense posture and Eliane came to me and reached for my hand.

"Did you have a good time, gorgeous?" I know she did from her relaxed body.

"Yes, it was fun," she said while looking back at Alex shyly, his face lightened up.

"Good, ready to go?"

"Yes, I just need to..." she looked at Alexia who just seemed to realize something.

"Oh right! the books! it's in my room, come" the girls walked in the house followed by a bewildered Paula and two scared boys.

"That was hilarious, I should put you in charge of the troublesome kids in the pack! "

"Thank you, but no thank you" We both stood up walking back into the house. As expected, Rain brought my coat and helped me put it on. He even had some food packed for us, he told Eliane to focus on her study for the next few days. The girls hugged and the boys kept a safe distance mumbling their goodbyes.

When we got back home, Rain walked us to the front door and unlocked it for us. He gave us each a nice hug and welcomed us into the pack. Before he left, he told us that there will be a meeting with the Alpha soon to go through some details about our stay. It would be sometime around the end of next week since they are busy with something.

Eliane was smiling from ear to ear and humming to herself while she put the food in the fridge. I observed her enjoying these peaceful moments, I'm really glad that everything is going smoothly. Seeing her relaxed and happy makes it hard to believe that a few nights ago we were on the run frightened and exhausted. I hope it lasts, we really need a break.