Luna Hana

Chapter 2 - Goodbye

"Mine."

Suddenly, my wolf was going crazy in my head. She had been quiet and inactive the past couple of days, simply laying at the back of my mind with her tail covering her eyes. She too, was in mourning.

"Mate!" she yelped at me excitedly, nudging me enthusiastically in my head. She spun in circles urging me to go to him.

"Go to him! Go to Mate! We found our Mate!" she yipped at me, now jumping up and down like a pup.

Unfortunately, now was not the time or place. This was my mother's ceremony. Based on Alpha Wyatt's clenched jaw and painful stillness, I determined he was having the same internal struggle with his wolf. We both knew this was not the time to make a scene over newly found mates, but the mate bond was pulling roughly, demanding to be acknowledged.

We held each other's eyes in that stare for the remainder of the prayer to our Moon Goddess and I mentally cursed at myself for not finishing my own prayer. My mother was dead, this was her ceremony, and I didn't even have the decency to finish my prayer for her. Alpha Mathus had started talking again, going through all of the speeches and formalities that were required of such a ceremony, but once again I found myself unable to concentrate. His beautiful scent was still possessing me, and I had to fight myself to keep from looking at him. However, this internal struggle was about much more than just wrong place, wrong time, but it was about who he was.

He's an Alpha! Besides that, he was one of the most powerful Alphas of all the packs. He wasn't known to be cruel necessarily, but he was feared. Alpha Wyatt was serious and intimidating. His size alone was enough to make one cower. Not only was his height massive, but his muscles beneath his porcelain skin were enormous. He had beautiful golden brown hair that was cut just perfectly, with a bit of facial hair to match. And his eyes...oh his eyes! My gray-blue orbs had received countless compliments, but his bright crystals were simply mesmerizing. I had never seen such beauty.

But once again, he's an Alpha. Not only could he very well reject me, after all I am a bit unworthy of such a powerful leader, but he's killed hundreds of wolves. All Alphas had of course, they were the best warriors and defenders, but living with a leader like Alpha Mathus for so long made me naive to the coldness that other Alphas possessed. Plainly said, Alpha Wyatt scared me. I was small and weak, I had a true heart that I loved opening to others. I knew he would be the complete opposite of all of those things. I had heard rumors of Alphas who had mates like me in the past - talk of the abuse they received was widely known.

I don't know exactly how much time I surrendered to my thoughts, but before I knew it a large flame appeared before me. My mother's body. The ceremony was practically over and I had zoned out for most of it. I gasped at the sudden heat and light before me, jumping a bit in my seat. A single tear escaped my eye. My mother was gone. She was truly gone now. Out of the corner of my eye, I witnessed my dad slip something out of his coat pocket. A flask, no doubt. His drinking had gotten terrible in these days following mother's death, but this was common in a wolf that lost its mate. They found it unbearable to live without their other half.

Mother's body was eaten by the fire quickly, just as all werewolf bodies were. The ceremony was closing and Alpha Mathus called now for communion - a time for mingling and paid respects to the family. Hailey and I would have to endure it alone it seemed because father had already tucked tail and ran back to the house, whiskey in hand.

Hailey and I took to the stage, standing near our mother's ashes as the pack flocked around us to chat and pay their respects. So many people surrounded me, I almost didn't notice the grip on my forearm that tingled madly. Almost.

I gasped once again and turned around, freezing when my eyes met the same crystal blue ones from earlier. Before I could even fully react, Alpha Wyatt pulled me tightly against his chest and buried his nose in my neck, inhaling deeply.