9 Chapter 9

Lauren

Okay, okay, let's back up a minute. First off, my best friend now is a wolf. Yes a wolf...well a Werewolf but that's no different. I listened and got lost in her story as if it were my own. I knew I was supposed to be freaked out by the whole thing. I mean someone who changes into a wolf is strange enough but I just couldn't seem to be weirded out by it. It felt right for some reason. I knew she had been telling me the truth even before she shifted.

I became more and more enthralled with her story and hearing about who she was. When she stopped, it was like the world had resumed.

"And you? Have you found your mate?" I asked. She seemed to tense up.

"Yes." For some reason, my heart fell. She had a mate. Why would that affect me so much? There was no reason for it to, but in the back of my mind a small voice was yelling at me to ask her who it was. Timidly my eyes locked with hers, "Who is it?" Her eyes told me before she uttered a word.

"You are, Lauren. You are the mate I've been waiting for, for over 2 centuries." My heart began to race a thousand times faster; it was as if the last few months...no my entire life, I had been waiting for this moment. Waiting for this werewolf to tell me that we were made for each other. Her eyes wandered over searching for a reaction. I couldn't help it, my face broke out in a smile.

"Thank god. This whole time I've been wondering if I was the only one who had felt like we were meant to be with each other." She smiled as well.

"No, you haven't been. It's been a constant battle between me and my wolf to keep this from you and protect you from what's been happening. It's been almost physically impossible for me not to reach out and hold your hand or hug you when I wanted to." My heart continued to beat as quickly as it had been.

"So.....what do we do now? I've..erm...never actually been in a relationship." It was hilarious, seeing her so out of her element. She always seemed to know what to say. Seeing her struggle with what to say to me was great. For once I was the one who knew what they were doing.

"Wait, in the hundreds of years you've been alive you have never been in a relationship?" She was 200 something years old and had never once had any interest? I was only 17 and had been in countless relationships. My brain couldn't even fathom going centuries without even a fling with someone.

"Nah, I've never had any interest. No feelings ya know? I needed my mate - not some fling to try and make it work, although that is how some in the pack have met. No, I've been waiting for you." The way she said it made me feel like I was on a cloud. Like I was the most important person in the world.

"You are the most important person in the world." *Wait, hold on, I had thought that, did she just answer me?*

"Yes I answered you." A bemused smile was beginning to form on her face. "Explain."

"Well, I told you we had a mind link through our pack. It's how we communicate over long distances. We can think, share memories, and converse in our heads. You're my mate, which makes you the Luna of the pack; the female or male mate to the alpha. As our time together has strengthened our bond, all I had to wait for was to tell you about myself before we could access our own mind link."

"So can the entire pack hear my thoughts now?" She shook her head. "No, just me right now. A mate's link is special, they can link without the fear of the pack intruding...it's like a separate telephone line if you will. In time and practice, you'll be able to read mine and the rest of the pack's minds as well . Pretty useful sometimes." She winked, and my stomach fluttered. I still couldn't get over that she was my mate.

"So what if I don't want you to read my thoughts and stuff?"

"Easy, just mentally pretend there's a door and close it. That breaks our connection, or at least your side. I can still communicate with you, but you'll have to think back for me to hear you." I did as she said, and I could feel that I had done it right.

*So you can hear me?*

*Yep I can.* This was awesome. I always wanted an adventure and here I was. Before this my life was so boring, I survived day to day. Now, I had a place to go, and someone to call home. People dreamed their entire lives of having someone who would love them forever, and now, not even being an adult K had found that.

"So what does Luna mean besides being your mate?" I asked curious to know more about the new world.

"Well, you automatically have some power over the pack, they have to do as you say, that kind of thing. You'll be the highest respected mate, but you're still equal to all of the wolves. They are required to give you their alliance when you call them, and follow you as they'd follow me. I'll teach you everything as time goes on, of course." I had so many questions.

"I can see your brain turning, Laura. How about I answer one question right now so you don't burst." She said eyes shining with laughter.

"So does this mean that everything in the fairy tales are real? Vampires, Witches, Wizards, Ghosts...?" I trailed off knowing she would get the rest of the question.

"I've met a few witches before, some wizards, but those are very rare and keep to themselves. Vampires are real but there's less than a hundred on Earth today. Their creation is quite a bit more complicated then in the movies. I can tell you all about that some other time. Never met any ghosts that I know of, but I do know there's quite a few mystical creatures out there and even met a few myself. You'll find that werewolves are the biggest species to inhabit the Earth. Again, i'll explain that in more detail later." My mind raced with a thousand more questions, but I knew we'd talk more later. Phoenix stood up holding out her hand.

"It's time I introduce you to my pack officially." She said helping me up and walking toward the hidden entrance.

*Hey Phoenix?* I thought to her.

*Yeah?*

*Hold my hand*