Chapter 17: Potential Luna

Kia returned and burst out of the tub with a gasp, coughing until her lungs were empty of water. She went to bed with a different pain, a pain different from what Baglor had left behind, and didn't wake up until the very next morning.

However, rather than wake up to the sound of her alarm, she woke up to the sound of hammers and drills. Hurriedly slipping on a fresh pair of clothes, Kia rushed towards the sound and found two men replacing her door. Supervising the men was Dimitri.

"Did we wake you up?" He asked without looking up from the work the men were doing.

"Yes," she said softly.

"Sorry," Dimitri said and said nothing more. There was, after all, nothing more to say. It was all so awkward. The men repairing the door didn't seem to think so as they focused on their work without wondering what could have caused the damage to the door.

"Are they?" She asked Dimitri.

"Like us?" Dimitri replied. "No. Do you have coffee?"

"You drink coffee?"

"Why wouldn't I?" Dimitri asked.

"Uhm…" she thought. "No reason. Come in. I need to get ready for work. You can help yourself."

Dimitri stepped through the doorway. She pointed to the coffee machine, and he went straight to it. While he toyed with the machine, Kia went into her room and got dressed. She got out to meet a small breakfast of eggs and toast, a cup of orange juice, and a mug of coffee.

Dimitri, who was already seated and halfway through his meal, looked up to her with a stuffed mouth. Chewing quickly, he swallowed and took a hurried sip of juice.

"I was going to make breakfast for myself and decided to make some for you too," he said.

"Uhm… thanks," she said as she joined him. She took a forkful of the eggs and was quite impressed. It wasn't dry or runny but instead perfectly fried and tasty. However, she couldn't praise his cooking. "I thought you just wanted some coffee."

"I started with coffee. Then I saw your eggs and juice, and the bread. It all just kinda happened."

"Yeah. I'm sure it did. Should I assume that werewolves, as a general rule, don't have a grasp of boundaries?"

"Hey easy, I just made breakfast. I thought it would be a kind gesture. From the state of your plate, I think it was."

Kia looked down at her plate and realized that it was almost empty. She said nothing but instead picked up her glass of juice and focused on drinking it.

"I heard what happened last night. Baglor sometimes tends to be,…"

"Wicked, violent, vile. You take your pick."

"I was going to say excessive."

"You call breaking into my house and torturing me to near death excessive? That's the understatement of the year."

"For what it's worth, last night was a major win for you. Baglor was impressed."

"I wasn't trying to impress him."

"And yet you did, which makes your feat even more impressive. Many people spend years trying to impress him and barely succeed once. You did without even trying. Never had anyone resisted his influence or rebelled against him like you did. He was talking about it all night like it was the most amusing thing he had ever seen."

"Amusing? That's what he thinks of last night, an amusement?"

"He thinks you are really special. That's why he sent me. He is trying to make amends, in a matter of speaking."

"Why? Because I told him no? What is he a masochist?"

"What the fuck? No. Maybe. I don't know. I don't think so. I'm not his therapist, I'm not privy to his sexual fantasies."

"Baglor has a therapist?"

"No. I don't know. I'm a member of his pack not his mom. I don't know everything about him."

"But you know what he did to me yesterday and that he thinks I'm special. Seems like you guys are tight."

 Dimitri rolled his eyes. "I think he is more attracted to your strength. What you did last night was nothing short of amazing, especially because you have only been a wolf for a few days. I have been a wolf for years now and I still can't resist the Alpha's call. Well, I haven't really tried hard though. None of us ever dared to. So for him, it's an exciting experience. He actually thinks you can be his Luna."

"Luna?"

"Partner."

"Like business partner?"

"More like wife, in a manner of speaking."

Kia burst out laughing. "That's rich. You guys just keep pulling out one bullshit after another. Just when I think I have adjusted to all this craziness, you raise it up a notch. First, I get killed and come back to life. Next, he tells me that I'm now a werewolf. Just when I'm trying to wrap my head around that, he breaks into my apartment, picks my naked body out of my tub and proceeds to torture me. And now you are saying he wants to marry me?"

"It's not set in stone yet. But he is considering it. He isn't yet sure that you are Luna material?"

"Luna material?"

"Well, as you might know, Baglor isn't hard pressed for women."

"Yeah, he is a dog."

Dimitri cocked his head to the right and looked at her comically. The irony was a tad bit funny, she had to admit.

"So, what, he has like a harem of Lunas?" She asked.

"No. An alpha can have as many women as he wants. But he only gets to have one Luna. And the woman he chooses to be his Luna can't just be anybody. She has to be strong and powerful, capable of being his lieutenant, leading the pack in his absence and birthing the Alpha's heir."

"Oh wow. I always wanted to birth an Alpha's heir. This is a dream come through. Who do I have to thank for this great honor?" Kia asked.

"Your genes," Dimitri replied, ignoring her sarcasm.

"What?"

"We are done boss," one of the men at the door called.

"That's my cue. See you around. Baglor would like you to join the us for dinner tonight. We are going to discuss our plans for striking back at the Cyprianis. Your attendance would be highly appreciated."

"And if I refuse? Should I be expecting you or him to break in?"

"Nope. We are way past that now. You have earned the title of rebel amongst us. You are basically a beta, a lone wolf not under Baglor's command. You get to choose if you want to be part of us or not, a privilege none of us got."

"It doesn't fell like a privilege."

"Trust me it is. Having a choice is always a privilege. But don't abuse it. All privileges are limited."

"You sound like you wish you weren't a part of Baglor's pack," Kia said, picking up on the hints of regret in his voice.

He chuckled. "Baglor is a great alpha. One of the best there ever was and one of the few good ones left. But, it would still have been nice to choose." He glanced at his watch. "Oof. I got to run," he said and turned around to leave.

"Hold on. Before you leave, I got a question. How do you kill a werewolf?"

He stopped in his tracks and turned around to face her. His eyes were squinted as he scanned her carefully, trying to get a read on her.

"Why do you want to know?"

She said nothing but only held his suspecting gaze.

He scoffed in understanding. "You want to kill him," he said.

She didn't respond. She didn't trust herself to lie convincingly.

"You need silver to kill a wolf," Dimitri said. "But it's far more complicated than you think especially if you are trying to kill an alpha. Word of advice, whatever you have in mind, forget it. You will fail," with these final words, Dimitri walked out of Kia's apartment, leaving her with a lot to think about and many questions unanswered.