Page 115 of Beneath the Blue Moon

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She’s been quiet. Too quiet. I expected to at least hear

crying; after all, it was a lot to take in. I’ve been lying in the next room,

listening, waiting for her to call for me. Nothing. I pray she can accept this

because there’s no way I can live without her. I tense as I hear her footsteps

and the sound of her door opening. Is she running away? No, she’s heading in

this direction. I left my door open for this very reason.

“Ethan?”

“I’m here.”

“Can I come in?”

“Of course.”

She walks in slowly, hesitating by the bed for just a second

before crawling in next to me. I sigh deeply as she places her head on my

chest, her arm around my waist. At least she doesn’t hate me. Curling my arm

around her shoulder, I pull her closer.

“I’ve been thinking about everything and… I don’t know—”

“Casey—”

“Let me finish. I don’t know about all this stuff, but I

know I love you. So whether you’re a wolf, lion, tiger, or a… bunny rabbit, I

don’t care.”

“You don’t know how much that means to me, sweetheart.”

“When you said I was your mate, what does it really mean?”

“It means we’ll be lifelong partners.”

“Like a marriage?”

“Yes. We mate for life, separated only in death. There’s

even a ceremony; only we don’t exchange rings. It’s more like… an entwining of

souls.”

“Wow. So, I’m not really your mate then unless we have this

ceremony?”

“Yes. That makes it official.”

“Huh.”

“Casey?”

“Hmm?”

“I’ve known you were mine since I laid eyes on you. I love

you and want nothing more than to make you my mate. Say you’ll be mine… forever.”

She tightens her arm around me and drops a gentle kiss on my

chest. This is it. The moment I’ve been waiting for—do or die.

“I will. I’ll be your… mate.”

Rolling over, I put her beneath me, resting between her

thighs. In her eyes, all I see is love. No fear, no uncertainty—just love. After

all that has happened, everything I put her through, I wouldn’t blame her if

she ran fast and far away from me. Instead, she’s vowing to spend the rest of

her life with me.

“You don’t know how happy you’ve made me,” I tell her.

She pulls my head down to her bosom and, with a sigh, I

gladly lay it there.

“Do you have any powers?”

“We all have heightened senses. We’re faster than humans,

stronger, and if we’re injured, we heal quickly. We’re immune to human

diseases. As alpha, these traits are stronger for me.”

“Like a super wolf.”

“I guess. But there are things I can do that others can’t, like

control the change, as you saw earlier.”

“What else?”

“We can’t get drunk or high.”

“So no more drunken rendezvous in the truck?” She giggles.

“You remember that?”

“Of course I do. I remember it all.”

“Me, too. Especially—”

“Don’t change the subject. What else can you do?”

“I call it the push, the mental ability to make others do

things I want them to do or that they don’t want to. Like telling the truth.”

“Is that what you did with your mother?”

“Yes.”

She draws a sudden breath and slaps my shoulder. I raise my

head and find her staring at me in mortification.

“Is that what you’ve been doing to me… in bed?”

“No! It doesn’t work on humans and only on members of my

pack.”

“Oh.” Her eyes widen in realization. “Oh.”

“Yes, my dear. I am that good.”

Her soft giggle fills my ears as I once again lay my head

between the heavenly globes that are her breasts.

“Anything else?”

“There’s one, but I don’t use it much.”

“What is it?”

“In wolf form, I can communicate with Charlie over

distances. It’s like I send him my thoughts.”

“Just Charlie?”

“Yes, because he’s my beta. I rarely use it because he can’t

reply.”

“Oh.”

“I’m told that once I’m joined with my mate, there will be

other, stronger powers I will inherit.”

“I’m going to give you new powers? Cool. Are you, like, a

hundred years old?”

“A hundred and fifty-five.”

“Holy shit!” she exclaims. “I wasn’t wrong when I said you

were ancient.”

“Lucky for me you like old things.” She giggles, and the

sound is music to my ears. “We age at a much slower rate than humans.”

“That’s why everyone looks so awesome.”

“I stopped aging when I became alpha.”

“Stopped? How long have you been alpha?”

“Four years.”

“Will I stop aging, too?”

“I don’t know what will happen. You and I, nothing like this

has ever happened before. My pack consists of purebreds. We were born this way.

I don’t know how this will affect you.”

“This is why your mother… did what she did.”

“Yes. But I put my foot down with The Council. No one will

oppose us now.”

“The council?”

“Just a group of elders who help me out, offer advice.”

“Oh. So, since werewolves are real, what about the rest?

Vampires? Other… animals?”

“No. No vampires. At least I haven’t encountered any. No

other animals, either.”

“Huh. Clara’s a wolf, too, right?”

“Yes.”

“She was working some wolf magic on my dad, wasn’t she?

That’s why he was getting better.”

“Yes. I asked her to help him.”

“Thank you. At least I got to have him back for a little

while.”

“You know I would do anything for you, Casey.”

“I know. What about discovery? How do you keep this a

secret?”

“We move around a lot, but we always come back here. It’s

our home.”

I need to tell her about Stone. She needs to know what’s

coming, so she’ll be better prepared.

“Casey, there’s something you need to know.”

“I figured there’d be more.”

“Stone made you. He’s your father, in a sense. He’ll be

coming for you.”

“I know.”

“I won’t let him anywhere near you.”

“I know that, too.”

I sit up, pulling her along with me. “When you change, your

instinct will be to go to him.”

“What? I would never—”

“The wolf is going to control you until you can control her.

She’ll be guided by instinct and the first one will be to go to her maker.”

“You talk as if we’ll be two different people… so to speak.”

“For the most part, you’ll be in control, but sometimes it’s

going to feel like you’re a passenger in a car. You go along for the ride, but

you have no say over the direction you’re going. It’s a little harder for me

because I can change at any time. I’ve found that my emotions play a big part

in whether or not the wolf comes out.”

“I’d really go to him?” she asks.

“Yes.”

“You won’t let me, will you?”

“No, Casey. Never. I have a plan.”

She climbs onto my lap, wrapping her arms around my neck.

“You really have been waiting for me for a long time,” she

whispers.

“I have… and now that I’ve found you, I’m not letting you go.”

“Good.” She smiles at me seductively and need instantly

surges through my body. “Now, why don’t you teach me a little more about this

mating thing?”