Page 12 of His Fated Luna

“You’re part of my pack. It’s my responsibility to make sure you’re safe.” His eyes flicked to my upper arm, where my mark was visible beneath my tank top. “Keep that covered, especially when you aren’t on pack territory.”

I simply nodded again, kicking a small stone with my sneaker. I didn’t want to talk to him anymore. I didn’t wantto acknowledge how much this affected me. He was leaving tomorrow. Why did that hurt?

Aiden hesitated before speaking again, his tone softer this time. “I’ll see you around.” Then, with a small smirk, he added, “Come on, Princess, the least you could do is give me one of your beautiful smiles before I leave. One for the road?”

I looked up, startled. He thought my smile was beautiful?

Before I could stop myself, a small smile broke across my face. It wasn’t hard when I was staring into those deep blue eyes, when his grinning face made his dimples stand out.

Damn it, why did he have to be so breathtakingly handsome?

He started walking backward, giving me a mock salute before finally turning to rejoin the party. I watched him go, then looked up at the full moon.

They said mates were a gift from the Moon Goddess.

So what had I done wrong for mine to be so royally messed up?

Chapter 5

“What's meant to be will always find a way.” ? Trisha Yearwood

Approximately two years later…

Rose’s POV

I walked out of my academic counselor’s office on an unusually sunny January afternoon, clutching my papers as I stepped into the bustling hallway. It was my last year at the local university, near pack territory, and I had just finalized my schedule for the upcoming spring semester. I was now in a special program where I was training to be a pack doctor. I would be qualified to work as an assistant to my pack’s doctor come spring and it would count as college credits. I would only have one class in the spring. And next fall, I would be able to do a proper rotationalresidency to become a fully certified pack physician assistant! It was all so exciting! Of course to become a fully certified pack doctor, I would have to train further and undergo a rigorous four years of further med school. And I fully intended on pursuing that opportunity when the time came. I couldn’t help but beam as I looked down at my academic progress report.

Maybe it was because of what happened with my mother, or maybe it was because I wanted to give back to the people of my pack—the ones who would lay down their lives to protect me—but I had decided to become a doctor for my pack. Dr. Danvers was getting older and had mentioned more than once that he was ready to retire, but without a replacement, he kept pushing forward. That’s when I decided to step up.

Still folding my papers and preoccupied with thoughts of the scholarships my advisor had recommended, I wasn’t paying attention when I bumped into someone. Startled, I opened my mouth to apologize, then froze when I looked up into a familiar pair of striking blue eyes and sandy blond hair.

“Jake?” I gasped, my eyes widening in surprise. What was he doing here? If anything, he’d somehow gotten even cuter than before.

“R…Rose?” Jake stuttered, his expression mirroring my own disbelief. He gave me a quick once-over before breaking into a grin. “Rose!” he exclaimed, pulling me into a tight hug.

I barely had time to react before he buried his nose into the crook of my neck, inhaling deeply. My heart hammered. If I wasn’t already giddy from the unexpected embrace, I might have found the action a little too personal.

Jake pulled back quickly, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “Sorry,” he mumbled, looking slightly confused. “It’s just that you…you smell different.”

I let out a small laugh, teasing, “Wow, that’s a first, Jake. Why don’t you just say it? You didn’t recognize me. Erica didn’t recognize me either when we met up before she left for London.”

We had stayed in touch through video calls and message.. After all her hard work—and plenty of encouragement—Erica had earned a full-ride scholarship to study photography in London.

Jake tilted his head, studying me. “Well…now that you mention it, you do look different.” His appreciative gaze flicked over me again, and I felt my cheeks heat up.

I did a little happy dance in my head. He liked what he saw. An entire year of training with the Bloodfire Phoenix pack, combined with the effects of my approaching shift in eight months, had changed my body. I still had my curves, but exercise had made me healthier. I wasn’t embarrassed anymore about my body type. I embraced my curves with confidence. Though my ire over my short height remained unchanged.

Jake suddenly took a step back, as if something had just dawned on him. Then, without warning, he leaned in.

“You’re a werewolf,” he murmured softly.

My breath caught. My almond-shaped eyes widened in shock. How did he know?

Jake let out a quiet huff of laughter, triumphant. I glanced around anxiously, my gaze flitting to the students walking by the academic building. The university had plenty of werewolves from different packs, but humans attended as well.

“How come I didn’t sense it before?” Jake asked, confusion lacing his tone. “Did you have some kind of spell on you or—”

“Shhh.” I cut him off sharply, scanning the crowd again. “Can we…talk about this somewhere private?”