Page 14 of His Fated Luna

I idly wondered if she had changed since the last time I saw her. Maybe it was because she was now part of my pack, but I felt a sense of protectiveness toward her. I wanted her to remain unharmed. A small part of me hoped she was still as unwavering in her ideals as back then.

Shaking off thoughts of Rose, I stepped into the downtown diner, eager for the cheeseburger I had been craving for months. But the moment I entered Eddy’s Corner Diner, all thoughts of food disappeared. I barely paid attention to Eddy, the elderly owner who rushed to greet me before leaving to get my usual order ready. Fuck cheeseburgers. Something was wrong.

The scent hit me like a tidal wave, overtaking every one of my senses. It was addicting, battling against my reason, overwhelming me completely. I had never felt this way before.

My nostrils flared, and my wolf instantly perked up inside me. A low growl threatened to slip from my throat as I instinctively sniffed the air again. The alluring floral scent was so powerful, so undeniably familiar, that it nearly sent me to my knees.

Chapter 6

"And I got that good girl faith and a tight little skirt. And when we go crashin' down, we come back every time. 'Cause we never go out of style," —Style, Taylor Swift

Aiden’s POV

I stumbled, taken aback momentarily.

“Ai… Aiden, baby,” Lexia cooed hesitantly, placing a hand on my arm.

I ripped my arm away from her, shooting her a quelling glance. My wolf was out and did not want to be distracted by Lexia. My eyes glowed yellow momentarily, warning her not to interfere. Wolves couldn’t speak, but their feral instincts were enough to guide the human counterpart. Submitting to the dominant alpha, Lexia backed away. I stalked forward,determined to find the source of this scent. My eyes landed on a couple in the very back.

The most beautiful girl I’d ever seen sat next to my cousin, Jake, in a booth. Her long legs were exposed in a tight-knit charcoal gray skirt that stopped mid-thigh, showing off lithe, toned legs with thick thighs I wanted to bury myself between. Fuck she was so hot! Another growl threatened to escape my lips. Jake had just put an arm around her black sweater-clad shoulders, his fingers lightly playing with the dark reddish-brown curls brushing against her shoulder. I nearly saw red when he leaned in to whisper something in her ear. I wanted to claw my cousin’s heart out for touching her.

Mate.

The thought entered my mind unbidden, and the entire diner froze. That’s when I realized I had growled the word out loud. My wolf seemed satisfied when the gorgeous girl jerked out of Jake’s grasp, standing up in surprise and shock to see me.

I hungrily took in her hourglass form. Her charcoal gray knit skirt hugged her thighs, thighs that were made to wrap around a man’s waist, while her black sweater clung to her waist and ample breasts. Eerily familiar green eyes locked onto mine from across the diner—innocent, idealistic green eyes that haunted my dreams. With a strangled growl, I realized this stunningly hot woman was Rose. I blinked twice, struggling to reconcile this woman with the little girl I still thought of her as.

“Alpha Aiden?” Rose breathed in surprise.

Apparently, no one had told her I’d be returning tonight. Irrational anger flared inside of me.

Jake stood up slowly, glancing between us before suddenly commenting dryly, “You haven’t found your mate yet, huh?”

His words only incensed me and my wolf, further as I turned an accusing glare on Rose. A rage unlike any other roaredthrough my veins.She was trying to mate with another wolf.The animal inside me raged, demanding I rip Jake’s throat out.

“What’s up, Cuz?” Jake asked, nodding toward me, careful to keep his distance from Rose.

That seemed to appease my wolf considerably, allowing me to wrestle back some control. If only I had known Rose was here, I could have prepared myself. Maybe this flare-up could have been prevented. Hell, I could’ve avoided this place altogether.

I glanced around, realizing that many of the diner’s occupants—werewolves from various packs—were looking at me knowingly. They had felt the mate pull before. But what they didn’t know was that this wasn’t the first time I had met my mate.

I exhaled deeply, trying to calm the raging beast inside me. Then it hit me. In an entire diner full of wolves, I had just announced that Rose was my mate.Fuck.

My sources told me she was safe because most of the packs assumed Lexia was my mate. And since Lexia was with me, she was safe. I always ensured Lexia’s safety, confident in my ability to protect her.

But now…everything had fallen apart because of my outburst.

“I… I think we should leave,” Lexia spoke up hesitantly, motioning for Eddy to cancel whatever extravagant welcome home order he’d been getting ready in the back.

I turned to look at the girl who was the love of my life. My eyes softened. I just needed to get out of here, away from Rose. Everything would be okay if I avoided her.

Get Rose out of here, my instincts demanded, contradicting my logic.

“Let’s go,” I said to Lexia kindly.

Then, I turned my full wrath on the beautiful woman standing across from me.

Pinning her with my gaze, I commanded, “You too.”