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Chapter One
Xochil
“X ochil, you promised.” Dad sighed the moment he picked up the phone.
“I know. I’m sorry. I didn’t think the flight would get so delayed,” I replied. I didn’t like disappointing my father.
“Where are you now?”
“We’ve just landed in Phoenix,” I answered him.
“You’re still on the plane?” The surprise was clear in his tone, and I hoped that meant he wasn’t too upset.
“Yeah, there was an issue with the baggage door, and we were stuck on the runway for almost three hours.”
“Are you coming home tonight?”
“It’ll be almost eleven by the time I get to the parking lot. I think I’ll grab a late dinner somewhere and crash. I’m really sorry, Dad.”
“It’s alright, mija (sweetheart). It was out of your hands. We’ll keep trying. Be safe.”
“Always. Love you, Dad.”
“Love you more.”
I looked around the full airplane. I’d traveled a lot since I graduated college, but this was by far the worst flight I’d ever been on. When I arrived at the airport, I was told first class was overbooked and was given the chance to get refunded the full price of the ticket and be seated in economy, which was also almost fully booked. My other option was to wait in standby until they had a spot on the next flight.
I had already promised Dad, the Alpha of Guardian Moon, that I would be home in time for the full moon celebration this month, so I’d taken a seat in the full flight. As his oldest and the future alpha, he wanted me to start taking over some of the responsibilities around the pack, so he could eventually pass the baton over to me. Once I had taken over, he could concentrate on looking for his siblings, who were scattered around the world.
Dad wasn’t just any alpha. Dad’s original name was Huitzilopochtli, the Aztec God of Sun and War, and he was immortal. But being immortal also meant Dad had many enemies, and one of those was Tezcatlipoca, the Aztec God of Darkness. Twenty-seven years ago, after he and his warriors became shifters, and shortly before I was born, a seer warned of a battle between Dad and Tezcatlipoca in fifty years, and told us that Dad needed to find his siblings before that time. We were a little over halfway to that deadline, and Dad was starting to feel the pressure.
It wasn’t that I didn’t want to be alpha, but part of taking over the pack, and the part I was resisting was that he wanted me to look for my mate so I could have a Luna when I took over. My cousins over at Crescent Moon, the pack right next to ours, had all found their mates. Two and a half years ago, the first of the grandkids was born for Aunt Celeste and Uncle Markus. Dad had been experiencing grandfather-envy ever since and was looking at me and Damien to find our mates. Santiago only turned eighteen a few months ago, so he was still below Dad’s radar because werewolves could only find their mates after turning nineteen, during the peak of a full moon.
And it wasn’t like I didn’t want a mate, either. I had attended a bunch of full moon celebrations within the pack and around the world throughout the years. I hadn’t found her yet, and I was not desperate or in a hurry to do so.
Dad was immortal, and so was Mom—sort of. I was, at minimum, going to live for a very long time. I had time to enjoy the world before I settled down, took over and became responsible for so many people.
“Thank you for flying with us tonight. I hope you had a pleasant flight.” The voice over the speaker made a bunch of us snort.
Thankfully, I was only gone for two days, so everything fit in my carry-on and I didn’t have to wait for my luggage after deplaning. With the way this flight had gone, it probably would have gotten lost.
I went over to the parking lot and found my vehicle. Usually, Mom or Dad would have dropped me off at the airport and picked me up, but it was only two days, and I just wanted to get it over with. This hadn’t been the most pleasant of trips. A human friend I’d made overseas needed help moving out of a toxic relationship.
The biggest problem was the timing. I promised Dad I would run the full moon celebration tonight, and my friend asked me to stay the first night with her because she was afraid to be alone, and I couldn’t turn her down. But I didn’t tell Dad any of this, so I understood why he was disappointed that I’d broken my word to him.
Told you we should’ve explained, Erandi, my wolf, told me.
We’ll explain when we’re back. We barely had time to plan anything, I reminded her, getting into my car and turning over the engine.
I didn’t put it in drive, though. After I graduated from university half a decade ago, I only ever went to clubs in Phoenix and to the airport. I didn’t really know the city. Where was I going to eat?
I pulled out my phone and texted the chat I was in with my cousins. We started the chat less than a year ago, when we found out people hurt our family by isolating one of my cousins through a spell using blood magic. After we figured everything out, we decided we weren’t going to let that happen again.
The chat was born, and now we were all closer than ever.
Me
Where’s a good place to eat that’s still open in Phoenix?
Instantly, my cousin and future beta, Miguel, answered.
Miguel
I thought you were running the full moon tonight?
Me
Fucking plane took forever to take off. The plane landed twenty minutes ago.
Violet
That sucks. I haven’t been out there in a while, but Chris once told me there was a Chinese place downtown that’s good.
Violet was one of Aunt Celeste’s kids. She and her mate, Chris, had just had a baby a few months ago.
Me
Where is your hunk of a man? I need directions. I haven’t been downtown.
Violet
He’s trying to put Oli down. He’s teething.
Cory
Ugh, good luck with that. Annie’s at least not as bad as the twins were.
Xochil, go to Oxente.
Cory was Aunt Celeste’s oldest child and the new alpha of Crescent Moon. He and his mate, Evie, had three kids. A set of one-year old twin boys and a little girl who was only a few months old.
Me
What’s that?
Cory
It’s a Brazilian steakhouse. You’ll love the food.
Evie
Ooh, yes! I’ve been there. The food was amazing.
Me
Send me the address. I’m game for something new. Is it still open?
Cory
It’s open until one tonight. I’ll send you the pin.
The pin came through, and I put the address into the navigation system.
Me
Alright, I’m going to drive. Have fun at the celebration.
Miguel
Bring me something good. I’m lonely.
Cory
Go to the celebration, Miguel.
Me
I’m crashing in a hotel for the night. You’re on your own, but if it’s good, I’ll stop for lunch and get some take-out for you.
Miguel
Not until I beat Mom.
Yes! Get me one of everything!
Cory
It’s good. Bring me some cheese buns. They’re called Pao de queso or something like that. It’s a starter.
Me
You got it.
I put down my phone and drove to the location of the restaurant. It wasn’t a huge place, but it certainly seemed busy. I walked inside and was greeted by a pretty hostess.
“Just one tonight?” she asked.
“Yes, please.”
“We’ve got about a ten-minute wait,” she warned.
“That’s fine. I could probably even eat at the bar if you have one, so you can give the table to whoever’s behind me,” I suggested.
“Right this way,” she said, seemingly happy I didn’t put up a fuss.
I was seated at the end of the bar, but that was fine. The barista came up to me right away and placed a menu in front of me after speaking with the hostess.
“What can I get started for you?” he asked.
“Do you know how to make a cantarito?” I asked.
“Sure do.”
“I’ll take one of those, heavy on the tequila, please.”
The man hummed and nodded, turning away to get started while I looked down at the menu.
The names of some of the dishes weren’t familiar, but the descriptions sounded delicious. The main courses seemed pretty straightforward, but I couldn’t pick just one starter.
My drink was placed in front of me, and I looked up to find the man smiling at me.
“Are you ready to order or do you need another minute?” he asked.
“Everything looks delicious, and I can’t decide. What’s your favorite starter?”
“Oh, that is a hard choice. For me, it’s a toss-up between the coxinhas, which are stuffed potato fritters, and the pastelinhos, which are like Mexican empanadas.”
“I’ll have both of those and the calamari, please.”
“The Lula frita?”
“Yep. And for my entree—”
“Are you sure you can eat all that food?” he interrupted.
“Trust me, I’ll be fine,” I assured him, smiling politely.
Waiters always underestimated my appetite because of my small frame, but Erandi was a big alpha wolf. We burned a lot of calories, so we were always hungry. “I’ll take the spicy picanha and pork loin with parmesan rodizios.” When he still looked unsure of how much I was ordering, I added, “If I can’t finish it, I’ll have the leftovers for lunch tomorrow.”
“Alright. It’s your money. The salad bar is over there. It comes with the price of your entree.”
“Thank you,” I replied politely.
I got the calamari before I could finish my first cantarito, and it was delicious. The breading was seasoned differently than I’ve ever had it before, and adding the bit of lemon on top really made it sing. I asked for a second drink once he placed the pastelinhos and coxinhas before me. I could feel Erandi purring as the first of the flavors burst in my mouth when I bit into the coxinha.
“Holy shit, these are amazing,” I said, barely covering my mouth as I chewed.
“Told ya!” he called out to me smugly, as he made drinks for another table.
“I’m never doubting you again,” I promised him with a solemn look on my face and a hand over my heart, making him laugh.
I tucked into my food enthusiastically after that, only stopping to ask for an iced tea and another cantarito. As an alpha werewolf, the alcohol wasn’t even making me buzzed, but I knew restaurants had different policies for how much their patrons drank, and I didn’t want to make them suspicious.
“I’m not giving a fucking discount because they said they didn’t like the food after they ate the whole damn thing.” I heard a beautiful, angry voice floating out of the kitchen door, as someone pushed through it with a plate of food for another table.
A few of us who heard the woman, chuckled at the words. There was always that drunk who wanted a free meal and thought that old trick would work.
My entrees came out a few minutes later, and this time the smell of cattleya orchids surrounded the plate. Erinda perked up at the smell, instantly trying to push forward to look for the owner of the scent. The door to the kitchen opened again, and I tried to grab a peek, but it closed too soon. I did catch a bit of that wonderful smell, though, and it was making me salivate more than the food was.
I was barely eating now, trying to get a look into the kitchen each time it opened. Erinda was pushing me to get up and go see who smelled so good. The only thing keeping me in my seat was decorum and my mounting anxiety.
It could be mate. Go see!
I ignored her and looked at my phone. The full moon was in less than ten minutes. If she was my mate, I needed to be in the same room as her so our bond could snap into place, or I’d have to wait until the next full moon to figure out if the owner of the tantalizing scent was my mate.
“You want a to-go container?” the bartender asked me when he noticed I wasn’t eating much anymore.
“Umm. No. Not yet,” I answered. “I just need a break. Can I get another cantarito?”
“What are you, a hundred and ten pounds? Are you driving?” he asked, eyeing me.
“A hundred and thirty, thank you, and I have a high metabolism.”
“I would argue, but I just watched you put away three starters, two bowls of salad, and half a main entree. Coming right up,”
“Thanks!” I said, then felt a shudder wrack my body as the door to the kitchen opened and an angry ebony goddess in a chef’s coat marched out of the kitchen, wafting that delicious scent toward me.
She stormed past the bar and toward the main dining room, the scent of orchids making me want to float behind her like in the cartoons.
She’s beautiful. Go after her! I don’t want to wait a month! Erinda urged.
She’s human. We can’t just run after her. She’ll think we’re a stalker or something, I reminded her.
I continued to sit where I was, looking toward where I could hear her berating the man trying to get out of his ticket. I felt like I was floating on air, her musical voice swirling around my soul despite the angry words being said.
Fuck, her wrath was sexy.
My smile went away when her voice quieted, and I stood to go look for her when two things happened at once.
First, she walked back into the bar area, her hips swishing side to side angrily, one of her employees talking to her as they made their way toward me. Then, my phone alarm started ringing, making her look my way. The moment her eyes made contact with mine, I felt the mate bond snapping into place.
Her lips parted, and I could hear her sharp intake of breath as she felt our connection, even if she didn’t understand it. I saw her eyes roaming my body, the interest in her eyes clear and making Erinda push forward in an attempt to claim our mate, while I held my breath, entranced and waiting to see what she would do.
And that was my mistake.
Instead of following her instincts and making her way to me to figure out what our connection was, she blinked when she saw my eyes turn black as Erinda pushed forward. She shook her head as if not believing what she was seeing. I reined my wolf back, and by the time she looked at me again, she would have only seen my normal eye color.
It was all it took for our moment to break. She looked into my eyes once more, to assure herself that my eyes hadn’t really flashed black from the amber color I’d inherited from my mother, and then she continued to the kitchen to get back to her work.
I slumped back in my chair, disappointed.
Go after her! Go after mate! Erinda pushed.
I can’t. Not yet. She’s human, Erinda. We can’t just claim our mate. We have to explain what we are, who we are, and what she is to us.
My wolf whimpered, knowing I was right.
So, what are we going to do? she asked miserably.
We wait to introduce ourselves. Maybe we come back tomorrow for lunch?
We’re going to leave her by herself? What if something happens to her? she asked, and my heart thudded faster in my chest at her words.
We’re going to follow her to make sure she gets home safe, I assured her. I turned over my phone and looked up the restaurant’s closing time while I continued to eat my food. What could I say, it was fucking delicious.
Once I was done eating, I placed two orders of the cheese buns Cory wanted, figuring I’d need a snack if I was going to camp outside my mate’s home to make sure she was safe for the night.
I also ordered dessert to buy some more time. The fried, dulce de leche-stuffed bananas were so delicious, that I asked for another order of it to go when I saw I was among the last of the patrons. I walked out with my precious goods and moved my car across the street, where I had the full restaurant building in view, and would see her leaving.
It was well past two in the morning by the time I saw her exit through the front and head to the only vehicle left in the parking lot. I followed at a safe distance until we arrived at a small house, in a neighborhood about fifteen minutes away from the restaurant. I parked a few houses away and settled in for the night, trying to plan how I was going to get my mate to talk to me and accept me.