"You'll actually help serve people?" she asks in disbelief. I look at her strangely before slowly nodding my head.
She clears her throat before saying, "Well, ok then."
Then she hands me six or seven plates and rushes me out the door with her behind me.
We go to my table first and Axel looks up at me with a smile. I place a plate of mud cake down in front of him and peck him on the lips.
"Enjoy," I whisper before walking off, hearing a low growl behind me as I place a plate in front of another pack member. Oh Axel...
By the time everyone has a plate, they're all looking at me in awe and amazement. I smile at them and walk back inside as a tired Nancy takes a seat next to a man, who I am presuming is her mate. I take the last two plates in my hands and place one down in front of her.
"Thank you, Luna. Not just for this, but for cooking and helping. You're certainly one of a kind," Nancy tells me and I feel my insides blossom.
"It's very welcome, Nancy," I reply back and her eyes widen slightly before she bows her head respectfully. I quickly head back over to Axel after that.
"That was very nice, what you did," he whispers in my ear when I'm sitting down. I look at him confused. What did I do? I don't understand why these people think of it as strange for me to serve them. Axel seems to read my mind and answers the question for me.
"Not many Lunas help in cooking and serving for her pack members. You really are one of a kind, Celina Heart. One of a kind," Axel mutters the last part as I beam at him. I bite my lip to try and keep in the smile, but it doesn't work.
When everyone's finished eating, Axel once again gets back on stage and pulls me along with him. Everyone looks at me with acceptance, awe, happiness, and kindness in their eyes. I don't think I can be happier than right now, at this moment.
"My fellow pack members, to finally accept your new Luna, we must make the bond final!" Axel booms as some people whistle.
Callum suddenly appears onstage and takes my hand. Axel does too, with my other hand.
"On this day, a new Luna will lead by my side and lead the pack to greatness!" Axel announces. With a final cheer from the crowd, a sharp pain strikes through my head.
I wince slightly and close my eyes against the pain. It doesn't last long though, as I soon feel the thoughts and feelings of the pack members. I open my eyes and see everyone looking at me.
"Thank you," I whisper and they once again erupt into cheers and whistles.
"You did great," Callum tells me and pulls me into a bone-crushing hug. Axel possessively snatches me from him and pushes me up against his hard chest while nuzzling my neck. I giggle at him and hear laughs from the pack members.
"Mine," Axel whispers in my ear as he places a gentle kiss on my soft spot, making me shiver with delight.
I look back over all the smiling and joyous faces of my new family and wonder how I ever got this lucky.
16
CELINA
I smile at all the happy faces and softly kiss Axel on the cheek. He smiles at me and we make our way down the little stairs that lead up to the stage. Callum goes first, then Axel, then me.
My heels are absolutely killing me by now and I just can't wait to get them off! I'm gonna have blisters galore!
As I make my way down the three small steps, my heel suddenly gets caught on the edge of one and before I can even react, I'm sent plummeting towards the floor. I let out a squeal and the next second, I’m on the floor face first.
Everyone goes silent. I don't even bother to lift my head and see the shocked expression on everyone's faces. I sigh softly and slowly push myself up, taking my heels off. Axel stares at me, shocked as Callum and Comrade seem to do the same with a little disappointment on their faces. I'm not sure if that's because of me, but I take it is.
I don't bother to look at the pack members and just race inside, forgetting the heels. I knew I would fall over!
"Celina!" I hear someone call behind me and I instantly know it’s Axel. I don't stop though. I keep running until I’m in our room. I close the door and lock it, slowly sliding down to the floor. How embarrassing...
I bury my face in my hands and growl. "I don't believe I just did that..." I mutter to myself.
'Well, you should be more graceful,' my wolf butts in and I internally glare at her.
She’s finally making an appearance. 'Why do you only come out when I'm angry or embarrassed?' I question her before she runs away again.
She's silent for a moment and I think she's left, that's before I hear her quietly say, 'Moon Goddess' orders.' Then she's gone again.
I sigh. Of course the Moon Goddess told her that. A soft knock interrupts my thoughts.
"Celina? You in there?" Axel says through the door and I know I have to get up otherwise he'll break it down. I slowly get up and open the door. Axel takes one look at me and engulfs me in a hug.
"Shh, sweetheart, shh. It's ok, you don't need to be upset," he coos softly. I push my head away from his chest and look into his grayish silver eyes.
"Why do you always seem to comfort me?" I suddenly question, but he only smiles. He does though. Whenever I'm the slightest bit upset, Axel will be there first and foremost to comfort and hold me. Is that a mate thing?
"Well, sweetheart, that's just what mates do. They want their mate to be happy and smiling all the time, so when they're upset, we try to make them smile. I guess it's like an instinct," Axel explains and I smile softly. It's nice to know that Axel will always care.
"Thank you," I say, then bury my head in his chest again. We stand there like that for what seems like forever. I’m wrapped up in his warm and comforting arms, while his head rests in the crook of my neck. His hot breath teasingly hits my neck and for the whole time he's comforting me, I have to keep myself from losing control.
"We should probably head to bed," Axel mumbles into my neck. Without waiting for my answer, he swiftly lifts me up bridal style, and carries me to the bed. I squeal when he does that, but he just chuckles at me. He places me gently on the bed and sleep consumes me almost instantly.
"Celina. Come on, sweetheart, wake up. It's time to get up now," a soft voice says in my ear. I snuggle closer to Axel's chest and sigh contentedly. Man, I slept well.
"Come on, sweetheart, wake up," the soft voice continues to speak and I groan, not wanting to get up just yet.
"Five more minutes," I mumble. I hear a chuckle before I'm being lifted off the bed. My eyes snap open and I come face to face with a smirking Axel. Why, that little...
"Axel!" I groan and he laughs again. I slightly slap his chest as my eyes start to drift close.
"Ah ah ah, don't you dare go back to sleep, Missy. We have a big day ahead of us. I'm planning something that I need your approval on," Axel tells me and I glance up at him sleepily. Why does he need my opinion? He's the alpha after all.
He gently places me down when we enter the bathroom and I head to the sink. I wash my face and that's when I notice that I'm not wearing the dress from last night. Instead, I’m in a pretty white nightgown with lace around the bottom.
I look at Axel with a raised eyebrow and he grins at me. I blush furiously and he laughs while I walk past him.
"I don't believe you," I mutter and he laughs even harder. I love that laugh...
I ignore him as I head to the wardrobe and pull on a random dress. It's a plain, blue sundress and I just match it with white flats. After last night's events, I don't think I'll be wearing heels for a long time. That was way too embarrassing.
Passing a still laughing Axel, I reach for the doorknob and silently walk out the door with a small smile on my face. Axel has a beautiful laugh, deep and straight from the chest. I would do anything to hear it...
"Morning, Luna," I hear someone say and I turn to see one of the women from last night. I smile at her and she smiles back shyly.
"I'm Eva. I didn't get to introduce myself last night, we were far too busy," she explains. She has a slight British accent an
d has dimples when she smiles.
"Well, it's lovely to meet you, Eva. Want some coffee?" I ask casually and a momentary shock passes across her face before she smiles again.
"Sure, that would be lovely."
I nod my head and quickly make us coffee. She seems really nice, but I know better than to judge a book by its cover.
"If you don't mind me asking, Luna, but how old are you? You seem very mature. Alpha mates are usually a few years apart..." she trails off and I smile at her. I like how she doesn't beat around the bush a lot.
"Actually, Eva, I'm 16. No more, no less," I tell her and she goes into shock again. I stare at her, concerned and place a hand gently on her shoulder.
"Eva?" I ask, slightly shaking her when she doesn't answer, "Eva, you there?"
She seems to snap out of it and looks at me. Shock once again appears on her face and I can't help wonder why everyone keeps on staring at me like that. Am I not supposed to do what I'm doing?
"You're only 16? You can cook for more than 300 wolves in just over an hour though! I can't even get my 17-year-old daughter to cook a meal for herself. You must've had a very devoted mother to teach you," Eva explains. I push back the tears that are threatening to fall. I will not think about both the mothers I lost, one without even knowing her.
Not wanting to be asked any more questions, I quietly mutter a response that is partly a lie, "She was the best mother I could ever ask for."
It's partly a lie because my fake mother didn't actually teach me to cook. I learned on my own, yet it's still true because I couldn't ask for a better fake Mum than my own.
We're silent for a few minutes, just sipping our coffee. When we finish, I take our cups to the sink and rinse them out. Axel chooses that time to strut into the kitchen. He's wearing low-slung, dark blue jeans, and a plain black shirt that sticks to his abs like glue. I grip the bench to keep myself from running over to him. God, he looks so amazing...
"Good morning, Eva. How are you today?" he asks Eva politely and she blushes under his gaze. I guess Axel will always have that effect on the woman, even though I don't really like it.
"I'm very well, alpha Axel. Just heading to work actually," Eva says before turning to me with a warm smile on her face.
"Thank you for the coffee, Luna. I hope we can do it again sometime," she tells me. I smile at her as she leaves. What a nice lady, I guess she is what her cover tells me.
My attention is turned back to Axel when I see him moving out of the corner of my eye. I turn to face him.
"So, what important business are we going to talk about today?" I ask as I wrap my arms about his neck when he's close enough. He grips my waist and pulls me to him, but it's not something sexual. It's more like a loving move. Love? Where does that come from?
"Well, that is classified and can only be discussed in my office," he mumbles as we stare into each other’s eyes. They're so hypnotizing...
"Let's go then," I say as I break eye contact and move away from him. We make our way to his office and he opens the door for me like the gentleman he is. I go to take a seat in the chair opposite his desk, but he's having none of that. Before I can even sit down, he lifts me up and pulls me to his lap as he sits on his chair.
I don't bother arguing as I rest my legs on either side of him and lay my head on his shoulder.
"So, what are we gonna talk about?" I inquire again and Axel sighs.
"Celina..." he starts off very business-like, so I lift my head to look at him. He means business and I must say this is quite a turn on.
"I've recently been called by a pack who has a major need of a Luna figure. Their pack house is a mess, half of them are starving and I'm guessing there's a lot of washing to be done. They called for my help when I first found you. My third in command suggested that you go and help out with me accompanying you, of course, as well as a few other pack members. I agreed that it was a good idea, but only when you are ready and I think you're ready to face some of your Luna responsibilities. You've come a long way. I want others to see that." As Axel explains all this to me, all that's running through my head is what a state that pack must be in. Those poor people...
Axel looks at me intently as I think about what he said. If a pack's in need, then I want to help. The problem is that, I don't think I'm ready yet. Honestly, I was nervous about meeting my pack, so how can I cope with someone else's pack? Will they even accept me as their temporary Luna figure? Doesn't the alpha have a mate?
I look at Axel. He thinks the total opposite. He thinks that I'm ready to take control and step up to my Luna duties, but can I really do them? Can I really step into my role?
Maybe if I know what pack it is, I can have a better understanding of it.
"Axel, if you don't mind me asking, what pack is it that needs help?"
He looks at me for a moment. "Will that help with your judgment?" he asks. I nod and he answers my original question, "The Moonlight Pack."
I freeze, my breath getting caught in my throat. The Moonlight Pack? They're the ones who need help? My old pack?
"I-I'm sorry, who?" I stutter and Axel looks at me with concern. I feel all the blood drain from my face as dread sets deep in my stomach.
Ignoring my question, he lightly touches my cheek with the back of his hand.
"Celina, are you ok? You look a little pale? Do you want me to get the pack doctor?" Axel hastily asks, but I'm frozen.
Before Axel can process what I'm doing, I fling myself out of his grasp and push myself up against the wall. The Moonlight Pack is my old pack and now because I've left, they're falling apart? I can hardly believe it! How can little old me affect a pack as big as that? All I did was run away.
This is a question though: Will I, or will I not help?
If I help, then they will all realize that it's me and that I can shift. They will recognize the real me. They will realize that I'm not just another maid or servant they can order around. I'm a real human being that deserves respect.
On the other hand, if I don't help, then my old pack will fall and they will probably disperse into other packs or be killed. Can I really let that happen? They're still sort of my family. Will I not regret helping them?
What if they get angry at me though? What if they take action and try to take me away from Axel? I can't let that happen! I can't let them all die though. No matter how horribly they treated me, they're still living, breathing people, and they deserve to live no matter what they've done. With that mindset, I bring myself to my feet with new determination.
"I'll go," I say bluntly. Axel stares at me with mixed emotions, confusion coming out on top. He doesn't know what pack tortured me and made me their maid because I never told him and he still won't know.
"Are you sure, Celina?" Axel asks and I nod. No matter what happened in the past, I'll leave it behind me and help the pack in need because that's what Lunas are supposed to do. I only hope that they won't react to my new title badly.
17
CELINA
Over the last month, Axel and I have been talking about how to help out the Moonlight pack. He's constantly asking me why I reacted like I did, but I just can't bring myself to tell him and permanently seal the fate of my old pack. That would just be mean...
Axel and I have also grown a lot closer. We were too close for comfort sometimes when it comes to fully mating but when we go too far, Axel always steps back and stops himself. Back then, I was actually grateful, but now? Well, I'm thinking that maybe we should complete the mating. It’s gonna happen anyway, so why delay it? My wolf is ecstatic when she hears my news.
Axel is spoiling me rotten with new clothes, jewelry, shoes, and tons of other stuff that I will probably never use. He's been really caring and loving to me. He's very patient with me and answers all questions that I suddenly shoot out. One of which is, being very embarrassing...
I was walking through the pack house's backyard when I heard two teenage girls talking. One of them looked really nervous, so I walked
up to her and asked her what’s wrong. She told me that she’s scared of going into heat because she met her mate. I didn't know what going into heat meant so I just told her to trust her mate to look after her. She and her friend smiled at me while running off and giggling like school girls. The funny thing was, they were probably older than me but didn't know it.
That night, I asked Axel what going into heat meant. He seemed uncomfortable at first, but answered anyway.
"Um, well, going into heat is like... a girl's period, I guess. They get really horny and can't control their wolf or their needs. That's the time mates usually fully mate and the male claims what's his. The only problem with this is that any unmated wolf will also try to get in your pants. I won't let that happen though, sweetheart," he said with a slight growl.
I blushed furiously at his explanation and he chuckled.
I asked him when I would go into heat, but he just shrugged. "When your wolf feels you're ready, then she'll welcome the heat and the male will immediately sense it. I doubt when you get it that we'll leave the bedroom at all," he said with a smirk.
That's when he took me in his arms and kissed the sense out of me. When we finished our little make out session, he also explained that only alpha mate wolves decide when their human goes into heat. Non-alpha mates go into heat after a week or two of meeting their mate.
I blush at the memory and Axel chooses that moment to walk into the backyard where I'm sitting. He smirks at me, already knowing what I am thinking because my mind wall isn't up. Oh, that's another thing. I found out a few days after meeting the pack that the pain in my head was my brain linking with everyone else's. Since then, Axel is always in my head and I can't do a thing about it. I've figured out how to block everyone else, but not him, and it's annoying me to no end.
"Thinking about the other day, are we, sweetheart?" Axel teases as he squeezes in behind me on the sun lounger I'm currently sitting on. He pulls me to his chest and I immediately feel his hard erection press into my lower back.
Unique, Different, Found: Werewolf Paranormal Romance (Nightfall Book 1) Page 13
