The final bell rang through the school ending the week, I was so excited to be out. Don't get me wrong, I usually love school. It just means I get to see Zander soon. I smile at the thought of seeing him tonight. I am excited about seeing him again.
It’s a little strange that in the short amount of time I have been around him I've already become so attached. I guess the talk we had this afternoon really helped me relax and find out what he wanted.
He wanted me. He wanted to be mates. Yes, we have a lot of different challenges ahead. I would like to build my relationship with him before anything else. I'm glad he just didn't claim me in front of everyone. I'm glad he understands.
I try to get my thoughts off Zander. Surely it isn't healthy to be thinking about him this much. Kia isn't being helpful, flashing all kinds of images through my mind of him naked and dirty and just looking so damn sexy standing there in the dark closet and so close. I try with all my might to get him off my mind, especially since I am about to get in the car with Ollie and Brent.
'Kia please... now is not the time, the others will smell me,' I hiss at her as she flashes another one of her naughty images through my mind.
'We’d better see our mate tonight,' she mumbles.
'We will just, please, stop dirty thoughts right now while I'm around others.'
'Fine, fine, fine' she sighs. She finally stops with the craziness and I am able to settle down until they come over.
“How’s your day been?” Ollie asks.
"It was good,” I shrug. “I was able to catch up with the girls and just go to classes. I’m excited for tonight though. It will be good. I haven’t been to clubs before.”
“Oh, yeah, that’s right. I forgot about that,” Ollie laughs.
“Well, I’m sure Chloe will make sure you have a good time,” I rolled my eyes,
“True, she is a bit like you in that sense. She loves the nightlife.”
Ollie drove like a maniac on the way home. We need to get ready before people start coming over. There aren’t many but there are enough to make me nervous. At least I know I wouldn’t find my mate, it is hard to be around everyone now I know Zander is my mate. But we cannot do much about it until I accept him fully. I need to decide what I am going to do.
‘We are not rejecting our mate’, Kia snaps. ‘I will only allow you to reject him if he displays any sort of abuse or cheating, not because of our packs or their stupid disagreements that happened nearly a hundred years ago.’
‘Fine, I’ll accept those terms, but we still need to be comfortable with him and be okay around him before telling uncle or any family. Do you agree?’
‘Yes, I suppose’ she sighs. ‘At least he does understand that. He is trying to make us work and trying to get to know us before anything moves forward.’
At least both Kia and I have come to an agreement on Zander. I hate being out of sync with her. It’s nice she’s been more herself lately.
There aren’t many people coming tonight, just our head warriors and one or two of our chief leaders. Mum and uncle wanted to invite some single alphas around the area to see if they were my mates, but I asked them to keep dinner small and with some pack members for now.
Maybe in a few weeks we could have something bigger if they still wanted it. I suppose I don’t really need anything now that I’ve found my mate. I certainly wasn't going to tell them it is Zander Blackwood. Maybe later on when we have a more solid relationship, but I’m not going to tell them now.
As we arrived home, mum and auntie hurry us all inside and upstairs to get ready. The boys had to put on nice dress shirts and jeans and I put on the dress that I bought with Meghan.
I decided to put on some of my sexy lingerie to help make me feel confident and comfortable. Zander won't be seeing it tonight, but just for myself, I wanted to feel sexy.
I had to stop myself looking at the clock every minute. I am already counting down the time until I can see him again. It's so weird that I feel this way about him even after this morning.
Yes, I was annoyed about what happened, but I can't hold that against him. People have a past. We wouldn't be able to move forward if I kept bringing it up every time. He stopped instantly when he found out we were mates, and by the sound of things he broke it off with Grace also.
Yes, I wanted to trust him a lot, but a part of me is still hesitant and I think I will always be hesitant until we become one. I hope in time we can trust each other and become one. I don’t want to be angry and bitter about it, especially if I am going to be his Luna. I want us to be equals.
People start showing up at around 6.30pm. I let mum know we are heading out at around 9.30pm. About eighteen people show up for our small intimate dinner. We are close with everyone who arrived, and I really enjoy talking to the leaders and going over the work with them.
Usually there will be a big party, but since we are going to the club tonight and we invited everyone to come, I didn't want to bother.
They still call me Beta but deep down I know I am destined to be Zander’s Luna. I feel bad about the deception. It hurts a little that I have to keep this secret from my family, from Ollie and Brent, but right now, I’m not ready to tell them. I can’t tell them until I figure it out myself.
I could see some disappointment in my mother's and uncles' eyes when they saw that no one they invited was my mate. Would they be disappointed if they knew that Zander was my mate? Would they be angry? Would they disown me? I know dad respected the mate bond, but would he be accepting enough with Zander? Or would our pack’s histories outweigh the mate bond entirely?
Chloe arrived towards the end of dinner and was just making casual conversation. So many different possibilities run through my mind that I am startled when Ollie comes up to me and asks if I am ready to head out. Ollie drove the four of us to the club.
Everyone in the car is energised and buzzing with excitement. I hope Skyla is able to come out tonight. I really would love her to come. Once we arrived at the club we noticed the long line of people waiting to be let in. It is a mix of humans and supernaturals.
Either word got around about the party or this is a normal Friday night. Ollie nods to the bouncer who opens the rope and lets us in, followed by annoyed groans and shouts by some of the people in line.
I giggled as we walked through, "Thanks for getting us on the VIP list, Ollie."
"Hmm, oh no worries, they know it's your night, so how could they not allow it?"
I sighed, "Do they know it's my birthday?"
"Yep, you have a few surprises later," he grins and winks.
"Ugh, fine, but can I please have a drink before that starts?"
"Yeah, this way," he motions towards the bar and we all follow in a line.
"Just get me whatever," I shout over the thumping music. He nods in response. I lean against the bar and look out onto the dance floor.
The club is medium-sized with bright coloured lights flashing. A DJ is up in front and a pole dancer in a silver and gold bikini is wrapped around the pole and dancing to the music. Stand-up tables were around the dance floor and tables with seats were down the back. There were two staircases that led up stairs.
One had a rope tied to it with a sign saying, 'Closed private function'. The other staircase was a 'smoking zone'.
An overpowering smell of wildflowers and honey drifted through the unsavoury club’s smells of sex, sweat, and smoke.
Kia perks up and starts jumping around. 'Mate, mate is here!' she shouts.
I smile a little, trying not to let my brother or Ollie know anything was going on. They are too busy chatting and ordering our drinks.
I look around to see if I could find him. I spot him with Danni and two females. Instantly my smile dropped. I feel sick to my stomach, Kia pushes forward, trying to make herself known, her possessive side comes out and she does not like what she is seeing.
One of the females leans towards him and whispered something before walking away. He looks at her once and turns his attention to Danni.
'Relax Kia, He is an Alpha, his pack has females they are going to need to talk to him.' I tried to reassure her.
'Not like that they don’t,' she growls.
I sigh. I don’t like it either, but I can judge just from that interaction alone. I don't want to always be so insecure of everything he does. It wouldn't be fair to treat him that way.
I shake it off and turn my attention to Ollie and Brent. If Zander wants to see me he is going to have to talk to me himself. Ollie motions to sit at one of the booths across the way. We make our way over and started to chat. I’ve already finished my drink while Chloe and the boys have yet to finish theirs.
I signal to Ollie that I am running back to the bar for a refill. As I make my way through the crowd of people stumbling up to the bar, I am overwhelmed by his scent. Is he close by? I don't want to look around to just be disappointed again.
"Hello, mate," his husky voice whispers in my ear as I grab my drink.
I shudder at the closeness of his soft breath against my neck. I whip around and see him standing right behind me in a dark navy button-down top, jeans, and dress shoes. Did he dress nicely for me tonight or is this something he always wears out?
I scold myself for thinking negatively again. I don't want my stupid thoughts to ruin tonight.
"Are you free?" he asks.
I look over to the table where my friends are sitting and notice that Skyla arrived while I was away. No one seems to be looking for me so I can quickly escape to spend some time with him now. I nod in agreement.
He grabs my hand. Sparks shoot through me like freaking fireworks, I never want to let go. He leads me towards the staircase that has the closed sign. I frown and pull back a little. We aren't allowed up there. I point to the sign and shake my head instead of explaining myself over the loud thumping music.
He rolls his eyes and points to himself then back at the sign. I cock my head in confusion, looking between him and the sign, trying to understand what he is saying.
'He must have set something up for us,' Kia mumbles. 'Jace won't tell me anything, just that it's a surprise.'
I widen my eyes in understanding and nod, motioning for him to move forward.
He leads me up the stairs, to an outside balcony. It is beautifully set up with little fairy lights lighting up the area in soft cozy colours unlike the flashing lights downstairs. Against the back wall and sitting under the shade of a tree is a cream and pink loveseat that faces the city views of the river and buildings. The music gets quieter as we close the door behind us on the balcony.
"Happy birthday, sweetheart," he says with a smile.
"It's beautiful," I gasp, looking around at the beautiful space. He just shrugs.
"It was nothing. I wanted to spend some time with you, and this is what they were able to set up. I know it's not the best place or anything, but considering our circumstances, it would be okay."
I nod as I take in the beautiful space. I feel guilty for the earlier thoughts I had about him. I really need to learn not to judge so quickly before making any type of assumptions about him.
"Ohh, here I brought this for you, too. I hope you like it."
He gives me a beautiful small blue velvet box with a lace ribbon around it. I open the box and see a beautiful hairpiece sitting softly on a soft white cloth. The hairpiece is silver with sapphires, diamonds, and white pearls all around. It is so beautiful I don't want to touch it in-case I break it. It look so old and well looked after.
"It was my mother's," he mumbles.
My eyes snapto his. My heart is pounding, is this what I think it is?
"My mother used to wear that when she was Luna, so did my grandmother and all previous Lunas. It's an heirloom passed down by generations."
"Zander... I, it’s beautiful, thank you," I say breathlessly.
"I know we had a rocky start, but I wanted to show you I was serious about us being mates. The only way I would back down is if you rejected me."
Kia pushes forward, making herself known. I know my eyes are probably flashing silver as she tries to talk to Zander. It is hard to control her around him.
"Then who were the two shanks you walked in with?" she demanded.
He frowns then smirks at Kia before answering her ridiculous question. "One was my cousin and the other was the human woman who owns this club with her husband. She actually helped me set this up for you tonight." He waves his hands around with his smirk deepening. "Jealous, sweetheart?"
Kia just growls in annoyance instead of responding. He chuckles back at her, shaking his head.
"Sorry about her, she wouldn't calm down," I mumble in embarrassment.
"It's alright, sweetheart," he laughs and raises his hand to stroke my face. "You do look beautiful tonight. I had to put Jace in his corner too many times when males looked your way."