My Fierce Warrior Luna

4

REBECCA

When I opened my eyes, I wasn’t in the corridor – nor in my bedroom. I was curled up under a warm blanket, nestled between a strong and welcoming set of arms, and … in Isabelle’s living room.

More precisely, the living room of the Alpha’s family quarters.

The scent that engulfed me like a blanket, united to the way my wolf reacted in smelling it, left no doubt to whom those arms belonged.

Reiner’s warm, hazel eyes were the first thing I saw – and as soon as he realized I was awake, a relieved smile appeared on his insanely beautiful face.

My mate’s face.

“Hey there” he whispered, leaning over to press a kiss on my forehead. If my wolf’s blinding happiness in seeing him, or her constantly saying “mate” over and over again wasn’t enough to confirm the bond that had snapped between us, the tingles that began to run on my skin as soon as his lips made contact with it would’ve. “Nice nap you've taken. How are you doing? Want some water?”

My throat felt like the desert – so I just nodded. My head was pounding like crazy, and I felt absolutely dazed and confused: thankfully, he helped me into a seating position and offered me a glass of water.

Suddenly, I felt like my mind was being attacked, invaded – as if another consciousness was insistently, violently slamming against it.

Is she okay? Is she feeling sick? What’s going on? Why isn’t she saying anything? What if she …

An endless string of thoughts pierced my mind – thoughts that were not my own.

I squeezed my eyes shut. What was going on?

“Becks? Becky, what’s wrong?”

Fuck. f**k, she’s sick. What if she’s dying? I’m gonna kill Izzy …

Reiner.

It was Reiner's voice - it was his thoughts I was hearing!

“STOP THINKING!”

The shout escaped my lips before I could even think of it - but it worked.

The avalanche of thoughts that was flooding my mind abruptly stopped, and Reiner shut up, staring at me with his jaw on the ground and very much looking like a deer in headlights.

“You think I look like a deer?!” he asked the next moment, shocked – and maybe a little offended. “You’re not being very nice, mate! I’m a wolf, for the Goddess’s sake!”

“No, I ... I didn't mean ...”

But each of my clumsy attempts at explaining myself was snuffed out by the half-smile that broke out on his face.

“It's my fault,” Reiner smiled gently. “I couldn't control the ... flow of thoughts through the bond. How are you feeling?”

“Fine ... I think,” I murmured, dazed. That episode had certainly not done my pre-existing headache any good, and now I was feeling even more confused, to the point that the flickering light bulb on the ceiling was making me feel like I wanted to shoot it. “My head’s killing me, though. What happened? The party ...”

“The party is still going on,” he said - and I didn't miss the way he had lowered his voice as soon as I mentioned my headache. “I'll get you something for your head right away, don't worry. What's the last thing you remember?”

I wasn't sure I wanted to answer that question.

Some might have argued that, between the incident of five months before and the bond that had snapped into place between us, I shouldn't have felt any embarrassment in admitting I’d started my heat, but ... I couldn't ignore the awkwardness between Reiner and me.

After all, we had spent years being little more than acquaintances - and, one evening five months earlier, we had suddenly found ourselves one step away from having s*x: we’d kept in touch after that, only as friends, and now …

And now we were mates. Bound for life.

“The ... the bond,” I murmured. “I remember the bond. And ... you saying I knew it”.

And then, nothing. Until that moment, at least - in which I had awakened in his arms, on the couch in his house ... and without my gown, I realized.

Instead of the stunning, revealing dress that Izzy and Jenny had chosen for me, I was now dressed in a T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants that were too big to belong to me, or to Izzy ... clothes that bore an unmistakable scent, and that I had seen on someone else before.

On Reiner.

Oh, Goddess. I'm wearing his clothes.

“You fainted right after the bond snapped,” Reiner murmured. “Izzy ... she got the dose of the drugs wrong, for which I’m definitely going to kill her, but ... this is a story for another time. We brought you here through the secret passages. Wayne and Izzy are in the kitchen, they’re making you something to eat. Oh, and she was the one who changed you, in case you were wondering.”

“How long it’s been?”

“About an hour or so,” he confirmed. “We had our family doctor come in to check on you. She said you might feel dizzy and confused for a while, but you should be fine by tomorrow morning, and that your heat should regress, for the time being. I can confirm it has.”

I nodded. I no longer felt the cramps ... nor the tingles and tension and warmth in certain areas, despite being in his arms.

Okay, maybe Izzy's dose had been a little too much, but at least it was saving me from a very embarrassing situation. Finding myself aroused and eager for him, in his arms, not even an hour after the bond had snapped into place, on the same couch where five months earlier we had come this close to doing it ... no, thank you.

After that, a peaceful silence stretched between us: he held me close to him and wrapped me in the blanket while my brain slowly woke up - and the more it did, the bigger the grin on my face grew.

I couldn't believe it – he was my mate. I was the mate of the man I liked - not only that, but he was holding me in his arms, cuddling me, and looking just as happy as I was: I could hear soft purrs coming from his chest - a way for his wolf to say hello.

That could only mean one thing - he wouldnìt reject me.

“Never,” he whispered - and I felt his grip strengthen. “Never, Becks. I am ... so honored to be your mate. And so happy that you are mine.”

Blinding happiness filled me at his words - and then, a question popped up.

“Wait, how did you ...”

“The bond,” he replied simply, slowly caressing my thigh. “I can feel your feelings - your thoughts. And you can feel mine. I'm shielding myself because you’re not well, but maybe ... just a little ...”

A few seconds later I felt like a presence brushing past my mind: it was no longer intrusive and loud as before - it was at the edge of my consciousness, like a slightly ajar door connecting me to his mind, and when I ventured closer to it …

I felt them.

Relief. Happiness. Anxiety. Tenderness. An affection so immense it brought tears to my eyes. All feelings that I saw reflected in his eyes, on his beautiful features – feelings that perfectly matched mine.

It was not like the mind-link I had with other wolves: that was a connection that had to be established each time, and that allowed us to communicate only what we wanted to. This was entirely different: it was a constant bridge between our minds, between our souls.

Slowly, his hand reached out to mine, gently grazing my fingers – a subtle, unspoken question.

Even if my heart was pounding, I wasted no time in intertwining my fingers with his.

A smile that twinned mine popped on his lips as he secured the hold, bringing up our joined fingers to his mouth and placing a soft kiss on the top of my hand.

I rested my head on his broad, warm chest and I relaxed in his hug. My wolf was finally at rest, basking in the feeling of warmth and safety he provided, and I could feel his own wolf quieting down.

Goddess, it was so strange, to feel someone else’s soul and thoughts – but also so incredibly beautiful as well.

“Ehm, guys?” Wayne’s voice, laced with giggles, resonated from across the door. “If you’re not making a future Alpha already, food’s ready …”

That was more than enough to turn my face as red as a tomato – and when Wayne walked into the living room, a look at his face was all I needed to know that Reiner and I were going to be the victims of his endless taunting.

He had a tray full of food in his hands – food that smelled and looked absolutely delicious, and that made my stomach growl. After all, my last meal had been lunch – and it was now about 10 PM.

I tried to get off of Reiner’s lap, but he tightened his hold on me: the way his fingers slightly dug into my hips and the low growl that rumbled in his chest … let’s just say it worked very well to kick down a notch whatever numbness Izzy’s suppressants were still giving me. All of a sudden I was absolutely aware of the way his body felt touching mine – the warmth, the strength, the solid column of muscles of his torso … of each and every point in which our bodies touched.

Don’t you dare to move, he whispered in my mind, his voice suddenly darker, mixed with his wolf’s, and laced with something I couldn’t exactly recognize – probably a mix of hunger, dominance, and possession. You’re staying right where you are.

Despite being a soldier, I’d never really liked to follow orders – but that … that was an order I obeyed more than happily. I sat more comfortably on his lap and took Wayne's tray.

“Where’s my sister?” Reiner asked Wayne as I bit down on the sandwich.

“Calling the doctor. She’s asking if we can give her some aspirin”.

Reiner furrowed his brows. “She already said we could, didn’t she?”

Wayne nodded, slowly shaking his head. “She feels terrible, so she wanted to be extra sure”.

“Hey, I almost killed my best friend, cut the s**t, you two” a familiar voice grumbled.

Izzy came out of the kitchen a moment later, with a glass of water and a blister of pills: her eyes were red and puffy, as if she’d just stopped crying, and her beautiful face was crumpled up in guilt.

“I’m so sorry” she whimpered, sitting down next to me and handing me the pills. “I … I accidentally overdosed you. I just wanted to protect you, I didn’t know how he’d react to your heat, and I …”

It was at that moment that I suddenly connected the dots.

I knew it.

Reiner suspects it too.

I didn’t know how he’d react to your heat.

We think you might be his …

And then a flashback.

Mate!, my wolf screamed, joy and excitement coursing from her throughout my whole body as the bond snapped into place: Reiner … Reiner, the man I liked, the man I had feelings for, was my mate.

I didn’t even have time to actually, rationally realize it before fire sparked again in my lower abdomen: pain and desire, equally terrible and blinding, took over, and my mind and clarity began to slip away, surrendering to the needs and instincts of my body and the will of my wolf.

I was in heat. My mate was right there.

Nothing else mattered.

The very last bit of control I had slipped away – and last thing I knew, my arms were laced around his strong neck and my lips were on his.

The tingles and little sparks I’d felt when he first touched me were nothing in comparison to the devastating fire that rippled through my skin when I kissed him – as well as the need.

My wolf howled in both joy and deprivation.

That kiss wasn’t enough – nearly. I needed my mate as close to me as possible – I needed him to do what he was meant to do.

He wasted no time in kissing me back, his lips growing more demanding, a low growl thundering in his chest: I felt his tongue against my lips, demanding access. I more than happily surrendered, allowing his tongue smooth, hot strokes against mine.

A whine escaped me – it felt so good I could almost die from it.

His hands found my hips, and he dragged me on top of his lap. I opened my legs and secured them around his waist, pressing myself on his bulging erection.

The pain eased every so slightly – not nearly enough to bring me peace.

Clothes – there were too many clothes between us. I tugged at his shirt, desperate for his bare skin …

“Hold her!”

And all of a sudden, he was no longer there.

There were other arms around me, and I struggled against them. This wasn’t right. They didn’t belong to my mate. Why was he …

“Becky, listen to me,” Reiner said, taking my face between his hands. He was panting, and he looked like he was trying his best to … restrain himself? But why? “You’re in heat. I know it hurts, but you don’t want this. I won’t take advantage of you, not when you’re in this state”.

My wolf emitted a low, pained howl – she couldn’t understand, and neither I could …

“I know. I know, baby. I’m sorry. It’s gonna pass so soon …”

My stomach dropped as everything clicked.

Before I knew it I was on my feet, away from both of them, the tray of food on the ground, with all eyes on me.

The look in Reiner and Isabelle’s eyes – the look of someone who got caught with their hands in the jam – was more than enough to confirm my suspicions.

“You knew”.