➳
A ticklish sensation above his chest stirred him awake. Matthew sleepily opened his eyes, squinting at the sunlight that peered through the curtains. His mate laid on top of him, her face digging into his neck as she sniffed him rather aggressively.
"What are you doing?" His voice came out deep and husky, laced with sleep.
Madeline lifted her head to look at him. "Why do you smell so good? It's like you dipped yourself in chocolate. Mmmh..."
The corners of his lips curved upwards. "That is my scent. You can finally smell it now that you're a wolf." He reached up to grab her hands, sinking his fingers into spaces between hers. Her body melted at his touch while she stared at their interlocked hands in awe.
"Do you feel that too? It's like, tingling every time you touch me," She marvelled, giving his hands a small squeeze.
"I've been feeling this ever since we met." His arms travelled down to wrap arou
➳"You're the cutest thing I've ever seen, you know that?" Madeline stared with adoration as she gently rocked the baby in her arms. "Oh, and I got you a new toy!" She reached into her bag and grabbed a pink rattle, shaking it around. The newborn giggled joyfully, her tiny fingers reaching for the object. "Do you like it? It even has your name on it, see?""You spoil my daughter more than I do," The Beta female laughed, watching the two from the doorway.The young girl simply smiled in response. "It's not my fault she's so adorable.""You know Maddie, Ithink you'd make a great mother someday."She blinked, clearly taken aback by the Beta's words. "... Really?""Of course, kids love you."Effervescent feelings bloomed inside of her at the thought of becoming a mother. She shook her head, remindingherself that she was not even eighteen yet."Thank you, but I'm still to young for that.""
➳The water gently travelleddown the stream, springing over the limestone rocks along its path. Each droplet glimmered like thousands of infinitesimal diamonds as they reflected the sun's glare. Standingpeacefully in the background, the birch groves bestoweda pleasant shade to the girl who sat in the garden, staring at the river thoughtfully.Madeline's investiture was to take place soon; she would officially become the Luna of the Mystic Moon Pack.Such an event should be thrilling, but she could not help but brood over it. "Will my Pack accept me?" When she was a human not long ago, the werewolves had all regarded her with disdain, refusing to speak to her or even glance in her direction.Not to mention, she was not a werewolf herself. How can a direwolf and a former human ever fit in, let alone be their Luna?She doesn't belong here with us.Absentmindedly, her gaze driftedto t
➳ Today was the day; Madeline would officially be crowned as the Luna of the Mystic Moon Pack. Her favourite flowers were planted all around the entire territory, with strings of garlands decorating each building and fairy lights hanging around the lampposts, all in her honor. Matthew had even built a giant, golden fountain for her, surrounded by a garden of flowers, right in the middle of their territory. Although he was not a fan of parties at all, he ordered this to be the greatest celebration the Pack has ever had. He loved nothing more than cherishing and spoiling his little mate. "This is all... For me?" Madeline breathed out, staring at fountain in disbelief. She looked down at the array of flowers underneathit, involuntarily taking a step back; it was all so beautiful. Hechuckled, hugging her waist from behind and resting his head on top of hers. "Doll, this is nothing compared to all the gifts you'll&nbs
➳Nathan laughed as the young girl tackled him in a hug."You're back! I missed you so much," Madeline exclaimed, her face buried in his chest.He embraced her in his arms, glad to finally see his sister again. "I missed you too, kiddo."Like most young men in his pack, hehad left for a couple weeks fortraining at the Mystic Moon pack to enhance his abilities. Supposedly, this Pack had the harshest, most arduoustraining program, aimed to create the strongest soldiers.Madeline could tell how hard her brother had been working; his muscles were muchmore defined, and he seemed in desperate need of rest. "How was it?" She asked, lifting her head upto look at him."Well, I survived." He answered tiredly. A frown formed on her face, seeing how exhausted he was. She pulled away from the hug and grabbed his hand, leading him to their house."If I knew you were going to be back today I would've baked
➳Madeline shifted her weight from one foot to another, feelinga bit uncomfortable under his overt gaze. Running back upstairswas a possible recourse,but she didn't want to seem rude to the guest."Hello," She greeted him, giving him a smile. His heart did a somersault; as if she wasn't pretty enough, she looked a million times more beautiful while smiling. He felt a strongdesire tohold her tightly in his arms and never let go.The Alpha'sattention turned to her scent; indeed,she smelled wonderful, but there was something unusualabout it. It was evidentshe was a different species."You're not a wolf," He remarked, narrowing his eyes at her. Her smile faltered. This was nothing new to her, werewolvesalways spoke to her condescendingly when they would findout she was a human. Of course, a strong Alpha would be no different.Nathan felt Madeline's unease and spoke up: "Yes
➳"Maddie? Wake up, we're here," Nathan whispered, trying to shake her awake. Hegrabbedtheir belongings in the trunk, before going backto wake her up again. "Jeez, you're such a deep sleeper," He mumbled, looking at her peaceful sleeping face."I'll carry her inside." Alpha Blade stepped out of the driver's seat and walked over to her, effortlessly picking her up bridal style. For a second, he froze ashe felt the sparks flowing fromtouching his mate for the first time, but managed to conceal his shock.Nathan was startled by his action, but kept quiet. They closed the car door and walked into his new house.Similarly to hisold Pack, members of the Mystic Moon Pack preferred to live in separate houses scattered all across the territory, instead of in one big house like most werewolf packs do. Alpha Blade really appreciated this; he had always been very closed off and secretive. Sharing a house with an
➳"I amnot a werewolf."...Nathan blinked in incredulity. "What?"The Alpha leaned closer,repeatingthe assertion."I am not a werewolf.""What are you talking about? I've seen you shift, and I can smell-" Nathan paused to sniff the air. "Yes, you smell like a wolf.""I am a wolf. Just not a werewolf.""What does that even mean?""I'm a direwolf." He watched as Nathan's mouth slowly dropped open."A d-direwolf? No way! They went extinct thousands of years ago-""No, there's still a few of us left. In order to keep our species alive, the Moon Goddess has not only increased our strength, but has paired us with humans, unlike werewolves. We have the ability to turn our human mates into direwolves, though it rarely works. Humans are so weak, they typically end up dying during their transformation."The thought of his littlesist
➳For the past few weeks, both Matthew and Nathan had been very busy. The rogues near theirterritory had been attacking more often, and there's a lot more of them they expected. It was evident that a war between them was inevitable, and very imminent."I'll come talk to you again later, I have a meeting with my Beta right now," Matthew said, glancing at his watch."Alright. Also, if you can, bring some chocolates for Maddie. Shereally appreciates them during this time of the month."Matthew did not quite understand what Nathan meant by 'this time of the month', but agreed nonetheless. He enjoyed buying gifts for his mate, especially when he got to see her angelic smile as she received them.This time, however, she did notsmile. She did not even get up from the couchto greet him like she normally does. He stared at her worriedlywhile she ripped open the chocolate bar wrapper and took a bite, her othe