Luna Revealed

Chapter Twenty Two

We don't leave the bed until the sun begins to set. Our bodies lay entwined with each other, legs and arms entangled. I move first, pulling myself away from Phoenix. He groans and pulls me back tighter, his arms locked around me. I sigh and wiggle my hands uselessly.

"Phoenix."

"Yes, my love?"

"I have to pee."

He sighs and releases me, allowing me to sit up. I reach my arms above my head, stretching the sore muscles in my back. His eyes skim over my body, heating with lust once again. Before he can pounce on me, I slide out of the bed, padding towards the bathroom.

I turn on the light and glance at my reflection. My pale skin is flushed, my face full of color. Along my collar, just above my Luna mark, are small hickies. I shake my head and sigh at the sight of them.

Well, he had to leave a few marks of his own, right? My wolf says lazily, her words slurring with lust.

I smile at my reflection and move to finish what I came in to do. Once I wash my hands and face, I walk back out to the bed where Phoenix is on his side facing me, propped up on one elbow.

"You are the most beautiful thing I have ever seen." The smile on his face adds to the genuineness of his words.

My cheeks heat from the compliment. "I don't believe that," I say as I climb back into the bed, settling in his arms again.

"Hm," he murmurs. "And why not?"

I stay quiet, snuggling further into his arms. My silence causes him to pull me back to look at my face. I avoid his gaze, looking instead at his tattoos. He slides a hand up my arm and to my chin, pulling my head up to meet his eyes.

"Why not, my love?" He asks gently, stroking my jaw with his thumb.

I shake my head, unable to provide an answer. I've never seen myself as particularly beautiful, so I struggle to see someone else regarding me that way. Also, he's my mate. He kind of has to think I'm beautiful. It's instinct and all. Phoenix furrows his brows at my lack of response and takes a deep breath.

"While on the search for my mate, Caine told me of a young wolf who had started at the local college. Cassandra and Mikhail had described you to him a few days prior and you didn't sound familiar to him." He pauses to make sure I'm listening and I nod, urging him to continue the unexpected story. "Caine had come with me to the local packs. He didn't remember meeting anyone that matched the description Mikhail gave him. He said you were small and beautiful, with long dark hair and the most gorgeous golden eyes he had ever seen."

He pauses again and his eyes flash with jealousy. He takes a deep breath to calm himself. "Caine was actually convinced that you were Mikhail's mate, but that's impossible. But the way he described you was like he was describing a goddess. And Cassandra told the same story. A small girl, quiet and timid, but so beautiful that it took her breath away. By then, Caine knew that something was wrong. He called me and asked me to come home – told me that there was a girl I had to see. I flew home that day from Europe, just before a meeting I was supposed to have with a pack there.

"When I saw you that day, you were exactly as Mikhail and Cassandra had described. You radiated beauty, all dark hair and olive skin. I knew you were mine, but I left. If I had stayed in that room, I would have lost control. Instead, I came home and prepared for your arrival. I thought I would get the call quickly, but..." he trails off, his eyes darkening.

Of course. Wolf tradition has always been that once mates are united, the woman's family contacts the family of her mate to discuss the living situation. The woman doesn't always move in with the man; it's usually split down the middle. It all depends on how much space is available in each pack and what rank they are mating into. Normally, my father would have contacted Leander to discuss me moving here to become Luna. Instead, Magnus told me to reject Phoenix.