Angel

Dresses

Noel's POV

The sun has barely made an appearance when Talia comes into my room to wake me up for the shopping trip she had planned. Although, I don't really care to get 'the most beautiful dress in the world', as Talia would describe it, I am excited to be going out of this pack and doing something enjoyable that will keep my mind occupied. The spirits that I encountered yesterday are still littering my mind, as questions and anxiety on how I will be able to control this ability continue to grow. However, I have decided, with great willpower, that I won't let it ruin my day with Talia and I will worry about this ability of mine tomorrow.

I make my way to the main entrance of the pack and I immediately spot Xavier lecturing Talia and the two guards that he felt were suitable to keep us protected throughout our trip. Even from a distance I can see that Talia has had enough of his lecturing, as she rolls her eyes to his words.

"Xavier, you're being way too overprotective! We're not going to an enemy's territory, for goodness sake. She will be safe and we will be back in no time." Talia exclaims, which has Xavier letting out a low growl at her attitude.

I place my hand into his to grab his attention. He immediately looks over at me and forgets the words he was going to say to Talia. Talia takes this opportunity to sneak away from her brother, as the guards stand there awkwardly wondering if they should walk away too.

"You are to stay by her side at all times. If any harm comes to her, you'll both be dead. Understood?" Xavier says as he turns to the guards one last time.

They both acknowledge they understood before Xavier finally dismisses them. I can feel the worriedness pouring out of him of having to be away from me.

"I'll be safe, you don't have to worry." I say right before going on my tiptoes and planting a kiss on his cheek. This simple action causes a memory of the both of us almost kissing yesterday to surface. I can tell by the look in his eyes and the smirk on his face, that he also is thinking the same thing.

"Come on, Noel! Let's not waste any more time!" Talia's words immediately ruin the moment between us.

Xavier lets out a low growl at her impatience before speaking to me at a much softer tone.

"My wolf is totally against this... he wants to come with you and make sure you're safe and so do I, but I have Alpha duties that I have fallen behind in and-"

"I understand." I assure him with a smile. Ever since I had woken up from my coma he has been by my side every day. It doesn't surprise me that he has fallen behind on Alpha duties. "Like Talia said, we will be back in no time. You better not spend the whole day worrying."

"I'll try not to." He says before pulling me in for a hug and a kiss on the forehead. I pull away the second I hear Talia's impatient words again.

"Take care"

"You too" I say before making my way to Talia and the two guards.

*********

The neighbouring pack welcomes us with open arms. Alpha Carl is the first to greet us with his family. He's much older than Xavier, but his massive figure gives me no doubt that he can easily put down any wolf that tries to challenge him. His wife, Luna Nina, displays great power as well. She was very pleasant with Talia and I, but I also have no doubt that she can hold her own. I can't help compare myself to her; will I ever be as strong of a Luna as her? Am I making Xavier weak by not being a powerful figure like him? My self-esteem starts to plummet as I realize the answer to those questions. I bet Luna Nina wouldn't need guards to protect her, I think to myself.

I try to brush my insecurities away and focus on meeting new faces and displaying my gratitude for welcoming me into their pack. It doesn't take long before I'm standing amongst the most beautiful dresses I have ever seen. Talia wasn't lying when she said Lady Marie had a talent for designing dresses. I'm overwhelmed with all the colours and designs and I can see it in Talia's face that she is probably going to buy more than just a single dress for herself.

******

After hours of looking and trying on every single dress that was designed by Lady Marie, we finally picked out dresses that we liked on ourselves and on each other. Of course Talia had bought more than one dress for herself, just as I had suspect would happen.

Today had shaped up to be a very good day and although I felt a little wary of answering any personal questions about myself, Talia was very good at stepping up and changing the direction of the conversations to ease my discomfort.

We decided to stay for dinner and near the end I noticed that one of my guards was not seated at the table. In fact, I don't recall him being around very often throughout the day, even though Xavier had made it very clear to the guards on what their roles were. Curiosity got the best of me, as I stood up and excused myself to go to the bathroom. Talia and the other guard were too busy speaking with others that they didn't even notice me slipping away. I decided to take a short harmless walk around the pack and see if I can spot him, it also gave me an excuse to take a break from all the excitement.

I round the corner of a stone building and I immediately know why my guard wasn't around all day. A smile creeps onto my face as I see him put his arm around a female sitting next to him on a bench. She giggles at his actions and he breaks out into a huge smile. He must have found his mate today, I think to myself. My heart warms at the scene before me as I decide to slowly back away and not disturb them.

As I start making my way back to the outdoor dinner table, I feel someone grab onto me and pull me between two houses. I struggle against his grip and try to pull myself free, but I'm no match for his strength. He roughly pushes me up against a building with his body and covers my mouth right as I was about to scream for help.

"I've been watching you all day, I didn't think I'll have this opportunity to meet you like this, little Luna."

His voice is rough and chills run down my spine at his words. I continue to try and push him off me; I scratch and stomp on his feet, but he doesn't let go. I bite on his hand that is covering my mouth as hard as I can. He growls at the pain and throws me on the floor. The air leaves my lungs from the impact and I find it difficult to scream.

"You bitch" He growls out as he makes his way towards me. I instantly start crawling backwards to get away from him.

Terror erupts in me as I see that his wolf is making an appearance.

To your right, grab the rock

I jump at the sudden voice I hear, but see nobody to claim the voice. However, it takes me a second to realize what the voice said and I do exactly what it tells me to do. I grab the large rock that is on my right and grip it, ready to use it as a weapon.

The man, who is more wolf than man now, throws himself at me and without hesitation I slam the rock against its head as hard as I can. He immediately goes down in a daze and just as I was about to do it again in hopes of knocking him out, I see another man tackle the wolf to the ground and swiftly snap its neck.

I drop the rock in shock and back myself up against the wall. My body is shaking from the whole ordeal, but instantly starts to calm itself when I see who the man is that killed the wolf that attacked me.

"Luke?"

Thank you for reading! Please vote and comment!