C4 Lucien

I don't know what took over me. Caspian was silent, which terrified me. I guess he wasn't expecting me to take control so easily to imply something that would possibly take years to happen. He whimpered quietly in my head, and I could feel him bowing his furry head in submission.

"Whoa..." Raleigh murmured as I stepped away from her. "How did you do that?!" "Do...what?"

Confusion radiated off of me, as well as everyone else in the room. Hadn't she just been petrified moments ago?

"The whole hypnotizing thing! I almost believed you!" Raleigh exclaimed.

I raised my eyebrow. "I didn't...hypnotize you. I just..."

"Blackmailed? Threatened?"

"...Yes." I felt sheepish, my heart thrashing in my chest, but Raleigh didn't look very bothered. In fact, she looked eager.

"Well, whatever you did, that was admittedly pretty cool...and..." Raleigh shuffled on her feet, "Sorry about, well, uh...saying that. I didn't know it would get you upset. I’m just so used to reacting like that...it’s kind of a reflex."

I bent down to her level. "It's okay. It's just a mate bond. It makes me naturally protective, but as long as you don't say that again, I don't think you'll have to witness that...side of me anymore."

"Interesting..." Raleigh murmured. Her eyes flickered back up to my face, her bottom lip drawn in between her teeth, and a cold wave crashed into me, a fire igniting in my stomach.

"So... what now?" She asked. Logan, Drew, and Jasmine were still quiet behind me, and I sighed, realizing I'd have to take this matter into my own hands. Nobody was going to say anything. Not after that spectacle.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I-I mean, now you've told me who you are...what now? Do I act like nothing happened...or...?"

"No," I replied sternly. "I cannot forget you now, even if I wanted to. You're my existence, my other half. And I'll repeat myself again; I do not care what you look like. All I care about is you, your hobbies, your life, your heart. I want it all if you'll have me."

I looked to her for approval, and she was staring at me as if I'd given her the moon in her palms. "What?" I asked.

She bit her lip again, and Caspian snarled.

"Did you really mean that? You'd accept a cripple as your mate?"

"Yes," I replied, almost immediately. "I want to help you, to show you that there are people out there able to love you, to help you accept yourself for who you are."

"We all will," Jasmine, for the first time, spoke up. "We care about you Raleigh, and we care for our Luna. The whole pack does, and will, once they meet you."

Raleigh stiffened, and I glared at Jazz.

"Maybe excluding the pack for now," I murmured "But you'll have me and a couple of closer members in my pack to help you."

Raleigh licked her plump lips. "Yeah...but will they like me? Will they accept a cripple as their ah Luna?" She asked.

"They will," I assured her. "It's wired into a pack's DNA to protect their Luna, no matter what."

Based on the amount of shuffling she was doing; I knew for a fact that Raleigh did not believe me one bit. But I'd work on that.

"Now then," Jasmine dropped from the desk. "We should be heading to the pack, and, if Raleigh's okay with it, bring her too."

Raleigh's mouth dropped. "N-Now? To live?" She stammered.

I frowned. "Only if you're okay with it. I don't want to rush you.” I glared at Jasmine, who shrugged. “I understand that this is all new, and I apologize if I’m rushing you into anything. It’s just...I’m really excited to finally have met my mate, after so long...”

Raleigh's cheeks turned crimson and she attempted to duck her head.

"No! I would love to...my guardian, Lexi has been nagging at me to find my own place to live in, since I'll be nineteen soon," she mumbled, and I frowned at the word 'guardian' but decided to ask about it later. "I’m a legal adult anyway, but won't I bother you?"

"No," I said firmly. "You are their Luna and my Luna. You belong there, in my pack, human or wolf. The packs of North America only have a King, but now they need their Queen, if you're willing."

I watched her take a good look at everyone in the room, moving away from her so that she could breathe. Caspian was pouncing around in my head like a puppy, slobbering all around my mind as he waited for our mate’s answer.

Her body trembled and a vast number of emotions crashed into her. She took a deep breath to compose herself, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear and gave me a half-smile, nodding.

"Yeah...I'd like that." She decided. "Uh...but what about school?"

Logan's eyebrows shot up. "You're still worried about school? The only reason I came here was to keep an eye out for the Luna, if she was here!"

I glanced at her. "Did you know this whole time?"

Logan shrugged. "Maybe. Not only was Raleigh my best friend, but she also had this scent that was so...different."

Raleigh rolled her eyes. "Thanks for telling me I smell, Logan." She deadpanned. Logan glared at her, and just as she was opening her mouth to counter, I stepped in.

"How many things do you have to pack, Raleigh?" I asked, ignoring Logan’s scowl. Raleigh shrugged. "Nothing really, apart from my school things." She replied. "That's it?" I asked. “No clothes or personal artifacts?”

“No,” she responded. “All of my clothes will most likely go to the other girls at the orphanage, and I don’t have any personal artifacts. I wasn’t left with any.”

“Damn...” I looked at Logan and Jasmine, both of whom nodded. I frowned. "Once we get you settled in my house, I'll take you out to get some things for yourself. Necessities and all."

Raleigh opened her mouth to protest, but I gave her a stern look and she closed it. I could feel her mind swarming, unable to stay on one emotion, and unable to decide what reaction she should be having.

"Okay." She mumbled.

Drew's eyebrows rose, astounded. "Wow. If only I could make Logan stop emptying my wallet with that look."

I chuckled. "If only."

Logan growled at us and we both playfully ignored her. Jasmine giggled, but Raleigh stayed quiet. When I took a glance at her, her eyes were glazed, looking as though she were in another world.

Jasmine must've also noticed Raleigh's silence, for she spoke up over the rush of the room, saying: "Should we get going now?"

Raleigh immediately snapped out of whatever daze she was in, her eyes widening. "You're coming too, Mrs. Cortes?"

"Yep. And you don't have to call me Mrs. Cortes, darling. You can call me Jasmine." She said, winking at her.

Raleigh bit her lip. "Okay...Jasmine." She wrinkled her nose. "That sounds funny, calling you by your first name."

"Eh, you'll get used to it," Jasmine replied nonchalantly. Raleigh smiled. "I guess I'll have a lot of things to get used to."

She rubbed her neck, which was just under her chin. Somehow, I didn't mind the fact that she had a round face. She looked cute with it.

I led her out to my car, which I instructed Ana to move while I was with Jasmine. Logan and Drew left to class and to gather Raleigh's things, something I could tell it bothered her. She had shifted when I told them to, yet she kept silent, probably intimidated.

"I'm just not used to people doing my things," she explained when I asked why. "I feel bad, especially because I know I can do it on my own and making them do it is wasting their time."

"They're your pack. They're willing to do this for you. Never believe you're forcing them to, alright?"

I could hear Raleigh's heart thumping, and I knew this would also take some time for her to get accustomed to, but I would help her with it. I guess living with people doing things for you your whole life had made me forget that not everyone had that same privilege.

I reached over Raleigh's small frame and pressed the metal buckle into the latch, her body stiffening in what Caspian told me was a good thing.

Jasmine pick-pocketed my keys from my pocket, only flashing me a wink. I rolled my eyes but did move next to Raleigh, our bodies only inches apart. I could have sat in the front beside Jasmine, but the smile she gave me when I slid into the seat next to her was worth more than the conversation I could have had with my sister.

"Is it alright if I sit here?" I questioned.

"Yeah. This is your car," she said. She faltered for a moment. "Is it wrong that I feel curious about you? Like a string keeps pulling me towards you?"

"No. That's a good thing. It means your body and your mind are accepting me as yours." I said.

Raleigh smiled at me, the yellow sunlight glowing on her eyes, developing a slight aura of blue around her brown irises.

“Are you sure you want to do this?” I asked again, swallowing. “I mean, you don’t even know me, so it’s okay if you want to stay...or if you’re uncomfortable about our age gap...”

“Well, how old are you, firstly?” Raleigh asked.

“I’m immortal, but I’ve been told I look twenty-two,” I replied, glancing at Jasmine as she started my car. “And you’re...eighteen?”

“Almost nineteen, I think,” she corrected.

“What do you mean, you think?”

“I don’t know my birthday,” she said. I felt my eyes widen, and I know Raleigh saw it, because she blushed, a beautiful red hue covering her cheeks. “What? Hey, I know it sounds weird, but it’s true. I truly don’t know my own birthday...well, my real birthday, that is.”

“Did the orphanage never tell you?” I asked.

“No,” she shook her head. “We didn’t bother much with birthdays, so it was never a really important day for me. We just got to choose a day to eat ice cream, that’s it. Um...” she glanced back at the school, biting her lip. “What about school?”

I shrugged. “If you’d like, you can do homeschool. I would rather you come back in person, but with the wolves now recognizing you as the Luna Queen, some of them may try to...” I paused.

Raleigh stared expectantly at me. “Try to what?”

“Nothing important, Raleigh,” Jasmine interrupted from the front of the car, saving my life. “Just understand that your life is going to change now. You still have time to back out...”

Raleigh immediately shook her head. “No,” she said, turning her gaze away from me towards the window. “I’m not leaving anything or anyone behind. I’m eighteen. I can make my own choices now, and somehow, I have a feeling that this won’t be a choice I’ll be regretting later.”

“You never know.” I couldn’t help but smirk. “I could be a serial killer, for all you know.” “Lucien!” Jasmine scolded.

“What?! I’m just being honest!” I snapped, glaring back at her, and Raleigh giggled.

“Thanks for the honesty,” she said dryly “But I know what I’m doing.” Her voice sounded longing. “Coming to learn that werewolves exist and that I have a mate may be the best thing that has happened to me—ever! Don’t get me wrong, Lexi was a good guardian, but she was already pushing me out of the house as it is. I...I needed an escape, and maybe you’re it.” She looked up at me, meeting my eyes for the first time since the office meeting, and I found myself smiling. She hardly knew who I was, yet she was trusting me blindly already. Damn, the mate bond does wonders, doesn’t it?

“Okay,” I finally agreed, leaning back it my seat. “You’re an adult, you make your choices. Just know that once you step into this life, you can never escape it.”

“I know now,” Raleigh responded. “And I don’t need to escape it. You’re offering me a family that I’ve never had. Why wouldn’t I want that?”

I didn’t say anything, but just smiled, nodding again as I leaned back in my seat.

We drove in silence for a while after that, Raleigh soon falling asleep. I unbuckled her seat-belt and cradled her on my lap, holding her tightly yet gently as Jasmine drove into the night, refusing my offer to switch or go to a hotel.

I was initially hesitant to hold her, but when her neck began to droop against her seatbelt in what looked like an uncomfortable position, my mate instincts took over and I pulled her against me, her body cold against mine.

By the time we reached my pack, the Blue Moon Pack, Raleigh had begun to stir. "Raleigh? We're here," I whispered gently.

Raleigh grunted, twisting in my arms.

I chuckled. Clearly a sleeping Raleigh didn't like to be awakened.

"Raleigh. C'mon. Let's get you upstairs to a real bed." I said, yet I got out of the car, still holding her. Conner ran up to me from the packhouse as I walked, Raleigh dozing in and out of sleep. It was so dark out I almost didn't see him. If not for the glowing blue light reflecting on Raleigh's shirt, I would have probably ignored Conner.

"Who is she, Lucien? Is she the...Luna?" Conner asked, a bewildered look in his eyes.

I nodded. "Yes. Do you think you could have Cindy lend her some clothes for tomorrow? Logan's out of town. Also, tell the pack not to scare their Luna just yet. She's very...shy."

Conner nodded, bowing to me. "Yes, Alpha." He said. He began to run back to his house when I called him. He paused in his tracks.

"Alpha?" He questioned.

I glanced down at my beautiful mate, who was finally beginning to wake. "Thank you for caring for the pack, Conner," I said.

I knew most Alpha's don't usually show respect to their members, especially their Gamma's, but I was working on it. Alpha or Omega, a wolf was still a wolf, with feelings.

Conner smiled at me, nodding with a smile on his face. "No problem, Alpha. We're all at yours and the Luna's bidding." He said, jogging away before I could answer him.

I stared at the spot he occupied for only a moment before I felt Raleigh shift in my arms. "Hm?" She mumbled; her voice groggy.

I looked down, holding her despite her legs already dropping to the sides, ready to jump to the ground.

"I'll wake you when we're inside," I murmured, carrying her into my house, ready to start my life with my mate. I guess it’s true when they say that you have to be patient for the best things in life. After years of looking, waiting, and almost giving up, I had finally been bestowed with the best gift any wolf could receive. She had finally arrived.

My Luna had come.