4. A Brand New Place

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"Well well well, if this isn't a castle!" Noelle stretched out her arms and legs as she yawned.

"Welcome to Blood Moon pack house," Hunter said, pointing at the three-story stone building that looked like the school from Wild Child.

"Now show me my room." Noelle smiled. "I am hoping Challenging the Luna Ceremony is tomorrow."

"No actually," Ezekiel said. "The elders are away. We can't present you as the Luna before they return."

"Bummer," Noelle muttered as she put her backpack around her arms. Though inside she was dancing. Royal treatment until the drama happens.

"Zeke, Hunter!" 

The three wolves turned around to the source of the voice and found two she-wolves hurrying towards them.

Their face hardened at the scent of a rogue and they showed their wolves. Ezekiel let out a low growl as his wolf showed himself, warning them to stay away from his mate.

Noelle was least bothered. Two overconfident she-wolves were pieces of cake to her.

"Who is she?" The redhead who called out to them asked, realizing who the newcomer was but deciding to confirm.

"Livian, Anna, meet my mate and your Luna, Noelle Moore," Ezekiel announced.

Livian Rodriguez, the beta, bared her neck out of respect and so did her friend Anna Krone. But Noelle sensed the slight change in her demeanor and realized, with a smirk, that this one would be the first to challenge her when the time came.

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"Aww, my little fox got me a gift!" Oliver Moore gushed as little Noelle tied him a piece of ribbon saying 'Best'.

"Ellie no fox dadda. Ellie woof." She pouted.

"Oh, Ellie's a wolf?"

"Yeah, Ellie big baad woof!"

"Oh, so my big bad wolf is gonna eat dadda?"

"No... Woofie takes dadda behind trees."

"It's called a forest my baby wolf."

"Yeah that. And it's woof cub."

"Someone knows a lot about wolves."

"Coz I am woof."

"Of course you are." Oliver laughed as he picked up his niece, the last piece of his sister, and tossed her up in the air.

He loved his niece like his own daughter and to whoever asked, he would always be her dadda.

But he was worried about one thing.

His sister, Ester, kept insisting that Noelle indeed was a wolf, till her last breath.

And Noelle, even at such a young age, with no initiative on his or anyone else's part, was drawn to wolves.

He had seen first-hand how she talked to the big majestic creatures in the city zoo and how they reacted as if they understood her, and respected her.

She also got injured less and her injuries healed within minutes. It wasn't normal.

He was afraid. Not of his niece. But of what it meant.

If his sister was indeed right and Noelle was a werewolf, she was in danger. Because the human species cashed in on anything and she could end up being a science experiment or an extraordinary display in a circus.

And what was he to do? How was he to protect her?

If she was a werewolf, she belonged with them, right?

How was he to find them for her?

Who was he to trust his little girl with?

He had to find answers.

He had to protect his little fox.

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Noelle smelled the cherry-scented body wash after squeezing a generous amount of it onto her palm. She had been shown to her room by the Alpha, whose room was at the other end of the corridor.

The guest room she was given to stay in was bigger than anywhere she had stayed before.

Before she shifted for the first time, she lived with her uncle Oliver who was more a father to her than her dead mother's younger brother. Her mother, Ester, whom she never knew, and her uncle Oliver had an age difference of five years so Oliver was only nineteen when she was born and her mother died. Since then he had worked his ass off trying to complete his education and providing for her, all the while fighting for her custody as well.

But after she shifted for the first time and she left her home, Noelle never stayed in one place. She kept moving. Though she just circled around the same areas she knew to be safe, she never stayed long enough to leave her scent.

And she mostly slept in the woods, on the trees in human form, or by rivers and streams in her wolf form. The last time she slept on a real bed was a few weeks ago. She had dressed up and got into a club to get laid. Though it was her policy to fuck and run, she had stayed that night because her partner had to leave due to an emergency and she had the hotel suite all to herself. She had fun sponging off that rich guy that night.

Now she was going to sponge off this richer wolf until the day she had to put on a show and be defeated in a duel with that stupid brunette Anna Krone.

Noelle sighed as she rubbed the lather onto her skin, scrubbing it clean. It really had been a while.

Anna wasn't that bad. She admitted. "Yes, she is. Did you see the way she looked at our mate?" Her wolf huffed.

Noelle rolled her eyes. They probably have a history genius!

 Noelle didn't feel bad. Though the mate bond tugged at her heart, she knew as a woman she was the least bothered. She had warmed the bed of many men before and it was only normal for him to be sexually active before her.

And also the greatest truth remained – they were never going to be together. They were going to be mates only for a few more days and then within a month or two, she wouldn't even remember the incident.

"Luna?" Anna's voice reached Noelle's ears, which instantly made her roll her eyes. The she-wolf was trying too hard. It was evident in her voice that Ezekiel hadn't told her of the plan yet. And so the she-wolf thought that this rogue was going to be her Luna unless she challenged her for the position.

Noelle wondered if that's what her mate wanted. For her to be unaware of the deal.

"What is it?" Noelle called back, not asking her to refrain from calling her the Luna. She was a bad bitch. But she was not a dumb bitch. She needed to be in on the plan and she did not want to make any mistake that would bind her to pack life.

"I brought you a change of clothes." She sounded too sweet.

'Told you she is a bitch.' Her wolf was not entertained by the façade of respect this she-wolf who had slept with her mate was putting up.

'You think I care?' Noelle rolled her eyes at her wolf before saying out loud, "What makes you think that I don't have any clothes with me?"

She turned off the shower and grabbed a fresh towel.

"The clothes you were wearing earlier." The words slipped out of Anna's bitter tongue before she could stop and while she stiffened, not knowing how to cover her little slip-up, Noelle opened the door and walked out with the towel wrapped around her, a smirk plastered on her face.

"Sorry, I didn't hear you. You were saying?"

Both the she-wolves knew that the Luna had heard her words loud and clear.

Noelle cocked her head, challenging her to say it to her face. Anna looked down and then at the clothes she had placed on the bed. "Umm... I will leave you to change. The Alpha has asked you to be present at the dining room by nine."

She quickly left the room without another word.

Noelle rolled her eyes as she walked over to the bed and stared the distastefully at the fabric. 

'You are meant for this Luna shit.' Her wolf commented happily. She knew that she and her human was a bad bitch but she was only getting the taste of this Luna shit now and she was enjoying it too much already. She was kind of mad at her human for letting the fun slip.

Noelle wished her wolf was a separate entity so that she could just flip her off. She returned to glaring at the clothes that had been provided. She picked up the dress. It was too ugly and she was sure it would make her look like a prude.

Smirking, Noelle turned to her bag. She had to choose very appropriate clothes.

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