SIX

Laura POV

I leave the house early in the morning. Luther is still asleep when I sneak out of the house. I run to the woods and cross into the fairy tribe lands, hoping I get to my mother before Luther wakes up. I run as fast as I can home. When I finally make it to my home, I run into the house, close the door quietly and run up the stairs to my room.

My mother comes into my bedroom as I sit on my bed crying and sorting through my feelings. "Come to collect your things?" she asks me.

"Yes, I guess. I am not sure why I came here. I needed to talk to my mother, I think," I answer her.

My mother sits beside me on the bed. "We have decided it is best we do not tell the tribe just yet. Your father and I want to wait just a little while. Your love for the wolf will still be a secret, for now, I am sorry, but it is what is best for now," my mother says.

I shake my head and begin to cry. I lay my head on my mother. "I hope I have not made a mistake, mother," I say to her.

My mother grabs my shoulders. "Look at me. Do you love him?" she asks me.

"Yes, I love him very much," I answer her.

"Then take your things and go make it work. When the time is right, you and Luther will come here, and we will tell the fairies, okay. For now, it is not the best idea. A lot is going on here, and we do not need anyone trying to take your crown," my mother says to me.

"Luther will never want to rule this land," I say to her.

"No, but you might. This tribe belongs to you, you will be the queen someday, and I do not want a wolf to cause you to lose that, so for now, we will keep this love affair quiet," my mother says to me.

"Luther is so sweet, but last night he was just a beast," I say.

My mother gets up from the bed and starts helping me pack my things. "He is a wolf; of course, he is a beast. You come from royalty, and you married a dog. What did you expect, Laura?" My mother asks me.

"I expected him to love me and respect me," I answer her.

"A wolf pack does not work that way. You are his now, and you will have to earn his respect. Love is one thing, order in a pack is an entirely different animal. A wolf pack is a well-oiled machine, and they run properly when everyone knows their place. You have to know yours, Laura," my mother says to me.

"I understand; I only wish he would have explained this to me instead of being such a beast," I say to her.

"Again, Laura, he is a beast; think about it," she says.

We continue packing my things. One of the house fairies comes up the stairs and into my room. He is nervous and looks terrified.

"My queen, there is a wolf here to see Laura," he says nervously.

"Show him in, please," my mother says.

The house fairy brings Luther up to my room. He looks upset. He runs to me and takes me in his arms. "I thought you left me," he says so tenderly. I lay my head on his chest to comfort him. I did not think he would care if I left him and never come back after last night.

"No, I came to collect my things from the house; I did not want to disturb you, that is all," I say to him. I touch his sweet face. He is so upset.

"My queen," Luther says to my mother. He takes her hand and kisses her hand.

"I will leave the two of you to talk; I love you, sweetie," she says as she kisses me on the cheek. Her hand brushes across Luther's shoulder, and she pats him on the back as she leaves the room so Luther and I can pack my things.

I sit down on the side of the bed. I start crying, and I cannot stop. Luther rushes to me. "I am sorry, Laura, please forgive me," Luther says to me. I want to forgive and put this behind me.

"Listen to me, Luther, I understand how important pack order is to you, but here the men and women are equal. I know you are the Alpha, and I know you are my husband, and I promise always to respect you, but you must understand that there is no need to try to force me into a pack order or put me in my place. All you have to do is talk to me," I say to him.

Luther lays his hand in my lap. I rub his head and try to stop crying. "Are you coming back with me?" Luther asks me.

"Yes, I only need my things. I have nothing at your house," I say.

"Our home, it is your home too. Mother and father are moving into a cabin today. The home is ours now. I want a life with you, Laura," Luther says to me.

"Can you help me with my things?" I ask him.

"Yes, my lady, I can do that for you," Luther says.

I pack the last few things I need. "You are going to need more clothes and shoes. As Luna of a wolf pack, these fancy dresses and heels are not going to get much use," Luther says.

"This is all I have. What will I need?" I ask him.

"You do not have jeans or boots?" he asks me with a smile.

"I have never worn jeans a day in my life or boots, No. I cannot do that," I answer him.

Luther smiles. "Well, I think it is time you did, my princess," Luther says.

"Okay, I can try that, Alpha, but I am still bringing my dresses and my heels," I say to him.

Luther pulls me close to him and kisses me. Luther like this, the Luther I love. Why can he not be like this all the time? Luther grabs my bags, and we go down the stairs.

We exit the house to leave. I do not see my mother or father when I leave. I look around at my home, and a sudden sadness overwhelms me. I love my home here. I look at Luther, but I love him more. I did not realize that saying goodbye to my home and being with him would be this hard for me.

Luther puts my things into his truck. He opens the door, and I get into the truck. He cranks the truck, and we begin our drive back to his pack. "How did the tribe take it when your parents told them?" Luther asks me as he drives.

"They do not know yet. Our union will be a secret for just a little while longer," I say.

"Why?" he asks.

"To secure my crown, my mother did not go into a lot of details, but she said some things were going on. I know this is not what you want to hear, but we will tell the tribe soon," I say to him.

Luther reaches across and pulls me closer to him. I sit right next to him. "I understand, princess," he says. He kisses my forehead and holds me as he drives.

When we get back to the house, his mother is on the porch with her hands crossed and looks pissed off. "Did you explain to her Luther that the Luna cannot just run off whenever she likes, that we need to know where she is at all times," Selene growls at Luther? She looks at me, and she is pissed off at me.

Selen points her finger in my face. "Where were you?" she screams at me.

"That is your Luna, mother. Show her respect," Luther growls at her.

"She needs to learn her place. Obviously, you have not put her in her place yet, son," Selene growls at her.

"She went to get her things, and I knew where she was. I told her to go ahead, and I would pick her up. She needed time with her mother," Luther defends me.

"Well, it did not look like you knew where she was when you left here in a huff. It looked to me like you were pissed off at her too. I guess she has you in your place," Selene growls at him.

"I love you, mother, but do I need to remind you who the Alpha is? Or you can back off my wife," Luther growls back at her.

Selene backs down. It does not stop her from looking at me like she is still pissed off. She walks toward a cabin that is across the field from our house. That must be where Luther's parents moved to today.

Luther grabs my bags and brings them into the house. I walk ahead of him to go into our room. He stops me as I go into the room we were in last night. "No, I moved us to the master bedroom. The Alpha and his Luna need a bigger bedroom," Luther says.

I follow him down the hall to the bedroom. This room is much bigger than the other room. There is a huge master bathroom in this room. "You can decorate it any way you want; it is fine with me. You can do whatever you want with the house. I will use the front room as my office, do not mess with that room, okay," Luther says.

"Okay, Luther, I know nothing about running a house or decorating a house," I say.

Luther takes my hand. "We have people that cook and clean. If you want someone else to decorate the house, that is fine too. You do not have to worry about any of that. Your duties as Luna are the most important thing you need to worry about," Luther says.

"Duties? What do you mean?" I ask him.

"Your duties to the pack. I will have my mother help you with all of that. She can explain your role to you and be a great help to you," Luther says to me.

"I do not think that is a good idea. I do not think she likes me very much anymore. She seemed really upset that I left this morning," I say.

"Yes, she does, but my mother is hell-bent on having order in this pack. She will not disrespect you. You are her Luna," Luther says.

"Okay, I will gladly take her help, but only if she wants to help me," I say.

Luther takes me into his arms. "But the first thing we need to know is to find you something to wear that is not so frilly and proper," Luther says.

"I like my dresses, Alpha. I like to be pretty," I say to him.

"Yeah, well, trust me, this will not go over well here. The she-wolves do not dress like this," Luther says.

"Okay, I will do what is expected of me," I say.

Luther picks at the flowers on my dress. "I like your frilly dresses very much. You can still wear them for me," he says.

"I will, Alpha, anytime you want me to see me in one," I say.

Alpha pulls me closer to him and kisses me hard. "Do you want to break in our new bed?" Luther asks me.

My mind races back to last night, and I pull back from him without thinking. He looks down at me and looks angry again. I smile and back up to the bed. His facial expression changes quickly, and he looks happy again. I will have to be careful with him.

I lay down on the bed. "Come to me, Alpha," I say to him. Luther comes to me smiling. I am afraid once again.