Some Answers

I spot a filled jug on the table, “I think water is fine for now, thank you,” I say to bide time. “This wine here is perfect Carlos.,” Noah adds, “We will need some time to go over the menu, I’ll let you know when we are ready to order,” he smiles at the boy and Carlos walks away bowing his head in respect. Noah grabs the wine and reaches for my glass but looks to me for approval, I nod and he pours us both a glass. “So,” he says as he lifts his glass to take a sip, “What was this favour you wanted to ask me?” Back to business. I almost forgot about that, almost. “I wanted to request a level of discretion when it comes to, well, me,” I confess. “I’m not sure who knows I’m turned or how much they know but I would appreciate if I could have some sense of privacy,” I’m hoping he understands, this is a whole new life for me and I still don’t know anything about it. Learning in front of an audience isn’t easy especially when things can get dangerous.

“Everyone is entitled to some privacy, aren’t they? Why didn’t you include that in the contract?” He asks genuinely interested. I was going to but then thought I would ask and see his reaction instead. “I wanted to ask you for privacy rather than demand it,” I explained, “Plus I understand how unstable the unknown can be, first-hand.” His brows furrowed, giving him that older look and I take a sip of wine feeling nervous under his gaze.

He watches and waits til I put my glass down, “At the moment, only a small circle of my pack know of what you are, Dr. Zane and Angelo included. The rest know you are here requesting to become a part of the pack. We have only told them you are a lone wolf, that you’ve lost your pack and your family to death and are now in need of a home,” he studies me waiting for a reaction.

That’s surprising and sparks some new questions, “What is the difference between a ‘lone wolf’ and ‘rogue’, you knew I wasn’t one when we were introduced,” I ask him. “A rogue chooses to leave their pack or is forced out, a lone wolf loses their pack to, unfortunate circumstances,” he explained. “Why didn’t you tell them about me?” I wonder. He takes another sip of his wine, “Let’s order our food first, we have all night Akira,” the side of his mouth turns up. I bite the inside of my cheek to hide my smile and pick up the menu. “Obviously I want the biggest steak there is,” I mumble and look at the sides they have, “Oh! and definitely some fries and this pasta salad too,” I put the menu down and look over to Noah with the biggest smile on my face, food is 100% the key to my heart, now and then. He smiles in return, “Anything else catch your eye?” He’s so handsome it hurts, but I will not fall into that trap. I pick up my glass and shake my head, “Nope, that’s good.. for now,” and I take a sip. He picks up his glass as well, “Any other questions for me?” I have so many I don’t even know where to start.

“How do you find your mate?” I have no clue why I started with that. He takes a long sip from his glass, indicating this is a sore spot for him I’m assuming. “I don’t have a mate yet,” he starts, “But from what has been told to us since we were young was that it’s instant. You can sense your mate as soon as they are around you, even by smell. Apparently, once you lock eyes it sort of clicks into place and you automatically feel the bond. And this only takes place after you have come of age, usually after you turn 18.” He stares at me and I once again get lost in the sea of his eyes. I take a deep breath and I go to pour both of us another glass of wine but he reaches the bottle first and does it himself.

I take a sip from my glass, “Does a turned wolf get a mate?” I ask nervously. His eyebrows furrow, “We don’t know, there’s not much recorded on Turned wolves, they are a rarity,” he explains. “Oh, well I guess that’s for the best, I’m a bit of a handful,” I say awkwardly trying to hide the disappointment I didn’t realize I would have. “If you find one after 18, why haven’t you?” I deflect. He sighs, “I haven’t done much travelling, my mate is clearly not a part of my pack, it’s actually unusual for a wolf my age to not have found their mate,” he takes another large gulp of his wine, “and every pack needs their Luna, so over the past 5 years I’ve been proposed with many, uh, options I guess you could say, for a chosen mate.” Immediately I’m intrigued, “A chosen mate? You can do that? Wait, what’s a Luna?” I feel like I’ve heard of this before. Memories of the older couple from the last pack try to reach to the surface of my memory.

“If Alpha were to be a King, Luna would be the Queen of the pack. They take on many responsibilities for the pack as well,” he explains in layman’s terms for me. “A pack is stronger with their Luna, that’s why it’s important for me to find one,” he says. “Ah, that makes sense, I guess.” I say.