HOPEI walked through the door and gasped again.  The entire floor was done in polished stone with very contemporary furnishing.  Even though it was contemporary, it also looked comfortable, and I fought the urge to flop down on the nearest couch. I looked at Nicco.  “This is gorgeous,” I said.  He looked pleased at my praise. “I have two floors,” he said, almost shyly.  “The balcony goes all the way around the building, so I have different areas.  It’s important to me to have fresh vegetables, so the part of the balcony that gets the most afternoon sun has been set up as a little greenhouse.  I have a place where I take my coffee in the morning and my dinners in the evenings.  Would you like to see?”“Oh, yes please,” I breathed, letting him pull me out of the double doors.  We started walking left and he pointed out the different sights. 

 NICCO“I’m a werewolf, Hope.  We’re real.  So are vampires, Lycans and fairies.”  I gestured to the other folks patronizing the restaurant. She looked at me with horror and then back at my hand, still Lupo’s paw.  She looked around and then at me again.  Her eyes were wide and she looked scared.“Talk to me, Hope,” I begged.  “Please.  Talk to me.”Her mouth opened and closed a few times but nothing came out.  Finally she managed to croak out a one word question.  “Vinnie?” she asked.“Werewolf,” I said.“Eloise?” She seemed to be grasping at straws. “Werewolf.  Most people in my employ are wolves.   All the people you saw at the house.  Charlie, too.”“Caleb?” asked Hope.  I chuckled. “No.  He&rsq

NICCO“So how does this work?” Hope asked, plopping herself in the back of the Tahoe.  She looked excited.  Vinnie looked at me in the rearview mirror.“Alpha?” he asked.I looked at him and then let myself smile.  “She seems okay with it,” I said to him.  Vinnie grinned back at me. “Do I get to meet your wolf, too?” Hope asked Vinnie with interest.  He looked back at me again, and raised an eyebrow.“She wants to meet Lupo,” I said.  “Where can we do that?”“One of your warehouses, probably.  Or we can cross into Jersey and find somewhere out there.”“Jersey, please,” I said.  I knew Lupo would like to run a bit and I didn’t take that opportunity when I was back on the Packlands.I leaned back against the seat and closed my eyes.  Things went a lot better than I had expected.&

HOPEI had second thoughts as soon as I got into the backseat of the car.  The driver wasn’t anyone I had met before, and he was as silent as Caleb had been.  No one talked around Alpha Nicco unless he wanted them talking.I looked out the window, trying to enjoy the scenery while ignoring the feeling of dread in my stomach.  I may have made a mistake.  I had wanted Nicco to tell me what I needed to know so that I could be the Luna he needed, but I wasn’t sure about this part.  I was good with numbers, not people.   And I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to like what Nicco was going to do, whatever that was. The driver pulled to a smooth stop in front of a huge warehouse with graffiti on it.  It looked run down until you really looked at it.  None of the windows were broken and the doors were designed to keep people out.  Or in.  I tried not

HOPENicco started walking back to the garage area where the cars were parked, me in tow. I was so confused, and my mind was whirling. I had no idea what he was talking about, and I had a million questions. Unfortunately, his phone rang.“Vinnie, take Hope to the car, please,” he said, giving me a little push towards Vinnie. I obediently walked forward, following Vinnie. Nicco turned back to the office.“Bet you have a ton of questions,” Vinnie said in a low voice.“Yeah,” I answered, softly. “What the hell is happening? Why did Nicco name me as Luna? I thought he wasn’t sure because I was human.”Vinnie gave me a smile. “He was mated to you by the moon goddess. He was hesitant at first because you are human, but he has realized that the moon goddess doesn’t make mistakes. You are Nicco’s mate and by default, Luna of his pack.”That cleared nothing up for me. If possible, I was more confused. “So, do we get married or something?” This is one jacked up proposal if that’s