Aylin took a deep steadying breath as she tried to control herself. She was mated. To the daughter of an Alpha. And her mate was a purebred, whereas she was a turned. Fuck, was all she could think.
Devi whined to bring her attention back, You're going to be fine. They don't do the whole pures before mades thing. Some pack members are lost transformed werewolves that they've taken into the pack. Most of the transformed werewolves we meet, we simply give them a safe resting place before they move on. Some end up staying. Give the place a chance, I promise it's not what you think.
How could Aylin say no to her? She had to at least try now. For you, she said, I'll try.
The alpha came around a tree then, in his human form. His mate, the pack's Luna, was right beside him with a bag of clothes. "Ah there you are," He said simply, glancing at the pair of them with their hair raised up in surprise. He chuckled, "Did I really just scare the two of you?" Davi glared at him while Aylin let her ear flop down and she looked away.
Their faces only made the Alpha laugh more, and soon, the Luna was trying to keep herself from laughing.
Davi walked forward, grabbed the bag in her mouth, and sulked off to behind a tree to shift and dress. Aylin quickly followed behind. The Alpha and his Luna shared a secret, knowing look, and smiled happily. Two mates for their pack in two days? This was a blessing.
When Aylin stepped from behind her tree and saw Davi her heart about stopped working. Her mate, was more beautiful that any word she could think of. She had long red hair, just like the Luna's hair. But her piercing aqua blue eyes? Those were from the Alpha. She was clearly an alpha herself. She had changed into tight black pants, boots, and a white t-shirt. And damn if she wasn't covered in tattoos. Aylin felt like she was going to drool, or maybe pass out; she wasn't sure which yet.
Devi smiled at Aylin, a slight redness spreading over her cheeks. "Hey," she said, tucking her hair behind her ear. Aylin reached out for her hand quietly, not sure of what to say with the Alpha standing right there. She couldn't wait to get her alone and talk to her more. For now, she would have to wait. She smiled, feeling Davi's feelings almost mirroring her own through their connection.
The Alpha cleared his throat, getting their attention quickly.
"Welcome home honey," the Luna smiled, hugging her daughter, "I'm glad to see you made it home safe."
Devi smiled, "Hi mom, hi dad."
The Alpha smiled softly, "Looks like everyone is finding their mate. Must be about to go through mating season."
Davi made a disgusted face, "Ew dad, gross. Mating season is the worst."
Alpha laughed, "You won't think so this year now that you have a mate."
Aylin couldn't help but laugh, she had been through one mating season right after she changed. It was horrible. She shivered just thinking about it.
The Alpha looked back at his Luna, who was quietly staring at him. Her face was void of all emotion, but there was a seriousness that seemed to radiate from her. He straightened his face, cleared his throat, "Right, so let's talk about how the mission went later on, yeah? Go clean up and rest for the day, we'll meet in the morning."
Devi smiled, "Can do." She pulled Aylin's hand as she walked around them and headed straight for the back building. Aylin couldn't believe the heat that her hand felt being in Devi's hand. This beautiful red headed woman was the daughter of an Alpha, she was perfect, and she was her mate. Aylin couldn't help but feel proud that the world had chosen this woman to be hers. She felt her wolf howling with pride and she could feel the surge of magic from the shifter spell. She was growing stronger. So this is what they meant by the mate bond strengthening not just the human but the wolf as well.
They rushed into the back building, and found their way to the back right of the building. Devi smiled at her, "This is where I stay. You'll be able to move in here with me!"
The smile Devi gave her made her heart melt, she felt the magic spread from her hand up her arm just a bit. Once inside the room, it felt like she was in an entirely different house. It was a bit darker from heavy curtains over each window and the doors leading outside. There were knick-knacks and decorations all over the walls, on shelves, in glass cabinets, everywhere there was a safe place for them. It was adorable. "You've got lots of things," Aylin said looking around.
Devi laughed embarrassedly, "Yeah its kind of a hobby. You don't like it?"
Aylin shook her head quickly, "No, no I like it. I think its cute."
Devi's face lit up happily, "Really?"
Aylin laughed, "You were worried about that, weren't you?"
Devi laughed, "Yeah, a bit."
Aylin smiled, wrapping her arms around Devi's lower back, "Well I think its positively adorable for a little Princess of the Pack."
Devi narrowed her eyes at her, "That's the name you pick?"
Aylin paused, "Yes?"
Devi was quiet for a moment, "I'll come up with one for you later." She looked around, "Can I shower and change before we figure each other out?"
Aylin laughed, remembering finally that her Princess had just come back from some sort of mission, "Yeah that's fine, I'll look through your bookcase while I wait!" Devi nodded, biting her lip and hesitating. Aylin paused also, noticing the hesitation.
Devi quickly leaned forward, gave her a quick kiss, and rushed off to the bathroom. Aylin laughed at the cuteness, feeling the familiar heat that had been on her hand moments ago, suddenly come to life on her lips. As the bathroom door closed, she smiled, putting her hand to her lips feeling the heat dance over her lips. She smiled, turning to look at her mates room more closely.
It was dark because of the thick curtains, but the walls were half wood panelling and half painted aqua blue. Clouds were hand painted along the top of the wall, but only halfway. She found paint tucked under the table by the door. Her only guess right now was that Devi was painting the clouds herself. Interesting, Aylin smiled to herself.
She felt sort of like she was in shock. She was thrilled to have found her mate, it was comforting knowing the universe had picked someone just for her to complete her in everyway. It gave her strength just knowing her mate was close by, she could feel that much. She was just confused, anxious, unsure of how to act around her. She wanted to know more about her, but she wasn't sure where to start. Are mates always this confused? She sighed in slight frustration, sitting down at the table and tracing the design with her finger.
Devi stood in the shower, feeling her mate's uncertainty, her worries. She had a few worries herself, and it was helping her to know she wasn't the only one confused and anxious about it. She pushed the water out of her face and hurried through the rest of her shower.
When Devi walked out of the bathroom, Aylin was still sitting at the table tracing the design. They both smiled at each other quietly, neither knowing exactly what to say to each other.
"So you were made into a werewolf?" Devi started slowly, not sure if Aylin would even want to talk about that.
Aylin nodded, "Yup. About a year now, I think?"
"Was it by force or willing?"
"I didn't want to be turned, but it ended up being my saving grace."
"What do you mean?"
"My human life was not so good. Being turned opened the world to me and gave me an out I never would have gotten otherwise."
Devi smiled, "And it led you here…"
Aylin nodded, "Yeah."
Devi looked around the room, "So what stuck out the most to you?"
"The clouds," Aylin answered simply, starting to feel awkward.
Devi nodded, sensing the tension Aylin was feeling, "You want to go outside? I'm on the ground level so its a porch that opens right up to the tree line."
Aylin nodded, and was the first up. She quickly opened the doors and stepped out into the open air. She felt the tension melting from her body as she felt the sun on her skin. Devi's hand weaved its way into hers quietly a moment later. Neither of them said anything, or even had to. In the beginning of the mate bond, it would only be feelings that would be communicated through the bond. Once they had mated it would start to change, slowly letting more through until the bond was firmly in place.
They stood quietly, hand in hand, watching the trees dance in the wind, watching squirrels dart around. Aylin looked over at Devi, and leaned her head on her shoulder. The more of her that she touched, the more she felt that heat on her skin. She found comfort in it.
The wonderful moment they had been sharing was interrupted when Aylin's stomach growled. Aylin sighed, "I guess I forgot lunch."
Devi laughed, "I think we both forgot. What did you have in mind?"
Aylin narrowed her eyes in concentration, "Um…" She paused, "Noodles of some kind?"
Devi turned, pulling Aylin back through the building to the kitchen. She opened the cabinet, showing several hundred containers of various instant noodles filling each shelf. She paused, "Instant or from-scratch?"
Aylin shook her head, "Instant are fine. Let me look."
Devi watched as Aylin moved around the kitchen, leaning against the island. While she left the noodles in the microwave, she maneuvered around the kitchen figuring out where everything was.
"It looks like the kitchen is stocked for a lot of people, how many of the pack members are in this building?"
"None except me. I moved out here to get away from all the noise of a full building. Not that other members couldn't move into this building if they wanted to, no one has yet that's all."
"You really don't get any privacy in a pack, do you?" Aylin observed bitterly.
"I feel like I have plenty of privacy," Davi answered simply, not missing the dislike that was obvious on Aylin's face.
"I'm not use to being around so many people."
"I've heard other outsiders joining the pack generally feel that way when they join. Most of them tend to keep to themselves for the first few months. Some never fully relax into pack life."
Aylin blew on her ramen to cool it down, listening quietly as Davi explained how other people had dealt with the switch to becoming part of a pack after being a rogue. Aylin didn't believe that she would be like the others Davi was talking about. She hadn't liked people before being turned into a werewolf, and she highly doubted that simply being able to shift into a wolf was going to change that.