As soon as he hung up the phone, Luca started to feel some excitement for the new mission ahead. He had already stayed way longer than he first thought, Alberto and his family made him stay "just one more day" for the past few days. He was in no hurry to go back home, and now that someone needed his help, he had another reason to stay on Earth for a while longer.
Alberto and his son Sebastian bid him goodbye as he prepared to go to the Crescent Moon Pack. Antoinette packed him a few extra clothes and water for the trip in a sling bag. He hung it across his chest, taking his clothes off and packing them too.
He turned into his white wolf, moving his shoulders to accommodate the strap better on his body so he could run comfortably.
Sebastian would send help as soon as Luca found a way to get a party across the land. They did not know the exact situation, so it was safer to send him alone to scout the area.
He ran, stopping only to relieve himself, eat, or drink. He found a few rogues on his way but they did not bother him. When he found himself at the beginning of the canyon area, he started to notice bigger groups of rogues, but none ever attempted to attack him.
Late at night, he was near the border of the Crescent Moon Pack. He smelled the air, looking for danger signs. There were two scavengers near, and Luca knew they were aware of his presence, but they did not approach him.
The closer he got to the line dividing the pack's land and the unclaimed land, the stronger the scent of putrefaction and rogues got. He saw movement from the corner of his eye and noticed a rogue (no, a scavenger? Something in between?) looking at him, moving away from him.
Luca growled at it, and another creature appear right next to it. They were two females, both left after barking at him.
He entered the land and was immediately surrounded by the pack's warriors. They did not attack him, rather one of them was in human form, standing in front of him.
"Son of the Moon Goddess?" he had dark skin and almond eyes. Luca knew this wolf was strong, but he was not the Alpha.
He turned into his human form, not caring for his nudity. "Luca, actually. Your Alpha called for my help?"
"Yes. Follow me."
"Hold on," Luca called him, dropping on one knee and taking out a pair of jean shorts from the bag. He then put them on and stood next to the man. "Okay, let's go."
"This way." Said the man.
He felt the eyes of the man on him the entire time they walked to the packhouse. "A picture will... you know what? Never mind. I'd last longer than the picture," he tried to joke, but the man continued to walk next to him. "So, what is your name?"
"Caleb, sir."
"Luca," he remained Caleb. "So, Caleb. What is your role in the pack?"
"I'm the Beta."
Luca waited for him to continue, but Caleb kept his mouth shut.
"I'm not that bad, Caleb."
"I never said you were. I just expected someone different."
"What do you mean?" Luca asked, genuinely curious.
Caleb did not respond immediately, and Luca noticed his mood change slightly.
"I just expected to see an old man."
"But Caleb, I am an old man." Luca laughed at his companion. "I stopped aging when I turned twenty-five," he explained. "Mother said it was part of my gift."
"Ah."
The two of them walked in silence after that. They arrived at the packhouse, Luca feeling excited for some reason. He sniffed the air, smelling eucalyptus and lavender coming from inside the house. He entered the place and followed Caleb to an office at the end of the hall. The smell was stronger now, it came from the other side of the door.
Caleb knocked and a man allowed them to enter the office, Luca followed the Beta. Inside was the Alpha and the Luna standing behind the desk with an arm around each other. There was also another woman with short black hair sitting next to what Luca supposed to be her mate as she had a possessive hand over his thigh.
Lastly, the source of the eucalyptus and lavender smell was standing by the corner with her arms crossed over her chest. She was also looking at him with surprise, her beautiful tainted red lips slightly ajar, and her dark eyes just as confused as his.
Luca felt his heart beating faster than ever, his breathing accelerating, and the hair on his arms starting to rise. The two of them stayed where they were, both not sure about what to do but knowing what the feeling was.
He sniffed the air, taking a deep breath and taking her scent, familiarizing himself with it. He noticed her nares flaring, doing the same thing. A small growl started to form in his chest, nonthreatening.
She took the first step, getting closer to him. He waited for her to come to him, extending his hand anticipating. She graced his fingers slightly, sending sparks across his arm to the rest of his body. She took a step back, taken by surprise by the sparks.
"It's okay," he said. "That is normal."
She looked at his lips as he spoke, her pupil dilating. He took two steps forward, now inches away from her.
"What is happening?" Luca heard someone asking.
Time had stopped for him; he could only concentrate on the woman in front of him. He wanted to spend time with her and felt like she was the most beautiful creature, but he was not in love. He was very attracted to her and felt curious about what type of person she was.
He was infatuated with her.
He touched her arm, enjoying the sparks that came with the contact. She gave him a short smile.
"Hi." She spoke.
"Hi," he replied feeling shy.
"What is your name?"
"Luca." He was now giving her a toothy smile, now conscious of his bare chest. "And you, mate?"
Luca heard a gasp come out from her and the rest of the people present.
"Uh... Ah.... Adira."
Adira was a beautiful name. As a matter of fact, his favorite name.
"As much as I am happy for my cousin, we need to start this meeting."
Luca ignored the man with dark curls, but Adira did not. She winked at him and turned to face her Alpha. Luca shook his head and decided to humor her.
"Right. Go on." He gave permission to the Alpha.
Luca could barely concentrate on what they were talking about. His eyes kept wandering to Adira, noticing how her hair bounced every time she moved, or her eyes also wandering towards him.
He listened to reports and updates from the Beta and Gamma, the woman with short black hair. Although he was paying some attention to the meeting, his mind kept wandering about the woman standing next to him. The Alpha sitting in front of him kept looking between Adira and Luca, smiling lightly whenever he caught them smiling at each other.
"We need a small group of warriors to go with Adira as protection. She needs to concentrate on tracking the camp." This made Luca pay more attention to what they were talking about. They mentioned his mate's name.
Hm, he liked the sound of that. His mate.
"Two guards should be enough," Adira commented.
"I'll be going with her," Luca exclaimed, not giving room for argument.
"That was the plan, sir," said the Beta.
"Luca," he remained him. Although he was way older than all of the people here combined, he disliked being called sir.
The meeting continued and they selected two warriors to keep guard over Adira as she looked for the camp. Luca felt a sense of pride when he heard she was their best tracker.
Once the meeting was over, the Alpha clapped once to get their attention. "Well, I was going to show you where you can stay, but I believe Adira can do that just fine."
The Luna hid her laughter behind her hand, and Adira hit her arm playfully.
"Shut up," she told the Luna.
Luca witnessed the exchange, which seem to be more familiar than the relationship between a Luna and her warrior. The Alpha joined their exchange and the three giggle.
Adira took his hand and pulled him out of the room. Luca let her guide him upstairs to a room on the left side of the hall. He could hear the people downstairs talking excitedly about him.
"This is your room," Adira opened the door to a large bedroom with a bathroom and a walk-in closet. The bed was in the middle, with two bedside tables on each side. "We will provide you everything you need while you stay here, just say the word."
"Word," She looked up at him with an eyebrow raised. "You said to say the word," he explained.
"Ah, yeah," she looked inside the room and walked in. "Well, what is it that you need?" she asked playfully.
"Time."
She sat on the bed and signed for him to sit next to her, he did as she asked.
"We'll start the mission tonight, so we have some time right now."
Luca wanted to get to know her, so he looked for the best question to start this conversation with. He chose the safest option.
"What is your name?"
"Like my full name?" he nodded. "Adira Gerald."
"That's a pretty name."
"Thanks."
Silent.
Was she feeling like him? It was not exactly uncomfortable, but they both were shy, not sure how to talk to each other. He was still surprised by how unexpectedly he had found her. It had been decades since the last time he thought about finding his mate.
He now realized his mother hadn't said anything when he left her castle. Every time he left the castle she would try to make him stay, or tell him about what was going on down on Earth, but not this time. She saw him leaving and simply nodded.
Maybe she knew he would find his mate this time around.
But why not prepare him? Or at least tell him something like "Hey, you'll meet your mate soon. Take a shower." He cursed his mother's lack of warning under his breath, knowing she would sense it soon.
He felt self-conscious about his sweaty body, his lack of clothes, and his long hair which needed a haircut.
"Uh, I think I should take a shower."
Adira's cheeks turned red as she looked at his bare chest, looking at the dirt around his body.
"Yeah, okay. I will bring you some clothes then," she stood up from the bed and walked to the door, stopping before opening it. "I'm glad you are here."
His heart jumped inside his chest, happy to hear her say that.
"Me too."
She left the room and closed the door behind her. Luca stayed on the bed for a while longer, still processing the fact that he had a mate. He made his way to the bathroom and took his shorts off, entering the shower and turning it on. The cold water hit his skin, helping him clear his head.
When he was done, he grabbed one of the white towels hanging from a rack and dried his hair, and then tied it around his waist. He stood in front of the sink and cleaned the humidity off the mirror. He saw his face in front of him, curious as to what Adira thought of his unusual appearance.
He heard someone outside in his new bedroom so he opened the door to see who it was. Adira was placing a pile of clothes on top of the bed, hanging some shirt on hangers and then taking them inside the closet.
When she walked back out, her eyes met his.
"Hey! I got you some clothes and underwear. I wasn't sure what kind you'd like though," she said as she pointed at the bed.
He walked up to the clothes and grabbed a pair of boxer briefs.
"These are just fine, thanks."
He turned around to face her and saw her looking up at his hair. Nervously, he ran a hand through his hair.
"I know it's not normal to see someone who looks young with white hair," this made her chuckle.
"No, I just thought it needs a haircut."
"Yeah, it does. Can't cut it myself, you know?"
"Then you are in luck. I can," She left the room without a word and then came back with a red bag and a trash bag. Luca saw her pull out hair scissors, an electric hair clipper, and a few hair clips. "Come here," He did as she told him and sat on top of the toilet that had the lid down. He felt her long fingers run through his hair, enjoying the sensation. "How long do you want it?"
"It doesn't matter, really. I just don't want it in my eyes," He shrugged his shoulders, letting her choose for him.
"So, I can do whatever I want," she asked excitedly.
"Do as you please with me."
Luca felt her going stiff when he said that. He laughed internally, enjoying teasing her.
She started humming as she divided his hair into different sections, cutting the long strands. After a few minutes of silence, she spoke.
"Can you tell me about your life? Up until now, I thought you were a legend."
"What do you want to know?"
It was silent except for the sound of the scissors cutting away.
"Am I your first mate? or have you had other mates before?" she asked.
"I was born human. I was the first werewolf and saw the creation of the race as my mother created them. I've been alive for a long time, Adira, but I've not had a mate before."
"Do you have any children?" she asked.
That was not a question he expected to hear, so his surprise was noticeable.
"I've lived for a long time, and I am not going to lie to you and..."
"So you do?" she interrupted him, horror crossing her eyes. "I'm just too young to have stepchildren, you know? Not like I will dislike them or anything... but what if they are older than me?" she dropped the scissors but picked them up quickly. "Also, it's not like we are getting married. Gosh, I don't even know if you want that. You will live forever probably..." she continued talking as she was cutting his hair, making him nervous every time. He thought she'd end up cutting her skin if she didn't concentrate on what she was doing.
"Adira," he stopped her rambling. She stopped talking and looked at him with a bit of embarrassment. "I have no children, relax."
"Oh."
"And we will talk about marriage some other time. I want to know your first."
He did not mention the fact that he was technically an immortal being, being gifted immortality by the gods as a request of his mother. And she, a mortal, would perish before he could grow any older.
That was a talk for another day.
"So, how old are you?" he asked instead.
"Next month is my twenty-third birthday," she replied, her face still a little red after the embarrassing exchange.
She continued to cut his hair, now using the electric shaver, giving him an undercut. Using the reflection in the mirror, he watched her work, seeing her focusing on the task in front of her. He liked how her dark wavy hair framed her face, he also noticed a scar on her chin, noticeable even under her light makeup.
She was almost done when they heard a knock on the door, Adira turned off the electric shaver and went to open it. Luca heard an unknown man's voice on the other and leaned back to see who it was but Adira's frame blocked his view.
"... when I am done."
"It was just a question, relax. Nora told me to bring you this," said a man.
The person on the other side passed her a tray, Adira then proceeded to close the door without saying a thank you and left it on one of the night tables. She made her way back to the bathroom.
"Who was it?" Luca asked.
She grabbed the electric shaver and a comb and went back to cutting his hair, now just going over whatever she might have missed.
"Owen, our Gamma's mate."
"Looks like you don't like him," he commented after noticing her tone and posture getting rigid.
"It's not that I don't like him, in fact, I did like him a lot back in the day. I just avoid talking to him," Luca decided to question her about the subject later. He had just met his mate and he did not want to upset her. She took a step back, using her fingers to brush his hair, admitting her work. "Done. What do you think?"
Up until then, he had not paid attention to his hair, so when he saw what she had done he felt pleased.
"I like it."
"I'm glad," she started to pick up her materials and brushed the extra hairs off of his shoulders. "Our Luna sent you some food that is on the table by the bed. I'll be right back, go eat for now."
She left the room, leaving Luca feeling weirdly empty inside. He thought about following her, but decided to follow her instructions and started eating.
On the tray were a variety of fruits and vegetables, a large portion of meat, and lentil rice on the side. He also saw what he was pretty sure was hummus.
He sat on the bed with one leg hanging on the side of the bed and placed the tray in front of him. He grabbed a baby carrot and dipped it in the humus, humming with gusto as he ate the food. When he was halfway done with the food, Adira returned to the room without knocking wearing a different shirt and a handheld vacuum in her hand.
"Nice shirt," he told her. She looked down at the black shirt with the image of a unicorn shooting rainbows from its butt.
"Ha! thanks," she said. "The other shirt had a lot of hair on it, and it was getting itchy."
She went to clean the bathroom and Luca stood up to help her, leaving the food on top of the bed. "Let me help you."
"No, go eat. I got it."
"I ate already. You did me a favor, so now let me help you clean up."
He took the vacuum from her and turned it on, cleaning the hair that was on top of the toilet first and then on the floor. She finished cleaning her equipment and organized it inside the small leather bag while he cleaned every piece of hair. When they were done, Adira took the vacuum from him, thanking him for helping.
He felt awkward now that they had nothing else to do. Should they keep talking? What are good conversation topics now? Should they just kiss and start mating?
Would she even want that?