Nia POV
"Werewolf", the word echoed in my mind. At first, it felt like he was just playing a joke on me but one look at his face told me otherwise.
There's no way he could be serious, we were both adults in an adult world and knew better than to believe in such fairytales but with all seriousness, he still sat there in no joking manner waiting for my reply.
"When you say werewolf, you mean as in a symbol of your tribe and the wolf spirit that they worshipped right? because there's no way you could mean the type where a man goes from a complete human to raging beast under the full moon, it's just not physically possible", I said feeling a bit of anxiety creep up inside of me. I know I told myself that I would remain open to what he had to say but this was starting to freak me out.
I looked back up to see his expression had softened a bit when he noticed how this was affecting me. I don't think he meant for me to have this type of reaction but how else do you expect your date to react when telling her that you're a supernatural being from stories that are known to go on bloodthirsty killing sprees through villages?
"Nia are you ok?", I could hear his voice in the background but I just couldn't focus on it at the moment and without thinking, I got up from the table and started walking towards the glass door that led out to the patio not caring that the temperature was in the 30's tonight, I needed to get some fresh air. Travis got up and followed behind me until I got to the railing at the edge of the water. This was getting to be too much, the one guy I make friends with in town is now claiming to be a wolf and I was supposed to believe him just because we had some sort of friendship.
I turned around to see he had a worried look on his face at my sudden actions but I just had to get some fresh air and rationalize what was happening.
"Travis, I don't know what type of trick you're trying to pull on me but I'm not liking it one bit. I came on this date so we could get to know each other more and now you throw 'being a werewolf' into the mix like that's normal and it's not. I thought you were someone I could trust in this crazy world but now I see that I was wrong. There's no such thing as werewolves or any other type of magical being, I don't know who told you otherwise but they're wrong", I said before walking past him to go back inside and get my stuff and leave but he grabbed my arm which sent that same pull feeling through my body that I felt the other night which confused me.
"Nia, I know what I said was totally out of the ordinary and makes me sound like a crazy madman but if you want proof right now that I'm not lying, then I will show you".
Part of me wanted to just turn away, keep walking and call a cab so I could leave but the other part of me wanted to give in to these feelings going through me that only happened when I was near him and see proof of what he claimed to be true.
"I know I might regret this Travis but if you mean what you say, then show me you're not lying."
He brought me closer into his embrace while putting his hand on the side of my face making me lean into his warm touch and sigh at how good this felt right now.
"Nia, look at me"
I looked up into his eyes not knowing what would happen until I noticed them start to change from their normal crystal blue to deep gold. I couldn't believe what I was seeing, I just saw his eyes change colors right in front of me, meaning that all these crazy things he claimed are somehow true. By now a normal person would probably scream and run away but I didn't feel like I was in danger and instead felt a deeper connection with him at this reveal.
"How long have you been like this?"
"Since I was born, the gene carried down through the centuries ever since Chief Erik and his tribe were first transformed by the village witch that used a spell invoking help from the gods asking them to make his clan strong and able to protect their lands from invaders. In the mid-1800s, my great grandfather immigrated here from Norway with other wolves that were descendants of the tribe and set up their new pack back in town when it was just starting to be built up which made it easy for him to set up all the businesses my family has today."
Strangely everything he said was weirdly making sense, so I guess the next question I had for him wouldn't be hard to answer.
"If you're a wolf then who else in town is a wolf?"
"Your friend Stacy is a member of my pack along with her mate Jesse and also my brother Garrett and his mate Anna that you met back at the festival".
Stacy was a wolf and I didn't even notice but I guess she didn't feel comfortable telling me something like that and would have to wait for confirmation from Travis on when she could break the news to me. Now I realized why she reacted the way she did when I talked with her about my night walking experience, she knew what it meant but didn't want to scare me, which led me to my next question.
"I know how a wolf pack operates as in hierarchy with the Alpha being the one in charge and knowing your great grandfather established the pack in town, does that mean you are now the Alpha of the pack?"
He grabbed both my hands before looking me in the eyes giving me a nod to answer my question before leading me back inside to our table. I sat there taking in all this new information that's just been dumped on me in this short amount of time. What I didn't notice was Travis took a seat before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a black velvet box.
"Nia, as well as having an Alpha, you know the pack also has a Luna, right?"
"Yes, that's what I've heard from the nature documentaries. She's the Alpha's lifelong mate and mother of his pups".
"Well that also applies to the werewolf community, meaning that I have a Luna as well", he said with a nervous smile on his face.
"Who is she?", I asked feeling like I was about to get my heart broken by Travis telling me that he was already involved with someone.
"It's you Nia and I Travis, Alpha of the Hagen pack, am asking you if you would accept my proposal of being my lifelong mate and Luna of my pack?" he said walking in front of me to get down on one knee while opening the velvet box to reveal the wolf pendant that I saw back at the jewelers in town.
I couldn't help but let a few tears fall, this man that I've only known for 2 months was asking me to be what I assume in his community is a wife to him. He probably saw the tears and a bit of hesitation on my face at his proposal because this is not an easy concept for a human to grasp. He reached and grabbed my hand lightly, putting me at ease from his touch, which I assume comes from me being his supposed mate.
"Nia, it's okay, I'm here for you. If you need some time to fully take all of this in, then I understand. Just know that you mean a lot to me and I would never let anything bad happen to you physically or emotionally."
Travis POV
So far she was taking the news as good for a human. I just needed to make sure I don't overwhelm her with too much right now.
"Travis, I need you to promise me not only as an Alpha but as a man that you will keep to your word and not lead me astray if I am to follow you into this."
"Nia, you have my word as both man and Alpha that I will to the best of my abilities lead you with love, care, and understanding while also helping you to learn the customs of my culture."
"Okay, then I accept being your Luna", she said smiling at me.
I had to be the happiest wolf right at hearing my mate accept the position of Luna in my pack. All my years of waiting for the perfect mate were worth it and I was going to make sure that I did everything to be the perfect mate for her. The only thing left to do now is introduce her to the pack which I knew was going to be a big deal, so I think the best time to do that will be during the Yule feast after the pack hunt, that way everyone will be there to see and meet her.
After finishing our desserts, we left, and the whole ride back to the house she asked me different questions such as How long do werewolves live, How I shift, and If I have any special powers to which I didn't mind answering. She was now my Luna and once she goes through the Luna ceremony, it will be official.
The only concern now is how my father will take the news of the pack's first human luna. He might not be the Alpha anymore but he still has a lot of power in the werewolf community that I might end up having to go against for the sake of my mate, which I would gladly do any day.