Finding My Luna

Part 12

(Alex's POV)

Emily sits on the sofa in front of me, expectantly sipping her tea whilst I figure out how to start. Jake has left to go and deal with our morning meetings which I won't be able to attend. Bringing Em to terms with our world is far more important and I know I'm standing on a knife edge right now. On one side acceptance and a future with Em as my Luna, on the other a life without her if I can't convince her I'm not crazy and telling the truth.

"Ok so I've never had to do this before so bare with me and if you have questions then just ask ok? I'll do my best to answer them all as honestly as I can."

Emily just raises her eyebrows and waits.

"Ok, right, so, here goes... Werewolves have been around for thousands of years, far as we can tell. The very beginning of our kind is told to us as stories when we're kids, kind of like a fairy tale so I can't attain their true accuracy, this is only what I was told. Thousands of years ago, a young boy once lost in the woods was taken in by a family of wolves. He lived and grew with them for many years in the forest but when he became a man he rediscovered the human town that he was from. Not wanting to lose his wolf family the young man prayed to the Gods for a way to live safely and peaceful with both kinds. The moon Goddess decided to grant his wish and so the first werewolf was born. Able to shift between two forms at will. Since then the moon Goddess has allowed her gift to be passed from generation to generation, and our kind has grown and evolved alongside the human race. Whole werewolf communities have sprung up all over the globe, some separated entirely from humans but most live and work with our human cousins without them having any knowledge of our kind."

I glance at Emily to see how she's taking this but her face is expressionless, "Like I said it's a fairytale version of our beginnings." I clear my throat nervously before ploughing on, "I'm an Alpha, that's the leader of a werewolf pack, usually a male but not always. My pack is called the Silvermoon pack and we're the largest in North America. Jake is my Beta, my second in command."

"How many of you are there?" Em pipes up suddenly. I quickly have to squash down my excitement that she's asked a question. It's a start if she's showing some curiosity.

"In my pack there's over 15,000 of us." Em's eyes widen in surprise. "The next largest pack is the Red River pack who have just under 9,000." I say with just a hint of pride.

"Are there werewolves in England?"

"Yes" I smile gently, "The largest is the New Forest pack, I think they have around 6,000 but I've never been to England to confirm though I've met a number of their members at various world events."

I wait to see if she has any more questions but when she doesn't speak I carry on.

"Although we share a mind and body, our wolves are still separate spirits. It's difficult to explain but Firenz, my wolf, is always there inside of me, I can talk to him and feel his emotions but when I'm in my human form I have total control. The opposite is true when I shift into wolf form. I'm still there in his mind and we can communicate but Firenz has control."

"Isn't that weird, someone else controlling your body whilst your mind is still there?"

"Not really, it's the way it's always been. And we're not two competing souls, our wants, needs and desires are all completely aligned. We just have different personalities I guess so we allow the other to take over when their strength is required. Like last night, in order to protect you I needed Firenz's physical strength."

She nods slowly, "What happened last night exactly? I'm guessing the wolf you showed up with was Jake but who were those other three wolves? They weren't members of your pack?"

I shake my head and try not to clench my fists at the thought of the three rogues who attacked Em last night. "I don't know. Jake wasn't able to catch up with them after they ran. I didn't recognise any of their smells so they're not wolves I've met before."

"Smells? You could smell them," She says slowly as though working things out in her mind, "Is smells a big thing for wolves? I've noticed you like to smell me a lot."

I smile, "Yeah smells are a big thing, your smell in particular for me though because..." I pause, aware that the next thing I need to explain is us. "You smell like heaven on earth to me because you're my mate."

There's an awkward pause but she doesn't really react. I guess I need to explain further, "Mate as in soulmate, you're my soulmate. Every wolf is paired with another, two halves of the same whole that complete each other. Most wolves find their mate when they turn 18 but I didn't. I've waited fourteen years for you" I end rather sheepishly. She still hasn't reacted.

"You think we're soulmates?" She asks softly.

I shake my head, "I know we're soulmates. From the moment I first picked up your scent. It's like love at first sight, only stronger. The second I laid eyes on you there was this unbreakable bond, a connection of love and desire, need and want between us. I know you feel it too though maybe it's not the same, I don't know. But for me, it's the purest of love. You're my everything."

"But I'm not a wolf. You said soulmates are two wolves paired together."

"Usually it's two wolves but not always. It's rare but wolves can be paired with humans too."

"And you think you're paired with me?" Suddenly she's up and pacing across the carpet the same way I was a few minutes ago.

"I know it's a lot to take in..." I start to say but she holds up her hand telling me to stop. I think she needs time to process everything so I sit patiently on the couch waiting. Firenz is doing his own pacing in my mind. As the clock ticks, sweat builds up on my palms as my heart races, wondering what's going through her mind. She glances around the room a lot, looking up at the walls and ceilings. Finally she turns to me with a decisive look in her eye.

She holds out her hand, "Come with me."

I take her offered hand immediately and follow her out the door. "Where are we going?"

But she doesn't answer, just leads me on through winding corridors and then down several flights of stairs, then along past more rooms until we come to another set of doors which open out into a currently unused conference room. She glances around the room then nods before turning back to me.

"Do it again."

I look at her in confusion, "Do what?"

"Turn into your wolf again."

Not really understanding why she dragged me here to do this I'll do whatever she asks if it helps to convince her this is real. So slowly I reach up and pull my shirt over my head and then start to strip from my pants. "Wolves don't wear clothes, they'll just rip when I shift and then I won't have anything to change back into when I'm Alex again." I answer her silent question. "Ready?"

She takes a deep breath and then nods, not taking her eyes off me.

Letting Firenz loose I shift. It's a little painful as I slow the process down, hoping that Em will believe it more if she can see the shift better, rather than the usual second that it takes.

Once I'm done I stand watching Em's reaction. There's definitely an element of freaking out starting to stretch across her face. Firenz lays down and then jumps back up like an excited puppy, He spins around, chasing his own tail and then drops to the floor and rolls over several times. Tilting his head to the side he lets his tongue hang out as though pulling a silly face. 'What the hell are you doing? I ask him, 'Stop acting like an idiot.'

But no sooner have I said the words than Em lets out a little giggle. I stare at her in fascination as a small smile finds its way to her lips. Firenz is ecstatic and starts wagging his huge tail at 100mph. Firenz repeats his goofball act before dropping down to the floor again. Slowly, tentatively, Em steps forward with one hand out as though approaching something dangerous. Cautiously she reaches out and gently pats Firenz's head. Firenz purrs and licks her hand encouragingly. With a wider smile Em creeps further forward to stroke him with more confidence, "Hi" she whispers, "It's Firenz right? Geez this is insane." She mutters under her breath but she continues to pet Firenz's head. And just like that I feel any lingering tension and worry leave my body. She's accepting us. I think we're gonna be ok.