Blood Moon's Tears
Chapter 16

Lele stood at the edge of the forest, her eyes locked on the imposing house that loomed before her. With reluctance, she took a deep breath and crossed the threshold into Lucian’s territory. Fate had left her no choice but to stay with him for a week to remain in Kenji’s good graces.

Lele couldn’t help but mutter under her breath, “Honestly, do all the houses have to be extra?” She unlocked the front door and stepped inside, trying to make herself as comfortable as possible.

The week started off on a rocky start with Lele being awakened by her wolf’s whimpering echoing loudly within her head.

“What’s wrong?” Lele asked her wolf, surprised by the sudden restlessness.

“Mate.” was all her wolf replied.

“What about him?” She asked trying to get a clearer explanation than just one word as she sat up massaging her temples.

"We have no choice but to spend a week on his territory. It wouldn’t hurt to just go see him, would it? At least once? He should be asleep now," her inner wolf suggested.

Lele rolled her eyes at the idea. “But he’s the Golden Alpha. He’s nothing but a self-centred prick who thinks he can control everyone and everything because he’s superior.” She protested, laying back down into her pillow.

"Our heat cycle is coming up soon, and I’d be hella pissed if I don’t at least get a glimpse of our mate without clothes on. Our imagination can only go so far. Besides, who cares if he is a Golden Alpha? I’m not saying I want to mate and mark him, I just want to see him," her inner wolf purred enticingly.

Lele couldn’t help but roll her eyes at the persistent creature within her. ”Sometimes I can’t believe that the goddess decided someone as stubborn as you would be my human counterpart. How do you expect us to move on if we don’t let anyone get close to us?" Her wolf huffed in annoyance.

“I don’t care to be around anyone. I’m perfectly fine as is,” Lele argued, trying to suppress the desires of her wolf.

"You say that, but you’re doing this so you can go back by Kenji,” her wolf pointed out.

“Kenji’s different,” Lele retorted, trying to defend herself.

"Maybe we should ask Kenji who is really the self-centred one then," her wolf suggested, teasingly.

Lele sighed in resignation. “Fine, we’re just going to have a look. A small peek, okay? Nothing more. He might not even be shirtless,” she reluctantly agreed, giving in to her wolf’s peer pressure.

Lele made her way to the centre of the pack where the Alpha’s mansion stood. She was just grateful that Lucian let her stay in one of the empty pack houses that were situated on the edge of the pack’s territory. Watching the mansion’s size and remembering how similar the layout was to her childhood home Lele surveyed her surroundings to make sure no one was watching her before she navigated her way to the side of the house where the Alpha suite would be located. Looking up at the third-floor balcony Lele let out a shaky breath. As she contemplated if doing this was worth anything.

“Well, here we go.” She says as she cracks her knuckles.

“It’s been a while since we’ve used our abilities!” Her wolf chortled, its tail wagging happily as it made circles within the confines of her mind.

“Shush. I need to concentrate unless you want us both to fall on our a**.” She replied.

Gathering her thoughts and steadying her racing heart, Lele focused on her immediate surroundings and takes a deep breath. She focused on her centre of gravity and the strength of the gravitational pull under her feet and reduced its intensity. Not wanting to make gravity completely disappear from where she stood, she looked up once more, deciding whether she decreased enough of the earth’s pull. With a sharp exhale she jumped.

Lele’s eyes widened when she realized that she vastly miscalculated jump that she had passed the Alpha’s balcony and had been high enough to land on the roof.

As Lele stood on the rooftop, her inner wolf chided her for not seeking help with her gravity manipulation. It had been a while since she last used this ability, and it was clear that she was out of practice. Nevertheless, she focused on the task at hand, trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible.

"Should have asked for help. You haven’t manipulated gravity since the last time you broke into Kenji’s bar," her wolf reproached.

“Don’t remind me. Just help me scale down the wall,” Lele replied with annoyance.

Her wolf offered its assistance but with a condition. ”As long as you promise not to clip my claws again.”

“Urghhhh. Fine. You’re honestly irritating me.” Lele begrudgingly agreed, remembering the last time she clipped her wolf’s claws was because her wolf lashed out at a random human for a comment he made about her being a smelly mutt. She sighed deeply knowing that the first year she was left to fend for herself was pure chaos.

She continues voicing her displeasure with the events that lead them to this point internally. “First, it’s the mate thing, waking me up at what time is it?” She lets out a frustrated breath when she almost misplaced her foot.

“Doesn’t matter, my point is, I’m here, trying to sneak a peak at a guy who’s probably not even shirtless and might think that I’m some kind of creepy stalker and you have the audacity to complain about not having your claws cut. What a pain.” Lele ends her chain of complaints landing on her feet in front of the Alpha’s open balcony doors. “Wait, it’s open? It wasn’t open before. Am I going crazy? Was it always open?” She asks herself.

“Didn’t know stalking your mate was something that you’d be into.” Lucian’s rich smooth voice spoke from behind her, effectively breaking Lele from her thoughts. “I thought I smelled your scent when I noticed the shadow pan across my curtains. Care to explain what you’re doing?” Lucian asked, his piercing gaze never leaving her.

Lele’s heart pounded in her chest as she found herself face to face with Lucian, her inner wolf howling with delight at the sight of him in only his boxers. Her previous intentions of a quick peek were forgotten, she felt her cheeks flush with embarrassment as she sifted through the unholy images in her mind her inner wolf was sending her way in hopes of replaceing a suitable lie to give as an excuse.

“I can’t read minds, princess, or have you forgotten that we haven’t even mated yet, so mind-linking to hear your excuse is out of the equation as well,” Lucian remarked, making her inner turmoil even more evident.

Unable to form a coherent response, Lele took a shaky breath, her eyes unintentionally scanning his body once more. She felt a surge of heat coursing through her, her wolf pushing to the surface, causing her eyes to change colour.

Lucian smirked, clearly intrigued by this side of Lele. “You’re quite the chatterbox tonight, aren’t you?” he teased, his words breaking the silence that had begun to build along with the faint smell of arousal coming from Lele.

“What do you expect me to say? I don’t have a good excuse to tell you. Besides, I can’t focus properly at this point in time,” she admitted honestly, her eyes inadvertently drawn back to his boxer briefs, changing it’s colour to a more fluorescent shade of green.

Lucian chuckled lightly, knowing that her wolf was now on the suface. “I can tell. Maybe it would be easier if you made eye contact with me. You know, my eyes are up here,” he said playfully, moving closer and lifting her chin to meet his gaze.

“There you go. Your eyes are absolutely beautiful,” he complimented, his eyes changing colour as his wolf came to the surface to see his mate.

“Thank you,” Lele replied, breaking the contact and pushing her inner wolf back to the depths of her mind. “Anyway, I’ll be going now.” She said, mounting the banister.

Lucian caught her hand before she could fully escape. “You don’t expect me to just act like this never happened, do you?” he questioned, his tone serious.

Lele looked down at their joined hands, unsure of how to respond. “Why not? It was a mistake,” she retorted, trying to distance herself from the moment they had just shared.

“A mistake? Your first night back at my pack, you made your way to my balcony at 1 in the morning to do goddess knows what, and you call that a mistake?” Lucian’s incredulous laughter filled the air.

Lele maintained her facade, determined not to let him see how much his proximity affected her. “Yeah,” she replied nonchalantly.

Lucian lets go of Lele’s hand, letting out a short laugh of disbelief. He couldn’t help but be amused by her stubbornness. “Fine, I’ll let it go for now, but you have to make up for your failed attempt at stalking me by spending the day with me tomorrow,” he declared.

Lele raised an eyebrow, questioning his proposal. “And why would I want to do something like that?” she challenged.

“Because you’re on my pack’s territory, and I would prefer you to know where you’re going so I don’t have to send a search team for you if you happen to get lost. The entirety of the Kanagawa province does belong to the Plamane Pride. It’s not just this forested area.” He said, gesturing to the forest his balcony overlooked. “Besides, I’m pretty sure you want to know what places to avoid if you do decide to go night stalking again,” Lucian replied, a hint of mischief in his eyes.

Lele’s inner wolf chimed in, urging her to accept the offer. ”You better say yes,” it teased.

Lele rolled her eyes at her wolf’s insistence and let out an irritated sigh. “Sure,” She replied and before Lucian could say anything else Lele jumped off the balcony, decreasing gravity on her way down so as to not injure her legs.

The sun had risen quickly after Lele returned from her nightly endeavour. She groaned as she pulled the pillow over her head in an attempt to block out the sound of the doorbell ringing but her wolf’s hearing wouldn’t let her have the peace she so desired. Glancing over at the clock as she sat up, the time read 9 A.M.

“Ugh, Kenji never wakes me up this early,” Lele groaned, pulling a pillow over her head in a futile attempt to block out the sound.

Her inner wolf chimed in, reminding her that she couldn’t have everything she wanted. ”Well, you also don’t toss and turn until 5 in the morning trying to go back to sleep. You can’t have it all,” her wolf retorted.

“I personally feel attacked by you lately. Why have you been so against me since getting here?”

She grumbled to herself as she made her way to the bathroom, trying to shake off her tiredness.

“Because I think you’re acting like a child. I understand that you believe the person who covered up the pack’s death had to be someone in Wolfen society with power but I think pushing our mate away when he is clearly not the one who could have done it is a bit unreasonable.” Her wolf answered bluntly.

Lele let out an exasperated sigh, knowing her inner wolf had a point. She couldn’t deny that her prejudice against high-ranking werewolves, including Lucian, was most likely hindering her chance at being happy.

In the bathroom, Lele took a mouthful of Listerine to freshen up but was interrupted by her inner wolf’s plea. ”Can you at least try to give him a chance?” her wolf begged. “From what I’ve seen, he’s nothing like what others say. I’m sure having Golden Alpha blood running through your veins doesn’t automatically mean that Lucian’s a bad person. The least you can do is be civil.” It added, as Lele finished washing her face.

After freshening up, Lele made her way down the corridor, the doorbell still ringing incessantly. “Alright, alright, I’m coming!” she grumbled.

Upon opening the door, Lele was met with Lucian’s scent, which had a calming effect on her once-irritated mind. “You love pushing buttons don’t you Alpha Lyall?”

“Good morning to you too. I thought you would have wanted to start while most of the pack members are still asleep. Are you ready?” Lucian said, a hint of amusement in his voice.

“Do I look ready?” she retorted, gesturing to her attire.

Lucian gave her a once over before replying. “Not sure. You look beautiful to me no matter what you wear, even if it’s pajamas with a duck print on it. Plus, the quote on the top says that you don’t give a quack, so what am I supposed to think?” he teased.

Lele Looks down at her top and makes eye contact with the ALpha standing in front of her who had a smug smile on his lips. “You’re ridiculous.” She states before closing the door in his face and heading back to her room to change. For the first time, she wondered what would be appropriate to wear for this, this…

"It’s a date!" her inner wolf chimed in enthusiastically.

Lele sighed, trying to suppress the flutter of excitement she felt at the thought. “It’s not a date. Chill... At least I hope not,” she replied to her wolf.

Her wolf teased her, adopting a sultry tone. ”Oh? So what would you call a hunk of a guy asking a girl to spend the day with him so he could show her around his... territory?”

Lele shook her head at her wolf’s teasing. “A tour... Yep, that’s what this is. Not a date, so get your mind out of the gutter.”

Her inner wolf chuckled, clearly not convinced. ”Sure, whatever makes you sleep at night. But you can’t deny him forever,” it retorted.

After a couple of minutes, Lele decided on a more suitable outfit for the day and rejoined the alpha at the door.

The first place Lucian took her was a clearing where the pack warriors were training with Torao, his Delta.

“Where’s Chase if he’s not training?” Lele asked, noticing the absence of his Beta.

“He’s probably playing house with Vel. He’s probably wishing for her to come of age to replace her mate so she can stop torturing him with her childish fantasies,” Lucian replied as he led her to a playground area.

Lele looked over the playground, seeing a group of four toddlers playing in the jungle gym. As her eyes continued to scan the area, she noticed a couple making out a few yards away under a Weeping Willow tree. Unbeknownst to Lele, Lucian noticed that she had stopped walking once she saw the couple.

“If you weren’t fighting the bond so much that could have been us.” He teased.

His statement snapped Lele out of her absentmindedness, and she scoffed at the comment, continuing to walk ahead at a faster pace. Lucian quickened his own pace to catch up to her. “It’s okay. You don’t have to love me. I’m just happy to be able to get at least this much interaction with you without you trying to deny my presence,” he admitted, his voice carrying a slight bit of sorrow.

As they walked side by side through the breathtaking landscape, Lucian shared stories about his childhood and the complex relationship he had with his father. He spoke with a mix of sadness and determination as if each word was carefully weighed before it left his lips.

“I lost my mother when I was very young. She was the one who held our family together, who showed me love and kindness in a world that could be harsh and unforgiving. Her death shattered my world, and I had to grow up quickly.” He informed, as he looked at the rose hedge maze.

Lele listened intently, her heart softening as she saw the vulnerability in Lucian’s eyes. She had never expected to witness this side of him, and it made her realize that beneath the strong and stoic Alpha facade, he was just a man who had also experienced loss at a young age.

“I’m sorry for your loss, Lucian. Losing a parent at such a young age must have been incredibly difficult,” she said with genuine empathy.

“It was, and it only became harder when my father’s behavior changed after her death. He became even more ruthless, ruling our pack with fear and intimidation. Many thought I would follow in his footsteps, but I didn’t want that for myself or our pack,” Lucian explained.

Lucian continued to look straight ahead as he thought about his past. “My old man did what he had to at the time to make sure his pack thrived. When it came to his immediate family, away from prying eyes he was the most considerate person I knew.” He furrowed his brows as if he remembered a terrible memory.

“That is unless you give him a reason not to be. Though as a family member, if it didn’t involve Alpha duties it had to be something really bad to upset him for him to lash out. Most likely something that would make him have to consider your actions as one of the council members.”

“What about you? Are you part of the council now that your father is no longer around?” Lele inquired, wanting to know more about his current position in the pack.

“No, that comes with a whole set of responsibilities my father left behind, and taking his seat would turn me into someone I would rather not be,” Lucian replied honestly. “Anyway, I’m still learning about how to be a better alpha for my pack than my father was. I want to be someone my pack can trust and rely on. And... I want to be someone you can trust too, Lele.” He added, meeting Lele’s gaze.

Lele felt a mix of emotions as she looked at the Alpha beside her. She had built walls around her heart, convinced that all werewolves were heartless creatures, but here was Lucian, proving her wrong with every vulnerable word he spoke.

“I can’t deny that you’re different from what I expected, Lucian. But it’s still hard for me to trust,” Lele admitted, her voice barely above a whisper.

“I understand. Trust is earned, and I’m willing to show you that I can be someone worthy of your trust,” Lucian said, his voice filled with sincerity.

As they continued to walk, Lele felt a spark of connection with Lucian. Despite the challenges that lay ahead, she couldn’t help but feel a glimmer of hope that perhaps, with time and understanding, she could open her heart to the werewolf who had shown her a side she had never expected to see.