Chapter 5

Caleb POV

'MATE! MATE, MATE, MATE!' Storm howls in my mind. I swallow hard as my mate starts sparring with my father. She holds her own against him, which is really fucking impressive. Her dark caramel colored hair is gathered in a high ponytail, showing off her delicious neck, shoulders and upper back. I can see her back muscles move with her punches, and her lower back moves with her kicks. Then I notice something that makes the blood run cold in my veins. Scars. They crisscross all around her. Her arms, her legs, her back and stomach. Even her neck. What the actual fuck happened to my mate? Anger rises at the sight. Who hurt her? I will end them! I have to swallow and calm myself down before I run up to them and demand what the fuck happened to her.

"Good! I see you have been practicing the kicks and punches since last time." Dad says to my mate and she laughs. Her voice is mild and rich at the same time, the laugh making everything in me tingle with happiness despite the agony of the pain she must have suffered before. "How about we take a small break? I wanted to ask you something." She nods, going to the cottage and coming back with two water bottles. They have been sparring for 45 minutes already, and both are breathing a little heavier.

"Let's sit?" Dad asks, and my mate nods, turning to sit opposite him. This makes me able to see her face at last, and god-fucking-dammit! She is the most gorgeous woman I have ever laid my eyes on. Her dark tanned skin shining in the sun with a thin layer of sweat from her workout, her face is pure perfection! Her eyes are wide and soft as they look at my dad, their golden color accenting the dark caramel of her hair. Her cheekbones are high, and her lips full and so kissable. I never knew this was what you felt when you met your mate, but she is the single most important person in my life now! Now and forever!

"What can I do for you, Alpha?" My mate asks politely, and my dad chuckles.

"Selena, how many times do I have to tell you to call me Matt or Matthew?" He says and she blushes.

"At least one more time, Alpha." She tells him, and I just stare at her in wonder. Her name is Selena? Fitting that the most gorgeous creature on the planet be named after our own Moon Goddess! Her voice is sweet and light when she speaks again.

"You said you had something to ask of me?" I just marvel in her beauty for the movement, listening in on their conversation. Storm wants us to go to her, but I know she is not of age yet, so we would not be able to claim her nonetheless, and he lays down, disappointed, with his head between his paws and his ears perked up to listen as well.

I sigh, shaking the memory from my mind. I know she will be here today. I hope she will accept me, as I know I will with her. She is my Queen! The one holding my heart and soul. I always promised myself I would never turn away the gift the Goddess would bestow upon me, even more so when I saw the pain of rejection when Jenna harshly and coldly rejected her fated mate.

I walk out the door of my bedroom, joining up with my Beta and Gamma to be outside. We walk to the fair, in the end joining in on the group surrounding Jenna and her friends. I already know I am going to regret going with her today. I just need to keep her at a distance so my mate does not get any wrong ideas.

Selena POV

Alpha has been so kind to me ever since that frightful night where Jenna and her cohorts of wicked bitches forced me to shift prematurely. He has made sure to train me as he promised, making me a fierce fighter. Luna Anna and Amber have been educating me from home, keeping up my grades to the standard I really should have had all along. I love schooling, and learning new things, which is why Amber chose early to add to my education. She has been teaching me all about nature's magic, the earth and sky and how they work together. We meditate every morning and night, making me centred and calm. I am in balance and happy here.

Alpha and Luna gave me the option to take another surname, and I chose Moonchild, as I am a child of the Moon Goddess. They were very pleased with this, and so was Skysong.

We have been at peace, going for long walks with Alpha at night and learning pack history. He is an avid history nerd, which is so funny as he tries to hide that side of him. I never thought the ever so serious Alpha would have such a tender side, but when we discuss history and past events and their consequences, he becomes someone else. Someone who relaxes truly. Not the Alpha of the strongest pack in our Region. Not the father to the next Alpha in line, and not the man who is trying to uncover the dark magic users and how far they reach. He is just Alpha Matthew - the historian.

Those are some of the times I enjoy the most. He has been like a father to me for the last 3 years, and Luna Anna like a mother. They have been giving me presents for my birthday and Christmas, which I never had before. Amber also gives me stuff, and when I asked her why one of the first times, she just stared at me for the longest time before asking why I asked. That was an embarrassing moment for me, but also freeing in some way. She hugged me afterwards and told me she would be getting me things, things she deemed necessary and things we both knew would be necessary. I had never felt so loved before.

Today is the day of my birthday. I am going to join Alpha and Luna in the pack today, and I am so nervous I think I am going to faint every second. My stomach keeps going into knots at the thought. Fuck! Why did I say yes to this ridiculous request? I should just stay here.

This morning I got a big surprise when I woke up. Amber woke me with a birthday song, but she stopped mid sentence and stared at me with big eyes and an open mouth. I just looked at her funny until she gestured for me to come with her. We entered the bathroom, where she turned on the lights and I looked at myself in the mirror. All my scars were gone. I gasped. What happened? My skin on my face was even more flawless than before, my hair gaining more coloring with stripes varying from dark caramel, my normal hair color, to gold in all variations and dark bronze. What the actual fuck. I then look at my eyes, and the gold in them has brightened as well, with specks of bronze twinkling as I look at myself.

"How is this possible?" I ask Amber and she shrugs. 'Could today actually be my real birthday?' I think to myself before putting it in the back of my head.

"I don't know, sweets, but I am going to find out today. I promise to find you answers!" She has gone out just after that, and left me to my own devices and thoughts.

I think back to my conversation with Alpha the other day, and I know I would never be able to say no and disappoint Alpha when he asks me something. Not after everything he has done for me. Right now my fear of going to the fair seems diminished in all that's happened this morning.

"You had something to ask me, Alpha?" I asked him, taking a sip of my water. He smiles, then he sighs.