“Prove me wrong”

Her words hung in the air between them. She knew she had issued a challenge but at the same time she had extended an invitation. Maybe Franny is right, is there any real harm in getting to know him? Is it so wrong to let someone in and accept the Mate Bond?

Cecilia looked over at Hammer, taking him in. His head was tilted back, his eyes focused on the stars above them. His arms were crossed over his broad chest and his long legs stretched out in front of him. He sat extremely still, like a statue, his face relaxed and serene as if he had no cares in the world.

“What are you?” Cecilia blurted out, breaking the silence.

Hammer’s eyebrows raised slightly, and he turned his head to look at Cecilia.

“No warm-up question huh? Straight for the real personal information.”

“Well, it’s frustrating me. Obviously, you’re Fae but I can’t figure out what kind. There is something in your scent that I can’t place.”

“Ah, wolf nose. It’s been so long since I read about shifters, I forgot some of your more fascinating traits.”

“Well that seems insulting.” Cecilia huffed.

“It’s not meant to. Shifters have so many qualities I admire, heightened senses, bravery, loyalty, a respect for nature, a bluntness and directness that I find highly refreshing and amusing.”

“Mhm….” Cecilia turned her gaze back to the forest, “You still haven’t answered my question. You already know what I am, it’s really only fair.”

“Would you have told me if I had asked instead of accidently overhearing.”

Cecilia glanced at Hammer, irritated and slightly ashamed.

“That’s what I thought. Let’s circle back to that later, see if I change my mind about telling you. Now tell me who were you running from?”

“The Packs Alpha, Zachariah.” C.R sighed deeply, “He seems to think he needs a Luna and that I am the only choice.”

“What pack? What do you mean by Alpha and Luna?” Hammer inquired sounding confused.

“West Mountain is home to many Fae, including a pack of wolf shifters. We’re wolves, we need a pack to feel complete. This pack helps the town by maintaining the borders of the territory. We’re like the security guards against people who would like to destroy the town and our choice of interspecies mingling.” Hammer nodded, remember the amount of paperwork, and hops he had gone through when trying to move here. “The Alpha is the leader of the pack; they guide us and have the final say in everything. The Luna is the Alpha’s mate, a leader in the pack in their own way. The Luna helps provide an emotional center and focuses on maintaining harmony in the pack. If you think of it like a family, the Alpha is like the father, guiding with a strong discipled hand while the Luna is like the mother, also strong, but guides through a more nurturing and comforting touch. The pack here has been with out a Luna for a long time and Zachariah has been getting pressure to take a mate. A pack cannot survive without a Luna for too long before they start infighting.”

“Makes sense, you need a balance in the pack.” Hammer replied, processing the information, “And he wants you?”

“He thinks he does.” Cecilia’s tone implied more than just a man perusing a woman who wasn’t interested. “He thinks who I am, and my past makes me the ideal mate for him.”

“Well as someone who is an outsider and knows no one from the pack, I can be a highly objective and unbiased listener.”

Cecilia paused, glancing at him in the corner of her eye. Her past wasn’t necessarily a secret, if he asked around town, he was bound to find out parts of her story.

Maybe it’s time to let some one in. Only Franny and Oscar knew the full story, she didn’t like to talk about what happened, but she wanted to tell Hammer and maybe that was just an instinct because he was her mate.

“Fuck it,” Cecilia was tired of fighting her instincts, tired of putting herself at war with the wolf inside. It had been a battle for 3 long years, and it was enough. “I’ll start at the beginning, with my birth pack….”