Working at pack Morris’ nursery stole Selena from thinking of Nathaniel. It gave her time to do other stuff than want him to pull her into a dark room and kiss for minutes at a time, something Nathaniel had been doing for the past days.

She runs her hand through her hair as she watches the pups scurry out of the room with their parents.

“Bye.” She smiles at the last pup to leave the nursery.

“Look at you, lady.” Lively stood beside her. “You’re blooming, you know?”

Selena replied with a nod, turning flushed as she fiddled with her fingers.

“Thank you.” She says. “I like it here. No one’s making hawking on me.”

“No one except Nathaniel.”

“He’s the only exception.” She retorted.

“Yeah, I can see you. Ogling at him. Never have I seen a woman get pregnant every time her partner looks at her or whenever she looks at her partner.”

Selena chastised herself. It was that obvious? She wasn’t trying to hide it and her attraction to him was building fast, and it became harder to conceal her unspeakable needs.

“Did Nate talk to you about moving? Any plans involving just the two of you?”

She shook her head no.

“No, but he’s acting weird ever since a week ago. He’s been short with words and always on his guard like he’s hiding something from me.”

“I suggest you watch out.” She smirked. “From my personal experience, guys get cheesed whenever they plan on doing something.”

A surprise maybe? She thought. Though Nathaniel wouldn’t be that sloppy when organizing something, he can’t be. Still, she didn’t let it bother her. She had come a long way into disarming herself with any doubt, and she believed he was doing things for the right reasons.

“I will.” She nods.

“And there’s something else I wanted to talk about. You remember, Aurora, right?”

Her brows meet in a state of befuddlement.

“Yes. What is it?”

“I know you and Nate are talking about you training to be a spy. He asked me if I could find someone and I recommended Aurora. She’s the best I know, and she already said yes.”

“But pack Albrich is not letting any wolf inside their borders.”

Right after finding out Roark had lived under pack Albrich’s protection for a good chunk of four years, Joseph took its strides to ban all wolves from entering their border, even going as far to kill trespassers on sight.

The air in pack Albrich right now was far too hostile to any wolf to be granted passage.

“You are Talon’s sister. I’m pretty sure they’ll be kind enough to slip you through the cracks. I would count it as a crime if they turn you away.”

“I know Joseph. He and I are kind of friends, but I should run this over with Nathaniel.”

She put on a brave face and politely smiled.

A week after Nathaniel had urged her into looking for wolves that would become her mentor, Selena found no one willing to teach her. Their reasons came with her name. No one was up for the challenge, as her affiliation with her family already made her a public figure among wolves.

And training her as a covert agent was an impossible task.

It was crushingly frustrating, to say the least.

After her talk with Lively, she stayed in the pack grounds and watched the wolves training. A pang of envy catches Selena’s heart. The spies in pack Morris were right. The name Highcliff had too much record for her to become a spy. But she had no intention of training to become a fighter again. Her small frame simply wasn’t made for it.

Selena’s eyes glance over her shoulder as Nathaniel’s voice entered her ears. She turns to him, crossing her arms over her chest.

“...yes. To be transferred to Junior’s account. To confirm, to Junior’s, not to our dead father. Is that clear?”

His creased brows, squared jaw, and pointed stare to his feet all showed he was on the brink of raising his voice. Though even now when he looked hopelessly vexed, he was still the most entrancing sight she had ever seen.

His short, dark-blonde hair neatly swept to the side. A whole lock of hair dangling over his forehead. He sighs, the sound of him kissing his teeth made her gulp as the intensity in his eyes grew the moment he spotted her.

She was rooted in place when he neared her. His taupe leather shoes chiming on the pavement. He pulls her, planting a soft kiss on her lips.

“Moon.” He says.

She took a moment to compose herself and reply as the ecstasy of his lips and the taste of dark roast coffee on it drew her close to euphoria.

“Hi.” she meekly replied. “Everything alright?”

He shrugs.

“The secretary at my lawyer’s office is a nice lady that’s clearly too old to work there. She kept repeating her mistakes.”

Selena runs her thumb over his brows.

“You’re tired. Take a break.”

“I’m nearly done, actually. Half the documents I need signing are sent, copied, and sealed.”

He looked relieved. Though who wouldn’t be? Despite no longer being the Alpha, Jacob’s responsibilities were being funneled to Nathaniel. And the amount of work he needed to finish was staggering.

“Good,” she says. “We finally have time together.”

Nathaniel flattened his lips.

“Well, there are letters I need revising but they all can be done on later dates and online.”

“You’ll breeze through it.” She smiled lopsidedly.

His disposition and affinity for work were a beacon for her. She was drawn to it like a moth to a flame attracting her. She admired the way he spoke of his work and its intricacies with respect and full attention.

It was almost as if he was born, raised, and trained for it.

He even dressed for the part. A white button-up shirt that embraced his masculine physique ever so tightly, causing her to feel slightly envious. And a pair of well-creased dress pants. He was the very image of power.

Nathaniel arched a brow, lowering his face to her.

“What’s wrong, moon? You look bothered.”

“Aurora from pack Albrich agreed to train me. Their pack is close to my college and I can continue for my third year, then get my bachelor's for agricultural engineering while I train.”

She dreaded this. Leaving for college and then living with the Albrichs wasn’t much of a fun prospect when Nathaniel couldn’t be there with her.

He released a cumbersome sigh and nodded with an understanding glaze over his gray eyes.

“That’s good.” He says. Nathaniel perched his chin on her head. She felt his arms tighten around her. “This was inevitable, moon. I didn’t expect this to be so jarring.”

She took in his scent, shivering as she drowned in his warm embrace. He was a drug that she was obsessed with.

“I’m not that enthusiastic to learn about soil composition and how to drive a field plowing machine too.” She chuckled.

His chest rumbled from his laugh.

“You, driving heavy equipment.” he grins. “That would be a fantasy I am willing to lose a leg for to see.”

Her cheeks reddened. Does working come as a turn-on for him? She asked herself.

Though even she was completely ensnared by his masterful, strict work ethic.

Nathaniel’s free smile faltered into a serious face suddenly.

“I have good and bad news to tell you.”

A worried expression spread across her face.

“Mind telling me the good news first?” She replies.

“Anna, the doctor, says I’m all clear. No more Wolfsbane in my blood.”

A feeling of lightness overrules her. Her fingers gently traveled up the length of his arm, to his shoulder, and the base of his neck. They share a glance. Her lips parted softly as she gulped.

The burning desire to be one with him washes over her. Its turbulent stream placed her on the edge of her equilibrium, tilting closer to only him.

“Will the Stormwind even allow me to scar his skin with my teeth?”

He takes her hand, kissed her knuckles, and leaned to her touch.

“To have your existence be permanently planted on my skin will be the greatest honor, moon. Take me, I’m yours.”

She smiled sullenly. “And the bad news?”

“I’ve been posted by Jacob.” Nathaniel turns away, taking a heavy breath before he uttered another word. “To Texas, near Austin. He found my uncles and their families. Mom’s brothers. They are living in harsh conditions and Jacob’s sending me there to help them and make peace talks with packs around the state.”

“How long will you be gone?” She dared herself to ask.

“We’re looking at years. At least two to three.”

Selena mirrored the dread written all over his face.

They had only found their way to each other and Selena almost couldn’t bear the fact that they would need to temporarily be separated.

But she came prepared. This eventuality was nothing more than a small, useless hiccup that dared to come between. Tethering him to her was not the goal.

And just like what he had asked her, holding him back was not something she wanted to do.

“Maybe time apart between us is fated by the Moon. I have college and training. You can’t disobey Alpha Jacob and you’re going to see your family. And when you come to me or I to you, I’m going to better for you.”

“Thank you.” he lowered his shoulders and faced her. “I won’t go if you tell me not to and if you want me to be with you, just call me.”

“We can all each other.” She added. “This might not be what we both wanted, but it's for best.”

He laughs cautiously, but the hint of disappointment plaguing his face struck her.

“You make it sound like we’re not going to see each other again.”

“Texas is five states down from Minnesota, from pack Morris, from me. I think it’s reasonable for me to act a bit overdramatic considering my man will be stationed in a place unfamiliar to me.”

A smirk appeared on his face. It was a dangerous sight but thoroughly captivating enough to make her hold her tongue back.

“Your man? I bless the day you were born for me, woman. The words you choose to speak will leave me wanting for more.”

“I’m possessive, Nathaniel. I trust you but the people around you, no.”

He tightens his hold around her.

“Same goes to you, my moon. I want your gaze, that loving one, to be mine forever.”

For years, she had often wondered how it felt to be held tightly like this. To feel this secure. To not feel envy anymore. This was it. The serenity of the moment, the high of his kisses, and the storms in her heart. How it ached to be culled by only his touch.

This was love, the one she wanted and the one she almost lost.

She melted against him, enamored by the air that surrounded them.

“Why do you call me that? Your moon.” She asks.

“Because the Moon is our Goddess and you belong only to me. My moon, my Goddess, and I will worship you and your body.”

Her body prickled with an odd amount of exhilaration. Maybe because she had her own plans in her head that she wished to act on. But seeing Nathaniel brashly display his feverish intent just made everything more perfect.

“And what should I call you?”

“Call me as you wish.” He answers.

“I think your name is beautiful. It sounds like a posh men’s clothing brand.”

Nathaniel looks at her with an incredulous expression and laughs.

“Now you’re just teasing me.”

“No,” she grinned. “You have an angel’s name. The Moon gifted me my very own angel.”

A quiet moment dawned on them. He was struck.

“Moon, you have it all the way around. You saved me from an endless cycle of responsibilities. I didn’t even realize how much it suffocated me until you showed up. You were the angel that saved me from hell. Never mistake that.”

He was serious. The calming easiness of finality marring his voice made her rethink disputing him.

“You saved me, too. You need to know that.” She says, feeling his stubble against the palm of her hands.

“I wouldn’t have needed to save you if I had been much more… well, more.”

“Hey,” she whispered. Her heartbeat raced as she witnessed that same image in his eyes. The image she wanted to get rid of from existence. A little boy, scared and battered after being screamed at.

“It’s hard to forgive myself when I could have been stronger, more sure of the things I wanted.” He confessed.

“You can’t keep blaming yourself for the choices I took and actions made. I’m here now, standing in front of you.”

She pecks his chin and wraps her arms around his neck. She may never see Nathaniel the same way again. He was no doubt a brute in battle. A wolf who possessed many techniques in carving his way out of a crowd of enemies. They feared his name and the notoriety that came with it.

But to her, he was also kind, sweet, and everything that she could ever hope to have.

“Allow me to make my words true, love,” he says. “I have a surprise for you tomorrow.”

“What is it?” She asks.

“I wanna take you somewhere just us.”

She smiles mischievously.

“Is that where you plan on making love to me?”

He smirked boyishly.

“Hush,” he says. “I’ll leave everything in your imagination until tomorrow. Right now, I have several phone calls to make.”

Nathaniel claims her lips and turns away after winking at her. Selena was left in place, watching him turn back to the Alpha’s office, feeling a bit too hot and a lot more bothered.

~•°•~

Hello everyone! How are you doing?

I'm really excited to publish the remaining chapters. ✨  I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Love,

Jino <3