I could barely close my eyes at night. The events of the previous day kept me awake and tossing and turning in bed.

A mixture of happiness for having discovered who my mate was and the fear of facing the hunters once again took over my mind to the point that I couldn't think of anything else. I tried to focus on Almec, on his gentle touch, however, the hunters' threats always came back to make my terror grow.

The fear of encountering my nightmares again prevented me from falling asleep, every minute that passed was torture, and the headache did not stop torturing me. Without a doubt that was the happiest and scariest night I spent in the mansion.

As soon as the sun's rays entered the room, I gave up the battle, realizing that my chance to sleep had already passed.

I got out of bed, making sure Faustina was still sleeping. It was incredible how she didn't open her eyes even once the entire night considering all my movements, whatever she had been playing with Khalia the day before made her pass out.

Seeing her happy was the only thing I needed to keep fighting, and knowing that Almec also cared about her was confirmation that he was the one for me.

I left the room with a plan in mind: get some food quickly and then go to the library to look up information on the lycans.

My conversation with Almec the night before made me realize that I knew almost nothing about the lycans. All the people knew were rumors about how strong and dangerous they could be. More than reliable information, they were legends, horror stories that parents told their children to prevent them from entering the forest at night.

The near extinction of the lycans made people dedicate themselves to inventing stories to try to explain their existence. No one could deny or confirm the rumors because no one had seen a lycan. Only one remained alive, and he was known for protecting his pack in the cruelest way possible.

If only they knew that he was actually a kind soul.

I wanted to know about Almec, to know the truth about his wolf so I could help him like he helped me. Being a lycan couldn't be as bad as everyone made it out to be, and I was ready to make them see the reality.

My plans were ruined as soon as I got to the kitchen. Still, I had no complaints.

The sound of dishes coming from the room startled me before I could open the door. Demian never made so much noise when he prepared breakfast and besides, it was too early for the chef to be at the mansion.

Slowly I opened the door and stuck my head in to see what was happening. I had to cover my mouth with my hand to prevent a laugh from escaping when I realized it was Almec.

The alpha was desperately removing all the dishes from the shelf while he looked out of the corner of his eye at the frying pan that was on the stove. Even from my location I could hear him insulting the food that apparently wasn't turning out the way he wanted.

I remained silent, enjoying the show. With my body leaning against the entrance threshold and my arms crossed over my chest, I watched Almec fight against the kitchen. At least he had found the plate he wanted, although the contents of the pan decided to attack him, causing him to burn his hand with the oil.

"Do you need some help?" I asked him, ready to finish his torture.

Almec jumped a bit, releasing the pan, which caused the eggs to fall straight into the fire.

"Fuck!" he shouted, turning off the burner.

"I'll take that as a yes."

I approached him, and without warning, grabbed his hand to look at his wound. It was nothing serious, a small burn on the back and some slim cuts on some of his fingers.

"You weren't supposed to see this mess," he told me, looking away from him to the burnt food. "I was supposed to impress you with breakfast."

"You still have another chance, I can pretend I didn't see anything. Just be careful, there's no point in getting hurt just for breakfast."

He sighed, I could swear that I almost saw him pouting. "I have something to confess. I don't know how to cook. Demian always does everything for me, it's been like that all my life."

"But you cooked pancakes with Faustina, remember?" I tried to comfort him while caressing his hand.

"I asked Demian to teach me when I discovered that they were Faustina's favorites and I practiced for a long time until I learned to cook them in the right way."

"Oh, Moon Goddess, you are adorable." I crushed his cheeks with my hands and kissed his nose.

"Are you sure you're talking about me?" He grabbed my hands, moving them away from his face.

"Of course, only you put in so much effort to make us happy."

"It makes me happy to see you happy," Almec murmured, releasing my hands.

"You are really fantastic." I gave him a little hug. "Why don't we cook together? It's going to be more fun that way."

"You are in charge now." Almec took out an apron from the drawer and helped me put it on. "Unless you want to eat burned eggs."

"They don't look so bad."

"Who are you trying to deceive? They are carbonized." Almec began to laugh. "Even I know when to accept my defeat."

"You will do better next time, with a little bit of practice you can even reach Demian."

"Remember me to call you when I need someone to hype me up," he said, picking up the burned egg.

"Of course, I'm always at your service." I joked. did a curtsy and winked at him. "Can I ask you something?"

Almec handed me the new eggs. "It must be something important if you're asking my permission to ask me."

"It's about the lycans," I confessed, starting to cook. I opened my mouth once more to ask but the words got caught in my throat.

"It's okay, you can ask whatever you want." The smile he gave me calmed my nerves. "It's only fair for you to know who your mate is."

"I already know who my mate is." With one hand I squeezed his arm and with the other I scrambled the eggs. "The fact that you're a lycan doesn't change who you are. I always knew about your wolf, and I agreed to stay here knowing that it's part of you."

"Most of the people leave as soon as they find out about my wolf."

"Well, they miss the opportunity to meet the best alpha in the world. I'm not afraid of your wolf, the last time I saw him he ended up sleeping on my lap while asking me to pet him."

"Please, don't remind me of that night." Almec's embarrassed expression only added to my amusement. He couldn't even look me in the eye, instead he focused on the toaster as if the bread was going to burn if he didn't pay attention to it for a second. "It wasn't the first impression I wanted to give you. Anyway, you don't know my lycan form, when I transform my wolf is extremely dangerous."

"You said that like a million times," I said, placing the plates of food on the table.

"And yet you don't seem to understand it."

"It's just that I don't understand what the true nature of the lycan is, that's why I want to learn."

Almec waited for me to finish putting the water in the thermos, when I finished he moved the chair so I could sit. Using breakfast as an excuse, he remained silent for a few minutes. The frown on his forehead told me that Almec was thinking about how to respond to me.

"There is a book that my family kept for generations that has all the information you need to know, my father gave it to me when I came of age, he asked me to write down my experience in it."

"Did you do it?"

"No. I refused to transform into a lycan since my father died, I have nothing to write." He took a bite of his food. "I think it is better if you read the book than to ask me questions."

"Why?"

"Because my vision is only negative, for me it is a curse that I will never be able to escape, but for my ancestors it used to be a blessing. Maybe you can learn more from them than from me."

I stretched my arm across the table and held Almec's hand, that's when I realized he was shaking.

"Perhaps we can learn together," I said, caressing his knuckles with my thumb.

Almec hummed in response, it was his way of burying the conversation. I had already crossed his boundaries by insisting on talking about it and I didn't want to dismiss his wishes once again. He was willing to take the first step, it was more than enough for me for the moment.

The rest of breakfast I focused on following his guidance. The conversation moved on to more banal topics, from Faustina's new obsession with spiders to the flowers Khalia had planted in the garden.

It was nice to forget the misfortune that followed us for a moment and replace it with the pleasure of daily life. Enjoying Almec's company in small everyday situations had become my new favorite activity.

"The Red Moon Festival is this weekend," Almec commented, washing the dishes.

"I thought that with the appearance of the hunters maybe you would call it off." I put the cup that I dried in its place.

"For a moment I thought about that possibility but I don't want to ruin the mood any more than it already is. The pack members always look forward to the festival and I don't want to break their hopes."

"Faustina is going to love it, I don't think she remembers the festivals of our old pack."

"I won't be able to help in the organization, I still have to close the deal with Blue Moon Pack and I have to reinforce the protection because of the hunters." He dried his hands before holding mine. "I want you to take my place in organizing the festival, Geldra is going to need help."

"Me?" I asked, dumbfounded. "No, no. I can't take care of something so important, I don't know all the traditions of the pack, what happens if I do something wrong? Besides, not all the pack members want to see me right now."

My fears flew out of my mouth one after another. I was not able to stop, every time I said a word a new doubt appeared.

Almec held my face, caressing both of my cheekbones with his thumbs. For a second he didn't say anything, allowing me to focus on his soothing touch and calm down.

"You're going to do a fantastic job, not only with the festival but as the luna of the pack in the future. I couldn't have asked for a better mate, and I'm convinced that the pack members just need to know you to accept you. It's impossible not to fall for your charms."

"I think you're exaggerating, I'm not that special."

"Yes, you are." He rested his forehead against mine. "You fought against the hunters who were chasing you and managed to protect Faustina, a group of distrustful inhabitants is no match for you. Plus Geldra will be there to help you."

"Do you really think I can do it?"

"I have no doubts."

"Okay, I'll do it, just for you."

Almec placed a kiss between my eyebrows and stood up, moving away from me. "Great. I can't wait to see you at the festival, I bet you'll be as beautiful as the moon."