Dark Side of the Moon (17 page)

“No, around the forest.  I want you to be able to keep up with me on our monthly patrols, and the only way to do that is to build your endurance and stamina.”

I could only think of one reason why he’d want me to keep up with him; the two rogue wolves.  If we ran into them again while I was beside him, he’d be able to help me.  “Okay.  As long as you teach me some self-defense so you’re not always saving me.”

It was his turn to cock his eyebrow.

“There are two alphas in a pack, right?  And the alphas are supposed to be the strongest, the wisest, the ones to be looked up to.  How would it look to the others that you were always doing things for me?”

London took a deep breath.  “Okay, but it’s going to be completely unnecessary.  Everyone in the pack already accepts us as alphas.”

“Yeah, but what if a new person joins and they challenge us?  I want to be able to hold my own against someone.  I don’t want you to do everything for me and just sit on my ass twiddling my thumbs all the time.  I want to prove that I’m worthy of the position if the time ever comes.”

“Alright, even though it won’t be needed.  So, I’ll see you downstairs?”

I nodded.

Before he walked out of the room, London approached me, and gave me a gentle kiss, his hands cupping my cheeks.  After he pulled the door almost closed behind him, I took a moment to take a deep breath, and stripped out of my clothes.  It was getting easier to shift into my wolf form, even though it did still hurt some.  It was nothing compared to the aches I felt after being away from London for the night, though.

Using my nose to open the door he had left ajar, I ventured downstairs to find London in his wolf form as well.  He gave me a few licks on my nose before heading over to the doggy-door.  I followed him out of it and into the woods.

At first, we set out at a trot.  Then after a few minutes, he picked up the speed.  It was a lot of work for me, mostly because I wasn’t used to running at full speed.  London was thankfully patient with me, and would slow down a little so I could catch my breath every now and then.  I really needed to work out more.

We spent a couple hours wandering in the woods, running at full speed, half speed, or just lying together while I caught my breath.  We had come across a thawing spring, and I thought it was the best water I had ever tasted.  Drinking water was drastically different as a wolf than as a human, but I quickly got the hang of it.  I figured eating would be just as strange, too.

When we returned to London’s, I went upstairs to shift back and dress.  As soon as I was done, I went back down stairs to figure out what we were going to do for dinner.  “Well,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck, looking at the ground.

“Let me guess.  You can’t cook.”

“Are you opposed to take out?” he asked with a sheepish grin.

“Oh, come on.  It’s not that hard, London.  Let’s just take a look at what all you have and figure out what we can make from it.”

After we rummaged around in the kitchen, I decided to show him how to make spaghetti.  It was simple enough, and pretty hard to screw up.  They just had plain tomato sauce, so I looked around some more for some Italian herbs to add to it.  After I put everything on the atove, I showed him what to do, and had him stirring when it was needed.  As we were plating, his dad arrived.

Though I had met him last night, I was a little nervous.  He was my boyfriend’s dad and my dad’s boss.  And I honestly had no idea what he thought of me.

When he came into the kitchen, he looked surprised.  “London, did you make Selina cook you dinner?  What have I told you about being a proper host?” he calmly asked.

“She didn’t completely cook it all; we cooked it together with me stirring a bit,” he responded.  “Want some?”

He was about to answer when his phone rang.  He excused himself before walking back out of the kitchen.  Though London and I could hear his conversation, I tried not to so I could give him some privacy.  And while we waited for his answer, London and I made our plates, and sat at the kitchen table along with some drinks.

A moment later, Mr. Fairbanks came back in.  “That was your mother.  She wants to go out tonight, so you two enjoy your dinner.  And remember what we talked about, London.”

He just nodded before his father left the house.

Curiosity struck me, causing me to raise my eyebrow in question at London.  Without me having to ask, he said, “He was just telling me to be responsible.  He knows about us being wolves because he’s my mom’s mate and she just couldn’t hide anything from him.  He knows about my position, who you are exactly to me, and just wants us to be careful since we’re still in school.”

My face reddened slightly.  Yeah, there was no way London and I were going to further our relationship right now, so there was absolutely nothing for his dad to worry about.

After dinner, we decided to watch a movie in his room.  All he had were actions, comedies, or horror movies, which I didn’t mind all that much.  Except for the horror ones because I didn’t want to have any nightmares.  While we watched the action flick, we were cuddled up on his bed.  I enjoyed the closeness, but my thoughts drifted to what would happen after the movie, and I didn’t really see what happened on the TV.

I did notice when the credits started rolling, and slipped off the bed.  London gave me a confused look, so I told him, “I’m going to go change,” as I grabbed my bag.

I quickly took it into the bathroom, and tried to remain calm.  My heart felt like it was pounding in my ears, and I was very certain that London could hear it, too.  But considering this was the first time I was experiencing something like this, my reaction was very normal.  I did want London and I to move forward, but not too fast and not right this second.

The pajamas I had chosen to bring weren’t anything special, just a dark blue tank top and shorts.  I had no need to impress London because I didn’t doubt that he would leave me, so there was no need for anything more than what I had.  Besides, I didn’t want him to get the wrong idea, either.

Leaving my bag in the bathroom since I’d need it there in the morning, I ventured back into his bedroom.  The light was off, the TV on a random channel emitting a faint light.  London was lying on his bed underneath the covers, one arm stretched behind him like a pillow.

Making my way over to him, he moved to lift the blanket so I could join him.  His chest was bare, and I assumed that he was just in his boxers.  After I was under the covers, I cuddled up to him, wrapping an arm around him and focusing on the TV.

When London lightly traced his fingers over my shoulder, I couldn’t help gasping.  “You alright, Selina?”

Not trusting my voice, I nodded.

“You sure?”

I nodded again.

London moved around for a moment, pulling me on top of him with my hands on either side of his head.  His hands rested on my hips, and my eyes widened in shock.  Our new position had me straddling his stomach so I could look at him without hurting him. 
What was he doing?
  “You don’t have to lie to me, Selina.”

“I-I’m not.  You just startled me.  I-In a good way, I guess.”

He looked a little bewildered.  “What do you mean ‘in a good way’?”

I looked away from him, blush creeping up onto my cheeks.  “I-I liked it, London.  But….” I was at a loss for words.

He curled a finger under my chin, and urged me to look at him.  “Hey, it’s okay, there’s no rush.  You set the speed, Selina, and I’ll obey the limit.”  He leaned up to give me a gentle kiss.  “I love you.”

I tried not to blush again.  When he leaned up to kiss me, I was able to feel how...happy he was.  “I-I love you, too.”

London gave me a sly smile before flipping us over so that he was on top of me.  I gasped in surprise, especially when I felt him between my legs.  He immediately backed up to give me some space, but then pressed his lips to mine.  There wasn’t urgency to the kiss, which I was thankful for because in this position, things could escalate quickly.

Wrapping my arms around his neck, I brought him closer to me.  Though this wasn’t new to us, I did like having him over me like this.  I don’t know how long we were in that position, but there was no way I’d be able to go to sleep now.

After London rolled us one last time back onto our sides, we stayed tangled together, chatting about his artwork.  He told me about the works he’s commissioned as well as those he did for fun that ended up selling for a pretty penny.  He was very talented, and I wondered if he’d ever try to expand his work, getting a gallery and have exposés for people to attend, but I didn’t ask him if he thought about it because he seemed content with what he was currently doing with his work.

When I yawned a couple times, conversation ceased.  I didn’t think I was tired, and figured it would be hard to sleep with London in his bed, especially when he tightly spooned against me.  But the last thing I remembered before falling asleep was him pressing his lips to the back of my neck.

Chapter 19

It was strange waking up with London in his room.  I was sprawled out on my back with London on top of me, his head on my chest, legs tangled with mine.  Panic coursed through me about what would happen when he woke, but then I remembered our conversation last night.  He said that he’d go at my pace.

For a moment, I just lay there, my arms wrapped around him.  I was glad that he didn’t snore, and he looked so peaceful in his slumber.  I wanted to lay there for a little while, but my bladder had other plans.  So I tried very carefully to get out from underneath him, and slipped from the bed.  He was still asleep by the time I walked out of his room, and it made me wonder if he was a heavy sleeper.

After relieving myself in the bathroom, I went ahead and brushed my teeth and hair.  Didn’t want to find out if I had morning breath or not.  Once I was finished, I went back to London’s room to find him sitting up in the bed, running a hand through his hair as he yawned.

I gave him a smile as I sat beside him on the bed.  It was absolutely wonderful not having body aches when I woke up, and I bet he felt the same.  “Morning, London.”

“Morning, Selina,” he sleepily replied.  “Did you sleep okay?”

“No, I woke up to find a huge weight on top of me.”

“Yeah, sorry about that.  I sleep like the dead.”

“Don’t worry about it.  I honestly kind of liked it.”

He gave me a small smile before leaning in to give me a quick kiss.  Thoughts of last night drifted in my head.  Oh, yeah, I definitely liked staying the night with him.  He brought me out of my thoughts by asking, “So, what do you want to do today, Selina?”

I shrugged.  “I didn’t really have anything planned until sunset.”

“Why don’t you lay with me for a while; it’s too early for a Saturday morning.”

I gave him a look.  He always got up around the same time every day so he could pick me up and make the aches go away.  But I didn’t call him out on it, and crawled back under the covers with him.  And with London spooning up against me, I quickly fell back asleep.

After about an hour of napping, London and I woke because of his stomach grumbling.  I was a little hungry, too, but it sounded as if he had a bottomless pit for a stomach.  After he slipped some pajama pants on, we ventured downstairs to the kitchen to make some breakfast.

We opted for simple again, scrambling and frying some eggs.  As we were clearing our plates, his mother walked in, yawning.  London tensed at the sight of her, and without a word to either of us, he took my hand, and led me back upstairs.  I knew she was prejudiced against those changed into werewolves, but she was going to have to get used to me being London’s mate and her second alpha sooner or later.  I didn’t bring that up to London, though; I didn’t know how he’d react, and I didn’t want for this weekend to have any low notes.

When we arrived to his room, London collapsed onto the bed.  I sat beside him, not really knowing what to do.  London then gently traced his fingers over my back, drawing a shiver out of me.  When I looked at him, he softly asked, “Can I paint you?”

My eyes widened. 
He wanted to paint me?
 
What would I look like on canvas?
  “Uh, okay.  Should I wear something specific, or…?”

“I can use my imagination,” he said, taking my hand and getting off the bed.

After London took me to his studio, he took some time picking a canvas.  After setting it on an easel, he placed a bucket of various paintbrushes next to it, but didn’t get any paint.  Instead, he looked around at his props in the corner and closet, and pulled a cream colored chaise lounge into the center of the room.  Then, he had me sit on my side, my legs curled out to my side, my elbow resting on the arm of the chaise, bent up so my head was resting on my knuckles.  After London positioned my hair and face and other arm, he told me not to move, and went to get some charcoal.

It was very hard to remain still while he sketched me.  And of course, my nose itched almost immediately after he put his pencil to the canvas.  I wanted to scratch it so bad, but I didn’t want to have him annoyed with me for moving.

After what seemed like an eternity later, London finally completely moved out from behind the canvas instead of just looking at me to draw, and turned it around.  The charcoal lines by themselves could be their own piece of work.  He had smoothed out the hard edges to make them softer and appear to be flowing along the canvas.  I thought the position London had put me in was nothing special, and I actually couldn’t wait to see what he could do with paint.  “Alright, you can move now, Selina,” he said with a smile.

I almost moaned with delight as I scratched the itch on my nose.

Watching London paint was actually very entertaining.  His face was very serious as he painted my skin and hair.  He opted for one of his smaller brushes for my eyes, and his eyes narrowed in concentration as he leaned closer to the easel to make sure he was painting in the right spot.  Every now and then, his tongue made and appearance, licking his lips as he focused on his work.  I thought it was adorable, and could watch him paint forever.

Instead of him painting the chaise I had lain on, he picked up a new brush, and dipped it in some gray paint.  My first guess was that he was painting rocks, which after a little while, he opted for a detailing brush and a darker shade of gray to make shadows underneath me and to give bricks in the wall their shape.  Then, he painted an archway above the ledge my elbow was placed, causing me to assume that it was a window.

London painted the background before anything else.  Outside the window was a green field that he dotted with pink and red and white, I guess flowers in the distance.  He also painted a couple tree branches with some leaves so others would know I was looking at a landscape.  Once he finished with that, he continued the walls of the building, leaving a rectangle open.  After he drew the bricks of the walls, he proceeded to draw a red tapestry with the outline of a black and white wolf looking at each other.  I definitely knew what that meant.

When he finished everything in the background, London went on to paint my dress.  He pushed all of his paint cans aside, and pulled out white and light gray.  He took extra care to paint me a dress.  I was amazed that he didn’t ask me to wear anything to give him some sort of reference on how the fabric should fall around me and look on me.  Before he started on the details of the dress to give it some depth and texture, he painted a flower in my hair.

As soon as he finished with the details of the dress and signed the corner in a red
LF
, London set his paintbrush down, and took a step back to look at his creation.  I was completely in awe that he was able to do this so quickly and make it look amazing.  I wrapped my arms around him from behind, and rested my head on his shoulder.  He placed a hand on one of mine, but didn’t say anything.

“That is absolutely amazing, London.  How did you get this good?”

“Years of practice.”  He took my hand, and kissed it before turning around to face me.  “So what do you really think, Selina?”

“I love it, London, I really do.  You’re not going to sell it, are you?”

“Hell no.  There’s no way some other guy is going to get to see this on his wall every day.”

“Good, because that would have been creepy.  But what are you going to do with it?”

“I think I’m going to hang it up in here, give me some inspiration.”

I was about to respond when my stomach rumbled.  “I’ve been so engrossed with watching you paint, I have no idea what time it is.”

“There isn’t a clock in here, and I don’t have my phone.  It’s probably past noon.  Want to go out to lunch?”

“Sure, I just need to get dressed first.  Can I…use your shower?”

“Yeah.  I want you to be comfortable and feel like this is your home, Selina.  Let me show you how to use the shower.”

The shower knobs were always the hardest thing to figure out at other people’s houses, like defusing a bomb.  After London told me how to work it and retrieved a towel from the linen closet for me, he left me so I could have my privacy.  Making sure the door was locked to keep him out—just because I stayed over last night and will again tonight doesn’t mean he can share water with me—I turned the shower on, and stripped out of my pajamas.  As the water warmed up, I pulled my shampoo and body wash out of my bag, and stepped into the spray with them.

I tried to keep my shower short because I didn’t want to keep London waiting.  After I dried off, I changed into one of the outfits I had brought, and brushed my teeth again for good measure.  I had also brought my hairdryer, and quickly took care of my wet head.  Then, I decided against wearing make-up; there was no point in it.  Cleaning up after myself, I ventured into London’s room to see if he was ready to go; he should be considering all he had to do was dress.

After I found London and put my shoes on, we went out to his car so we could head into town.  As we pulled into the parking lot of a little diner, we noticed Channing and Artemis getting out of his car.  I called over to them as we got out of London’s car, and since we were all here, we decided to eat together.

As we sat down at the table, Artemis gave me what she thought was a knowing smile, but she was going to be in for some disappointment because London and I weren’t going to have our…mating ceremony for a while.  I wasn’t ready for that kind of commitment just yet.

At first, while we ate, we talked about nothing in general.  Then, Channing asked about what the plan for tonight was.  During the last full moon, everything had been a little hectic to me.  So I paid close attention to what London was saying to us so I would be prepared for tonight.

“Selina and I will take a group of twenty to check the northern border.  Channing, you’ll take another group of twenty or so to the western border.  Artemis, another group of twenty to the east, and my mother will take a group to the south.  Just check the borders for any unusual scents, and if you happen to come across either of the rogues, try to apprehend them without killing them and call out to me.  I want to know why they’re here on my land.”

They both nodded in understanding.  There must have been a lot more wolves that I estimated.  How did he manage leading almost a hundred people so successfully?  Then, I wonder if they did that every month.  With the exception of trying to track the rogues, that is.

“Also, Selina wants to learn how to hold her own against anyone in wolf form, and I want you two to help her out with that,” London added.

“Okay, when?” Artemis asked.

“After we finish eating if that’s okay with you.”

“Alright, we’ll follow you back to your house.”

Once we paid for our lunch, we returned to our cars, and the betas followed us back to London’s.  I was a little nervous about practicing fighting with them; they’ve been wolves all their lives and have had plenty of time to perfect their skills.  Hopefully, they’ll take it easy on me.

After we got out of the car, I was a little surprised that London took his shirt off and was unbuttoning his pants.  “Alright, Artemis, you go first,” he instructed.

She nodded and looked to me.  “Just try to dodge me, then we’ll switch to me dodging you.”

“Wait, we’re going to do this here?”

“Yeah, why not?  There’s plenty of room,” London said, taking off his shoes.

“Then you two need to turn around,” I said to London and Channing.  After they complied, Artemis and I took our clothes off, and shifted.

When Artemis barked, the guys turned back around.  I was a little confused as to why London shifted into his wolf while Channing stayed human.  The only reason I could think of was that my mate was going to referee.

Artemis and I faced each other.  She said for me to dodge her attacks, so I waited for her to make the first move.  She took a step toward me, and I took a step back.  But when she charged at me, I didn’t have a lot of time to react.  Thankfully, instead of trying to bite me, she just touched me with her muzzle.  I guess this was the safest way to make sure no one got hurt.

I spent quite some time trying to dodge Artemis’ random attacks.  Then, Channing told me to try and attack Artemis, but to only touch her with my nose instead of actually attacking her.  It was strange because Artemis kept anticipating and dodging my attacks, which frustrated me.  I needed to learn how to fight, and though this was a little helpful, it wasn’t going to do much when the time actually came.

After a while, Channing said that we’d had enough.  London stepped in between Artemis and I, which I took as he agreed with his beta.  I then gave London a look; I wasn’t going to shift in front of him.  He thankfully understood, and went to stand beside Channing, their backs to us.

When we were all shifted and dressed, Channing and Artemis bid us a good-bye, saying that they’d see us later.  London and I ventured into the house, and tried to find something to do until dinner.  As soon as we were upstairs, I took London’s hand, and led him to his studio.  I wanted to do something artsy, but I wasn’t quite sure what yet.