Luna On The Run!

Beta Eric’s POV still

“Alexis”

With a jerk, she looks up from the book she is reading. A smile spreads across her face as she stands up. I walk towards her, my eyes fixed on her. God, she is so beautiful, how come I only noticed this now?

“Alexis,” I say again as I stop in front of her. ” That is who you are. And not Ariel, Zane’s mate.” Her face falls in shock and her eyes go wide. A few times she tries to say something but fails. If necessary, I will not hesitate to be tough with her to get the truth. It is not just Zane’s mating that is at stake here, my life is intertwined with this as well. I don’t know how this will end, but I must separate the identities of Ariel and Alexis so Zane and I have a chance to claim our mate.

Moon Goddess, please, I want this woman. She is underage now, I will have to wait to claim her. But I must let Zane know that she is not his mate before I can move on with her.

“You know that!” she sighs and takes a step closer to me.

She looks at me pleadingly. “It had to be different. But I couldn’t have known that I would meet my mate now, even before I turned eighteen. And then also here in Midnight Moon”.

“Let’s start at the beginning. Why are you here? And why are you pretending to be Ariel?”

She pulls me to the floor and we sit with our backs to the railing. “First, I want you to promise me that you won’t go straight to Zane and pass on everything I tell you. My mission here is not yet complete.” I take a deep breath, this is the hardest thing of all. Zane is my Alpha, my first loyalty is to him. But how can I betray my mate and turn my own life upside down?

“You know I can’t make that promise. I am the Beta here, Zane’s welfare is my first concern because it is in direct line with that of my pack,” I sigh. “Let’s start with you. How old are you and when is your birthday?”

“I’m seventeen, as you must have guessed. In two weeks I will be eighteen. But I hope to be back in my father’s pack by then. Midnight Moon is not really safe for me,” she replied. “And before you ask, my father knows nothing of my presence here. As far as he is concerned, I am on a yacht, enjoying myself”.

“And will you still tell me why you are here? What is the plan? And how long do you think you will go through with it?” I insist. But she shakes her head. “Not until I have guarantees that you will go straight to Zane. I’m your mate, Eric, I’m entitled to your loyalty too.”

God, she’s playing the emo card and I don’t know if I can take it. She is so close to me and although I do not yet feel the sparks and the bond in all its intensity, the pull is there.

“No Alexis. I have to tell him”.

“Okay, will you tell him about us? Eric, I am your mate and if you go to your Alpha now and tell him that I am not the person he thinks I am, what will happen? Do you think he will accept me as the Beta female after this confession?” she holds out to me. “Eric, think carefully.”

I run a hand through my hair, fed up with the whole situation.

Yes, I have to tell Zane, but I also want to keep my mate and stay here in Midnight Moon. This is my pack. I’m standing on quicksand here.

“Just tell me what’s going on. I’ll tell Zane what you need,” I compromise. And then I hear about her plan to get Zane off Ariel’s trail so that Alpha Gorgio would have enough time to find his mate and bring her home. Once they were back together, they could look for a way to solve this problem.

So when the plan was complete, she would tell Zane that she was going to visit her father and not come back. She knew that neither Alpha Gorgio nor Ariel wanted to participate in the sharing mating. “I don’t know what Selene was trying to achieve with this stunt. Gorgio and Ariel are a match made in heaven. My sister will never give herself to another man and Gorgio will never allow it,” Alexis emphasized.

“Hmmm, and do you know where Ariel is and if Gorgio or your father have already found her?” I ask. “Gosh, I wonder how I fit into all this. Why did Selene choose me to be your mate?”

“Well, it could be that we had to meet in this way. But what does she have in store for Zane? He is the main victim in all this. It hurts me to see him suffer like this. The man longs for a mate. But Ariel isn’t one,” she hints pitifully.

“Listen, I’ll go to Zane and tell him to send you back home. And when he’s over you, I’ll pick you up after you turn eighteen and we’ll announce that we’re fated. That seems like the best solution in this case”.

“Yes, although his rejection of Ariel will have no effect if she is not in front of him. I’ll ask Gorgio if he’s managed to track down Ariel yet”.

Alexis has moved closer to me, practically under my arm.

Her warm breath hits my neck and again I feel lust coursing through me.

Lots of she-wolves have sex at seventeen, even before they have found their mate. But I don’t intend to do that with Alexis. Before I can even think more about it, I feel her lips on my cheek, moving towards my mouth. Unable to resist, the slight pull forces me to turn my face for her to kiss me fully. Her tongue licks against my closed lips, a moan escaping me as I grab her head and dominate the kiss.

My hands go around her naturally, now holding her firmly against me as she straddles me.

God, having a mate in your arms is like entering the sweet heavens. She is not quite as feminine as my previous bed partners, probably due to a lack of sexual experience. But I’ll take care of that when she comes of age.

Out of necessity, I have to part our lips to allow us to breathe.

“Eric. Do as you say. Tell Zane to send me back. And come back for me in two weeks. I’ll make sure everyone knows that Ariel and I are sisters, so people don’t think you stole your Alphas mate,” she insists.

“I will, babe. I will. Just kiss me again.”

I am so taken with this girl…