บท 26: A day with mate - Part 2

"We are here," Luke said as he pulled the reins to stop. He jumped off Nox and landed easily on the ground. Right after, he opened his arms to me. "Come," he smiled.

I hastily accepted his help because I was just wondering about how I would be able to get down the horse. He lifted my body the same way as he did when he helped me climb up Nox. Both of his hands were placed on my waist, swiftly lifting my weight as if I weight feathers.

"Thank you," my feet were now standing on the ground, but Luke didn't move his hands away and instead pulled me closer to him until both the fronts of our chests touched each other. "W-what are you doing?" I put my hands on his shoulders, a futile attempt to distance ourselves from each other.

"Nothing," he smiled giddily. "I just love the sparks I feel whenever I touch you."

"What sparks?"

"Something that I wish you would feel too sometime later," he pinched my cheeks lightly, "Let's go."

In a matter of time, our hands had become intertwined with each other. The warmth his hand gave me was pleasant in the midst of this chilly weather, so I cordially welcomed his eager hand. The scenery surrounding us that was just filled with trees on our way here was now starting to change into that of houses made of wood.

There were dozens of houses in this area, which looked much simpler compared to the exquisite house of Luke that I was used to seeing now. They are made of sturdy wood but are also built in a way that is aesthetically pleasing to the eyes. Some were big, and some were small. I think these are the kinds of houses that people would expect when someone says something about houses in the woods.

We walked hand in hand into the housing area of the people. Some people were roaming around the house, children playing tags here and there, and some were busy doing their daily routines. I hovered around the area just to look around without any intention of disturbing their activities, but their keen sense of smell caught the new scent floating in the air. They turned their attention to our presence and looked surprised to see our sudden appearance here.

"Alpha, Luna," a man who was the nearest to us bowed his head, "To what pleasure do we owe this visit?"

"I am only here to look around. You don't need to be so tense," Luke replied calmly, "It has been such a long time since I last came here."

"It indeed has been a long time," the man said, "Do you need any help with anything?"

"There's no need," Luke answered curtly, "You can go back to your routines."

The man nodded and headed back to continue what he was doing before. The other people also went back to doing what they were doing before, but I could feel that their attention was still on us. Why are they so nervous with us around? It was not like the day of the feast. They were not as relaxed as before.

"Why do they look so nervous? They are acting so differently from yesterday night."

"It's probably because of me," Luke answered.

"What do you mean?"

"I rarely meet the people. That's why they feel uncomfortable with me around. It's like the relationship between a boss and his employees. It's always Andrew who does everything that concerns the people. It's too troublesome for me because I have a lot of work to do.

"And the drunken night is a tradition where we are all free to do what we want. That's why they were more... loose that night."

I nodded in acknowledgment. He does seem like someone who prefers to stay in a quiet place instead of somewhere bustling with people. That makes sense. But that also sounded like he was dumping all the troubling work on Andrew.

"Do you know why I asked you to come here?"

"Because you are bored?" I answered with a little uncertainty.

"No, silly," he chuckled, "You are soon to be my Luna, so I want you to get to know all things about the pack, including my territory and the people."

"Oh."

His reasoning was actually kind of burdening me. I was still not sure whether I was capable of being his Luna. I was weak, and I didn't know a lot about the world. How could I lead so many people behind me?

Luke noticed the frown on my forehead and flicked it softly, pulling me out of my thoughts, "What are you thinking?"

"Whether or not I am fit to be your Luna."

"That's a ridiculous question, Violet," he held both of my shoulders, positioning myself to look straight at him, "Of course you are. There isn't anyone else in the world that is fit to be in that position unless it's you."

"But I'm weaker than most of you."

"You can get stronger," he stared deep into me, "Remember? Slowly but surely."

I exhaled weakly but then gave him a smile, "Right."

He was right. I could get stronger. That was what I wanted. I could be someone better than I am today because I have a thousand chances to improve, countless times to spare now. I felt that it would all be possible if I was around him. He gave me hope.

Just as we started to walk again, a drop of crystal-clear water fell upon us from the boundless sky. It started little by little, then began to come pouring down harsher by the minute.

"It's raining," he pulled me close, covering both of us under the jacket he was wearing, "Let's go there."

We ran to a nearby house to take cover, but when we arrived at the house, Luke opened the door without any consideration of the owner. The door opened, showing an old lady who was sipping her tea. Startled by the sudden appearance, the tea that was once in her mouth came out into the outside world for the second time.

"Goodness God!" she shouted, "What the hell are you two doing in my house?!"

"Emma?" I called out to the old woman who I had come to know just the night before.

"Can't you see it's raining out there?" Luke replied indifferently, "We are taking cover."

She snorted at Luke, "Who told you you could come in without my permission?"

"I can't?"

Emma walked to Luke and smacked him on the head, "This is my house, you dumbass, not yours."

I felt my mouth fall agape as this was the first time I saw someone being superior to Luke. Usually, the people around him wouldn't even dare to talk back to him, but Emma could easily retort to his remarks. Luke also didn't seem to mind her actions.

"Ouch!" Luke rubbed his head, "It's not like this is my first time here."

She sent him a glare but ignored his comments. She walked inside and came back with two teacups in her hands, "Sit here," she pointed to the big sofa in the middle of the room. Just in front of the sofa, there was a fireplace that brought warmth throughout the room.

The house she was living in was not too big, but not too small either. Just like any other house in the area, it was also made out of wood. The inside of the house was decorated with many things that described Emma's personality. There were many sewed things all over the house, varying in many colors. Upon the walls were photographs of a family, smiling from eye to eye.

"Is that your family?" I asked, trying to come up with a conversation.

"Yes, it is," she smiled as she poured tea into our teacups, but said nothing more regarding them. "Here, drink this. It will warm you up."

"Thank you," I sipped the tea, "What tea is this? It smells good."

"It's peppermint tea," she replied, "It's good for colds just in case you catch it after being in the rain."

Even after drinking the warm tea and sitting in front of a fireplace, my body was still shivering from the cold rain as my clothes were still damp. Luke noticed how I was shivering and asked Emma, "Do you have any spare clothes she could possibly wear?"

"Oh, I do. I should have given you a change of clothes. Pardon this old lady."

"No, it's okay. I'm fine," I assured her.

"What are you talking about? You are shivering," Luke said.

Emma left the room to bring me some spare clothes, so I used this chance to talk to Luke sneakily in a small voice, almost whispering so that Emma couldn't hear it. "You shouldn't have asked her to do that. I'm afraid that it will trouble her."

"How is that a trouble?" he frowned, "Stop thinking about such useless things. This kind of thing is normal around people," he ruffled my hair.

Is that really? I rarely asked someone for a favor, so I didn't know to what extent a favor was acceptable. Maybe I've spent too much time alone that I didn't know what is normal around people. Emma came back and handed me a dress, "Here, my favorite dress from when I was younger."

"Are you sure I can use this?"

"Why can't you? Besides, this old woman can't even fit into it anymore. Look at this," she pointed to her belly, "Go change."

I thanked her and went into the bathroom to change from my damp clothes to the new dress I had just received. It was a yellow dress, beautiful in every part of it. A few laces decorate the front of the chest, giving more personality to this piece of clothing. It was tight at the top but flowy at the bottom. It fitted my body as if it was tailored especially for me.

I marched back to the living room and saw Luke and Emma talking cheerfully. They noticed my footsteps and glanced at me.

"Oh my, you look wonderful," Emma clapped her hands, "I know I have a good eye for dresses."

"This is beautiful," I said to Emma, "Thank you."

Luke pulled my wrist so I sat next to him. "You look beautiful," he caressed my cheeks and sighed before asking, "Can I kiss you?

Startled by his remark, I quickly freed my hand from his grip. "Y-you are talking nonsense," I said as I stole glances at Emma, who was shaking her head.

"You both can do whatever you want," she said, "But not in this holy place of mine," shooting daggers from her eyes.

Luke laughed at my bewildered reaction. "Then we should hurry and head back to our room," he said as he gave me a peck. This man really has no shame. He knew that I easily got embarrassed by his bold words, so he purposely teased me with them. I glared at him, but he only smirked mischievously.

"Looking at you now, you really have grown up," Emma said, "I still remember how you often snacked on sand and climbed the trees to run from your mom when you were getting scolded," she laughed.

"Don't talk about that," Luke warned her.

"I even doubted that you were a monkey instead of a werewolf," she teased, "It would be better if you were still that cute little boy instead of..." she sighed.

"Instead of what? A handsome man? You know, I grew up perfectly from head to toe," he grinned. "You wouldn't find anyone as perfect as me in this world."

"Cheeky," I said in my mind, but it seems that I unconsciously voiced it out as they both glanced at me.

Emma laughed loudly after hearing what I had just said, and Luke grinned even wider, "Am I wrong, Violet?" He raised my chin to look him in the eyes.

I averted my gaze away from him, "It was a slip of the tongue," I looked away and set my attention on the window, "Oh! It stopped raining," I said to shift the topic.

"You are right," he released his hold, letting the topic shift away, "We should go now."

I stood up and thanked her, "Thank you for your help, Emma."

"You can come here again if you are bored. I will let you in on many fun stories," she flashed Luke a look which he returned with a glare.

"Let's go," he grasped my hand and led us to the door. "Thank you, Em. I will bring you some tea that you like later," he said.

"There's no need, just let your mate come to my house sometime," she winked.

"Not when I'm not around," he replied sternly, "Who knows what kind of weird things you will spout to her."

I chuckled at the exchange these two people are having. It seems that they have known each other for some time, knowing that Emma and Luke's mom was close friends. We bid our farewell and stepped out of her house.

Right after we went outside, our bodies were greeted by the cold wind and damp grounds. Luke placed his now dry jacket around my shoulder, "Use this."

"I'm fine, you can use it," I took it off me but was stopped by him.

"I'm a werewolf, Vi. I can go around naked and won't catch a cold, but it's different for you," he fixed the jacket back on, "I don't want you to catch a cold in this weather."

I laughed softly, "You are such a worry-wart sometimes."

"I am when it's about you," he pinched my cheeks, "Now, what do you want to do next? We still have some time before it darkens."

What to do next? I didn't particularly have anything that I wanted to do. I used a few minutes to think about our next activities, and recalled the beautiful place he took me to before.

"How about we go to your secret place?" I suggested merrily. That place was the most beautiful place I've ever encountered in my life. It would be such a waste to not use this free time to appreciate the astonishing scenery it provided.

"Sure," he nodded in agreement.

I looked up at the sky to see that it was now clear, with no sign of more rain coming. This would be the perfect time to go there. The sun was not too bright, but it was not too dark either. Even though the weather was still a little chilly, it was bearable.

"Here, hold this," I looked back at Luke and noticed something different. His bare skin was now open to the world, giving me access to see almost all parts of him. The only thing that still remained on his body was the cloth that was used to hide his treasure. Why is he naked?!

"W-what are you doing?!"