29 - Goddess of the Moon

Egbert walked up to Damian with a big grin on his face, who had just come back and was now sending all his people to their home with a smile. However, when he saw the Alpha coming his way, it turned into a skeptical expression as he slapped Connor on the shoulder before I figured he made his way back to Celine.

"There's my dearest friend. How was it? Did everyone survive it? Is there anything I can do to help?" I just rolled my eyes at his exaggerated concern for the situation. Drokor came to my side and asked with a confused look, "What has he done?" Well, that was an interesting story. During Damian's absence, Egbert had been a little too specific about the safety of the werewolves living here.

Or rather, he had taken a little too much decision-making power. Jack had watched him gather all the villagers in front of the pack house and make big speeches. Of course, that wouldn't be a problem in itself if he hadn't started bossing people around at some point. This even went so far that he changed the training of the young animals at his discretion so that they would have been trained according to his ideas.

Jack figured Egbert was probably hoping Damian wouldn't notice. I had already assumed that things would not go quite smoothly with the two Alphas. But that Egbert had tried to appropriate Damian's pack, well, I hadn't counted on that. But it suited the nature of werewolves. They wanted to expand their pack and provide greater protection for their own people. I don't think he could do that, but not with werewolves who were already part of a pack. I also thought it would not have worked.

Damian's pack members respected him and had never indicated that they weren't happy anymore. Zabrina had also been present the entire time, watching the Alpha's attempts with a wide grin. Eventually Jack got tired of seeing this fuss and pulled me in. He told me what had happened. I was confused by what he said.

I didn't understand why Egbert would do such a thing. So I decided to ask him about his motives. His answer was quite surprising, although I had to urge him several times but in the end I got it. So we sat in Damian's office. Me on the office chair, Egbert across from me and Niklas at the door. I had noticed time and again that since our little adventure together he sometimes happened to be near me. No idea what that had to do with.

Maybe Amelia, but I wouldn't see why. So far I hadn't found the time to ask Niklas about it. So while Jack was talking to our people downstairs, Egbert started talking. I felt like the Alpha was opening up properly for the first time. He said he was worried that Damian, now that he was so strong, with me at his side and his warriors treated with respect, wouldn't need him anymore. If most of the Krecanos annex was destroyed as well, he wouldn't see any reason why Damian should work with him at all.

He wanted to prevent that, because Egbert needed the Shadow Pack, he wouldn't be able to do it without them. So he'd tried to stir up trouble, maybe even win over wolves. He ended with: "In my position you have to do everything to remain an important figure in the game. If you no longer have any value for the player, you will be eliminated."

This sentence shocked me so much that I first had to think about what was said in peace. Somehow I missed something in his explanations. It made no sense that he should suddenly start this action, and then so violently that it was clearly transparent.

In addition, although I understood his reasoning, however, Damian had trusted Egbert enough to let him protect his pack. That meant to me that both of them needed each other. So I asked, "What did Karl tell you when he came back from visiting your pack?"

The Alpha had looked at me in surprise, narrowing his eyes and the funny pathetic expression he had been wearing the whole time thankfully disappeared. His people seem to be planning an uprising, he told me with a sour gleam in his eyes.

They were dissatisfied with the current situation, which their alpha had never explained to them. He'd left her behind, merely sending his beta forward to calm the crowd. They demanded answers from the man who led them.

But Egbert saw a return to his village as a retreat and didn't want to appear weak. And there we had them again, the people who had stuck in the last few centuries. This conclusion struck me as utter nonsense. So I had a factual conversation with Egbert and told him what I thought of the matter. That he should just agree with Damian and Zabrina that he would leave for a short time. Even if there was a chance he wouldn't return in time.

He should take the risk, because it would do him no good to later return to a people who no longer respected him. It was sort of like explaining to a little kid what they had done wrong. I saw out of the corner of my eye that Niklas repeatedly had to suppress a mocking grin. Finally, we ended our conversation with an agreement.

Egbert would have an honest talk with Zabrina and Damian and not carry out any more experiments on the wolves here, and in return Niklas and I would not tell anyone what he had revealed to us. We ended our conversation by both of us getting up and shaking hands. Egbert wrinkled his nose briefly before shaking my hand and saying, "You make a pretty good Luna." Then he turned to go, but still briefly examined the impressionistic picture that had to be hung over the bullet hole from Damian's outburst.

"Pretty," he said. However, that didn't interest me. Instead, my thoughts went completely to his first comment. I only noticed incidentally how Niklas stepped next to me and looked out of the window. "I have to admit," he said, "that the guy is right."

After that he left me alone with my thoughts. Thoughts of all the changes I had gone through lately and all that were yet to come. Later, I was there when Egbert spoke to Zabrina, who - as he surprisingly found - fully understood his situation.

I was expecting that though, because Zabrina and I got along pretty well in some ways. We had to overcome our initial difficulties to realize that we were quite alike. That's how I found out from her that her pack was one of her top priorities and that she had a fairly close relationship with Sophie, who had accompanied Damian and Lerhome. I knew she would understand Egbert. So I looked at Drokor now and said: "I'm sure he's just happy to see Damian again."

In fact, Egbert seemed to either feel guilty about his past behavior or wanted to establish a good connection with him before speaking honestly with him. Damian still looked at the Alpha skeptically. "We did everything well. No losses and no problems either." Egbert wanted to say something else, but Damian stopped him by coming towards me and kissing me briefly but lustfully. He wrapped an arm around my waist and rested his forehead on mine. "Today is full moon" was the only what he whispered softly. My body instinctively responded to the hidden message. I got hot and took in all the attractive traits I found so appealing in Damian.

Damian registered that with a smirk and snapped my lips again, this time completely forgetting about our surroundings and giving each other more than was usual. We were interrupted by Jack clearing his throat, alerting us to all the spectators we had. He pulled Damian from me and put his arm around his shoulders.

"Nice to see you too, brother." Damian registered that with a smirk and snapped my lips again, this time completely forgetting about our surroundings and giving each other more than was usual. We were interrupted by Jack clearing his throat, alerting us to all the spectators we had. He pulled Damian from me and put his arm around his shoulders.

ALINA’;S VIEW

Damian teased me all evening. It started with his remark when he came back and just kept going. Although Damian was visibly exhausted, he spoke to Egbert, who - as we had agreed - explained his current situation to him.

Damian expressed more doubts than Zabrina because, unlike her, he immediately considered the possibility that the Alpha might not return to the fight in time. In the course of this, he also reported on what happened during their mission and he explained our next steps, which nobody had anything to complain about.

But I noticed that Damian didn't agree with his plan himself. I decided to ask him about it later. Egbert felt that his warriors could also fight and act under Damian's command in an emergency, which was quite possible, however, they would by no means perform as well as when their alpha and leader was present.

Nevertheless, Damian agreed to Egbert's plan. He, too, knew how dangerous it was to have discord in his own ranks. I didn't interfere in this conversation. It was Damian's job as an alpha to deal with a situation like this in the best possible way, and besides, Egbert already knew my opinion. After the conversation between the two, which was also attended by Karl, who would now represent Egbert in future decisions, Egbert disappeared for a short time.

In his own words, he would talk to his people and enlighten them on the situation in their pack, something he probably should have started sooner. He returned and announced that he would leave early tomorrow morning, taking only a few of his warriors with him.

With the words "I will do everything to be back in time" he left the room. After that, peace returned to the village. Zabrina withdrew completely and the wolves here, too, all spent time with their families, so that in the end nobody was out anymore. Damian and the boys - I knew that term was probably very insulting to them, but I thought it was too good to think of a new one - gathered in the living room of his house.

At first I wanted to give them their privacy and quiet, but when everyone assured me that they had no problem with my presence, I stayed. Sitting on the sofa next to Damian, I still held back very much. I listened as Connor talked about himself and Celine, leaving out the juicy details. I didn't want to know if he would have told his friends if I hadn't been here. I especially enjoyed listening to Ethan.

I was fascinated by how lovingly and reverently he spoke about Lisa. The two were apparently the prime example that friendships (or even more) were possible between humans and werewolves. Drokor and Jack provided alcohol and fed the conversations with complaints about their boring single lives. I had to giggle every now and then because their faces would just pull too funny grimaces when they complained about having to defend the honor of the male werewolves.

Otherwise I behaved like Lerhome. He sat quietly and withdrawn in a chair and listened to the others with a smile on his face. I had the feeling, that this get-together with his friends was exactly what he needed right now. Well, and Damian made fun of touching me over and over again. He did this in such a way that no one noticed, but I perceived it more than clearly. I suspected that this reaction to him was in turn my body's reaction to what was about to happen. Because I could say one thing with certainty: Ever since I realized that there was a full moon tonight, I thought of nothing else.

My mind kept wandering about how it was with Damian and if it would feel different because we were soul mates. I could actually say yes to the last question myself. Everything was more intense with Damian. Even the touch he was doing right now was more arousing to me than anything before. He gently stroked my back with his fingertips. If I wasn't so sensitive right now, I probably wouldn't feel the touch at all.

But I did. And Damian knew that. To know that, I didn't have to see the little grin that always tucked into the corners of his mouth when a shiver ran down my spine again. I really tried to focus on something else. Like the joke Jack just told that even made Damian laugh. That bothered me. Why was Damian able to concentrate on other things? Why did he have to torment me like this? Of course I could get back at him now, but I had a better idea. I could definitely use this teasing and delaying later on.

So I renounced revenge at that moment. This thought pushed into the background anyway, when Damian actually dared to breathe a kiss on the bite on my neck. For the others that might seem sweet and loving, but Damian knew exactly what this touch would trigger in me. Which parts of my body would then make themselves felt immediately. But I wasn't able to give them what they wanted right now.

So I had to hide it. It's best to hide Damian completely and not pay attention to him anymore. Not even on his fingers, which now slowly stroked the edge of my mark and carefully applied pressure... Damn it! I never made it. I was all the happier when Niklas suddenly stood in the room and said he wanted to talk to me.

Faster than I could think I stood next to him and suggested that he go into the kitchen to at least have some privacy. I felt Damian's eyes on me the whole time. I sat down on a chair in the kitchen while Niklas started pacing back and forth. Since he didn't open his mouth by himself, I asked: "What's up?" He stopped abruptly and took a deep breath and let it out slowly before settling down across from me.

Then he looked at me expectantly with his blue eyes and said: "I would like to talk to you about a topic that is on my mind at the moment." A grin crept onto my face. "It's perfectly normal for hair to start growing down there." Niklas was only visibly confused. Eventually he just rolled his eyes and said, "I need some advice. And by the way, someone should have told me earlier about the hair thing.

Then I thought something was wrong with me." I giggled and was happy that Niklas and I got along pretty well with each other. "I'm happy to help you, but why don't you ask your friends, for example Chris." He saw at me in disbelief." Really? Chris? No rather not. Also, I haven't had much to do with them lately. We have different interests.

But now to my question. Let's say I did something that would have positively impacted my impression on a certain person. Then what should I do next?" I smiled slightly. It was no problem for me to pretend I didn't know who this was about. "Well, I guess if you have made several attempts to get close to that certain person and they have rejected you, let them come to you. You should give her time to sort out her own thoughts and feelings. And I think that if you mean something to her, the person will take a step." Niklas nodded slightly.

"So wait?" "That may sound stupid, but yes. give yourself time It doesn't all have to happen quickly."

"That sounds reasonable," said Niklas and shrugged his shoulders as if the matter hadn't really been important to him. "Thank you for your help." The next moment a voice twitched through my head . “The others have left. And I don't know if you want to return the favor for my little favors earlier, but if so, I have time now.”

“That's really stupid. You know, I've got things to do here right now. A few tips on how to take things easy. You might want to use some of these too.

I've gotten along just fine without them all my life. Also, I kind of get the feeling you're about to hit the road.” “Careful. I may seem endearing at times, but I definitely have the clout to let you sleep on the couch tonight.” “You're still threatening me with that?” “You really still think I'm not serious? I'm sure I can make it another month without you. You know, next full moon and all.

It was an unnervingly quiet time in my head as I waited spellbound for his reply. You don't really mean that seriously, right?

“I can still wear sweatpants, yes, I do.” In the next moment there was a rumble and then a reply: Okay, I might be making a fool of myself, but there's a risk you'll end up being deadly serious too high for me. I'll be upstairs and I'll beg you on my knees if I have to. If you then stay on your knees too, I'll be fine with that.

If you don't ask Niklas nicely to leave, I'll kick him out. I laughed and only now noticed the look that Niklas gave me. So I cleared my throat briefly. "Please excuse me." Surprisingly, Niklas smiled. "It's fine. I understand that. I'll go now then." He got up and was getting ready to leave when I remembered as Niklas had looked at Damian and me not too long ago.

Then I thought back to what he had just said and added, "You're going to make it. I know that. You deserve it." Although Niklas didn't turn around anymore, I knew that he had heard me.