14

"Actually, you should take it easy, but the doctor also said that you need fresh air and that I should distract you a little." Cyrian explained while he held open the door of a dark red convertible for me

"Now will you tell me exactly where it's going?" I replied curiously. Ever since the meal, I've been trying to figure out exactly what Cyrian was up to. I hoped it wasn't romantic because I still felt more like hitting a punching bag.

Grinning, he shook his head as he jogged around the car to get in the driver's seat.

"What kind of music do you hear?" Cyrian just ignored my question.

"I haven't heard music in years." I admitted. I used to love music as a child, but after the war I didn't have the chance to get hold of CDs or even an Ipod.

"Sorry, I'm an idiot." Cyrian looked at me guiltily as he realized again that he was to blame for my situation after the war.

"All right."

After a moment of silence, in which only the quiet purr of the engine could be heard, Cyrian simply pressed one of the buttons.

Lively music blared out of the loudspeakers and powerful female voices rounded off the songs.

Cyrian looked at me questioningly. I shook my head.

Cyrian pressed another button and the next song began. This time there was no singing, just electronically stringed tones.

I quickly shook my head.

That's how it went for the whole drive. Cyrian played a variety of songs and laughed at my facial expressions.

It was pleasant.

I didn't have to focus on where we were going, just the music and Cyrian. Although I hardly knew anything about him, we didn't speak much, but that wasn't necessary either.

I just enjoyed the moment. The warmth of the sun on my pale skin, the faint breeze in my hair, and the presence of Cyrian. The first moment I could really imagine being happy with Cyrian.

We reached our destination far too quickly. A tall building with a modern concrete facade loomed in front of us. Large window fronts interrupted the concrete walls and made the building appear open and friendly.

The strange thing was that it seemed to be in the middle of downtown, yet not a soul was there. It was almost spooky.

Cyrian just parked in the middle of the big door. Before I even had a chance to open the car door, he rushed around and held the door open for me, gentlemanly.

I smiled at him gratefully.

"What is this? and why is everything so quiet here?" I asked Cyrian.

"A mall, you need new clothes of your own and other stuff to make you feel comfortable with me." He seemed to ignore my second question.

"You drag me to the shops?" I looked at Cyrian confused. I didn't know what I was expecting, but somehow not that we went shopping. Maybe something weirder or more lupine. But although I couldn't remember ever going shopping, it still seemed relatively normal to me.

"Yes"

I stopped in place and eyed Cyrian critically. Something about his yes had sounded odd.

"But?" I asked then, because it sounded like there was still a problem.

"No buts." Cyrian grumbled, not meeting my eyes.

"Cyriaaaaan?" I scolded him.

Suddenly he seemed like a little boy to me. His mouth tightened in a pout and he looked me in the eye like a beaten dog.

"I thought you might want to pick some new clothes to make you feel good and look good...when you meet the pack," he then admitted.

" That what?"

"My pack? So rather my closest confidants of the inner circle of the pack. It is actually usual that the Luna gets to know the pack as soon as possible."

Uncertainty reflected in Cyrian's eyes.

"Okay" I replied. Actually, I didn't know if I was okay with it, but what choice did I have?

"Really? If not, we'll reschedule the meeting."

"I'll be fine...I think." I don't know if I was lying to Cyrian or myself.

"Well, I promise I won't leave your side, and if any of them even think about giving you a weird look, I'll throw them out of the pack."

While Cyrian was talking he started walking and I follow him. Inside was the same ghostly emptiness as outside.

I strolled past the shops alongside Cyrian. "Just go in somewhere and pick whatever you want." explained Cyrian.

I slowly followed his instructions and entered one of the clothing stores. I looked critically at the individual items, not knowing what suited me at all. In the past there had always been three sets of clothes at the beginning of the month, these had always roughly matched the season, but none of them had been particularly fashionable.

Cyrian handed me a large plastic bag. "Just pack what you need, I have to make a quick call."

Before he could leave, I held him back by grabbing his upper arm. Warmth pervaded my whole body.

"Where are all the people? And what about the cashiers? I should actually have to pay for it."

Cyrian's deep laugh rang out. "You are the Luna, you never have to pay for anything again. I sent the other wolves away. It will be hard enough for me to accept later on that the wolves who belong to the elite of my pack see you. But mass white lesser wolves looking at you Or smile at you? What if someone touches you? Or someone wants to hurt you?"

Cyrian shook his head in horror. "You're safer here with me," he kissed my forehead before pulling out his phone and walking a few feet away. But even during the phone call, he never took his eyes off me.

I was sure that his jealousy would cause quite a bit of trouble. But a small part of me was somehow happy that I was so important to him.

I turned back to my clothes with a slight smile on my face.

I nervously tugged at my new dark blue sweater while at the same time getting upset about my nervousness. I shouldn't be nervous. I really shouldn't care what Cyrian's pack thought of me. They were wolves. Even though I now understood how terrible it was for them among humans, I didn't see them repeating the same mistakes. It wasn't fair to enslave and wipe out the younger generation of humans just because the older generation had made serious mistakes. So the wolf was still the enemy. So I should be afraid of them and not of how they would find me.

Unfortunately, the second was the case. Ever since Cyrian told me that we would go to his pack after shopping, I've been wondering what she would think of me. I was a simple person, just a few days ago they wouldn't even have noticed me lying dying in an alley and now I should be their queen? I didn't think they would accept that so easily.

Surprisingly, Cyrian seemed to see it very differently. Ever since I agreed to meet the pack, he's been in an almost euphoric mood. In one store he even started whistling happily to himself. I didn't know Cyrian for very long, but I was pretty sure he wasn't the type of man or wolf to stroll the streets in a friendly manner.

" We're almost there." Cyrian told me at that moment, catapulting me back to reality.

I just nodded and started tugging at my sweater again. After a few seconds a warm hand stopped me by clasping my hand.

"Hey, you don't have to be nervous." Cyrian smiled at me encouragingly. "They won't dare to be rude to you."

I looked at Cyrian doubtfully.

Since I no longer had the opportunity to tug at my clothes, I began to bite my lip unnoticed.

" Leave it." Cyrian almost growled. I love that he growled damn often.

I looked at him questioningly. " What?"

His eyes had become a few nuances darker and the shimmering silver now resembled a dark gray storm that almost fascinated me even more.

He let go of my hand to gently brush my lips with his thumb. A pleasant tingling went through my whole body.

Almost hypnotized, Cyrian was now staring at my lips. He tilted his head slightly and had a dreamy look on his face.

I was surprised how multifaceted Cyrian's character was.

Sometimes he seemed like a little boy, innocent and lovable.

Sometimes like the alpha he was, menacing and dominating.

And sometimes like a normal man, friendly and open.

There were so many sides to him and I wanted to get to know them all in great detail.

"What are you thinking about now, beauty?" even as he spoke, he didn't tear his eyes away from my lips.

" What are you thinking?" I asked the counter question.

Now it was me who had torn him out of his dream world.

He fixed his eyes on the road again and there was silence for a moment.

"To you. Always to you." he answered my question.

I didn't say anything more because my flushed cheeks were probably answer enough and I could make out a building on the horizon.

The pack house.

We passed through a large iron gate and parked right in front of the large brick building. Cyrian got out first and, as always, opened the car door for me.

I gaped at the building. Large ivy tendrils grew on the bricks and all kinds of plants proliferated around the house.

I had imagined it somehow differently. Either dark and gloomy or a large, modern office building. The house here seemed friendly, warm and somehow romantic.

"Not what you expected." Cyrian stated with a look at my face.

"Not what I expected." I echoed. " It's incredible."

"Come on, they're all behind the door waiting." Cyrian placed his hand on my back and pushed me forward.

But he stopped just before the door.

"Oh yes, one more thing." he explained. Before I could ask him what he meant, I was being hugged to his chest.

"Way too many wolves in there, then you have to at least smell like me so they know who you are right away." he murmured in my ear.

Then he released me from his protective arms, but still kept one around my waist and held me tight.

With his other arm he opened the door and together we entered the house. Cyrian was right, there were actually around 50 people in the entrance hall staring at me.

Most faces showed curiosity, friendliness and even enthusiasm.

"May I introduce your queen and Luna Alexandra." Cyrian decided to just remove the word from his sentence going forward, because I wasn't really a queen yet.

It was the first time Cyrian said my full name. I didn't know how he did it, but somehow he managed to pronounce a normal name in a special and noble way.

There was cheering. I never thought that so few people could trigger such an incredible volume. But the wolves managed to roar so loudly that I felt like the ceiling was about to collapse on me.

But I liked it. I liked the atmosphere in the room. It showed me that they were genuinely and honestly happy that I was there. But suddenly the noise level dropped.

A man stepped through one of the back doors and was apparently the cause of the change in mood.

"You're not serious, Alpha, are you?" his voice was dark and smoky. "She's not even tagged yet. Aren't you worried that the next time she takes off you'll lose her entirely?!" a mocking laugh escaped his throat and now I didn't like the mood in the room at all.

It was dead quiet.