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“Three,” she countered.
“Two? Please? You’re going to be so busy when you start the tutoring and learning your luna duties, and we feed a lot of warriors throughout the day.”
She thought about it, then smiled and stuck her hand out to shake on it. I took her hand, but pulled her forward, slamming her against my chest with a squeak. I gave her another kiss, and she giggled.
“Let’s go home, my little Tuli,” I said, getting up. She scrunched her nose adorably but allowed me to pull her up. I wrapped my arm around her waist and left the mall after discarding our plates.
“What does Tuli mean?” she asked. I smirked and looked down at her.
“It’s the Finnish word for fire.”
Two days later, Maya and Celeste were starting private tutoring lessons after we found a teacher from the pack’s school who was willing to do some accelerated teaching so both girls could get their GED. I was so proud of Celeste for wanting to get an education. We were still waiting for Dad’s witch friend to be fully vetted. I wasn’t comfortable with an outside witch knowing about her abilities, but there was no avoiding it. Celeste needed help only she could provide.
Danny arrived last night, but I let him take a hot shower and good night’s rest before I hounded him for any information he found. Unfortunately, that wasn’t much. These traffickers were good. They dealt with the transactions digitally with encryption and made things hard to track. I was surprised they had such a sophisticated setup, considering Alpha Geoff was an oaf. It was hard to reconcile this level of intelligence with the man.
“So... when do I get to meet my luna? Or are you ashamed of me?” Danny asked.
“I have always been ashamed of you, my friend,” I said, making him laugh. “She’s busy at the moment. She will be done around four, and then she’s decided to cook you dinner.” I smiled, thinking about my little ball of fire. She was slowly opening up a little more. I knew it was hard for her after living with a lie and being discarded for eleven years. It was hard for her to realize that someone could care for her, but Atlas and I were determined to show her she would never be alone as long as we had breath in our body. We saw the interest in her eyes. We just needed to nurture that interest and turn it into a raging fire that rivaled ours.
We were spending hours on my bed each night, playing twenty questions. I wanted to get to know her, and I wanted her to know me. I knew I already loved her with every fiber of my being, but I needed to wait for her to catch up. Atlas was having difficulty reigning himself in when we made out in bed. Sometimes, he tried pushing forward to claim her, but I reminded him of what she’d been through, and he would settle down somewhat. It didn’t stop either of us from occasionally squeezing her fantastic ass closer to our body, though, and reveled when she didn’t pull back.
“A luna cooking? Should I prepare my anti-acids?” Danny teased.
“Ask Gillian about her cooking,” I smirked. I was looking forward to eating her food again, though I still thought it would eventually become too much for her. Gillian’s mother was also spending a few days a week in the mornings helping her learn what the responsibilities of a luna entailed. I was afraid it would be information overload soon, and I wanted to protect her from getting burned out.
“Hmm, he’s saying he’s pre-requested seconds and is wearing his stretchy pants to dinner today. Is it that good?” he asked, and I nodded, unable to stop the smug smile on my face.
Danny sat back with a curious look on his face before changing the subject.
“Okay, what else do we need to talk about that you couldn’t tell me over the phone?” he asked. I leaned back in my chair, mimicking his posture.
“It’s about Celeste and who she is.”
“She’s the daughter of those people from the Sky Moon that got killed, right? You already told me that.”
“Did I mention her bloodline?” I prodded. He stared at me, contemplating my words. .
“No, what about it?”
I gave him all the information my father gave us, and at the end of the explanation, he whistled.
“Damn, you got one interesting, mate.” He looked impressed.
“Tell me about it. She’s fucking perfect,” I said, grinning like an idiot.
“It sounds like the mighty I-don’t-need-a-mate has been turned into man putty.” He raised a mocking eyebrow, but I could see the smile on his face.
“When you meet her, it will make sense,” I assured him. “When you hear what she’s been through, you will admire her, and when you see what kind of person she is, you will vow to protect your Luna just like I have,” I said seriously.
“Forget the man putty. You’ve fallen hard, brother,” he said, making me smile.
“Just waiting for her to catch up in that department. She’s like this little ball of fire that isn’t used to someone caring for her.” I sighed, thinking back to how fiercely she protected everyone around her. I wanted to do that for her.
“Well, we both know I don’t know shit about women, but whatever you need, I'm there. I will tell her you’re a great alpha and a romantic and shit. You know, lie.” He winked, making me snort and throw my pen at him, which he dodged easily.
“So what’s the plan?” he said, getting back to business. That’s what made him such a good gamma. He could always be counted on to stay on target despite his carefree personality.
“I really don’t know yet. We have a couple of weeks before we have to decide. Rhett is coming by later on.” I smirked. “He decided to change his meeting to tonight when he heard Celeste was cooking.”
