"I think I saw...eyes." I told Liana nervously.

"Really? Whose? Mine?" She asked me with mock seriousness. I scowled at her, not finding anything funny about the situation.

I was going to go crazy. I really hoped this was some terrible nightmare and I'd wake up in the morning, human, and in my own bed.

"This is no joke, Liana!" I gave up scowling and threw my arms open in exasperation. "All of this... All this shit is seriously getting to my head now! Don't you understand how scared I'm here, completely out of my wits? I don't understand anything at all. Suddenly I'm thrown into the world of vampires, werewolves and I'm hearing things like MoonLine, mate, Luna, alpha, pure—"

In what you could call a nanosecond, Liana closed my mouth forcefully with her hand, stopping me midway through my rant. I looked at her, with wide eyes and probably with a face as white as those of the vampires.

She warned me darkly, "Don't. Don't say that word here. And don't worry; they are just the guards who keep a check on the wolves moving in and out of the territory. They know me, and are more loyal to me than to the alphas —perks of being a powerful Luna by blood— so they won't harm us. Come, " She took off her hand and smiled at me warmly, her comforting waves surrounding me once again.

"I'll take you to my place. We'll talk there and I'll explain everything to you."

****************

It was a big, isolated house, where she lived. It was beautiful, honestly, but there was no other house around, and from outside, it looked abandoned, giving it an eerie look. It was as warm inside as it was cold outside and I took my time to get familiar with her house, where I could be living for longer than I was probably thinking.

Right now, I was more uncertain about my future than ever. Since childhood, I had a path set, a future already decided in my mind about what I wanted to do and what kind of person I always wanted to be. But now, it was like I wasn't even sure if I was a human. Whizzing past miles of forests with a woman on my back without being breathless by the end wasn't something a human could do.

What surprised me most was how comfortable I was around Liana. I knew she wasn't a human, a fact that should have made me wary of her.

But I wasn't.

She's a Luna. Everyone is supposed to feel comfortable around her.

I jumped at the voice, startled. It was now I realized how creepy it was hearing someone listen to your thoughts and talk out of the blue.

"Did you hear that?" I asked Liana, who was rummaging in her refrigerator.

"What?" She stood up and frowned at me, looking around to check what I heard.

"I was just thinking about how I'm comfortable around you and someone said that you're a Luna, and everyone is supposed to be comfortable around you." I told her, while freaking out internally.

She smiled and said, "That's probably your wolf."

Wolf?

Yes, I'm your wolf

"That's. So. Fucked up, Liana. What the fuck is this? My subconscious? My soul talking to me?"

It's not just her. I'm here too, your PureBlood.

My head felt dizzy now, "I'm going to faint, Liana." I said and in the next moment she was next to me, with a glass of water in her hand. How she managed to do that without spilling water would probably remain a mystery.

It was probably inertia, or maybe things worked that way here.

"Oh, Moon, well, that's your name, right?" I nodded. "I know it's difficult for you, being suddenly thrown into all of this. Do you want to sort out with you and your wolf self first or do you want me to tell you about everything you need to know?" She asked me, softly. She was smiling so kindly at me and I suddenly missed my grandma.

Liana didn't make me feel alone. She didn't make me feel out of place in this completely unknown territory.

"I think I want to talk to someone who is right in front of me first. I would probably need a whole day to sort myself and the voices in me."

We too think it's better that you talk to her. She knows much more than us. My PureBlood murmured.

Yeah, I'd rather talk to her first.

She nodded, "Okay. What do you want to know first?"

I looked around, thinking of something that I could ask her before getting straight to the topic. I asked her the first question that came to my mind.

"Do you live here alone? Doesn't it get boring?"

She sighed, and looked a bit hesitant to answer, but smiled nevertheless, "Yes, I do live here alone, but I do not stay here for long. I have a wanderlust, and I love travelling around the world. My parents left me a lot of inheritance, so that's what I do, spend a few months in different cities and countries, and enjoy the new air."

"Liar, you are probably running away from some Alpha."

I blurted it without thinking and blushed when she gave me a weird look. But I didn't apologize. I knew I wasn't wrong.

She didn't look like she actually had a wanderlust. She was just like me, someone who would rather get bored watching chick flicks on Netflix all day long. And the way her face scrunched up when she said new air, I got it that moment that travelling to countries was her escape, only to avoid the problems that awaited her in her own wolf territory.

She sighed, but didn't answer, so I asked her another random question, "All those werewolf novels, published in the human world, are they written by werewolves?"

"Most of them are, but others are by humans who like the ideas too much." Of course, werewolves were worth fantasizing. The concept of having The One for who would love you and would be possessive for you and only you was probably every girl's dream.

I then asked the question that had been bugging me the moment I knew that she was a runaway Luna.

"As the novels keep stressing, mates, especially males, are supposed to be loving, cherishing and a hell lot of possessive. How did your mate let you run away? Isn't he going crazy searching for you?" I asked her.

She scoffed and rolled her eyes, her voice becoming mocking as she laughed to herself, "He's probably fucking someone right now." She winced as she said that. "We have them here too, Queen bees of the Were Empire. They are usually the ones whose mates have died, or who haven't found their mates yet, as ready as ever to find the hottest and most powerful fucks."

Then she continued, "I don't think he's searching for me. He wants someone more powerful to be his Luna."

I gave her an incredulous look, "What do you mean by more powerful?"

She shrugged, and stood up to get hot chocolate for us. "You know, the kind of she wolf who is a trained warrior, born with Alpha blood, has that classic beauty."

"You are a trained warrior. Well, that's what my wolf told me." I told her, following her to the kitchen and then back to the couch as she handed me my cup.

Her eyes were watering, and instead of the calmness she always radiated, I could feel the pain, betrayal and fury emanating from her. I suddenly didn't feel curious anymore, it hurt to see her so weak and vulnerable, and I realized that talking to her about him was a bad idea.

"Of course, I am. I am the Beta's daughter. My parents had to train me to be the next in line. But I still couldn't be as beautiful and powerful as the Alpha's daughters."

She said the word Alpha like it was some dirty word and I once again realized I shouldn't push her too far. She was the only one I had now, and I didn't want to lose her as weird as it was since she was practically still a stranger.

Calm her down. My wolf said.

But how? How am I supposed to calm her when I have no idea what she must be feeling right now.

Concentrate on her, and think calmly. It. won't be much of an effort, it will naturally come to you.

I can radiate comfort the way Liana does?

Yes.

I looked at her, wanting nothing more than to stop the tears pooling in her eyes. I loved that woman already, even though I knew next to nothing about her. I slung my arm around her shoulders and rubbed them comfortingly, feeling hurt, immensely, that the Alpha could do this to her. I mean, what was wrong? She was beautiful, more beautiful than anyone I had ever seen. Even crying, she looked beautiful. She was a warrior too, and she didn't look like a delicate woman. For an Alpha who is supposed to be possessive, dominant and powerful, she was the perfect Luna.

I could feel it, a kind of energy flowing inside me, and radiating out in bursts of waves in the beginning.

It was surreal, and for a moment I felt like a child who is excited when he learns something new. The bursts were uneven, and came out in short spurts. They became even soon, and Liana started looking calmer, with her tears at bay and a small smile on her face.

"You really are the Luna Queen, aren't you?" She said with a small smile, her voice hoarse.

"I thought all werewolves could do this." I shrugged, wanting her to keep smiling.

She shook her head and told me, "Only the Luna Queen and her counter equivalent can do that, along with the other Lunas. We are Lunas, so it is inbuilt in us to be comforting and we never like it when someone is upset in our presence or is upset because of us. It comes naturally to only the Queen and Prime, the others have to learn and master it."

Oh, that explained why it hurt to see her cry.

"Okay, I have another question." I tried to steer the conversation, "What are these voices inside me?

"I'll explain very briefly right now. Since you have never bonded with your inner wolf and your inner PureBlood, you can hear them as separate voices inside you. Once you bond and share the same kind of thoughts, they'll become more of an instinct to you. You don't have to understand this now - just know that they are a very important part of you as a supernatural being. You really are a PureBlood?"

She was looking with awe and I shrugged, "I don't even know what that is."

"Well you are one, and - oh shit - are you the one the prophecies told about?" her eyes widened in disbelief.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Prophecy? What the fuck?

"PureBloods are supernatural beings with the purest of bloods - as the name suggests. They are incredibly powerful, but are peaceful beings. The Peacemakers, the protectors and what not. So, to keep the balance in the world, there is an equal amount of good and equal amount of bad right?"

I nodded.

"But these PureBloods, they were all good people. But they are no more - they were all killed in a war some two decades ago and there were no traces of them after that. They were close to the Werewolves and we were deeply saddened by their disappearance."

There was silence in the room for some time, the only sounds were the rattling of the glass windows due to the wind, and of us sipping the hot chocolate. She frowned for a moment and placed a hand on my thigh, asking me, "When and how did you meet Alpha King Adrian? What happened then?"

I frowned at the memory, "I work for a company that manufactures biomedical equipment. He, the CEO of the chain of Alpha Hospitals, was supposed to negotiate a business deal with us that day. I distinctly remember it was the second day of my period that day."

"Oh sweetie, your heat was probably just wearing off, you probably felt horny the moment you smelt him." She sighed.

"Heat? As in, the female gets super horny and can be satisfied by only her mate's touch, yet can attract other mated and unmated males too?"

She stared at me for some time, wide eyed, "You read too many werewolf stories, don't you?"

I nodded at her, smiling sheepishly, "Teenage obsession."

"Oh." She giggled, "Well, yeah, you are right about that. Females, marked or unmarked, go through it every month and bleed when you aren't impregnated by the end, just like your average periods. It is for keeping the spark alive in between the mates, and yes, females feel horny as fuck then. Even males do, they get turned on just at the smell of their mate's arousal." Liana explained.

"Marked?" I asked. "You mean the whole having sex and biting the neck or something kind of thing?"

"Kinda, yeah. There are three stages. First one takes place the moment you see your mate. Both are taken at that instant, attracted to each other like hell, and you experience major changes in your body to suit your mates desires. That is the reason we both are resilient and stronger, in fact, we are sexier and beautiful too, than all the other females around. It is because we are mates to two most powerful wolves in the empire. Tell me, did you notice some changes in your body?"

I nodded vigorously.

"I did too. It's just to be perfect for each other, you know. If your mate likes bigger boobs, your breasts will grow to the size he likes, even if he himself doesn't know his own preferences. If your mate likes a big ass, then your ass will grow rounder and more curvaceous. Same goes for the males, if your mate likes a bigger dick, you have it of the exact girth and length your female likes, even if she doesn't know about it."

I stared at her in awe, "That's...wow. Moon Goddess had it all planned, didn't she?"

I wanted to ask her how could her mate resist her if she became what she described but then she answered my unasked question. I was probably reeking of curiosity and doubt.

"He didn't see me ever after the day we met. He met me, he rejected me and I ran away to Italy, to distract myself with all the hot human Greek Gods there. Pity me, after meeting Jaxon, I couldn't even look at other males or feel like flirting with them. It's the same with the male wolves too, you know? Every other female becomes irrelevant and undesirable for them." She said.

"What about Jaxon, your mate? You just said that..." I trailed off, getting confused. Their relationship was so fucking complicated, I swear, probably defying every law that Werewolves had made.

"If he wanted to find me, he would have done it, years ago."

She's lying. A Luna Queen and her counter Luna Prime is born with the toughest of survival skills embedded in her. You both can hide yourselves and even your mates wouldn't be able to find you forever.

"My wolf says you're lying. It's you who's hiding. You probably don't even know if he's finding you too." I told her bluntly.

She sighed, "My wolf says that to me too, but why would I even want to go back to him, when he doesn't want me? You know, "she sniffed, tears pooling her eyes and she snuggled into me, "After I met him, I didn't want to run away. I wanted to fight for us. He was my mate, after all. But the same night, Ana, my wolf, hid from me and withdrew herself so I couldn't feel her anymore. It went on for the whole night and I felt uneasy. I kept awake all night, trying to get her back and when she did," She paused, choking out a sob and taking in a deep breath.

"I found out that he was with someone else the whole night, and my wolf didn't want me to feel the pain she was feeling because of it. I punished her and didn't let her out for a run for a week, and after that, she never withdrew when she felt the pain. We both felt it together and it hurt like a bitch."

I felt hurt too, with her. I could feel the pain, not wanting anything but to calm her. I did it again, what I did before, and she calmed down, slowly.

"Continue, about what happened between you and Adrian." Oh, yes.

"Yeah, I was discussing the presentation with my employer when his scent itself started making me...you know...aroused. Then he entered the room, and I saw him. So much lust, I could see he was turned on too, but he had a considerable amount of self control on himself. When he shook my hand, sparks and tingles ran through it, and I nearly moaned. God! It was so embarrassing; I wanted him to fuck me right on the table. Well, he didn't look at me the whole time, but when I went to the restroom to clean myself, he followed after me. It got pretty hot, we didn't kiss, but he was all over my neck and his hands were wandering everywhere, but he pushed himself away and blurted things that went above my head at that time. He said that he had a mate and she was pregnant."

She frowned at me, "Delia is pregnant?"

"Delia? His mate?" I said her name like it was a dirty word, and I was surprised at how I felt the rage just by taking her name. I felt furious, my blood was boiling, and I wanted nothing but to grab that slut by her hair and snap her neck and limbs like twigs.

I didn't even know the woman yet I felt so strongly for her.

Liana wrapped her arms around me right then, her comforting waves surrounding me once again.

"Whoa, whoa, stop! Your wolf is getting violent. You need to get her in control." She paused but then said, "But I don't understand one thing, how could she get pregnant?"

"Why?" I frowned, "Was she infertile or something?"

"No. The way pregnancy works in this world is a bit different from what you find in novels and in the normal world. It's that female werewolves give birth to only one pup, contrary to normal wolves. This is because we are immortal and so we become infertile after we give birth once. Moon Goddess's way of population control. It is impossible, and there is even a millionth of a chance to get pregnant with someone who isn't your true mate. That can only happen when both of your mates have died. But you are alive. And the foetus won't stay alive longer any longer than a month since you've already met Adrian."

God, all of this was so difficult to understand.

"Why?"

"Adrian's wolf will be yearning for you, without doubt. His emotions for you are more than enough to kill his own unborn baby. And if it's still alive, then I'm cent percent sure that the baby won't be Adrian's. Just one thing, does he know that you are a PureBlood?"

I shook my head and said, "He thinks I'm a human."

She gaped at me, and then muttered curses under her breath, "More than two hundred fifty years of existence has taught him nothing—"

"Two hundred fifty years?" I nearly shrieked, "He barely looks a day above twenty five! How old are you?"

She looked at me sheepishly, "One hundred twenty six."

I nearly fainted. She just looked twenty two, somewhere around my age. I think I needed some sleep, probably some time to myself to think this all through. I was probably surrounded by wolves more than a hundred years old.

"I think we should go to sleep now. It has been an exhausting day for the both of us." She said, and yawned.

My eyes felt heavy, and soon, we both passed out on the couch.

************

I snuggled in the soft mattress, trying to hide under the covers so that the early morning sunlight won't irritate me. For a moment, I wondered what I was doing on the bed, but then realized it was probably Liana who brought me here. I snuggled in the covers more, cuddling a soft pillow, when the covers were snatched away from me. I turned to lie on my stomach and I felt a smack right on my butt.

I yelped and turned to sit up, finding Liana smirking at me with a bucket in her hand, "Wakey, wakey, Moon! We need to go for a run!"

I groaned, rubbing my eyes, "I still feel sleepy. Can I have five more minutes?"

She smiled devilishly, and said, "No problem. I have ice cold water waiting for you. You won't feel sleepy anymore."