Forty- three

"Ugh! These cramps are going to kill me." Samantha groaned and I chuckled at her expression. 

Immediately a wave of unease washed over me. I had begun to understand how these "Luna powers" worked during these past three days. The closer I was to a person, the more clearly, I was able to gauge their mood shifts and emotions.

These waves of uneasiness somehow always intensified whenever I was around Aiden. I looked around to see him and Harper, holding a tray and making their way over to our table.

It had been three days since the surprise announcement and it felt like my world had changed a little. Every wolf in the pack had begun to accept me as their Luna, even though I was a human and that elated me and brought an inner satisfaction to my soul. 

Aiden's uneasiness was making me uneasy and fidgety and I had been thinking of ways to fix it. Look at me, already acting like a Luna!

Harper sat beside me and put an arm around my shoulder. I instantly moved closer to him and engulfed myself in his body heat. He smiled down at me and planted a kiss on my forehead while I smiled at his action.

"What happened to you, friend of my mate?" Harper asked Samantha, who was now clutching her stomach in pain.

I elbowed him in the ribs and he pretended to be hurt by the action. He turned to look at me and I raised an eyebrow at his words.

He sighed. "What happened to you, my friend?" Harper rolled his eyes playfully while Samantha giggled at his actions.

Large waves of unease and restlessness washed over me and I looked over at Aiden, his eyebrows were furrowed and it looked like his mind was far away from reality. I felt the unease prick at me and I sighed in dejection.

Something was bothering Aiden and instead of confiding in someone, he was keeping it all in, which was making him restless and anxious, which in turn made me restless and anxious.

Woman up, Zara!

"You?" I pointed my index finger at Aiden. His eyes snapped up to meet mine, eyebrows furrowed with confusion. I had no idea where all of this confidence was coming from, but I knew I needed to help him in any way I could, especially when I knew he was troubled.

He raised his finger and pointed it at himself as if to ask if I was talking to him.

I nodded. "Come with me." Great Zara, way to be inconspicuous!

"What?" Harper frowned. I rolled my eyes at his overprotective and over-possessive tendencies. Both Sam and Nat looked curiously at me and I sighed at their curiosity.

I ignored them, got up from my seat, and motioned for Aiden to do the same. He frowned but got up nonetheless.

"What do you have in mind?" Harper asked me. I could sense his curiosity and I couldn't help but chuckle. If Aiden hadn't yet disclosed the reason for his uneasiness to his best friend, then I was pretty sure, he wouldn't want anyone to know something was bothering him. 

However, that didn't mean I was willing to let it go. Before being the future Luna of the pack, I was Aiden's friend. I planned to be there for him, even if he didn't want it.

I pleaded to Harper with my eyes to let this matter go. I knew the exact moment he gave in to my pleas when he took a deep breath and his eyes flickered to the floor before meeting mine again. He nodded and I grinned at him. I launched myself at him, elated that he understood that there were some things that I needed to do alone. I placed a slobbery kiss on his cheek, and to my surprise, he didn't even grimace. I would have to reward him later for that!

I mock bowed to both of my friends who still had the curious but confused look on their faces. I turned around, grabbed Aiden's hand, and walked out of the cafeteria, much to Harper's amusement. 

I admit the sight would have looked funny. I was probably half Aiden's size, yet I was dragging him like a rag doll while holding his hand as if he was a disobedient child and I was his guardian.

I steered Aiden and didn't stop walking till we were out of the school building and into the parking lot.

I eyed the parking lot and my eyes finally landed on Aiden's sports car. I briskly walked over to his monster of a car and held out my hand in front of his face.

"What?" I had let go of his hand so now he was free to cross his muscular arms across his chest and pin me down with an amused glare.

"Your car keys," I said like it was obvious and he immediately shook his head.

"Luna or not, I'm not going to give you my car keys." I pouted at him, hoping my puppy dog face would melt him. Too bad he wasn't Harper!

"You're getting nowhere with that look." He said, bored with my antics.

I huffed. He pulled his keys out of his pockets and jingled them in front of my face. Before I could get a hold of them, he pulled them out of my reach.

"Yeah, no." He said and casually walked over to the driver's side.

"Seriously?" I gaped at his childish behavior.

"I'm not letting anyone touch my baby." He said and softly patted the cherry red hood of his car. "Especially a girl." He looked at me pointedly and I glared at him.

I huffed and silently got in the car. Aiden chuckled beside me. "Oh, come on. Don't make that face. Has Harper ever let you touch his car?"

I opened my mouth to reply with a snarky comment but then closed my mouth. Harper had never let me touch his car. He always drove me to and from school. On the rare occasions we took my car, we flipped a coin to decide who should drive. 

"See, told you!" Aiden beamed at me, satisfied with my response. "Our cars are our babies."

I chuckled at his love for his car, even though he had refused to let me drive. It was all in good humor.

"So, why did you kidnap me?" Aiden asked me and started the car.

"I didn't kidnap you," I replied.

"Really?!" He raised an eyebrow, amusement clear on his face.

"Yeah, I just wanted to talk to you," I said nervous. I had no idea how he would react to my inquisitions. What if he didn't want to talk to me about it?! What if he wasn't stressed and my Luna senses were just going awry?!

"Where are we going then?" He asked me and swerved to the gates of the parking lot.

Thanks to my status of the future Luna because the guards stationed at the school's parking lot didn't bat an eye at departure from school during midday. And I had the beta of the pack beside me too. That had to count for something.

"Somewhere quiet. Someplace where there won't be any werewolf ears listening in on us."

He nodded. "Sounds serious. I just want to tell you I don't have any experience with relationships."

I looked at him, confused. "Why are you telling me that?" 

"I wanted you to know because I am not the guy you go to if you want relationship advice."

"Okay?! Thanks for the advice." I said, still confused. "Why would I need relationship advice?"

"You're having problems with Harper, aren't you?!" He asked me nervously while evading eye contact.

I facepalmed and laughed at his reasoning. "I don't have any relationship problems, Aiden. You don't need to worry about that."

He visibly relaxed and grinned at me. I couldn't help but laugh at how adorable he was.

"So, what did you want to talk about?!"

I sighed. Okay, here goes nothing. If he, by any chance, wasn't stressed, we could just go to some dinner and bond.

"I don't know if you know, but as a Luna, I can gauge the moods of the pack members. The closer I am to a particular member, the stronger are the waves of emotions." I glanced at him from the corner of my eye and I felt him stiffen.

"And?" He asked me nervously.

"I just think, um, that you are stressed over something. Something is troubling you, isn't it?!"

His gaze snapped to mine and we held eye contact for some time. "No, Zara. I'm not stressed or anything."

I sighed in relief and grinned. "Well, that's good. I'm relieved."

He smiled at my expression. "So, where to now?"

"Well, I didn't have my lunch yet."

He nodded and parked at the next restaurant that came in sight.

"You know, before being a Luna, I'm your friend. You can come to talk to me if there's anything that's troubling you." I patted his shoulder gently and unbuckled my seatbelt.

Aiden gripped my wrist before I could open the door. I turned to look at him, my eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

I opened my mouth to speak but he beat me to it. "I have my birthday the day after tomorrow."

So, he was stressed about something but he had only decided to open up to me now. Either way, I was happy. I genuinely wanted to help him and I was elated that he was letting me.

I smiled. "Wow! We could have been birthday twins."

He laughed and nodded at my enthusiasm. He rubbed his neck nervously and gazed out at the almost empty parking lot. "It's also the day I would most probably find my mate."

I looked at him carefully, then. Was finding a mate troubling him?! Why would that trouble anyone, though?! Wasn't finding your mate an exciting thing in a wolf's life?

"I thought finding your mate was a good thing," I said unsure of what was going on in his mind.

He sighed and leaned back in his seat. He closed his eyes and I could feel the waves of worry and restlessness wash over me.

"It is. A wolf looks forward to finding his mate his whole life."

"Then, what's the problem?" 

"What if she rejects me?" Aiden replied somberly, perfectly convinced whatever he said would happen.