Chapter Thirty-One

Jasmine’s POV

Lena had told me all about the coming of age ceremony.

It was supposedly the night where the young pack members shifted for the first time.

I had seen Luke training them so that they could endure the pain from shifting for the first time.

Surprisingly, I had seen Regan as well.

Even though Regan was much loved by his pack, there had always seemed like there was a distance he put between them and himself.

He hardly ever related with any other pack members other than his family, Mari and his Gamma.

Everyone else was dealt with from arm’s length.

So it was a great surprise indeed to see him with a particular young werewolf time and time again.

Whenever I passed by the field, I always caught sight of him and the young one, training.

What surprised me other than the fact that he was personally training that particular young werewolf away from the rest of his friends and mates, was how much Regan smiled around the young one.

I had seen him several times, laughing even, with the young one.

He seemed to enjoy his company and it seemed the feeling was reciprocated.

The young one had started to follow him everywhere and it seemed Regan did not mind one bit.

I had gone to the training grounds to see him simply because I missed him.

As usual, while Luke trained the other young werewolves, Regan trained his young wolf.

Normally, I would leave after watching them for some time. But Regan and the young one seemed to be done with their training session had began to make their way towards me.

I knew he could feel my presence each time I walked into a room or the vicinity he was in, even though he never acted aware.

It was another thing I loved about him.

I watched as they both made their way over to me, with the young one suddenly turning shy and hiding behind him partially.

The moment he was close enough, Regan swept me up into his arms and spun me around while I threw my arms around his neck and held on, laughing.

He put me on my feet and swooped down to kiss me soundly, leaving me dizzy as he pulled away.

“I missed you”, he said huskily, planting a brief kiss on my neck before pulling away completely.

“So did I”, I replied before my eyes strayed back to the young one.

I gave him a smile that he returned with an extremely shy one, his cheeks suddenly turning pink.

I decided that he was adorable.

“Come and introduce yourself to your future Luna”, Regan said, pulling the young one forward with his big hands on his shoulder.

“I-it’s a pleasure t-to meet you, m-my Lady”, he stuttered, barely making any eye contact.

I smiled at that.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you as well”, I said with a welcoming smile. “What is your name?” I asked.

“E-Emry, my lady”, he said.

“I have been training Emry personally since he has a habit of always falling”, Regan said, ruffling Emry’s hair

“That is not true, my Lady”, Emry argued. “I do not always fall”, he told me.

“But you do”, Regan teased with ease, drawing a small laugh from my lips as Emry turned red.

“I believe you, Emry” I told him. “I’m afraid your Alpha happens to be a terrible tease”, I told him.

He nodded his agreement but said nothing other than giving me another shy smile.

“Did you come to spy on me?” Regan asked with a smirk.

I rolled my eyes at him, unable to help it.

“I’m afraid I did not”, I told him, knowing fully well that it was not true. “I happened to have been passing by and simply caught sight of you”, I told him with a smile of my own.

“Oh truly?” He asked, grabbing me around the waist and making me laugh aloud.

I nodded, still laughing.

“Truly”, I said.

Before saying another word, he turned back to look at Emry before speaking.

“Run along, Pup”, he said. “I have somewhere to go with my future mate”, he instructed.

Emry nodded without hesitation.

“Yes, Alpha”, he responded and was gone the very next moment.

Regan turned back to me then.

“Come with me”, he said, letting go of my waist to grab a hold of my hand and start pulling me away from the training grounds.

“I have something to show you”, he said and pulled me into the woods not too far from the training grounds.

“Where are we going?” I asked as he pulled me further into the woods.

“You will see soon”, he said with a laugh as he continued to lead us further.

We walked for sometime before coming to a stop in front of a curtain of shrubs.

He suddenly turned to me with a bright smile and spoke.

“Close your eyes”, he said.

I looked at him in surprise at his strange request but did as he asked.

There was no doubt that I trusted him with my life.

Fully and completely.

So I shut my eyes closed and waited for his next move.

“Keep your eyes closed”, he said, taking my other hand in his to lead me. “Do not open them until I tell you to”, he said and I nodded in agreement.

“Now follow me”, he said and I moved with him blindly, letting him instruct me on each step I took until he finally told me to stop a few moments after.

Finally, I heard him say the words I had been hoping to hear.

“Open your eyes”, he finally said and I did just that and opened my eyes to a breathtaking view.

We were in the most beautiful garden I had ever seen, with so many different kinds of flowers in them.

I couldn’t help but gasp at the beauty of the place before me.

It truly was amazing.

“Do you like it?” I heard him ask, his voice breaking me out of my dreamy state.

I turned to look at him, the answer already in my eyes but I said it anyway.

“Very much”, I told him. “I absolutely love it”, I confessed before proceeding to ask. “How on earth did you manage to find such an enchanting place?” I asked.

Rather than respond, he simply shrugged his shoulder and watched me as I began to move about the place smelling the flowers.

“And to think I have always thought Rage’s Sanctuary was the most enchanting place in the world”, I said, wondering out loud.

I went from flower to flower, perceiving the scent from each one as I went and basking in their incredible fragrances.

“This could be your sanctuary if you want it”, I heard him say and turned to face him in surprise.

“What do you mean?” I asked him.

He came closer to me.

“I mean”, he said. “That I made this place for you so you can have a place you can always come to whenever you wish it”, he told me, reaching out a hand to pull gently in a wayward strand of hair.

Unconsciously, my eyes began to water.

“Do not cry”, he said, stopping a tear that would have fallen. He looked closely at me for a moment before he spoke again. “On a second thought”, he said, removing his hand from my face to grab onto my shoulder. “You may cry all you want”, he said. “But only on the condition that I must be there to hold you when you cry”, he said.

I nodded.

“I do not deserve you” I told him, trying my best to hold back tears. “But I will eternally be grateful to the Moon Goddess for bringing you to me”, I told him.

He simply smiled and brushed away a stray tear.

“I am the one who is eternally grateful for you”, he said. “I know it will not be easy to become my Luna”. He told me, hands holding onto my shoulders and eyes staring into mine.

“I know you have the option of refusing and running away as fast as you can”, he said as I listened. “I know you could choose not to become my Luna or my mate because you are aware that it will not be an easy task. Yet you have agreed to share this life with me”, he said. “All I can do is make you promises that I swear upon the Moon Goddess that I will keep”.

“You do not have to make me any promise but one”, I told him before he could go on. “The only promise I ask you to make is to promise me that I will always have your loyalty”, I requested from him.

He smiled and pulled me closer.

“I will do you better”, he said. “I promise you my loyalty, my respect, my protection, my name and everything that comes with it, and most importantly, my heart”, he told me. “I swear that I will give my life to defend and protect you and everything you hold dear”, he said and suddenly had a look of mischief on his face. “As well as our future Pups”.

I promptly choked on air at that announcement.

“P-pups?” I asked as he laughed heartily.

He nodded. “Yes, Pups”, he agreed with his mischievous smile still in place. “How many would you like?” He asked again.

I tried to pull away from him, feeling my cheeks heat up in a fierce blush, but instead of letting me go, he pulled me into his arms and held me firmly, laughing the whole while.

Despite the fact that I loved seeing him so happy and carefree, I did not particularly like that it was to my detriment.

He buried his face into my neck when I finally stopped struggling to break free.

“Are you aware that you have the most intoxicating scent?” He asked suddenly. “You smell of blueberries and vanilla and it is taking everything in me to hold myself back from confirming if you taste the same way”, he said and I flushed at his words, coloring a deep shade of pink.

“You should not say things like that”, I admonished him, acting as though his words did not affect me as much as they did. “It is not proper”.

He scoffed at that.

“You are to become my mate”, he said. “If I do not say these things to you, who then do you expect me to say them to?” He asked wisely.

I remained silent, knowing it was true.

“And since we are on the matter of you becoming my mate”, he went on when I gave no response to his earlier question. “When do you wish for us to have our mating ceremony?” He asked.

I wasn’t surprised at the question since I had had similar thoughts and had wondered the same.

“Whenever you want”, I told him, not meeting his eyes for some reason.

“If that is the case”, he said. “Then how about right at this moment?” He asked.

My eyes snapped up to his immediately and I was relieved to see the playful glint in his eyes.

“If I had it my way, you would already be my mate”, he said. “But alas, Nana and Lena would never forgive us if we do not grant them the satisfaction of planning our mating ceremony”, he said correctly and I nodded my agreement.

“Then let us leave that to them and focus instead on the coming of age ceremony tomorrow night”, I told him, embracing him. “Emry would need you even if he does not know it”, I told him.

“You are right”, he said, planting a kiss on my head. “I have grown quite fond of the pup”, he told me and I nodded.

“I know”, I said as he released me and began leading me back the way we had come.

“We better go back before Lena comes looking for you”, he said and I smiled.

I followed as he led, knowing it would not be the last time I would trust to follow him.

I would have a lifetime to do just that.