Our Luna, Our Mate by Linda Middleman

Ares POV

I'm not entirely sure when we had dozed off, but after our night of love making once again we eventually fell asleep. Our mate slept peacefully between Eros and 1, Eros's arm gently wrapped around her waist as they slept. Cute, I muse my eyes watching as I attempt to wake up.

Blinking, I move to adjust my eyes as I slowly move to look over at the clock on the nightstand. Careful as not to wake either I move to look only to see it read 6:30 am. Mmm, too early to eat, but definitely not early for a workout, I muse, weighing my options. Deciding on the latter, I slowly begin to move from the bed only to hear whimpering, my eyes looking for the source only to see it coming from our mate, her face scrunched as if in pain. suddenly, 'Mates having a nightmare whispers Zeus his focus now on her as well. "A nightmare?" I ask, unaware of the why behind it. It could be multiple things' answers Zeus, his worry now flooding into mine. Our eyes still on our mate as we continued to watch, unsure of what was happening or if we should wake her.

"No... Please, I'll be good... please" whimpers Athena, her pleas's heart breaking as I move to lay back next to her, my hand moving to caress her cheek as tears begin to fall down her face. "Love? You're having a bad dream" I whisper, so as not to wake my brother.

"Please, Uncle.. I'll be a good girl, please don't" cries Athena, her body now shaking on its own accord as I frown, a growl rising at the mention of her Uncle, the useless Beta of the Moon Walker Pack.

"Mate hurt, they hurt mate' whimpers Zeus, not liking to see our mate upset. 'I know but how?' I ask, my hands now moving to hold Athena so she would not wake my brother who still slept soundly next to us.

'Don't know, but they shall pay growls Zeus, determined to make all those who had hurt our mate pay. Looking towards our mate once more, I slowly noticed that she seemed to have calmed down if only a little as tears continued to fall from her eyes. Moving to wipe away her tears, I can't help but feel my chest tighten. My thoughts trying to figure out what they had done to our mate and why. 'Don't worry bud, that pack shall pay if it's the last thing I do' I assure him, wanting justice for our mate as well.

A few seconds later, our mate seems to go back into a peaceful slumber, giving me hope that she would be okay long enough for me to get a quick workout in as I move to place her back near

Eros, her body instantly reaching for his as she moves to snuggle closer. Smiling, I move to get up, the clock now reading 7 am as I move to grab a pair of workout shorts and muscle tee before quickly throwing them on, followed by my workout shoes as I move to exit the room. I'll be quick, before mate realizes I'm gone, I think once out in the hallway, making my way towards that of the workout room as not many used it at this time of day making it perfect for me.

-Workout Room-

Approaching the room, I can't help but ponder over what just happened back in the room. What did mate mean, I'll be a good girl? Did they abuse her? I ponder, my heart now hurting at that, as no pup should ever endure that in their life.

Shaking my head, I attempt to push those thoughts away as I slowly make my way into the room. My eyes notice a few pack members as they go about their workouts. Entering, I moved over to the weights, careful not to make my presence known as those who were there did their own thing while some chattered amongst themselves unaware that I had entered the room.

Ignoring the chatter, I moved to start my routine only to pause when a pair of voices began talking about our mate, making me pause before I could even start. My focus now on that and only that as the group had yet to notice me and I was curious on what they had to say about our

mate.

"Did you hear about last night?" asks one, a girl who was sparring with another.

"Ya, heard Lily tried picking a fight with the new Luna" laughs another, another girl, both of them mabe 18 no older than 19 at the latest. They were both a part of our packs warrior division as I had remembered seeing them a couple of times when checking in at the training grounds. Arching an eye, I move to get closer, curious to hear more without making myself known, always curious as to what our pack had to say. "Oh ya, well I heard that the new Luna chickened out and ran from the room" replies another, this time a male as he approached the girls, his arm moving to wrap around one their waists, possibly a mate by the way she snuggled into his arms.

"You don't say? Ha, she'll never be a good Luna then. If she can't stand up to even Lily then there's no hope for her here, you have to be strong to be a Luna," laughs the girl from within the

man's arms.

"Agreed, the Alpha's should just make Lily their mate. She's clearly a better choice in my opinion" remarks the other, their training clearly done as Zeus growls from inside my head.

'As if... that whore doesn't deserve to be our Luna growls Zeus, as we continue to listen. Appalled that our pack thought like this, especially about their new Luna. Studying closer I then realize that these two girls were also ones who would normally hang out with Lily in the process, always

joined at the hip.

Growling, Zeus and I continue to listen until finally I've heard enough. "ENOUGH" we roar, startling those within the room, my anger rising at how cruel they were being. "A-Alpha" gasps one of the girls, the group as well as those inside now focused on me and only

1. me.

"NO! How dare you, How dare you sit idle and say nothing but awful things to that of your new Luna. She's our MATE! And therefore your Luna, and under no such circumstance should you be comparing her to Lily or any woman for that matter. Lily is nothing but a whore and unfit to be our Mate or Luna" I yell, my eyes glaring at those inside the room, Zeus fighting to come forth.Published by Nôv'elD/rama.Org.

"W-We're sorry Alpha," stamers the other girl, clearly shaken by my outburst, none of them aware that I would be there today as I normally came and left before anyone else showed up.

"Sorry doesn't begin to justify just how poorly my pack thinks of their new Luna. Your Luna is a lot braver and stronger than you realize and while she may have a troubling past, you best learn to respect her or else me and my brother will enforce a new type of punishment to those who don't, am I clear?" I bark, my words final.

"Yes, Alpha" whispers those inside the room.

"Good, see that you do, and if I ever hear another awful thing about my mate, your Luna, well let's just say you won't like the outcome of it" is all I say as I move to storm from the room, my workout completely forgotten as rage began to rise, the need to run great as I rush for the outside where once there I finally let Zeus out, our giant black wolf now standing on all fours, our clothes shredded as we dash for the woods, needing to clear our minds before returning to our mate.

How dare they! How dare they talk that way about our mate, I growl, not happy with our pack at

the moment.

*Mate is pure, Mate is kind, Mate is our everything purrs Zeus as we run, the feel of dirt and grass touching our paws as we did.

'I completely agree pal, and one I think worth talking to father about. I think it's time we had a pack meeting and set the record straight that our Luna, our Mate, was not what Lily made her out to be' I tell him, determined to set the pack straight.