Chapter 199: Chapter 201

Chapter 16 – My Starlight

“This is going to sound crazy, but… from the moment I first set eyes on you I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you. – Leigh Fallon

Nuria

So, I took Neron’s car.

The big palooka can yell at me about it later. He hates it when his mileage racks up, but I needed fast wheels to get to Garnet Moon. Any parking tickets I get will be in his name, and as head Alpha, paying off a ticket is equivalent to buying candy at the corner store.

A win-win situation!

I rolled down my window, the wild wind whipping at my cheeks and dancing with my hair. My, fingers gripped the steering wheel as I raced down the empty road to California’s boarders. As soon as Kiya and Neron left for Florida, I took off. The overwhelming need to see Phoebe was eating me up inside. I had to see her to stomp out the f**

Phoebe. *

My Phoebe.”

My perfect, golden-haired, enigmatic witch.

My mate I needed to protect.

My body buzzed with the warmth of a fireplace as I recalled the first time I caught eyes on her. It was Kiya’s twenty- fifth birthday. I had arrived on Garnet Moon equipped with her birthday present in one hand and a bottle of chardonnay in the other. Neron’s scared ** didn’t come, and Mom couldn’t make it, so I came on behalf of both of them. My best friend and I lost our childhoods, including celebrating each other’s birthdays. An inseparable duo since birth, spending time with each other took precedent over everything else. I, sometimes, wonder if our lives hadn’t fallen apart, where would we be right now?

I cherished Kiya’s birthdays just as she cherished mine. I celebrated my birthdays in heaven surrounded by endless white while she celebrated hers in hell, surrounded by endless black. Now, I’m alive, full-blooded, and ready to take advantage of its pleasures, and that included living it up with my dearest friend until the sun came up. One could say we were playing ‘catch-up’. Clutching my present until my knuckles turned white, I was going to make d**n sure we both partied harder than we ever did before, whether it be plastered out drunk in the front yard or watching dusk shift to dawn’s early light together.

My life changed forever when I caught a whiff of the richest aroma of wild berries. A tantalizing mixture of every berry known, blackberry standing out the most. The ambrosial fragrance sent frissons of pleasure and heat through my nerve endings, straight to my core. Not even ten feet from the Garnet Moon residence, and I felt like a b**h in heat.

The scent couldn’t be from a man. It was beyond the scope of femininity. No, I knew my soulmate was a woman,

And I was right.

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16- My Starlight

My little g***y heart almost burst out of my chest when I spotted the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen.

Phoebe scampered out of her tiny two-story home with a watering can in one hand, dressed in a simple black top with a pair of red shorts that hugged every blessed curve and valley she owned. A bed of herbs grew on her windowsill, sprouting toward the sunlight spilling through the gaps between leaves. Her back was turned to me as she collected and watered her plants, oblivious to my star-struck a** staring at her from the distance.

I had forgotten about the party. The world hyper-focused on Phoebe’s heavenly backside, my eyes drinking in her goddess-like beauty. All I wanted was to take that sweet woman in my arms and claim her as mine. I wanted to know all her flaws, insecurities, hopes, and dreams. My lips burned with the desire to kiss the triple moon birthmark tattooed the side of her neck. My fingers ached to comb through her golden silks, dancing with the autumn breeze. I didn’t know who she was, I couldn’t see her face. And already, I had fallen passionately in love with her.

It was love at first sight, as cliché as it sounds.

Angelika battered against my mind’s walls to s**h her for herself. She wanted her as much as I did and was determined to waste no time in marking her as ours. But Phoebe wasn’t a wolf, despite living in a wolf pack. Her scent exposed her as a human. A human oozing with mysticism beyond my comprehension. My brashness could scare her away and my heart would break before she held it.

Hell, she didn’t know me.

I ended up seeing her again when the Kiya’s birthday party was in full swing, sitting outside on the front bench with a soda can nestled on her lap. I pleaded with Kiya to introduce us, begging on my knees like I was praying to Selene herself. She giggled at my dramaticism and brought us together like Cupid, bringing potential lovers together. I think she saw the sparks between us. Why else would she introduce us without question?

Purple became my favorite color that day. The darkness of the night enhanced the purple hue, making it glow like the stars in the sky, I was convinced Phoebe’s eyes captured the light of the stars.

1

Starlight.

“I’ve heard nothing but great things about you,” Phoebe told me, shining a smile that gave me cavities. “It’s finally nice to meet you, Nuria.”

Her melodious voice said my name, each syllable as sweet as honey. My heart couldn’t stop fluttering. Her voice was like a siren’s song, drawing me to the ocean’s depths, and I was drowning with glee. When we shook hands, the mate bond rose from the ashes. The fated sparks jumped and raced through my veins. I could’ve sworn she felt it too, with the way she looked at me with shock.

But with love came fear. I wanted to do right by her, which meant holding back on my desires. It meant resisting the intrinsic urge to pounce and bite her neck. Neron held his own desires in check with Kiya, and I co-opted his control. Kiya told me all she could about Phoebe, including how she lived a life of seclusion as a solitary witch.

She had no coven. No family besides the pack. Not even a lover. My mate was alone in all senses of the world and she was happy with that.

I slammed my foot on the gas, tipes screaming against the concrete. My jaw worked tight. I gripped the steering wheel until my knuckles turned white/ A woman like her shouldn’t find solace in solitude. There was a stark difference between being alone and being lonely, and I’ll be d**d if I let her choose between the two.

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Chapter 16 – My Starlight

My arms will be her solace from here on out. My mission was to find her and claim her as mine, bite or not. The feeling strengthened after a d**n vision I received in my sleep.

A f**g nightmare. Phoebe was begging for my help, weakened and alone. I fought my way through the crimson miasma to get to her, only for the d**n serpent who haunted my dreams the first time to grab her and tear her apart. Sleep eluded me the rest of the night because I saw her torn corpse every time I closed my eyes.

F**g Foresight. This d**n ability was more trouble than it was worth. I refuse to let that vision come true. Phoebe is mine to protect and mine to love, and I won’t let an invisible enemy ruin that.

I hoped, deep in my heart, Phoebe will accept me entirely. I’m overzealous, childish as f*k, a*nd impulsive, coupled with all the innate traits of an alpha wolf, but I can and will devote myself to her happiness and love. Phoebe Lacey is the love of my life. The apple of my eye. The key to my heart.

Stjernelys min. My Starlight.

“So, you’ve come here to claim my friend as your own? How interesting.”

“Um, yeah?” I rolled my eyes. “Do I need your permission to love my mate?”

Ebony arched her back upward to meet Jackie’s palm, purring at her smooth fingers running through her black fur. Her fluffed tail swayed from side to side, her gold eyes shut in pleasure. Jackie graced me with a smile shining with curiosity, ignoring the mild irritation from my glare. She folded her strong leg over the other, back pressed against the c u s h i o n of the couch, her long braids falling over the spine. “Of course not, munchkin. I’ll help you… If you make me an offer I can’t refuse.”

Tiny steps entered the room, added with an exasperated sigh. “Are you done with Ebony, now? You said you were going to give her back, Jackie!”

And thus, the Beta’s acting career has ended. Jackie’s eyes widened slightly before grumbling under her breath. Aisha s**d up to the couch with an innocent grin, extending her arms, motioning her ‘grabby hands’ for the cat. Ebony meowed when passed to the girl, adjusting her paws on the little one’s shoulder, licking her cheek with her sandpaper-

like tongue.

What a spoiled p**y.

“Go on with ya. Remember to feed her the wet cat food from the blue can, not the red.”

Aisha nodded, disappearing to another room with Ebony at tow. Jackie sucked in a deep breath, the corner of her full lips quirking with a smirk when she faced me. “You and Phoebe, huh? How long have you known?”

e been

“For a year now?” I ran my hand through my hair. “I know I should’ve given her a call like, yesterday, but I’ve scared about scaring her off and-”

“Chill, Nuria.” Jackie held a hand up to silence me. “I understand. I was the same way with Abigail, and it took us six months before she was comfortable mating with me. Phoebe is different as she’s a witch used to blending in the background, but I think with your spontaneous nature, I think you’d bring out parts of her no one has seen before.”

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Chapter 16 – My Starlight

My heart s**d a beat. “You think so?”

“Yes, and hopefully humble the ** out of you.”

I squinted my eyes, offended. “What is that supposed to mean?”

“You’re insane, but in a good way.” Jackie bust out in a fit of laughter after I punched her in the arm, rubbing her sore spot. She had no right to call me out like that! This woman tells the truth like it is, and I’m glad to have her as a friend. And since she was a lesbian like me, she opened her doors for me if I ever needed advice on navigating life as a

g** woman.

“S**.”

“You betcha I am.” Jackie pulled a scrunchie from her pocket to tie her braids up. “My advice? Let her guide you through her emotions, whether she expresses them physically or verbally. I’ve known Phoebe for a long time and if you come on too strong, she’ll close up and run away. Let her lead. Show her she can trust you.”

Jackie’s words echoed in my head as I approached the front steps of Phoebe’s home. A bed of roses blossomed next to the steps, the sun glinting on the waxy surface of the ripe rose hips hanging off their stems, Painted in muted beige and black, the home was tucked around thick bårks of the redwood trees, hidden from the view of those entering the territory. It was a solitary home, matching the witch nestled inside.

Let Phoebe guide me with her emotions.

Will she love me? We’ve played hot and cold for so long I wasn’t sure if she felt as strongly as I did.

Now wasn’t the time to chicken out! I sucked in a deep breath and pulled up my jeans by the loops. I’m Nuria Johansen, g**nit! Nothing was going to stop me from professing my undying love for my mate!

I walked up to her door, ready to knock, when my ears perked at the sound of her honeyed voice rising and lowering in pitch. I thought nothing of it until I heard another feminine voice laced with a gentle alto, one I’ve never heard before.

Another woman is in her home?!

“Phoebe is ours!” Angelika roared in my mind. “Get rid of the other b**h or I’ll do it myself!”

She didn’t have to tell me twice!

When I twisted the doorknob, it wouldn’t budge. My body moved on its own accord, vibrating with a righteous fury. I rammed my shoulder into the door, it nearly coming off its hinges once it swung open to show my dear Phoebe and a dark-haired woman with ringlets in her hair gawking at me in shock. I narrowed in on the stranger, my face painted the color of my anger.

“Nuria?!” Phoebe shouted, springing to her feet. “What are you doing here?!”

“Who the hell are you and why are you in the home of my mate?” I demanded of the other woman. There was no distinguishable pack mark in sight, nor did she smell like a werewolf. She raised both eyebrows, settled her teacup on the wooden table before rising to her feet, dusting off her fishnet leggings and black skirt. We were about the same height, the only commonality we share.

4/5

Chapter 16 – My Starlight

“Your mate?” She chuckled, crossing her arms underneath her chest. “Well, I learn something new every day. My name is Violetta, and you are?”

The woman was calm as f**k for someone walking on the edge of death. Phoebe scuttled next to me, putting a palm on my bicep, her touch calming my anger. “Nuria, she is my friend and a harmless one at that.”

“A friend.”

“Yes. A friend.” Phoebe crossed her arms, pushing up her ample chest. The inkling of her cleavage d**n near made a waterfall flow between my legs. “Jealousy is not a good look for you.”

“I’m not jealous!” I retorted, shaking my fists. “I just want to know why Violetta is kicking it up in your home. She sure as hell isn’t a pack member, and you both sounded a little too friendly!”

“Wait…” Suddenly, Violetta wrapped her arms around her belly and almost toppled over in laughter, her ringlets bouncing with her heaves. “You think there is something going on between Phoebe and me?”

The woman shook her head, muttering something about jealous werewolves under her breath as pulled out her cell phone from her pocket, and scrolled. Violetta turned her phone to the side and showed me a picture of herself with a pale woman with bubblegum pink hair to her left and a dark-complected man with dreadlocks tied back in a ponytail on her right. My eyes bounced from the phone to her amused smile.

“This is Marina and Manny, Nuria. My partners.”

My brain short-circuited. “P-Partners? As in… plural?”

Violetta nodded. “Yes. Did you forget that polyamory was a thing?”

“O-oh…”

“Ooh, we f**d up.” Miss Angelika stated the obvious.

“I’m in a faithful relationship that doesn’t involve Phoebe. She and Kiya are like my little sisters, so it makes the fit you just had that much funnier.”

I was beyond mortified. My eyes darted to the broken front door hanging off its hinges. I jumped to conclusions in the heat of jealousy at the mere prospect of Phoebe with another woman. Phoebe stood beside me, arms crossed, with a scowl marring her pretty face.

Oh, Selene, kill me now. I’ll offer my brother as a parting gift.

Untouchable (The Moonlight Avatar Series Collection)