Finding My Luna

Part 16

(Alex's POV)

As I take Emily her cup of tea in bed the next morning, she's scrolling through her phone looking at photos from yesterday, a huge smile on her face. This is what my life could be I think. Waking up to Em each day.

"I like this one" she says, turning her phone round to show me. It's the two of us in the chapel after the wedding. I'm holding the phone out with one hand, my other wrapping around her waist as she leans into me, both hands on my chest as we grin cheesily at the camera. It's picture perfect bliss. Automatically grinning, I ask her to send it to me and then instantly set it as my phone background.

Crawling on to the bed beside her I take a deep breath and steady my nerves for the conversation that needs to follow. In a few hours her friends will be heading for the airport and Emily's hire camper will be ready to collect. I still have another two days of meetings in Vegas and then the closing dinner before I'm supposed to head back home on Tuesday. But I still don't know where Emily's head is at. Will she come home with me? Will she still go on her road trip? If that's her choice will she let me join her or want to go alone? In five weeks will she be on a plane back to England? Will that separation be temporary or permanent? That final thought makes my heart stop.

I want Emily to choose her own future but what if it's a future without me? Am I strong enough to let her go if that's what she wants? I'll have to be. Her happiness means more.

Taking a deep breath and then clearing my suddenly dry throat, "So what are your plans for the day?" I try to sound as casual as possible.

Em smiles, "Well I think everyone is having lunch together at 12 and then heading to the airport after that so I guess they'll have left by like half 2. What time will you be done today? I could just lounge by the pool until you're free?"

"Right, I'll be done by 5 for sure so could meet you then."

"Great, will Otis and Lon be joining me today?" She asks cheerfully. I think she's rather taken to her two young guards.

I nod trying to think how to steer the conversation towards tomorrow but part of me still wants to avoid the answer just in case it's bad news.

Sensing my nerves I think, Emily puts her phone down and sits up in front of me. "Is everything ok?"

"Yes, yeah of course" I quickly reassure her, reaching over to take her hands in mine. Rubbing my thumb across her skin soothes me a little, taking a deep breath I plunge on. "What about tomorrow?"

Finally picking up on what I'm actually getting at Em smiles, nods and starts talking. I hold my breath, a weight on my shoulders, my whole life in her hands as I listen.

"This whole thing still just seems so crazy." She looks away as she talks which doesn't fill me with confidence although she's still holding my hands. "I know what I saw with my own eyes but I think my mind's still trying to catch up. It's not that I don't believe you because I do, but my whole understanding of the world has shifted in the last few days and it's not easy to just accept it and go with it. Werewolves, vampires, witches. It still sounds utterly unbelievable and yet... you make it sound so normal and reasonable. You know, the other day I read this article about this new species of insect they'd just discovered in the Amazon Rainforest and it just made me realise that there's plenty of things out there that I don't know about and it doesn't mean they're not real. I just need to open my mind to more possibilities. If someone tomorrow tells me they're an alien from Mars I'll probably believe them because who am I to say any different?" She smiles at me and my breath catches, but then she frowns and looks more serious again. "And then, just when I think I'm dealing with it... the whole Luna thing really did freak me out. Stepping into your world is one thing but leading it is another thing entirely. I don't really see myself as a leader. The responsibility and pressure. Just the thought of it makes me want to run."

Panic starts to set in at the way the conversation has turned and I can feel a prickling in my eyes. Don't cry, don't cry I chant to myself, hold it together.

"But then there's the whole mate bond thing. I won't pretend to understand it but I know how it makes me feel. How you make me feel. You make me feel special, you make me laugh, you make me feel safe and more loved than I've ever felt in my life. You make me happy. I don't want this feeling to ever go away. I've thought about it a lot. Life is full of scary changes and new challenges, and I've no idea what I'm really stepping into here and maybe it won't work, but I'll never know unless I try. If I fail I can always go back home knowing I tried." She finally looks me in the eye as she says, "I want to try entering this crazy world, because trying means getting to stay with you, and that's what I really want. To be with you."

At her final words I can't help but let out a relieved sob. Tears are definitely flowing down my cheeks but I ignore them, pulling her into a tight hug. "You have no idea how happy I am to hear that. I was so scared, so scared to lose you." I murmur into her ear, swallowing the lump in my throat and trying to regain my composure.

Leaning back to look into her eyes I push her hair back so that I can cup her cheeks. "I love you. I love you so much and I promise to love you and care for you and protect you. I'll do anything to make you happy, I swear it. Thank you for giving us this chance."

She reaches up to brush away the tear tracks still on my cheeks, her eyes lighting up with her smile, "I love you too."

Never have four words meant so much. Gently leaning in to kiss her, Firenz purrs quietly too. Both of us ecstatic. Our girl is staying.