Once Rejected, Twice Desired (Book 1 of Blue Moon Series)
Once Rejected, Twice Desired Chapter 20

Alaia

POV

At some point during the drive I drifted off to sleep. I just couldn't handle anything else happening, sot forced myself to shut down.

Lying in Xander's arms was heaven. Breathing in his scent brought me a sense of peace and tranquility my life had severely been lacking the past few days.

I was sure he had plenty of pack work to catch up on. He'd been with us at Opal Moon for much longe

Xander had his hands full running multiple businesses, seeing to his pack members, and protecting h

I was sure he was just as tired as I was, but he didn't show it.

he had anticipated. My old pack was the largest in the area, but not by much, and the Blue Moon pack was a close second. s from rogues, all without a mate by his side.

He allowed me to rest, cradled in his arms for the entire trip. Valuable time that could have been used doing anything else.

I felt a gentle shaking of my arm then heard Xander say, "Wake up, baby, we're home."

I sat up to looked out the window and was greeted with the most beautiful forest I'd ever seen.

The trees were all so tall and majestic; they looked like they'd been plucked from a painting.

I could see little animals scurrying around the forest floor and imagined letting Amethyst out to chase them around.

There was a picturesque little stream that ran along the road we were on that held water so clear I could easily see to the bottom.

As the forest gave way to a clearing, I finally saw the Blue Moon village.

The houses were adorable little cottages painted in blues, grays, and whites.

All around pack members in both their human and wolf forms ran towards the car, anxious to welcom

There were so many excited faces that I didn't even notice that Kade had stopped the car.

Alpha home.

"Xander, I don't think they'll let us pass until they get a chance to see Alaia. They've been waiting far too long to meet their Luna." Xander looked down at me and said, "It's up to you, Little One. If this is too much for you right now, I can command them to move aside."

"Don't you dare! I'd love to meet your pack."

"Our pack, baby. They are just as much yours as they are mine. Let's go."

Xander cracked to window a few inches, and in his Alpha tone, he addressed the crowd in front of us.

"Blue Moon pack, I have brought your Luna home to you, and I'm sure you're excited to meet her. Since we don't want to overwhelm her at this time, I ask that calm yourselves and take a few steps back." They immediately did as instructed, allowing space for Kade to come around and open the door for us.

Xander stepped out first to a chorus of "Welcome home, Alpha!"

He then turned and offered me his hand, helping me out of the tall truck.

I was being shielded from the crowd by his large body when he looked down at me.

"I'm ready," I told him.

He then took my hand and turned to the pack.

"Blue Moon pack, I give you your Luna, Ms. Alaia Miller."

I stepped beside Xander, and all was quiet for a moment. I feared something must have been wrong before the pack erupted into cheers and celebrations.

"Congratulations, Alpha!"

"Thank the Goddess!"

"She's beautiful, Alpha!"

Tears threatened to fall when I felt all the love and acceptance these people had for me so soon.

I knew in my heart that this was where I was meant to be.

Xander leaned down to my ear and whispered, "Welcome home, baby."

Yes, welcome home, indeed.

***

Xander POV

There was no doubt in my mind that the pack would instantly accept my Alaia. Even if they hadn't been waiting years for her, she was a pure and gentle soul that they would notice immediately. As the celebration continued, my Gamma, or third in command, Matthew came running up to the car.

I could tell that he had recently shifted as all he had on was a pair of basketball shorts.

As he reached Alaia and me, his face broke out into a huge smile.

"Welcome home, Alpha, Luna."

I could feel Alaia's body tense up a bit when he approached, but I understood why.

Matthew was a warrior as well, and a well-trained one at that. He kept very fit, and with his perfect smile, dirty blond hair, and baby blue eyes, he was a lady killer without even trying.

He just had an effect on women, even if it was harmless and unintentional.

"Thank you, Matt, it's good to be home. Now would you please put on a shirt so my mate can take a breath?" I said with a laugh.

He blushed before he slightly bowed his head and said, "Sorry about that. Excuse me for a minute."

He opened the back of the truck and pulled out a T-shirt from the stash we kept there.

As he got dressed, I leaned down to Alaia and said, "Don't worry, this happens with all the shewolves when they're near him. It's nothing he does on purpose, and once I've marked you, he'll be just another pretty face in the crowd." She nodded her head in acknowledgment.

When Matt walked back, he said: "My deepest apologies Luna; I meant no disrespect."

"It's fine, really. And please call me Alaia. It must be nice having all the ladies fall at your feet like that," she said with a smile

"Not at all, Lun- I mean, Alaia. Luckily, most of the guys in the pack know that I mean no harm. As soon as I replace my mate, all the madness will finally be over."

He shot Alaia one of his dazzling smiles that made her draw a sharp breath.

"Alright, pretty boy, back to the packhouse. You're going to give my girl a heart attack," I said.

"Yes, Alpha," he said before turning and running back down the road.

Alaia looked up at me with an embarrassed look on her face.

"I'm so sorry Xander, I don't know what was happening."

I laughed and pulled her in for a side hug.

"I promise, baby, it's not your fault. It's a long a crazy story that I'm sure he will share with you one day, but it's a curse that's was put on his family years ago by a love-struck witch. All the men in the Stone family have had to deal with this for as long as they can remember. He hates it, but he's a good guy, and he would never use it to take advantage. He knows you're mine and his Luna, there is nothing to worry about."

"Okay," she quickly said.

"Come on; it's time for me to show you the packhouse."

Before we got back in the truck, I addressed the members of the pack who were still milling around.

"Get ready Blue Moon, tonight we will celebrate and welcome our Luna home around the bonfire. We'll see you all there."

***

Alaia POV

When we finally arrived at the packhouse, I was again blown away. It was stunning. The house was at least four stories and had what looked to be a million windows.

The exterior was covered in white marble that sparkled and shined in the sunlight. There were impeccably maintained gardens around the perimeter that I couldn't wait to explore while walking hand in hand with Xander.

"Do you like it, Little One? My great-grandfather had it built back when he was Alpha. We've updated and modernized inside obviously but never saw a need to change the exterior," Xander told me. "It's amazing, Xander. I love it."

"Great, let me show you the inside-"

Xander was cut off mid-sentence by a high-pitched squeal of delight.

A fast-moving blur of dark hair and familiar blue eyes rushed us before slamming me into a crushing hug.

"Oh, for f**k's sake Kimmy, you couldn't at least wait for her to get inside before you pounced on her?" Xander yelled, part angry, and part amused.

The vibrating ball of excitement I assumed was Kimmy quickly replied, "f**k off, Xan; I finally have a sister! I'm so excited!!"

Xander walked over to the two of us and comically placed on of his large hands on Kimmy's forehead before gently pushing back, forcing her to take a step away from me. "Alaia, this is my little sister Kimberly, or Kimmy for short."

"It's nice to meet you-"

"AAAHHHHHH! SHE'S SO f*****g BEAUTIFUL!!!" she screamed, almost bursting my eardrum.

Before I could even think anything to say, I heard a smooth but authoritative voice yell, "Kimberly Elizabeth Black! What have I told you about that mouth of yours?"

"Ugh! Sorry mom, but have you even seen her-"

Kimmy was cut off by her mom, raising one perfectly manicured hand.

Kimmy's mom-that meant that this woman was Xander's mom!

I gulped and took a step back. Instinctively I ran my hands over my hair, hoping that I looked presentable and that she would like me.

As she walked closer, I saw the striking resemblance between mother and son. Xander has her same ink-black curls and crystal blue eyes. I could also see that he inherited her cheekbones, nose, and mouth. Xander was just a larger, manlier version of his mother. She was closer to my height, around 5'5, I'd guess, but still small compared to all the men around. Even with her small size, she commanded respect and oozed grace and style. I was immensely intimidated by her.

Before she could come to a stop in front of me, I gathered my courage and said, "Hello, Mrs. Black. It's an honor to meet you. I'm Alaia, Alaia Miller."

When she smiled at me, all my fears disappeared.

"My, what an exquisite and polite mate the Moon Goddess has blessed my son with. And this gorgeous caramel skin of yours is flawless; you'll have to share your skincare routine with me someday," she said while gently running her hand over my cheek. "And please Dear, call me Katherine, and the honor is all mine. You have no idea how excited we all are that you've finally come home."

She then wrapped me in a warm motherly hug that made my heart melt.

"Thank you so much," I simply replied.

After she released me, she gave me one more smile before turning to welcome Xander home as well.

"Thanks, Mom. So, where's the old man at?"

"The 'old man' can still kick your a*s, Son. Don't forget; I taught you everything you know."

Then, an extremely handsome gentleman made his way onto the front porch. He was almost at tall as Xander, coming in right around 6'5. He had light brown hair and kind gray eyes.

Xander stepped to me to make our introductions.

"Alaia, this is my father, Xavier Black. Dad, this is my mate, Alaia Miller."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Alpha Xavier," I said, stretching out my hand.

He waved it away and said, "Pfft, Xander's the Alpha now, I gave that headache up a long time ago. And besides, you are our Luna, so please just call me Xavier."

"Then, Xavier, it is."

***

Once the introductions were done, Xander and I moved into the house for a quick tour. As expected, it was impeccably maintained and modern inside.

The common room had a massive 85" TV mounted above the fireplace with every gaming console known to man organized neatly nearby.

There were at least six humongous leather sofas placed throughout the space making it almost resemble a theater room.

When we moved into the kitchen, I was again amazed. It was tastefully decorated with Corinthian marble countertops and built-in professional-grade stainless steel appliances.

The range held eight burners, and I could only imagine the delicious foods that would be cooked on it.

There was an entire wall that held nothing but refrigerators. Two built-in refrigerators, two built-in freezers, and one built-in wine cooler to be specific.

Werewolves had extremely high metabolisms, so packhouses were usually filled to the brim with food.

Before I was taken through the rest of the house, I was shown the back yard which had an Olympic sized swimming pool with a water slide and waterfall, three built-in barbecues, and a beautiful covered gazebo with its own private koi pond. I could see the pack having so much fun in this space.

I was told that the first floor was common grounds, meaning that anyone in the pack was free to roam there.

The second floor held eight guest rooms, all with private baths and two additional offices. The third was shared between Kade and Matthew and, eventually, their families.

The fourth and final floor was for the Alpha and Luna.

It had six ridiculously sized bedrooms and bathrooms, Xander's office, an office for myself, my dressing room, a music room, a library, and a small kitchenette for those pesky midnight snacks runs.

By the time the tour was over, my feet were throbbing from all the walking.

"I'm so tired. This place is huge, Xander!" I said to him.

He laughed, then scooped me up bridal style and began to walk towards his room, our room.

"Just one more thing to see, then you can rest before dinner."

"You had me at dinner, babe!"

Xander opened the door to the room, and I gasped. It was perfect.

This space had to be five times the size of my room at home. There was a large four-poster California king bed rested against the wall between two open balcony doors.

The room was decorated with soft blues, grays, and whites, which seemed to be a theme here.

There were a large fireplace and seating area to our right and three sets of double doors to our left.

"This is my closet here, yours will be right next to it, and those doors at the end are to the bathroom," he said, pointing them all out to me.

He placed me on my feet, and I went over and opened his closet doors.

As soon as the doors opened, an overhead light came on, causing me to look over my shoulder at him and say, "Ohh, so fancy."

His clothes were neatly organized and color-coded. He had everything from simple blue jeans to tailor-made tuxedos.

"Wow, who knew one man needed so many clothes!"

"Oh, really? Check out your closet."

I turned to him and raised an eyebrow before walking into my closet.

Again, the lights overhead came on as soon as I opened the door, and I was blown away.

Every color of the rainbow, fabric, style, and designer was in this closet.

There were at least thirty ball gowns, cocktail dresses, sundresses, jeans, shorts, skirts, everything!

I had derby hats, baseball caps, floral head wraps, even a frickin' tiara.

"Really Xander, a tiara? You can't be serious."

"Yes, really. You, Little One, are my queen and will be treated as such. If there is anything that you don't have here and want, I'll be sure to get it for you."

"This is more than enough. I'll never have an opportunity to wear even half of this stuff."

"We'll see about that. There's one last room for you to check out."

He grabbed my hand a pulled me out of the closet and into the master bathroom.

It was gigantic. The double vanity boasted the same Corinthian marble countertops as the kitchen with shiny gold fixtures.

The clawfoot tub was deep and wide, and the shower was big enough to hold an entire football team. It had multiple shower heads coming from above and streams of jets running down the back and sides. "Ohh, yeah!" I said while eyeing the shower.

"Should I be worried, or maybe even... jealous?" Xander joked.

"Yes, you should be very, very jealous," I replied while stripping my clothes off.

"I think it's time for this shower and me to get to know one another better."

"I'll save the jealousy for another time. Right now, I'm going to shower with my beautiful mate."