The Summer Moon
Chapter 81 -

Malia

Ty raced through the woods and I leaned back, enjoying the feeling of the wind rushing through my hair. I watched the moon shining between the tree branches above us, feeling so settled right now. Ty had been right this whole time, I had always belonged here. My mind drifted as I leaned down to settle into Ty's back again, snuggling my cheek between his shoulders.

I thought back to when Ty and I were kids, cursing my mother once again for separating us. It was crazy to imagine how different things might have been if I had never left. Would we have dated before I knew we knew we were mates? Would he have loved me the same? Would I have been there when Ty first found his wolf? I wondered what it was like for him, if he had been alone when it happened or with others, I wondered what it was like the first time he transformed. And if I were here with him, I wondered if he would have had the same restraint to resist marking me.

All of a sudden the trees passing by us ended, and I was looking out into the open land. I sat up quickly on Ty's back noticing as he slowed down to hardly more than a walk. The trees bordered an open field, and ahead of us there was a breath taking cabin sitting right on the edge of the water. Wooden panelling and delicate stone work lined the side of the building with a wooden swing hanging on the front porch.

"Ty this is gorgeous," I widened my eyes as I slid off of his back, taking in all of the scenery around us. String lights hung from the patio, looking like twinkling stars lighting up the front porch and walkway. I took a few steps closer, then felt Ty's warm arm wrap around me once he had shifted back. Taking the bag from my back, Ty pulled out his jeans and slid them back on.

"Can I show you around?" He asked me, reaching his hand out for mine and I eagerly nodded my head. I couldn't wait to see more. Ty led me up the porch steps and through the front door.

'Oh my god," I gasped, unable to contain the words escaping my lips as I looked around the space in front of us. This place was so homey with family photos plastering the walls, blankets and pillows spread out over all the furniture. A dining table already set with a huge vase of flowers in the middle, and on the far wall an open cupboard filled to the top with board games. "Ty," I whispered turning to face him, my eyes lighting up to see his eyes already on me. "You love it?" He filled in the blanks for me and I nodded my head.

"It's so homey," I grinned back. I walked over to the couch in the front room and flopped down, amazed at how soft and comfortable it was. The couch faced the window so I stared out into the night sky, watching the moons reflection on the

water.

"My grandparents built this place. My grandfather was a really great alpha, but he always wanted a place for his family to escape to so their whole lives weren't about the pack. My dad however, grew up to hate it here. In his opinion you should never want a break from the pack, and this place is just a waste of time," Ty said, leaning against the entry way still as he looked out the same window I did. It made me wonder what kind of alpha Ty would be. It seemed like being the alpha sort of took over your whole life, but so far I felt like I knew nothing about it, I'd never really seen Ty in action besides the few phones calls and the one gala we went to together.

"And what do you think?" I asked, knowingly giving way too much weight to my question. Would Ty be more like his father or grandfather? As i looked over to him his eyes were already on mine, watching me curiously as he walked closer to me. He came to kneel in front of me in the floor, pressing his torso between my knees and his hands found my hips.

"I love it here,” he whispered, saying exactly what I wanted to hear. I wrapped my arms over his shoulders and leaned in to kiss him, savouring the moment. "You were really quiet on the ride here," Ty said as he pulled back from me. "I was thinking about what it would have been like if I hadn't left, if I'd grown up with you here," My mind began to wander again as I thought about what our first date would have been like, when Ty would've kissed me for the first time. Ty gave me a small smile then came to sit on the couch next to me, pulling my legs over his lap and running his hands down them. "I used to think about that a lot, but I think it had to happen that way. If you'd stayed here I wouldn't have become who I am now, you wouldn't be who you are now. Plus you probably would never have met Alana, and we wouldn't have been able to laugh about our poor tortured Liam," Ty ended with a laugh and I had to join him. Everything he said was so right. We had to be apart for a little while, but I was never letting him go again.

"Don't worry, I don't plan on letting you go again either," Ty winked at me and I looked up at him confused. I hadn't been mind linking him, or at least I didn't think I was. How did he knew I had been thinking that? I shook my head brushing it off.

"Ty what was it like when you got your wolf or whatever?" I asked him the next thing I had been wondering about. I wondered if it was as magical as it felt for me tonight. Was he alone? With his friends? His family? I guess he must've been at least a little more prepared than I was for this. Did he shift right away? Or when was the first time he shifted?

"Mm you do have a lot of questions tonight," Ty smirked at me then pulled me closer so I now sat on his lap.

"For my 18th birthday Liam and Jesse threw a party, I was drinking, stumbled home just before midnight then laid in the hammock in my backyard. Jordan came out to sit with me, he was there when I heard my wolf for the first time. He is - was a few years older than me so he already had his wolf. He was pushing me to shift right then, but I actually was kind of afraid to shift for the first time, so I didn't. I ended up falling asleep in the hammock, got up the next morning and came here. I shifted that night," Ty spilled the story as I eagerly watched him, taking in every detail.

"You were here the first time you shifted?" I smiled at him instantly feeling sentimental. Ty nodded his head, running his hand through my hair. I wondered if Ty was close with his older brother next, but decided not to ask. He didn't seem to talk about him very often, I didn't want to push him if it would make him uncomfortable.

"Any more questions? You know you can ask me anything, I love talking to you," Ty ran his lips along my cheek and I sighed, settling against his chest. The full moon had just passed so I knew I had some time before I had to shift, but I knew I wanted the first time to be with Ty there, and just the two of us. Then it hit me, this was the perfect moment. Just like him, my first time could be here and what better way then to just jump in.

When I looked up at Ty his eyes were wide looking down at me with a huge grin on his face. "You want to shift?" He asked me, nearly jumping up off the couch and I could tell her was having a hard time containing his excitement. I ruffled my eyebrows looking at him, that time I definitely hadn't been mind-linking with him. Then as Ty's expression quickly changed to his "i fucked up" look, I realized what I had been missing.

"You can hear my thoughts?!" I screamed at him, jumping up from the couch as well. Ty gave me a guilty grin and shrugged which only made my insides burn more. God he was so cute, but I'm so mad why didn't he tell me. Or maybe I'm embarrassed because I had been thinking some pretty embarrassing things about him, how much had he heard. Then Ty started to laugh and I knew he was hearing way too much.

"But I'm not doing that mind linking thing!" I yelled next. My fists were balling up at my sides and I could feel my wolf starting to growl inside.

"You sure about that?" He smirked at me, stepping closer and I wanted to smack the goofy grin off of his face."Baby, relax," he placed his hands on either side of my face and I cursed my body for reacting so much to his touch as I instantly leaned into him, all my nerves calming. "It's because you're so totally obsessed with me right now. Your wolf just found out I'm your mate, you marked me, you can't stop thinking about me. So even if you don't realize it, you're pushing everything towards me." He explained and I settled a little more.

"It's actually pretty amazing. It's so rare to have a bond this intense. Mate bonds are pretty private so I've never heard anyone talk of having it before, but rumours always come around. My grandparents had it, it was actually pretty funny because my grandma used to get so mad at him when she tried to plan surprises for him and he always figured it out," Ty laughed and I couldn't help but laugh along with him, that was a pretty cute story. And he wasn't wrong, I was totally obsessed with him. I loved everything about him.

"It's not like this for everyone?" I asked, biting my lip.

"No," he smiled down at me and i pursed my lips to a pout. How long would this last for? Would he always hear my thoughts? Then on cue Ty knew exactly what to say, "Relax, you'll get it under control in a couple days. I don't know if it'll last forever, or how long it will. I can look into it if you want, I know my grandma had ways of hiding stuff though when she really wanted to, if that's what you want. But I love you, and I hope you don't want to hide anything from me ever," And with Ty's final confession I ran towards him, jumping into his arms as my lips crashed onto his. He held me tightly, my legs wrapped around his waist.

"But what if I think something embarrassing?" I whined leaning back from him but Ty held me sturdy.

"What? Like about gorgeous body?" He smirked at me and I could already feel my cheeks heating up. Although it's not like I ever tried to hide my ogling of Ty before, he already knows how hot I think he is. "Tyyy," I whined again.

"Baby you never have to be embarrassed around me," he shook his head and flashed me the biggest smile, and I knew he was right. Ty was the one person in this world I knew I could truly always be myself with.

"So why can't I hear your thoughts?" I smirked at him, eager to know what was going through his head. Then suddenly his voice was echoing through my mind, and this felt different then the mind linking. It was stronger.

"You can, I was just holding back because I didn't want to overwhelm you," then suddenly images of the first day we met were flashing through my mind. Ty wandering through the airport, desperate to replace my scent. I could feel the excitement he felt when I crashed into him, his relief when I told him I was staying in Florida for the summer, and of course his humour when I threw up on his shoes.

It was magical seeing the whole moment from his perspective, and I was so excited to see more. But right now, there was something more important on my mind. Then I turned to and whispered again the words I knew he was dying to here, "Ty, I want to shift."