MOONLIGHT: ORIGINAL EDITION

Luca woke up the following day and realised that a week and a half had gone by and that his mate's scent had gotten more vital in the last three days when he had spent time with her. He knew then it could be any day now that she would wake up. Luca made sure that from the day he found out what her scent was, there were fresh flowers in a couple of vases around her room to make the room a bit more like home for Rosa. He went over to see how she was. He kissed and caressed her cheeks, saying good morning, sweetheart. Luca then turns around and heads towards the bathroom to shower and get ready as the new day begins.

Exiting the bathroom, he saw both doctors and said good morning. Arianna returns the greeting on their behalf. Luca then informs them that her scent is getting stronger every day. Both doctors agreed that was a good sign that she would wake up soon. Luca also agrees with them. Arianna then asks him if Diego has heard anything yet. Luca replies, "No, not yet, but soon, hopefully," he said to her, "I cannot wait to find out what the name of her wolf is called and what she will look like when she shifts for the first time. It's going to be very painful for her," he said to her. Cristian then said to him, "Yes, it will be excruciating for her, but she will have you to help her through the shift" he said to him. Luca replies, "Yes, l will be there to help her through the shift", he said to them. Cristian informs him as he writes his notes into her chart, "Rosa is doing remarkably well regarding when she first came here from the attack. She has come a long way since then, but she still has a long way to go before she can leave the hospital completely. We will wait until she wakes up to discuss this further, Alpha," he said as Luca nodded in agreement. Both doctors then left the room. Luca heads towards the pack house for breakfast.

Luca arrived at the pack house and went to the dining room, where everyone sat and ate. He sat down and helped himself to the food on the table after he told everyone to continue eating their own when they had stopped eating because their Alpha had arrived. As everyone continued to eat and the conversations began, Luca announced that Luna would wake up soon as she was getting better and stronger every day. The pack members gathered around the table erupted in cheers about the news. He also told them there was still a long way to go before Luna was completely healed and could leave the hospital. When breakfast was over, Luca dismissed them from the table so they could get ready for training. Luca did not join in as he was spending as much time as he could with Rosa, so he returned to the hospital and his mate.

Luca arrived back at the hospital and in Rosa's room and returned to the paperwork he had tried to complete the day before but couldn't. The rest of the day flew by. Luca had his lunch in the room as he continued doing the paperwork to try and get some or most of it done so he could be there when she woke up so she could help her. Before he knew it, there was a light knock on the room's door. Luca tells the person to come in. Stefano comes in and has a plate of food and a drink in his hands. Luca thanked his Beta as he took the plate and the drink and placed them on the table. He then turns back to Stefano, and they discuss both training sessions at length. Luca was very pleased with everyone putting effort into the new schedules and how far they have come since they started.

As they both continued to discuss pack matters, the doctors arrived to do the final check on Luna before he retired for the night. Arianna was the one to do the examination this time around. She informs him as she writes her notes into Rosa's chart that she is the same as this morning. Luca thanks them both as they leave the room, saying you are welcome. He returns to Stefano as his Beta stands up and tells him he is heading off to let him retire for the night as he is heading off to bed. Luca then wishes him goodnight as Stefano returns the greeting and leaves the room.

Luca sighed and headed to the bathroom to get changed for bed. After changing, he kissed Rosa on her forehead and right cheek while he caressed her left cheek softly. He turned towards his bed, slipped between the sheets, and drifted asleep as his head hit the pillow.

Sometime during the night, Luca's wolf, Diego, hears a voice in his head.

"Diego, are you there?" the voice said and then repeated it when no answer was given, "Diego, are you there?" for the second time.

While Luca and l were asleep, l thought l heard someone calling my name. I felt l was hearing a voice in my head. Then l heard it for a third time, only more sharply. "Diego! Are you there?" the voice said more forcefully, so l decided to answer it. "Yes, l am here. May l ask who this is?" Mia replied, "Yes, my name is Mia, and l am Rosa's wolf", she said to him. Diego replies, "Your Rosa's wolf?" Mia replies, "Yes, l am; l understand from what the Moon Goddess has told me that you and your human half are our mates. Is that true?" Diego then answers by saying to Mia, "Yes, it's true that we are mates", he replied. Then Mia asks him, "How do you know that we are mates?" she inquires.

Diego then explains to her how he and his human half knew that they were mates when they met for the first time a week and a half ago when Rosa rented her family's old property and on that one night in particular, his human but in his wolf half their eyes met. He and his human half could feel the mate bond between them even if she couldn't at the time but would be able to now, hopefully, and without the scent blockers in her system. Mia couldn't believe what she heard, so she asked him, "How can l know what you are saying is true?" Diego then tells Mia, "Ask Rosa about what she felt that night and hear what she has to say about it. To her, it probably felt like a certain type of feeling. Rosa will be able to tell you more about that night," he said to Mia, who replied, "Okay, l will thank you, Diego, for telling me what you could", she said to him. Diego replies, "No worries, and you're welcome. We had a better sleep. Can l let my human Lucas know that we spoke? It will make him very happy that you are finally here with us", as he asks for her permission. Mia replies to Diego, "Yes to both. l am still a bit tired even though the Moon Goddesses helped us both by lending some of her strength to us to get better and stronger", she informed him. Diego said, "Wow, and here, Luca, my human thought that he was the only one who was hearing or talking to the Moon Goddess speaking to them. Wait until he hears this", he said to her with awe.

Mia replies, "Okay, l had better go. I need to sleep. Can we talk some more later, or if l need more information," She asked him. Diego replies, "Yes, we can. If you need anything, call me, and l will answer. Is that okay?" Mia replied, "Yes, l will, and thank you again. Talk to you soon", she said to him, who replied, "As l said before, no worries, and you're welcome, and yes, we will talk more soon, so for now, talk to you later. Bye," he said to her as she replied, "Sure, talk to you later. Bye," she said back before he left.

Mia thought about what Diego had told her and could not wait until she informed Rosa of what she had discovered. Instead, she asked her about that night and what she felt when their eyes met. She could not wait to find out the answers as she settled back down and went back to sleep.

More days passed, and everyone was going about their business as usual. However, there was also excitement because Luna Rosa could wake up any day now. The Alpha spent all his time with his mate to help her get better and stronger quickly.