The Blood Luna: Mated.

Dahlia and Amelia walked with their arms locked, laughing and joking. When Dahlia opened the front door to the mansion all was quiet and still. The girl's coming in, their noise echoed throughout the halls. "You want to have a girl's night?" Dahlia asked Amelia with a smile. "Oh would I!" Amelia exploding out excitement. "We can also talk more, if you have anything else that on your mind" Dahlia said wiggling her eyes brows. The gesture made Amelia loosen up a bit and she returned the smile. Dahlia and Amelia sat down at the kitchen table and they decided to figure out what was in-store for the night.

"What do you want to do?" Dahlia asked. Amelia had no idea what she wanted to do, she's never had freedom or leisure time before. "I'm not even sure how to have a girl's night" Amelia replied through a nervous chuckle. Dahlia gave a small frown, she didn't have any idea what to do either. "We could just talk more and see where the night takes us" Dahlia suggested. "Sorry, I'm not very good at this either. I was pretty much an outcast my whole life. I think Jackson and Lockhart were my first friends I've made" Dahlia said honestly. Dahlia's honesty made Amelia feel better. "Oh thank the gods, I'm not the only one that doesn't know how to do normal stuff" Amelia said. Dahlia gave her a smile. Amelia started to fidget around nervously and Dahlia watched her closely, she could tell she had something to say.

"What is it" Dahlia asked. Amelia nervously chuckled again and she just ended up blurring out her questions. "How do you complete a mated bond with a werewolf" Amelia asked as she turned as red as a tomato. Dahlia couldn't but help laugh. "Hey it's not funny" Amelia said with a pouty face. "I just wasn't expecting you to blurt it out" Dahlia said. "Oh sorry, I can't help myself sometimes" Amelia said embarrassed. Dahlia put her hand on Amelia's shoulder. "You don't have to be sorry. It wasn't too long ago, that I had all the same questions myself" Dahlia responded. Amelia gave her a smile. Dahlia let out a sigh and hoped her next words didn't scare Amelia.

"To complete the mated bond, you need to be wed under a celestial moon and then you mate. Your partner will then place his mark somewhere on your body and then you will place your mark. After leaving the mark you lick the wound to help it heal" Dahlia sounded like she was reading it out of a book. "After you have placed your mark and healed one another, you will be blessed by the moon goddess and will become one" Dahlia added with a frown. Amelia looked like a deer staring into head lights. "Mate?" She said confused. "Have sex" Dahlia blurted out. "Oh my gods!" Amelia shrieked. "I was surprised too. Sorry, I barely just learned about it. If you need more information, I know two wonderful ladies who could help you. They've been preparing me for when I meet my mate. If I am honest, I don't know how the process differs if you're not both wolves" Dahlia said looking down.

Amelia placed her hand on Dahlia's shoulder to give her reassurance. "I'm okay with the information you gave me. It does sound a bit violent, but it also seems full of passion and love" Amelia said. "I'm sure when the time comes, I will let nature takes it course" Amelia said. Dahlia looked at Amelia speechless for a second. "Does...Does that mean you're not rejecting him?!" Dahlia yelled out. Amelia laughed. "I never planned on it. How can I deny, what the moon goddess paired herself. There has to be a reason and I want to know what it is" Amelia said with a smile. As the girls were laughing at each other Dahlia's stomach growled so loud, you could mistake it with an earth quake. Amelia put her hand to her mouth trying to hold back her laughter.

"I guess we should eat something. time has passed so fast today, that it's already sunset" Dahlia said. Dahlia walked to the fridge. Dahlia frowned as there were no ready to eat meals in the fridge or freezer. "Looks like we're going to have to make our own dinner tonight'" Dahlia said through a frown. "That's okay, what do you have in the fridge?" Amelia asked joining Dahlia by the fridge. Dahlia started to rummage through the fridge. "For proteins, we have some chicken breasts, some beef, some fish and that's it. We have a wide range of veggies" Dahlia said looking at Amelia. Amelia thought hard about what she wanted to eat. "I'm pretty much up for anything!" Amelia said. "Do you know how to cook?" Dahlia asked. Amelia blushed from embarrassment. "I never really learned. I can make potions though!" Amelia said with optimism. Dahlia chuckled. "Well, I'd rather have food" Dahlia said jokingly. "Okay, well I'll teach you how to make an easy dish. Let's make some teriyaki chicken, veggies and rice" Dahlia said with a smile. "Oooooh that sounds so yummy!" Amelia said clapping her hands in excitement.

Dahlia started to get out her items she would need to make food. "I always find it easy to get out the pots and pans, utensils and cutlery" Dahlia said to Amelia. Amelia nods her head in agreement and watches Dahlia intently. "We will need a skillet or wok to make our chicken and vegetables. Tonight I'll use a wok. I want to grab a rice pan. I'll need a cutting board. A knife for meat and a veggies. I prefer to use my Santoku bōchō knife, it's way faster" Dahlia said explaining to Amelia. "Wow, you're so knowledgeable" Amelia said with admiration. "Well my family always cooked together and my parents taught me; to help me become more independent" Dahlia said with a smile. "Now you can teach me!" Amelia said with a grin. Dahlia laughed at her enthusiasm. Dahlia continues on her tutorial. "We will need a cutting board, our sauces, bowls and forks...or do you want chop sticks?" Dahlia asked. "Oh, can we do chop sticks?!" Amelia asked. "You bet we can" Dahlia says smiling. "This is going to be awesome!" Amelia said.

Dahlia is sure she forgot something but she starts prepping the food, so that way it's not ready too late. "First I'm going to give the rice a rinse in the strainer, before I put it in the pot to boil" Dahlia says to Amelia. "I usually finger measure the water that boils the rice. It honestly just makes for better moist rice" Dahlia said. Dahlia shows Amelia by what she means when she said finger measuring. Dahlia put the rinsed rice in her pan. "It's said that if you, when you place the amount of rice you want, when you add water, put your finger in there to touch the rice. The water will be just above the knuckle. I know it sounds crazy but it always produces perfect moist rice" Dahlia said. "That's really cool, who taught you that?" Amelia asked. "My dad showed me and it's just became the standard for how we cook rice. He never said where he learned it from" Dahlia said. Dahlia turns on her pan just below medium heat to start cooking the rice. "I'm going to ask him next time I see him" Dahlia said. Amelia chuckles at Dahlia statement. "Next I'm going to slice the chicken" Dahlia said as she threw down the chicken on the cutting board. Dahlia grabs her knife and starts slicing the breasts into medallions. "I have no reason why I cut the chicken into medallions, besides just liking bigger pieces of chicken" Dahlia said with a grin. Amelia watched in amazement as Dahlia cut through 4 chicken breast at what seemed at light speed. Dahlia walked over to the stove and ignited the fire. "We use natural gas to cook with. You have to be careful because pans get really hot and can burn food really fast. I put the fire on the lowest setting for now" Dahlia said. Dahlia walked over to the sink and washed her cutting board and Santoku bōchō knife. "I'm going to reuse these for cutting the veggies" Dahlia said. "It's important even at home to not cross contaminate foods" Dahlia said. Amelia shook her head in agreement. Dahlia tossed the chicken into the wok and it started to sizzle a little. "I'm going to add a little sesame seed oil, it gives the food great flavor" Dahlia said. Amelia watched as she put a small amount into the wok.

Amelia watched as Dahlia went back to the cutting board and started to mince and dice veggies. "Here I have some red onion, a clove of garlic, some green onion, carrots, broccoli and cauliflower" Dahlia said as she showed Amelia each veggies that was diced and which was minced. "The colors look so pretty" Amelia said. Dahlia gave her a smile. "All done with the veggies, let's check the chicken" Dahlia said. Dahlia turned around and checked the chickens progress. "The chicken is starting to turn white on both sides, let's stir it around and add the veggies" Dahlia said. "I can't wait, it already smells so good!" Amelia said. "I know right!" Dahlia said. Dahlia goes over and checks the progress of the rice. "The rice has been boiling nicely, do you see how there's not much water left? I'm going to turn the pan off and the rice will steam itself the rest of the way" Dahlia said to Amelia. "Wow, that's so cool" Amelia said. Amelia watches and Dahlia flips the veggies and chicken in the wok and puts the pan back down. "Next I'm going to add some teriyaki sauce and spices to the chicken and veggies and turn the heat up a little bit" Dahlia says to Amelia. Amelia watches as Dahlia adds teriyaki, and some spice. Season all, salt and pepper. Dahlia looks so focused when she's doing these actions. Dahlia let's the chicken and veggies cook for another 5 minutes. Every so often stirring the sauce back onto the chicken and veggies. "My dad is really strict about food safety. He likes to check the temperature when he's cooking meats. Since we are having chicken it should read 165°F or higher" Dahlia educated Amelia. "What happens if you eat chicken that's not 165°F or higher" Amelia asked with curiosity. "Well, you can get salmonella, or food poisoning" Dahlia stated. "That sounds awful" Amelia said. "It definitely can be" Dahlia said. "My food was always prepared by the council chef's" Amelia stated. "They probably followed strict food rules too" Dahlia said. Amelia shrugged her shoulders having no idea about their standards. Dahlia stuck the meat thermometer into the chicken and it reads; 170°F "Perfect" Dahlia mutters.

"The food's ready!" Dahlia said. Dahlia turned off the gas stove and throws Hot pads on the counter and places each pan on one. Dahlia grabs a serving spoon for each pan. Dahlia then grabs the bowls and goes to the utensil drawer to find the chop sticks. "Haha! Found them" Dahlia says with a victory smile. Amelia chuckles in her hand. Dahlia Scoops rice into each bowl and then scoops a generous portion of chicken and vegetables into the bowl. "It smells so good" Amelia says with wafting hand gesture to bring the smell into her nose faster. "Thanks, I'm glad I was able to show you a couple of things" Dahlia said. "There's still so much food" Amelia said. "You never know when people will be in and out" Dahlia said with a smile. "Plus, wolves eat a lot of food" Dahlia emphasized. Amelia laughed.

"Let's take dinner into the living room I can put on a movie" Dahlia said. "That would be great!" Amelia beamed. "What kind of shows do you like?" Dahlia asked. "Umm, I'm not really sure, what do girl's watch on girl nights?" Amelia asked puzzled. "I have no idea" Dahlia said laughing as they headed to the couch with their dinner. Dahlia and Amelia took their seats on the center couch that faced the T.V directly. Dahlia turned on the television and started searching for on demand movies. "I like action, horror and documentary movies" Dahlia said to Amelia. Amelia was actually quite flustered. "I've never watched T.V before" Amelia said with embrassment. Dahlia smiled "I'm about to rot your brain, like the rest our generation" Dahlia said mischievously. Amelia looked unsure.

Unbeknownst to Amelia, Dahlia mindlinked Amelia's mate with a simple phrase. "She wants you" Dahlia informed her royal guard. Dahlia sat scrolling through the guide when the front door of Ravenwood shut. The person was Jackson. Dahlia didn't even look at him and just hollered "Dinners on the counter" while starting at the movie options. Amelia blushed and tried to sink into the couch to disappear. "You'll be fine, just be yourself" Dahlia whispered. Dahlia's comment helped calm Amelia down. Jackson was making a ruckus in the kitchen while grabbing his food. After he got his portion he came and sat at the adjacent couch. "Smells great" Jackson said. "Thanks, we worked together to make it" Dahlia said. "Dahlia taught me a few tricks" Amelia said confidently. Jackson didn't say anything and took a huge mouthful. He was nodding his head 'Yes' in approval. Dahlia smiled and turned on American horror story. "I love this show" Dahlia said. "Amelia it can get scary, if it scares you too much, just let me know and I'll turn on something else" Dahlia said. "Okay, I will" Amelia said. The three sat there inhaling their food. Dahlia was sucked into the show and didn't even realize her food was gone. Amelia was in the same boat. Jackson came by and took their empty dishes from them and took them to the kitchen. He put the left overs away, and put the dishes in the washer and placed it on delayed start. He knows how Dahlia gets when her shows are interrupted. Jackson came back to his original seat and stared at his mate.

What a perfect creature the moon goddess gifted him. Jackson watched as Amelia's eyes were big, waiting with anticipation with what would come next. He smiled every time she winced when something grotesque appeared. How he couldn't wait, to make her his mate. The timing has to be right and she has to be ready. The girl's sat and watched episode after episode and the night crept in and without realizing it, the girls fell asleep watching T.V. Jackson went to the linen closet and got them a blanket and placed it over them. Jackson shut the T.V off and gave the scene one last smile before he retired to the pack barracks.