Lone Werewolf

Nook

"I see," he remarked quietly, putting forks away in a nearby drawer. "You're only eighteen, aren't your parent's worried about where you are? Or any other family member?"

This one was at least easy.

"No." I told him resolutely. He frowned, surprised at the certainty of my answer.

"No...Not even your mum? Or dad?" He asked with trepidation, as if it was a sensitive subject, which it wasn't. At least, not anymore.

"No, I've never met my father - he died a few weeks ago. My mother...." I sighed and kept my eyes downcast, "She just didn't want me."

Devan, who had kept quiet throughout the exchange gasped.

"That must be terrible!" he exclaimed, eyes full of misplaced sympathy.

I shook my head, disagreeing with someone here for the first time, but my mate had to know what kind of disgrace I was.

"No-one wants a bastard child," I told him, quietly but truthfully.

Cesare made a sound of disgust? Anger? I couldn't be sure.

"I want you," he said, "I don't care what your parentage is."

His statement was bold and my wolf howled inside my mind - basking in the acceptance of her mate. It felt nice to be accepted so blindly but I couldn't help the rotting guilt from crawling through my gut.

"You don't want me," I stated matter of factly, voice quiet, "My mother was the Luna of the pack. What kind of disgrace am I to be born of a man other than the Alpha?"

"But none of that could possibly be your fault!" My mate protested, eyes wide and full of defiance. He threw his washcloth down and grasped me by the shoulders. I gasped and scrambled away from him, heat emanating from area touched by his hands.

"I'm sorry!" he hurriedly apologised, "It's just that that's twisted, your mother cannot reject you because of her own mistake, and a baby can do no wrong."

I shrugged, it had always been my fault, but my mates reasoning's weakened my own to the point of frustrating confusion.

"At least tell me you had some friends? Half-siblings?" he asked, seemingly desperate for me to give him a pleasing answer. Do I lie to sate him? Or will that get me in more trouble?

"No, well, I-I..." my voice trembled, "I don't have any friends. You don't have to worry, no-one will come looking for me or anything-"

"I'm your friend," Devan interrupted, making me look up to him in surprise, completely losing my train of thought. He looked so sincere. Cesare shot him a grateful look, but he sighed deeply and grabbed the counter, gazing out of the window with a furrowed brow.

I returned my attention to Devan, who was still smiling at me.
"You, you are?" I asked, shocked, "I mean, you don't have to be-"

"Everybody needs a friend, especially people like you..." he trailed off, and I frowned, people like me? "Sorry, I meant Luna. A Luna needs lots of friends."

I could feel Cesare throwing him a dirty look over my shoulder. Did he not want us to be friends?

"You'll make plenty of friends here, Eden," Cesare told me, as if it's a fact, "You'll be just fine."

I wasn't so sure about that, but at least they didn't appear disgusted by my heritage. That was a first.

**

"This is where we train the newly shifted," Cesare informed me, leading me over to a meadow. I had already seen the stables, the hospital, had a tour of the pack house and a guide through the pack village. Everyone had smiled and waved as we passed, it unnerved me.