(EDITING) Under A Lonely Moon

Chapter Twelve: Nova's POV

Bringing my attention back to the task at hand I took a towel from my mother before showing her what to do. "Just put the towels over the scars, it'll cool them down and he will relax a little. Micky said it's most likely just a psychological pain that the traumatic experience has left behind. There's nothing physical to suggest that they're burning him as they don't feel hot to the touch." I explained softly as I glanced over at her. She had such a pained look in her eyes as she looked at my little mate while gently placing a wet towel over his scars.

"Why would he do such a thing?" She whispered in utter disbelief.

I shook my head, "he wanted revenge for Tina's death. He blames it on me so he wanted me to feel the pain of loosing a mate too."

"But that," she began but I cut her off.

"Wasn't my fault right. He wouldn't listen and to be honest I understand why he's so angry. I would be too I guess. Whether it was my fault or not, I'm the only reason for his pain as far as he can see." I muttered, not really wanting to talk about the subject anymore.

After a few minutes Zak stirred, groaning, "N-Nova," he mumbled as his eyes fluttered open. He looked up at me with these innocent green eyes that melted my heart.

I smiled softly at him as his fingers stiffly released my shirt. "How are you feeling?" I leant over and kissed his forehead as I took his hand in mine and gently massaged the stiffness away.

"B-better t-thank y-you." His voice was shy and nervous, just like when I first met him. I couldn't help but chuckle at his cuteness.

"Are you hungry sweetie?" Mother asked him and he nodded. She smiled deeply and went to get us something to eat.

"What happened earlier? What scared you so much to put you in that state?" I asked gently stroking his soft hair.

He fidgeted a little. "C-can I," he began but stopped, his cheeks flushing red.

"Can you what?" I purred, knowing very well that he was trying to avoid the question.

"H-have a k-kiss." He mumbled and looked away from me, even his ears burned red.

I chuckled and pulled his face back towards mine and pressed my lips to his smiling as he pulled me closer, knotting his fingers in my long hair, pulling at it gently. A small cough made me pull away from him and look towards the door. Melanys small frame stood in the doorway, unsure of what to do as she shuffled from foot to foot. I chuckled. "You alright Mel's?"

She took that as an invitation to come inside and stood in front of me. "Mommy said Zak was hurt so I brought him this to make him feel better." She said holding out her hands, showing me what she'd brought.

I smiled at my little sister and motioned for her to come sit on my lap so she could see Zak better. "Zak, Mel's has something for you." I smiled as he looked at us a little dazed. He was tired but I knew he didn't want to sleep yet, or anytime soon, so I didn't press the matter.

"This is to make you feel better. Mommy always gives me one when I have a ouchie and I feel better." She smiled sweetly at him, placing the small round piece of chocolate into his hand. A smile spread across his lips as he held up the chocolate. It was shaped in a smiley face and my mother would give Melany one when she fell or was feeling upset. It was to help calm her cries and to brighten her mood and it's worked wonders and become a norm for us.

"T-thank y-you." Zak croaked and munched gratefully on the small bit of chocolate.

"Feel any better?" She pried.

We chuckled and Zak nodded, "much better thank you Mel." Satisfied she left us alone, her job done in her eyes, but I knew that that was far from the truth.

"So you gonna tell me what had you so scared earlier?" I whispered, my head lying beside his while I remained sat on the floor, my fingers tracing circles into the back of his hand.

"D-Derek." He croaked. My heart sank when I heard his muffled sobs. I looked up at him. He was trying to hide his face with his arm, his body shaking with each sob.

"He can't hurt you anymore, baby. I promise." I cooed, kissing his forehead. He didn't stop sobbing so I got to my feet, which clearly made him panic. His hand whipped out, grabbing mine tight. His body shook as he lay half upright, his grip on me tightening a little.

"P-please (hiccup) don't l-leave." He cried. "I k-know I'm being s-silly a-and should get over what h-happened. I'm trying I p-promise. Please don't leave me a-alone." He begged.

"Why would I ever do that ay?" I said gently lifting him off the bed and into my lap once more. The towels had slid down from his chest, but he didn't seem to mind so I guessed the pain had calmed down. "Listen to me Zak. You experienced something horrific. Don't ever think your being silly. You need to do whatever you need to heal. And I understand that your going to be very freaked out with wolves for a while. And that's ok. Take your time to heal, I'll be here for you all the way. I'm not going anywhere, I promise." I kissed his lips softly and cuddled him into my chest. As we sat there, Zak clinging to my shirt trying to control his tears, I heard my mother coming up with our food. I rubbed his back soothingly and kissed the top of his head as my parents walked in. My mother looked worried when she saw Zak. She set the tray down and came to sit next to him, talking to him gently as he calmed himself down. I looked over at my father who was standing in the doorway. He looked enraged. His eyes softened a little bit when he caught me looking but he looked well and truly pissed. I offered him a small smile which he thankfully returned. The situation happened and all we could do now was ensure Zak was safe and well. Derek of course was now exiled from the pack, officially making him a rouge. It saddens me a little as he was a pack mate and someone I grew up with. But his actions cannot be forgiven.

"Here, let's get these towels off you and get you warmed up." My mother fussed over my little mate, who kept a firm hold on my shirt. She helped him dry off and helped him into one of my shirts and a pair of my sweats, which made his cheeks glow hot in embarrassment. "There, now I've made some chicken soup. It'll make you feel better and won't be too harsh on your stomach." She smiled at Zak, patted his knee and left the room, telling us she'd be back later to collect the dishes.

"How are you feeling son?" Father asked Zak, his tone gentle but still a little harsh, just like his features. At first Zak didn't realise he was talking to him, probably because he called him son. I gave him a nudge and told him that my father was talking to him. His eyes grew wide and he tucked himself further into me out of shyness.

"B-better. S-sorry." Zak whispered.

"Theres nothing you need to apologise for. I'm-we-are just glad that your alright. Gave us a little scare." He chuckled a little. "If anything I should be the one apologising as he was a member of my pack. We don't take violent acts lightly here. He has been exiled from the pack. He can never return here Zak so trust me when I tell you that you'll be safe here from now on." He didn't wait for Zaks response before leaving but judging from my mates shocked expression he wouldn't have been able to respond anyway.

I chuckled and brought our steaming bowls over, ensuring a dry towel was wrapped around Zaks so he didn't burn himself as he held the bowl.  We ate our soup in an oddly peaceful silence. Zak still refused to move from my lap and I didn't have the heart to force him to move after what he had been through today. He just wanted some extra comfort and reassurance and I would gladly give him as much as he needed. After I had finished my meal I carefully eyed my mate as he slowly ate the remainder of his. He had red circles around his puffy eyes from crying and rubbing at them. His eyes stared into space and I could practically hear the cogs turning in his head. He was most likely overthinking things again but there wasn't much I could do to stop that, it's just who he was and how he dealt with things.

Once we had finished I placed the dishes on the tray outside of my bedroom door before closing it, hoping that my mom got the message that we didn't want to be disturbed anymore. It had been an exhausting afternoon but it was only 6pm and far too early to head to bed. I managed to convince Zak to stay awake and watch a random comedy movie with me to kill a couple hours and hopefully lighten his mood a little. He barely managed to stay awake through it but he did and he even chuckled at parts of the film, which gave me a bit of relief. Zak wasted no time once the movie had ended and fell asleep quite quickly with me following shortly after, once I'd closed the curtains and wrapped us under the covers, hugging him tight to me as he slept soundly.