Loving Luna - All Grown Up

Chapter Twenty Four - Confused Liam

❤Liam

“Where are they taking her?” I asked the second Colin was brought back to our cell. Tina had basically lost her cool and shifted. She had been taken away and the rest of us had been escorted back to our cells.

“She’s being punished for disobeying the rules,” Colin finally answered, and I sighed.

“What does that mean, exactly?” Warrity piped up and I was thankful he had asked. I didn’t want to come off as annoying or pushy.

“It means, she will be confined to her own private cell for the rest of the week,” came Colin’s weary reply. He looked worn out and I was still curious. I decided that being annoying or pushy was the least of my problems.

“What about you? You shifted too,” I pointed out. “I mean, not that I want you to be punished or anything,” I quickly added as every other wolf looked over at me.

“Yeah, no…um, I got off with a strong warning. I had shifted only to help her, so I guess me not running around counted for something,” we all watched as Colin turned away and went to his spot on the top bunk bed. When he had laid down with his back towards us all, the silence stretched. He wasn’t going to say anything else. Who could blame him? Although I still had questions, I knew better than to push him any further. However, it would seem that Warrity had no problem pushing.

“Will she still be joining us for meals and time out?” he asked. The sudden low growling sound that came from Colin was answer enough. Warrity blushed as he shrugged and went over to Daniel. This whole thing was so weird, and I couldn’t help but feel that this wasn’t over. Tina being confined to her own cell was one thing but not seeing her for the rest of the week was concerning. Would they still feed her? Would she be tortured? I shook my head, trying to get the bad thoughts out. I love Tina, she reminds me of home, of my mom, who I missed a lot. I hated being away from home, away from my parents, my siblings. It made me feel sad. There was still a bit of time before dinner, so I decided to take a nap. I got into bed and sighed. Looked like everyone had the same idea. I closed my eyes and tried to sleep but all I got was an image. Damn him! He has been haunting my thoughts and my dreams. The question is why? Dennis, the panther shifter, was someone I needed to confront. I had no idea what was going on or why the male was haunting me, but it had to stop.

 ❤❤❤

I could feel him, I could smell him, and it didn’t make me feel good. I finished dishing up from the baked beef stew and I headed quickly to the table shared with the other wolves. I knew that if I looked around, I would find him staring. He always stared. Why? What was his problem? When I had spoken to Tina about him, she had simply told me that Dennis is curious. Curious about what? Wolves or me specifically? The tension around the table was troubling but understandable. Tina wasn’t here.

“Colin?” I looked up to see Colin’s mate, Grecia, standing just to the side of him. “Can I join you?” I heard her whisper as I started to eat. The silence in the dining hall was disturbing as the only sounds that could be heard where those eating. Otherwise, silence. No one was talking or whispering. I heard the scrape of the steel on the concrete floor as Grecia pulled out the chair next to Colin on his left. She placed her tray down and soon the room fell to silence once again. It was terrible. I hated it. I glanced over at Warrity, who was sitting next to his mate Darcy. I then looked over at Daniel, who was staring over at his mate, Lulu. I wasn’t sure what was going on between those two. It was while I was looking around that my eyes found his. I couldn’t help but just stare at him. His emerald green eyes captivated me, and his short black hair made his facial features look sharp and defined. I felt something shift inside of me and I tore my gaze away from his. What is going on here? Should I take this moment to talk to him? I quickly made a decision and shoveled the rest of the stew in. it wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t like my mom’s. I missed her cooking.

“In a hurry?” Kodan asked as I stood up with my tray.

“Yeah, um, yeah,” I wasn’t sure what to say or how to explain it, but I didn’t really owe him an explanation. Did I? No. I hurried to put my tray on the dishes side of the service line and then rushed outside. The guards eyed me closely and I shook my head. I wasn’t going to shift or cause any problems. I waited for him. When he didn’t immediately come out, I wondered if he would. Maybe, I should’ve looked at him again, indicated that I wanted to talk or something.

“Are you alright, Liam?” the sound of his voice had me spinning around to face. He wasn’t much taller than me, but it was clear he was older. Stronger and dare I say, attractive? I shook the thought from my mind and opened my mouth.

“What the hell is going on here?” I hissed out. My emotions were all over the place. My wolf was restless, and I could feel some kind of energy vibrating off from him.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“Dennis, right?”

“Yes,”

“Ok, don’t play dumb, I know that you know,” I argued. I was getting frustrated, I didn’t like this, not at all. I missed Tina. If she was here, she would’ve helped me.

“Liam, please,” Dennis begged, and I started to pace. “You need to calm down,”

“Calm down?” I stopped and faced him once again. “How the hell am I supposed to calm down when all I can think about is you?” I threw it at him, and he looked surprised. Why was he surprised? Was I wrong about this? Was it just me? Oh! What if it was just me? I started to panic. I may have just made a total fool of myself. “Never mind,” I snapped as I pushed past him to go back inside.

“Wait!” Dennis called out as he reached for my arm. He turned me back around to face him and I sighed. He was taller than me. I had been very much mistaken. “All I can think about is you too,” he whispered. The confession made me stop struggling and I stared up at him.

“So, you feel it too?” I asked carefully. Dennis nodded and I pulled out of his grasp. “What does it mean?” I questioned. Was it some kind of wolfie panther thing?

“You already know the answer to that,” he said, and I wanted to punch him. If I knew the answer, I wouldn’t be freaking out about all of this. “Liam just calm down. You don’t need to get worked up over this,” he advised. The urge to punch him got stronger and I took a step closer. Inches of space and air separated our chests, but I didn’t care as I glared up at him.

“How can I calm down? How can I not get worked up over this, when I don’t even know what this is?!” I screamed out. He looked alarmed and he was the one to take a step back, making more space between us and I immediately missed him. Wait, what? I shook my head and ran away from him, back into the dining hall. This time he didn’t stop me, and I felt disappointed about that. I didn’t know why but I zoned in on Colin. He had to help me, him, and no one else. I could hear him and Grecia whispering to each other, but I didn’t care as I stopped on the other side of the table, where I had been seated before.

“Liam? Is everything alright?” Colin asked when he saw me.

“No, we need to talk,” I declared. Colin glanced over at his mate. “Now,” I added. He stood up and I suddenly stopped Grecia. “Not you, just him,” she looked hurt and I immediately felt bad. “Sorry, no offense,” I added apologetically. Colin seemed happy with my apology. I pulled him outside and I was relieved to see that Dennis was not around. I didn’t take Colin too far as I knew the guards were watching us.

“Liam, care to explain?”

“I’m confused, I don’t understand,” I started.

“About?”

“About this weird feeling, I have,” I glanced over at him and blushed. This was harder than I thought it would be, but he was the only one I felt even remotely comfortable speaking too about this. “Dennis makes me feel…out of control,” I admitted.

“Dennis? The panther?” Colin asked curiously and I quickly nodded. “Ok, explain it to me, the feelings you have,”

“I can’t stop thinking about him. He haunts my thoughts, even my dreams! I can smell him, his scent, his annoying husky scent, and I don’t need to look around to know where he is or what he is doing. I find him…um…” my rant trailed off as I stopped myself from revealing too much.

“You find him what?” Colin pushed and I sighed. I had to tell him everything, especially if I wanted his help.

“I find him attractive,” I said honestly. “I don’t understand any of this,” I added as I threw my hands up.

“Ok, everything you’ve just described to me is the most natural thing for wolves to feel,” he explained, and I nodded. “I get it, though, you are still young, and this shouldn’t be happening to you right now,” he continued, and I listened closely. I wasn’t sure what he meant but I was desperate to find out. “Maybe its this situation we are in or maybe its destiny, but you’ve found your mate,”

“My what now?” surely, he couldn’t mean that Dennis is my mate? Could he?

“Your mate,” he repeated with a smirk, one that I wanted to slap right off his face.

“No, that’s impossible,” I declared. There was no way my mate was male. No freaking way.

“Why is it impossible?” Colin asked and I rolled my eyes. “Because he is male?”

“Exactly! I’m not…you know…I’m not gay,” I finally said but even as the words left my mouth, I knew that it wasn’t true. It wasn’t about being gay or straight. I knew that. Both of my parents had talked about mates and I knew that it was never about gender, race, or kind. It was all about a bond. A bond that is shared between two kinds. Whether it be the same, different, or even human. I felt Colin walk away and I didn’t stop him. He knew already. I knew it too. Dennis is my mate. I had no idea how I felt about it, but I knew one thing. I had hurt him, and Dennis had known already. That’s why he had said that I knew. I had to fix this but then again, did I want too? Even though I knew gender meant nothing, I still had to accept the fact that my mate is male. What does this all mean? What will happen? How will I tell my parents? Will they accept him? Will they still love me? Oh! What if they banish me because of it? Even though deep inside of me, I knew that they wouldn’t, I still panicked. I was going to lose everything. Why did the gods fate me with a male? Have I done something wrong? And what about Dennis, how did he feel about it? I thought back to the way he had stepped away from me. Had he been disgusted? With all of these new feelings and fears, I didn’t know what to do. I wanted to shift, I wanted to howl but remembering what had happened to Tina stopped me. She wouldn’t get to see her mate for the rest of the week. Would I be able to go through the week without seeing Dennis? The answer was simple. No.