Dark Moon

ChapterThree

Inara's relationship with her friends slowly changed with Corbin in her life. Rosaline also began to spend more time with other boys—multiple and always a few years older than her. Things at home with her mother also seemed to shift as Rosaline's father, Charles, was starting to become a mean drunk. He had always drunk, but he was beginning to become belligerent. This made Inara uncomfortable as she had to live with Charles since that was where her mother stayed.

Inara missed living with her father, and her wolf side began agreeing with her. Staying away from home was a haven, even if it meant hanging out with Corbin, whom she was trying to give a chance to. She learned he was a year older than her, which didn't bother her, but it did make him a high schooler while she was in middle grade. She wondered why a high schooler would be interested in a middle schooler. Inara didn't realize it was probably because she was more physically developed than others her age. Inara wasn't super skinny, a characteristic that sometimes made her feel insecure. She wasn't fat, though, just not lean and bony.

One day, when hanging out at Corbin's home, they were left alone. Inara was enjoying playing his Super Nintendo with him. Suddenly, Corbin leaned in, trying to kiss her. Inara paused the game to move away, but Corbin continued to advance. Panic set in as she didn't want to yell, but she also was not okay with being kissed. She nervously smiled, continuing to back away until her back found the wall. He planted a forceful kiss on her, and at that time, Inara's mother had arrived at Corbin's home in a panic. She had not known where Inara was, which wasn't unusual, but for some reason, this time, she panicked about it.

Inara was feeling so overwhelmed at this time. She was flustered by Corbin's actions and embarrassed by her mother's panicked behavior. Inara also felt relieved that the kiss was interrupted. It wasn't her first kiss; her first was when she was in kindergarten on a dare with a boy she had a crush on, but this kiss was different. This kiss felt wrong.

Inara didn't end it, though; Corbin was a link to leaving the house that was supposed to be home. Recently, Charles made an inappropriate advance on her, and luckily Irene witnessed it, but they hadn't left yet. Irene had no place to take Inara. Her parents didn't want Irene living with them, so going to them wasn't an option for Inara's mother.

Soon, Irene found another male to live off of. Joseph was a lovely man. Inara liked him. He was maybe 5'8 with dark hair, brown eyes, and a funny, very Italian mustache. He talked with Inara and genuinely cared about her mother and her. He was also a fantastic cook. He made Italian foods as that was his root heritage.

Inara liked being home, and her and Corbin's relationship was more distant now, though, when around, Corbin was more into kissing. Unknowingly, Inara was losing her identity and self.

Without the structure her father provided and a place to unwind and be comfortable, Inara was becoming used to being in just survival mode. Despite Joseph being kind, Inara wasn't sure how stable this arrangement with her mother and him was. Still, Inara tried to live in the moment. She hadn't seen her father in months and missed him a lot and finally brought it up to her mother. It was finally arranged one weekend, and Inara was thrilled.

When the time came, she was finally in her sanctuary, and she realized how foreign the feeling was to her now. She had nothing to relate to her father. They belonged to different worlds, and it broke her heart. That night, she cried herself to sleep in her old bed. She missed it when she thought she was just a human when life was simple. Her father was distant, but he also wasn't an affectionate man to begin with. He didn't hold her or hug her like some fathers did. He showed love and care by providing stability and security. Now that she was with her mother nearly full-time, Inara no longer had stability, and she didn't have any security.

The time with her father was short, and soon she was back with her mother. Life in Still Water Pack lands was not what she had thought. Under the surface, it was not warm, and despite Corbin's pushing for physical touching and always making out, there was a small part of her that craved being held and loved. It was a twisted and confusing feeling, so she hadn't ended it with him. She still didn't know if she would have a mate; she had a wolf, but did that mean she would? Some kids at her new school made her wonder as Inara learned not all wolves found their mate, and since most knew she was half-human, they almost convinced her she wouldn't find one.

Maybe that was why Rosaline pushed her toward Corbin.

Speaking of Rosaline, she hadn't talked or even seen her much since Inara's mother ended it with Charles. She learned Rosaline hung out with the betas and that most of the girls she hung out with during the summer were part of the gammas. Inara was the daughter of an Alpha daughter, but what did that mean? At this new school, Inara roamed from group to group like a butterfly, trying to learn and explore each social structure. She didn't find a spot to fit in. A part of her didn't mind, and her wolf didn't seem to care either. Inara wasn't sure what Alexis was feeling about everything. It seemed as though her wolf had become numb the moment Corbin pushed himself onto her.

That Thanksgiving, she didn't get to spend it with her mother at all, as she left her with Corbin and his family for some reason. Corbin's grandparents were part of another pack, and that was where they took her. It was a long journey, so they decided to stay the night after they learned Inara's mother was indisposed and unable to care for Inara. She cried herself to sleep for the second time in her life.

Inara was trying to navigate with little to no guidance and support. Her grades at her new school were not all that good, and her mother didn't seem to notice. But her mother continued to act like Inara was the best thing, boasting about how brilliant her daughter was and claiming Inara was a straight-A student when, in fact, Inara never was. She was usually an A to B student, but so far, Inara has been a B average. Her grades were F's here and there, mostly C's with one or two B's. Inara couldn't concentrate and had no structure at home to dedicate to homework properly. Most of the time, Inara rushed before class started or during free periods to do the homework.

She tested well, though. Most of the time, she'd get an A or A- and, on occasion, a B or two. Inara was smart, but her mother's boasts were misleading to Inara.

With more and more time living with her mother, Inara began to resent her. She was barely around, and when she was, she slept a lot. Inara had no idea yet that her mother was into drugs. It was a residual addiction her mother had begun back when Inara was five, and Irene was living and sleeping with a werewolf named Asher. Asher was one of the scariest men Irene had been with, and Inara barely saw her mother when she would visit when the two were together.

Slowly, it was common for Inara to spend the weekends with Corbin's family overnight. She didn't like it, but she got to know Corbin's parents more and liked his mother. She was a lot like the mother she didn't have.

Nights at their house caused a lot of tension within Inara. Corbin's parents would allow them to stay up alone. He would push the boundaries slowly until, one night, he wore her down and made her go down on him. She was not sure how to, but she'd joked about it all the time with friends before, so she wasn't new to the concept. But she was uncomfortable, nonetheless.

When summer finally came, she hoped to return to her father's, and her wish was granted. Her father and she didn't talk much, but the silence was welcoming; it gave Inara time to think to herself. It wasn't what she did, though; instead, she buried herself in books and even art.

Things with Corbin were getting bad, but Inara didn't know how to handle it. She never had a boyfriend before, and she also was never talked to about how to handle such things. Was this normal? Was this okay? She didn't know how to breach the subject with either parent. Her father was never emotionally available, and her mother wasn't someone she felt she could rationally talk to about this.

Being at her father's was short-lived before she was put back into the kiln, so to speak.