Her Feral Heart

Week 1 Day 1

Andrew POV

I sat next to the hospital bed, watching my mate sleep. I'd been trying to get some sleep all night, but my wolf Kane would wake me up every hour because he was so excited to have finally met our beautiful mate. We both just wanted to watch her, to never take our eyes off of her. I had been waiting 21 years to find my soul mate, and Astrid stumbled in so unexpectedly, it caught me off guard. But I always swore to myself that when I met my mate, I would treat her right and cherish her. We would have an unbreakable bond and I would never hurt her. I wouldn't be like my father.

I could tell she’d been hurt before. Her tiny body was emaciated, covered in bruises. She was so guarded and scared. The thought that someone could hurt a being so beautiful and precious enraged me. I had to keep my mind on other things because every time I thought about what her pay might have been like, Kane wanted me to shift, find her old pack, and rip them apart one by one.

While she slept, my Beta Colby had come by so that I could explain the situation to him. He was instantly as protective over her as I was. My pack had been longing for a Luna ever since my mother passed, and they would protect her at all costs. Colby heeded my words and went to get a room next to mine in the pack house ready for her. Kane was not happy about the idea of Astrid sleeping away from us, but I didn’t want to overwhelm her right from the start. I could we were going to have to move slowly and gain her trust bit by bit. Hopefully soon, she would be comfortable enough with us to tell us what she was scared of. Comfortable enough for us to mark her and make her Luna. Kane howled inside of me at the thought, his excitement impossible to contain.

    I held my breath as Astrid stirred, slowly waking. She stretched her arms over head and scrunched her nose, smiling softly. 

    "Good morning beautiful," I whispered, unable to help myself from leaning in closer.

As if by magic, the more she awoke, the faster her guard was rebuilt. Her soft smile morphed into a blank stare, and suddenly she was expressionless. I silently vowed that I would break down her guard one day. 

    "Good morning, what's the plan for today?" She said flatly, sitting up today. 

    I smirked, hoping the plan might intrigue her. "Well, first, I'm going to take you to the packhouse and let you get settled. Then, we will eat foot, lots of food. Introduce you to the pack and then show you around the territory. How does that sound?"

Astrid bowed her head sheepishly. I stepped towards her concerns, reaching an arm to her shoulder, but thought better of it when she flinched away, glaring at me. 

"What's wrong sweetheart?"

"Andrew.. I can't meet your pack like this. My hair is a mess, and I'm covered in dirt and blood. Even if I'm only going to be here for 2 weeks, I would like to make a good impression, not scare people off" she murmured quietly.

I ignored the fact that she said she'd only be here for two weeks. I would change her mind, I had to. I knelt down by her side, looking her in the eyes.

"Darling, you are beautiful. That is all anyone is going to see when they look at you, I promise." It was crazy to me that she could even be worried about her looks. To me, she was the most striking creature I'd ever laid eyes on. 

She looked at me, rolling her eyes. "No, that's what you see when you look at me. You're my mate, you're biologically wired to think I'm beautiful. That's not what other people will think though. I need to get cleaned up before we go to the pack house."

I stood, thinking for a moment, and then extended my hand to hers. She looked at it, unmoving.

"I've got a plan, and it is just my hand, it won't bite. After all, I'm your mate like you said, so I don't think holding hands for a moment is a bad place to start." I risked, pressing my luck.

She slipped her small hand in mine, and for a moment, I saw her wall break slightly. She wanted to trust me, I could tell. Her touch sent lightning bolts through my arm, and Kane was losing it. He wanted to shift, to meet her wolf and take her now, but I shoved that to the back of my mind. I pulled her with me, walking down to the hospital basement, through a door that leads to a tunnel, all the while explaining.

"Six years ago when I took the pack from my father, there was some unrest from his loyal followers. They were exiled, but we were worried they would come back and attack. We were still small at that point, and I wanted to keep my pack safe. My beta, Colby, suggested a tunnel system. It runs from the packhouse, to the hospital, to a safehouse just outside of our territory. I'd almost forgotten about it, we haven't had to use it in so long, but it leads right to the stairwell at the back of the pack house. And then your room is right next to mine on the third floor so we can get you there without anyone seeing yet." I pulled open the door at the other end of the tunnel, leading her up the stairs. I watched her breathe a sigh of relief when I mentioned she'd be in a separate room, and even though I wanted her to be with me, I was happy that she would feel safe. 

We finally made it to our hall. Her door was the first one on the right. I walked ahead of her to open it for us.

"This is your room, and that one down the hall is my room. The only other people on this floor are my beta Colby and his mate Serena. They're most likely training now but you will meet them later today." I opened her door wider, letting her walk in. I watched her expression. She was wide eyed, looking around the room, and I was shocked when I saw tears begin to fall down her cheeks.

Astrid POV

I couldn't believe the sight before my eyes. For my entire life, I had alternated between a small cot in the basement when I was lucky, or the bare floor of my former pack house. I obviously knew that an Alpha would have nicer accommodations than that, but I couldn't have imagined this. The room was tall, with vaulted ceilings. The walls were painted a warm creamy white, and the floors were a light wood, covered in a large rug at the center of the room. I would conservatively guess that this room was a thousand square feet. My favorite part though were the floor to ceiling windows that looked back at woods surrounding the house. It was so serene and peaceful. It felt bright and welcoming, the antithesis of the Blue Fire pack house. Andrew grabbed my hand, pulling me further in, and for once, I didn't flinch away. I couldn't deny that his touch was warm. It felt safe. 

"In here is your bathroom, and then over there is your closet. I took the liberty of filling it with some clothes, because it doesn't look like you brought any with you," he chuckled. I peered into the closet and my jaw hit the floor. I turned, glaring at him.

"Andrew, this is way too much, I didn't ask you to spend all of this money on me. That's enough clothes for 3 months, not 2 weeks."

He rolled his eyes. "Astrid, we have more than enough money. I wanted you to have options, and anything you don't wear, we can redistribute to other pack members. Now, before you can argue anymore, I'm going to head to my room. It's just next door. Take as much time as you need to get ready, and then come and know on my door, okay beautiful?"

Now it was my turn to roll my eyes at his silly pet name, even though inside, I felt butterflies. He turned, exiting the room before I could argue. I surveyed the room. In the center of the rug was a large bed, made with a sage green comforter and covered in pillows. I ran, jumping into it and enjoying the feeling of the plush bedding surround my skin. I took a moment to assess my situation. I was in trouble. I could already feel my walls buckling to Andrews feelings. I could not let him convince me to stay. Edward would come for me. He would find me and I couldn't be here when he arrived. I also couldn't endanger this pack. My heart clenched, imagining what it would be like to accept Andrew, to let him mark me and become New Moon's Luna. I shook my head. There was no need to dwell on things that would never happen, it only hurt more.

"He could protect us, you know he could. We don't have to run anymore."

I ignored Belle. She wanted to stay just as much as I did, if not more. But there was no way that could work. I got up, going to the bathroom.

I showered slowly, enjoying the warm water carressing my bruised skin and washing the tangles from my hair. When I exited, I brushed my brown hair back to it's natural waves, letting it air dry. Then I got up the nerve to go check out Andrew's picks for my closet. Everything was beautiful, but I knew I'd only be comfortable in a few of the items. Most of them were very formal. I grabbed a pair of medium wash skinny jeans, a white t shirt, and some black converse. I looked down at my arms, debating. They were still quite bruised, and I cursed myself for letting Belle get so tired that she couldn't heal us more quickly. I grabbed a gray hoodie, pulling it over my top. That would hide the worst of them. My face only had one bruise just under my right eye. I checked it out in the mirror. It was dark, and I didn't think makeup would hide it. If anything, it might just make it worse. There was nothing to be done. Once my hair was dry, I grabbed a hair tie from the bathroom, pulling it into a ponytail to get it out of my face. This was probably as good as it was going to get. I left my room, walking into the hallway and towards Andrews room. Just as I was coming out, I heard a voice. It was shrill, making me cringe. 

"Come on Andrew, why can't you just give me a chance? You know that I was made for you, it's so obvious." 

Belle immediately awoke, growling. I struggled to keep her calm, waiting for Andrew's response.

"Olivia, if you were made for me, the moon goddess would have made you my mate but she didn't. Please understand, you are a part of this pack and I respect you, but I am not interested and I would like you to move on."

I couldn't help but smirk, feeling territorial over my mate, even if I wasn't going to be here very long. Maybe that was selfish, but I couldn't help it. At least for now, he was mine. I walked towards them, smiling at Andrew, ignoring that Olivia was there, though I did examine her out of the corner of my eye. She was beautiful, and my complete opposite. Blonde hair to my brown, blue eyes, and very curvy to my stick thin. I appreciated Andrew for fending her off, but I'm not sure I understood why. 

I arrived next to Andrew, and he smiled at me, slowly putting his arm around my shoulder. He watched my eyes the whole time, making sure he had permission, and I couldn't help but let him. He felt like home, and I leaned into him. I finally glanced at Olivia, and saw her eyes ablaze with hatred. Maybe not the best way to start meeting pack members. 

"Olivia, this is Astrid, my mate" Andrew introduced me. "Astrid, this is Olivia, one of our pack members. She is a pack fighter, quite skilled."

I reached my hand out to Olivia, but she did not reciprocate. Her eyes bounced between me and Andrew, her face reddening.

"When did this happen? Who even is she, I've never met her?!" Olivia growled.

"She is from a different pack. And I give you a lot of leeway because you protect this pack, but let me remind you that I am your Alpha and you will not speak this way around your future Luna, is that clear?"

Andrew spoke with his Alpha authority, making both Olivia and I bow our heads. Olivia muttered a quick apology in my direction, turning and running down the stairs to the main floor. Andrew turned back to me, smirking.

"Well someone cleans up nice. You look absolutely stunning Astrid. I can't wait for the rest of the pack to see what a lucky Alpha you have made me."

The rest of the day was spent introducing me to various pack members. It was nerve wracking, meeting so many people at once, but Andrew clearly was a successful alpha. Most of the pack members adored him, and by proxy, they immediately took to me, trusting their alpha to make a good choice for their future Luna. By the end of the day, I had met most of the pack and seen much of their territory. It was vast, dwarfing Blue Fire. The only members left for me to meet were Andrew's Beta and his mate. I was most nervous to meet them. Even if I didn't intend to stay, part of me still wanted to impress them, to make Andrew proud that I was his. We met them for dinner at a diner in pack territory. My stomach growled as soon as we entered, the smell of pancakes filling my nose. I looked around the room, and saw a man rise from his table, waving us over. Andrew grabbed my hand, guiding me towards them. 

Beta Colby introduced himself first. He was tall, with broad shoulders. His skin was pale, and he had bright green eyes, wide and almost child like. He had short hair, and I couldn't deny he was quite handsome. Next to him sat Serena, his mate. She looked straight out of a magazine. Dark green eyes, long red hair, and very tall and slender. She had a face that was so kind, it was hard not to love her immediately. Where Colby introduced himself with a handshake, Serena jumped in and went straight for the hug. I flinched, but she didn't seem to notice, and I sort of appreciated that she wasn't thrown off by my thin body or the bruise on my face. Everyone else's eyes had seemed to linger on my bruises or prominent, skeletal collar bones, but Serena didn't seem to see them. 

We all sat down, ordering. I ordered two stacks of banana pancakes with extra syrup, and a black coffee.

"Woah, how do you eat so much, you're tiny!" Colby chuckled, and Serena elbowed him, rolling her eyes. 

"I'm so sorry Astrid, Colby has horrible comedic timing." She said apologetically. I smiled at both of them. 

"It's okay. Dr. Evans said I need to eat plenty if I want to be able to heal again, and I also haven't had pancakes in 5 years, so I better take advantage while I can"

"5 YEARS?! How do you go 5 years with no pancakes? We will definitely make sure you never go that long again, that is a travesty!" Serena gasped, and I chuckled. I found it easy to be with them, and that was a comforting feeling. I'd never been very social, and I appreciated that Serena and Colby took the lead, making me feel at ease. I listed to them griping and bickering with one another, subconsciously leaning my to my right, bumping shoulders with Andrew's. We spent hours in the diner, eating pancakes and joking back and forth before we finally retired back to the pack house. Andrew walked me to my room, and before he left, he leaned down and kissed my cheek softly. As I crawled into bed that night, my only thoughts were that I was in big trouble. Because I actually liked it here. And I couldn't stay.