My True Self

Chapter 8

Gwen's P.O.V.

I sat with my mother for what seemed like forever, hoping that she would heal and get better. She suffered a severe head injury, and lost a lot of blood. The doctors said that she was stable and that her wolf should be able to heal her soon, but I couldn't help the thought of her dying, and I just met my own family a few days ago. I held her hand the entire time I sat in the room with her, feeling absolutely helpless. I could hear Raine whine every now and again, hoping that she would wake up soon, too. Every now and again, the doctor would come in, check on her and leave without saying anything.

"You should go and get some rest. Maybe even check in on Xavier?" Raine finally spoke to me, breaking the silence in the room that was only filled by the ticking of the clock above the door. I sighed as I looked at it and noticed it was around 2:30 in the morning. I looked over at my mother one last time before getting up and walking to the door. Before I could open the door, a faint voice spoke out.

"Gw- gwen- gwenniver..." My mother croaked, her voice raspy. I rushed over to her and held her hand again, tears filling my eyes with relief. She slowly looked up at me and weakly smiled at me. Her hand slowly reached up to my face and brushed my hair out of the way.

"My little silver moon," My mother spoke softly. "There is something we need to discuss." I held her hand close and shook my head.

"Mother, it can wait until you are better." I said to her, yet she shook her head at me.

"It cannot wait any longer, my dear."She then took her hand and pulled out a necklace from under her gown, taking it off of her neck and handing it to me. It held a moon-shaped stone that changed colors in every direction. This necklace looked oddly familiar to me. I looked at the necklace for a minute before looking up at my mother again.

"When I was pregnant with you, I became severely ill, almost to where you and I both could have died. Your father took desperate measures and took me to a witch not far from here. The witch said that the only way to save you and I was to curse us with a gift and blessing, but it had a price: our pack was never safe from our enemies. The curse was that you and I would live, but you could never gain your power as being a Silver Wolf." My mother paused for a moment, and looked at me before she continued. She looked at the necklace that was in my hands and back at me. She looked worried, as if what had just happened to her wasn't the worst thing that is going to happen. My mother sighed and tried to adjust herself in the bed, but groaned loudly in pain.

Suddenly, the doctor rushed into the room and saw her awake. He quickly ran to her side and began checking everything, asking questions about her condition, and attending to her every need. My mother suddenly grew annoyed and raised her hand to the doctor to tell him to stop.

"Thank you, Charles, but I am alright for the moment. Right now I need to speak with my daughter. Afterwards, then you can treat me." My mother said in a polite voice. The doctor looked at her, worried, yet nodded and left the room. My mother then looked over at me again, grabbing my hand and holding it.

"The witch never told us how we could break the curse, but I have a feeling that this necklace holds the answer," she continued to say. "She handed it to me the moment you were born. You were born that night in the witche's hut, and it is heard to be bad luck for such a thing. The only thing she told me when she handed me you and the necklace was, 'This is your key, to life, to love, and to free spirit.' I have researched and looked in every book in our study ever since you've been gone as to what the necklace could mean, or how it connects to your curse. The only thing that I have found is in the books in my safe in my closet." My mother then squeezed my hand and brought it to her lips to kiss. "My sweet Gwenniver, I feel that you could find an answer better than I could." My mother looked at me and smiled softly before handing me a paper that had a code on it. I looked at her, shocked. I didn't know what to say. It seemed like my entire life that I had lived had not mattered until this point.

"What about you? If I figure out the necklace, does that lift the curse on you as well?" I asked her, worried. She is the one person in my life that has shown me love, kindness, and meaning since she found me and brought me back home. I could not lose her so soon or quickly. I didn't even know how else the curse affected her. My mother smiled again and brought her hand to my cheek.

"The curse on me was that I was to slowly begin to pass once I found you in my life again." She looked away from me and sighed. "The witch told your father and I that we had until your 3rd birthday to give you to the human world and not know of becoming a wolf until you came of age. It was set that when I found you and brought you home, I was to have limited time to teach you the things you need to know of this world. It was told to us that many things would start happening quickly, and I would be the one to suffer the most. Your father was never meant to be a part of this curse." She stopped for a moment and I could see a single tear run down her face. The thought of my father now gone, so quickly after meeting him again, was one of the most heartbreaking things I have experienced yet. My mother cleared her throat and shook her head lightly.

"I don't know for sure if you break the curse that it will help us both, but I know that it will at least save you, and help you finally become the wolf you are aspired to be." She spoke softly, as if not to cry in the middle of her sentence. She then patted my leg lightly. "I think you need to go check on your mate and try and rest. I will be here when you wake up, my dear." She gave me a warm smile before gesturing towards me.

I got up and walked out of the room. The doctor, Charles, stood outside of the door, waiting patiently to check on his Luna. We nodded as he headed into the room and closed the door. I began to walk back to the other side of the packhouse. I finally reached the stairs to the master rooms and became surprised when I saw Xavier sitting on the steps.

"Xavier," I said, quietly. He looked up at me and gave me a small smile.

"I was waiting for you, hoping everything was okay." He said to me. I smiled back and walked up to him, sitting down next to him.

"She's awake and doing okay so far." I explained to him. Xavier let out a sigh of relief, but I began to worry about what my mother had just told me. Xavier must have noticed that something was wrong, because he reached over to me and gently wrapped his hands in mine. I looked at him and he looked as if he was worried. His hair fell on his face, covering some of his eyes, and I was mesmerized by how hot he looked. Raine howled in my head, as if to try and lighten the mood.

"Is everything okay, Gwen?" He asked, softly. His voice was light, yet deep at that moment, which made Raine begin to run in excitement. I smiled at him and nodded.

"Yeah, everything's okay. I'm just exhausted," I tried to say as an excuse. I didn't want to try and drag Xavier into everything that I just found out. I was still trying to wrap my head around it all, but it was making me more tired just thinking about it. Xavier then got up and held his hand out for me to take. He helped me up and walked with me down the hall towards my room.

"You should ask him to sleep with you!" Raine excitedly said.

"Are you f*****g crazy?! I just met him and now you want me to sleep with him?" I explained, embarrassed. Raine shook her head, rolling her eyes and sighing.

"No one said anything about s*x. Do you want to sleep in your big ass room alone, especially after today?" She did have a good point. I don't feel safe or comfortable being alone, especially since I could be a target as well. Let alone, the curse that I just found out about. We finally got to my room and Xavier turned around.

"If you'd like, I can camp outside of your room and help keep you safe." He suggested, still worried. I looked at him and smiled, but I could feel myself blushing. I looked down at the ground, trying to hide my face with my hair.

"You can come sleep with me," I said without thinking. Raine began to cheer me on. "I don't want to sleep alone," I said, looking up at him. Xavier's face was in both shock and awe. I opened my bedroom door and walked in, leaving it open for him to come in as well. He slowly walked in behind me and closed the door. I went over to my closet and picked out a tanktop and sweatpants that I had bought. I then turned around, Xavier was looking around the room and stopped at the bed. I cleared my throat, trying to break the silence.

"I'm going to change in my bathroom. If you'd like, you can change into something comfortable?" I didn't want him to feel uncomfortable sleeping next to me. I was scared of the idea of sleeping with someone. Nothing close to even cuddling has ever happened to me. Xavier chuckled at me slightly.

"The way that I am comfortable sleeping is not really in pajamas. I'm not sure how comfortable you want me to get." He said with a grin and chuckled again. I could hear Raine panting, and I was speechless.

"Well, I- I-" I began to shudder. I cleared my throat.

"You could sleep in your underwear if that makes you more comfortable." Raine said to him, taking over for a moment before letting me take control again. I stood there, shocked again. Raine gave a small chuckle as we watched Xavier stand there, just as shocked.

"Are you sure you're comfortable with that?" He asked, both shocked and embarrassed. I couldn't make any words come out, so I nodded before heading into the bathroom that was in my room. I quickly began to change.

"Why did you do that? How can you do that?!" I nearly shouted at Raine, reminding her of how she took over and spoke for me. She chuckled for a moment.

"You and I are connected, body, mind, and soul. You can even control me if ever needed!" She explained to me. I finished dressing and looked at myself in the mirror. My body seemed skinny, small. My long hair wasn't too messy, but I did have dark circles under my eyes. I looked so fragile. I shook off the thoughts and did a quick fix before opening the door. Xavier was already lying in bed, waiting for me. When I went out, he looked at me as if he couldn't take his eyes off.

"Holy s**t, " he whispered. I looked at him, confused. "You're beautiful." He said, softly. I smiled and looked at the ground as I blushed. I walked over to the bed and got under the blankets with him. He was still wearing a shirt, but I didn't dare lift the blanket to check if he was in his underwear. He propped his head in his hand and laid next to me, and I did the same, facing him.

"I'm going to be honest," I began to say to him. "I've never been in another relationship, and have never even cuddled with anyone." I shyly explained. He looked at me, as if he was terrified, yet hopeful.

"Well, it's not difficult to cuddle," he explained as he moved his body to where he held me and had my head resting on his chest. I felt instant warmth and passion at that moment. I felt my body against his, listened to his heart beating. He breathed in deeply.

"Are you comfortable?" Xavier softly asked.

"Yes," I whispered. "I love this." I lifted my head to look up at him. He looked at me and smiled.

"You've never been in any kind of relationship?" Xavier asked. I shook my head. He then gave a mischievous look. "So, you've never done this before?"

Once he asked that, he brushed his hand across my cheek and to the back of my head, pulling me in and kissing me. My heart began to flutter and Raine howled. Xavier then deepened the kiss, bringing his and my lips into motion with each other. I felt sparks and lust rising throughout my body as we kissed. I took my hand up and wrapped my fingers around his arm. His muscles were firm, as if they could break anything with just a flex. After a few moments, he pulled away as if he was out of breath. I felt like I was too.

"Well? Have you ever done that before?" He chuckled.

"No, but that was the best first kiss I've had." I gasped to him, as he then grabbed my head again and brought our lips together once again.