The Luna's Bain

Chapter Four

“Something is happening!”

Bain shook his head. His wolf had been barking about something happening for days. Conri snarled. “You’re not taking me seriously, Bain. Something is coming, I can feel it.”

Bain chuckled. “Okay, Conri. When you figure out what’s coming, let me know. Until then, let’s go eat.” Bain sauntered from his room and headed down the short set of stairs to the main living area of his family’s compound. The dining room was already milling with people taking their seats. Bain enjoyed dining once a week with the immediate members of his pack; it was a tradition his mother had started after becoming the Luna of the Luna Gris pack. He planned to carry it on for his entire time as Alpha. He nodded at several members as they swept by, pausing to shake a few hands.

What had the chefs dreamt up today, he wondered, the sweet smell of wild berries and fresh rain infiltrated his senses. Just as he reached the head of the table, his heart began to pound. Conri whimpered with excitement.

“MATE!” Conri shouted. “Our mate is here, she’s here! The Goddess has blessed us with our mate finally!” Bain responded with a low growl.

A hush fell over the table as Bain’s eyes followed the enchanting scent to its origin. He almost forgot how to breathe as his gaze fell to young woman. There she sat, long sable hair cascading over her shoulders and incandescent blue eyes capturing his. He felt helpless as his whole being was drawn to her. Her eyes held steady to his, unafraid but curious. This was his mate. He had waited for so long.

She was gripping the edge of the table tightly, and he knew she felt it too. But there was something else in her eyes besides the urgent hunger… confusion, maybe? Her lush rosy lips sat slightly agape, as if she were out of breath. He took everything in, the slender neck below a heart shaped face, the full breast that rose and fell shakily beneath her cashmere sweater. She had a wild beauty that was intoxicating. Bain circled the table, needing to be closer.

“It’s her, she’s so hot!” Conri howled. “Take her now!”

Bain shoved back on his wolf. Let me handle this, he thought, as he reached her side. Dale Will, his grandfather's old Beta, rose to his feet beside Bain.

“Alpha, she doesn’t know… “ the old man said. Bain shot him a glance to stay silent. He turned back to the girl and without hesitation, brought his hand up to caress her face. She stepped back unexpectedly, more confusion clouding her eyes. Bain dropped his hand and tried to steady his heart, stung by her rejection.

“Who is she?” He asked Dale.

Dale stammered, ““Amory… my granddaughter. But she has no idea… she hasn’t been … she hasn’t transitioned.”

Bain felt an anger rising in his chest and worked desperately to mask his expression. “She deserves to know who she is,” he growled. “You should have told her.” He tried to contain the rage he was feeling, he didn’t want to scare his little mate anymore than she already seemed to be.

“Hello?”

Woah! Her voice was soft and husky, sweet with a hint of rasp that made him yearn to hear her scream out his name. He immediately felt a stirring in his loin.

She spoke to him. There was hope. He smiled at his mate, losing himself in her ocean eyes. “Hello.”

Dale cleared his throat nervously and Bain shot him another warning glance. The old man had been his grandfather’s Beta and best friend and that gave him certain permissions, but he would not interfere with Bain’s interactions with his mate.

There were too many watchful eyes at this table, Bain decided. "Let's move into the private dining room where we can eat and converse without an audience." He reached out a hand to Amory and nearly howled out loud with Conri when she grasped it, albeit gingerly. But he would take what he could get.

A small woman stood behind Amory. Bain hadn't noticed her before. She had the same dark hair as Amory, but hers was straight and shorter. Her blue eyes were lighter and framed with little age lines. She must be Amory's mother.

"We can go to a more private setting," her mother said. Her eyes were unwavering. "But I will be the first to speak."

As Alpha, Bain wasn't used to taking direction from anyone, let alone a slight human woman. But his mate's hands still rested comfortably in his grip, and he decided it might be wise to pick his battles.

"Uh huh," he murmured.

He peered at Amory and tugged in her hand, pulling her closer to him. The fire between them crackled from an ember to a thunderous roar. Amory sucked in a breath.

Bain grinned. "This way."

—--------------------------------

Amory’s POV

Amory settled uneasily onto the claret leather chair in the sitting room. Dinner had been tense, and even though she had been famished earlier, Amory had barely picked at the delicious food. It was tough to concentrate on eating when she had so many questions swirling through her brain and when the super gorgeous Alpha - Bain was his name, she had learned - hadn’t stopped staring at her. The strange connection to him that she’d felt before hadn't gone away either. If anything, it had grown stronger, the urge to be near him and to touch him was getting harder to fight as the night went on.

Jane sank into the recliner next to Amory, the worry lines etched more prominently than before across her face. “Amory,” she began, “What I’m about to tell you is something that, once you know, you won’t be able to un-know. You won’t be able to ignore it. It’s a part of who you are.” Her eyes darted quickly across Amory’s face, searching for something. What, Amory didn’t know. “I just hope you’ll forgive me and your father for doing what we thought was best for you.

Amory felt the panic rising as she spoke carefully, “Mom, just tell me.” From the corner of her eye she saw Bain stand behind the seat to her right and felt oddly comforted by his presence. She tried to concentrate on her mother, resisting the urge to steal a glance.

Her mother leaned back with a sigh. “Amory… you have a … unique lineage.”

Bain growled. “Unique?” he asked with irritation.

Jane eyed Bain and then settled her compassionate gaze once again on Amory. “You have a rare… gift. You’ve got to believe me when I tell you how hard it was for your father and I to keep this from you but, Amory… you come from a long, long line of,” she swallowed hard, “Werewolves.”

Amory dropped her jaw and stammered, “Ex-excuse me?”

Her mother nodded. “I know it’s a shock. It was shocking when your dad told me that HE was a werewolf. I thought he was joking at first.” She held Amory’s gaze, her cavernous brown eyes patient and loving and worried. “But, it was the truth. And you’re half him. And that makes you half wolf, Amory. Half human… half wolf.”

This was a joke. This had to be a joke, Amory thought desperately. She cast her eyes around the room for any indication that this was some sort of set-up, but no one was laughing. Her grandfather sat across the room on a loveseat, hands clasped and head nodding in agreement. Amory looked at Bain. He was watching her intently, waiting for her reaction.

Amory sat up straight, her hands in the air as she wrestled with the story her mother was weaving. “So, let me get this straight. I’m half human, half werewolf? And you’re a human? And Dad was … what? A … a real werewolf?”

Jane pursed her lips into a thin, tight line and nodded. “Yes, honey. You’re half human, half werewolf. It might be hard to imagine but it is the truth. I wanted to tell you sooner, but I just couldn’t. And now, I knew… I needed to tell you before you found out on your own...which is why we came here, to your father’s old pack.”

Amory looked at her mother in shock. Why hadn’t she been told this before? No wonder she’d never felt like she fit, like she was an outsider. And all of the lies she’d been fed… She shook her head. “Why wasn’t I ever told, what reason was good enough to wait?” she bit out, anger simmering inside her. “Why didn’t I know?” Her mother looked sad.

“I wanted to, I just didn’t know how without your father. I should have.” Jane trembled with unshed tears. “I thought I was doing the right thing. I’m so sorry, Am.”

Amory stood. It felt wrong to be this angry with her mother. She adored her parents, but this was too much. She had deserved to know. Amory looked at Bain with a new wariness. “And you… how do you factor in?” she asked.

Bain took a deep breath and shook his head. “Later,” he said. “This is plenty for tonight. You look tired," he said. "For now, you need some rest.” He took her hand again and gently squeezed, praying she wouldn’t pull away, feeling relieved when she didn’t. “Come. I’ll walk you to your room.”

Her mother was sobbing in the corner while her grandfather comforted her, and Amory felt slightly disillusioned. This was too much, she thought. How could her mother have kept something like this from her? She leaned into the warmth from the man at her side. For some reason, this guy seemed more familiar to her than anyone else did at this moment. She felt safe with him. And she liked the feel of his fingers laced with hers.

She let him lead her out the door and through the dining hall, past the questioning stares and the surprised murmurs. They walked in silence up the grand staircase and down the hall to Amory’s room. Bain stopped outside her door. “Hey,” he said softly, pulling her chin up to look into her eyes. Amory instinctively leaned into his touch. “It’s a lot, I’m sure.”

What was it about him that made her knees so weak, Amory wondered? She wanted to climb into his arms and never leave. She looked up at him and absent-mindedly licked her chapped lips. He let out a low growl and Amory swore his eyes were glowing.

“What is this?” she whispered. She had never been great at ignoring the elephant in the room. She tended to speak first, think later. Bain moved his hand to her hair and wove his fingers through the tresses as he spoke.

“It’s a werewolf thing,” he said slowly. “We - you and me - we’re connected.” He chose his words carefully. “We were meant to meet and we’re drawn to each other.” He half-smiled. “You have a lot to learn about your wolf side.”

Amory leaned against her door and felt slightly forlorn when he dropped his hand to his side. “I don’t even know where to start, I have so many questions,” she said.

He nodded. “I’m sure. And I think, if you’ll let me, I can help answer those. Unless you’d like your mother to…” he left off.

“NO!” Amory said sharply. “I don’t think I can talk to her right now. I need … space. Time to sort this out and think.” She inhaled deeply. “And figure out who I am now.”

“Well,” Bain said, “How about breakfast in the morning? I can answer your questions and maybe help you out.” A boyish grin broke out over his face. “I don’t bite - honest!”

She laughed. “Was that a wolf joke?” she asked, smiling back. He nodded, looking a bit embarrassed. “I get it,” she said. “Wolf - bite - wolf bite.” Without thinking, she reached out and grabbed his hand. “Thank you for that.”

Bain just stared at their intertwined fingers and Amory quickly released him, self consciousness sneaking back into her head. She turned the knob on her door and pushed, stepping inside. “Okay, well. See you in the morning!” she said and shut the door.

Wow, she thought. Double awkward. Nice job, Am, she thought as she slipped into bed. He probably thinks you’re nuts.

She laid there for a while, playing out the night’s events in her mind until finally, exhaustion crept in and she nodded off. Her sleep though was plagued with visions of the most striking charcoal gray wolf.