11

~Lou Wilson~

I have no idea how I managed to face Arian with confidence. But I didn't want to humiliate myself in front of him again by crying. I had to be strong, like Zara said I should be, and I did it. At least for this one moment.

Now, however, I felt uncomfortable in my own skin, the way Arian had studied my body and the protruding ribs.

And what can I say about that? I could barely get a bite down...

At least he had sent the other wolves away, but now I had to follow him. Was I still strong when we were alone? What kind of words would he be throwing at me this time?

Arian turned back into his big black wolf and so did I.

Beside him I felt quite small even in human form, but as a werewolf there was an even bigger difference. Oddly enough, I still felt protected in his presence. he was big He can look after me if something should happen.

I was supposed to follow him and I did. As he continued to run through the forest, I was hot on his heels. What does he want to do with me now? Will he send me away again or worse? I knew coming here was a bad idea. I shouldn't have given in to Luan so quickly.

In this situation I would have expected everything, but not that he would continue to hunt. He jumped on a hind and quickly killed her by jumping for her throat.

When he was done, he looked at me expectantly.

"Now eat." I suddenly heard his voice in the Mindlink.

I should what? I thought he wanted to get rid of me and not feed me.

With deliberate steps, I approached the dead hind while keeping my eyes on Arian's great black wolf. I distrusted him, not knowing what plan he hatched next.

I slowly bit into the animal's rear leg and ripped out some of its flesh. Maybe it was all just a trick and Arian, took her right away or something...

Instead, after I took another bite under Arian's stern gaze, he came over and started eating too.

Eventually, there wasn't much left of the hind. Instead, I lay sated in the moss and watched my mate as he continued to tamper with her. Isn't he full at some point? How much fits in a wolf's stomach?

In fact, he finally let go of the animal and turned to me. I rested my head on the damp moss, but my eyes were open, looking up at him.

He approached me. I quickly raised my head, wanting to be prepared for his next move. However, he bumped his head against mine and cuddled me briefly. Then he lay down close behind my body and snuggled up. He laid his head on mine.

I enjoyed this feeling of closeness and closed my eyes contentedly. Was this real or was it just a dream? Why was he suddenly so nice to me, even though he didn't want me at all?

If this was really just a dream, then it should never end, because I couldn't take the harsh reality. It's cost me enough already.

This warmth emanating from him deeply calmed my body. It was a beautiful feeling and just a tiny part of what it's like to be fully connected with your mate.

But with the warmth came the heat, which spread through my body minute by minute. I wanted to sleep with him, wanted to finally be connected to him, but as nice as that thought was, it probably wouldn't happen today anyway.

How he was so in control on a full moon. I couldn't say that about my body.

After a while he suddenly straightened up and nudged my body with his nose, telling me to get up.

I did as I was told and was standing next to him shortly afterwards.

"Come. It's getting cold, we should go back." , he just said.

In fact, I now also noticed the cold, which crept into my bones. Before that, however, in Adrian's vicinity, I felt pleasantly warm and even hot.

We both walked leisurely side by side back to the pack, but the heat in my abdomen wouldn't go away. I finally wanted to connect with him. He's been procrastinating by rejecting me for far too long. He should have done it on the first night because of me... However, between all the marking shit, other thoughts were buzzing around in my head.

I didn't really want to ask that, but I had to know what was happening to me now.

"Are you going to send me away again?" Even in the mindlink, my tone sounded uncertain.

"I probably should. It would be better for both of us, but..." He stopped and looked over at me. A queasy feeling spread through my body. I couldn't bear to be so far away from him again. The two months were me too long, even if it was better since he didn't want me.

"But?" I inquired.

"I don't know it..."

After that, Arian didn't say anything the whole way home. He didn't even look over at me either.

So now he's going to send me away again. That in the forest, whatever that was, will never happen again. It will become just a faint memory that I will cling to while imagining spending my whole life with him, which I can't do because he doesn't want me. But I have to be strong. I can't show him my insecurity.

Back among all the pack huts, he walked toward the big mansion. We had changed back by now. Although I still felt uncomfortable, but apart from Arian there was no one to be seen far and wide and Arian was no longer looking at me anyway.

He quietly opened the door and wanted to sneak in, but a middle-aged woman ran out of the next room and hugged the tall, black-haired man.

"Arian. I was worried When your father told me what happened and you didn't come back with the others...I..." The golden blonde beauty paused and looked at me in surprise.

I really wanted to be jealous, but when she stared at me with the same ocean blue eyes that Arian had, I realized she must be his mother.

"And who is this beautiful girl?" she asked, turning to Arian, looking at me. Me, who by the way was still naked and feeling quite uncomfortable under her scrutiny.

The woman in front of me must have noticed her mistake. "Oh wait. I'll get you something to wear." A cheeky grin crept onto her face.

Arian still didn't look at me during this, which I actually really liked at the moment.

A short time later the woman came back. In her hand she held only a large black T-shirt and leggings.

"The leggings are from my daughter. You should be about the same size." She enlightened.

When I wore both, I also knew who the oversized shirt was from. I identified Arian by smell. She actually gave me one of his shirts. But how did she know that?

"Mom, why are you giving her one of my shirts? You just said that she and Felia were almost the same size..." Arian had looked at me again in the meantime and was examining my body extensively in his much too large shirt.

"I thought your mate might want something from you," she replied simply.

Now Arian and I both looked perplexed at the blond-haired one. How did she know about this?

"Where from...", my mate began, but his mother already interrupted him.

"You think I don't know your looks. Your father had exactly the same looks back then after he brought me in and her longing looks full of sorrow cannot be overlooked either. So whatever you're up to. Just leave it alone!" she warned him.

Arian's expression changed abruptly before he stomped up the stairs and left me alone with his mother. He looked almost like a stubborn little toddler and not like the new alpha of a very powerful pack.

"What do you mean by that?" I inquired.

Sei laughed harshly as she began to reminisce.

"You know, my husband didn't really want me back then either, because I'm human. But he couldn't let me go either. So he kept me and always took another one that he slept with almost every night. I could still choke him for doing this to me. He said it was to keep from pouncing on me, but that's beside the point. I was just like you. Didn't really know what my point was in all this and above all I didn't know for a long time that he was my mate because he didn't show it and as a person I didn't know anything like that." She paused and took my hands in hers, "What I'm saying is that you have to be patient. He'll figure out on his own that he needs you... And maybe you should tease him a bit by hanging out with males. Believe me, my best friend worked wonders back then."

She laughed before leading me into the next room she came from. I recognized a large living room with three white leather sofas arranged around a table. On the free side and thus opposite the entrance was a large window front, from which one had a clear view of the forest. To the right of the passage was a large, black, open, high-gloss kitchen with a cooking island surrounded by a couple of stools. Next to it and thus between the living room and the kitchen was a large dining table where more than 10 people could sit.

Children's toys lying around indicated that Arian had several younger siblings.

I looked around further and could see picture frames above a large fireplace to the left of the sofas. From the moment I looked at it, I realized that Arian really had a lot of siblings.

"How many children do you have?" I asked in surprise.

"Eight." It wasn't Arian's mother's soft voice, but a dark, menacing one. It sounded very similar to my mate's, but if he had spoken, my body would have known.

Startled, I jerked my head towards the entrance to the living area. I immediately recognized a tall and broad man who looked a lot like Arian. Only his black hair was already interspersed with a number of gray ones and his eyes sparkled bright green instead of blue.

"May I introduce my husband," Arian's mom began. "This is Arsen, Arian's father and just a few hours ago the alpha of this pack. And you can call me Aurelia, by the way."

I smiled shyly. The man really still had his threatening alpha effect.

"And this is our son's mate, my successor as Luna." Aurelia clarified.

I hadn't even thought about becoming Luna. But it probably won't come to that if Arian keeps rejecting me.

The former Alpha arched an eyebrow as he eyed me.

"And what's your name?" he asked.

"Lou, sir. My name is Lou Wilson and I am the Alpha daughter of the Darkforest pack from England." I introduced myself.

"Aha.", he just said and then turned to his mate. "And where is Arian now? I think I have to have a word with him."

"He went upstairs. He's probably in his room." Replied the former Luna.

Arian's father turned and left while I wondered what he wanted from him now. I was also annoyed that Arian left me here alone with his parents. Nobody wanted to imagine the first meeting with their parents-in-law like this.