Finn

Chapter Seven

"Are you going to reject Cillian?" Turin asked me, his voice hushed as if even speaking about it was a bad thing. He looked genuinely worried as he watched for my response, and I noticed the same look in Rory's eyes. I was quick to shake my head, and their faces instantly relaxed.

"Oh, no, that's not what I meant earlier," I rushed out, my face heating up, "I was just curious."

"Oh, thank goodness." Rory breathed out a sigh of relief, her smile returning to her face again. I chuckled awkwardly, feeling bad that I had worried them.

"Okay, I think that's enough werewolf lore for tonight," Turin announced, slapping his hands against his knees as he pushed himself up from the armchair. He crossed over to me, offering me a hand, "come on, let's get you to bed."

"Shouldn't we wait for Cillian to get back?" I asked, cautiously glancing at the large, oak front door. I had been watching it the entire conversation, waiting for Cillian to burst in at any minute. I had been so absorbed in the conversation and watching for Cillian that I hadn't even noticed how late it had gotten, or how dark it was outside.

"He'll be here when you wake up." Turin told me, shaking his hand at me and urging me to get up again. I gave in, letting him pull me up from the couch and lead me towards the stairs by my elbow.

"Wait!" Rory hurried after us, grabbing my shoulders and pulling me into a bone crushing hug, "I'm so glad I got to finally meet you, Finley. I know you're going to fit in so great here!"

Rory pulled away, grinning down at me with her eyes sparkling. I couldn't help but smile back at her and nod, her excitement rubbing off on me. As she took a step back, her eyes ran down my body, taking note of my oversized sweats and chunky socks. When she met my eyes again, she winked.

"And tomorrow, I promise I'll help you find some better clothes."

Before I could protest, Rory had disappeared in a blur up the stairs. I watched her open mouthed, shocked at how quickly she moved. I was used to werewolves being generally faster, but Rory was just particularly fast. It was like her bubbly personality applied to her physical speed as well.

"Come on." Turin told me with a smile, gently grabbing my elbow again to lead me up the stairs. I followed, but grumbled under my breath to let him know I wasn't happy about it.

"You don't need to babysit me, you know?" I told him, shooting him a playful glare as we made our way up the two flights of stairs, "I'm sure Cillian told you to keep an eye on me, but I'm not a child. You don't have to pretend to entertain me and be nice to me."

"Cillian didn't tell me to do that," Turin tried to argue, but when I elbowed him in his side he laughed and put his hands up in surrender, "okay maybe he mentioned something about that."

"Yeah, well tell him I don't need a babysitter." I laughed, rolling my eyes at the protective Alpha. Turin agreed to pass along the message, leading me down a hallway once we reached the third floor.

"I'm not pretending, though. I like talking to you." Turin told me as we reached the room I had woken up in. I expected him to wink or joke after he spoke, but he just continued smiling at me. He pushed open the door to the large room, stepping to the side and letting me go in.

I wanted to return his kind words or sincere smile, but my body wouldn't let me. I moved past him with an awkward half smile, shuffling my feel along the wooden floors. The idea of a werewolf being nice to me felt wrong somehow, and I hated that I felt that way. Meeting my mate and meeting his pack should be this amazing, beautiful experience, and instead I was second guessing everything they did. That wasn't fair to them - they hadn't done anything to me.

"Thanks for being so nice to me." I finally told Turin after several moments of silence. I sat down on the foot of the bed with a sigh, watching Turin shrug as he leaned against the door frame.

"It's the least I could do, Finn, really. I don't know exactly how your old pack treated you, but I can guarantee that's not how it is here," Turin assured her, offering another genuine smile that made me want to believe every word he said, "I know it will take some time for you to believe me, but I promise you're safe here. You can trust us, just give it time."

"Thanks, Turin." I told him again. I felt myself smiling my first genuine smile of the night, and the ball of anxiety in my chest started to loosen a little.

"I'll see you tomorrow. Goodnight, Finn." Turin nodded his head to me, softly shutting the door behind him after I told him goodnight. I was left alone in the large room, suddenly overwhelmed by the silence.

Part of me wanted to explore the room and snoop a bit, but the other part of me started to feel exhaustion setting in. I decided to try and find the bathroom, at least, before heading to bed. After a quick glance around the room, my eyes settled on the door on the far wall. I hopped off of the bed and shuffled over, hoping I had found an attached bathroom.

Once inside, I found myself gaping at the large bathroom I found. It had dark grey floors, with a huge glass shower. It was large enough for a huge, freestanding bathtub to sit inside the shower. There were two deep sinks in front of a large mirror, which reflected a small, pale girl with messy hair. I almost didn't recognize myself in the mirror.

My black hair was almost always pulled into a bun because it got in the way, but it was let down now and in messy waves down to my waist. My skin somehow looked even paler than normal, and my cheeks looked a little sunken. Paired with the dark bags under my eyes, I looked more dead than alive. The navy sweatshirt hung off my shoulders and swallowed me, while the sweatpants hung loosely on my hips. They were clearly meant for someone much taller than me, so I had them cuffed at my ankles. I didn't feel like myself, but I wasn't totally sure that was a bad thing.

I turned away from the mirror, using the bathroom and getting ready for bed. I had felt out of place since I arrived, like I didn't belong. But I was starting to realize that my life in the Kline Pack had been very sheltered. Everything I did was for somebody else, and every movement was monitored. That was the only life I had ever known, and as much as I knew that I had hated it, I didn't know what kind of life I did want outside of that. Did I want to have a mate and be a Luna? Or did I want to live a normal human life?

My brain was spinning by the time I made it back to the room. I peeled off the sweatshirt and tossed it onto the foot of the bed before climbing up. I pulled the covers up to my chin, curling into a ball under the comforter. I felt overwhelmed by everything I had learned in a couple of hours. When I had escaped, I had every intention of making it to the human world and never mentioning or thinking about werewolves ever again. I never expected to be thrown into an entirely different world of werewolves - especially not one where I had a mate and was expected to be Luna.

The thought of leading their pack made my heart race. Despite what Turin and Rory kept telling me, I knew I wouldn't be good at it. I wasn't a people person. I had a quick temper and no impulse control. I had no experience leading others, or really experience doing anything useful. I could cook and garden a little bit, and that was about it. But that wasn't enough to be a good Luna.

I rolled to my other side as my mind raced. I stared at the empty spot next to me, and found myself wondering when Cillian would be back. There was a part of me that was drawn to him and wanted to learn everything about him. The other part of me wanted to run before I got in too deep, terrified of what trusting Cillian could do to me.

I thought about what Rory told me about rejecting mates. I was sure that was the only way I could leave with Cillian coming after me, but the idea of actually rejecting him made my heart throb. I barely knew him, but I knew that would hurt him. But the more I thought about what I wanted now that I had escaped, I couldn't help but wonder if rejecting Cillian is what I needed to do to be free.