Love me, Luna

19

I'm not sure when I fell asleep, but I woke up with Alec's arms wrapped around me and my head laying on his chest. I slowly try to get up without waking him, but his eyes immediately fly open and his grasp tightens.

"What's wrong?" His eyes scan the room before noticing there's no threat before releasing me and leaning his head back on the couch with a sigh. "What time is it?" His voice is rough from waking up, talk about dreamy. I stop my thoughts from going anywhere they shouldn't go, I did just get told I was cheated on and the last thing I need is to start catching feelings for someone I barely know.

Alec checks his phone and groans. "It's 1 AM, I have a meeting tomorrow."

He goes to pick up our trash and tosses it in a near by trash can I hadn't noticed earlier. I fold the blanket and set it on the couch and stretch one of those I-just-woke-up-and-need-that-outta-body-experience-stretch.

"What kind of meeting?" I ask with a yawn.

"Pack meeting. I have to meet with my beta tomorrow to discuss some things. I've been kinda slacking lately because I took some time off." He grabs a water out of the fridge and I notice no Dr. Pepper. I frown and decide to make a spot for some later.

"Time off?" We weave in and out of the chairs until we make it to the hall where Alec flips a switch that turns the dim lights off.

"When you first got here, I didn't feel much. But after a couple of weeks I started to feel nothing from you, like your feelings were absent. It through me off for a bit and I couldn't concentrate." He leads me down the hall back to my room before opening the door for me. "I knew I couldn't do much to help, but being near you helped."

"Near me, but I was alone that whole time?" My eyebrows shoot up in shock. Was he hiding in my closet or something?

He scratches the back of his neck and stares at the floor like it's the most interesting thing in the world.

"Well, I was with you, you just didn't know it. I was sitting on the ground outside." He laughs embarrassingly.

My mouth forms an o and now I'm staring down at the floor. He was here the whole time? I was so caught up over Tristan and having to leave that I didn't realize I had someone there for me the whole. Even though he stole me out of my dorm room, maybe it's exactly what I needed.

"And." He awkwardly coughs. "I need to tell you something, but promise not to get mad."

I tap my chin for a minute before and evil grin breaks out. "You get 5 seconds." I cross my arms in triumph.

"5 minutes?" He also crosses his arms with a determined look, leaning against the door frame.

"2." I bite back.

"3." He argues.

"Fine." I scoff and walk toward my bed and plop down on it in defeat.

"Just because you're my Luna, I'll give you 2.5. Deal." He walks over and sits at the end looking back at me pouting like a baby.

"Whatever, go ahead." I try and pretend I'm still annoyed but inside I am pumping my arms in the air.

"Remember when Tristan and I left and went on that walk?" I glare at him.

"Do not say his name, I never want to hear, see, or even think of that little ass hat again." I sit up and poke him in the chest, trying to ignore the rock hard muscles that I feel.

"Okay, the ass hat. Do you remember?" I nod for him to go on. He gets up and starts pacing in front of me. "He slipped and he mentioned that girls name, Nina?" I laugh and he stops pacing for a second. "Anyway, who cares, he mentioned he had lived with her and I'm not stupid. I caught on something was going on, I just should have pieced it together. He told me not to tell you, that he was going to tell you whatever he had to say that night. I got the feeling it wasn't something good." He takes a deep breath and faces me. "So Luna, that's why I took you. I didn't know I swear, but I knew you wouldn't believe me if I didn't have any hard evidence. I mean, for all I know it was like a distant cousin you hated."

That's twice I've been too stunned to speak. My mouth gapes open like a fish. My emotions swirl around trying to fight their way to the surface, but the one emotion that completely crushes them is the pain I feel. Once I let it in, it hits me like a freight train. Where this pain is coming from? I have no idea, but if I had to guess it would be the stupid bond.

"You didn't even say anything." I whisper, looking down at my hands.

"I didn't know Luna, I swear." He gets down on his knees in front of the bed and tries grabbing my hands but I jerk them away. "I let you down, I should've torn his throat out when I had the chance." His hands are placed on opposite sides of me on the bed, his arms shaking. He tucks his head into his chest and stays rooted in the ground.

Before I can say anything a loud shrill comes from outside of the door and Chloe marches her way into the room.

"Nope, Alec get your ass up. You have a meeting in the morning and Hadley and I need a much needed girls night." She checks her phone and then huffs. "Girls day. Actually, make that two." She then notices the situation and goes quiet. "Am I interrupting something here?" She takes a step forward but stays planted where she is.

Alec lets out a low growl and his shaking becomes more frequent. Chloe looks at me pointedly and I give her a pleading look to help. She moves her eyes from me to Alec and I scrunch my eyebrows up in confusion. She sighs and motions between us. I then remember the time back at the dorms. Alec was shaking and I thought he was having an anxiety attack. Is that what this is? Is he really that worried about his talk he had with ass hat?

I slowly lean down until I'm in between his arms and grab them to snake around me. I move my arms under his and give him a gentle squeeze, before grabbing his face and forcing him to look at me. His shaking has stopped, but he stays stuck in that position.

"Alec. Look at me." I whisper, but he keeps his eyes closed. "Alec!" I say with more force.

His eyes snap open and my confidence falters. His eyes are even blacker up close.

"i hurt you." His voice is deeper, more guttural. "Forgive me, please Luna."

I sit back but his hands tighten around my waist.

"Alec, what is wrong with your eyes? And why do you sound like that." I remove my hands from his face and place them in my lap.

"It's my wolf Luna, that part of me, the primal part, notices we've hurt our mate. It's like being the same person, but when one is needed more they push forward. He doesn't understand there's not a threat, it goes against our nature to make our mates feel pain. Though I've done it more times in the past couple of months than probably any male has in this lifetime." His head begins to move back to stare at the ground.

"Alec, I'm not in danger. But you can't expect me to immediately forgive something like that. First, you didn't even think to try and explain what you had learned from ass hat. Secondly, you thought taking me away was better than just being honest." I sigh and stare deeply into his eyes. "I am not weak. I'm tired of people treating me that way, emotions are normal. Yes, I would have been upset, but you, and no one else, has the right to take that away from me."

His eyes shift back to their original color and he smiles. "So you forgive me?" I hear Chloe scoff on the side before I smack him on the chest.

"Did you not hear a word I just said you hairy marshmallow! I need time, forgiveness is earned." I push at his chest and sit back up on the bed with my legs crossed.

"So I should kill him?" He tilts his head to the side and I roll my eyes.

"Alec, look at me." I point two fingers at my eyes. "Do not kill HIM! I literally can not stress that enough. You need to work on this," I motion between us. "whatever this is. Usually forgiveness starts with being nice, making a gesture, I don't know, something where you gain my trust back."

"But I am nice." He starts but Chloe yells at him to leave and with a growl he walks to the door. He goes to shut it behind him before turning around and poking his head back in. "Luna, I plan to make many gestures to earn that trust back of yours." He then winks and shuts the door.

"He's an idiot. Are all men this stupid?" Chloe yells and throws herself on the bed beside me.

"Unfortunately, I think they are."