Page 20 of Crystal Luna
“There is nothing to be sorry for. Please understand that they didn’t mean to overwhelm you. They just wanted to include you. They didn’t mean you any harm.”
“I know.”
“No one here means you any harm.”
It was a foreign concept her mind couldn’t fathom. After her parents had died, she’d slowly learned that no one was there for her—no one cared for her.
The silence that built between them didn’t feel awkward. She felt that Alpha Heath wanted to give her a safe space to process and calm herself. He held her hand, laid it on his thigh and let his thumb soothe her skin.
“Why don’t you want to join my pack?” he asked as the last of the sun’s rays disappeared behind the horizon.
“It seems too good to be true,” she admitted.
“You’re afraid that we will turn on you.” It was a statement, not a question. “I don’t know what your old pack has done to you. Maybe I don’t want to know because I might not be able to control my actions, but we won’t hurt you. We look after each other here. We do fight and we bump heads, but that happens with families. At the end of the day, we all look after one another and overcome our differences.”
She let out a sigh of relief. It was hard not to fall in love with that description of his pack, but she’d been burned before—figuratively and literally.
“Come back with me. Let me at least make sure you’re well prepared for whatever lies before you if you leave us again.”
“What do you gain from helping me?”
“You want me to be honest?” he chuckled lightly. “A clear conscience. And maybe if we are convincing enough, a new pack member.” His chest vibrated again with a deep rumbling laugh. “I won’t be able to look Mia and Curtis in the eyes if I didn’t try my hardest to keep you with us.”
“I like them.”
“And they adore you—and your wolf.”
“I’m sorry.”
“What for?”
She shrugged and tried to find the right words. “I didn’t mean to make them like me.”
“That doesn’t warrant an apology, Velora. I believe that falls on me. After all, I’m the one with the nagging pups that keep knocking on your door.”
His words made her lips twitch into a smile.
“Will you come back to the village with me?”
She inhaled a deep breath and wiped her tears with her free hand. “Yes.”
“Thank you.”
He stood and helped Velora to her feet. Her legs were wobbly from sitting for so long. As soon as she’d found her balance, he let go of her hand and stepped back.
Once behind the tree line, he turned his back to her and dropped his pants, shifting as soon as they hit the ground. She quickly mirrored him and shifted before following him back to his village.
Chapter Eight
Heath
He hadn’t seen Velora since the cliff. She followed him home, shifted, then rushed off, shoulders slumped, and her head bowed. Heath had hoped that with a place to stay and someone to talk to, she’d open up and hopefully begin to lose the fears she’d shown since arriving.
But weeks later, she still kept to herself, avoiding anything to do with people at all, though she still kept her daily meetings with Marvin. She was eager to learn and showed up every morning on time. Not that he’d been watching her—Marvin had updated him personally. Marvin was proud of her progress. She seemed to soak up anything and everything he taught. He saw great potential, but struggled to find a way to encourage her that didn’t scare her.
Out of breath and with sweat running down his temples he slowed his jog and walked onto the clearing of the village.
He’d had another depressing night, haunted by Laureen’s pale face as she slipped from this world and returned to their goddess. He’d tried to get back to sleep for hours before giving up and going for another run.