I met Joe. Joe ran the gas station almost all the time. He was an elder, lost his wife to a rogue wolf and
had a daughter. Joe was sweet and he welcomed me with open arms.
"How'd you break your hand lass?". He asked.
"Funny story". I grinned. I felt extremely relaxed around him. He was the first one that didn't make me
feel like an outsider.
We were currently sat behind the cash register drinking coffee. He had yet to teach me anything but I
was okay with that.
"Go on".
"Punched Jake in the face".
He burst into a fit of laughter. "A Luna that can handle herself. Tell me lass, how have you been settling
in around here?".
Where did I start?
"They hate me". I sighed. "But I'm handling it".
"I see".
"It's hard sometimes and then I start to think I'm not good enough and that he deserves better".
"The moon goddess is never wrong when picking mates especially an Alphas. Give them time they'll all
come around sooner or later and if they don't you pull rank". He laughed.
"Maybe that's just what I'll do". I grinned.
"You're strong lass I felt it the minute you walked in here. You'll be one hell of a Luna and leader. Don't
let them get to you".
Why couldn't they all be like Joe?
"Thanks Joe".
"So how has young Jake been treating you?".
"We're going to need more coffee for this". I joked.
He grinned before shaking his head. "The moon goddess sure got it right with you. Give him hell lass
and make sure he treats you right". As a tanker pulled into the forecourt he got to his feet. "I need to go
deal with this delivery now don't be a stranger". He smiled.
"You'll never get rid of me". I laughed. "See you soon Joe". He was the sweetest.
"Made a new friend?". Alanna grinned.
"He's the sweetest". I groaned. "Where did you go?". I asked.
"Checking stock, seeing what we need to order. You ready to go it's almost 7".
"Yeah"...
..........
Alanna had dropped me off at my house so I could pick up my bag. I told her not to wait, I could tell she
was eager to see Carter. Locking my front door I made my way across the street.
I'll still never get over the size of his house. Second biggest on the street, his parents being the first.
One day and probably one day soon that house will be mine to.
Crossing the street I jumped as the howl broke through the night. It didn't scare me anymore but it did
catch me off guard every now and then. Walking up his driveway I opened the door and dumped my
overnight bag on the stairs.
I could hear the music playing, smell the scented candles he had burning.
What was he up to?
"You going to stand in the hall all night?". He asked.
Rolling my eyes I walked through the living room and into the kitchen. He was leaning against the
counter top a beer in one hand his phone in the other.
"You good?". He asked sliding his phone into the front pocket of his jeans.
I was so tempted to throw in a Jessica comment but thought against it. We didn't need another thing to
argue about and besides I didn't know if she was telling the truth or not.
"Always".
"Come here". Taking a step towards me he pulled me against his chest resting his hands just above my
bum. Inhaling deeply a throaty growl escaped his mouth before he buried his head in the crook of my
neck.
The grazing of his teeth caused me to gasp, goosebumps appearing on my skin. Feeling the wetness
of his tongue I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth.
Holy fuck!
"I'm going to mark you right here". He whispered. "Everyone will know that you are mine". I felt the
pressure of his teeth before he pulled back. Brushing his nose against mine he smiled. Not a smirk or a
grin but an actual smile. “You hungry?”.
I couldn’t find my voice so I gave him a nod. He had once again lit the fire inside me, turned me on and
done nothing about it.
I hated when he done that.
“Dirty fries and burgers”. He winked causing me to laugh. It sure beats that pasta. Taking a seat at the
table I watched as he moved around the kitchen. “Even got you a strawberry milkshake”.
This is the date I wanted. Not some fancy restaurant with a menu I couldn’t understand. “What time do
you leave tomorrow?”. I asked.
“Let’s not talk about that just now Leah. I want to spend the night just us, shut the outside world out for
a few hours”. Placing the plate in front of me he gave me a fork. “Eat”.
Yes sir! It took all my strength not to roll my eyes but on the other hand he was trying and I wasn’t
giving him enough credit for it.
“Thank you”. Eating a few fries I forgot how good they were. “Did you get these from that little beach
shack?”. I asked.
“Only the best for my girl”. He winked sitting on the chair across from me. “How was the gas station?”.
“I met Joe”. I grinned.
“I heard. Do I have competition?”. He laughed causing me to roll my eyes. I didn’t find that funny.
“Seems you got on really well”.
“We did. He’s the sweetest and the first one who hasn’t judged me”. His smiled dropped, our eye
contact broken. “The first one to actually be nice to me”. Taking a bit of my burger I watched his
features change, his eyes darken.
He didn’t like how I went about this. He didn’t like when I spoke about his pack but he had no idea the
effect it had on me.
They were mean and yeah it hurt.
“My family like you, my mom adores you”. Getting up from his seat he fetched my milkshake. “I think
she likes you more than me”.
“That’s not what I mean”. Taking a sip of my milkshake I felt the coldness against my teeth. “I love your
mom, I love you’re family and never once have they made me feel like an outsider”.
“You’re not an outsider Leah”. He sighed.
And this is usually when we get into it but not tonight because I wasn’t doing it. I wasn’t arguing with
him.
“I am but that’s okay. They’re going to continue to do it”. Continuing to eat my fries I keep my gaze on
my plate. Regardless if they continued to treat me like one I wasn’t going anywhere. “So how was your
day?”. I asked finally looking at him.
He was gripping the table, his teeth clenched.
“What?”. I asked.
“Do you think I like how they treat you?”.
“It doesn’t matter”. I sighed.
Pushing my plate away I suddenly wasn’t hungry anymore. We were about to get into it and I didn’t
want that. I shouldn’t have said anything.
“It fucking does matter Leah. Dammit”. He hissed banging his fist off the table.
“If it mattered you would have done something about it”. The way his eyes changed to black so quickly
made me want to take my words back. I had never seen them change so fast.
I wasn’t helping the situation, Only adding fuel to the fire but I couldn’t help it. The words kept on
coming, I had word vomit. “Girls harassing me, older women making me feel like I’m not good enough.
But it’s okay because I’m strong”. Rolling my eyes I got to my feet. “I’m going to the bathroom”. I
needed an excuse to get out of there. I would only make it worse if I kept going.
As I reached the bathroom I locked the door behind me. Taking a deep breath I splashed some cold
water onto my face. I felt the lump in my throat before the tears rolled down my cheeks.
I had no idea why I was crying.
I didn’t care what anyone thought I never had but I wanted to feel accepted by them. I couldn’t help
lead a pack if they didn’t accept me. I couldn’t become their Luna if they didn’t respect me. They would
never respect me or follow me if they didn’t accept me.
What would that mean for the pack?
From my time being here I’ve learned that when an Alpha finds his mate it’s big news, it’s special. A
ceremony happens and packs from all over visit. But what I didn’t understand was why go through all of
that if people from his pack didn’t want us together.
Wiping my face I unlocked the door and went back down the stairs. He was sat at the table nursing a
whiskey. I didn’t like the awkwardness I felt.
This was always going to be an issue.
Going to the fridge I pulled out a beer twisting the cap off and taking a drink. I could feel him staring but
he said nothing.
“This is always going to be an issue Jake”. I broke the silence. I didn’t like that we seemed to have this
conversation every time we were together.
“It won’t always be like this”. Knocking back the liquid in his glass he poured another.
“It shouldn’t be like this at all. All because I’m not a werewolf”. Taking another sip of my beer I could
feel myself becoming frustrated. I didn’t choose for any of this to happen. I was thrust into his world
with no warning. “Maybe you’ll be better off with someone else”.
“Don’t you fucking dare say that again”. He growled getting to his feet. He got up with so much force he
knocked the chair over. “Are you trying to make me shift?”.
“What, no”. I cried as he pulled to to my feet by my arm. “You’re hurting me”. I hissed my teeth
clenched.
“You’re lucky I’m not taking you over my knee”. He growled his grip tightening.
“Where are you taking me?”. I asked as he escorted me out the kitchen stopping at the bottom of the
stairs. Without warning he picked me up throwing me over his shoulder. “Jake”. I yelled thumping my
fist against his back.
Kicking his bedroom door open he threw me onto his bed before crawling up my body. Pinning my
arms above my head he rested between my legs.
“Don’t tell me to find someone else, don’t tell me that you’re not enough for me. You are mine Leah,
mine, do you understand?”. His eyes were changing, his teeth extending. “I will never want anyone
else”. He whispered inhaling deeply. “Fuck baby your scent, the way you smell”. He groaned.
“You say that now Jake but-….”
“Enough”. He snapped. “I don’t want to hear anymore about it. You’re enough baby, trust me you’re
enough”. Instead of rolling off me he lay his head against my stomach. My body relaxed my hands
finding their way into his hair.
I had no idea how long we lay there. No words were exchanged instead we both enjoyed the silence of
being in each other’s company.
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