Chapter 12: Chapter 12

Austyn

I was laying in bed when a massive shock rattled through my body. I sat up and gasped at the pain in my chest and in my sides. It felt like I had swallowed burning hot acid, my throat was raw and my chest was on fire. Ten minutes passed before the pain slowly subsided and then vanished completely.

I looked around the room, finally able to focus, and tried to find the cause of my pain. There was nothing out of the ordinary, not that I even knew what ordinary was considering I was a guest here. I stumbled to the window and looked outside to see my guards. Three wolves were circling the packhouse, on high alert but they didn’t seem threatened. The only thing I could think of was that my pain was not really my own, instead it belonged to Leo.

I walked down the stairs on wobbly legs and opened the front door. The wolf out front immediately turned towards me and trotted in my direction. I had no idea how I was supposed to talk to him in wolf form.

“Is Leo alright?” I asked the brown wolf. I saw his expression go blank and I knew he was using the mindlink. After a minute, he focused on me again and nodded his giant head.

“Alright, thanks.” I replied before walking back inside the house, convinced that I was crazy. I had no energy left to climb the steps, so I settled in on the couch and closed my eyes. Sleep consumed me.

The next morning, Leo was true to his word. Mallory showed up in my kitchen with a huge basket of food and a disturbingly large smile.

“This is a lot of food.” I observed as she set out containers of breakfast foods.

“Nothing but the best for the Luna!” Mallory sang. I shook my head at her,

“At least tell me that you’re joining me.” I insisted. Mallory looked at me in shock,

“Oh….I…uhm….” She stammered, clearly blindsided.

“I couldn’t possibly eat all this food on my own. Actually,” I paused, suddenly having a new idea,

“I know exactly who I can share it with.” I nudged Mallory out of the way and made up three plates of food. I balanced the plates in one hand and threw open the front door with the other. I sat the plates down on the front steps and whistled loudly. Three wolves came running towards the porch.

“Breakfast. Eat.” I demanded, motioning towards the plates. The three wolves looked at me and then at each other, unsure. I turned my back on them and disappeared into the house.

“You too.” I said to Mallory before making up my own plate and sitting down at the small kitchen table. After a second of hesitation, Mallory shrugged and made up her own plate before joining me at the table.

“Thanks, Luna.” Mallory smiled.

“Do you know if anything strange happened at the packhouse last night?” I asked Mallory, thinking about my chest pains.

“Not that I know of, Luna.” Mallory said, looking concerned.

“Okay.” I said, pushing my food around on my plate.

When Mallory finished her food, she cleaned up the mess and arranged all the leftovers in my fridge. Then she excused herself from the cabin. I had just settled into the couch when Leo came knocking. I knew it was him before I even opened the door. Everything about me responded to his presence, but the look on his face sent me into a tizzy. He looked pained and guilty, but I couldn’t imagine why.

“Good morning.” I said, welcoming him inside. Leo avoided eye contact.

“Grant, one of your patrol wolves, mindlinked me last night saying that you were asking about me.” Leo mumbled, walking through the cabin. I joined him in the living room,

“Yes, I’m sorry, I hope I didn’t bother you.” I replied sheepishly. Leo’s head snapped in my direction,

“You’re sorry?” He almost laughed, a dark look in his eyes.

“Leo? What’s wrong?” I asked.

“I’m the one who needs to apologize. You were hurt last night.” He said matter-of-factly.

“How did you know?” I said in surprise.

“Because I was hurt too. It was all my fault.” His voice cracked with emotion and I resisted the urge to comfort him.

“How could it be your fault?” I asked. Leo turned his back to me, facing the wall behind the couch like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

“I betrayed you. I betrayed our mate bond and that was my punishment, made even worse because you were affected, too. I’ll never be able to say sorry enough times to make up for this.” His voice was cold, expressionless, but only because he was trying to shield his emotions from me.

I shuffled forward but thought better of it as I watched the muscles in his back contract, like he was bracing for an impact.

“I don’t understand.” I said.

“I cheated on you.” Leo’s words cut through me like a knife, carving out my heart. My mouth was suddenly dry and I couldn’t form any words.

“Her name is Madeline Grace. We’ve had relations since we were teenagers. I was going to have sex with her last night but when we started to…..I experienced the same pain you did.” Leo explained but I really wish that he didn’t.

I held up my hand, encouraging him to stop talking. Leo clamped his mouth shut and stared at me, clearly trying to judge my reaction. I just shook my head, giving him nothing.

“There will never be enough words to express how sorry I am, Austyn. I was acting selfishly. I was being an ass, plain and simple. I don’t deserve you, my actions last night made that very clear.” Leo looked like a beaten down puppy and I wasn’t inclined to make him feel any better.

“I….don’t know what to say.” I stammered.

“You don’t have to say anything. This is my mess and I swear, I will fix it. I’ll earn back your trust.” Leo said passionately.

“You didn’t really have it in the first place.” I mumbled and almost immediately regretted it. Leo’s eyes snapped towards mine and they were glistening with pain.

“I’m sorry, Leo, but I’m not one who easily trusts anybody.” I said.

“I just thought….you came home with me.” Leo said.

“I told you then, anywhere was better than Dark Moon.” I answered honestly.

“Okay, I guess I deserve that.” Leo nodded to himself.

“Listen, this isn’t all your fault. Things changed overnight for both of us and nothing is normal anymore. And let’s face it, you didn’t exactly get the picture perfect mate. I’m cold and distant and not at all comforting. I’m not saying that what you did was okay, not after you accepted me, but I can understand, at least partially, why you did it.” I sighed. Leo looked at me, stunned.

“None of this is your fault, Austyn.” He said.

“In my experience, everything is my fault.” I huffed.

“You need new experiences.” Leo said,

“I promise, Austyn, this will never happen again. I’m completely yours, forever.” Leo stepped towards me with a fierce expression.

“Okay.” I said simply, moving away from Leo’s advances. Leo sighed and dropped his arms,

“I need you to help me understand, Austyn. Why do you reject my affection?” Leo asked me.

“I’m just used to avoiding it, I’ve never wanted any of the advances I’ve been given.” I mumbled, wrapping my arms around myself protectively.

“So, you’re comparing my displays of affection to Alpha Victor and Kayden?” Leo said in a sour tone.

“I’m comparing them to the only other examples I have and it’s more than just Alpha Victor or his son.” I said. Leo opened his mouth but closed it quickly before trying again,

“I don’t know how to help you, Austyn.” Leo groaned, seeming frustrated with himself.

“I just need time.” I sighed.

“You have it and freedom. This is your home now. What’s mine is yours, whether you trust me or not.” Leo said, fishing something out of his pocket. He opened his wallet and waved a plastic card in front of me,

“Here, take this. Use it for whatever you want.” I tentatively took the card and realized he was giving me his credit card. I tried to hand it back,

“I don’t need your money.” I shook my head.

“Please, just let me do this for you.” Leo begged.

“You don’t understand, my parents left me everything including their savings. At the risk of sounding immodest, they were loaded.” I shrugged, trying to shove the card back in his hand.

“I don’t care. Keep it.” Leo ordered, putting his wallet away. I sighed and tucked the card in my back pocket,

“How are you feeling today?” Leo asked, eyeing my abdomen.

“Better, just a little sore.” I replied. Leo seemed to be reminded of something because he ran back outside and came in with a large box.

“I got this from the infirmary. It has a bunch of fresh bandages.” Leo explained. He sat the box on the kitchen counter and rummaged through it, pulling out a new gauze wrap. He walked over towards me with it and raised his eyebrows.

I sighed and tugged off my shirt, and don’t think I missed how Leo’s gaze lingered just a little too long on my exposed body. But, unlike Alpha Victor’s gaze, Leo’s didn’t make me feel nauseous. Instead, I surprised myself and actually enjoyed his admiration. I almost whimpered with disappointment when his focus went to the dirty gauze wrap.

Leo carefully undid the wrap and tossed it to the side. He opened the fresh package and started rewrapping my ribs.

“The infirmary doctor said that you should start to heal in a few days. If you don’t or it gets worse, he wants you to come in.” Leo said as he tugged the wrap around me.

“Okay.” I mumbled, knowing that I would never take the doctor up on that offer. I had a thing about hospitals.

“And he sent along this.” Leo said as he finished securing the wrap and walked back to the box. He pulled out an aerosol can.

“It’s supposed to help with the pain and soreness.” He explained.

“Shouldn’t you have put that one first?” I asked curiously. Leo looked between me and the can and grumbled to himself,

“Probably.” I laughed at his face.

“It’s okay. I’ll use it this evening.” I smirked, taking the can from his hands and examining it.

“What are you going to do today?” Leo asked me, changing the subject.

“I hadn’t thought about it.” I shrugged.

“Would you want to take a tour of the pack grounds with me?” He asked, looking hopeful. I sighed, wrestling with myself.

“I’m not sure I’m ready to meet anybody yet.” I admitted.

“I don’t know, you handled my wolves this morning pretty well.” Leo teased.

“Oh, I just wanted to make sure they were fed.” I waved my hand dismissively.

“Except not everyone would think like that. It shows how good of a person you are.” Leo admired me and I couldn’t help the blush that took over my face.

“They work too hard.” I grumbled. Leo shook his head,

“Nonsense.” I turned my glare on him.

“I’m sorry, did I upset my little Luna?” Leo mocked my expression.

“Don’t call me that.” I snapped but I wasn’t entirely mad at him. Leo raised his hands in surrender,

“So, a tour?” He asked again. I sighed loudly and reluctantly agreed.