The Unfortunate Truth

A Fallen Brother - 16

Since I knew that Brody was going to be gone all day, I went back to my grandparents place to see my family. I talked to my grandparents and explained to them everything that happened, feeling a bit bad that I hadn't seen them a lot the past week or so.

I spent time with the four of them before the two of them got called in for some pack related stuff. I didn't dare question it.

I spent some more time with my brothers. We talked a bit about what happened with Brody and I's argument, to which they told me that they don't blame me. As good older brothers should. And we talked a bit of back home.

Apparently dad had called them and gave a little update with the Artrac's. They were moving further west for the time being, meaning they were down by New York and going more towards Ohio.

Amen to that.

He also demanded to know when they were coming home. That they shouldn't be there any longer than they have already. To which they replied that they would stay here as long as they wanted.

Gotta love my older brothers.

I didn't go back to Brody's place that night. I slept in the living room with my brothers. We fell asleep watching movies. But I still didn't get a text or anything from Brody asking if I was coming over.

I'll admit that it hurt.

Of course there was a small part of me hoping that he just was in the office all night. But I knew that it wasn't true.

I told my brothers about the dinner, told them to be there at six like Brody mentioned. I went there a little bit before, hoping that we could maybe make up a little bit before they got there so it wouldn't be so awkward.

I was actually hesitant as I held a hand up to his door. I was a little nervous, even if I didn't want to admit it. Who knew if he was still annoyed with me?

I can understand if he was, I put his pack in danger. If it was just because I didn't tell him that I was a princess, yeah I didn't mention it but it wouldn't have been that important. But for the fact that I put the pack in danger because of it, that's the most important part.

I huff out a soft breath and quickly knock on the door. I vaguely hear some shuffling and then knew that he was coming to the door.

A few seconds later the door swings open, revealing my mate standing there. I'll have to admit, even though we were in a bit of an argument right now, he looked insanely gorgeous.

He had dressed up a bit for the dinner, as did I. I didn't do a lot. But I at least figured that we would dress a bit nice for my brothers.

And he was breathtaking.

He had on a pale pink button up shirt, with the sleeves buttoned up to his elbows. He was wearing tan khaki pants, along with dark brown shoes. That with his brown hair, caramel eyes, and slight stubble, he makes me want to faint.

I felt like I was suddenly lightheaded as soon as I looked at him.

"Hi," I whisper softly. I felt like I couldn't speak.

"Hi," he whispers back. "Come in."

He opens the door and lets me come inside, to which I take my coat off, along with my hat, and place them nicely on the coat rack by the front door.

I fluff up my hair again and turn back around after taking my shoes off. I was about to ask if he needed help with dinner, but he was staring at me. His eyes were soft and yet also firm as he looked at me.

Apparently I had the same effect as his outfit did. Because as soon as his eyes zeroed in on me, I noticed his jaw clench up and he swallowed softly.

Oh god. I'm gonna pass out.

The way he's looking at me tells me he was completely fine, and definitely not pissed off at me.

My outfit isn't all that great. I was wearing jeans, along with a black blouse that went off my shoulders, with ruffles at the ends of the sleeves by my hands. My hair was curled as well, seeing as I had all the time in the world to do it. I never liked wearing any makeup, in fact I never wore any. But I made an exception this time and was wearing mascara.

My brothers always told me it made my eyes pop.

You'd think his staring would make me uncomfortable, but I honestly found it flattering. If he was some other guy, then yeah it would be a bit weird.

"Brody?" I whisper.

It seems he forgot how to speak because he quickly swallows and takes in a soft breath. "Sorry," he says lowly.

My insides just churned. I'm gonna pass out, I swear it.

"It's okay," I whisper back. "Uh, do you need any help with dinner?"

I noticed that it smelled lovely as soon as I walked into the house. But I wasn't really focused on that after I saw Brody. How could I have been?

"No," Brody softly shakes his head. He starts walking towards the kitchen and I quickly follow after him. "I made lasagna. I hope that's alright."

I can't help but smile as I get to the island. Brody made my favorite even when he was annoyed with me. God I do love him. I still haven't properly told him that. Every single time I have tried so far I've been interrupted.

"That's fine," I managed to answer.

He did a quick check on it in the oven, and I can't help but notice that it should be done around when they get here. Man he really planned ahead. He must have started making this an hour or so ago. Meanwhile I was at home moping.

As I was lost in my train of thought, he places a bottle of apple juice in front of me, making my eyes soften at him.

As soon as I look up at him, he sort of sheepishly rubs the back of his neck. "I bought a case of them when I found out it was your favorite drink."

Okay, he's trying to kill me.

My heart is going to explode.

"Thank you," I whisper softly.

He nods a little bit and gestures towards the balcony off of the living room. "Would you like to come outside with me?"

I nod softly and follow after him, after running and grabbing my boots. I quickly shoved them back on, not even bothering to fix them.

As I get to the doors, Brody turns and hands me one of his sweatshirts. I smile softly at the gesture and take it from him, quickly putting it on. I may not be able to get his werewolf scent directly. But I know what his cologne smells like. Cedar wood mahogany. And I love it dearly.

I gently close the door behind me after I adjust my hair in the hoodie. I look and see that Brody was leaning against the balcony, overlooking a part of the treeline of the territory.

There wasn't any snowfall on the balcony, there was a small overhang above it, and what little snow got on it I'm sure Brody shoveled off or something.

The two of us don't say anything for a short while. I just breathe in the clean, cold air, the smell of the wilderness filling my nostrils.

Brody suddenly breaks the silence, his voice cutting through like a knife.

"You didn't come home last night."

Home.

He said home.

I've barely even been to his house and yet he's calling it home for me.

My breath catches in my throat as I look over at him. He was staring out at the scenery still, not looking at me.

His hands were clasped together out in front of him in front of the railing, since his forearms were leaning on the railing. He was slouched slightly, and it was very hard not to look at how good his butt looked in those pants. Very hard.

"I didn't think you'd want to see me," I tell him honestly. And that was the truth. For how annoyed he was with me yesterday, I'm surprised if he did.

"Darling," he murmurs and sighs for a second. He then turns his gaze to me, my eyes immediately transfixed on his caramel brown ones. "I'm still a little annoyed with you. But I'm not totally infuriated that I wouldn't want to see you."

"You're not?" I whisper quietly, hope filling my chest.

"No," Brody gives me a sad smile. "Of course not." He comes over to me and sits down on the small cushioned bench that I was sitting on. He wraps an arm around me, making me quickly lean into him and wrap my arm around his waist.

He huffs a little and plants a small kiss to the top of my head, making me smile as I lean into him further. "You still should have told me though."

"I know," I push myself out of his chest and give him a sad look. "It's my fault. I should have told you and you would have been better prepared and-"

"Hey, hey," he holds a hand out and gently grabs mine, making me stop talking. "It's not your fault. If I even insinuated it, then that's my fault. Because I do not blame you for what happened. Okay? I don't blame you. That pack does its own thing, you do not control them."

"No but they were more than likely after me," I huff.

"That doesn't matter," Brody grumbles. "It's not on you. The only thing is you not telling me. But I'm at fault with something like that too."

He sees my peculiar look and he smiles before he answers, "Baby, I don't know if you remember. But I sort of didn't mention to you that I was the alpha."

Oh.

That's what he was talking about.

Yeah, that's kind of an important thing to know for how I fit into the pack.

If he were just a regular wolf in the pack and I came along, I would just have to go through this ceremony to introduce me into the pack. But since I'm a higher ranking member, much less an Alpha, there's a lot more steps that are involved. Not only do I have to be introduced into the pack, but I have to prove that I am worthy to be a Luna for them.

And I definitely don't know if that's possible.

"That's okay," I murmur. "You were just trying to introduce me to everything gently. It would have been a lot if you had just blurted out that I'm a werewolf and an alpha."

"You're so understanding," Brody mutters.

I shrug a little bit, giving a warm closed mouth smile. "I just know what it's like to want to ease into telling someone something."

Brody sighs, believing he knew the reasoning as to why I said that. But he has no idea. Absolutely no idea.