Man Gone Rogue

Chapter 4

Jade had been wrapped up in the safety of her mother's arms from the moment she made it back inside her home. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes as she buried her face in her mother's neck, the woman gently running her hand down Jade's back and threading her fingers through Jade's hair. Neither of her parents had tried to make her talk yet. They could tell that their daughter was distraught about something, she clearly needed them. Her mother's own eyes filled with tears for whatever was making Jade sad as she gently rocked her daughter. At some point, Jade's father had joined the hug, and she was completely engulfed in the embrace of her parents.

After a few moments of standing just as they were, Jade managed to catch her breath and pull away. She rubbed at her eyes, looking away from her parents and biting her lip. It felt like she had let them down.

Jade, honey. Look at me." he mother's gentle voice brought her attention back, and she just barely managed to meet the bright green eyes of her mother.

"What happened?" she prompted softly, slowly reaching for Jade's hand and lightly squeezing. Jade swallowed hard.

"I... found my mate." she sniffled, shutting her eyes tight. With that short intro, all of the details from the last hour came spilling out of Jade like a waterfall. Her parents listened patiently, knowing she needed to get it all out.

"Oh, my sweet baby!" Jade's mother exclaimed instead, pulling her close. Jade's father stood back. Jade knew that he loved them both very much and wanted to help, but he didn't know all that much about mates, and other werewolf stuff, so he tended to step back and let Jade's mother handle it if supernatural problems ever arose. Jade's mother pressed her face into Jade's hair, keeping her daughter against her. Jade appreciated it, closing her eyes for a while and just accepting the hug. When they stayed hugging for another few minutes, her mother finally pulled away to look at her daughter, and Jade met her mother's eyes with a watery gaze.

"Aren't you upset? You and dad have been warning me about pack wolves and mates forever... shouldn't we be worrying about what he'll do if he finds out that I'm a halfie?" Jade's mother only smiled gently and lightly touched Jade's cheek.

"Of course I'm not upset, Jade. It would've been safer if you didn't have a mate, that's true, but... we also have to trust our Moon Goddess. She doesn't make mistakes hon, if you're paired with someone then it's definitely for a reason." Jade shook her head as her mother spoke.

"But... you told me it's dangerous! I don't want to get hurt, I hate being a were and now I'm going to shift and... I hate werewolves for how they treated you and dad, I hate that I'm never going to be normal. I don't want to be one, Mama." The corners of Jade's mother's lips were pulled into a soft frown as she listened to her daughter, stroking her hair.

"Sometimes I worry that we have done too much to protect you and keep you away from other shifters. I know what I've told you about how my pack treated your father and I when they found out, and you being a halfie is certainly something to be wary of. I know this wasn't necessarily ideal, but having a mate, being a werewolf, having a wolf stand by your side... they're all beautiful things. Natalia helps me keep my head on straight, as I'm sure you know. And... I've never been happier since the moment I met your father." she stopped talking for a moment to share one of her gooey-eyed looks with Jade's father, "I'm sure everything will be okay. You're meant to be with him, and you already told me how the Luna herself of his pack said you would be accepted." Jade sighed and nodded her head, staring at her hands.

"I'm just scared." she whispered, feeling her mother's smooth hands gently brushing a strand of hair out of her face.

"I know, Jade. We all have to do things we're afraid of sometimes. No matter how long you run from them, they will always catch up to you. It's easier to face them head-on from the beginning." Jade nodded a bit, pulling back slowly from her mother's embrace.