Within the Forest (Werewolf Solangelo AU)

Chapter Nineteen: When I'm Ready

Nico's POV

I was.. Lost. So apparently I was connected to this boy at birth and I was supposed to help him run his pack and be his lover? This made absolute no sense. How was this even possible? Werewolves weren't supposed to exsist in the first place! How was I, a human being, supposed to be the lover of some supernatural creature? This was all too crazy. After Will and I's talk, Will pulled me upstairs. I still didn't know how to react to everything that had just happened. Apparently I am now officially Will's mate, according to his pack, and Apollo was expecting grandkids. My head spun at the thought. I.. I couldn't. I know it was biologically impossible for me to have children with Will but if I had.. How would they be born. I am a human. Wouldn't the child be part wolf? I'm sure that kind of genetic was much more dominant than any other kind of generic the two of use had combined. How would I even give birth to a wolf child? It wouldn't be.. Born a wolf.. Right? I shook my head and shivered at the thought. How could Apollo be thinking of children from me and Will so soon? Were werewolf mates supposed to met then immediately... Lay in bed together? I once again shivered.

Will was sweet and all but I just met him. I can't say I have romantic feelings for him.. But.. I'm not sure how I exactly feel about him. He's done nothing but protect me for my whole time here and I'm so grateful for that but seeing the sight of pure love and affection in his eyes every time he looked at me made me a bit scared. He was so much different then Nathaniel. So much more gentle. He took the blame when we got into disagreements. Not all the blame, of course, but I no longer had to suck up the whole fight we had and say it was all my fault. He was so nice. But.. Nathaniel was nice too. He took me out to dinner.. That one time. He bought me new clothes.. Which I was still wearing for a certain amount of time until Will got me more. He wanted to throw them out but I convinced him to just wash it and give it back to me. I had my own little drawer in his dresser too.

I haven't worn those clothes after Will cleaned them up for me, but I've kept them. It was like a memory. A.. Scary memory. It only reminded me of how my own stupid choices and behavior caused the only romantic relationship I've ever had to shatter. I missed Nathaniel. The times he was nice. The times he would hug me like Will does instead of hitting and shoving me into things like he used to. He was only angry. Maybe I shouldn't have left. Was he looking for me? Percy saw me that one time but it was obvious of how Nathaniel was treating me. Was Percy still in contact with the others? Annabeth? Reyan? Leo? ... Hazel? Oh Hazel. She was the only blood family I had left. Would Percy tell her about Nathan? How would she react if she found out I had ran away during a fight we had? Were they looking for me? How could I just disappear like that? Percy has the biggest mouth in the world! If he suspected something bad waa going on between me and this mystery boy he had barely known for a minute, he would definitely hunt down everyone in our old group and investigate. Did they think I was dead? Are they mad that I just left? Maybe it would be okay if I just come back-

"What are you thinking about?"

I jumped at the sound of Will's voice in a playful tone, earning his small smile to melt away almost immediately. I shrugged, turning away and biting my lip.

I didn't want to tell him I was thinking of leaving. He would get mad. I hadn't seen Will's anger directed at him yet. I've seen Will angry before, but it's never been towards me. It was either he got angry while thinking of Nathan or it was from something his own father had done or said. And I was glad I had never said anything to provoke him, but saying I was planning on going back to Nathaniel would. As I continued my mental struggle, I felt a physical touch on my shoulder which caused me to jump again. I bit my lip at Will's concerned face and looked away. Or at least.. I tried to. Will almost immediately grabbed my chin and forced me to look at him. I almost whimpered. That probably would have made him more forceful.

"Nico please. Talk to me," Will spoke soft, which I wasn't expecting judging by his past actions. Then again, I wasn't used to getting my face touch in anyway that wouldn't leave a mark. I wasn't sure what to say. I didn't want to lie to him. I was told it was really obvious when I lied. That would probably only frustrated the wolf boy. After seeing what he was capable of, I was a little scared.

"N-Nothing. I'm fine," I lied anyway, biting my lip at the unsatisfied grunt Will made at that answer. (He will never be satisfied... I will never be satisfied..) Why did I act as if he was going to hit me? Then again, he was perfectly capable of doing so and that would be completely minor compared to anything else he could do to me. I was once again pretty surprised when Will let go of my chin and ended up cupping my cheeks with both of his (extremely warm) hands and caused my face to heat up. "Nico please." I didn't want to pull away. Would he get mad if I did? Or would he just grab me again? I once again bit my lip so hard that the taste of metal stained my tongue.

"I.. I don't think I'm ready to be an Alpha of a pack.. Or be the mate of a werewolf..," I spoke in nearly a whisper, closing my eyes like a puppy waiting to be kicked. I inhaled sharply as I was pulled into an embrace, Will's arms engulfing me. I wasn't sure if I was even visible against him anymore other than my legs. I instinctively buried my face into his chest, being in his summer-like smell that calmed me almost immediately. I still couldn't figure out what summer smelled of.

"Me neither, Neeks," Will chuckled, I could barely hear him since my ears were surrounded by skin and cloths. I blushed at the nickname. "But I'll be ready when you are, okay?" Cupped my face again, Will lifted my head to have our eyes meet again. I was a bit disappointed from the loss of Will's warmth surrounding me. I could have sworn my face exploded with fire as Will's warm lips pressed against my forehead. I actually gasped, my mouth gapping like a fish. It's been awhile since a forehead kiss.. Felt like that. It wasn't motherly (of course) like one kind of kiss he hasn't felt since he was twelve and it wasn't possessive and cold like.. Other kisses. It was.. Nice. "So for now, we'll go with that. Okay? Until you're ready," Will's voice came again, once more pulling me from my thought and placing me back in his warm embrace. I closed my eyes, enjoying it. I didn't love him... I just enjoyed his company. But at least I know he won't force me into something I don't want. A nice change. But I'm still a bit nervous.

How long was Will going to wait until I was ready.....?