The Wolf Girl

Chapter 9

"According to my father, and the knowledge he gained from the werewolves before him, we were an evolutionary accident" Toryn began, struggling to form the right words as he gestured to me and himself. I nodded. "Those first werewolves were the pure ones. All though they could change to human form, they didn't have any human blood in their veins" he explained, slumping to the ground. I followed suit, settling in for a long explanation.

There was so much I didn't know, so much that Milo couldn't teach me. We lacked the knowledge of our own kind, and for most of our lives, we believed that we were the last werewolves. It was a miracle that we had found Toryn and his pack. It was even more incredible to learn what he knows. I had known little about my species in all my life. Only what Milo was able to scrape up through research and what little information his human aunt could give him. I knew a little about the mates and the pack system, but I never understood where I came from, why I even existed.

I locked eyes with Toryn. I wanted know why we were hunted. I wanted to know why he could make me feel so confused and alive with just a glance of his blue eyes. He continued, oblivious to my train of thought.

"Apparently, one of the pure werewolves mated with a human. It happens all the time these days. Werewolves find their mates based on who can carry on the werewolf trait the best...and sometimes the best person isn't another werewolf" he told me flatly, his face void of interest. I wondered how many times before his father preached this story to him. He didn't seem to be enjoying it. "But why?" I demanded.

"Why what?" he retorted. I scowled. "I just can't believe that werewolves find their mates because they are looking for the human that will not ruin their chances at having a werewolf child. It has to be more than that" I ranted. It was frustrating that he just stared at me in surprise. He talked about mates as if they were an emotionless thing, as if it was just fact. From the way Ren spoke about Igi, and how he protected her...that kind of bond had to be more complicated.

"Are you going to listen, or argue?" Toryn murmured, glaring. "Proceed" I grumbled and stuck my tongue out at him. He rolled his eyes.

"When that werewolf and human mated, their children were half werewolf, half human. They were much less powerful than the pure wolves. These halfbreeds became the norm. Now it is nearly impossible to find a werewolf that has never been touched by human blood" he told me his voice slightly unsteady. "So we are all werewolves, but none of us have the original werewolf blood?" I clarifyed. He narrowed his eyes at me, as if confronted by a puzzle that would never be solved. "More or less" he answered, if a little reluctant.

I waited silently and patiently for him to continue, growing a little restless with his intense gaze on my face. "There is a reason you have found so few werewolves" he told me. "Because of the hunters?" I interrupted, holding back a hiss of frustration. He shook his head, grim. "No. It's because there has been a war going on for the past century."

I frowned. "The pure werewolves got careless. Sure there were less of them than the weaker werewolves, but with all of their natural power, they believed they were superior. The new werewolves got tired of being ordered around just because they were the lesser kind. It didn't take long for both groups to clash. The pure werewolves wanted power, and we wanted freedom, and wanted to take responsibility for ourselves" Toryn growled, and I could tell he was getting angry. He rose to his feet, his hands fisted into tight balls. His black hair fell into his eyes. "They've nearly whiped out our entire race. Th-they took my family from me" he hissed. I jumped up, and rested a hand on Toryn's shoulder, anxious.

He wasn't looking at me. "Don't touch me" he growled, defiant and shrugged out from under my hand. I backed off, his anger twisting around my heart like a vise. I knew that saying I was sorry for his loss, and feeling sympathetic wasn't going to change the past and everything that had happened to him. So I just stood there, waiting for him to stop trembling. No wonder Toryn was so cold and arrogant. He had to live with this. Whereas I hadn't ever known my parents or what happened to them. It was easier that way. Not knowing.

The glowing forest that surrounded us seemed entirely too sunny for the dark mood that Toryn had to endure. I swallowed down the lump of tears that were rising in my throat. His sadness...my sadness. My mate. The realization didn't stun me. Somewhere inside I knew it was true all along.

"I...I felt you that night in the forest" he told me and I knew immediately that he was talking about that first night. That first time he saved me. "I knew it was my mate and I intended to find you whatever the cost. I knew you were in danger...but...but if I had known that it was going to be you..." he whispered. "I would never have come at all."

His words stunned me, piercing me sharper than any knife. He didn't want me. I wanted to run from the forest, cursing his name, and never ever come back, but his next words held me in place. "I don't know why I rescued you" he admitted. "Because you are one of them" he hissed. I stared in shock. "What do you mean?" I gasped.

"You are one of the pure werewolves, Lavine" Toryn told me. It all made sense now. The reason he had wanted me to leave him alone. The reason Toryn did everything in his power to avoid me. The reason Toryn wanted me to fight with him against the hunters. He knew I was strong enough to win.

It was a cruel twist on fates part, to take a wolf that came from the same creatures that killed his parents, and make her his mate. Oh Lavine, Milo breathed and my eyes widened. He had been listening this whole time. I didn't have time to think about how much he could have heard. Without a word, I ran from Toryn, all the way back home to Milo.

He wasn't in his flat. He was in the forest, waiting for me. I burst into the woods behind the apartment building, and found him. My best friend, with his emerald eyes, like mine, who knew me better than anyone else. The wall I always kept up, that I hid behind when I was racked with emotion came crumbling down.

I threw myself into his arms with a cry, and he held me. His scent was so familiar, so comforting that I felt safe enough to let the tears spill. "Shhhh, it's okay Lavine" he soothed, in his beautiful voice, stroking my hair. "You don't ever have to go back to him again" he promised softly.

"I don't want a mate" I sniffled, burying my face in his chest. "Lavine don't be so upset, he's not worth it" Milo assured me, and kissed my forehead. "I don't have a choice, I have to go back to him" I whispered. Milo gently lifted my chin with his hand, so he could look me in the eyes, his own were dazzling. "You always have a choice" he told me.

He was right. He always is.

Already though, I could feel the effects of fatigue hitting me. A result of the distance between me and him. I was going to go back. He may have nearly just ripped my heart out, but I had a right to know about the werewolves. I needed to know how to keep my pack safe.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

so this chappy was kind of depressing. :c But it gets better!

Thanks for reading! Vote, comment, fan! ;D