CHILDREN OF THE DAMNED

Chapter 9

EMBER'S POV:

Luca kept asking me questions as we drove and once he figured I wouldn't answer-as I glared out of the window, tears burning my eyes as I held them in- he stopped talking and reached across to take my hand in his and placed it on my lap.

When we reach his pack house I look over to him, making sure to convey with a look that I wasn't going to tolerate pity.

"I'll stay over with you tonight. Here. I don't want to drive home." I mutter.

Luca lets out a sigh and pushes my hair away from my face to cup cheek, looking into my eyes.

"You belong here, Ember." He takes a step back and nods. "Head over to my room and wait there. I'll get you your dinner upstairs. You haven't eaten much all day. Nic will get a room ready for you to sleep in soon."

I'm a little let down by his suggestion but I decide it's better if I have some space tonight.

I start towards the pack house while Luca gets all the things from the car. I go into his room and open up the window a little, letting in a cool, gentle breeze. I drop onto his bed, exhausted from the happenings of the day, the weariness suddenly hitting me all at once. I hear Luca and Nic talking outside the room's door but nothing seems to intrigue me as I stare at the trees outside the window, at the pale crescent moon.

I huff and march to Luca's bathroom and splashed cold water on my face to remove the salt and the grimy feeling off my face. I go lie back down on the pillow, my face dripping with water.

I felt stupid crying again over Grams' death. I felt stupid crying over the fact that my father might be a terrible man. But the tears didn't stop. I heard the door creak open. I had sat up on the bed to see Luca walk in with a tray of food. He places it on the side table, climbing into the bed to wrap his arm around me and pull me completely flat onto the bed. It felt strange and familiar at the same time to be this close to him.

Luca soothingly ran his fingers over my forearm while calming me down and turned me over to face him once I stopped crying. He pushes back the hair strands clinging to my face.

"Talk to me. We can get through this. As the luna of two packs, you need to be stronger. The fastest way to be done with these things is to face them. No shortcuts." Luca leans in to kiss me. His lips part mine and his tongue grazes my lips for just a second and he pulls away from me, pecking my lips once more before hoisting us both up against the headboard.

"More of that later." He mutters.

I blush at his words, at the same time feeling grateful that he could improve my mood in just a few moments. Although it didn't mean he would always do it.

"There's a lot we need to talk about Luca. Firstly, we need to sort out this mess with my father. Secondly, we need to prepare for my meeting tomorrow with the entire pack. And lastly, we need to talk about us." I peer up at him with guilt in my eyes as he frowns at me, his nose scrunching up a little.

"We'll start in the reverse order. What is wrong about us? Do you need to set some rules or some conditions?"

"No. Nothing like that. I just wanted to talk about us. We're moving so fast. We met just a couple of weeks ago. And here I am, laying in your bed already. We need to talk more, get to know each other more."

"Hmm. I agree. So," He slips a hand behind my back and places it on my hip," What do you want to do? What is your ideal relationship like?" He nuzzles into my hair, distracting me.

"I want to go on dates with you. But not in a girly way. I want to do everyday things with you and eventually move in with you. Nothing too soon," I glare at him, "And I want to lead by your side, as your luna." I sigh, moving closer to him so our hips were touching each other and the sides of our legs lined up, his long legs trailing on.

"But?" He presses.

"But I want us to be like a normal couple and not hurry up the process and miss out on special moments. You have a lot to teach me about this world Luca. We have responsibilities. But I don't want that to mingle with our duties. And I also don't think I should officially move in until we mate. Tonight and a few other nights might be an exception when either of us sleeps at the other one's place. But we aren't living together."

"Most of it is fair. I don't agree with the moving in part. But I would be more comfortable if you moved into the packhouse of the Artemis wolves. That way you're a bit closer to me and you're also protected."

"It's my duty to them as their luna. This is complicated though... What happens later? After I actually move in with you? I can't leave them."

"We'll see about that... We'll think of something." Luca says, "But I'm not sure how comfortable the pack members would be with merging territories."

"It's like every step of the way, my life is destined to face problems that aren't just inconvenient but also risky. Okay, next on the list, what do I do in the meeting tomorrow? How did your first meeting go?" I thread my fingers through his and rest my head on his chest. My eyes were starting to feel heavy.

"My meeting was nothing like what yours will be Ember. The pack members had been with me since I was a newborn and they'd been led by my father before. My family hadn't been contested against for four generations before that. You will have only your grandmother's legacy as the luna before her was of a different bloodline. You will have to make your own narrative. Your own first impression. Meeting your subordinates isn't the same as meeting your pack members. While you might order your subordinates around, you're answerable to your pack members. They depend on you for a just life.

So be yourself and show them who you really are. No hiding, no mincing words, no white lies. You can handle it."

"I have a lot to live up to. I can't let down my grandmother. And I have no experience with the werewolf world, much less leading an entire pack as their luna. What if they want to replace me?"

"I can't lie and say that they cannot do that. But you mustn't give them a reason to doubt you. That's what leadership is about. You'll improve watching me." He winks.

I giggle at him, getting increasingly tired and susceptible to his cheekiness.

"What do we do about Grams?" I whisper.

"Well, Ember, there's nothing we can really do now. She has passed and it's the harsh truth that you will have to accept. The more you feel guilty about not having given her enough time and attention in her last days, the more it will eat you up. You did everything you could. You took care of her when she finally fell sick. You gave her joy while she was healthy. That's the most you could do. But now... What do you think you should do?"

"On the one hand, I need to know what happened with Grams. I need to know why after all these years my father came back into our lives and ruined everything. But I also feel like letting this go so that I never have to face him again, nothing will bring Grams back. But the world isn't fair and I need to avenge my grandmother. The pack deserves the truth."

"Yes, luna." Luca kisses my forehead and places my head onto the pillow, " You didn't eat any of the food I brought you Ember."

"Not now. I'm too tired. We're going to go through that book of Grams'. 'The History of the Hunters, followers of Artemis.' Remind me Luca." I whisper as I slip into slumber.

Author's note: Drop your favorite colour(s) in the comments! <3