The Chronicles of Moon
Chapter 25

Run Away

Moon slept all night and well into the morning. When she wakes up, she still feels tired but checking the time, she is shocked to see just how long she had slept it’s late morning. She makes her way to her little bathroom washing her face and brushing her teeth.

She stares at her reflection in the mirror and tries to replace some shred of her wolf a whisper anything, but it just isn’t there. Moon let out a sigh as she finishes getting ready to go and replace Ben. She wants to know more of the details of what happened yesterday, and she wants to know who attacked them and why.

Moon makes her way to Ben’s office and can hear Ben’s voice getting louder and louder.

“What the hell do you mean you will handle it? You really aren’t going to tell me anything. We deserve to know what happened.” Ben is trying not to shout and lose his temper completely.

Colin’s voice lacks all emotion as he responds, “I told you I will help cover the cost of rebuilding, but no, I don’t want to drag your pack into this further. If we just cut ties, I think it would be better for you and your pack. Moon leans on the door frame unnoticed by the arguing men.

“I never thought of you as the type to just run away.” Moon scoffs. Colin turns and looks at her as Ben hides his grin. Moon just said what he had been thinking.

“I’m not running away from anything. I just think it is the best thing to do. You don’t understand.” Colin is trying to keep his tone flat. Still, with Moon there glaring at him, he is having difficulty hiding his feelings and anger at the situation.

“You are right. I don’t understand.” Moon interjects. “Why don’t you explain it?”

Colin growls in frustration and looks like he wants to storm from the room, but Moon is blocking the door. “You can’t run from me, Colin. You are mine, remember?”

The silence that fell over the room was almost painful. Colin looks shocked. She even said anything at all about them. It wasn’t something he wanted to deal with right now, either.

“Unless you plan to just reject me?” Moon is looking him dead in the eye, and she can see him struggling with his emotions. Moon knows she is pushing him, and she isn’t sure it’s a good idea. It could turn out that he does plan to reject her, and while that isn’t really what she wants, she would rather get it over with than have him avoid her.

“You don’t know anything,” Colin says, sounding so conflicted.

Ben and the other men were already heading to the door, not wanting to be part of where this conversation was clearly going. Colin turned from Moon, and Ben, Zach, and Chris made a quick exit. Moon closed the door after them. Ben gave her a funny look, and she just shrugged.

“Why didn’t you try something new and talk to me?” Moon was gentler in her tone, and Colin is clearly hurting despite his effort to hide it.

“I didn’t even know where to begin.” He utters slowly, looking at the floor.

Moon moves closer to Colin, his back still to her. She places her hand on his back, and he stiffens. Moon just wants him to open up to her, and she doesn’t know how to accomplish that other than by showing him that she isn’t going anywhere. She wraps her arms around his waist and presses against him. Holding him hoping it would be enough for him to just try and talk to her.

Colin relaxes in her arms. She can feel his muscles as they relax, and he takes a long breath. He eventually turns in her arms, and she tries to let go, but he wraps his arms around her and pulls her tight into him.

“You won’t want me when you replace out what I am.” He murmurs, his voice laced with so much pain and emotion. It shocks her.

“I think that is for me to decide, not you.” Moon pulls away just enough to see his face. She has never seen someone so sad and broken as he is at this moment.

“Where do I even begin?” Colin asks.

“Why not the beginning?” Moon tills her head, pleading in her eyes, and Colin knows he can’t refuse her. He wants to tell her everything, but he just doesn’t want her to hate him after. He’s confident she will.

She won’t hate us. She will understand. I know she will. Farrell reassures him, and Colin is tired of living with his guilt.

Colin lets her go and moves to the small sofa sitting down. When Moon joins him sitting in the armchair, Colin hangs his head.

“My brother did this,” Colin says, and Moon lets out a little gasp.

“Why would he do this, Colin?” Moon asks gently.

“He hates me. He always has.” Colin begins.

He tells her everything from the lie of not being Alpha Maddox’s son not even knowing who his father was. Colin tells her of his childhood, and while everyone in the pack thought he was the Alpha’s son, he was never treated like he was. He worked harder than anyone just to try and earn some small favor with Maddox. Some ounce of love from the only father he had ever known. Colin was never even allowed to call him father or dad like his siblings. He called him Alpha.

When Colin was older, his mother told him why, but she never told Colin who his father had been, just that he died, but he was a great man. They weren’t destined mates, but they were still very much in love. She met Maddox by chance when Colin’s father died suddenly.

Moon sat, listening as he talked about his childhood and how he was sent away to train in the military academy. He told her that was the first place that felt like home to him. Colin told her about his brother hating him just as much as Maddox does. When their mother died, Colin went home thinking he and his family could greave together.

When he talks about his sister, Colin sounds broken and hollow inside. Colin tells Moon everything he can remember from that night, and Moon is quiet. Something about it seems off to her. When Colin finally finishes telling her why he thinks his brother attacked Big Springs pack to hurt him. Colin also thinks Caleb wants to keep Colin from expanding his pack and that the rest of his allies might also be in danger. Caleb never liked being second to Colin and would do anything to come out on top.

The room is quiet, and Colin is studying Moon’s face for any sign of what she thinks of him now after everything he told her. He could never even earn the love of the only father he ever knew. His mother avoided him and could do little to shelter him from Maddox and his cruelty. Then His sweet sister did love him and looked up to him. Colin was responsible for her death. He killed her. Who could or would love him?

“Did it ever occur to you that you didn’t have anything to do with your sister’s death?” Moon says slowly as she thinks over everything she heard.

“I thought of it, but I can’t prove it. Even if I could, I have memories of her running from me and screaming.” Colin hangs his head. He has tried to puzzle it all out, but he just can’t. Either way, he should have protected her and would still blame himself for her death no matter what.

“I’m sorry, Colin,” Moon says, looking at him sadly. Colin braces himself, sure that now that she knows everything about him, she won’t want him. Moon moves to the couch and wraps her arms around his neck. “You still don’t get to run away from me.”

Colin doesn’t know what to think as Moon sits looking at him. For the first time, he felt that someone could want him. It’s a foreign idea to him, but he wants more of it. He wants to hold her in his arms he wants to keep her safe, but clearly, his brother is going to be a problem. Caleb knows Moon is his mate, and now Caleb has the perfect way to hurt him. As he pulls her close to him, he tries to calm the fear that is building. He can’t lose her.