The Unclaimed Human Luna
Chapter 62

El POV

El moved into her dorm room and met her room mates, three other girls her age. All were international students themselves, one from England, one from Germany and the other from New Zealand. They all had their own bedroom but shared everything else; living, kitchen and bathroom areas.

She was still technically considered human. Petal had not arrived on the full moon, she was still just a voice inside her mind for now. Though El had been disappointed not to see what Petal looked like, she knew she was still with her. Had sighed up at her aunt when she’d woken up, passed out from the pain of trying to shift yet again, who’d just smiled at her reassuringly, “You’re still a kitsune El, just need more time is all.”

Aunt Juliana had told her they lived very long lives and that Petal would come when she wanted to, either that or she needed Conner and his wolf to be present for her to shift. El was kind of in denial about that. El didn’t want to think about that being what was needed to be honest. If that was the case, she may never get to see Petal.

She had decided on staying here to study, to get her degree and be within the pack here in Italy. Though this past week, since the full moon had passed, she had been feeling off herself, and that ache inside her chest was back, she felt tired and sometimes just exhausted. Why, she didn’t know? Though that in itself, her tiredness had been noticed by her aunt.

Who’d stated, “I have a theory on it, El. You’re not going to like it though.”

El had shut her down, and told her she didn’t want to know what it was, she could deal with feeling tired. She could take vitamins and drink energy drinks to pep herself up. That she would deal with it, learn to live with it and move on with her life, was hoping that it would at some point just go away.

She was going to live her life as she chose to. She didn’t like it when her aunt had a theory, it always just meant that she needed to be with Conner. Or go back there and reject him or accept him, but the thought of losing Petal if she rejected him filled her with sadness. So, at this point she was dealing with it.

Petal was quiet on the subject, had been now since the full moon, it appeared she was sleeping most of the time, but even El knew that she wasn’t. Tried really hard not to think about anything other than her uni studies and getting to know her roommates. It wasn’t the university of her choice, but as Aunt Julia stated, ‘perhaps she could transfer to it the following semester or the next year’.

She wasn’t alone here at the university of Bergamo, there were several other people from her pack here, not just those her age, but a couple of them were older and one of them was a permanent fixture, a professor that taught here, so that was good.

Not that her aunt was expecting any trouble, and neither was she. It had been well over a month now and there were no signs of anyone looking for her. Aunt Juliana stated that no one had come to the gates looking for her as of yet. So far so good.

Though today her chest hurt more than it normally wood and Petal whined a couple of times inside of her mind, as she sat with her books at her desk in her dorm room, wondered how long it would take for that to go away. She had been told that being here and within another pack might resolve that with time.

She was really hoping that was actually what was going to happen. The only thing she missed about her old life was Cordi, talking to her every day. That was a real struggle right now, though even if she could talk to Cordi, she wasn’t allowed to tell her what she was or where she was. The rules within the pack stated she must never tell her human friends about them.

She could have as many human friends as she liked but they were never to be told about who she really was. That really sucked, also not just being able to tell Cordi she was alright, was not a nice feeling not having her bestie on speed dial. Her aunt had not so much as even questioned her about Cordi, just stated no contact is best El. They could use Cordi to replace out where you are.

Wondered what harm it could really do? If she did contact her, El looked her up on her social media and there were photos of her and Collin together, no real surprise there. Such a close couple, what she’d not expected to see was her wedding announcement right there as her background image. Stared at it and sighed, Cordi was getting married and she wasn’t going to be there.

Sighed heavily, and got up from her desk. She knew it was going to happen, had actually wanted to be there, would have been there likely standing right next to her, smiling happily for her and Collin. Even knew they were going to have a big outdoor wedding during the night, under the full moon. That thought stopped her, and she, for the first time, thought about Cordi and Collin as though they weren’t human. How much they were always itching to be together, never wanted to be apart, the interaction they’d had with Conner and Adam that day. The way Cordi had put herself between Collin and Conner and tried to calm things down, the way she’d told everyone to introduce themselves, that they had. Both from corporations, then Cordi telling her she just thought they were from big corporations. She knew what he was, she now realised. Her wedding under a full moon at night. That was likely a very shifter thing to do. She’d seen her mother’s wedding photos, they’d been at night too.

Got up from her desk and headed downstairs, walked through the halls and off to replace a public pay phone, waited inline for the use of one, and then dialled the very long set of numbers the operator gave her to call Cordi. Couldn’t do it from her new mobile. She was not allowed to call anyone from back home from that. They could use it to track her, apparently.

It picked up after several rings “Hello.”

“Cordi, it’s El.”

“Jeez El, where the hell are you? I’ve been worried sick.” Came right down the line at her.

“I’m fine, my grandma got me out. You’re getting married?”

“Wh…What?”

“I just checked your social media. Your wedding invite is up.”

“Ah that! Mmm, well that is more for you than anyone else. My mum and dad say I’m too young. I have to wait at least a year.” Heard the annoyance roll off of her. “I don’t want to, but even Collin said it was fine. He was happy to make my parents happy, so bloody annoying I tell you.”

“You are barely 18, Cordi, I get that, but for me why?”

“Because I knew you would see it and call me. I knew you were missing, have known for a while…Eliza, where are you?”

“I’m not to say, not even supposed to call you…But something occurred to me just now and I wanted to ask you a question, it’s going to sound weird.”

“Sometimes that happens.” She chuckled “But you’re alright, wherever you are. Sounds noisy where you are.”

“I’m on campus today.”

“On campus? Where? Which university did you choose? You said you had three offers.”

“I did, it doesn’t really matter, Cordi.”

“To you. I lost my best friend, and she doesn’t even trust me anymore, or not enough to tell me where you are? Not even the university. We don’t keep secrets from each other, El.”

“I’m sorry, that’s what I was told to do.” She sighed softly. “I’m not even supposed to call you now, like this.” and El was pretty sure Cordi was keeping a secret from her.

“Well, I’m your best friend, El. Have I not always told you I’d help you, have helped you, when you needed me to.”

“Yes.” And that was true.

“I was kind of hoping you and Xavier were going to really hit it off and we could all just stay together as a group.” Heard her friend sigh now “No such luck on that huh.” There was a long pause “El, you should know, Conner is looking for you, and it’s not just him, he’s got all his friends out looking as well. I didn’t see Adam, but when he came here, he was with some guy named Brayden.”

“Well, he can look, I’m not in America anymore.” and she wasn’t, was on the other side of the world. “Cordi, can I ask you that weird question now?” She had been watching the people around her. It was relatively quiet and no one was in earshot of her.

“Yes, of course.”

“Are you and Collin, well…like Conner and his dad?” It was the only way she could put it without saying werewolves out in public and sounding completely crazy.

“In what way?” came back the answer, not even a hesitation really.

“Well…it’s a bit hard to ask out loud, people might think I’m nuts.”

“Then the answer you’re looking for is likely going to be yes.”

“Oh.” It was all she could get out for several seconds “but I’ve known you all my life.”

“You have. I wasn’t always, not till the full moon after my 18th birthday. Collin, as you know, is a few months older than me, and he was with us for my 18th birthday. We had that big full moon party right after my birthday, remember, at his home.”

“I remember, it was massive, like a huge rave.”

“That it was, he was pretty certain I was his Mate. If you know what we are El. Who told you?”

“My aunt.”

“How does she know about other kinds?”

“I’m not so…” turned and looked around herself, then whispered “human myself.” Then muttered “It’s all a bit weird Cordi.”

“Oh, you are just full of surprises, aren’t you!” Cordi laughed. “What are you then? I never. Collin and Xavier never picked anything up and we would normally have done so.”

It was really good to talk to her best friend, hear her laugh and know she had not changed one Iota from the person she’d grown up with “I miss you Cordi, talking to you all the time.” Felt an ache inside her chest grow at the thought of her friend. “It hurts sometimes Cordi how much I miss you and Collin, Xavier even.”

“We grew up with you, you’re attached to us. Kind of like your family, a home away from home. El, there is something you need to know.”

“No, I don’t.” she muttered.

“El, Conner is your Mate. You need to talk to him.”

“You knew, didn’t you?” El asked as she leaned on the wall and rubbed that ache inside her chest, talking about the man hurt more than ignoring all thoughts about him.

“I didn’t right away, but he told Collin and Xavier, the day he took you back to his home. He didn’t like the way Xavier was trying to lay claim to you.”

“What?”

“Called you, his girlfriend. Conner and his wolf didn’t like that El, that was all I needed to here. But he actually voiced it to them. He hadn’t come across you on the full moon though. So not actually scented you out. But he knew.”

“He was an a*****e.”

“Hmm, I got that from you. But El, things work very differently in his world.”

“Oh yeah I understand, my aunt stated they don’t like us humans.” She muttered “I get why he doesn’t want me.” Rubbed really hard between her breasts to try and make that pain that was growing go away.

“El, he does want you, is not looking for you just to reject you. Came here to Collins home, threatened war to get you back, if we didn’t hand you over to him. Not that he was at all concerned about me or Collin. His eyes were on Xavier, whatever happened El, to you. He thought you had been claimed by another.”

“Not my problem.”

“It is El, he’s an Alpha Wolf. They don’t just give up on their Lunas. Do you know what a Luna is?”

“Yes, my Aunt is that, but also the one that runs the place, holds both titles.”

She heard a low whistle “Hi Collin.” She sighed, should have known he was right there with Cordi, likely they were laying in bed together. Knew it was the wee hours of the morning over there. But her questions had been pressing and she also knew that Cordi wouldn’t care what time it was, would always pick up El’s phone calls.

“Hey El, good to hear you’re okay.” He chuckled “So your aunt is the Alpha and the Luna?”

“Yes.” She answered him.

“Hmm, that makes for some interesting thoughts. What are you, El?”

“I’m not allowed to answer that.”

“Actually, yes you are, just not to a human. We’re not human’s El, Werewolves and we’ve all gone to the same school all our lives. You’re not scared of me or anyone in my family now, are you?”

“No.” she shook her head, and she wasn’t. “So I’ve grown up with all of you, how many are you?”

“Half our primary school and high school would be werewolves El. Likely why your father chose the school. If you’re not human, are a shifter, he likely wanted you to be with your own kind. Have some sort of attachment to this world.”

“He should have just told me.” She muttered “Or grandma should have. Maybe I would have understood being in Utah better.”

“On that note, El.” It was Cordi “Conner, he told me the two of you are Mated to each other. Are you?”

“I don’t know.” She shrugged that off. Didn’t want to think about it, her Aunt thought that they were.

“Does your chest hurt when you think about him?” Collin asked.

“I have to go guys, I have class in a few minutes.” She stated “It was really good talking to you.

“El, it’s important.”

“No, it’s not.” She snapped and hung up, it wasn’t that pain was going to go away and resolve itself. It wasn’t like he was the only one that made her chest hurt, it hurt when she missed Cordi now too, she realised. That girl was like her sister, and she loved her, hell even liked Collin.

She had spent heaps of time out at his family estate after her dad died, felt closer to him there and they’d all gone camping together out in the woods so she could feel closer to him, had done a lot of things with them to feel closer to her dad. They had been her support system, now they were halfway around the world from her, and she couldn’t even tell them where she was.

Conner had gone right to them, expecting her to be there with them, though that she knew was always going to be their logical conclusion, even her grandma had told her they would likely head for her friends in California. That was what she wanted them to do, be confused about not only where she’d gone, but when she had actually left the country, there were plenty of airports between Logan and Santa Ana, for them to hunt through to try and replace out just when she had left.

Also helped that it had been her grandma that had booked her flights with a Seattle travel agent, not just online. El had just been grateful that her grandma had all her travel details, passport numbers and what not. Apparently, she’d always had a record of those. Now El understood why, she had been keeping track of her, due to what she was she supposed.

Sighed heavily to herself and headed back up to her dorm room. She didn’t have class today, nothing until tomorrow morning. She had attended orientation yesterday along with her new roommates and only one of them had class today. She’d spent the morning getting her books for classes, and this afternoon was going to wander about and replace all her classrooms so she didn’t get lost on the days going to class.