The Unclaimed Human Luna
Chapter 68

El POV

El woke to replace herself in a dark room. Her Aunt Juliana’s voice was coming to her through the mind-link, ‘El honey, wake up and come downstairs. The moon will set in one hour.’

‘Alright.’ She murmured right back. Yawned and looked about her. The last thing she recalled was being in a car with Conner and his unit. They were bringing her back to her aunt here to the Willows Moon Pack. Tried to sit herself up only to replace an arm locked around her waist, and a leg draped over her knees.

Turned and looked over her shoulder, found brilliant blue eyes looking right at her, knew that had to be Conners Wolf “Atlas?” she queried quietly.

Got growled at all softly as his body tightened around her “Mine.” He growled right at her before receding and Conner was looking right at her. “Sorry he’s a little possessive, and his need to claim you is high.”

“I need to get up,” she told him. “Why are you in my bed?”

Felt his leg move from hers and then his arm from around her so she could get up. “You were sleeping so well, I didn’t want to wake you. Your aunt told me you needed it and, well, honestly, so did I, so she said I could sleep here, with you, would wake us before the moon set.”

“My aunt, really?” she muttered.

“Yes. Do you really think I’d be allowed in your bed if she didn’t agree to it?”

“No.” El muttered and got out of the bed, reached over and turned the light on, looked over herself, at least she was still dressed. That would be a first with him in her bed. He had actually kept his hands to himself.

“There were rules, to my being in here, number 1 was I keep my clothes on.” He chuckled, “She threatened to make me a Eunuch if I didn’t.”

Turned and looked right at him, “Good.”

“El, we do need to talk, I know that.” He sighed.

She side-stepped the hand that tried to grab onto her and headed for the door, “My aunt said to come downstairs.”

“Alright, but in an hour, you’re going to have to deal with me. You know that right.”

He was walking behind her and she knew it, ignored him and hurried down to the ground floor, knew that her aunt would be outside setting up or dinner would already be on. Headed for the outdoor area to replace her aunt. Though she could feel Petal wanting to turn and look at him a lot, she knew her kitsune was curious about him, could feel it. She was more than curious, had looked right at Atlas when he’d growled at her.

Refused to do so for the moment, didn’t really understand why her aunt let him sleep in her bed with her. She knew what he’d done, even called him an a*****e herself. She walked out the back to replace dinner under way, saw her aunt looked right at her “Ah there you are honey, come sit and eat, you’ve been asleep all day you must be hungry.”

She actually was a little headed on over there. She could see Adam, Brayden and Cameron all sitting eating, watched as Conner strolled over to sit with them, was at another table completely opposite her. “Did you sleep well, El?”

Glared at her aunt now, and got chuckled at, then mind-linked to her ‘you looked so comfortable in his arms, how could I say no El. And I know you were very tired. Not so much anymore, huh?’

‘That doesn’t mean anything at all.’ She murmured back down the mind-link.

‘Hmm, you say that honey, but I checked on both of you while you slept. Like the dead, the pair of you, speaks volumes.’

‘No, it doesn’t. It just means I am home and comfortable.’

‘You were out long before you got home.’ Her aunt chuckled. ‘Curled up into him in the car before you got here.’

She moved her eyes to Conner across from her. He was leaned back in his chair just watching her, smiled right at her, blinked at that, he never smiled at her. Looked at his friends they were sitting seemingly happily chatting away with other members of her pack, while eating the dinner provided to them.

“They are a pretty friendly lot.” She heard Al tell her.

“I’ve not had issues with any of them three.” She murmured and saw Conner frown right at her, almost as if he’d heard what she said, from way over there ‘can he hear me.’ She asked Al down the mind-link.

‘Yes, all of them would be able to, shifters have excellent hearing, once they shift.’

Looked right at her cousin now ‘so anything I’ve said even quietly.’

‘Yep, anyone within earshot would have picked it up.’

Thought about that, the way Cordi had jumped all over her in her house and told her some people had good hearing. Clamped her hand right over her mouth and shushed her. She’d not understood that, looked right at Conner and wondered just how much he’d heard that day. ‘He hasn’t tried to mind-link to me not once.’

‘He can’t, you’re not part of his pack. Till you are he will not be able to, or until you two are Marked and Mated, that will connect both of you.’

‘Ever?’

‘Yes, if you don’t go home with him, stay here he’ll never be able to. Though, by the look of him El, he’s making himself very comfortable, I don’t think you’re going to be able to get rid of him.’

‘Is just my stepbrother.’

‘Hmm, not even Akon believes that, with the way he carried you today, and that Grandma let him sleep in your room. Likely everyone that saw that will think he is your Mate. Alphas don’t just go carrying anyone around El.’

‘You saw that?’

‘I did.’ Al chuckled ‘Lots here did. He slept as long as you did. His unit, however, wandered about and looked around with a few of us. They seem nice, friendly, very respectful.’

‘Don’t want to get their butts kicked by Aunt Juliana.’

‘That is likely a part of it, though mostly I think they were just simply curious, not many get an invite into a Kitsune pack. Or a fox pack for that matter. We like our Dens to be kept private. This is likely the first time they have ever been inside one. We run similar to them but are more laid back.’

‘Don’t get locked in or forced to stay here.’

‘No, we do not, though I think that was just your stepdad being overly protective to keep his Mate happy.’

“Everyone keeps telling me that, but no one cared what I wanted,” she muttered, allowed.

Saw all of them from his pack look right at her now, and heard her aunt sigh “El, don’t antagonise on purpose.”

“What? It is true, I was made to go there, forced to be there, dragged back there. No one cared what I wanted.”

“Actually, El, I told father to let you go to Italy, before he even brought you into the pack. Told him it wasn’t wise to make you move there. He didn’t listen to me.”

Glared right at him, he just hadn’t wanted her there. “In fact, I told him after that incident when he bruised you, he should not have taken your choice away from you. I was on your side to go to Italy the whole time.”

“You just wanted me gone.” She snapped at him.

“What I actually wanted, was for you to live your life in the human world as you should have, didn’t know what you were to me. Thought you were better off in the human world.”

“Good then let me be here.”

Saw him frown right at her. “I am letting you be here. I asked you where you wanted to go, to talk, gave you that choice, even brought you here to your pack, so you could feel safe and protected from me.”

“When are you leaving then?”

“After the moon sets and I can claim you officially.”

“I don’t have to let you. From my understanding, it’s my choice to say yes or no.”

“It is.” He nodded. “Doesn’t mean I have to accept it either. A catch twenty-two kind of situation.” He smiled right at her.

“So, if I say no, you’re what, just going to hang about till I change my mind.”

“It is highly likely.” He smiled right at her, watched him lean forward and prop his elbows on the table. “Atlas and I are already Mated to you. It happened out in the woods when you told us you would leave. Do you recall what happened that day?”

“Yes,” She muttered.

“Atlas mated himself to you that day. I did it before that, damned near knotted you. The second time we were together, stopping that was the most painful thing I have ever felt.”

“That doesn’t mean I did it back.”

Heard him laugh softly “Oh El, baby, yes you did, that night in your bed, when you got all aggressive and screamed at me, you baby. Mate the hell out of us. It was also the first time we saw a flash of Amber in your eyes. Brought out your shifter, I’m guessing.”

Was glaring right at him.

“You had me, El, the first time I touched you, freaked me the hell out, that is why I reacted the way I did.”

“Oh, you mean go kissing another girl just a few hours later, right in front of me.” She yelled right at him, “To make sure I understood I was nothing to you.” she stood up as pain touched her chest once more.

“It was very wrong of me, El. I’m sorry I did that. I was very confused, and I honestly didn’t know how to handle it. I was very different with you, I’ve never been like that with anyone before.”

“I don’t care, it was cruel and hurtful. You deliberately hurt me, and more than once.” Turned and stalked away from them all. Off into the darkness of the night, out into the orchard.

I heard him call after her and ran the hell away from him, deeper into the orchard only to feel the moon set and have pain sear through her body, so bad she stumbled and fell to her knees, gasped in pain and clutched at her chest just like the last two times, it hurt so much practically scream at Petal to rip out of her only to hear her actually whine in pain herself. Curled up into a ball of pain on the ground, knew it would render her unconscious at some point like the last two times.

“El?” it was Conner, he was looking down at her. “What’s wrong?” placed a hand on her face and the other was in her hair, stoking her hair.

She could barely look up at him, “It hurts us.” She sobbed and it did, couldn’t shift but needed to, “We can’t do it.” Saw his eyes glow that brilliant blue of his wolf and found Atlas looking down at her, felt Petal look right up at him and whine loudly in her mind.

Then he growled all loud and aggressively “Mine.” And she was just picked up by him, saw his fangs elongate and then his head dropped to her neck and a scream ripped out of her as she felt him bite her, felt it burn so hot on her neck, tried to hit him and lash out only to be crushed right into his body as he bit down even harder.

Felt the pain ebb away from her and opened her eyes to see Atlas looking down at her “Claim me back.” His gravelly voice told her ‘it won’t hurt anymore after that.”

She just stared up at him, it only hurt slightly now, the pain was mild considering what it had been, but it was growing. She realised as she stared up at him, she couldn’t mark him back, didn’t have a shifter to do so.

“Accept us, Eliza, be our Mate. She will come when you do.” He told her.

She could feel the pain already starting to build, heard Petal whine again, squeezed her eyes tightly shut against the pain, she didn’t know what to do. They didn’t exactly get along, didn’t know if Petal wanted him. She was curious about him, but even now, with the moon set, she didn’t come forth to claim him. What if he wasn’t the one, what if she chose him and it hurt them even more?

“Please El, choose us.” There was no gravel to his voice anymore.

Her eyes opened to see Conner’s dark blue eyes looking down at her, felt his hand on her face. “We will never hurt you again, I don’t want anyone else, El. I only want you. Accept us and she will be able to come forth.”

Felt his mouth touch hers softly, kissed her slow at first, teased her lips apart with his tongue and then kissed her deeply, could actually feel the pain disappearing as she kissed him back. The more she kissed him, the better she felt. Till her arms were wound around his neck and she was pulling him down to her, sighed his name softly as his mouth left hers, his forehead touched hers, and those eyes looked right into hers.

“Mine.” She whispered as she stared up at him.

“Always yours.” He smiled gently at her “What’s her name, El? Let Atlas call her out.”

Felt Petal look right at him, her Mate saw those brilliant blue eyes of his wolf appear and then she was just gone shoved away from him, up and running away from him. El didn’t really understand what was happening, she could feel it was her body running away, but didn’t seem to have any control over it whatsoever, could hear Petal laughing now as she ran away and realised it was Petal in control of her body, it was Petal who was running away from them.

‘Petal don’t run,’ she gasped, knew that was a bad idea.

‘He will have to catch me first, if he wants me.’

‘Petal, we can’t outrun them! Are you crazy? Do you know what he will do if he thinks you’re leaving him? Stop running.’

‘Never.’ She laughed. And ran right into the woods away from her own Mate, the one they had just claimed for themselves, had felt all their pain go away with a single k**s of acceptance. She didn’t understand why Petal was now running away from them at all. She’d never been able to come and take control before, now she could, and she just ran away, she didn’t understand it at all.