The Mysterious Woman
nine
*FOREST*
The old cottage is exactly like I remember it. Grandpa was a romantic at heart, and the building shows it. It’s a house like out of a fairytale, a bit rustic, with thick bricks and ivy vines. There is a charm to it, though it needs some work done, especially on the outside.
My parents always hated this cottage. So, for now, it’s safe to assume they will always stay away from it.
There is more dust now, but it’s in surprisingly good condition. It gives me an ache in my chest to notice that my grandpa’s things are still here. No one bothered to come here and sort through them.
And I can’t even just blame this on my parents; I didn’t think about coming here either.
The first thing I do is rummage through the drawers for a thick blanket and wrap the woman in it.
Then, I try to get rid of the dust on the sofa as well as I can, using some additional blankets to cover the furniture, and finally lay her down.
There is a fireplace in the living room, so I swiftly gather some branches, grab one of the old newsletters, and make a fire.
It should warm her up soon.
I don’t want to change her into clothes, too scared she might feel violated if I do.
So I just make sure to cover her naked body fully.
Then, I head to Grandpa’s old bedroom and dig out some clothes I can wear.
I also find his old phone, wait for it to charge, and then swiftly type a message to my family with a suppressed number, giving them a bullshit reason why I didn’t want to disturb anyone’s early morning, and I headed out to run some errands, but unfortunately lost my phone.
Blah. I am such a doormat; I am sure they believe my reasoning.
They wouldn’t even think I was making this up.
At least being a disrespected loser becomes an advantage now.
Once done, I return to the living room, grab a bottle of gin I find in the kitchen and sit down on the floor, at a safe distance from the unconscious woman. I don’t want her to be terrified when she wakes up and sees me.
I probably should have done some first aid, I say.
Darien has momentarily forgotten about his anger, his curiosity being piqued by the woman. She is healing fast, he says, fascinated.
Why does that surprise you?
It means her wolf is fucking strong, he says. I can feel her aura. She doesn’t need first aid.
This means she has to be of high rank! I knew she wasn’t a rogue by her scent alone, but until now, I didn’t consider who or what she was.
Exactly. Darien tilts his head. She must have been attacked.
We’ll need to wait for her to wake up to know for certain.
I shouldn’t be relieved about this distraction because it means someone else was hurt, but I am disturbingly happy about it, just because it gives me a little escape from reality. Man, I suck.
Or you are simply meddlesome and like to help others, Darien points out. It doesn’t always need to be something bad. He sounds annoyed again, and I am not so sure why. I do know he has been pretty fed up with me for a while. Last night was the first time in ages we were on the same page.
I contemplate asking him about it, but I can’t find the right words. It’s like there is a hand around my throat preventing me from speaking. I can’t even talk to my own wolf; how pathetic can one person be?
“Water…”
I scramble to my feet when I hear a voice.
“I need…”
It’s the woman!
“I am sorry,” I blurt out. “Just give me a second!”
I hurry to the kitchen to grab a glass of water. My brain is particularly slow today. Maybe because of the realization my family has hated me my whole life, and despises me so much that they even killed my mate, or because of my body being drained of all the energy due to being awake for 48 hours.
Probably both.
How can I mourn someone I didn’t even know? I don’t know the answer to that. I just know I am mourning my mate, even if I never truly met her.
“Here.” I return and help the woman sit up slightly, holding the glass to her lips. After a few sips, she sinks down onto the sofa again, leaving me even more anxious than before. Does that mean she is awake now? No, it seems like she is falling back to sleep. Is that good? Should I do something?
While I am still pondering what’s going on, she wakes up again with a gasp, her eyes wide open, and she frantically gasps for air. It looks like her mind is finally catching up on being awake. It must come as a shock!
“Hey, there!” I soothe. “Try to calm down. You are safe.”
I make sure to keep the blanket wrapped around her naked body while I help her to a sitting position again. My own instincts kick in again as I try to help her calm down and get her to understand she is safe.
Much sooner than I expected her to, she calms down. “So, I survived,” she says suddenly.
Goddess, how did she recover her senses that quick? I thought I’d need to coach her through more than one panic attack and then explain everything to her in detail, because obviously, whatever happened had to be a traumatizing event for her.
But the woman just keeps gazing around for a moment, as her breathing settles back to normal.
Then her head whips to the side, her eyes pinned on me.
In slow motion, I can see her expression, the look in her eyes and even her stance changes completely.
It’s like a door is being closed. “You are an alpha,” she says, her voice calm and void of any emotion.
“Well,” I mutter. “I… I…” Fuck my awkwardness. I can’t even get one straight sentence out. “Yeah. Or at least I will be eventually. Or maybe not anymore, I don’t know.”
She keeps staring at me, her eyebrows furrowed. “Forest Young.”
I gape at her. How the fuck does she know my name?! “I am sorry. I don’t recognize you, I probably should, so I apologize deeply.”
Again, her eyes scan me, almost boring themselves into me. “You don’t know me,” she says shortly. “We have never met.”
“But you know me.”
“I’ve studied all alphas and future alphas of this area.”
I am amazed. She must have a crazy memory and a fantastic education if she knows us all.
“Normal wolves don’t know that much,” I say.
Now it’s my turn to look at her. Darien is right, there is a certain aura around her.
Her wolf must be strong, and while she looks skinny and pale, she doesn’t really look frail. “Are you a luna?”
She tilts her head, raising her brows. “Color me impressed.”
She doesn’t explain any further, but knowing now that she isn’t just of high rank but one of the highest, the state I found her in is even more shocking.
“By the goddess, what happened?” I exclaim.
“How come… You must have been attacked… but why… how? Fuck, I am sorry. Instead of rambling, I should probably get you to a hospital or back to your pack.”
“No, you shouldn’t,” she says calmly. “My wolf has healed me plenty, and I don’t need a hospital.”
“Need or want?” I ask.
“Both,” she says promptly.
All her answers and reactions up to now have left me completely stunned.
I don’t know what to make of her; I don’t know how to read her.
It’s the one thing I am usually not too bad at.
I can tell when someone is upset or annoyed or sad.
At times, it’s good to understand others that way, but most of the time, it makes me overthink my own actions.
However, with her, I have no idea how she feels. She has it all covered behind a mask. Obviously, as a luna, she had to go through some training, but most lunas I have met are different.
But then I haven’t met an awful lot of them. I know that Tristan’s luna is a light-hearted, sweet, young woman, but that’s about it. Maybe I am being presumptuous and prejudiced. I can’t make a judgment from the couple of lunas I know, and I believe all of them are the same sweet type of person.
Someone can be nurturing without being a walking cotton candy.
Not that being a walking cotton candy is wrong!
Both are fine!
It’s just…
Awesome, now I am arguing with myself.
The woman has remained completely quiet, not saying anything, not even moving. She has been hurt in an awful way, and here I am completely focused on myself. “Who are you anyway?” I ask carefully.
“You already know that,” she says evasively.
“I meant… your name, your pack,” I mutter.
She looks at me before turning her head away. For a split second, I can see her lips tremble, but it’s just a fleeting moment. I wonder if deep inside she is actually scared and hurt, but can’t show it. What did she go through to end up here?
I remember the bottle of gin I brought along earlier, grab it, and sit down on the floor again, closer to her. “Do you want a sip?” I ask. “I don’t know about you, but I feel like drinking my brain away.”
“Yes,” she says quietly. The emotionless expression and the tension in her shoulders seem to lessen a little. She sits up, groaning slightly, but other than that, shows no sign of discomfort. Then she accepts the bottle and takes a huge gulp. “That’s a good one.”
“From my grandpa,” I say. “This was his place.”
“I am sorry for your loss, Alpha Forest,” she says.
Alpha Forest. Barely anyone calls me by my title. I usually don’t receive that kind of respect, but she – a complete stranger – calls me that so naturally. “How did you know he has passed?”
“By the look of this place,” she says.
I look around and nod. Makes sense. “How can you be so…” I pause. “You must be in so much pain!”
“I am,” she says calmly. “Also, my mate bond broke only a couple of hours ago.” A bitter laugh leaves her lips. “But I am still alive.”
My eyes widen at what she just said. “What?” I exclaim. “I am so sorry! I wasn’t aware that your mate has just died.” Maybe it was an attack!
“I never said he did,” she says.
“So, he didn’t?” When she shrugs, my mouth drops open. “But… how? Your fated mate? How can… how is that possible?! What happened to you?”
She takes another sip from the bottle before looking at me thoughtfully. It’s starting to strike me what she is doing here. She is trying to gauge all my reactions, like she expects me to attack or do something evil any moment.
She doesn’t know if she can trust me. I am just a stranger, a future alpha, who could kill her in a heartbeat. I would never do that, but she doesn't know it.
Now, how to prove to her I wouldn’t harm her?
I scratch my head thoughtfully. Why does it matter? She doesn’t trust me, so what? We don’t need to see each other again. I will make sure to get her somewhere safe and then move on with my life.
My own thoughts make me flinch. What life? I barely have one!
I gaze at her once more. Can this be a coincidence? When I am at my lowest, I suddenly stumble over a mysterious luna, half-dead in the river. How likely were the chances of the two of us to cross paths?