His Mute Luna

Chapter 7 - The Tree Bark

June

I woke with a groan, my eyes stinging with the bright light streaming through the crack in the curtain and from the exhaustion still lingering behind my lids.

I rolled on my back and stretched, only to find my leg making contact with a curled up form. Tipper loudly sighed at having been woken up, before stretching herself and belly crawled her way up to my open hand. As I stroked her muzzle, my memories drifted back to last night.

None of it felt as raw, but that uneasy guilt still sat on my stomach. I felt stupid to feel bad about killing a man that had tried to kidnap me...a man that was part of a group that could have done goodness knows what to the four of us. How did other werewolves do this kind of thing all the time and not dwell on it? I hated violence or fighting; not the best sentiments to hold onto for living in a pack of people who were part beast. But I just couldn't desensitise myself to death like the wolves could. Very few humans could, which was why many of us voluntarily kept out of pack affairs unless it directly affected us.

A soft knock sounded at my door, “hey, it’s just me. Am I ok to come in?” Tom’s voice softly spoke from the other side.

I knocked on the nightstand once to signal 'yes'. As I couldn't speak, it was a way we had devised when I was younger for me to answer; once for 'yes', twice for 'no'...or, when I was a teenager, a rapid and panicked succession of knocks meant 'KEEP THE f**k OUT', like if I had snuck a boy into my room or I was doing other things…

He came in carrying a mug and I could already tell by the sweet aroma that he had brought my favourite.

"Here I brought you some tea," he offered, placing it down on the bedside table and taking a seat on the edge of the bed.

Tipper had immediately stood on his lap, leaning into him and trying to lick his face, her tail wagging ferociously while he tried leaning back to avoid her kisses, grumbling in mock annoyance.

I sat up and took a huge swig of my tea. He had made it just how I liked, with a teaspoon of honey and a splash of milk.

"How you feeling this morning? You sore or anything still?” He asked gently, once he had successfully avoided his dog’s affections.

“My neck hurts a little from where they jabbed me...but other than that I guess I feel ok?" I had meant to sign my words a little more firmly instead of like an unsure question.

"Look, I'll feel better once I get out and go to work. I'm on the reedbed today, so it'll be just me and the outdoors, away from everyone," I was already set in my mind that I wanted to continue in my study.

Being outside, with my own thoughts and nature always made me feel better. I was always more introspective and good at internally solving my problems, at reflecting in on myself to self soothe. Probably because it was easier than having to sign everything out or write it down.

"You can't seriously want to go galavanting around the packlands on your own?!" He almost shouted, sounding exasperated.

"Chill. I'll be by the coast. Unless someone sails in like a pirate, I'll be fine. Besides, I'm pretty sure Alpha George will have doubled patrol. Have some faith that the pack can keep me safe, would you?" I countered.

"But I promise, I'll message you regularly so you know I'm alright, ok?" I needed to offer him some sort of reassurance.

He sighed loudly, "fine! Just promise me, when I leave tomorrow you will have a guard with you till I at least get back?"

"Deal," I agreed. "Now f**k off, so I can get ready."

"Before you go getting all smug there, I told Jayne that you'd be facetiming her. You know she'll go berserk if she hears about what happened from someone else," he said, giving me a pointed look with a slight smirk.

I groaned, doubling over on the bed in annoyance.

I just wanted to get outdoors as soon as possible! Was that too much to ask?

Glancing at the clock on the side, I saw it was barely 10 am. If I got ready quickly, I could get the facetime over with, get onto my reedbed and just...breathe. It wasn't that I hated talking to my foster mother, it was just everything right now felt a little claustrophobic; another reason why I wanted solitude.

After quickly getting ready, throwing my hair in a messy bun and scarfing down the scrambled egg breakfast Tom had made me, I sat down to his laptop ready to confront Jayne.

After a couple of rings, her face popped up on the screen, her black curly hair and deep brown eyes sparkling in the bright sunshine of the Florida daylight; my brother could have quite easily passed as her son, biologically, which was slightly awkward as I'm sure her daughter, Matilda, had a crush on him.

"Hey sweetie, what's up? Tom said it was pretty important," worry laced her tone, thickly.

I side-eyed him discreetly where he sat at my side, giving him the 'I hate you for making me do this' look and taking a deep breath, I began to explain the previous night's events.

"Oh my goddess! Honey! Do you need me to come home?! I can be on the first flight!" And I could tell how she was typing away that she was already searching for flights.

Her mama bear mode was most definitely activated, she had always been a protective and slightly paranoid parent. She had lost her mate 25 years ago, when Mati was barely 2 years old, during the uprising Alpha George led against his oppressive father's rule. So sometimes she could be a little overbearing, but it was all from a place of love.

I waved my hands excessively in front of the screen to gain her attention before she had a whole itinerary planned.

"It's ok, Jayne, I swear! The Alpha family got us all back safe and sound. Those men won't be back anytime soon, so please don't worry," I tried to soothe. There would have been nothing for her to do here anyway, except fuss about me constantly.

She looked a little unconvinced, wearing a slight frown, but her time was best spent with Mati and her new pup...goddess knows that child needed some sane influence.

"Whoa, whoa, hang on. Are you actually saying Mr. Heartthrob himself came to rescue you?!"...Speak of the devil and they shall appear.

Mati's face appeared on the screen, clearly she had been both listening in and watching me signing and decided to interject now that the topic of Morgan Anderson arose.

"June, level with me and this is important...is Alpha Morgan still super yummy?"

My mouth bobbed open and closed, not truly knowing how to respond, with a slightly incredulous look on my face that was also mirrored in her mother's expression. She was mated and had a pup!

...Morgan probably was as deliriously handsome as ever, but that was beside the point right now.

"To think I almost could've been Luna…" she sighed wistfully.

Tom barely managed to contain the snort of laughter next to me as I punched him hard in the knee to shut him up. But if Mati really thought that, then she was delusional. She had dated Morgan about five years ago, once. That was all. One single date and from what I heard, he didn't even stay till the end of dinner and ghosted her almost immediately. No doubt she came on stronger than a stalker.

"How would I know? I've not been in the pack much for, like, 6 years," I'd really only ever seen him those couple of times around school. We didn't have the same friend circles and I had been away at university for years now. This year was my first time being back for an extended period of time.

"How do you not know? Didn't he come to save you like some sexy knight?"

"I didn't even see him, he was busy dealing with the kidnappers," this woman truly was shameless.

"Well, this is still the best pack gossip I've heard from back home in years, the girls are gonna flip with this tale!"

I sighed heavily, wishing she would just keep her mouth shut for once. This was the exact reason why I could only tolerate her in small doses. A silent argument seemed to ensue between Jayne and her daughter, before Mati threw her hands up in the air relenting.

"Fine then! I won't go blabbing, happy mom? I need to go check on Ally. It was nice seeing you anyway, June. Don't talk so much next time, Tom," and with that Mati whirled off from the video chat.

She would totally go blabbing, I didn't believe her 'promise' for a second.

We spoke a little longer before Jayne had to go too, but I promised that I'd message her more this week to let her know I was still ok. I knew she was going to fret being on the other side of the country and she just wanted to feel as though she was doing something productive. The latter was something we both had in common.

"Can you give me a ride? I left my bike at mine," I signed.

"Sure, you need picking up after? I'm working from home all day so I can be at your beck and call," Tom grinned.

"Beck and call, ay? So you'll clean my whole house?"

He snorted, "nice enthusiasm, I barely clean mine!"

"Seriously, I'll be fine. I'm taking the work's truck, so no need for a personal chauffeur," though I would have really loved that maid service.

On the way to my work, I decided to take the plunge and turn on my phone for the first time since I was taken, wincing as my phone practically exploded with messages...eleven of which were from Jayne already in just 20 minutes!

My heart sank as I saw the ones from Tom, desperately trying to contact me and realising something must be wrong...

I would read those later when I was on my own. There were a ton from Bea begging me to call her when I was feeling up to it and asking if I was ok. I'd be seeing her soon anyway, so I decided not to reply and surprise her in the office, with the coffee that she asked me to pick up; not that it would be needed now, but I knew she'd laugh that I had somehow managed to remember that one thing despite everything else.

There was the sweetest little bakery I had found on my route to work, No Bark and All Bite. I had only been once so far, but the coffee and the little orange and cranberry brioche I had gotten were phenomenal!

The place had this lovely, faint tree bark scent that made my whole body feel so relaxed and warm, as though I could practically feel a pair of strong arms wrapped around me. And the honeysuckle vines that grew around the door gave a beautiful fairytale vibe. The same young guy, James, that had served me last time was there serving again, as was that amazing brioche that I of course bought again.

"Remember, if everything's feeling too much or you're feeling sick just message me and I'll come get you...or if you just want some doggo time I can send Tip," he laughed as he signed.

He may have looked like an undomesticated mountain man, and he kind of was, but he was honestly the biggest teddy bear anyone could meet; even if he didn't show it very often.

At the mention of her name, Tipper was instantly trying to climb into the front and get on my lap, still thinking she was a tiny puppy and not the huge hound she was in reality.

"That's appreciated, but she has the downside of scaring all the birds away from the estuary. That, and I can't keep her out of the water," I tried to sign around the dog sitting on my knee without a shred of shame. She was used to sitting shotgun and was eagerly awaiting her spot back.

Heading in through the glass front door, I spotted Ben, our reserve and parks manager, sitting at his desk typing away furiously. His eyes widened as he looked up and saw me strolling in.

"June?! What in goddess's name are you doing in?!" He looked at me with concern. He was an older werewolf that was pretty laid back and a renowned herpetologist. He had forgotten more about amphibians than I would ever know.

Hearing his outburst, others in the office instantly looked up...I guess word had gotten out that I was one of the taken last night.

Before I could even react, Bea had appeared from nowhere to wrap me in a huge hug, almost spilling the coffee in my hands down her back. For someone who didn't even clear my shoulder in height, she was ridiculously strong. But that was werewolves for you.

"Oh my goddess, June!"

I could already hear the tears in her voice, as Ben ushered us through to the staff break room for some privacy.

I held out the coffee cup for her to take. "Here, it's probably too late for your moths. But at least I remembered," I signed, with a small, watery smile.

She laughed, like I knew she would, but placed the cup down to take my hands.

“I know this is a dumb question, since you're standing here and everything...but you’re ok, right?...Oh f**k, I knew I should've driven you home...I’m so sorry, June!” She cried as she flung her arms around me again.

I gripped her back, practically feeling her displaced guilt. She had nothing to apologise for and even if she had dropped me off at home, the outcome would've been the same. It could have been worse.

“Not that we don’t love having you in, but with everything you’ve been through, you are allowed to have some time off. But the pair of you take as much time as you need right now.”

I gave Ben an appreciative smile, for giving us this privacy, as he turned to leave.

“I’ve said this a lot today, but I really am fine. Trust me, I’d rather be here, being productive, than at home stewing on what happened,” I signed once she released me, which wasn't for a while.

“I won’t ask now. But we need to open a big bottle of gin sometime, put on Ghost or something and you tell me all about how Alpha Morgan swooped in and saved you like a total hero," she sighed like some pining teen.

“Why is everyone so hung up on this detail, seriously?!”

“You wouldn’t be wondering that, if you had actually seen him lately. You could crush rocks on his ass,” Bea smirked, clearly now fantasising about werewolf ass.

These wolves and their damn hormones were no joke!

It wasn’t as though I could say anything though, I had been having a little secret crush on him for nine years.

“Come on, let's get you back to your insects before you send yourself into heat,” I signed, silently laughing.

On my way to my desk, I passed Liam, one of the very few werewolves that worked here who found having to learn some sign language a huge hassle. In short, he wasn't my biggest fan and I was pretty sure he would have preferred that I stayed 'missing'. I offered him a strained and pretty disingenuous smile; I was one of those who tended to wear their heart on their sleeve and found it immensely difficult to pretend otherwise, though I tried for the sake of 'being polite'.

Shockingly, he all but ignored me. If he wanted to act like a little b***h with a grudge, then he could knock himself out...preferably in a literal sense.

I sat down at my desk to gather the maps and paperwork I'd need for my study as well as all the writing equipment I'd need, plus my tablet.

I really shouldn't nag Tom about his car when my desk was almost as atrocious. I had a collection of feathers that I had been saving up for when I got the chance to do some drawing, a very cool looking bear claw that I figured my brother could use in one of his projects and the cutest little hummingbird nest I had ever seen.

With everything gathered and Ben repeatedly assured I was fine to work, I set off in our silver truck heading out to my estuary.

I finally felt like I could breathe now I was alone, but what surprised me the most was the strange, tingling excitement spreading through my chest.