My True Self

Chapter 6

Gwen's P.O.V.

"Gwen," I said hesitantly, as I realized that I had interrupted my mother. "Just Gwen, please, mother." My mother had chuckled as I corrected her and held me to her side. I have been trying to learn to get to know and open up to my mother and father more the past couple of days. Though, I still haven't gotten the courage to ask much about what I am doing here, after all this time.

Xavier stood before my mother and I as I began to study him. His eyes were a bright brown with a silver tint in them. His hair was dark brown and just long enough that he needed to swipe it to the side every once in a while out of his eyes. He had a beard, but not too long, and his body was very toned and muscular. It seemed that his shirt was going to rip if he moved at all. As I began to study him better, Raine interrupted my thoughts.

"Mate." She said to me, quietly and in awe. Before I could ask Raine what she was talking about, my mother cleared her throat and stepped in to speak.

"Well, it is late. I believe that we all should be heading to bed, yes?" She asked both Xavier and I. I nodded as I turned and headed down the hall back to my room. I didn't look back, but I felt like I was being watched as I walked away. I closed my bedroom door behind me as I leaned on it, trying to understand what I was feeling and why I felt it. I was never attracted to anyone in my life, let alone let anyone become too close to me, because I knew that they would have been ripped away from me sooner or later.

"What did you mean when you said 'mate?'" I asked Raine when I began to calm down a little. I could hear her chuckle a little bit before she replied.

"The Moon Goddess has chosen you to be mated with Xavier. When a wolf finds its mate, it means that they have found their person and wolf to spend the rest of their lives with, if they so choose. The mate bond is very sacred in a wolf's life. However, if it comes to you choosing not to be mate with them for any reason, you will have to deny them. It is very rare to have a new mate bond, however, if you choose to deny them." Raine explained to me, as I tried to process it all. I began to feel like everything was beginning to move far too fast around me. I began to head towards my bed to lie down as I heard a knock from my door. I let out a heavy sigh as I went to open my door. As I opened the door, my mother stood there.

"May I come in?" She asked calmly. I nodded and opened the door for her to come in. She examined the room for a moment, though nothing in the room had changed since I moved in. A big bed in the center of a huge room, with designer furniture and a large walk-in closet that only had a couple pairs of clothes in it, along with a full bathroom attached to it. My mother and father want me to go shopping in the town and buy whatever I want, but I'm not used to getting anything and everything without earning it. I was given the money and credit cards to spend whatever I please, but I haven't brought myself to do so yet. My mother turned to me and smiled.

"My dear, I think tomorrow you should go to the town and shop for whatever you need. I want you to take the newcomer, Xavier, with you." The mention of Xavier sent sparks through my body. I felt both warm and weird as to what I was feeling.

"Why?" I asked quietly as I sat down on the edge of the bed and looked out at the large, ceiling-to-floor windows that surrounded my room. They had a view over the town and beyond that of the forest. There were curtains and drapes to cover the windows, but I left them open since I've been here because I loved the sight. My mother sat down next to me, taking my hand in hers. I looked over at her and she was still smiling at me.

"I saw the way you were looking at him. He's your mate." She said to me as I could feel my face turning red. I looked away. "The mate bond is very powerful, very sacred. Your mate is to be your other half in life."

"I don't even know him," I said quietly. "I've always kept to myself, I have never had a relationship. I never let myself get close to others growing up." My mother pulled my head to rest on her shoulder.

"You don't have to distance yourself any longer, my love. This new life will be better, I promise." She spoke softly. "You don't need to be afraid of getting close to anyone, anymore." Mother kissed the top of my head and stood up. I looked up at her as she walked over to the door. "I have arranged for the two of you to go to town together tomorrow morning. Get some rest." With that, my mother left my room. I sat there for a moment trying to go through what she said.

"She's right," Raine said to me. "You don't need to be afraid anymore."

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I felt uncomfortable the next morning, hesitating outside of Xavier's door about whether to knock or not. Being around people, much less talking to others, was something I have never had or been used to in my life. I've always kept to myself when I could, besides the bullying from high school I got from Braden. What if Xavier wants nothing to do with me, just like everyone else in my life?

"Don't be ridiculous and knock on the damn door. Your future hot mate is in there!" Raine excitedly said to me. I was still trying to get used to the fact that my thoughts were not alone anymore, and that I shared everything with Raine now. I sighed and raised my hand to the door, but before I could knock, the door opened a little bit. My heart stopped when I saw him on the other side. His hair was messy, he had no shirt on, but there were many scars across his body and it wrapped around his back. His muscles showed better than with his shirt from last night. I looked at him in awe, and I think he was doing the same to me. We stood there for a moment, looking into each others eyes, when Raine distracted me from my thoughts.

"Say something!" She instructed me. I cleared my throat.

"G-g-good morning," I shuddered to Xavier, his lips then curling into a sweet smile.

"Good morning, Gwen. To what do I owe the pleasure?" He asked, calmly. I looked away from him and towards my hands that I began playing with to calm myself down. I felt like every time I looked at him, I couldn't move, breathe, or even talk!

"My mother wanted me to come invite you to walk the town with me this morning," I spoke quietly, realizing he might not hear me very well, but I couldn't bring myself to speak louder. "I am supposed to go shopping for new clothes and items to make it more like home." I explain to him and chuckle a little, still looking away from him. I could hear him shuffle a little, before I felt his hand on my chin, bringing my face to look back up at him. He smiled again, and I felt at ease again.

"I would love to. I just need to get dressed."He then pecked my cheek, before letting my chin go and closing the door again to change. I waited there, my thoughts in a whirl from never being kissed before, let alone even on the cheek by someone that I liked.

"He is such a genuine man!" Raine said to me before howling. I chuckled at her; her reaction to that kiss was more of a reaction than I would have ever given.

"I can't believe I have a wolf that is so much different than I am! It is something I will have to get used to." I said to Raine and she laughed so hard at my statement. Before she could say anything back, Xavier came out of his room dressed. His shirt was still skin tight, and he wore black skinny jeans with it. He fixed his messy, brown hair and it was long enough to cover his amber eyes almost.

"Ready to go!" He said to me as he closed the door behind him and started walking down the stairs with me. As we got downstairs, my mother waited on the steps for us. She smiled at me, and I smiled back.

"Going into town, my dear?" she asked me. I nodded to her as she looked over to Xavier. "I want you to protect her," She said to him. "Gwenniver hasn't been to our town yet and I want her to learn about our pack. It is important since she will be the next Luna. And, going off finding out that she is your mate, I want you to learn it too if you're going to become our next Alpha." Xavier looked at her in shock, and as did I.

"How did you know that-" Xavier started to say to my mother, but got cut off.

"That you and her had the mate bond last night? It's quite simple really. While yes, I can transfer and show visions of the past and future, I can also sense and feel connections or emotions that are strong between two people, the mate bond included." She explained to us. "I want my Gwenniver to be able to know what it is like to have true love in her life, and I don't want you to ruin that for her. She deserves the world, Xavier." She then smiled at me, and I smiled back at her as she pulled me in for a hug. She then looked at Xavier once more. "Can you promise me that, my dear?" I looked over to him as well.

"I promise you, Luna, I will protect her and love her as a mate always should." He nodded and bowed to her. She let go of our hug and kissed my forehead.

"Come, the car is waiting outside for you two!" My mother said excitingly. We all walked outside, Xavier and I got in the car and the driver took us to the town. When we got there, the first thing we saw was a breakfast restaurant. Xavier and I agreed to go eat there. As we sat down, we began to slowly start conversations.

"So," Xavier started, "your mom said that you were her long-lost daughter who had finally returned?"

"Damn, he's starting with the deep shit." Raine said to me. I tried to brush her off and find a way to really respond to him. I've never been one to talk to others about anything, especially any conversation.

"I just recently came here. I didn't even know I was a werewolf, so to speak. I thought my parents were dead and I grew up moving from foster home to foster home, living among humans. It isn't really a pretty story." I trail off, thinking back to where I was only a few days ago. I broke my thoughts and focused back on Xavier. He looked at me in amazement, for some reason. I cleared my throat. "What about you? You're not from here."

"Well, that's kind of a long story really." He chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I'd like to hear it. I'm a good listener," I said to him. He looks up at me and smiles.

"I'd like to hear yours first," he smirks at me, waiting for me to tell him about how I grew up. I didn't know if it was something I should really talk about yet. I didn't know him, and he doesn't know me. Before I could try and start off anywhere, the waiter came by and took our orders. When our food arrived, we sat there making small talk and asking each other simple questions. Favorite color, movies, t.v. series, books, etc. Though, when he asked me back, the only ones I had answers for were color and books. I didn't get to watch almost anything growing up. I explained that to him and he grew silent.

"You must have had a more difficult childhood than I did," Xavier said as he trailed off and looked out the window.

"It's alright, I feel like I can do more in life now if I wanted to." I told him as I looked out the window myself. When we finished, we walked down the streets of the town to go shopping.