Dearest Luke

Chapter Three - Revealing Thy Past

☽ Luke ☾

“I, Zion Ronan, Alpha of The Divergent Canine Pack,” Zion said as he looked at me.

“I, Sherie Ronan, Luna of The Divergent Canine Pack,” Sherie added with passion. I shivered with anticipation. 

“We officially accept you into our pack, into our homes and our families. A pack that will always come together to love, to support and to protect each other until the end,” I could feel the tingles as Zion spoke and I smiled.

“We welcome you, Luke Leigh,” Sherie finished.

“Welcome to the pack, Luke,” Zion and Sherie both smiled warmly at me and I honestly couldn’t stop smiling either. The best day of my life, so far. I could feel the warmth, the love and support fill me, wash over me in tidal waves of acceptance. It was an amazing feeling and I glanced over at Nia, who was silently crying with joy.

“Thank you,” I said as I bowed respectfully at my new Alpha and Luna. I noticed Nia held her hand out and I hurried over to her side and took her small delicate hand in mine.

“Welcome,” she whispered, and I pressed my lips against her forehead.

“Right, the rules of the pack are simple,” Zion said as he faced us. Sherie politely excused herself and Nia tugged on my arm. “Please, let’s go into my office,” he said and we followed Zion down the hallway, and he turned left into his office. Nia and I, both sat down on the sofa and I took in the simple looking room as Zion got comfortable. Desk, chair, bookcase, sofa, and a cabinet, all in rich dark browns. Plain and simple and I felt relaxed even though the room wasn’t too big, it was definitely comfortably. “Alright, since you are Nia’s mate, you will be staying here at the packhouse. I do understand that you are still serving out your time of community service,” I knew he was going to bring it up and I couldn’t back out now. It was time they knew in any case. “Now, I realize you aren’t much of a talker, but, I do believe that my daughter and I deserve an explanation,” Zion gazed at me with such intensity, I felt as if he was searching for answers from my very soul. Of course, I didn’t miss the way Nia had turned in her seat to look at me. I took a deep breath and nodded.

“I was a hunter,” I started. The reactions from them were as I had expected. Zion immediately looked concerned, worried, and of course, stressed, while Nia looked downright uncomfortable. “My brother and I were recruited to join the hunters under the assumption it was just a normal good old plain hunting group. However, upon arrival, we found out exactly what the hunters were hunting,”

“You didn’t know?” Nia asked and I could see and hear that she was hopeful. I nodded and both Zion and Nia relaxed. Slightly.

“When we realized what kind of hunters they were, we wanted to bail out. You see, my brother and I had befriended an Alpha down south a few years ago. The meeting had been purely by accident, but we meant no harm and Alwyn had no problem in explaining how things worked and we learned about the shifters. We wanted to leave this new hunter group but the leader, well…” my voice trailed off as I thought back to that night. I felt Nia rest her hand against my knee and I felt her comfort. “He blackmailed us,” I finished.

“How?” Zion asked curiously.

“It seems, my brother and I weren’t random people they chose, no, they had done their research and had all kinds of information on us. Derick threatened us, threatened our families and our friends, including the pack we had befriended. We didn’t want to stick around but when we heard of what Derick was planning, it sounded bad. Really bad. I guess in a way, we wanted to help the pack in any way that we could. Jacob wanted to inform the pack then slip away, let our families know, and for us to run. I was all on board but when we arrived at the pack,”

“Which pack?” Zion questioned and I hesitated in answering. I mean, there was no bad blood between myself and Stephan, nor the pack but still, it felt almost as if I was sharing their secrets. I shrugged it off and smiled.

“The Night Drifters Pack,” I eventually confessed. It felt like a confession. Zion raised a curious eyebrow and I dreaded the next thing he’d say.

“Please tell me you had nothing to do with the murder of George and Andrea Lavoie,” Zion asked carefully and Nia snapped her head towards me, and I quickly shook my head.

“No, we were recruited after that,” I informed them. They both relaxed but still looked tense as I took another deep breath to continue my story. “No, Aaron recruited us for the takeover. We entered the pack whilst they were sleeping. All the males were locked up in the dungeons and Derick took the throne, so to speak, we never did get a chance to alarm anyone of the upcoming attack,”

“He sounds like a d**k,” Nia commented, and I nodded.

“Mostly, we all have our background stories and so does he, anyway, um…” I knew that this next part wasn’t going to be easy and I glanced over at Nia. “It was during this take over that my brother and I, we met our mates,” it was at this point that I avoided looking at both of them. Especially Nia.

“Wait! What?” Nia asked, completely taken aback by my story and confession. “You had a mate? Before me? What does that make me?” Nia stood up abruptly and I was forced to look up at her.

“Nia…” I started but she quickly stopped me.

“No, what the hell Luke? You didn’t think to mention that before?” she was angry I could tell, and Zion certainly seemed to be enjoying it. He seemed concerned but amused.

“I was waiting for the right-”

“Bullshit!” she screamed, interrupting me. Again. “Don’t give me that s**t about waiting for the right time, you should have mentioned it,”

“Does it matter? Or make any difference?” I asked her pleadingly. I didn’t want to upset her. Of course, I realize I may have been wrong by withholding the information, but I had no idea it would affect her this way. “Just, please, let me finish and then I am sure you will understand,” I pleaded, begged even. I gave her my best puppy dog eyes. Nia sighed and sat back down. Not as close as before but at least she was prepared to listen.

“Explain, Luke,” she snapped when I remained silent.

“Because Alwyn had told us about shifters and mates, Jacob and I understood what was happening. Although we were surprised, we weren’t against the idea of it. Jacob and Polly, me and Amanda, at that moment, it felt as if it was fate,”

“Fated mates duh,” Nia mumbled rudely, and I blushed with embarrassment.

“Yes, well that’s not quite what I mean about it feeling as if it was fate. For me, it was more about the fact that my brother and I would be together in one place. I look up to Jacob, he has always been there for me and one of my biggest fears has always been that we would drift apart once we got involved with someone. Knowing that we had both mated with females from the same pack, meant that I didn’t have to fear I’d lose him,” I realized at this point that I should probably mention a few other personal details but I still was not ready to bare my whole soul. Not yet, anyway.

“Is he the only family you have left?” Zion asked me and I shrugged.

“My mother, she um...” I wasn’t sure if I wanted to explain. I had just thought I wasn’t ready, but looking at Nia, I knew that she deserved to know me. All of me. “My mother was killed in a car accident when I was eight. It was just me and brother with my father for so many years. The three of us, we thought of ourselves as the three musketeers,” I chuckled softly as I thought back on the good times. “Jacob has always looked out for me, had my back. My father, he always made it seem like he was happy with us, but we always knew just how broken he was after mom died. Although her death affected us, Jacob and I had a good upbringing. We where close. My father retired and my brother and I decided a road trip would amazing. Hence how we ended up here, in this situation. Anyway, I’ve gone off track,” I paused and looked at my hands. This was the most I had ever spoken in one day and my throat was dry. Nia seemed to understand my struggle as she stood up and went over to the cabinet. She poured two drinks, one for me and one for Zion. The cool yet hot golden liquid burned and soothed my throat as I swallowed the contents in one go. Just as I was about to open my mouth to continue the story, Sherie walked in.

“Sorry to interrupt but,” she looked over at Zion. “Could I have a quick word?” Zion nodded as he stood up. Before exiting the room, he glanced over at me.

“Wait for me before you continue,” he said and then left. I shifted in my seat and dared to peek over at Nia.

“Luke,” I looked over at her and stopped her before she could continue.

“Nia, I am sorry I didn’t tell you, it’s just…I don’t often share my thoughts or feelings with anyone and I was, no I am still processing the fact that gods gifted me another mate,” I quickly hurried to explain myself. 

"Is it because of her you changed?" she asked me softly and I nodded.

"It was a decision Jacob and I made to stay with our mates in the pack..." I trailed off and gave her the time she needed to process the information. Nia was lost in thought and silence filled the room. I wanted to say more, I needed to say more but the words were lodged in my throat.

“Thank you for waiting,” Zion said as he returned. I watched as he made himself comfortable once again. “Please, continue,”

“Ok, so, um…aside from all the drama with the pack and the situation that was going on, Amanda and I mated,” I didn’t bother looking at Nia to know she wasn’t happy with my words. “She fell pregnant and I’m going to be honest when I say this because I was truly overjoyed by the prospect of being a father,”

“You have a kid!” Nia shouted out. I quickly shook my head and Zion raised his hand.

“Nia, please, give him a chance to finish,” he demanded quietly, and Nia sat back down.

“The problem with the relationship between myself and Amanda was beyond what I had expected. At first, she was shy, quiet and gentle and I thought, woah, she is like me, this is great, but then, she slowly started to change,” I closed my eyes for a moment before continuing. “She was nasty and spiteful. Dominant in all the wrong ways and I had no idea what to do. She was not what I had thought. She had a dark side that scared me. On the day she gave birth, I was filled with a mixture of dread and excitement…” my voice trailed off as images of that morning rushed to my mind. The pain, the blood, and sadness. “It didn’t matter how much I had grown to dislike her, it hurt so much when she lost the baby,” the whispered words were filled with heartbreak and sadness. I stood up and went over to the window and looked out. I didn’t want to see how Zion or Nia felt about it. I just wanted a moment. “My son didn’t make it. There was some kind of complication and he just didn’t make it,” my voice broke as I choked on a sob, tears streaming down my face. After a good ten minutes or so, I pulled myself together and went back to the sofa and sat down. “At that moment, all I could think about was the loss of my son while Amanda was plotting,”

“Plotting?” this time it was Zion that spoke up, but I ignored him.

“In the pack, there was this female, she had lost her mate, but she had two pups. Sky was so confused, and her pups, Ruby and Ace were just terrified,”

“What happened?” Zion asked.

“Amanda came up with a plot to kidnap Sky and her pups and for us to run away and start a new pack,” I declared in one quick sentence. Both Zion and Nia looked at me in shock.

“You did that?” Nia questioned and I nodded.

“I went along with Amanda’s plan out of fear, from her manipulation but I texted my brother, letting him know where we were going. We spent one night in the woods and then they came and rescued them,” I finished off with a sigh. “It was such a relief, but I had to pay the price for my involvement, which was six months of community service,”

☽ Nia ☾

I sat frozen next to Luke as he finished off his story. I quickly took a peek at my father and smiled softly. I shouldn’t be smiling but the look on his face was priceless. I had been expecting him to be angry, hell, I was angry, but he wasn’t. His eyes glowed with a new sense of appreciation. In a way, I felt that way too. Luke had been through such a tough time with Amanda and yet, he had done the right thing at the end. I still wasn’t happy about the fact that I am his second mate, but I was sad for the loss of his son and the trauma that followed. I glanced over at Luke and reached out to take his hand in mine. I didn’t miss the way he flinched but then he relaxed.

“I know it is a lot to take in and I am sorry for not being honest about everything from the start but now you know why,” he said softly. I nodded and sat up a little straighter. My mate is broken, he has been through so much in his life already and I knew why the gods had fated us together. I gently squeezed his hand and leaned forward, pressing my lips against his cheek.

"What happened to the female and her pups?" Zion asked.

"Nothing, after they rescued them, they returned to the pack and continued living their lives," Luke explained.

"And what happened with Amanda?" I asked curiously.

"We rejected each other and she was sentenced to serve two years at the council prison and then she will join some other pack, the name I cannot remember," he informed us and I nodded. "I do know that she is doing a lot better now, but other than that, there is nothing more to say about her," he finished and I smiled. He was telling me in his own way, that I had nothing to worry about and I looked over at my father, silently asking him to leave us alone. 

“I’ll give you two a moment,” Zion said as he stood up and left. I was grateful for that.

“Nia…” he started but I quickly stopped him.

“Luke, before you say anything else, I want you to know that I am sorry about your mother and I am sorry about your son, no one deserves that. I do understand why you didn’t just tell me from the start about Amanda, I am still upset about that,” I said as he shyly looked at me. “But I do understand, and I don’t hold it against you,” a look of relief came over his handsome features and he pulled me close. I cuddled happily against his warm hard chest and breathed in his scent.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered and all I could do was nod. It was alright. I felt the guilt slowly build inside me and I knew I had my own fair share of secrets, yet as I snuggled closer to my mate, I couldn’t bring myself to tell him about my own past, my own life.