Dearest Luke

Chapter Four - Human Life

☽ Luke ☾

It’s been a hell of a week and I am looking forward to seeing Nia. However, as I park my truck in front of the packhouse, I get this weird feeling that something isn’t quite right.

“Ha! Wait until Matilda hears about this!” I heard a strange high-pitched squeaky voice and I followed the sound of the giggling that followed. I spotted Nia first as she sat across from another girl. They were enjoying the Friday evening with what looked like alcohol. The only reason I recognized the famous drink was because of my bartender days back in college. 

“You won't dare tell her!” Nia hissed out but she wasn’t angry. The two started laughing and I thought that maybe it would be best if I didn’t interrupt them. However, just as I was about to turn away, I heard Nia call out to me. “Luke? Is that you?” I turned to face her, and she smiled as she jumped out of her chair and ran towards me, throwing herself at me. I quickly embraced her as I breathed in her scent. I had missed her. “I didn’t think you’d be back tonight,” she said as she pulled away and that’s when I noticed just how nervous she was.

“Don’t hide your man, Nia! Introduce us,” the other female said, and I could smell that she is human. I frowned as I wondered what a human was doing at a shifters pack.

“Um, yeah, ah, Luke, this is my best friend Joyce,” Nia said, and I nodded politely. Nia’s best friend is a human? Ok, that’s just weird. “Joyce this is my mate, Luke,” I was surprised she introduced me as her mate, but it seemed that Joyce understood as she reached out to me. I suppose she wanted to shake my hand or something but the low growl coming from Nia obviously took the young girl by surprise as she quickly pulled back her hand. “Sorry Joyce,” Nia hurriedly apologized and I awkwardly shifted from one foot to the other.

“It’s ok, I can better understand it now,” Joyce said. Her earlier happy tone had disappeared; her tone now was wary as she glanced between Nia and me.

“Nice to meet you, Joyce,” I decided to speak up and hopefully break the tension. Joyce smiled and nodded as she made her way back to the table. Nia turned to face me.

“Sorry about that, I really didn’t know you’d be coming home tonight,” she explained, and I shook my head. “I can ask her to leave,” she added.

“No,” I said.

“Are you sure?” she asked, and I nodded. “Ok, well, we can spend time together tomorrow alright?” I nodded again and made my way into the packhouse. I had a million questions running through my mind and since Nia is obviously busy entertaining her human friend, I had limited options.

“I see you met Nia’s friend,” Sherie’s voice took me by surprise and I jumped. “Oh, sorry,” she said as she giggled. I shrugged as I threw her a sheepish grin. “A penny for your thoughts?” she asked, and I gestured outside where Nia and Joyce were sitting. I could hear them laughing once again and I found myself smiling. I loved Nia’s laugh. “Yeah, what are your thoughts on Nia’s human friend?” she asked again, and I sighed as I sat down on the sofa.

“Why does she have a human friend? She introduced her as her best friend, I don’t understand why a human is here at the pack, is this normal?” I asked. I didn’t think so, from my experience with shifters and packs, it was not common for humans to entertain themselves among the packs.

“No, it is not normal, but you’ll soon find out that Nia is far from normal,” Sherie said as she sat down on the sofa across from me.

“What do you mean?” I asked carefully.

“Nia isn’t normal,” Sherie explained, yet I didn’t understand.

“I don’t-”

“Nia goes to a college in the nearest town, Warcester,” Sherie further explained, interrupting me. I nodded then. Ok, Nia goes to a human college.

“Why?” I heard myself ask.

“Well, as I said, Nia isn’t normal. Ever since she was ten or so, she wanted to be a part of human society. Zion and I had no idea why and we sought out advice from the council. Dimitry explained that obviously Nia was curious and so long as there was no trouble, there should be no reason as to why Nia cannot explore the human world. So, Zion and I approached the Mayor of Warcester and requested that Nia be allowed to attend the human school. At first, he was against it but I suppose he had a change of heart and we enrolled Nia into middle school. Oh, Luke, she loved it. Every day she would come home and tell us everything. It was an exciting time for me and Zion,” she paused as she leaned back, relaxing in her seat. “Nia blossomed into a talkative, happy young girl and the only problem we ever had was her asking why her friends couldn’t come over. As she got older, she stopped asking as she finally understood why. When she transitioned, she was away from school for almost a whole month. Can you imagine that? By the time she went back to high school, everyone was asking questions. She had to lie and say she was sick. Nia and Joyce have been friends since middle school and when they graduated high school, Joyce put the pressure on and asked all the hard questions,” I listened to Sherie as she explained Nia’s childhood. I leaned forward and curiously asked her.

“What kind of questions?”

“You know, where do you live, how come I can’t come and visit by your house, what are you hiding, those kinds of questions. Anyway, Nia approached me, and Zion and we discussed it. We agreed that Nia could tell one friend. Just one. And she chose Joyce. At first, Joyce thought Nia was crazy but then she realized the truth. She was actually very accepting of it. Zion and I were obviously relieved, and it only made their friendship stronger.  Now they both attend the same college,” Sherie finished off and I leaned back in my seat. I wasn’t angry, no, I was disappointed. Why didn’t Nia tell me this herself? Just last week, I bared my soul and let her in, and she didn’t think to share any of this with me? Not only was I disappointed but I was hurt. Didn't she trust me? “I can guess why she didn’t tell you,” Sherie suddenly said and I snapped my attention back to her.

“Why?”

“Nia is a very proud wolf. She is aware that her choices aren’t conventional and even though you aren’t a born shifter, you still have the same values as we do. She is probably worried you wouldn’t understand,” she said.

“It has nothing to do with understanding,” I snapped. Ok, fine, now I was angry. “She should’ve told me. I would’ve accepted it without any question but why hide it? And that is just bullshit,” I added, referring to her comment about me, not understanding. I stood up and headed upstairs to the room Sherie had given to me last week. Nia’s room was across the hall, but I didn’t bother as I closed my door behind me.  I sat down on the bed and I had to ask myself. Why am I angry? Well, I am angry because she didn’t tell me. I am disappointed that she kept it from me. Especially since I had opened up and confided in her. Yet, she had failed to give me the same respect. I stood up and stripped my clothing before going into the adjacent bathroom for a quick shower. Nia would have some serious explaining to do in the morning.

☽ Nia ☾

“Sorry about that,” I said apologetically to Joyce as we sat down. I heard Luke enter the house and I let out a sigh of relief. He didn’t seem upset.

“Nah, it's ok, I didn’t realize it was like that though,” Joyce said as she rolled her eyes.

“What do you mean?” I asked curiously as I took a sip of the sweet drink. I wasn’t one for alcohol, especially since it did nothing to me, but I did like the sweet taste of the strawberry daiquiri.

“Just, I didn’t even touch him, and you growled at me! Girl, you growled at me!” she pointed her finger at me, and we burst out laughing. I had, in fact, growled at her. Seeing her reach out to touch him had made me possessive over my wolf. My mate. Mine. I smiled as I took another sip. “What do you think Mitch would say?” Joyce asked me as she too sipped on her drink.

“What can he say? He is the past, and also could we not discuss him?” I asked as I pointed to my ears, indicating and reminding her that we had super hearing. Joyce put her hand over her mouth and nodded. “Anyway, are you disappointed that we aren’t at that stupid party?” I asked, changing the subject.

“Nope, are you?”

“Nope,”

“Good, Matilda is going to have a field day on Monday,” Joyce suddenly said, bringing us back to our earlier argument. Playful as it may be, I didn’t want Matilda to find out about anything.

“You cannot tell her,” I whined out.

“Well, you’ll have to give her some reason as to why you won’t go out with Cameron,” Joyce made a point and I groaned out loud. Suddenly the atmosphere shifted. I tensed up and Joyce picked up on my sudden mood change. “What’s wrong?” she asked as she put her drink down on the table. I closed my eyes and listened. I could hear Luke’s heavy steps going up the stairs and then the slamming of his door. I flinched at the soft sound and then my mother's voice filled my ears.

“You have some explaining to do young lady,” she warned, and I growled out. Of course, I had known that Luke would have questions after seeing and meeting Joyce.

“What did you tell him?” I asked her, knowing she could hear me. Joyce frowned and was about to open her mouth, but I stopped her, pointing once again to my ear. She nodded and sat back, relaxing.

“I told him enough, just giving you fair warning, you have to explain everything to him. He is one unhappy wolf,” my mother said. I heard her moving around and then she too went upstairs. “Don’t stay up too late,” she added before I heard her close her bedroom door.

“s**t,” I hissed out as I opened my eyes and glanced over at Joyce. “Sorry,” I then mumbled out.

“Don’t be, is he upset?” she asked.

“Yeah,” I said as I shrugged, trying to lighten the mood, but it was already ruined. The last thing I wanted, was for my mate to be unhappy. No, I didn’t want that and although I should be entertaining Joyce, Luke is my priority. “Joyce,” I started but she quickly interrupted me as she stood up.

“Don’t worry ok, go fix it,” she smiled, and I stood up. “I’ll see you on Monday, ok? Relax, go fix it,” she winked and kissed my cheek before heading to her car. I waved as she drove off and I turned to face the house. I quickly cleaned up and headed into the kitchen, placing our glasses in the sink. I slowly moved through the house and stood at the bottom of the stairs, looking up. I didn’t want to face Luke. We barely knew each other. That’s a lie. I knew more about him than he knew about me. I scolded myself as I started up the stairs. I should’ve just told him everything last weekend. I reached the top of the stairs and closed my eyes. I sneaked closer to Luke’s closed door and waited. Yeah, I could hear his soft snores. He was sleeping. I sighed and crossed the hall and entered my own bedroom. Closing the door behind me, I felt uneasy that I hadn’t been able to talk to him. Oh well, I would have to do something pretty drastic to fix this mess. I smiled as I got an idea.

☽☽☾☾

I tried my best to balance the tray as I lightly knocked on Luke’s door. Even though I knew my parents had gone out of the house, I still didn’t want to be too loud. The door opened and a very sexy as hell Luke stood on the other side. I blushed as my eyes took in his bare muscular chest.

“Good morning Luke,” I greeted him as I gestured to the tray. Luke nodded and stepped aside, allowing me to enter his room. I went in and gently placed the tray on the side table. He sat down next to me and picked up the cup of steaming coffee. I didn’t even know how he liked his coffee. I had made it the way I liked it. I watched as he took a sip and closed his eyes. “Good?”

“Hmm,” came his response as he took another sip. He reached out and put two pieces of the honey glazed bacon on a piece of toast and brought it to his lips. I watched as he took a big bite and I swallowed loudly. Who knew that watching him eat was so sexy?

“So, um, I wanted to apologize for last night and well,” I paused as I twirled a strand of my hair around my finger. A very nervous habit. Luke’s eyes followed my actions and I blushed. “I am sorry I didn’t confide in you last week. I know that with you revealing your past and everything, that I should’ve done the same, but I wasn’t ready,”

“And you think I was?” he asked gruffly. I frowned, not understanding what he meant but then I nodded.

“No, I suppose you weren’t,” I admitted. “Regardless, I should’ve opened up to you, just like you did, and I am sorry Luke,”

“Tell me,” he said as he continued to eat.

“Growing up, I just didn’t understand why we weren’t allowed to get an education. I guess I was just curious about everything and the schooling here at the pack is somewhat limited. My parents supported me in my decision and now I attend the local college in Warcester. Joyce has been my friend for so long and when she pushed me into telling her my secret, I thought for sure she would be disgusted,” I paused as I glanced over at him. Luke finished the breakfast and sat back against the headboard, watching me as he sipped on his coffee. “She wasn’t, I mean, at first she didn’t even believe me until I shifted in front of her. It brought us closer,”

“And, you still enjoy going to school?” he asked, and I nodded.

“Yes, I love my family, I love every single member of this pack. this is my home. I am aware I have duties and responsibilities, but I suppose because I am female, I never really thought I would be needed here. I wanted to make a life for myself outside of the pack,” I explained.

“What kind of life?” he questioned as he finished off his coffee. I was momentarily distracted as I watched his abs flex as he placed his empty cup on the side table.

“Um, I am studying English Literature,” I informed him, and he nodded. “I want to be a teacher, I love kids,” I added.

“Ok,” he said. For the first time since I had met Luke, I got annoyed. Like really truly annoyed.

“Ok? That’s it? That’s all you are going to say?”

“What? You apologized for not telling me, now you’ve told me. What more do you want me to say?” he asked as he sat forward and stared at me. I looked away, unsure of what exactly I had been expecting from him. “Nia, you seem to be forgetting that I’ve only been a wolf for about eight months,”

“Oh, right,” I had indeed forgotten about that little fact.

“I do understand the need you have to make a life for yourself, why would I question that?” he gently took my hand in his and squeezed softly. “Do I think it's weird? Yeah, I do, but I won't stand in your way,” he let go of my hand and leaned back against the headboard once again. “You can do as you please,” he said, and I frowned. Why was he being so understanding? Surely it couldn’t just be because he was once a human. Could it?

“Luke,” I started but he stopped me.

“Nia, obviously I am disappointed, but you’ve apologized. I won’t stop you from pursuing a career that you’ve obviously planned to have. I won’t stop you from doing what you’ve worked hard to accomplish,” he stood up and headed in the direction of the bathroom. “I don’t judge your decisions, I support you,” he said before disappearing into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. I sat there for a moment thinking about his words. Was it that easy? I had been expecting him to be a lot angrier and yet, he was so understanding. I shrugged it off. It must be because he was once all human. That had to be it. Little did I know that Luke’s words weren’t as simple as I had originally thought.