The Luna Within

Chapter Seven

**** Caution : This chapter may trigger some readers. Mention of physical and s****l abuse. No details of either.****

***PERSEPHONE’S POV***

That was not where I expected this whole day to go. I have an attraction to Apollo. That I knew. But I did not think he would actually grow to like me. I just have this gut wrenching feeling that once he finds out about my past he isn't going to like me all that much anymore.

But I told him I wouldn't lie to him, which I won't. I really didn't want to fight with that girl Brittany either. I wanted to be nice to her but she kept coming at me. And she had this way about her that just radiated she was better than me and she didn't even know me. I hated how she tried to claim Apollo, especially when he clearly felt nothing for her. I still don't know why he feels anything for me. She is 10x prettier. Pretty blonde hair, deep brown eyes, perfect body. If she wasn't such an asshole, who knows maybe she would be Apollo's girlfriend. I am happy that she's not though.

I am pretty happy that he likes me. I am extremely nervous about meeting the present Alpha and his wife. Maybe they can all help me get to the bottom of what happened to my parents and why they dumped me into the foster care system in the human side of the world. Won't hurt to try right?

I am freshly out of the shower. I throw on a pair of blue jean capris, my black converses and a gray V-neck shirt with a pocket over the boob. I decided to braid my long hair back. Even with it braided up it still reaches the middle of my back. I don't have any makeup or anything. I don't think I will receive p*****t for being the Alpha's assistant for a little bit. But just buying some necessities for myself will be nice. It'll be nice to work to pay my way without having to depend on anyone.

And even though I like Apollo and I like being around him, I do not want him to think I need him. That is the last thing I need is someone thinking I cannot do for myself and only need to rely on him. When we talk later I will have to ask him some more of my own questions. After I meet Hercules, I think it will be a good time.

Right now I am waiting on Alpha Cute to come get me to be added to the pack. I am hoping his parents like me and that it doesn't take long. I am kind of getting a headache.. Just as I try to think of why, there is a knock at the door.

"Come in." I say.

Apollo walks in wearing blue jeans, his camo crocs from earlier, and a Good Charlotte T-Shirt. I think I like his taste in music. I smile at him. He is definitely handsome. Maybe I am undermining his handsomeness a bit. But he has an ego and I do not need to help him inflate it. I smile big at that thought.

"Are you ready to go become a part of the Evergreen pack?" He has a huge megawatt smile on his face like he is just as excited as I am, if not more. I nod my head and smile.

"I most definitely am. I hope I am not underdressed." I look down at my clothes.

"You'll be the gem that catches everyone's eyes. No matter what you wear." Apollo whispers to me. I blush a little and giggle and we walk out of the room. We walk around the corner and head down stairs to the floor with all the offices to his father's office.

"Apollo, what are your parents' names? I don't want to insult them by not knowing the Alpha and his wife's name." He chuckles at me.

"My father is Derrin Devereux. The current Alpha and father of the pack. And my mother is known as the Luna of the pack. She is the mother wolf to everyone here. They aren't biologically the parents but because of their roles in the pack that is how they are seen. The Alpha is the enforcer and Luna the lover and comforter. My mother's name is Celestina Devereux. They have been great leaders thus far and I know they will like you. So do not worry. " I look up to him under my eyelashes. I smirk at him. Okay deep breathe. "Let's do this then."

We walk into the office and a gorgeous woman is standing next to the desk. She has beautiful black hair and amazing golden eyes. Such an astonishing combination it is hard to look away. When I finally follow her arm it is resting on the shoulder of a man sitting at the desk. He has dark brown hair and blue eyes. And is extremely good looking, Apollo is the spitting image of his dad but has his mothers eyes. Why are all the werewolves, except me, beautiful? Damn, I keep getting more and more pathetic.

I bow my head and start to address them. "Alpha, Luna. It is a pleasure, my name is Persephone Daniels." They both smile at me so I guess that is a good thing.

"Please Persephone, sit. We want to ask you a couple of questions and then we will perform the ritual to add you to the pack." I sit down and nod my head.

"Of course, ask me anything and I will answer honestly."

"Very well. Where do you come from?" I know I told Apollo I didn't want anyone else knowing where I came from but I am not going to lie to his parents. They are the leaders after all.

I sigh. " I am from the human city. I have been in foster care since I was about 6 years old. I wish to not talk too much about that though. I have been to many different homes though. When I finally had enough of the... " I took another deep breath. "Mistreatment, I ran away. I had been in the woods I believe for 5 days when I ran into a banished pack member named Justin. I was able to get away from him but I ran into Apollo. When I got to Apollo, Justin tried to claim me as his "kitten"." I made the puking face, which earned me a laugh from Apollo. I continued. "Anyway your son here thought I was Justin's um, good time." I went to continue and Apollo cut me off.

"Which she then put me in my place for assuming something about her without having any knowledge at all. I was blasting my aura against her and she didn't even flinch. Anyway, I killed Justin for trespassing but I believe that Persephone here didn't even realize she was a werewolf at the time so I brought her back with me. "

"I did not know that until this morning when Apollo was trying to find out more about me. He said as werewolves you can sense other werewolves. And that is how he knew." His mother and father looked at each other and smiled. "We believe you Persephone." I smiled. Thank goodness.

"We won't make you delve into your past, we can sense you have been through a lot. We can also sense you have a very strong aura about you. Almost divine. But that is something we can discuss at another time. We hear your birthday is soon, and that you would like to be a part of our pack. We have already discussed that with Apollo. And we would love to add you. Before we do the ritual to add you. I want to know just one more thing." I look at him and nod.

"What is it that you want most in this world?"

Without hesitation I answered,

"I just want to belong somewhere. I want somewhere to call home and feel welcomed. I want to learn how to be a good werewolf and to help others when they need it. Maybe eventually try to find out my origins. And also work for my own keep. I want to be a part of your pack but I do not want a hand out from you or anyone else." The Luna looked at me with a bright smile, and the Alpha stuck his chest out.

"We have never had anyone join the pack with such a sincere answer. I can tell that you have a pure heart. And I would be honored to welcome you into the Evergreen pack. Please hold out your right hand." I do as he tells me and he pulls out a golden dagger with a beautiful white wolf on the handle, the blade is a shiny silver metal. "Do you swear to protect the fellow members of this pack as they would protect you?"

"I do."

"Do you swear to follow the laws and the rules of the Evergreen pack as a valued member?"

"I do."

"As Alpha of the Evergreen pack, I hereby declare you, Persephone Daniels, an official member of our pack." He cuts his palm and then my own and shakes my hands. I feel an amazing surge of power run through my veins and I feel illuminated.

I look around with a smile on my face and there is a look of shock on everyone's face. "What's wrong? Did I do something wrong?"

"Magnificent." The Alpha says with wide eyes.

Apollo looks at me in awe and comes to me and takes my hand and whispers into my ear. "You're glowing purple Persephone." WHAT??

"What do you mean I am glowing purple????" I am panicking a little bit.

The Luna is the next to step forward and speaks as she grabs my other hand.

"Darling, it is said that the Mother of all Werewolves, the Moon Goddess blesses wolves of different times, locations, and packs. It looks like once you became a part of our pack it was made aware that you are one of the wolves she has blessed. You glowing purple means that this pack is exactly where you were meant to be." His mother begins explaining who the Moon Goddess is and some of the werewolves she has seen in the past be blessed with gifts.

I am in complete shock. Not only am I a werewolf but now I am a blessed werewolf from the Moon Goddess? How is that possible? I can't be a blessed werewolf, I am not worthy of that honor. And on top of that this pack is where I am meant to be? This is meant to be my home...

I look up to Apollo as he grabs my cheek and uses his thumb to wipe away the tear that escapes my eyes. I didn't even realize I was crying. "It is okay Persephone."

"I am not crying because I am sad or overwhelmed, Apollo. I am crying because I have a home and that I am meant to be here. That this is always where I was supposed to end up." And he pulls me into the gentlest and most warming hug.

"Well now you are home, and I couldn't be more glad that your home is here. " I snuggle my face into his chest. Home!

***APOLLO’S POV***

I can't believe Persephone is a blessed wolf. No wonder her aura is able to be felt, she is blessed by the Moon Goddess herself. Now I know why she doesn't submit to the Alpha aura. She glowed purple for crying out loud. I didn't think she would be so overwhelmed to the point of crying. I thought she was thinking she made a mistake being here. Then she told me that finally belonging somewhere is all she wanted.

'Is she your mate, son?' My dad mind links me.

'I am not sure yet dad, but even if she isn't I want her to be.'

I look at him and my mom and they both nod and smile.

"C'mon it's almost dinner time, let's go to the dining hall." My mom says.

"Oh Apollo, don't forget tomorrow Alpha Miles will be here to discuss a treaty and I'll need you to be in the meeting along with Elijah. You'll be taking over soon so you'll need to sit in on this." I nod

"Me, Elijah and Persephone will be there. She's my assistant. I will need to have her there just in case." My dad understands my need to have her close so he nods.

"Very well. I will link you three when Miles arrives."

We head to the dining hall and have dinner. Pers seems a little more relaxed. She is talking to some of the pack members. Asking them how they like their jobs, about their families and their favorite hobbies. She has such an undeniable interest in others and their well being. I love it.

After dinner, once we get ready to leave the dining room table, I let my mom and dad know she asked to meet Hercules and that we will be unavailable for the rest of the night. They smile.

"Alright I am ready to meet the big bad wolf." She giggles.

"He's actually pretty excited to meet you Pers. No one has ever asked to see him voluntarily." She beams.

"Well that's just rude. When I get my wolf I am going to shift all the time and I hope others will want to meet her!"

" I seriously cannot wait to see what your wolf looks like." She blushes.

"Okay, Alpha Cute enough talking more wolfing." I nod and start stripping so I don't shred my clothes. "What the hell are you doing Apollo?!!!" She hides her eyes and I chuckle.

"Oh yeah, Well when I shift while wearing my clothes I shred them. They explode into clothes confetti. hahahaa." She giggles but keeps her eyes hidden and nods.

"Okay it's going to sound gruesome but don't worry okay?"

"Okay."

I start shifting even though it takes me 5 seconds you can still hear my bones break and pop.

'Hercules, be easy with her and be nice.'

'I liked her way more than you did before now. I am not going to hurt her.'

'Okay beautiful. You can look.'

‘Did you just talk to me in my head?’ She asked.

‘Yes, I did. It’s something werewolves can do when you are a part of the same pack or mated.’

Her eyes are saucers and she is breathing so quickly.

I am worried she is scared until she quickly throws her arms around Hercules' neck and hugs us. When she lets go she is running her fingers through his fur and he lays down so she can walk around him and get a good look at him. Hercules in person is much cooler than Hercules in a painting.

She walks all around us and finally sits right in between our front paws. I am a little confused until she turns her whole body to the side and pats her lap for Herc to lay his head down. He obliges, curious as to what she's doing.

She starts raking her fingers through his hair. My damn Alpha wolf is being pet by a tiny human like she-wolf and he's loving it. We sit in comfortable silence as she is petting Hercules’ fur. Until she out of nowhere starts talking while looking in the distance.

"When I was in one of the first foster homes I went to. It seemed like it would be nice to be there. The woman smiled a lot. The man worked a ton and the little girl went to school. She was probably about 9. I was 6. It was the end of the school year so I didn't go. I never cried, never got upset. I did the chores they wanted me to do and never asked for anything. The Perfect child." She sighs.

"The man's brother came to visit once a week at first. Then he started coming 3 times a week. Usually at night for dinner. He'd sit next to me. The first night he stayed the night, he came to my room when everyone was asleep and laid next to me in the bed.... I was too scared to cry or scream so I froze. I was molested by that man several times that night." She drops her head and I can feel her feeling ashamed of this. And I am livid. This motherf**ker molested her AT 6 YEARS OLD!!!!!

I swallow a growl in my throat. And Herc licked her face so she knew it was okay.

She looked at us with those green gems and smiled a faint smile.

"I didn't say anything because I didn't want him to do that to the other girl. But one day it got too much and I told the woman. She was so mad at... at me. 'I can't believe you'd make such an accusation against a man who is your uncle now.' She told me. The man came home that night and beat me till I passed out. Told me it was for trying to give his brother a bad name. His brother eventually quit coming.

But that was when I learned that no one cares about what you're going through. So I just hid everything from then on. I won't tell you all of the other times I have been beaten or molested in those foster homes because it does no good. I told you about that one experience because it is the reason I started to become a shell. It is the reason accepting help and depending on others is so difficult for me." She sighed.

“Sometimes, when I would move to a new foster home. I had this 50, 50 feeling. Half and half chance of getting beaten up or molested. I prefer to be beaten. To be honest.”

The next few hours she told me about the other foster homes she lived in but not like the first one. And I am so upset for her. More so, I want to travel to all these places and rip their heads off for harming such a defenseless child. She became an independent 15 year old because she had to. She was never able to rely on anyone. And when she thought she could, they showed her what they wanted from her in exchange.

Then I realized, I was being the same way at first. Giving her a place to stay and food, and then wanting to get her in my bed... Wow I am such a POS…

'I am going to shift back now, okay?'

'Okay, thank you Hercules for letting me meet you. I can't wait to have my wolf so you guys can play!' She smiles, wiping away the last bit of her tears.

Herc is full blown wagging his tail. She reaches up and places a kiss on his snout. And I am shocked... Now I am fu.cking jealous. Dammit, Herc got the first kiss…

She turns around and I shift back and throw my clothes back on. I walk up behind her and throw my arms around her.

"Now I am jealous that Herc got the first kiss, Persephone." I said with a pout. She doesn't turn around but leans her head back and looks up at me. I want to claim her beautiful peach colored and plump lips. But all the first moves will be on her.

"Well, he was such a good listener and the goodest of boys. He needed a reward."

"Hey now, I've been a good boy too." I pout again and she laughs and turns around and snuggles into my chest. Well, this is the next best thing.

"Thank you both for everything you've done for me so far. Especially listening to me. That's the first time I have ever told anyone everything. Or anything at all, honestly." I have my arms wrapped around her shoulders and I start stroking her hair.

"I told you Pers, I am here for you. You're incredible. And every horrible thing you went through turned you into who you are now. You were treated so poorly as a child and you say you became a shell. I say you built your own armor. And you think you are pathetic but you are still so kind and considerate to others no matter the hurt you've experienced. I think you are not only the coolest person I have met. But also the most amazing and strong person ever." I place a small kiss in her hair.

She leans back and looks up at me. "So you still like me, after knowing all of that???" She blushes and looks down.

I nod. "I like you more now." Her blush deepens. Wow, the absolute cutest.

"Come on, I bet you're exhausted, let's get you to your room." She nods.

We walk inside together and there are only a few stragglers of pack members walking around getting ready to go home.

We get to the front of her door and I go to tell her goodnight but before I can talk she does first.

"I still have questions for you, Alpha Cute. Wanna come in and sit for a while?" I am stoked I might get my kiss after all. Or at least I hope I will. What the fu.ck is wrong with me? I'm used to getting women into my bed without problem and I am getting excited at the thought of a kiss?

"If it's too late for you to hangout that's fine too. I don't want to keep you-" I cut her off.

"I'd love to Pers. Just let me go get into my pajamas. And you change really quick, okay? " She smiles and nods.

I rush to my room change, brush my teeth and throw on some extra deodorant.. Just in case..

I go back to her door and knock. She opens it and she is in sweatpants and a t-shirt. And she is the most flawless and gorgeous creature I have ever seen.

"You gonna gawk at me from the doorway all night or are you going to come in and hangout?" She belly laughs. "I was taking in your beauty brat. Sheesh." I laugh too.

"There is nothing beautiful about this." She motions to all of her. "I won't tell you what I really think Pers, it'll make your cheeks red." She smiles and shakes her head.

We sit and hangout. Watch a movie and talk. Most of her questions were about the pack and what it means to be a werewolf. This is my perfect opportunity to tell her about mates and that she is probably mine.

"So another thing you should know about werewolves is that we have things called Mates." She quirked her head to the side. "I remember you said something about it in your office when I asked about the desk."

"Yes I did. When the Moon Goddess made werewolves, she made them two halves of one soul. She hand picks the wolf that goes into the human counterpart. She places them in different places for different reasons but there is usually always a reason for it. Mates are the one person in your life that will love you unconditionally, protect you from all and support you no matter what. They help make you stronger, faster and sharper. They are the other half of your soul. And wolves devoted to the mate bond don't cheat, and they don’t leave.. Mates are for life. "

"So mates are soulmates."

"Yes basically."

"What is the age that you can sense your mate?"

"It's 16."

She nods and starts thinking.

"Also, the way you can tell if someone is your mate is when their smell becomes intoxicatingly sweet. The mere glance at them weakens your knees because you are just in awe that such a creature exists. And you never want to be apart from them. Plus your wolf goes nuts screaming mate!" We both laugh.

"I hope I have a mate." She smiles. "I actually already feel some of those things for someone already...." I look at her a little shocked.. Oh god I hope it's not Elijah. I'll kill him....

"Who Pers?" I ask, almost scared of what she will say.

"You, Apollo. I kind of hate it when we are apart. I laugh and I am goofy when I am with you. You smell amazing, by the way. Like fresh cut grass and strawberries mixed together. And I thought it was just because you were being nice to me and being so sincere but I guess I know why now. I think you might be my mate." She looks at me shyly.

I am beaming right now. "I think you might be mine too! At least I hope you are."

'Wait, you want me to be your mate??' She says in the link, I think she is too shocked to speak.

'Yes Persephone I do. Even to the point if you didn't turn out to be my fated mate I'd want you to be my chosen mate....'

She leans across the couch and softly pecks my lips. I am shocked she just kissed me!!! My eyes are huge right now. That felt extremely amazing. Small firecrackers popped on my lips. Oh yeah, she has to be my mate. I am tripping right now. This girl is perfect and she's going to be all mine.

She looks at me scared all of a sudden and in a blink she is on the floor screaming holding her head.

"PERSEPHONE!!!"

I mind link the pack doctor and my parents to come to her room.

'Pers, gorgeous. It's okay I am here. Just breathe, love.'

I am trying to soothe her but nothing is working. And right as the pack doctor gets into the room she passes out limp on the floor. I go to scoop her up and hold her but the doctor stops me.

"I believe she just got her wolf Apollo. She is unconscious but she isn't hurt, that much I can tell. Give her just a second for her breathing to regulate and then you can run her down to the hospital." I nod. I am pale and I am so worried…

My mom comes over and touches my shoulder.

'I hope she is okay mom. We just figured out that we are probably mates and she kissed me. And before I could register anything she was on the floor screaming.'

My mom is rubbing my shoulders.

'She is going to be fine. It will take more than a kiss from my handsome son to take this one out.' She smiles trying to calm me

'She is very special, Apollo. Don't take her for granted and whatever her powers may be don't suppress them..... Look, she's glowing purple. '

I look at her and sure enough she's glowing purple, and all the bruises on her feet and forearms you can still see are healing completely.

I grab her up and take her down to the pack hospital. I hope she wakes up soon.

'Once she is conscious, Pollo I can tell if she is our mate. The pull is much stronger. But as soon as she opens her eyes, I'll know 100%.'

I nod inwardly. I want her to be my mate, but I honestly just want her awake right now.

'Please wake up, Pers. I miss your smile already. '