*Natalie*
"Well it shouldn't take long to find him. At this time he is usually at home in his office before he goes out for patrol tonight." I told Lucas and Kaden as I started leading us to my house.
The closer we got to my house the more anxious I was becoming. It was when I felt Lucas put his arm around my waist that I started to calm down. Breathing in his scent and the warmth he is giving me is making me feel safer than I have in a long time. I looked up at Lucas and gave him a grateful smile. At first he looked taken aback, but then smiled in return.
"It's going to be okay Natalie, we are not leaving this pack without you." Lucas told me with determination in his eyes.
"I'm not worried about me, but worried that you two will get hurt. I am used to the things that have happened." I told them truthfully.
"Natalie, you should not have gotten used to what they have done to you. And if we are being honest, you are my Luna. So that means your life comes before my own. Like Lucas said, we are not leaving here without you." Kaden told me. "Even with what you said about not wanting us to get hurt is the characteristics of a great Luna ."
"Alright, I see where you are coming from. Let's just get this over with." I told them as we started walking up to the front door of my house. I am so not ready for any of this.
Midnight: come on Nat, we can do this. Lucas and Dominic are with us.
Me: Dominic as in Lucas's wolf?
Midnight: yup. He told me to tell you that he will never let anything happen to you again. Isn't he so sweet??
Me: Yeah, I guess he is. I just keep expecting them to change their mind.
Midnight: they won't do that…Dom said that they would rather die than give us up.
Midnight telling me what Dom and Lucas were thinking was reassuring. However, before I could even get the front door open my father was already there waiting. Well here goes nothing, I thought to myself.
*Lucas*
I know Natalie is having a hard time with Kaden and I being in "danger" as she put it. I also know that Dom has been talking to Natalie's wolf Midnight. Making sure that she understands that there is no way we would leave her. And it seemed to be relaxing Natalie.
Kaden: so she told you that she has been abused by her father for 10 years?
Me: Yeah. She said that he would mainly hit or kick her in the stomach and back because he did not want people to ask questions. She just got her wolf Kaden, how was she able to survive all the beatings without her wolf?
Kaden: I do not know man, she is one strong woman to have survived it though. I am not going to lie, I probably would have given up.
Me: Yeah same here. She is going to be one hell of a Luna though.
Kaden: hell yeah she us. Congrats on finding her man
Before I could reply back to Kaden in the mind link. The front door of Natalie's house swung open before we could even get to the top of the steps. There was a man standing there with a stoic facial expression.
"Father." Natalie said in a small voice, with her head down. The man, her father, just looked at her with disgust. That look he was giving her was making my blood boil, and Dom was starting to growl in my head.
"Aren't you supposed to he doing your duties at the pack house? What did you do to get sent home? You know the consequences of messing up…" The more he kept saying the madder I was becoming.
"Excuse me, Beta Moore, but I would appreciate it if you would stop talking to my mate in that manner. After all, she is the future Luna of Blood Moon." I stated through clenched teeth. I know I need to calm down, so I grabbed Natalie's hand gently and pulled her into my side. Making sure to inhale her scent. What I was not expecting was for Natalie to wrap her arms around my waist. Ugh, she is so damn adorable.
"What do you mean? My daughter was rejected almost two weeks ago by our Alpha." Beta Moore questioned.
"I am Lucas Martin, Alpha of Blood Moon. Your daughter, Natalie is my mate and Luna. We came by today to get her stuff, she will be coming back to Blood Moon with my Beta and I today." From the look on Beta Moore's face, he was seemingly happy about me taking Natalie.
"Well, that is great news. I was going to be kicking her out tonight anyway. Seeing as how she is an adult, she can take care of herself. And besides I am done taking care of a child that is not mine." He said, making sure to look at Natalie when he said the last part.
The look on my Natalie's face was a mix of confusion, sadness, relief, and anger. At any moment she could start crying, but what she does next was a surprise.
"So that is the reason why you beat me? All because I am not your daughter? I cannot tell you how much of a relief it is that you, Beta Moore, are not my father." Natalie told him. She then squared her shoulders, brushed past him and walked inside. "I am grabbing what I was able to get for myself while living here. It isn't much, but I will be back in about three minutes."
"Beta Moore, how could you treat a child like that?" Kaden asked. "I had looked up to you for the longest time, but now I can see you are just a monster for treating someone like that." Kaden then turned around and walked back down the front steps.
Beta Moore looked like he was having a hard time with what Kaden told him. He even started to shuffle from one foot to the other. Before he could say anything back to Kaden though, Natalie came out of the house.
"Goodbye Beta Moore. I thank you for allowing me to stay in your home for as long as you did, and I forgive you." Natalie told him, before taking her backpack and walking down the stairs.
"Natalie, why would you forgive me?" Beta Moore asked with guilt lacing his voice.
"Because, even though you are not my father, I still looked up to you as one. Hopefully, you can forgive yourself as well. Be a better person Beta Moore, you never know what positives can come out of it." She said while looking at Beta Moore. "I do not want to be a person who holds grudges. I have had enough negativity in my life, and forgiving you is clearing that negativity up."
Beta Moore gave her a small smile, and slowly walked back in the house closing the door behind him. Damn my mate is awesome, I though to myself.
Dom: damn she is going to be the perfect Luna
Me: I agree
Walking over to Natalie, I take her backpack and swing it over my left shoulder. Then I took her hand and started making out way back to the pack house to retrieve my vehicle so we could get out if here.
"I have to say Natalie, the way you handled Beta Moore was epic!" Kaden all but yelled.
"Well after he said he was not my real father, Midnight gave me the courage to say all that, and then I could not leave without forgiving him. I do not want to end up like those that have bullied or abused me in anyway." She said with a small smile on her face. That smile alone makes my hear skip a beat. I will make sure I always make her smile and laugh.
"Oh can we stop by the kitchen? I want to say goodbye to Mrs. Morris." Natalie asked me.
"Yeah, we can. But who is Mrs. Morris?" I asked.
"Mrs. Morris is the head cook. She and I have been the only cooks in the pack house since I could remember and she was always so sweet towards me. She wanted to help me but I told her I did not want her to get hurt." She said while fiddling with her fingers.
"Oh, well we are definitely going to see this lady before we go. There is no way you cannot say goodbye to her. Come on let's go find Mrs. Morris." I said with a smile. This caused Kaden and Natalie to stifle their laughs. Hearing her giggles for the first time made me just about trip on my own feet. That giggle is my new favorite sound.