"You howl beautifully, Mira." He said while coming towards me and I lowered my gaze shyly.
"Thank you." I blushed.
"Alright." Cara cleared her throat, interrupting the building chemistry between us.
"I'll be on my way now, catch you two later." She winked and I more than anything wanted to protest and swear on my mother's grave that there's nothing going between us let alone be couples but she trotted away before I had the chance to speak.
We watched her brown wolf disappear into the woods Luca emerged from.
I sighed and looked at the moon, our attention fell on each other again after she went out of sight.
"Didn't know you could howl so well." Luca said circling me.
I exhaled sharply. "I too was surprised at how good I howled." I shrugged. "I guess they are things I'm still discovering about me."
"You're indeed a book worth a read." He commented. "So what brought you out here?" he asked.
"Nothing… just wanted to be a lone wolf for a while, playing with my thoughts but Cara didn't let it last." I spoke.
"I was watching you all the while." He said.
I turned to him with surprise in my eyes. "You did what?" I exclaimed.
"Yeah." He said, brushing it off casually. "Remember, I have to keep an eye on you always so you don't run off again—and I could tell you were thinking about him." He added calmly.
"I would never!" I snapped. "I hate him. I hate him for everything he has done to me. I wouldn't even let his name out of my mouth that's how much I've grown to hate him." I retorted, disagreeing strongly, hiding my weakness.
"That's good." He nodded, pacing. "Otherwise I'd say you're disagreeing way too much… so much so it sounds like a lie."
I grinned awkwardly.
"You're a terrible liar, Mira." He stood in front of me. His gaze fell on me and it made my stomach churn.
"You don't have to lie." He started. "Don't lie to me Mira. I want you to always tell me the truth. Feel safe around me. You can tell me anything." He said turning back into his human form. His blonde hair shimmered under the moonlight. He came closer to my wolf and caressed her face.
I only lowered my head in shame, I didn't have anything to say to defend myself but feel the stinging guilt for lying.
He turned and his gaze fell upon the landscape just about the small hill we stood and he let out a dry chuckle. "My father would have loved this view… he was my hero." he said with a fainting smile, his voice trailing off.
I turned back into my human form and stayed beside him. "What happened to your father? How did he die?" I asked him.
This question made me remember about my parents and I started wondering how they died.
Honestly, I can't remember what exactly happened or how exactly it happened that both my parents were dead. I was way too young to understand and there's no one who wanted to speak about their deaths freely with me.
Regardless, deep inside me I've been curious and I know one-day I will discover the truth.
Luca chuckled and spared me a glance before looking back at the plain before us. "He was a werewolf and that's who I inherited my wolf form from." He shrugged with a smile.
He remained mute for a while and I could tell the scene surrounding his father's death played out in his mind.
*FLASH BACK*
It was dark and just like every kid in the world, Luca had gone to bed when he started hearing loud chattering and voices in his sleep, only to be woken by his mother shortly after. She picked him up and his few clothes and hurried down the stairs.
He met his father there by the exit at the back door with a torch and a sword.
He was afraid. He turned to his mother with questions in his eyes. "What's going on, mom?" he asked.
"I will explain everything later Luca, let's keep going." She told him as they fled into the woods.
Luca was on his father's back while he trotted through the forest in such great speed. He looked back and could see the pack and some other wolves with torches, saying derogatory words at them, cussing and chasing after them.
"Why were they chasing after you guys?" He asked.
A bad omen occurred in the village where all children fell terribly sick and had boils growing all over them except for him, the son of a sorceress. And so they blamed his mother for it because of her magical powers—She was the only one with such abilities in the pack.
When she got married to Luca's, and he brought her into the pack, she was never accepted by the pack.
They claimed she was a witch and that witches and wolves don't form mates. It was unlawful and unacceptable during their time but since his ather was the son of an Alpha, he used his position of authority to enforce things for his benefits but they didn't relent, they were never happy nor satisfied.
They had always detested her and sought for ways to take her out and this seem like the perfect opportunity. They called her an evil witch and forgot about all the good she did for the pack. They wanted Luca's father to give her up for burning at the pack's square.
His father refused and instead helped us escape but we didn't get too far before they got caught up with us.
His father had to hide both he and his mother safely in an underground lair he had found and he went back to face the angry pack but didn't make it back alive.
I guess since he decided to protect the evil witch, he had to pay for it with his life, even his father couldn't do anything to stop the angry pack from ripping the life out of his son.
*END OF FLASHBACK*
"That was the last time I ever saw my father again." Luca said, lowering his head.
I could feel his sadness but I was totally naïve about what to do or how to comfort him.
What do I do?