Chapter 6

“So how are you going to tell our packs about you guys being mates?” Christian asked suddenly.

Both he and I looked at Jackson waiting for an answer. I wasn’t sure how his pack would react to having me as their future Luna. Actually no, I know how at least one person in his pack would react—Aaron. If he didn’t like me being at school, I can only imagine how unhappy he’ll be with me joining the pack, let alone becoming Luna.

“Well, before I tell anyone in the pack, we need to talk to my parents.” Jackson responded calmly.

My eyes widened at the thought of meeting his parents. I was scared at how they might react to me not being able to speak. Having a mute Luna could cause stress to any pack. I guess Jackson and Christian could see the panic in my eyes 'cause they both gave me calm and encouraging smiles. However, when I looked at Christian, I could see something else in his eyes, but it disappeared before I could grasp it.

“Don’t worry too much Leana; I promise you have nothing to fear.” Jackson said, resting a reassuring hand on my shoulder.

“But what if they don’t think I’ll be a good Luna? If you’re deaf, they have technology to give you the ability to hear, but there's no way I’ll ever be able to speak. Imagine how that will affect your pack if I become Luna.” I responded.

“If any pack members have an issue with you as their Luna, they’d have to get through me before they’d even be able to say one negative thing about it.” He responded.

I looked over at Christian to get his opinion on the situation to come, but he looked zoned out. When I tapped his shoulder to get his attention, he looked at me, but his eyes seemed to focus on something I couldn’t see.

“I need to go.” Christian said before leaving so fast I couldn’t even tell him goodbye.

As the front door closed, Jackson and I looked at each other in confusion. What in the world was that about? In all the years I've known Christian, he has never acted like this before. I hope he's okay.

"So how about we head over to my pack's territory and talk to my parents?" Jackson asked.

I looked at him, giving a slight nod, as I was still very nervous about the idea of meeting them. I've always been a shy girl, that's why Christian was really my only friend. My fellow pack members didn't bully me, with the exception of Max and his posse, but 1.) not all of them knew sign language and 2.) even if they did know it, they were afraid of saying the wrong thing. I understood of course, if I was in their shoes I wouldn't know how to act either. So instead of walking on eggshells trying to talk to me, they just live their lives and leave me be. Because I am shy and unable to verbally communicate, I use my art to express all the feelings I can't express in my daily life. Miss Mary was kind enough to transform one of her extra bedrooms into an art room for me.

"Leana?" Jackson said waving a hand in front of my face snapping back to reality. "You spaced out, everything okay?"

I nodded before signing that I was sorry.

"No need to apologize. Ready to go?" he asked smiling and holding his hand out for me to take.

I smiled back at him, taking his hand in mine as he helped me up and led me back to his car. When we got buckled in, we set off to Jackson's territory. As we drove a thought came to me: why did his pack transfer to our school? I turned and tapped his arm to get his attention before quickly signing my question so his eyes weren't off the road for very long.

"Some rogues tried to attack our pack and in the midst of the battle they set fire to our school building. It was the weekend, so thankfully no one was inside, but we had to transfer to your school until ours can be rebuilt, since the damage was so extensive," he answered.

That would explain why most, if not all, of the pack members were on edge. I just thought they were a naturally aggressive and angry pack. And the first actual encounter I had with members of the pack had only confirmed my assumptions. But all I could do for the rest of the car ride was get lost in my thoughts. When we arrived, I was taken back at the beauty of the scenery. I've never seen another pack's territory before, so I had no idea what to expect, but I for sure wasn't expecting this. The houses looked new, but still homey, not the 'fancy' all metal and silver shit you see in 'modern' homes today. Not too far from a set of houses was a field that young children were playing in and pack warriors were training. I would have been scared that the children could get hurt, but they were a safe distance and didn't get too close.

The farther down the road we got, I started to smell the faint scent of burned debris, and as we passed the spot where I could only assume the school used to be, I noticed that there was almost nothing left. All in all, the place was beautiful but still had scars, but you could tell that instead of focusing on what happened, they were focusing on healing.

"We're almost to the pack house," Jackson said, snapping me out of my daze.

We turned the corner and there stood one of the most beautiful houses I had ever seen. As expected it was big, as it had to hold the Alpha 's family, the Beta's family and all the warriors and their families. Almost every window had a balcony with a great view of the forest and the rest of the pack. Well, at least from what I saw on the front of the house. It had the feel of someone strong and powerful guarding what they loved most while still feeling like a home. I would love to paint this building and I hope that one day I'll be able to.

"Here we are," he said, stopping the car in the driveway and looking at me. "Are you ready?"