Lily POV
It had been one week since I was brought to Blood Moon. A whole week. Seven days, seven fucking days, and Dimitri had not come to see me once; honestly, I was pissed off. Every morning, I would hear him leave his room. And every night, I heard him return. But not once did he check up on me.
I'd been getting six steady meals a day, mostly soups and breads. I was slowly beginning to eat more and more, actually feeling full without the accompanying nausea. That first day, Thara had found me in the bathroom clutching my stomach and being violently sick in the bathroom. She had warned me that eating too much too soon would do more harm than good, and to take it slow. Now I could handle some solid meats along with my meals, which I was more than happy about.
I'd also been sleeping. A lot. Thara's rules were sleep and rest so I, and Aya, could heal properly, and we were. Lately, the connection between my wolf and I had grown. She was much more apparent in my head, in a way I never knew she could be. The constant aching of my body had disappeared, and the bruises were all but gone. I was still too thin, but I had some colour in my cheeks now; I showered daily and felt just better than I ever had.
Physically at least. Thara had tried to convince me to see a therapist, but I refused; I didn't want to talk about my past. If I never had to go back to Snow Moon, I was happy. I could move on. Sure, I'd never forget, or forgive, but hashing it out with a stranger didn't seem likely to help. Talking to my mate might, but he was decidedly absent from my life. He was so close, yet couldn't be bothered with me. Each day that passed, I grew more angry. What was the point in bringing me here if he was going to act like I didn't exist? For the millionth time, I thought over my conversation with his sister.
**SEVEN DAYS AGO**
"What on Earth makes you think that?" Thara asked.
"Oh come on. He married me, wouldn't kiss me at the alter, dragged me back here and dumped me in a room by myself." I huffed.
She blinked. "He didn't kiss you?"
"He hasn't touch me at all!"
Pinching the bridge of her nose, she sat down on the edge of the bed.
"Luna-"
"Lily."
"Lily. Dimitri is... well... he's a hard one. He's one of the youngest Alphas in the world, he took over early when our father...died. You've heard all the stories about him, I'm sure. The Heartless Alpha." She scoffed. "Believe it or not, there was a time when Dimitri was a happy person. Smiling and laughing."
"Really? Did this Dimitri kill that one?" I asked sarcastically. Thara laughed.
"Some days it seems like it. I miss the old Dimitri, my happy brother. The one who wasn't cold and stubborn and..."
"A killer." I said.
Thara gave me a hard look. "Yes. He has killed people. A lot of people. But I can advocate that he has never killed anyone who didn't deserve worse than what he gave them. You shouldn't believe everything you hear. Give him a chance Lily."
**PRESENT**
I sighed. How was I suppose to give him a chance if he never gave me the opportunity? And did I even want to? Maybe not all the stories were true, but even so. He sure as hell hadn't made a good first impression on me, and it wasn't getting any better as the time passed. I wasn't going to beg him for attention, if that's what he wanted. On the other hand, staying in this room was driving me stir crazy. My whole life, I'd been going going going, cleaning and cooking and doing work. Now I was holed up in a room in a bed in unfamiliar territory and admittedly, too nervous to leave said room. What is everyone was as unwelcoming as my mate?
"Thara is nice." Aya reminded me.
"True."
"Why don't we go exploring?"
"Outside?"
"YES!" She yipped.
Getting out of bed, I walked into my closet. It was bigger than my bathroom; the clothes Dimitri had got for me didn't even cover one third of it. Dressing in a pair of faded blue jeans a red tee, I grabbed a pair of hiking boots and threw them on before I left. I glanced at the door across from mine, catching a faint hint of Dimitris scent, allowing myself a second of appreciating it. Only a second, then I was headed off down the hall, down the stairs and out the front door.
"You didn't have an asthma attack that time!" Laughed Aya.
"Not funny. Wait till we have to go back up."
"Stop for a rest this time."
"Sounds like a plan."
I wandered aimlessly around the side of the packhouse, not wanting to venture too far yet. I wasn't up for meeting a lot of the pack yet, but I hoped a lot of them were like Thara There were a few people outside; a group of teenage boys near the edge of the forest throwing a football around, an elderly lady tending to the gardens, and a man who looked to be running laps. As I passed the gardener, she looked up and smiled brightly. I returned her smile and stopped to admire her work. A particular flower caught my eye.
"Excuse me Miss, but what kind of flower is that?" I asked pointing.
"Oh, that one is my favourite. It's called a Blue Stargazer Lily."
"It's beautiful." I said.
"It really is."
Standing up, she wiped dirt on her pants before offering me her hand.
"Names Greta. What's your name dear?"
I smiled wider. "Actually, Lily."
Greta laughed loudly. "Well, isn't that a coincidence!"
"Are you the official gardener here?" I asked.
"Oh, no. I actually work in the kitchens. This is just a hobby of mine. Helps out the folks who garden if I tend to them a little here and there."
"That's nice of you."
She shrugged. "Helping others is a privilege I find."
"I like her." Chirped Aya.
"Me too." I replied.
"I haven't seen you around before Lily. Did you just move to Blood Moon?" Asked Greta.
"Something like that. I...uhm.. I'm actually the Alphas mate."
Her eyes widened. "Oh! So you're our new Luna! Well, welcome to Blood Moon, and my apologies for not using your title!"
"It's fine, really, Greta. You can call me Lily."
Greta beamed at me. "My dear, no offense, but you are awfully skinny. What have we been feeding you? Not enough clearly."
I laughed. "Actually, the food here is fantastic. I was told to take it slow, not too much at a time."
Her eyes dawned with understanding.
"Ahh. Well, I'm on duty tonight for dinner. I'm going to make you something special, don't you worry, it will be plentiful, but not too much!"
"Wow. Thank you, but you don't have to go do extra work just for me."
She waved her hand. "It's no trouble, no trouble at all!"
"Oh, I can't wait!" Aya was practically dancing in my head.
"My wolf is very excited. I should go now, it was very nice to meet you. Let me know if you ever want help out here, I love flowers." I said.
"I will. It was so nice to finally meet you too dear."
I waved and continued walking, a small smile on my face. Five minutes out the door and I was already feeling a little more positive towards this pack. Making my way to the end of the house, I stopped to admire the lush forest surrounding it. Aya was going to have so much fun running here when we were able to shift.
"That's only three days away you know."
"I know." I said.
"Are you nervous?"
"A little maybe. Are you?"
"Yeah. Our mate should be with us the first time."
I frowned.
"Aya... I don't think we should expect him to be there with us."
"It'll be so much worse if he's not though. We need them." She whimpered.
I sighed. "I know."
I knew I had to talk to Dimitri about this. Females really got the shit end of the stick. We had heats, pregnancy, labour, birth. As if that wasn't enough, our first shifts were also really hard on us. There were the lucky girls who found their mates before the first shift, and the males would help them through it. Just having physical contact with their mate was enough to ease the pain and make the process go more smoothly. I'd seen girls go through the first shift without a mate, and it wasn't something I had looked forward to. It seemed, however, that that would be the case for me whether I had a mate or not.
"Hey!"