3. Fallen

"Luna, my dear pet, what is wrong?"

I stared at my feet, trying not to fall to pieces. I was thankful Aro was being polite and letting me speak for myself again. "I was in control this week, but I am not happy like I should be." A few tears started to roll down my cheeks.

Aro brushed them away with an icy hand. He smiled sympathetically. "Felix cares for you and you are not happy because he will not tell you."

"He told my wolf form he was foolish. He said he loved me but he shouldn't. He will not speak to me but I think he's been watching. Is there any way I can be a werewolf and a vampire at the same time?"

"I am afraid not," Aro said. "I know I have not been what an alpha should be, and I apologize. You are young and you need a sense of acceptance."

"I'm a werewolf, sire," I replied softly. "I do not deserve to be accepted."

A hurt look crossed his face. "If there were more young werewolves, there would be a werewolf guard here. Perhaps we can start training you to fight in both of your forms."

"I am not strong or smart when human, sire. I cannot use wolf senses when human either. I am not useful."

He gave me a look that showed disbelief. "Have I told you you are not useful, my dear sweet werewolf?"

I blinked. Aro had never been mean but he wasn't necessarily nice. "No, sire. You have not." I didn't want to look at him. I was afraid I'd see a lie.

"Look at me," he ordered, "Am I lying?"

He had been responding to my thoughts, but I looked up. His parchment-thin skin was wrinkled in concern. I looked into his misted red eyes. "No, sire. You are not lying." I tried to smile. "I am sorry. I was being silly."

"You are nervous when nervousness is not necessary, Luna," Aro said gently. "I have given Demetri orders to not break your bones." He petted my head. "Dismissed."

--

I spit the blood out of my mouth and wiped in with my sleeve. "No more," I breathed. "I cannot beat you."

The slender tracker laughed flatly. "You are weak, canine."

I was still crouched defensively. "I know. Please, it is not in my nature to be awake with the sun. Can we finish this in the evening?"

He started circling me. "Attackers do not stop when their prey is tired, child." I barely managed to doge a punch, but was kicked off my feet. He put his bare foot on my chest. "No wonder your pack was easy to destroy."

I growled, turned a little and slid out from under his foot. Jumping up, I replied, "I did not have a pack. I was forced to be like this and then forced to come here." I faked a blow to his head and elbowed his stomach. It was the first blow I managed to land but it had no effect.

"Good try," Demetri said. "If you were facing a human that would have done some damage."

"But we are not human." I crouched down and grabbed his ankle, knocking him down. I guess I could keep a little of my wolf strength as a human. I put my knee on his chest and growled in his ear. "I may not be a leech but I have sharp teeth."

He threw me off, smirking as I hit the wall on the other side of the room. "If you kill me, you'll die."

My head was spinning from the impact and Demetri had knocked the air out of my chest. "Whoa," I wheezed.

I felt Demetri's foul-smelling breath on my neck. He had fed recently. "I'm going to rip your throat out next time you try that, young wolf."

"Get off her, Demetri!" Felix hissed. "She was defending herself!"

Demetri walked away, glaring at his brother. "Next time, wolf."

Felix knelt beside me, putting an icy hand on my face. "Are you alright?"

I could feel the swelling going down, but I pulled away with his soothing touch. "Don't touch me."

"Your bottom lip is bleeding. It smells horrible." He gagged, plugging his nose. "What happened?"

"Aro decided it would be amusing to watch Demetri use me to practice hitting slow moving objects," I groaned. "I need ice."

He moved his hand to my forehead and I held it there, letting it cool my skin. He smiled gently. "You're hurt badly," he agreed. "What hurts?"

"Aro said Demetri would not break my bones. It's probably just my face."

"You're covered in bruises," he replied, putting the other hand on my face too.

The pressure hurt, but the cold was comforting. I closed my eyes, glad I could relax. "I don't want to move right now."

"I wish I could hurt Demetri," he hissed under his breath.

"He was just doing as ordered, brother," I muttered, leaning into Felix's cooling touch. "And it was probably Caius' idea."

He laughed coolly. "Caius does not like you; that is true. If he makes a habit of this, I will take my leave of this organization and take you with me."

"You're going to wolf-nap me?" I asked, speech slurring. "Great, then we'll the guard on our tail. Or rather on my tail. You do not have one."

He laughed honestly at that one. "You have a sense of humor even when you are suffering from a concussion." He stood, taking his hands off my face. "We need to get you to sleep, love."

I moaned. "I don't want to move, brother. It hurts."

"You intend to sleep here?"

"I intend to never move again." I got up, moving slowly. I stumbled back, and Felix's large hand grabbed my arm.

"Careful. I don't want to worsen the pain." He walked me to my quarters and squeezed my hand. "Try to get some sleep, love."

I pulled him into my room. "Actually, Fe, I was wondering if we could speak for a few moments."

He rubbed the tears from my cheeks and pushed my hair away from my face. "What's up?"

"I have great news," I said softly, wrapping my arms across my chest. "But I'm not sure if you want to know."

He squatted so he was level with my 5 foot 9 face. "Of course I want to know, little love."

"The reason Aro decided to let Demetri kick my ass was because I can control my wolf form now."

If it was possible for him to get any paler, he did. "You heard me."

"Yes, Felix. I heard every word."

He cursed. "You are angry with me."

"No, Felix," I wrapped my arms around his neck. "I can't be angry with someone I—" The heat rose to my face. "Someone I—"

Before I could say what I had to say, he kissed me.