The Half Blood Luna
The Half B***d Luna Chapter 26

Ella’s POV

Joseph and I hang out in my room for almost an hour. We speak about trivial things, and I feel like he is walking on eggshells around me. Trying not to talk about anything that would bring up my abuse or my father.

“Beta, you don’t have to hang out with me the whole time. You must have a ton of work to do” I said shyly.

“Actually, I really don’t have anything to do, believe it or not. Klaus has more than one beta, although I’d like to think of myself as the head beta. So I delegate my work to them. I’ve been working my a*s off for the past seventeen years, it’s their turn now” he said before giving me a wink.

“You have been a beta for seventeen years? So you are not just alpha Klaus’s beta?” I ask in curiosity.

“No, I was alpha Matthew’s beta as well. I took over the beta position after my father; who was his beta, died of a heart attack”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to ask you such private questions”

“Ok we need to set a ground rule between us,” he said seriously.

His serious tone made me regret asking him personal questions. What if I bothered him with my stupid curiosity?

“You need to stop apologizing to me ok? I’d like to believe we are friends. And friends talk about anything they wanna talk about, no barriers” he said softly.

“We can really be friends?” I asked in surprise.

“Why not? Do you think I am too old to be your friend?” he asked teasingly.

I smiled “No, I don’t think friends need to have an age restriction. Anyone can be friends with anyone if they both accept each other”

“Well I accept to be your friend, do you?”

“Of course, I do. I have never had a friend before”

His face becomes a little sad as he asks “Why didn’t you have any friends Ella? You are very nice and kind”

I smile at his compliment “Well, when I was at school, all the kids my age were pure bloods. Their parents forbid them from befriending me, so I was always left alone. And after I was forced to drop out… I didn’t really want to be anyone’s friend. I wanted to runaway from the pack and live in the human world. So no point in having friends if I was going to end up leaving them”

“I see. Well, you can have as many friends as you want here. You should start living your life like a normal teenager Ella. You shouldn’t lock yourself in this room. I have an idea, why don’t we go out for a walk around the town?” he suggested excitedly.

“I don’t know. What if alpha Klaus doesn’t want me to leave the pack house?”

“Alpha Klaus won’t mind. You can go wherever you want, even if I am not with you. The head pack is the safest place for you. No one knows who you are here. You can start fresh. Do whatever you want. Be whatever you wish you could be”

“I don’t have to be a servant anymore?”

“No, you don’t have to. Servants work here because they choose to. And servants under thirty are not allowed to work here”

“I wish I could go back to school, but I am too old now. I haven’t been educated since I was ten and I can’t exactly pick up where I left off” I said in a sad tone.

“No one is ever too old for school. We can get you a private tutor for this year. She’ll give you lessons a couple of hours every day to let you catch up with everything you have missed. And next year you’ll enroll as a junior, you will be eighteen and most students will be seventeen but it’s not that big of a difference. What do you think?”

“I like it” I smile excitedly.

“All right then, it’s settled”

“There is one more thing. Can you train me to fight? I want to learn how to defend myself”

He seemed to consider it for a few seconds before answering. I didn’t expect him to hesitate on this.

“Are females not allowed to train here?” I asked him when he didn’t give me an answer to my question.

“No, they most certainly are. We have some of the best female fighters in the pack. I just don’t think I should be the one to train you”

“Why not?” I asked curiously.

“Training can be brutal. You will be hit a lot at first after learning the basics. There will be pain. I don’t want to be the one to cause you that” he says kindly.

I nod in understanding.

“I will talk to one of our female training instructors. As soon as you heal completely and are ready for it, you can begin training”

“Ok, thank you for everything, beta” I smile at him in appreciation.

He checks out his phone then looks at me “Lunch is going to be served in a few minutes, let me take you around the pack house, we’ll eat lunch, then we will go out and explore the town, what do you think?”

“Ok, I… just need a few minutes first,” I tell him shyly.

He nods in understanding, and says as he gets up from my bed “Ok I will be waiting outside for you, take your time”

I get up quickly and use the bathroom. I look at myself in the mirror. I was still wearing the hospital gown. My hair was a mess. My neck was bruised and purple. I was in serious need of a bath, but I didn’t want to make beta Joseph wait very long for me. I quickly brushed my teeth and washed my face. I tamed my wild hair in a messy long braid.

I went out of the bathroom and walked into the closet. It was huge with a lot of clothes. Everything from underwear and br@s, to different styles of shoes, to makeup was in this closet. They were all new as the price tag was still attached to all of them. I was surprised to replace that all the items were my size exactly. I chose a black, high-neck, long-sleeved wool sweater, a light blue skinny jeans, and a black pair of slippers.

I open the door and replace beta Joseph waiting for me. We spend about ten minutes wondering around the pack house. It was huge just like the one I was serving in. It had different halls for different kinds of occasions. It had numerous guest bedrooms just like the one that was given to me. My bedroom was on the third floor, while the alpha and beta rooms were on the fourth floor. The fourth floor also had several offices, meeting rooms, and dining rooms. Each living quarter had its own dining room dedicated for each beta and his family to dine in during weekdays, but on weekends everyone gathers in a master dining room to eat together as tradition.

We end up in alpha Klaus’s dining room. My heart begins to beat faster at the thought of being in the same room with him. If given the choice, I wouldn’t go anywhere near him.

We walk into the room and replace him talking to a woman. Our eyes meet and I catch him looking at my neck that was covered by the sweater.

“How are you?” he asks me in a neutral tone.

I look into his eyes briefly and remember the last time we were together in the hospital room when he alpha commanded me into confessing everything. Fear and hate are the only feelings that pop up whenever I think of him or look at him.

I avoid looking at his eyes and say in a low voice “I’m fine”

Awkward silence lasts for a few seconds until beta Joseph points at the woman standing between us and says “Ella, I want to introduce you to my wife, Sara”

I look at Sara and my heart threatens to stop. She was the last person I wanted to meet. She was a little shorter than beta Joseph with an amazing slender body shape. She had chocolaty brown eyes and straight golden hair that reached the middle of her back. She was wearing a black jumpsuit with white sandals. She is very beautiful and doesn’t look her age it all.

I was expecting her to look at me with hate or at least distaste. But I was surprised to replace her smiling at me sweetly and extending her hand out for me to shake. How could she possibly want to meet the girl whose father killed her only daughter? I slowly shake her hand while looking down at the ground in embarrassment.

“It’s so nice to finally meet you Ella. Joseph told me so much about you. Welcome to our head pack” she said softly.

I meet her eyes for a second and manage a “Thank you” before avoiding her eyes again. Looking at her eyes for more than that would tear my heart right open.

Another awkward silence fills the room for a few seconds, before a servant announces that lunch is ready.

I look up at the table as we approach it and replace that it fits six people. Alpha Klaus sits at the head of the table, and beta Joseph and his wife sit at his left-hand side. There were only four plates on the table. The place on the right-hand side of the alpha was empty of any plate or tableware. My plate sat at the place next to it, opposite Sara.

I sat down on my indicated chair while my heart squeezed at the realization that the empty chair at the alpha’s right side probably belonged to his wife Kate, while the empty chair at the other head of the table opposite alpha Klaus most probably belonged to his father.

I looked down at my plate in deep shame, I had no right to sit at this table. The same table where my father poisoned Kate and her father-in-law. I didn’t belong in that chair. I will never deserve a place at this table. Even if they think that I do, I don’t.

I stand up abruptly as tears fall down my face. They were all staring at me, while I couldn’t look at any of them “I’m sorry, I’m … I’m not really hungry. I will just go back to my room. Excuse me” I say in a shaky voice and sprint out of that room before anyone can say anything.

I reach my room, close the door behind me and sob uncontrollably.