Read The Half Blood Luna by The Black Daisy
Chapter 27
Klaus’s POV:
“So that’s everything that happened at the new pack, I am sure Joseph gave you the full version already. Particularly the part where I was a complete a*s*shole to Ella from the moment, I saw her in the woods that first night” I said to my mother-in-law Sara.
She gave me a disapproving look that I am too familiar with. Sara practically raised me after my mom passed away when I was 5 years old. She has been a wonderful mother to me. She was very passionate and kind towards me. She never made me feel the loss of my birth mother.
“Well, I am sure Joseph said everything that needed to be said, probably even more. But I find myself unable to understand how you could do all those things to that innocent girl Klaus. Regardless of what has been done to her before you took over the pack, that punishment should have never happened in the first place. And the alpha commands! That was downright sad*stic. What the hell has gotten into you Klaus? That man is not you darling, I know the person I raised, he is kind and loving and would have never been able to do this to anyone”
Regret and remorse hit me like a speeding car. “You are right about everything mom. You have no idea how much I hate myself every time I think about it. It’s like I wasn’t in control of my own body. I am truly ashamed of myself. I have no idea if Ella is ever going to forgive me for this”
She stroked my hair with tenderness and said softly “It’s never too late honey. As long as you admit your mistakes, there is nothing that cannot be fixed. We all need to help her get past this. You, me, and Joseph. We will be here for her and support her. She needs to know that from now on she has a family, she is not going to be alone anymore”
At that moment, Joseph and Ella walk into the dining room. My eyes immediately meet hers, before she quickly averts her eyes from me. She was wearing new clothes that were bought to her upon my request. My eyes gaze down at her neck which was purposefully hidden by the high neck sweater to cover up the bruises that must have been caused by that man trying to chock her. My blood boils at the memory of how her bruises looked like when she first got here.
That man was not found yet. I asked Marcel to send over all the pack’s pictures so that Ella could take a look at them and identify him. I will make sure he pays painfully for everything he did to her. I also wanted him captured to uncover the secret he was trying so hard to protect regarding alpha Grey.
I was torn between asking her if she was okay or remaining quiet. She was obviously still pissed at me but I had to start somewhere to earn her forgiveness.
“Are you okay?” I tried to make my voice as normal as possible to make her believe that I don’t hate her anymore.
She avoids looking at me and says in a low voice “I’m fine”
I look at Sara and give her a meaningful look that said Ella is nowhere near forgetting what I did to her. Sara nods rea*s*suringly with a smile as if telling me to give her time to heal first.
Joseph introduces Sara to Ella and my heart aches as I see her look down in fear and embarra*s*sment. She expected her to hate her just like I did when I found out who she was. If I had been a little understanding rather than being a d*ic*k to her, she wouldn’t have been ashamed of meeting anyone related to Kate and my father and expecting them to treat her badly. She couldn’t even look Sara in the eye properly.
The servant announces that our lunch is ready, and we head to the table. As we all sit down, I look at Ella and see her looking down at her plate with sadness filling her features.
She suddenly stands up and I notice tears falling down her face.
She says shakily without looking at any of us, “I’m sorry, I’m … I’m not really hungry. I will just go back to my room. Excuse me”
I open my mouth to try and figure out what happened to her and why she was crying, but she ran away from the room and closed the door behind her before I could say anything.
I look at Joseph and Sara and ask them in a shocked tone “What just happened?”
“I think she felt Kate’s and your father’s absence on the table and felt like she shouldn’t be sitting at the same table,” said Sara in a sad tone.
I close my eyes and sigh loudly. I felt their absence every second of the day, not just on the dining table. I understood how she felt. Her deep shame that somehow, she was responsible for her father’s actions, thanks to my idiotic behavior towards her at her old pack.
“Should I go talk to her?” I ask them uncertainly.
“No, we should leave her alone for now. I will go check on her once we finish lunch. We need to clear the ice between us and start working on her problems right away,” said Sara in a determined tone.
I trusted Sara’s ability to heal Ella completely. She was pretty damn good at her job as a psychologist. If anyone is going to get Ella through everything that happened to her, it will be Sara.
I turn to Joseph and ask him curiously “Tell me everything you talked about from the moment she woke up.”
“Well, before she woke up she was having a nightmare. I tried to wake her up several times, it took some time, it was like she was trapped pretty bad in that dream. She was screaming like she was in pain. But eventually, I got to her.”
The meat in my mouth felt sour as I wondered who she was dreaming about to scream in pain like that. Was it me or alpha Grey?
“She calmed down fast after that, I tried to distract her from it by talking about the pack here and the people. I asked her what she wanted to do now that she was starting fresh. She said she wanted to continue her education but was embarra*s*sed because she was too old to pick up where she left off. I told her that I will get her a private tutor for this year to catch up on everything and next year she will be able to enroll as a regular junior in our high school. She was beyond excited. She also wanted to start training as soon as she heals from her injuries. I promised to take her on a tour around the pack after lunch, but now I don’t know if she still wants to” said Joseph uncertainly.
“Let’s postpone the tour for now until she adjusts to living with us. Studying and training are the perfect opportunities to start getting used to her new life and accepting herself. However, I need you to a*s*sign males as her tutor and trainer not females,” said Sara.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea honey? She is terrified of any man coming anywhere near her. She won’t be able to learn anything from her fear”
“At first, yes, but I will work with her on this. If she doesn’t start to face her fears now, she will never be able to. It will be extremely hard on her at first, I won’t deny it. But the key to making this work is if we all work with her and convince her that she is completely safe here. It might take her sometime, but eventually, she will get there”
We finish our lunch in silence after that. I kept thinking about ways to make it up for her and convince her she is safe with me. Should I take over her training? It takes three hours everyday, but I have that time. The packs are stable and there are no pressing matters like before.
“I want to be responsible for her training. Do you think it is a good idea?” I ask my mom and Joseph.
“I was going to suggest it myself, but wasn’t sure if you had the time,” said Sara.
“I will make time for her. Like you said, we all need to help her.”
“I don’t think she will agree to that, Klaus. She is scared of all men, but she is terrified of you in particular” said Joseph disapprovingly.
He was right, of course. I look at my mom for an idea on how to approach her.
“Me and Joseph will open that topic with her once she is stable and do our best to convince her. But if she insists on refusing, we shouldn’t press her. You will have to find another way to reach through to her. I don’t want you to give up from the first try ok?” Sara said optimistically.
I nod in agreement and hope she doesn’t refuse my help to train her. Although deep inside, I was 99.9 percent sure that she was going to say no, judging from the way she didn’t even want to look at me earlier.
“Ok, let’s go check on Ella. I am worried about her” said Joseph as he got up from his chair and discarded the napkin on the table.
“Actually, I want to go check on her alone. She needs to start trusting other people, too. If you come with me, she will only want to confide in you” said Sara to Joseph as she drank some water and then got up from her chair.
“Ok, as you command doctor,” said Joseph teasingly as he kissed her on her cheek.
“Let us know if she is all right,” I tell my mom.
She nods and leaves the room, while we move on to my office to discuss some pack business.