Independent She-wolf novel Chapter 20

I leaned back against the headboard and patted the empty space next to me. She crawled over to the space and sat down. I had to resist the urge to hug her and just have her in my arms. She wouldn't want that just now. She took a deep breath and began.

Dani's P.O.V.

After I had taken a deep breath, I began. "I guess I should just start from the beginning and tell you everything," I said. He would want to know and frankly, he needed to.

He nodded and looked at me. "You know you don't have to-"

I stopped him. "Jace, you need to hear this," I told him.

"Okay," he said to me quietly.

"I was born in the fall," I started. "At night on an orange moon. It was a harvest moon and I was born exactly at midnight. That was the first part of me being a werewolf. The other is that I'm a descendant of the Pawnee Native American tribe. It's a really small connection, but I'm about five percent Pawnee. That is what made me a complete werewolf. You see, Pawnee Indians had certain... ties to wolves. Like how the believed how the constant appearance and disappearance of the North star signaled a spirit wolf coming the Earth from the spirit world. Other tribes even referred to them as "Wolf People" or something like that. That's what gave me the the complete ability."

When I paused to look at him, he nodded. "Tell me about your family. It seems that around them, you aren't as happy as you should be. Plus, they don't know about what you are. Why?"

Now this was a touchy subject. It would be better to tell Jace now than later. "I'm just not as close to them as I want to be. My parents focus on my three brothers more than on me. I like the privacy and all, but it's like I have too much of it now. Just, it seems like I'm always alone now. Don't get me wrong, they do give me everything I need, but... it really doesn't mean anything to me."

"They don't understand me," I continued. "The last time I tried to talk to my mother about things, I had a major break down. It ended up with me crying and my mom yelling at me saying after everything she does for me, and whatever. She tried to ask me what was wrong and I told her how I was different. At the time, I didn't know what I was, but I could sense that it wasn't what they were. Mom told me that she would help me and be there for me, but after that night, things just went back to they way things were. She followed my dad, who was so absorbed in my brothers and their sports. And I was left alone. That was the day I realized that the only person I could trust, they only person I could count on, was myself. I'm alone."

My head was down and I was just staring at my lap. Jace lifted my face so I would look at him. "You're not alone, Dani," he told me. "I promise you that I will be there for you. You can trust me. I can wait for you to love me, but I want you to trust me first."

Why couldn't I just tell him I loved him. I was afraid. How could I be lucky enough to get him? You're not, a voice said in the back of my head. But I could trust him. After everything that's happened and what he did for me, I trusted him.

I felt his breath on my hair and heard him speak. "Goodnight, Danielle Nichole Cameron," he said softly.

"I trust you, Jace Colton Broderick."

Jace's P.O.V.

The next morning, I woke up with Dani in my arms. I smiled to myself and looked at her. When she slept, she looked peaceful and still beautiful, as always. It was Saturday. Crap. I have a council meeting today.