People Like Us (bxb)
Chapter 32 (Part 1)

-Nathan’s POV-

There was a distinct atmosphere of unrest and distress in the Southwind Pack. Alex, dad, and I were there to help Luna and Christopher with the move. Instead of moving to the Crescent Moon Pack, Ray decided to move in with the Southwind Pack to be closer to Hallie. So there were big shifts going on in both packs, yet the situation in both packs was at two very different ends of a spectrum.

Crescent Moon was busy preparing a celebration. Banners, food stalls, even a stage was set up in the new, neatly paved courtyard- at Milo’s insistence. Everyone in the pack was way too excited to celebrate the new additions to the Pack Family. Southwind, in comparison, was dreadful. Pack members are mostly locked up in their home, only the sight of the patrol team and a few daring children could be seen.

A few nights ago, during the celebration, members from both packs were present in the Crescent Moon pack. Since I am pretty well known to both packs, people had gathered near my table in hopes to get to know me. Needless to say, all of them overheard the conversations. Druid joining Crescent Moon and changing alliances, their former Alpha and Luna moving, and the most important part, Jake’s mistreatment in the past.

Thus, Crescent Moon held a celebration as a welcoming gift to our new life. However, the Southwind pack was different, distrust that had been sowed into them because of Terui had now bloomed because of my conversation with their new Alpha and Luna. After my outburst, that night, two of the Southwind Pack members had approached me. I recognized one of the girls, mostly because she had been squealing and giggling at the back with a notebook in her hand when I was first introduced to the Southwind Pack. They introduced themselves as Carol and Fiona.

It seems that after my disappearance, their pack hadn’t been great. Their Elder, Terui, had been hunting rogues mercilessly. It didn’t matter if they had committed any crimes or hadn’t broken any pack law, as long as they are a rogue. Lucas, however, had greatly disapproved of this which caused some friction within the pack.

The pack became divided. Some encouraged Lucas to report Terui to the council, others wanted Terui to overlook the action because the disappearance of a mate was not something easy to handle. However, Terui soon made it known that he was less interested in finding his own mate. More and more pack members felt that reporting Terui might be a better idea.

Paid sex, severe punishments, challenging an alpha’s authority, forced mating. They were just some examples of what he had done over the four years. It had been a rough time for the Southwind pack. When he had decided to register as a teacher at a different state, many of the pack members were relieved. Only to find out that their Luna isn’t someone who they thought he was.

“Lucas is doing pretty badly,” Carol informed me while we watched Alex and Christopher haul boxes of items into a rented truck. “He always emphasized that we should treat each other like family and refused to sit by and watch anyone in trouble.”

“Is that so?” I never knew.

“That’s right, that child is always trying to help people.” Luna commented, sitting down on the bench.

“Luna! That green summer dress looks beautiful on you.” Carol exclaimed excitedly. It seemed they get along pretty well.

“Thank you, Carol.”

“So, what happened?” I asked, curious to know more about what happened when I was not here.

“Well, after that night, Lucas has been refusing to sleep or be in the same room as Jake.” Luna sighed. She didn’t wish for her son to act like this, but it is not unpredictable. Just as Lucas had no idea how to deal with the whole situation, the Southwind pack probably had no idea if they should accept Jake. Their whole life, since Christopher’s reign as an Alpha, they had been taught to respect and protect each other, to treat each other like close ones, like family. All of them cared for each other. To sit by and watch someone be abused wasn’t part of their upbringing. Having the opposite as their new Luna was probably difficult for them to accept. “The rest feels like they are doing you wrong if they accept him.”

“I’ll talk to Lucas,” I declared to them. My past with Jake was something that I should be dealing with alone. I am touched that the Southwind Pack thinks about me, but this is something personal and I can’t let it destroy a pack.

“Please do.” Luna smiled and got up from the bench. It seems that our mates are done moving everything in. She whispered something to Alex and his eyes widened with worry.

“Do you need me to stay with you?” He suggested while embracing me in a hug. My heart skipped a beat and I couldn’t help but smile. It feels nice to be cared for by someone.

“I’ll be fine.” I told him with a smile on my face. How true does it feel? I am not sure about it myself. He hugged me a few seconds longer before finally letting go.

I thanked the omega, who scurried off quickly, for bringing me to the current room that Lucas is staying in. I took a deep breath and knocked twice.

“Come in.”

The room was barely kept together. Plates and utensils were neatly kept in one corner, clothes piled up just beside the bed. Lucas was in the same shape as well. He just sat in the corner of his bed, unmoving. The stale scent of the room pretty much confirmed that this room had not been used in a while.

“Are you okay?” I questioned.

“Nathan?” He asked, turning around, surprised that I would be here. His eye bags were sunken and obvious, eyelids were still slightly red and swollen with a bit of tear stain streaking down his face. It was hard to believe that this was the same Lucas in my memory. I haven’t really talked to him much but my image of him was a confident and smart ruler. Yet the truth was right in front of me. Even the most unsuspecting person could hurt and cry. That is reality.

“Hey, do you want to talk about it? I may not be the best person to talk to, but I am one of the reasons why things had happened.” I suggested awkwardly, taking a seat beside him on the bed. He sat silently for a while, playing with his thumb. He looked like he wanted to stay quiet but at the same time, needed to get things off his chest.

“It started when Terui was still here. I did my best to maintain my stand as an Alpha but it was tough trying to maintain the pack while making sure that an Elder doesn’t go berserk. I tried every means, I tried to convince him, I tried to tell him that you didn’t leave on your own free will, as much as I could tell from Jake’s connection with you.” He stopped as soon as he realized that he was getting worked up and took a deep breath, letting it go out slowly. “Jake had been weirdly fidgety whenever we talked about you, about finding you. I guess that was when I should have realized that something was wrong. Yet I didn’t. He was my own mate.”

“I had asked Jake several times if he could still feel you.” Lucas continued. However, it was as if his eyes went dark. Something was bothering him really badly. “He told me that he had lost his connection with you. Terui overheard that and that was when he started to become…a Tyrant. He would kick anyone that was in his path, literally. If he didn’t like anyone, he would lock them in the basement and torture them. Of course, we manage to act quickly so no one was seriously injured. But the pack became scared of him, save for a few who were willing to lend their bodies to him to get money.

And so, we made the decision to report him to the council. Discreetly, of course. The council decided that it was the loss of a mate that made him go crazy and gave him a suggestion: He was allowed to choose anyone mateless. Since it was a decision that was made by the council, no one would question it. Thus he heads to the other pack to claim him mate. Everyone in the Pack was happy. Everyone.”

“Everyone but you. Am I right?” I stated. Lucas nodded.

“You were his original mate, and my upbringing taught me that no matter who your mate is, you are supposed to love him. It’s not a fairytale kind of love. We are supposed to be the ones to stand up to them if they are doing something wrong, guide them on being a better person. That is how a mate should be. And Terui ran from it. I couldn’t understand. It was wrong. And as an Elder, shouldn’t he know better? Of course, he did.” Lucas spat out bitterly.

“Jake never did anything. He ran from his problems, he ran from you, he made you suffer. And you were his family. I shouldn’t have accepted him as my mate. He is a mons…” Before he could finish, I smacked him across the face. He tumbled off the bed hard and his head smacked against the wall. He snarled at me and I saw the streaks of red coming down his face. I might have been a little too rough. A distinct tinkling sound could be heard falling off him and rolling on the floor. A cylindrical plastic container hit my foot. Curiously, I picked it up.

Prescription wolfbane. It was a type of drug to suppress werewolf urges. Typically given to werewolves who have lost their mate to prevent them from going insane.

“Why do you have this?” I asked urgently. Things may be worse than I thought.

“Why do you think?” Lucas replied coldly, blood dripping down his head.

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