His, Eternally [18+]

Chapter Thirty-Four: Awkward

i'm almost to 1,000 votes already, i love you guys so much seriously. you all make writing so much fun, thank you for everything you've done for me. and, i just reached 18.6 MILLION reads on damsel. i'm gonna cry. ok i need to stop. i love u all my bean sprouts
*also this happy is a filler so it may not be as interesting but i had to add it in for better context :-)
xoxo,
corinne

Indie's Point of View:

       I smiled down at my phone, seeing Thaddeus' name pop up. "You look beautiful, Indie." My face flushed, receiving wiggling eyebrows from Annie as she walked past me.

"So, you and Thaddeus?" She winked at me, impressively balancing three platters of food on her arms. I shied from her suggestive gaze, focusing my attention on brewing more coffee for the costumers who were dining in. I shrugged, trying not to look too embarrassed as she made a cooing noise — seeing as my face was as red as a rose. My heart dropped, as the idea of Thaddeus staring at me from somewhere in the woods crossed my mind. I ran a shaky hand through my hair, breathing deeply as I poured fresh coffee into the ceramic mugs.

The doorbell rang, breaking me out of my trance. A large group of people walked in, laughing and talking amongst themselves. They all looked familiar — but I couldn't think of where I had seen them. They all looked relatively similar — tall, olive-toned skin, styled hair and strong builds. Then, it hit me. It was Thaddeus' pack. That same pack where they saw me raging with anger, that same pack where I made the absolute worst first impression. I stood stiff in my stance, my eyes widening as I felt my pulse quicken with nervousness and embarrassment. I stopped in my track, my eyes as wide as the moon as I saw their intense gaze shift to me from across the diner.

"Fuck," I muttered under my breath. I couldn't ask Annie to take them, she was already serving at least five full tables. I inhaled sharply through my nose, trying my best not to look weak as I walked towards them. Their chatter came to an abrupt halt, as I guided them towards an open round-table to seat them. I tried to act casual, but it was difficult. Flashbacks of being practically telling Thaddeus off were clouding my mind, making it hard for me to think straight.

I handed one of the girls a menu, avoiding direct eye contact. As a I passed out the rest of the menus, I noticed them all bowing their heads briefly, muttering the word "luna." Did they not know my name? I laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of my head as I took out my notepad to collect drink orders. I assumed it was some title, as seeing as I was Thaddeus' mate, but it all seemed a bit too formal.

"My name is Indie." I chuckled nervously. They all looked at me, smiling cracking upon their faces. I heard Latin being spoken quietly, making me want to huff in annoyance. I didn't know what they were saying about me, making me automatically assume the worst. And, just like Thaddeus, I was completely unable to read their minds. Whenever I attempted at it, it was like there was a huge cement wall in each of their heads. I guessed that it was most likely because they were cursed supernaturally as well, but it still made me feel weak and powerless. Although most of the time I hated my telepathy, right now it would be considerably useful.

"What can I get you guys to drink?" My voice came out much weaker than what I had hoped for. I went through the motions, writing down beverages as I continued to avoid eye contact. As I began to walk away to give them a few more minutes on what to order, I felt a small hand grab my upper arm lightly. I came face-to-face with a young girl, no older than twelve. Her hair was in two french braids, and a raven color. Her eyes glimmered with something, but I couldn't tell what. Adoration, maybe? She looked at me like I was something special, and somehow it comforted me in this extremely awkward situation.

"You're really tough, Luna. I have never seen a woman talk to an authoritative man like that before." Her eloquent use of words made me want to smile, considering how young she was; but I soon sound myself frowning. How did the werewolf community treat women? Was it some patriarchal anarchy? It saddened me deeply.

"How do you mean?"

"You're just very... strong. I like you a lot already, so does everyone else." My face reddened, the conversation surrounding us quieting as she looked at me with intent eyes. I wanted to sigh in relief. I usually didn't care what people thought of me, but this was different. Kids were always brutally honest, so at least I knew that I wasn't utterly hated by everyone in the pack. I smiled lightly, laughing. A weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. I knew these people were at the utmost importance to Thaddeus, thus why I was so worried that I had made a horrible impression.

"And what is your name?" I asked, making her smile giddily.

"Nour." She said with pride, her freckled cheeks reminding me of how I looked when I was younger. I had noticed how literally everyone in the pack was tanned, and very tall. Even the children, most of them were almost as tall as me.

"Well, Nour, it's very nice to meet you. That's a lovely name." An older woman stroked the back of her braids looking up at me. "It's so wonderful to meet you, Ms. Indie. I see that calling you 'Luna' is a bit too much right now." I chuckled awkwardly, shifting my stance whilst twiddling with the pen I held in my fingers.

"Just Indie is perfect, I'd love to just be called that. Thaddeus hasn't told me too much about that whole title." She nodded understandingly. Whew. I felt instantly more at ease, as I chatted with the rest of the pack. I had learned that Nour's mothers name was Elvira, along with other names of the pack. Thaddeus had an innumerable amount of cousins — their names all very unique. There were Feliks, Lidiya, Ames, and Amaryllis — just to name a few. I felt so plain and boring compared to them — I mean, for God's sake — they were all werewolves, inhumanely strong, and obtained incredulous intelligence.

After bringing out their food, I happily sat with them and chatted about actually normal things, oddly enough. I had learned that they all have a passionate love for snowboarding and the cold; hence, why they have lived in Colorado for such time. And, they loved running through the mountains. I was also shocked to discover that the majority of the town of Whiteoak was, in fact, werewolf. I looked around me, finally about to put the pieces together. Everyone was weirdly close, almost like the entire town was filled with extended family.

Although they had no clue of my telepathy, I still felt at home. I felt a sense of family, which was a foreign feeling to me.