My Broken Luna (REWRITTEN VERSION)

4. Brownies

4. Brownies: Charlotte's Pov

*10736 words

There's a moment of silence as he processes this information, my heart racing with every passing second he doesn't respond. I don't want him to resent me because of this.

I can feel the anger radiating off of him in waves, my wolf whimpering at the fact our mate may not want anything to do with us anymore. I make the mistake of looking into his eyes, seeing nothing but hurt and rage in them. "Sweetheart.." his voice is strained as he talks, surprising me with his next words. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there to protect you."

He looks at the medication on the counter, then at my arms as if he's contemplating what I told him the other morning, and then looks over my frail body. "I'm so, so sorry, Charlotte." he shakes his head, holding me close as he kisses the side of my head.

"I-It's not your f-fault." I tell him, not understanding why he's putting blame on himself. Evelyn talked to me a little about it earlier, but it's still hard for me to comprehend. Just a week ago, I didn't even know that I had a mate at all, let alone Xander Reynolds. "It's not anybody's fault."

"None of them are going to get away with hurting you." he vows, a low growl rumbling from his chest. The sound invokes fear in me at first, but my wolf begins to interpret Xander's growl as protective rather than aggressive, causing me to relax a little. If my wolf isn't afraid of him, then I have no reason to be either.

He's still in deep thought by the time we get back into bed, the tv playing in the background as he sits with me on his lap. I occupy myself with my hands for the time being, not knowing if it's appropriate for me to say or do anything right now. All I can do is sit here and let him hold me.

I've come to the realization that I like being in his embrace. When I'm with him, I feel a sense of security that I've never felt before. Many aspects of him still make me a little fearful, but I'm slowly learning not to be afraid. Being close to Xander is beginning to bring me comfort, especially when there are other people around or there's something new happening.

Xander has me sitting sideways on his lap, my legs on the bed while my body is leaned on his chest. He's staring at the tv, but I know he's not paying attention to what's playing on it. 'Mate is hurting.' my wolf states after about ten minutes. 'I don't like it.'

'I don't get it.'

'It's because of us,' she tells me. 'But I don't get why.'

He's extremely gentle with me, even more than he usually is, as he wraps his arms around me and presses his lips to the crown of my head. "If I ever do anything to make you uncomfortable or something you don't like, please tell me, sweetheart." he says, gently cuddling me against his chest. "I want to make sure you're never in a position you don't to be in."

I find my eyelids starting to droop as he talks, the feeling of him holding me and the deep vibrations in his chest as he talks making me sleepy. "And if you have a nightmare or any kind of bad dream, I want to wake me up." he pulls away a little to see my face, breaking that moment of relaxation and reeling me back into reality. "Will you do that for me, sweetheart?"

I give a small nod and find myself leaning into him again, one of his hands finding mine and intertwining our fingers. For once, I actually feel warm and cozy. It's selfish of me, but I relish the feeling and snuggle closer to him, my wolf letting out a content sigh when he holds us a little tighter.

*** (two weeks later)

I stand in the living room trying to figure out what to do with myself. The entire day, I've spent with Brody and he just dropped me back off at Xander's house. I haven't been by myself here yet until now; usually the only time I get alone is in the bathroom. 'Do we go find mate?' my wolf asks, just as clueless as I am on what we should do.