Watch The Dark
eighteen

Tana's P.O.V

Tana hadn't worn a dress since she was little. So, when Jade approached her with a black lace dress, she didn't know how to react. The see-through sleeves stopped at her elbows, the dress itself falling a few inches above her knees. The skirt itself wasn't lace, but instead a fine silk that cinched around her waist like its own belt.

"You look beautiful," Declan said, walking in just as Tana was observing herself in the mirror. He, himself, had a simple blazer on with a black dress shirt. His hair was slicked back, finally getting some of those stray hairs out of his eyes, which only added to his appeal.

"I mated with you already. You don't need to flatter me," Tana told him, to which he let out a snort.

"You think I only flattered you to get into your pants?"

Tana shrugged matter-of-factly.

"I compliment you because I like you, Tana. You're my mate. I don't have any ulterior motive," he said. Deep down, Tana knew he was telling the truth. However, she had always been told that men will say anything to get what they want. And after knowing a man who did just that, she found it hard to believe. Though, it was nice to be called beautiful every now and then. Even if it wasn't sincere.

"I've never been in a car before," she suddenly blurted, catching Declan by surprise judging by his face. He cleared his throat and shot her a cocky grin.

"It's fun, trust me. And completely safe," he told her, holding his hand out to her.

"Shall we?"

Tana rolled her eyes at his antics and ignored his hand, opting to grab him by the arm instead.

"Let's just go. Don't make me regret this, pretty boy," she taunted. He grinned down at her and shook his head as they made their way through the house. Alec, who had been in the middle of a conversation with Blake, looked up for a moment and held up both of his thumbs, a shit-eating grin stretched across his face. In response, Tana rolled her eyes and stuck her tongue out at him.

When they got to the car, Tana wasn't quite sure what to think of it. It was a massive black contraption that looked like it could kill her. So, when Declan held her door open for her, she hesitated.

"There is no way this is safe. And you're driving? Yeah, no, I'll pass," Tana huffed indignantly, folding her arms across her chest.

"Oh, come on. Aren't you supposed to be some kind of badass?" Declan snorted, offering her his hand to help her into the car. She shot him a cold glare and, very hesitantly, took his hand and got into the car. He winked mockingly at her and shut her door before moving over to the other side, which apparently had all the mechanisms to make the car move. He shut his door and observed her for a moment with a frown.

"What?"

"Seatbelt," he replied, and, without warning, reached over to pull a long, black thing over Tana's chest and waist before clicking it in to a small box on the side of her seat.

Noticing her confusion, he let out a small laugh. "The seatbelt is for protection. In case we get into an accident with another car," he explained, doing the same thing with his seatbelt before twisting the key and getting the car to roar to life.

"Wherever you're taking me better be good," she breathed.

Declan just laughed. The sound was pure music to her ears.

***

The place Declan took her was run by wolves and humans alike, which stuck Tana as odd. However, that night, only wolves were catering and only wolves were the ones allowed to dine as well. The restaurant was owned by Declan's pack and run by a bunch of his wolves, as well as the humans. Tana had no idea how much more there was to the world.

A nicely dressed male escorted them to a table near the window and handed them pieces of plastic with a bunch of words on it, which she was informed was called a menu. He then poured them water and left them.

"What in the world is any of this?" Tana huffed, reaching out so that Declan could see the menu as if he didn't have one of his own.

"It's food. If you want I can order something for you. The food here is great so I think you'll like it," Declan offered, a small smile playing on his lips as he watched her frown at the menu.

"Fine. But nothing that has to do with broccoli. I hate broccoli," she said, putting her menu down when Declan did the same thing.

"Me neither. My mom used to try and get me and Jade to eat it all the time. She would always say that it's like eating a tree and because trees were strong, we'd be strong too," he laughed at the memory, which made Tana smile a bit too. "However, Jade finally pointed out that trees had brown trunks and that's when my mom gave up," he said.

"My mom always got mad because the only vegetable Tuk and I would eat was corn. And since there wasn't much to choose from with the Blood Wolves, we didn't really have much corn around so she tried broccoli. Tuk spat it in her face once. So did Alec. I just hid it in my pockets and buried it later," she said, earning a chuckle from Declan.

"Oh! And there was this one time when I was 13 and when I was still allowed to stay with my parents that my mom offered me pork. Talon had given us some as compensation or something, I don't know. But I threw up right after I ate it. All over the table. It was gross," she said. He seemed a bit sad hearing that, but he smiled with Tana anyway.

"Do you remember living with the Dark Wolves?" He suddenly asked. It was a good question, seeing as Tana was five when they left. She should have some memories but all she could remember was the Blood Wolves. It was all she saw.

"Not really. I remember meeting Frasier, the alpha at the time, when we went to the Blood Wolves. But I don't remember much before that," she told him, to which he nodded.

"I hope Sincere is ok," Tana added slowly. Even though he wasn't her real dad, she could tell that Declan has already imprinted on her. It was usually something fathers did after their pup was born so that they could bond with their pup the same way the mother had while carrying it. But in this case, it seemed that Sincere had attached to him first. It was really quite interesting.

"I left her in the care of one of my best medics. She seemed to be calming down when I last checked on her. Her eyes weren't red anymore," he said with a sigh.

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"Why?"

"It's my fault you've got all these troubles. It would have been better if I had run into some other territory," Tana said, only to have Declan quickly reach across the table to take her hand.

"If you had gone into some other territory, I would have spent my entire life looking for you. The day I found you was the best day of my life and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I'm here for you, Tana. Only you," he said. The words, though repeated many times, seemed to stick with her that time. So much so that a few tears started to collect in the corners of her eyes. She didn't know, not properly, what love was. Talon claimed he loved her, but so did her mother, and both showed it in different ways. It was hard to decipher what was real anymore.

***

Declan had ordered some chicken dish that Tana didn't recognize at all. She had only ever had very bland meals, so when she took a bite of the food, she nearly spat it out from the sheer shock of all the flavours.

"This is better than anything I've ever tasted before," she moaned, earning a grin from Declan.

"I told you the food was good," he stated, seeming quite proud of himself.

She just rolled her eyes.

"There was...something I wanted to discuss with you," he said. She cocked an eyebrow at him. She would never understand him and how his mood could change so rapidly.

"It's about being my- the packs- Luna. I wanted to know if you would be my Luna," he said, catching Tana off guard and causing her to nearly choke on her food. Not even when she was a wide-eyed pup had she considered or dreamed of being a Luna. She had never liked the idea of it. She wanted more freedom to do as she pleased than the Luna position offered.

"I don't- I don't think I can do that. It's nothing against you I just- it's a lot. I barely know the wolves in your pack and they don't trust me. They've made that very clear since some of them attacked me, but-"

"What?"

Tana blinked at him, confused by the anger that now crossed his face.

"Someone attacked you?" He gritted out.

"Yeah, a few nights ago. The night after Liam attacked me. I went out for fresh air and six of them surrounded me. If Alec hadn't showed up they would've beaten the shit out of me," she said, watching his grip tighten so much that the fork in his hand snapped.

"Who? Who attacked you?" He hissed. Tana tensed slightly.

"I don't know. I haven't been here that long. Alec seemed to know them though. You can ask him," she said, trying to keep her anxiety out of her voice.

He let out a shaky breath and shook his head. "Sorry. My wolf has been...on edge lately," he explained, going back to eating quickly.

"It's ok that you aren't ready. The pack doesn't need a Luna. It just looks good to other packs if you have one. But the pack doesn't fall apart. As long as you stay with me, it'll be fine," he said. Tana nodded with a small smile.

"That, I can do."

***

It was midnight when they got back to the pack house. Declan had been insistent on showing her a small parlour that sold ice cream. Tana had never had it before, but she absolutely adored it now. Declan had even gone to another store to get some that they could take home.

Sam was curled up on the bed when they arrived, only lifting his head for a split second to acknowledge their presence. Tana huffed at the creature and went into the bathroom to change. It was ridiculous, seeing as they had already mated, but it made her feel more comfortable to change without anyone else looking. She still hadn't come to terms with the scars that littered her body.

"What happened to your parents?" Declan suddenly asked when she stepped back into the room. She narrowed her eyes at him, confused by the accusatory tone in his voice.

"They left not long after Talon took me. When I was 15, I think. A lot of wolves say they moved to the South Bay pack, not far from the Blood Wolves. But we could never find them. Talon had them all on a really tight leash so we could barely leave. I don't know what they're doing now," Tana said. Declan tipped his head to the side slightly.

"They just...left you? After fighting so hard for the Blood Wolves' freedom? They just left all three of their kids?" Declan asked. Tana shrugged.

"I don't believe it either but it's all I've been told. I wouldn't be shocked to find out that they're dead. I've gotten over it anyway. And if they are out there somewhere, they're cowards. Good for nothing cowards. Did you know that they barely fought for me? I mean, if you have a daughter and she's going to get tortured, you would think that you would fight for her. To the death, of you had to. Because that's what parents do, right? But they just held Tuk and Alec back and cried. They did nothing for me. So whether they're galavanting through the town or six feet under, I don't care. They did it to themselves," she huffed.

Declan stayed silent. There wasn’t much to say anyway.

“Thank you for accepting me. Baggage and all,” she whispered, so quietly she wasn’t sure whether he had heard her.

He turned to her slightly and smiled.

“I’d accept you no matter what,” he said. She huffed her laughter.

If only that were true.

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