Moon Child

Kane found her at the lake, alone in the water. She was viciously scrubbing at the dirt on her arms, and he could see where she was scratching away at the skin. He wanted to save her from this torment, to go back in time and stop that fateful night from happening. Her life had been ruined, turned into a pit of despair.

She caught his scent, stiffening slightly.

"I tried. I wanted so badly to be with you, your pack. I wanted to pretend I could be like you all, happy with this...this thing inside me. I can't. I just can't."

It killed him to see her so defeated. To think of herself as a monster? Something to be disgusted with? He hated it. If only she could see the strength he saw. She lived through the change and five years of torment without any support. She lived through chaos and fought on. No one he knew was that strong of will.

"Dawn..."

She shook her head, turning to face him. Her tear stained face was pale.

"I'm done. I won't pretend to be more than I am anymore. You, Hazel, everyone. You deserve better. I won't bring you happiness. I won't bring you a brighter future. I only know how to hurt. I just...mess everything up."

He frowned, moving into the water to join her. She looked down as her hands slipped under the water.

"Baby, you are everything I've ever wanted. You are my soulmate and you will always make me happier than anyone ever could. You are my moon, the reason I fight and the desire for me to keep going. You are my fire, the sun that woke my heart when I thought I had lost it for good. Dawn, you are mine and I am yours."

Her tears fell silently as he came to stand a few inches away. She wanted nothing more than to be with him, but her worries had finally overflowed and this was it. She had to let him in, whether he stayed or not.

Looking into his eyes she took in a calming breath.

"What if I can't give you what Julie gave Marcus? Or Hazel is giving Jeremiah?"

She let him think over those words for a moment, and when she knew he found the answer she spoke.

"I was raped almost every day I was in that camp. Don't you wonder why I don't speak of kids, or why my body doesn't have scars from birthing dozens of infants? Five years Kane, and yet I have never had a child. Tell me, doesn't that worry you?"

She wanted him to hate her, be disgusted. Anything.

"Before you I thought I'd never have a child. My father was an abusive bastard, why would I want a being to ruin like he did me? I don't want you to breed with. Dammit Dawn I love you. Baby I want you. All I'm asking for is you, nothing more."

Looking into his eyes she felt her heart hitting against her chest like a deafening jackhammer. He didn't want kids? He didn't care if she had been used and thrown from one male to another. His desires centered around her, flaws and all. That was it. Just her.

Reaching out to lay her palm flat against his bare chest she closed her eyes. She could do this. She wanted him too, loved him with all of herself. Looking up to his eyes she swore she could feel the heat between them growing.

"I want to be with you, as a woman and a wolf. Kane, I want to try again. To...run with you."

His smile swept her off her feet, right before he actually swept her off her dainty toes. She would try again, for him. She would shift and shift again until she got it right. For him, she would face her worst fears.