Dr. Luna
Chapter 33

"Thanks for waiting for me, boneheads." Tristan snarled as he turned to look at Tyler.

"Well, you were taking too long." Tyler shrugged, not feeling guilty at all.

Lilly stared at Tristan and felt completely confused. She looked and glanced at Cedric by her side and then back to Tristan. "Wait... you're the guardian?" Tristan chuckled and then walked up to Lilly. "I am not just the guardian, but I am your guardian."

Tyler growled at Tristan's close proximity and Tristan turned and snapped at him "Shut up wolf".

Lilly could feel the agitation rising inside of her and on top of that, her head was starting to pound.

"How long have you known you were a guardian?" Why did it feel like her life was one big secret that everyone had been in on but her? "I've always known."

TUG...TUG.... TUG....

Lilly rubbed her temples as she tried to sort out her thoughts.

"Wait... Are you a werewolf?" Lilly watched him shake his head no. "What about James?"

"James is. We are not real brothers. It's a long story, Lilly." Tristan could see the confusion in Lilly's eyes and was noticing her agitation.

"So that summer I went to stay with the Ashen pack... it had nothing to do with my mother's family, did it?" Why was she never told any of this?

"You were sent to spend time with me, your guardian. I was not ready to stay by your side then, but we needed to get to know each other. It has taken me a lot longer to get myself under control. Finally, now I can be by your side." Tristan went to reach out towards Lilly, but she took a step back. His eyes were hurt when he saw her retreat from him.

He was her friend because he was her guardian. It felt like a lie. He knew who she was and because of that, befriended her. Cedric befriended her because he knew who she was. Tyler was attracted to her since she was his mate. The centaurs were protective over her because of who she was. Her father and brother were family. Mattie accepted her as her brother's beta, same with Kade as Tyler's beta. Were her relationships based on something else? This troubling reality flashed through her head. There was more to her than that. She wasn't just a mate, a sister, a daughter, an obligation, a fairy, she was more than that. She looked over the people around her that were staring over her with concern. Who were they concerned about? She felt indignant.

She felt the shell begin to c***k from the constant tugging in the back of her head. She tried to pull it together and bury it down. She needed a moment of quiet to reflect. There was still more information that would be coming at her and she needed to settle her thoughts on this information first. She took another retreating step backwards and felt the heat from Drake behind her back.

"I need a moment alone." Lilly whispered out before turning and making her way through the centaurs behind her. Once through, she continued walking without looking back. She needed to organize her thoughts.

"She's angry." Tristan frowned and kicked at the ground like a child who had been punished. She had never been angry with him and he was now sulking because of it.

"I should go to her. I can help her." Tyler's heart was breaking as he saw her confused face. He could help calm her emotions down by being near her. He needed to be near her for him too. He was feeling antsy being so close to her and not touching her. Now she was out of his sight again and he could feel Jax pacing around in his head. They needed their mate.

"No, I think she really needs a moment to herself." Cedric frowned as he stared off in the distance where she had disappeared too. The look on her face was more than confusion. She looked hurt. Why was she hurting? "What is it Cedric?" Kade asked. He was also pondering something quietly to himself and it looked like the two of them were thinking along the same tracks. "She looked hurt to you too, didn't she?" "Mmmhmm."

Lilly mindlessly found herself at the waterfall at the far side of the village. It was a favorite spot of hers. The cool water poured freely into the pool; she watched the ripples in the pond from the falling water's impact. Nearby a few centaur children were playing. They were kicking a ball back and forth between them. Three of them were the same ones who were racing together earlier.

"They wouldn't let me play. They said I would be in the way." A little centaur girl came up to Lilly pouting.

"Awe they did? Well, why don't you join a better game?" Lilly asked the girl, with a soft smile on her lips.

"I want to play with them, they're my friends." The little girl frowned as she looked over at the boys playing.

"They don't sound like very nice friends if they are leaving you out." Lilly watched the girl beam a smile up towards her.

"They are the best friends. They just go into boy mode sometimes... I wish you could stay here. You are my best friend too." The little girls' eyes were shining up towards Lilly.

"If I wasn't a fairy you never would have met me. Are you sure you want to be friends with me?" Lilly was half teasing the girl, but a bit of what she said was the truth she was feeling.

The girl tilted her head to the side. "I don't like you just because you are a fairy though. I have met other fairies and not liked them. I may have met you because you are a fairy, but I am choosing for you to be my friend." The little girl then charged towards the boys and skidded into the ball forcibly joining their game.

Lilly watched the children playing quietly. Sometimes a child was able to put things so simply. Her adult head was making a mess out of a simple situation. Everyone meets under one circumstance or another. Then they decided from there if they want to form a friendship. There are mates who have rejected each other and packs who don't get along with their own members. Such a simple truth from the centaur child made Lilly feel completely silly. What did it matter what circumstances brought everyone together? They weren't just friends with her because of that. She could always tell when people were being fake. Many people treated her that way when they were in front of her brother or father, like Cadence. She always knew that she didn't like her though. Sometimes she could be so silly with how she was thinking. She reasoned this was because it was something she wanted so badly, to belong. She always felt like she could not have it and here she was, she had it, and was sabotaging it. This is why it is so important to take time to reflect; you can sometimes see things much clearer. At least this was no longer on her list of issues to deal with.

"Oh NO! Now we will never get it back." One of the boy centaurs yelled out sadly.

Lilly walked over to the children and looked at their sorrowful expressions. "What's wrong?"

"The ball landed up there." The little girl from earlier frowned as she pointed to the rocky hillside.

The outer valley consisted of large boulders and jagged rocks, making it impossible for a centaur to climb up. It was great for protection, but not so much for climbing, at least, not if you were a centaur, which Lilly was not.

"I'll get it for you." Lilly assessed the terrain in front of her. She wished she had different clothes on for the climb. Climbing in a mini skirt was definitely not ideal. Of course, she could always climb in wolf form, but she did not want to alarm anyone, especially the children.

"I'm going to need you young colts to turn around though." Lilly winked at the boys as she walked up to the cliff side. In bare feet she began to make the difficult climb. She secured her footing over the ridged rocks and loose ground. Small sweat beads balled up on her forehead as she struggled with the steep climb. She winced as she felt the sharp stones cut into her tender flesh. Red liquid trickled down her arms, but she was determined to retrieve the ball for the kids. She felt like she at least owed it to the little girl for the clarity she gave her.

She held her breath as she zig-zagged around the treacherous landscape. Her palms were now starting to sweat, making it difficult to maintain her grip on the rocky edges. She was almost there, but the thought raced through her mind that she should have just bought the kids a new ball. The climb was more difficult than she had anticipated, and her body was protesting from the abuse. She could hear the cheers from the little girl encouraging her from below.

Part of the rock she was holding onto broke, slicing her hand and arm. The blood made it difficult to maintain her grip as it created a slippery barrier. She kicked off strongly with her foot and finally managed to reach the ledge where the ball had landed. Lilly laid on the edge for a moment trying to catch her breath. She was no rock-climbing expert and her body's abuse proved as much. Luckily, she was a werewolf, and everything would be healed in a day. Lilly sat up and grabbed the ball, tossing it down towards the waiting children.

"Thank you, Lilly!" The children yelled as they waved up to her.

"You're welcome." Lilly panted out. Her hands and feet were stinging, and her arm was aching.

"Are you coming down?" The little girl asked with worry as she looked at Lilly sitting on the ledge.

Lilly laughed and wiped her forehead with her hand, she was exhausted. "I think I'm going to pitch a tent here." Lilly teased and then flopped backwards. She needed to catch her breath before attempting to climb down. She also needed her hand to stop bleeding so she wouldn't slip.

She stared up at the blue sky as the sun gently warmed her body. The lack of clothing let her cut up most of her skin. Her stomach had cuts all over it and little red stains smeared over her skin. She laughed to herself. All over a ball. Lilly took in a deep breath and relaxed her body. She could not wait to go back home and soak in the tub... home. It was the first time she had thought of home that she immediately thought of the Diamond pack house.

She couldn't help the smile that spread upon her face. Such a simple thought, but it was more than that. It was the idea that she really did find a place that she could always call home.

A loud commotion was being heard coming her way. There were mixtures of shouts and she could not make out anything through the raised voices. Relaxation time was over already. She sat up and looked down over the ledge to see what the commotion was. Uh Oh