How I met my Mate - being a Human

Bruises

"What the hell are you doing here?" Tom s Voice was filled with hate.

"I..." my words caught in my throat in shock, which only made Tom angrier. He came stomping towards me and cupped my throat with his hand.

"I asked what you are doing here. You're Human and have no right to be here!" he shook with anger as he slowly cut off my air supply.

"I'm cooking here," I gasped.

"And you have to do that right here? In the pack house?"

"It was Ms. Black's idea. I'm only staying for a year, then I'm gone."

"No! You'll be gone until next week or I'll make sure you 'll be gone!" He let go of me and I sucked in air greedily. I was so busy breathing that I didn't realize Tom had prepared to punch me. The back of his hand hit me so hard that I was knocked off my feet. I was holding my face and could already feel my cheek and eye starting to swell.

"You have a week to get out of here! If you tell anyone you got that bruise from me, I'll kill you!" I sat down and held my cheek.

With that, he left me behind and ran off. I was convinced he was serious, he would kill me if I said anything. I had to get out of here and fast. I had to talk to the Luna tomorrow and give her my termination. I stood up slowly and picked up the basket. I went into the kitchen and immediately got some ice cubes out of the freezer.

As I held the cloth with the ice cubes over my swelling face, the panic from my childhood set in again. I had forgotten, or perhaps repressed, how scared I was of Tom. Even as a child he had been scary, even without violence.

I had to get away from here, I had to think of a reason when I spoke to Luna tomorrow. What could I tell her as a reason why I didn't want to stay after all? Without naming Tom as the reason? If I did that, Luna would only talk to Tom and that wouldn't end well for me. That had been exactly the reason for my fear and why I didn't want to work for the pack. Even though Irma and Luna Annie had always told me that I belonged to the pack. Or that I was under the direct protection of the Luna, but now I had been attacked. The second time.

I had prepared the herbs for the next day and left the kitchen with a cold pack. In my room, I stood in front of my bathroom mirror to examine my face.

The right side of my face was covered in a large dark blue bruise. My eye was almost completely swollen shut so that I could no longer open it. If I had been hit by a human man, I might have been slightly bruised, if at all. But werewolves were much stronger than humans. I was lucky he hadn't broken anything.

How was I going to hide this bruise from the Luna tomorrow? What was I going to tell her about how I got it? If I told her I had fallen down the stairs, she wouldn't believe me.

I changed my clothes and went to bed with the cold pack after taking a painkiller.

Tonight was the first time I'd really laughed and felt good at dinner. Everyone except Janelle had been kind to me. Some had even complimented me or talked to me briefly. I had imagined my year here and even enjoyed it. Now I had to cut the year short early. I had to leave and if possible without causing a fuss. If I didn't need the money so badly, I would have packed my things and left tonight. But I needed my salary to get as far away from here as possible.

I must have fallen asleep at some point, because I woke up because of my alarm clock when it was morning. My head felt like it was about to burst. I got out of bed and went into my bathroom. When I looked in the mirror, I saw that my face wasn't as swollen and discolored as it was yesterday. I could open my eye almost fully again and the color of the Bruise was "only" purple and no longer black like yesterday. Today I had the opportunity to look at my neck, yesterday I couldn't examine it properly with just one eye. My neck felt better and the bruise had lightened like the one on my face.

How was it possible for such a large bruise to heal so quickly? It looked like several days had passed since the attack and not a few hours. I looked at my cell phone and checked the date to make sure it really was Saturday.

When I couldn't find an answer to my question after a few minutes, I took a painkiller and started getting ready for the day.I still hadn't come up with a plausible explanation for my departure. Not even for my bruises. As good as it was that the bruises were healing faster than usual. I could now clearly see a handprint on my neck. I didn't know how to explain this without telling that it was Tom.

I put on a sweater with a high collar and tried my best to cover up the bruises with make-up.

Unfortunately, it didn't help much. Even with make-up, you could still clearly see the purple marks on my skin. At least the ones on my neck were no longer visible if the collar stayed in place. I wore my hair down to distract attention from my neck and face.

I went into the kitchen and was relieved to be alone. Just as I was putting my first tray of bread in the oven, Irma came into the kitchen.

"Good morning. You're here early," she said cheerfully and with a smile on her lips. The smile faded when I turned to her and she saw my face.

"Good....MARY! What happened to you?" Irma came rushing towards me and stood in front of me so quickly that I took a startled breath.

"Uhhm." I had thought of a few excuses, but none really sounded believable. I looked into Irma's eyes and saw how they changed. Just like Ms. Black's when she told the pack house I was coming.

Crap! She told someone, exactly what I didn't want at any price. Before I could open my mouth and stop her, Luna Annie walked into the kitchen with her werwolf speed.

She slapped her hands over her mouth in shock.

"Mary!" She slowly approached me and took my hand in hers. "Mary who did this to you? And please don't tell me you ran into something, it's quite obvious that you've been beaten. Despite the thick layer of make-up you're wearing, I can see the bruises really clear." Tears welled up in my eyes, I couldn't lie to her but I couldn't tell her the truth either. I had no doubt that Tom would keep his promise.

"Luna Annie. I... I..." I began but my voice broke.

"Talk to me Mary."

"I can't, please I can't." I took a deep breath and collected myself. "I would like my salary and then I will leave next week."

"What? You were so comfortable until yesterday. Who hit you? And what are those marks on your neck?" As she spoke, she reached out and pushed my turtleneck down.

How the hell did she even see the stains with the turtleneck?

"Please Luna, I can't talk about this. I want to leave the pack. I know it's very last minute, of course I'm still working all weekend for the party."

"Mary. If you want to go, I won't stop you. But please reconsider. Tell me who did this to you and I will hold them accountable."

"That's very kind of you but I can't."

Luna Annie sighed and let go of my hand. I went back to work like Irma. Irma spent the whole morning trying to find out who had hit me. Once she even asked me if it was Tom because of my reaction about him yesterday.

I always told her that I didn't know who it was and that the attacker had disappeared afterwards.

When it was noon we heard a big noise from outside, many pack members cheering and clapping.

The alpha was back.