UnWilling Luna

Chapter Three

The morning of my birthday was good, slow, but good. I had no one to heal, and the Alpha even told me that I could have the entire day off, as could my mother, to celebrate my birthday before the dinner. This made it easy for Mom and me to get out of the Pack house for lunch. I was excited for that because I could get away from the smell of my mate, and could actually think clearly.

“You seem distracted,” Mom said as I sat in the car, staring out the window.

“Sorry, I’m just tired. I stayed up kinda late last night,” I told a half-truth, omitting the point that I had met my mate. I didn't know how to tell her, because I knew how much she had loved my father before he died. Part of me was scared that she would be angry at me for throwing this gift away.

“Oh, I see. You need to start getting more sleep. Have you been able to smell your mate yet?” she changed the subject, tapping on the steering wheel as we headed towards a restaurant.

“No,” I blatantly lied, but then shook my head, I couldn’t lie to my mom. “No, no. I did, but I don’t like who it is. I’m going to reject them.”

My mom gasped, and suddenly pulled over into a parking lot near where we were. “No! Are you serious?!” My heart dropped. I shouldn't have told her.

“Mom, they don’t even know I’m their mate yet. It won’t hurt them if they accept my rejection now,” I muttered, not making eye contact with her. I didn’t want to see the disappointment or disapproval. My chest started to feel heavy. Why did I tell her? She wouldn't have known the difference if I lied.

“But it’ll hurt you! Please, just give them a chance,” I could hear the pleading in her voice, but I just shook my head. "Who even is it?"

“Mama, I-I can’t. I can’t accept them, and saying who it is will just hurt,” I whispered. I didn’t even want to say that it was a male because I was afraid she’d figure it out.

“You should give them a chance. They can’t prove they’ll be a good mate if you don’t give them the chance,” she said as she leaned over to pat my shoulder, comforting me.

I just shook my head, and after a few minutes of silence, she started driving again. “The restaurant is expecting us, so we’ll be able to get a table immediately. I’m excited! It’s been awhile since we’ve gotten to go out between both our our work. It’s good for us, and celebrating you is always a good thing,” she chattered, making me smile to myself.

Maybe she could read me better than I gave her credit before, and just was always trying to make me feel better. We didn’t always work through things, but she always knew how to make me feel better. It was easy enough for her to ignore the fact that I’d found my mate when she knew that they didn’t know, and they weren’t hurting right now, but what would she do in a couple days when I rejected Blake, and she realized I’d rejected the Alpha’s son?

*****

At dinner that night, I sat beside Blake. It was an honor, and whispered erupted when I walked in, and the Alpha himself sat me down next to his son. Normally this was reserved for the Young Alpha’s mate, so rumors started swirling immediately. I barely managed not to throw myself at Blake, so eventually, when I hadn’t, the whispered stopped. They didn't think that a mate would reframe from being affectionate, especially a mate bond so recently formed.

I hadn’t expected the Alpha to step in for my sake to silence the last few lingering whispers, but I thought that he’d be angry that they assumed that I was his son’s mate. If I hadn’t had healing magic, then I would have been a Rogue. Surely he can’t want his son’s mate, the future Luna of his Pack, to be Rogue born? But he didn’t. He just chatted with his Beta, who sat where he Luna would have if she was alive.

“Sorry about last night,” Blake muttered, looking sheepish.

“It’s fine. You were drunk,” I muttered back, sipping my water. When would the food be here? I needed a distraction so badly. My chest was tight and it felt like something was squeezing my heart.

“Well, not just drunk, but yeah,” he chuckled, a blush forming on his cheeks.

As irresponsible as Blake was, he was equally bashful, and that honestly pissed me off. How could anyone expect an Alpha like him to take care of them? He never stood up for himself, and was so unsure of himself. He was always second guessing what he did and we all could see it. We all knew it. My lip almost curled in disgust at the thought of having to pick up all the slack that he would drop as an Alpha. I wasn’t meant to spend my life cleaning up after him.

I didn’t respond, so he looked away. Biting my lip, I looked away too. I suddenly felt guilty. He was never given real responsiblity, so maybe he was given some, he'd rise to the occassion. My mother’s eyes met mine from across the table, and she smiled at me. I gave her a slight smile and wave, wishing that I was down my her. Being this close to Blake was so intoxicating that I felt drugged. I barley trusted myself to speak. I was glad when the food was finally served that the Alpha didn’t ask me to stand and make a speech.

Instead, he stood, clearing his throat. “Hello all. As you know, we are here today to honor our Healer, Charlotte,” cheers erupted, but quickly died as he lifted his upper lip into a snarl. “But I also have an announcement to make.”

The table fell silent.

“On his 18th birthday, I’m passing the Pack down to my son,” again, cheers erupted, and he let them play out longer before silencing them with a growl. “And, to ensure the strength, and honor of our Pack, I request that our Healer, Charlotte Rose, becomes his Luna.”

I choked on the water I had been sipping, coughing loudly. The room was silent as all eyes fell on me. Surely, surely, I had misheard him. "I-I’m sorry. Did I hear you right? You said that you want me to be the Luna?” I asked, the blood draining from my face.

He nodded solemnly, but to my surprise, Blake is the one who jumped up. “But Father! What about my mate?” he exclaimed, sounding almost panicked. His tone sent a jolt of pain through my chest.

“If you find your fated mate, then you and Charlotte can decide if you’ll keep your Mate as a Mistress, or if you’ll break your bond and take the fated Mate as your new Luna,” he said bluntly, making me shake. That was such a cold way of looking at it.

No, no no no. I didn’t want to be here. I was so close to escaping. I was going to leave in the morning! How did this happen? I couldn’t speak. I was frozen. It was like I was underwater again. Before I could speak, I felt pain in my chest. I couldn’t breath. Was I having a heart attack? Sparks erupted from my hands as I gripped my chest, and I heard panicked voices, but I couldn’t tell who they belonged to. A hot, though pleasant, burning sensation spread across my back as I fell from my chair.