The Forbidden Child - Alpha’s Lost Luna

Chapter 6

***Jane***

I couldn’t believe the nerve of some people! I don’t care how attracted I am to Kai, if he’s going to act like a jerk he can stay away from me. I’m self-conscious about my weight enough as is. Being a 5’9” muscular teenager, even if it is lean, has gotten me made fun of more than once already. I have never been one of those thin pretty girls and never will be. I’d rather be able to outrun any guy around than be some guy's idea of a fantasy girl. Forget that!

I was fuming mad and made it all the way back up to the parking lot before I remembered I had invited the girls to come along. Looking behind me I saw them still down the path and decided to just get to the car. El knew where it was. Digging into my bag I found the keys and opened the trunk, I tossed everything in the back but took my shorts and tank out and put them back on. Then I took a few minutes to spray the WD40 on the squeaky hinges of the trunk, and tried to calm myself down. I walked around to the passenger door and opened it, pushing the front seat forward for whomever wished to sit in the back. It sure wasn’t going to be me, because I was driving my baby.

I walked around to the driver's side and opened my door, bending down inside, I grabbed my sunglasses. After getting back up I looked over the roof of the car as I slid my sunglasses onto my face. The girls were just walking up to the car.

“Get in.” I said as I slid into the driver's seat and shut my door, simultaneously turning the car on.

They looked at eachother with worry echoed on one another's faces. Then Melanie jumped into the back as El took the front seat. No sooner did she shut her door than I revved my engine and started to drive out of the parking spot. The girls quickly buckled up, anticipating I was going to be a bit of an erratic driver. As much as I’d love to just peel out of here, there were too many little ones walking around and I would not endanger them. I also didn’t need another ticket, I wanted to keep the money I had saved from my previous job. Which reminded me, I still needed to find another one.

It wasn’t until we were back on the 101 headed over to the outlet mall again that I started to calm down a little bit. Almost like the farther away I got from Kai, the easier it was to push away my feelings. I took a deep breath and let it out.

“You okay?” El asked worriedly.

“I’m good.”

“Anything you want to talk about?” I could feel El’s eyes on me as she spoke.

“Nah.” I’m so used to keeping it all in, I’m not sure how to share what I’m feeling. But I really wanted to trust her, I just wasn’t sure how to go about it.

“Well I do, what was up with Kai! He was acting like a jerk! He’s not usually like that you know. Sorry if he made you feel uncomfortable.” Melanie blurted out. I chuckled just a little.

“Yea he kinda was wasn’t he.” I agreed with her and smiled. “What is he usually like?”

“What do you mean?” Melanie asked.

“Well you said he’s not usually like that, so . . . .” I looked in the rearview mirror pointedly at her.

“Oh! Sorry. Well, he’s a good guy, very protective, super smart. He’s the kind of guy you want around in an emergency, cool headed and always seems to know what to do. I think it’s just his people skills are lacking a bit. He doesn’t talk much to most people. I mean what would you do if you always had everyone hanging around you asking for favors, trying to be your best friend just to get something out of you. It’s not easy being on the top. You never know if someone is being real or not.”

“You make it sound like he was the king or something.”

“Might as well be.” El said under her breath. I looked sideways at her and saw her looking out the passenger window.

“King of the Jungle is more like it. Bunch of wild animals they are.” Melanie said.

“Who’s they?”

“The pack. . . errss. Yea, the packers! The football team they were one. They were so wild they nicknamed each other with Alpha and Beta instead of team captain and co-captain. Like a pack of wolves.” Melanie snickered.

Well that made more sense. Both Kai and Jeff seemed a bit hot headed. And were obviously very athletic. Maybe I shouldn't completely write off Kai yet. Maybe Melanie is right and he just doesn’t know how to talk to people. I knew someone like that back in Salem. They had no filter and just said whatever came to their mind. Once I knew what was going on it was kind of refreshing. At least I knew they always said what they thought and didn’t hold back.

“So Jane, I had an idea.” El suddenly said.

“Okay shoot.”

“Well since we are both going to orientation tomorrow at the Paravetiti Academy, I was thinking. . . do you want to just make a night out of it?” I glanced at her quickly and raised an eyebrow at her.

“You mean like a sleepover?” Did people really do that kind of thing? I’ve never been a girly girl with sleepovers and such. What do you even do at one.

“Eeeeeeeee! A sleepover! Oh my goodness that sounds like so much fun! I haven’t had a girls night is soooo long. Not since I moved in with Jeff at the pack house. Please can I come too!” Wow, Melanie was certainly a bit high strung as well. And what is this pack house? Is it like a fraternity or something? And did I just see El glaring at Melanie through the side view mirror?

“What the heck is a pack house?” I just had to know.

“Oh, umm, well it’s kind of like this big house where we all live together.” Melanie said.

“You all, like, all the Packers? The football team?” This is sounding a little strange. Is she in some kind of cult? Did I need to rescue her? She was starting to sound nervous too.

“Pretty much. It’s why I don’t want to live with them, even though they keep asking. It’s an animal house over there. But anyway, what do you think about tonight? I was going to say we could do it at my place, but if Melanie is insistent on coming too it might be a little crowded. And then there is dad. . .” El said. She looked down at her hands and started to fiddle with them.

There was definitely something going on here that they weren’t saying. Maybe if we had this heaven forbidden sleepover I could get some more information out of them. I really liked El, and even Melanie a little bit if I’m being honest with myself. I certainly don’t want her to be involved in a cult. I’ve never had anyone over before, and knowing Amy she would love it.

“You guys should just come stay at my place. It’s just Amy and I so we have plenty of room. We even have a guest bedroom with a queen sized mattress if you want to share. Or someone could take the couch? But we will probably want to stock up on some food before we head over there. What kind of food do you eat at a sleepover?” I asked.

The car went dead silent. With El and Melanie looking back and forth at each other and then at me. “What? Did I say something wrong?”

“No! No not at all. It’s just, have you never had a sleepover before?” El asked.

“Nope. Is that going to be a problem?”

“OMG! That just means we have to do ALL the traditional sleepover shticks! Just leave it to me, I’ll take care of everything! Oh look, we're here!” Melanie exclaimed.

Sure enough, I pulled back into the same parking lot I went into earlier, but it was full now. After driving around for a while I was finally able to find a spot, and we all got out and stood by the car.

“Okay, so I only have one place I want to hit up, and that is Flourish Boutique! They always have cute clothes both old and new, and even vintage. And the owner is so nice! She even has an insta and puts up really cute outfits on there. She can totally hook us up with some great outfits for tonight!” Melanie said.

“Mel, do we really need a new outfit just for tonight? I don’t think I have the cash flow for an entire outfit.” El said.

“Oh sweety don’t worry about it. I got you! I had some really big tippers at the spa the last couple of nights. I’ll even buy one for our lovely host for the night if she’ll let me pick it out for her?” Melanie said with pleading eyes.

“Wait, first off you work at a spa? What do you do there, are they hiring?” I did need a job.

“I’m a hair stylist and makeup artist, and you are not of age yet to work there. I’m pretty sure in most areas you have to be at least 18 and have credentials. So sorry babe! But I’m sure you'll find something!”

“Okay, dang that's too bad. Second question, or more like a statement, I don’t need you to buy me an outfit. I have my own money saved from my last job and was going to use that to go shopping today anyway. So thanks but no thanks.” Who knows what kind of outfit she would pick out for me.

“Awww but that will ruin all the fun! Just let me pick an outfit out for you to try, or actually I know one of the workers there who does magic as a stylist. So at least try an outfit on and if you love it, you let me buy it. If you hate it, I’ll just put it back. Deal?” I guess it couldn’t hurt. I doubt she will find anything I’m going to like. I’m pretty simple when it comes to any fashion sense. Basically I have no fashion sense that I can think of. I’m a jeans and tshirt with either a hoodie or a flannel kind of girl. That or I’m in my leggings and sports bra for running, or hiking gear. Hmmmm, maybe I do need to change up my style a bit.

“Okay fine. You can try to style me. But just so you know, I’m not going to be easy to work with.”

“Ooooo this is going to be so fun. Let’s go there first! Come on!” And then Melanie grabbed mine and Eliana’s hands and pulled us down the sidewalk.

When we stepped in front of the Fashion Boutique I was pleasantly surprised. It was not what I thought it was going to be at all. Melanie pulled us right through the doors and walked up to one of the sales associates with a name tag that said Kim.

“Hi! We need help. We have a party to go to tonight and we need to look cute! Can you help us?”

“Well of course I can. What kind of party are we talking about here” Kim said.

“Oh typical end of summer, bonfire, in the woods, cute guys, you know.” Melanie answered.

“Okay, I can work with that. Come here.” She said as she started to line us all up. Looking us over and turning us all around she then suddenly stopped. “I think I have just the right outfits for you three. Wait here.” She said with a smile and then started to walk around the store pulling merchandise off the racks. I thought she would come back and hand it to us, but instead she just opened the dressing rooms and put several pieces in each room.

“Alright, you first, room one.” She pointed to Melanie and the first room on the left. “You go into room two.” That’s for El. “And you my dear get room three. Now I want to see each of you when you're fully dressed so we can make any adjustment and add accessories. Okay, scoot!” She waves us to our rooms.

I walked into mine to find a long flowing off white dress with little blue flowers and green leaves. This was definitely not my style, but I decided to try it on anyway. Once I got it on I noticed it had a v-neck with lace that showed just enough cleavage, and thick straps with no sleeves. The dress was almost long enough to touch the ground, but came about an inch short of it. It also had a slit up either side of my legs, reaching up about midway to my thighs. I did like how it showed off my height and toned legs. Kim had also paired it with a jean jacket and some boots. Somehow they all fit perfectly.

I was the first to walk out the dressing room and Kim came over to me with a long dangly necklace, and some bracelets. She then turned me around to face a mirror. “You are gorgeous. I’ve been waiting for the right customer to try this dress on. It usually hits the floor on most people, but with you? It fits perfectly! What do you think?” I looked at myself in the mirror and almost didn’t recognize myself. I looked like a totally different person, but one I liked. The dress was so soft and comfortable. It still covered most of me, and it was beautiful. The jean jacket would help to not only keep me warm tonight, but dressed the dress down as well. I could also use the jacket with my regular wardrobe. But I had to ask. . .

“Why the boots? I would have thought you would pick sandales.” I asked Kim.

“Oh I would have! If it were a beach party. But your friend over there said forest, do you really want the bugs and mosquitoes eating your feet all night long?” She had a point.

Then Melanie came out of her dressing room in a short and tight little number that was extremely form fitting. It was a soft pink with some bunching on the side. It was also paired with a jacket, this one was light brown and reminded me of suede. No boots for this girl, she had on heels. She came running over to me squealing again.

“Oh I love it Jane! It looks so good on you! You have to let me buy it for you!”

“I’ll think about it.” I couldn’t give in that easily. I said I’d be hard to work with. Melanie looked at herself in the mirror, turning this way and that. She picked up her feet and stomped around in the heels for a bit.

“What are you doing?” I asked her.

“I’m just checking to make sure the heels will last the night. Yup, I think they're good. Okay, well take it!” Melanie handed her card to Kim.

“Wait! I didn’t even say yes yet!”

“Well you can just thank me later, I’m buying it for you. Wait, where is El?” Melanie walks back over to the dressing rooms. “El! Come out and let me see you!”

“No! I look ridiculous!” She yelled at her sister.

“It can’t be that bad. Come on, even Jane is out here in a dress.”

“. . . Wait Jane is in a dress?” El asked. The dressing room opened and out walked El. She was in dark wash denim pants with a white lacy tank top that hit below the waist and a brown leather jacket with fringe hanging down off the arms and the back. It was also paired with brown boots. With her long black hair pulled to the side she looked good.

I walked over to her as she walked over to me. “Wow you look so good!” I said.

“Really? But not as good as you! Look at yourself, you're hot!” We both laughed together.

“Awww see! I knew we could find something here for all of us! Now let's go take them off so we can buy all of them!” Melanie said eagerly.

We all rushed back to the dressing rooms and changed clothes once more. Shortly after we were all walking out of the store with bags in hand and extra accessories stuffed inside. As soon as the doors opened I had a strange feeling, like I was being watched. I tried looking around to see if I could find anyone, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. But just as I gave up looking, I thought I saw a black Porsche pull out of the outlet mall, was that Kai?

After that we made our way to American Eagle and Rue 21 for more clothes for me. We stopped at Leggings Park and I picked up some new workout wear. We found some shoe stores and outdoor wear places for hiking. I was already over my planned budget, but I was having so much fun with the girls. I’d only ever been shopping with Amy before, and she was always just in a rush. This was the first time I actually had fun. Now that we were done, we were going to head to the grocery store and back to my place. I was actually looking forward to this sleepover tonight.

Just as we were putting our bags into the trunk, and the overflow in the backseat, Melanie said, “Come on girls, we have to hurry so we can get ready for the party! Oh Jane I bet you Kai is just going to die once he sees you in your dress!”

Wait, Kai was going to be at the party too? I didn’t know if I was prepared to see him again so soon. Should I bail on the whole party thing?