Surprise by moonrise

Chapter 6.- Family dinner

The day flew by without me knowing and all of a sudden it was 7 pm, and I was still in my office. Just when I'm about to pack up to go have dinner with my parents, there is a knock on the door.

“Where is my favorite sister and Luna?” Emmet says as he walks into the office.

I laugh at him and once he is close enough, I give him a friendly punch on the shoulder. “Your favorite and only sister you mean.”

Emmet laughs with me and bends down to hug me. “I’m so proud of you Isa! I knew you would become our Luna after I rejected the position. You deserve it, baby sis.”

I pull back from our hug to look at him. There is no signs on his face that he might be joking. “Did you seriously reject the position for me? Why would you do that?” I ask him.

Emmet looks at me and chuckles. “Instead of thanking me, you are questioning why I would do that for you?”

He lets me go and takes a few steps back. I know there is something behind him rejecting the position. He always wanted to be an alpha when he was little. And now that he´s got the chance, he refuses it for me.

I look him in the eye and don´t back down, pulling up my right eyebrow as a silent way of questioning him about what he just said. I notice him becoming a little uncomfortable with my staring and eventually he speaks.

“Let’s just say I have my reasons. Soon enough you will find out what they are,” He says and winks. What is it with men and keeping secrets from me?

“You know, I can make you explain it to me, being your Luna and all,” I say and wink back.

“Yes, but you won´t, baby sis.”

I cross my arms in front of my body and give him another glare. “And why wouldn´t I?”

Emmet chuckles again, “Because you trust me.”

“And?” I´m getting bored with this discussion. “Just tell me already, so we can go to dinner.”

“Sis, believe me when I say that you´ll like the reason a lot more when you find out by yourself.” He answers, turning around towards the hallway. “You´ll thank me later,” he says towards the door.

I let my head fall and sigh. This man is impossible, but he might be right. Who am I to stick my nose in his business if I will find out eventually?

This doesn´t mean that I will leave it be. I will find out by myself, just like he said. Just maybe sooner than he thinks.

I walk after him and open the door. “Let’s go. I’m starving and mom and dad are waiting on us for dinner,” I say. I gesture Emmet to leave the office and lock up.

We arrive at my parents´ house and I can already smell the tacos that my dad is preparing. My favorite dish! I take a whiff and smile before we enter the house.

Inside, the whole house is filled with balloons and there is a big sign with ‘congratulations’ on it in the center of the dining room.  My parents are standing right below it and have the biggest smiles on their faces.

My mom starts walking towards me with open arms. “I'm so proud of you. My baby girl will be our Luna. It’s like my dream coming through,” she says while she embraces me. I hug her back quickly.

“Thank you, mom,” I say as I try to liberate myself of her arms.

It's no secret that my mother always wanted to become a Luna. When she met my dad, she was crazy in love, but also disappointing that he was only a beta. Ever since it has been her mission to ensure that I would be a Luna someday, setting up dates with the sons of other Alphas. Unfortunately for her, all those boys don´t interest me one bit.

For my birthday in a few weeks, she was planning to invite all the high-ranked men from other packs, so I could find my mate. I hope that my new position as a Luna will cancel these plans.

Of course, I´d love to find my mate as soon as possible, but her forcing me to meet high-ranked members of other packs is just too uncomfortable.

My dad also comes to give me a hug, and whispers in my ear, “Congratulations my sweet girl. You deserved it.” With a quick peck on my cheek he let’s go of me and starts towards the dining table. “Who is hungry?” he asks. As if to respond to my dad’s rhetorical question, my stomach begins to make this loud noise.

“I guess I am,” I laugh, holding my belly with both my hands.

We all laugh and sit down at the dining table.

“So where is Melissa?” I ask my brother. “I had expected her to be at the dinner as well.”

Emmet looks at me, and I can see a hint of sadness in his eyes.

“She had to go to another pack a few days to settle some matters.”

“Why didn´t you go with her? I´m sure Jonathan and I could handle all pack business for a few days.”

My response lights up his face immediately.

“I didn´t go because I didn´t want to leave Jonathan all alone dealing with pack business. But I guess now that you have been introduced as Luna and are taking over some of the matters, I could escape for a few days and be with Melissa.”

“You go,” I say to him, “I´ll speak with Jonathan about it.”

“Thank you sis! You´re already the best Luna I could hope for.” He kisses my cheek and sits back down. “I´ll leave tomorrow morning at first light and surprise her. She´ll love it.”

The rest of the evening goes by smoothly. Dad made the best tacos he’ ever made. He knows they are my favorite and made plenty for us to repeat many times over. After dinner he serves us an apple pie with whipped cream.

“You know,” my mother starts. She looks like the is weighing her words before speaking them. “That boy yesterday. I can’t seem to get why you would invite him over to our table at the barbecue. Do you know him?” she asks me.

She seems calmer than last night. Maybe even more open to actually listen to what I have to say.

“You mean Lewis?” I sigh. The night went too well. “I bumped into him at the ceremony and we started talking. I know he is the gardener and that uncle took him in after the passing of his parents, so I was just being polite. He seems like a nice guy.”

My mother doesn’t seem convinced. Her face changes from calm to annoyed. She flips her short red hair from one side to the other and looks me in the eye. I know there is a speech coming before she even opens her mouth.

“I don’t think that would be enough reason to ruin your night over a random boy,” she states. “You just stormed off last night, when we were celebrating your brother´s beta-ceremony. You should have been there with us and celebrate. But instead you got angry for no reason at all and you ruined your brother’s night. How can you be so selfish, Charissa?”

Oh no she didn´t. Who does she think she is? The anger I felt yesterday returns and this time, I´m not holding back.

Trying to control my temper just enough to be able to property pronounce the words, I respond:

“Mother, you have no idea what you are talking about. I didn´t ruin anything. The one who ruined the night by having an attitude and sending my friend away just because of his rank and place in this pack was you. You are a selfish and egocentric person who doesn´t care about anyone else. No wonder the Moon Goddess never made you a Luna. You would be a terrible Luna if you have not an ounce of remorse and respect for others.”

My mothers face turns blank. She didn´t expect me to stand up to her.

“Charissa Sanders, how do you dare speak to your mother like that?” she shouts. “I´m…” I cut her off before she could go any further.

“You might be my mother, but I´m your Luna and I demand some respect from you. You can´t go on attacking everyone you don´t like or whom you deem unworthy because of their rank. My job as a Luna is to protect every wolf in this pack, including the ones without rank. Don´t ever offend any of my pack members in my presence, especially Lewis. He has done nothing to offend you or harm you!” I say. I notice that my mother slowly sinks back into her chair and is forced to look down at her feet.

“Yes, Luna,” she responds.

“Now if you´ll excuse me, I´m going out for some air. Don´t wait up for me,” I say to both my parents and my brother. My dad nods in agreement. I turn on my heels and walk out of the house.