Luna of the Golden Moon

Alpha Rosalie

I watched the wedding I had planned on a screen. Sitting on the small sofa in pink sweatpants, with crackers and a juice box beside me, was nothing like what I had imagined.

While I was on bed rest, Caleb took time off too, since everyone was busy with the wedding. We sent a congratulatory video to Beta Brad and Kate, explaining why we couldn't attend.

"Just let it go, you still get to watch it. They offered to wait until after the baby was born, but you said no. This is on you, Luna." Caleb's deep voice came from behind me as he sat at the desk, looking at his laptop. I knew they had offered, but I'd already told him—I didn't want them to wait, not for me or anyone else.

"You really are a romantic, baby…" he said, sounding amused as I smiled. I was, and I wasn't ashamed of it. He was the last person who should judge—until yesterday, I never knew I'd mated with a poet.

"That's right, I'm working on my first collection of poems right now…" He grinned, making my heart beat a little faster. I wouldn't be surprised if he actually did—Caleb always seemed good at everything.

"Can't we go to the cabin again? Anything is better than being here…" I whined, tired of sitting around with my heavy belly. The only people who came to check on me were the medical staff or Delta Vivian, who checked if I was in labor every hour, making Caleb look more stressed each time.

"That's because it's true. And no, we can't go to the cabin. It's too risky—you're about to give birth. Remember, bedrest."

Caleb spoke in his Alpha voice, making it clear the decision was final. I sank deeper into the sofa, feeling like I'd be stuck here forever—just me, the baby, and my mate, who could be out with his fighters instead of stuck inside.

He got up, probably tired of my whining, and sat next to me in his hoodie and jeans, legs stretched out. For a moment, we actually looked our age, and it made me laugh. He turned from the screen and grinned, glad I'd finally stopped complaining.

"Oh, I know you like me this way…" he smirked, and I giggled. I really did—he was so handsome, and I liked this relaxed side of him, with his bright smile and messy hair, much more than the serious Alpha in a suit.

I climbed into his lap, and he helped me settle in. I rested my head on his chest, and we sat together, watching the screen. Kate looked beautiful. Beta Brad was lucky to marry his mate—they deserved their happiness.

He kissed the top of my head, and I smiled. They really were a good couple, perfect for the pack. She was kind, he was smart—what more could anyone want?

"Maybe some dead rivals and proof I'm not marrying my cousin?" he joked sarcastically. I started to laugh, not even sure why. He seemed even grumpier than I was watching the Beta couple's wedding.

"Yes, but we are getting married. You promised me, Cay…" I rubbed my stomach as the baby moved restlessly. I felt just as restless after being stuck in my bedroom for a day and a half.

He grinned at me, his eyes dark. I leaned in, waiting for a kiss, when a hard knock sounded at the door. Instantly, the carefree Caleb vanished, replaced by the serious Alpha with no trace of laughter in his eyes.

"Enter." His voice was heavy and annoyed at being interrupted. He seemed a little guilty for leaving his work to sit with me, as if we should be doing something more important than watching the wedding on a phone screen from upstairs.

Delta Vivian walked in, clearly not pleased with our casual clothes—but then, she never is. Caleb gave her a stern look, as if to remind her he was busy running the pack, not just sitting around with me.

He suddenly tensed, and I turned, sensing something was wrong. He stood up and gently pulled me with him, holding me close like he wanted to protect me even more.

"She is waiting in the lounge, Alpha Caleb." I looked at my mate, confused as he grew even more tense. Who was waiting, and why didn't he want me to hear what Delta Vivian was saying?

"Your mother." He said it simply and started walking, taking me with him as I took a sharp breath. I hadn't seen my mother since I mated with him—she just walked away, and I never understood why.

We kept on walking at a brisk pace. We walked quickly, and I felt it—being pregnant made it more complicated. He stopped and looked at me, his dark eyes full of fear, and I stared back, surprised. Why was he scared? It was just my mother. Even if she lied, I knew she loved me.

"She is Terrance's sister, Mila, and you know what he was capable of, and now that he is gone. I am not going to wait around for Rosalie to make her strike at my throat." Caleb had a dark voice; he was looking seriously at me, so he was serious when I just shifted my eyes slightly. Why did it feel like he knew more than he was telling me?

He just started to smirk, and I got even more confused. He looked like he did when I met him on the porch, arrogant and cocky. It was very hot for the record.

"I am Terrance Son, so that gives me some advantages as well." I just took another sharp breath when he pulled me closer, and I smiled at his handsome face. I would never betray him; he was my everything, my male.

"I need to see her, Cay, please, she is still my mother…." I begged him to let me talk to her. I knew that he didn't want me to when he sighed, and then just nodded, my chest getting heavier from his worry. He didn't need to worry; she was not going to hurt me. She loved me.

"I hope you are right, Luna; otherwise, I'm going to kill her." He growled at the end, making me whine. I didn't want that. She was rough around the edges, but so was he, and she was his aunt; that had to count for something.

"And he was my father." I just got a big lump in my own throat hearing those few heavy words of victory and no regret. Caleb was merciless sometimes.

That's when we saw her. Sitting on one of the big sofas, drinking tea, dressed in black, I raised my eyebrows. She was alone. I don't know why, but I had expected to see my father sitting next to her, looking nervous over being in such a big house with people who were above him in rank.

"Mother looked up, saw us, and her eyes were dilated from the shock to know that I was fully pregnant, making Caleb smirk against the anger that was flaming up in her eyes. I got it, she didn't like him and never would, he looked just like Terrence, only younger.

"Mother!" I wanted to go and hug her, but Caleb held me back, still not liking her being here, and she snarled at him when their eyes met, making me even sadder. I still didn't understand why she hated him; he was not Terrance, and she should give him a chance, or at least respect him as the head nowadays.

"Emilia, what have you done…. oh, my girl, you should have said no to him." She was looking accusingly at him when I shook my head. I couldn't say no, wouldn't.

He is my mate, how could I say no, Mother? And where is Father? I looked around, thinking I'd missed him. Mother's face tightened at my question, then she stood and looked me in the eyes while I stayed in Caleb's arms.

"He is your cousin, and your father is dead." She just said that cold and hard when I stared at her hard face for a few seconds before giving in to the crying, my father was dead?! No! What happened to him!? I just held onto my mate not saying a word, not over the link or by words, just had me like he didn't want to let go, being scrutinized under the stern gaze of my mother's eyes.

"How?" I just said that, through my tears, he couldn't be dead; he was a man who kept to himself, didn't fight with anyone, and was scared to have an argument. He couldn't be dead!

"A massive heart attack, two months ago." She gave in to the grief that was filling up the room and my heart, two months ago?! Two months ago, my father had died, and she didn't even bother to let me see him one last time. What the hell was wrong with her!?

I just started to growl at her, my eyes going into full golden green when she seemed to snap out from where she was in her head and just stared at me like I was crazy for hating her.

"You let my father die and now pretend he never existed, sitting in your black dress, lying about my mate. You're nothing to me anymore, Rosalie! You're just a lying, backstabbing b***h. I pity the years my father spent with you!"

Mother flinched for every word I was spitting out, not even caring if the whole house heard me when she got angry, but turned her eyes to Caleb, who hadn't said a damn word throughout this entire storm that was going down between my mother and me.

"You really made her believe that, didn't you, Alpha?" She almost looked impressed before smiling a sarcastic smile that didn't reach her eyes, which were yellow, her alpha color. Guess she really was a golden pack wolf after all.

"Caleb?" I just blinked at him. He was feeling regret and scared in a way that I hadn't felt him be since Terrence was alive, like my mother being here was the worst thing that could have happened to him.

"Go ahead, Alpha, tell your mate about what you know." She sounded cold again when I ignored her. She didn't deserve my attention anyway. She had just walked away from everything, and my father was dead. I just wanted to know what he was hiding from me, since he was the only one I completely trusted.

“Well… f**k… Mila, baby… we really are cousins." His voice was soft and scared at the same time. When I just widened my eyes at the horror that was going through my heart, the moment he said the words, which were not at all what I had expected him to say.

No, we couldn't be! He told me my blood was different, he did! I started to breathe faster. I knew that I still loved him, but this made no sense. Why did he lie to me? He was no better than my mother!

"Seems like someone has not been fully honest about our family ties…." Mother didn't smirk anymore, and that made me feel even worse, knowing that she, the most practical woman in the world, was feeling sorry for me.

"Leave us." He told the entire house to get out of the area, and that included my mother, who slightly bent her neck before walking out and disappearing, like she hadn't dropped the biggest two life-shattering bombs!

"I am sorry for not telling you sooner. I was scared, and that's the truth." I just kept on staring at his dark eyes. Is that what he thinks I care about? Is that part of us being cousins? I don't care, I never did, not when he marked me, not when we mated for the first time, not when I got pregnant. He was still my mate, and I loved him.

"My father is dead, Cay." He lost his insecurity as he finally got it. I wasn't sad about us being related; I was sad about my father dying, and I didn't even get to say goodbye.

"I'm so sorry, baby…" The whole house felt my sadness. I knew it, me being the Luna, affected everyone's mood. Still, I didn't care for the moment, I would never get to see my father again, never see his kind eyes and smile, he really was the best father, always kind and patient, never said a strong word, just smiled and tried to be the bridge that I needed between my mother and me.

"I didn't know him, but he seemed like a nice man, a good Delta." I flinched when he said that, yes, my father was a good man, the best, and he was a Delta last. Caleb just looked even more uncertain over my reaction; he didn't get it, that I didn't see my father as a delta, or anyone else, for that matter. He was the one who thought ranking was important. Not me.

"Mila, that is not what I said, and you know it." I just shook my head, no, that was precisely what he said, and he didn't need to lie to my face; it was just the way he was brought up. I lived with humans, ranking wasn't what my whole life was about, not until I met him.

I looked up with tears in my eyes, just feeling the dark hollow of sorrow from knowing my father died without me.

"I'm your Luna, so, of course, I wanted you to be everything I know you are and can be, and a so much better head than Terrence ever was."

He smiled at me now; he was proud of that, and he should be. It wasn't easy being the head, especially at such a young age, and people kept forgetting that I had noticed, even him.

"I've been ready since the day I met you, my other half, and you are doing the best job being Luna. People adore you, Mila, people don't miss Terrence, they really don't." He has a harsh tone that's filled with sadness. People don't miss him, but he wasn't a bad guy from the beginning. I got that.

"Terrence was callous, but he never hid the truth; neither did your mother. It was just me being an i***t, scared you would leave me, and I panicked." I just sighed. What does it even matter now? I was still pregnant, and it was his baby. Nothing was going to change that, not our family or anything else for that matter.

"You are an amazing girl, and Luna, have I ever told you that?" he smiles more when I just smile back. I'm still sad, but I know that I will get through this, with him at my side.

"Let's just go and see where she has buried my father. I want to go and see him, even if it is just a tombstone; he deserves my respect." Caleb nodded, saying he understood my desire to pay my respects to my father.