As the Moon Teaches

Family Dinner. Part 2

Dinner seemed to be going really well, and Loren was quite content in enjoying the company. Until he realized that his father was starting to bring up Gregory and his living together. This worried Loren, as he was still not sure how things were working out. Especially since they were not in a relationship the way his father was implying.

“I’m happy for the boys, but I want grandkids.” Mrs. Wright said in a wishful tone.

“I understand that. There’s always a way around it. They could adopt.” Kristian said with a smile.

Both Gregory and Loren froze, staring at Loren’s father at the mention of adoption. They had never considered kids because as far as they were concerned, they were straight and not together in that way. They each felt a sudden jolt of concern when everybody seemed to be looking at them.

Loren turned red with embarrassment while Gregory just did his best to ignore the conversation and continued to eat. Shaking his head a little, Loren was not sure how to handle the situation. He was uncertain how to derail the topic before it got even more uncomfortable.

Carleigh seemed to sense her broth’s need for help, and decided to save him from the-0[p9ol discomfort. She reached for Ellis’s hand and pulled it close to her chest. She grinned as she took a deep breath.

“So, Ellis, how do you feel about children?” Carleigh watched him carefully.

Without missing a beat, Ellis smiled back. “We’re a little young right now, but at least two kids.”

Loren felt some relief as his parents latched onto that conversation. He relaxed a little in his seat, until he realized that Alexandra Wright was still staring at Gregory and him. She obviously was not letting go of the idea of her own grandchildren.

Doing his best to not show his discomfort, Gregory continued eating. Loren huffed a little as Gregory was no help in the situation. Taking a big bite and chewing slowly, Loren tried to figure out what he could say to Alexandra to put off the topic for the time being.

“We… uhm… We’ve never talked about things that far.” Loren took a gulp of his water.

“Is that so? Gregory didn’t mention how he wants a daughter?” She smirked at her son.

Loren blinked at Gregory. “Uhm, no. I guess we’re still just trying to be friends.”

“And controlling Pelian and Zeala.” Gregory muttered before taking the last bite from his plate.

The rest of dinner was a bit uncomfortable for both Gregory and Loren. The conversation could only stay away from the topic of their relationship for so long. Carleigh had tried her best to help distract all the parents from her brother, but soon there were comparisons of how quickly the relationships were developing.

Loren silently thanked his sister several times throughout dinner, as she put herself and Ellis on the pedestal many times. He felt she was exposing a lot of her personal life with Ellis very early on in their relationship. He was happy she found her mate, but it made him wish his mate was someone he could actually see himself in a relationship with.

Loren watched Gregory for a short moment. He was definitely awkward with his parents wanting to know so much. At least he was able to answer that yes he wanted kids, but Loren was sure there was a ‘not with him’ hidden in the comment. Loren felt Zeala whimper at the thought of not being Gregory’s partner.

Once everyone was done and they could clean up, Loren and Gregory jumped to it. They would rather clean up than be hounded more. They let the rest of their families talk while they collected dishes and silverware, taking them to the dishwasher. The pots that were too big for the dishwasher were set next to the sink. Loren decided to start washing by hand, as it meant he could stay out of the conversation longer.

By the time that Loren was done with dishes, everyone had vacated the dining room and went to the living room. He dried his hands and headed to the living room. Here he was witness to Carleigh playfully harassing Gregory about being the new Alpha of the Darkstone Pack.

Gregory was being playful back, commenting on how she was with a Witch and the sister of an Alpha, since Loren would count once they were connected. Nobody seemed caught up in the fact that Loren still wanted to find a girlfriend. That he was not really interested in a deeper relationship with Gregory. At least he did not think he was, though Zeala definitely was.

Moving to join them at the couches, Loren piped in about Carleigh’s wolf form being better even though she wasn’t an Alpha. This incited both Gregory and Carleigh to strip down and transform. Applause from the rest of the family members as now there were two large wolves staring each other down.

Loren sat down on the floor in front of the couch his parents and Ellis were sitting on. He sat cross-legged to make sure his legs were not in between the two large wolves. He watched them as they both tried to look as big as possible.

Carleigh was large, but Gregory was bulkier making him the larger of the two. Carleigh’s wolf, Maila, was dusty blonde, legs and ears darker than her body and face. Pelian was pale blond and white, red eyes almost seeming to glow as he stared down Maila. They were both beautiful creatures, but Loren was drawn to the Alpha aura let off by Pelian.

Loren wished he could transform and finally be fully connected with Zeala. A part of him really just wanted to run wild with his pack. He wanted to feel the freedom of being his wolf, of running as a powerful beast.

Zeala howled in delight while Loren fought the urge to jump up and strip. He had very strong desires to transform. His skin itched with the need to change into the magnificent beast he could be. Loren had every inkling to try, but he felt just enough fear to prevent him from actually trying.

Loren was not sure he could handle the embarrassment he would feel if he tried to transform and still could not manage it. This kept Loren seated firmly on the floor. He was not up for embarrassing himself in front of Gregory’s parents, not wanting to seem like he was not a good mate for the young Alpha.

The thought of not being a good mate had Zeala whining. Loren was not sure if his negative reaction to that was his or his wolf’s. He really did not like the idea of not being good enough for something, so it was very possible his own disdain.

Loren was so lost in thought about his worth, that he did not see when Carleigh and Gregory changed back to their human forms. He missed the way the Alpha watched him with a slight bit of concern. He missed the look of sadness from Carleigh.

Both Carleigh and Gregory knew how much it was bothering Loren about not being able to transform. Loren was unaware that Carleigh and Gregory shared their concerns with each other. They did not know how they were going to help, but they were going to try everything they could think of.