Filed To Story: In the Shadow of the Past Luna (Lily & James)
Jessica must be talking to text. There is no way her typing thumb is that fast. I hope no one can overhear her.
Me: “So what can we do? Can you find a way to stop Lily from getting on the plane on that end?”
Jessica:
“I think she is already there, so it is too late for that. And we cannot let Sheila get her grubby hands into James in a romantic place like Hawaii either. No f&&ing way.”
Jessica: “BTW, what the f&&k is James thinking letting her come? I thought he was starting to see the light?”
Me:
“I really can’t tell what he is thinking. I do not think he likes Sheila, but he is letting her hang on him like they are a couple, and I heard her tell Aiden that she is going to be Luna.”
Jessica: [10 angry emoji faces)
Me: “What if I tell James that I know where he is going and who he is going to see, and tell him that Sheila is bad news?”
Jessica:
“NO! DON’T! We talked about this. If he doesn’t believe you, and Sheila finds out what we are planning [emoji of head blowing up).”
Me: “Relax, Babe. I won’t say anything to him. Any other ideas?”
Jessica:
“No. Joey, I am so scared. What if…”
Me: “Don’t worry, Babe. We can fix this.”
I
I hope.
Jessica:
“Lily is our only hope of turning things around, Joey. If Shella becomes Luna…”
Me: “We will not let that happen, Babe. I promise. We are about to board. I love you.”
Jessica:
“I love you too.”
Jessica:
“Joey, please remember all that Lily has done for you. For us. We cannot let her get hurt again. Please. We have to fix this.”
I sighed deeply when I read Jessica’s last text. I knew Jessica did not remind me about what Lily had done to make me feel guilty, but I felt that way anyway. 2
I did not always know how important Lily was our pack, but I do now. I wish I knew years ago.
I have to do something. Somehow, someway… we have to prevent Sheila from messing everything up again. It is time for Sheila Black and the others to pay for their sins.
(James POV)
Sheila is irritating the crap out of me now. It was one thing when she wanted to put her head on my shoulder in the car, but now she is hanging on me like she is my girlfriend. I even heard her tell Aiden that she is going to be Luna. Luke was so mad that he tried to force me to shift in the human airport. Thank Goddess I was able to step away from her and control Luke before he did something stupid.
Because I bought three of the tickets last minute, only two of our seats were together in first class. The other two seats were two random single seats. I knew Sheila would insist on the two of us taking the seats together, and I was dreading it.
Thankfully, as we were discussing seating assignments, Joey stepped up.
“James, Sir, I am sorry to interrupt, but Luna Jane gave very clear instructions that we were not to leave you alone. That means that I will have to sit with you in the first-class cabin.”
Sheila gasped. “You cannot be serious. You cannot expect me to sit by myself in coach. Luna Jane would never authorize that.”
Joey glared at her. “You can mind link her if you want.”
Sheila glared back. “You know very well that mind-link does not work that far away.”
“Well, the plane is boarding. I am not willing to disobey instructions from my luna. Sir?”
Joey is bald-faced lying. I know d&&n well that my mother never gave that order. And yet… for the first time in years, I am quite happy to be lied to. Joey may not be as pretty as Shella, but he is far less annoying.
NE
“Fine. Let’s go.”
Sheila gives me a shocked puppy-dog look, but I ignore it. I grab my carry-on and head onto the plane.
(Lily POV)
Even after Brady promised me that we could treat the trip to meet James as a vacation and even after I agreed to go I tried to back out. Not once, not twice, but several times. At the end, Brady practically had to peel my fingers off of my bed posts and carry me to the airport kicking and screaming. It was only because of Brady’s efforts and Rose’s active encouragement that I finally managed to get on the airplane.
To be honest, I ended up getting on the plane more for Rose than for Brady. Brady has done so much for me the past few weeks, but I was not sure how to feel about being in a meeting with Brady and James at the same time. James was/is my Goddess-chosen mate, whereas Brady… well, Brady was a male that I had found myself slowly starting to fall for.
The fact that Brady was pushing me to meet with James confused me. He had explained his reasons, and they mostly made sense, but was that really all it was? Or had I misread Brady’s feelings towards me? Had he been just joking this whole time? If Brady had feelings for me, would he really be pushing me to meet with my ex-mate?
Rose was much easier to understand. Even if she would never admit it, she was excited to see James and Luke. She was secretly hoping that James wanted to meet with us because he had seen the error of his ways and because he wanted a second chance with us. I was far more pessimistic than Rose about
James‘ intentions, and I was hoping for her sake that James did not ask for the meeting so that he could hurt us.
In any event, the ultimate irony was that -despite fighting about having to come- as soon as we got off of the airplane in Kauai, I felt like I never wanted to leave.
I was in awe. The blue sky, green fields, and blue ocean seemed to go on for hundreds if not thousands of miles. The spattering of palm trees and other plants made it look like nothing short of a Hollywood set or a staged postcard photo. It was sort-of amazing to see it up close and personal, and to realize that the scenery was very much real.
Meanwhile, the resort that Brady booked for us to stay at was huge, which was good given how many security personnel Brady brought with us. The resort had multiple on-site restaurants and pools, and it was directly on the ocean so that we could see the view from almost anywhere we were.
I had expected to do very little in Hawall besides lay by the pool and play in the ocean, but Brady was worried that I would spend too much time worrying and thinking about our upcoming meeting. So, instead of letting me just relax, he insisted on keeping me busy.
10
The first day in Hawaii, Brady took me (and the security guards, who were also allowed to participate) ziplining. The absolute terror I felt while flying through the air in the forest was all it took for me to forget my James-related fears… at least for a little while.
The second day, Brady took me on a “mountain tubing”
trip, which basically meant that we drove to the top of a mountain, got into rubber tubes, and floated down a river, in and out of irrigation caves that had been dug out 100 years ago when sugar was a large industry for the island.
The rest of our time in Hawaii, Brady filled with hikes, ocean-side cocktails, and swimming in one of the several 24-hour pools at the resort.
The trip was honestly the most fun that I had ever had in my life. Granted, my childhood had set the bar very low for what could impress me, but I am pretty sure even a pampered princess would find this trip amazing. I did not want it to end.
Even Rose and Kalen, Brady’s wolf, had a great time. The two of them became quickly and strangely obsessed with all the colorful roosters that were roaming wild on the island. To me, the roosters looked like chickens that had mated with peacocks, but Brady assured me that they were 100% roosters. Either way, every time we saw them Rose and Kalen would beg us to shift so that they could go and play with.
these curious-looking creatures. We had to keep reminding them that the roosters did not want to play with wolves or anything else that might want to eat them.
Luckily, given how many uninhabited areas there were in Kauai, we were able to let Rose and Kalen shift.
at other times, usually during our hikes. The two of them had taken an instant liking to one another, and it was fun to watch them run around and play.
I was especially grateful that Rose finally had a friend; wolves are inherently social creatures, but Rose was usually reluctant to shift in front of others unless absolutely necessary. Apparently, Brady and Kalen were okay to shift in front of because -as it turns out- Kalen is a special wolf too. Kalen does not have the special mark that Rose and I have, but he looks just like Rose except bigger and more masculine.
After I found out that Kalen was a special wolf like Rose, I was incredibly excited. Rose told me that Brady has many, but not all, of the special powers that we have. I immediately began peppering Brady with questions. Brady told me what he could, but most of my questions he either did not know the answers to or he was not allowed to tell me.
What he did tell me was that our special wolves are individually selected by the Moon Goddess; they are not inherited traits. It is impossible to know how many special wolves like us are out there, but he thinks that there are fewer than five in the world. I am the only one that Brady has ever met.
Brady also said that we have the ability to mind-link other werewolves regardless of whether we are mates or in the same pack (which I did not know), and that we have special healing abilities (which I did know). A couple of other powers will come with time, when we are ready or need them.
Most shocking of all, Brady told me that Dr. Hyder has known about Rose for a very long time. He did not know exactly how Dr. Hyder knew, but Rose was one of several reasons that Dr. Hyder took a special Interest in me. It was also one of the reasons that he knew I would be safe in Brady’s pack.
Anyhow, getting back to Hawail.
Our meeting with James was, scheduled for the morning of Day 4. I had plans to spend the night before preparing myself mentally and creating a list of things that I wanted to talk to James about, but Brady would not hear of me staying In.
Instead, he dragged me to a traditional Hawailan luau. At the luau, we ate dinner under tiki torches while
New Book: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson was the alpha of the largest pack in North America. Powerful figures from other packs sought to offer gorgeous girls as potential mates for Dayson. He steadfastly rejected these advances, he was not a pawn to be manipulated. But eventually there came a mysterious girl he could hardly say No. Who was she?