Filed To Story: In the Shadow of the Past Luna (Lily & James)
Brady growls at me.
I glare at him.. “I am pretty sure that Lily has already told you that she can speak for herself.”
“No touching her without her consent. Did she give you permission to hold her hand?”
he asks bitterly.
1 do not see her pulling her hand away, do you?”
That must have been the wrong thing for me to say, because as soon as the words are out of my mouth,
Lily pulls away.
“Please stop, both of you,”
Lily pleads. 2
“I am not going to let him touch you without your consent, Lily. He does not deserve you.”
That is it. I desperately want to talk to Lily, but there is only so much that I can take. I stand up.
“Who do you think you are, Brady?”
“Alpha Brady Hyder. I thought you knew that,”
he responds sarcastically. He remains seated, his arm still comfortably draped on Lily’s chair.
“No, I mean who do you think you are to interfere with my conversation with my mate?”
“EX-mate, James. Practice the words. EX-mate,”
Brady taunts.
Before I can say anything else, Lily also stands up. “I have lost my appetite,”
she announces.
(Lily POV)
This was a horrible idea. What were any of us thinking? There is no way that James and I can talk with Brady hovering over us especially now that Brady has confessed to having feelings for me… and especially after I kissed him back last night.
I stand up and throw my napkin down on my plate.
James looks at me, obviously scared that I am leaving. Meanwhile, Brady looks at James with at triumphant look on his face.
I do not want to hurt Brady. I care about him… a lot. But I now know more than ever that I need space to figure things out.
Before I walk away from the table,‘l mind-link him. “Brady, I am going to go sit by the ocean for a bit.”
He stands up. “I will go with you,”
he mind-links back.
“No… I think James should go with me.”
He looks at me with hurt in his eyes. “What?”
“Brady, you have to know how much I appreciate everything that you have done for me. I care about your a lot. But we came here for a reason, and that is so that James and I can get closure. After what happened between you and I last night, I do not think that it is fair to you, me, or him for us to try to get that closure with you hovering over us.”
“I do not care what is fair to him. You are the only one that I care about,”
he links back.
“Please, Brady. Just give us a little time. It’s not like I am going to run off into the sunset with him. We are going to be right there by the ocean. We will still have ten plus security guards watching our every move. Your room is close enough that you should be able to mind-link any one of them for an update if you get worried. I know you have to be tired. Why don’t you go back to your room, order room service, and take a nap? I will mind-link you when we are done, okay?”
I can tell Brady is struggling to agree, but I also know that I cannot give him any other options. Before he can say “no,”
I give him a hug and kiss him on the cheek.
“Thank you,”
I say to him.
(James POV)
After saying that she lost her appetite, I was waiting for Lily to walk away from the table… but she did not.
Instead, from their body language and facial expressions, she seems to be engaged in a mind-link conversation with Brady. But how is that possible?
My heart breaks a little bit when she turns and hugs Brady, even kissing him on the cheek.
I try to prepare myself for the pain that I will feel when I watch her walk away with him, but to my surprise,
Brady is the one who walks away…. and he does so without her.
Lily then turns to me.
“James, I am going to sit by the ocean for a bit. Would you like to come with me?”
“Yes.”
Yes, yes, yes, and yes.
As I follow her to a couple of beach chairs laid out by the resort, Luke starts to do a happy dance inside my head and my heart fills with hope.
I know I have a long way to go if I am going to fix things with her, but just the fact that she is willing to talk.
to me is huge progress.
1/2
(Lily POV)
James and I sit down next to each other on the beach. For a few minutes, I enjoy the relaxing feel of the ocean breeze and the relaxing sound of the ocean waves crashing against the shore.
Finally, I turn to James. “Look, I am sorry for what happened back there.”
He looks at me with surprise. “Why are you apologizing?”
“I should have known that it would be awkward between you and Brady.”
“Are you two… together?”
I shake my head. “No, but I do care about him a lot.”
“Care about him how? As in, as a friend?”
I grimace. “It is complicated.”
He looks down at his hands. I can tell he is trying to choose his next words carefully.
“Are you a member of Brady’s pack?”
“No.”
“I was watching the two of you back there. It looked like you were mind-linking.”
I nod. “You are right. We were.”
“How is that possible if you are not a member of his pack?
I take a deep breath. I decide to mind-link him my response. “Technically, I have been a rogue since I rejected the West Mountain Pack. I am not sure why I have not taken on the scent of one yet. But I can mind-link you too, James.”
He looks at me again with shock in his eyes. “How?”
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?