Filed To Story: In the Shadow of the Past Luna (Lily & James)
“Like someone else I know?”
Rose teased.
“Yes,”
I conceded.
I sat down on the couch next to James and grabbed both of his hands.
“Yes, I do have feelings for Brady. But they are not romantic ones. I admit that in the past, I was confused. I thought they were romantic feelings. I liked that Brady gave me attention and I liked that he treated me like I mattered. I enjoyed flirting with him; it made me feel good.
But I left Black Moon the day that we got back from Hawaii. And after I left, Brady was not the one that I thought about. He also was not the one that my heart called out for.
dv are
It took me a little time to sort out how I felt, but I realized a while ago that my feelings for Brady feelings of friendship and gratitude. I think that is part of why I knew that I had to leave Black Moon. I did not know how to face him every day knowing that he had feelings for me that I was not sure I could return. I did not want to be part of a love triangle. I am not any good at it. And I am a little bit of a coward when it comes to hurting other people’s feelings.”
I sighed, waiting for James to say something in response. Then I remembered he could not. I really needed to figure this whole alpha command thing out.
“As for you, James….”
I said, deciding to go ahead and get everything out. “Yes, you made mistakes. But you are not the only one who did. I have forgiven you, and you need to stop apologizing.
I love that we have been building a friendship and that we have been taking things slow. I love that you came racing here to be with me. I love that you care so much about me that you could not sleep on the plane until you got here and confirmed that I was okay. I love how honest you have been with me since
Hawail.
I cannot predict the future, and I still do not want to rush things between us, but I know that you are my mate and I know that I want to try to make things work between us.
I guess what I am trying to say is that, if you really want to know which males I have romantic feelings for, there is only one. You.”
James just sat there staring at me, not saying anything.
“You need to release your alpha command,”
Rose reminded me.
“Oh.”
“You can talk again,”
I told him.
“It is sort of s**y when you command me like that,”
James said softly.
I rolled my eyes. “Seriously? That is what you got from what I just said?”
He smiled mischievously. “Maybe.”
I rolled my my eyes for a second time and shook my head in disbelief. I then put my head on his shoulder and snuggled closer to him on the couch.
“Well, alpha, before your mind goes any further down the gutter, why don’t you finally explain to me what has been going on at West Mountain. I was trying to follow along when you were talking to Dr. Hyder, but there is a lot I do not understand.”
James kissed me on my forehead. He then began to fill me in on the Movement, as well as everything that he had previously discovered about Sheila, Stephanie, my mother, his mother, and Tyler.
It took James at least an hour to explain everything. A few things I already knew, but almost everything else I did not.
I was shocked and horrified. At the same time, it both warmed and broke my heart to hear the emotion in his voice as he described all the pain and suffering that had occurred. I could tell that he was embarrassed at how upset he was getting as he gave me some of the uglier details, but his raw emotion actually made me feel even more proud to be his mate. It told me that he was not okay with what had happened, and that he was willing to fight to make sure that it did not continue.
I felt even prouder when he explained why the Movement decided to use his fake wedding with Sheila as a venue to expose all the wrongdoing.
When Dr. Hyder originally heard about what was going on from Joey and Jessica, they had to beg him not to go immediately to the werewolf council. Thank Goddess they convinced him, because Dr. Hyder later learned that the council had been partially compromised as a result of some of my mother’s activities.
That meant that they had to be intentional and calculated about how they brought the issues to the council’s attention.
It was eventually decided to use James’ fake wedding to Sheila as a forum to publicly disclose all the evidence that the Movement had and to publicly demand that the council intervene. Doing it in such a public setting would essentially force the council’s hand, whether it was compromised or not. Indeed, that is s why Stephanie and Sheila -despite my mother’s influence and meddling-were currently on house arrest and looking at a significant possibility of punishment from the council.
James also explained to me that in an effort to avoid war and keep both their pack and their homes- members of the Movement planned to demand that the council install James as alpha in place of his father. The Movement had originally hoped that I would be standing alongside James when he made the takeover demand, but James had refused to ask me to get involved.
I did not understand why the Movement would care if I was there or why I would be needed. I asked James if he knew, and he said he knew some of it. Unfortunately, when I asked him to tell me what he knew, he refused. I got really annoyed at that part of the story, but I had gotten so used to getting similar answers from Rose, Dr. Hyder, and Brady, that I decided to let it go.
Once James was done telling me everything, we sat in silence for a while. Then, when James pulled me onto his lap, I began to cry silently into his chest as my heart ached for all of the wolves that had been hurt over the years.
A part of me felt badly for not being there to help them, and an even bigger part of me suddenly began to realize that I needed to go back. I did not want James or others in the Movement to face this on their own. I may not understand what my role was, but I knew that I wanted to be there.
I
Notably, as I cried, James rubbed comforting circles on my back. However, I soon realized that I was not the only one crying.
James’ emotions were so strong, and I could feel them so well, that I felt compelled to do something that surprised me. I think I even surprised Rose.
Wiping my tears away with my hands, I adjusted myself on my knees so that I could look James directly In the eye. I then leaned in and kissed him, pouring every ounce of emotion I could into the kiss.
I
That was not the part that surprised Rose. It was what I said when we broke apart for air.
Looking deep into James’ eyes, I whispered, “I love you?”
James looked at me in shock. “What?”
“I love you, James Anderson.”
Author Note: Slightly Steamy Scene Ahead,
(Lily POV)
“I love you, James Anderson.”
James continued to look at me as though he was afraid that I was going to take it back.
“Say it again,”
he asked.
“It again.”
He gave me a dirty look. “Not what I meant, you tease.”
I laughed. “I love you, James Anderson.”
Before I knew what had happened, James switched our positions so that I was laying flat on my back while he hovered over me.
“Say it again,”
he growled.
“A bit needy, aren’t we?”
I teased him again.
“Again, Lily,”
he demanded.
I looked deep into his blue eyes, wanting to make sure he could see and feel the sincerity in my own..
“I love you, James Anderson.
“I love you too, Lily Brogan.”
As soon as he said the words, he smashed his lips against mine. The longer the kiss lasted, the stronger the sparks became. By the end of the kiss, the sparks felt almost as strong as they had the day that we first discovered that we were mates.
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?