Filed to story: In the Shadow of the Past Luna (Lily & James)
I started laughing. “What?”
I linked back. “How can you say that? You have been fan-girling him since he arrived.”
“I have not.”
“Yes, you have. ‘Oh, Derek, I love your ten cars.’ ‘Oh, Derek, you were so great in that race.’ ‘Oh, Derek, what was it like to be in that commercial? You were fangirling like there was no tomorrow,”
I teased.
James twirled me around and then pulled me close again. This time, he made sure I could feel a certain lower part of his. “In case you have not noticed, I am very much a guy. I cannot ‘fangirl.’ I can, however, fanguy.”
“
I laughed and rolled my eyes. “Seriously? That is the distinction that you are drawing? Is ‘fanguy even a word?”
James smiled. “Yes. But fanguy or not, I can still recognize a Class A A&&hole when I meet one. And you are 100% right. I do not like him for Charlotte, or any female really.”
“You should know. Alpha wolves know everything there is to know about being a&&holes,”
I teased.
James laughed in the link. “Exactly. It takes one to know one. Who better to know how to classify the rank of a&&hole we are dealing with.”
After a few more spins on the dance floor, we saw staff bring over the dinner plates so we headed back to the table. Charlotte had a happier look on her face, so I was hopeful that she and Derek had talked and things were on a better footing now.
Unfortunately, I was wrong.
(Lily POV)
When we got back to the table, we realized that it was not just Charlotte who was now smiling. Derek was too.
James and I could immediately tell that something had changed, but we were not sure what or why.
“You both look happier,”
I commented.
“Yes,”
Charlotte smiled.
“The power of the mate bond and a little time alone,”
James pointed out in our link.
As we began to dig into our dinners, Derek directed his attention back to me.
“Tell me a little bit more about yourself, Lillibet,”
Derek said.
“Well, for starters my name is Lily,”
I responded matter-of-factly.
“Oh, sorry. Lillian, will you tell me more about yourself?”
+
“Lily. Her name is Lily,”
James corrected.
“Oh, my apologies. I meet so many people, it is hard to keep them all straight. I am horrible with names.”
I nodded in understanding, even though I could tell that he was lying.
“What would you like to know?”
“How long have you and James here known each other?”
I smiled as I grabbed James’ hand. “Since we were kids. We grew up together.”
“And you always suspected that you were mates?”
James frowned. “No. It was a surprise to both of us.”
“A happy surprise?”
James squeezed my hand. “It is now.”
“When do you plan to mark each other?”
I furrowed my brows. “We have not really talked about it. We are taking things slow.”
“You have known each other all your lives and yet you want to take things slow?”
Derek responded in a disbelieving tone. “How much longer do you need?”
“Why all the questions?”
James cut in. His fan-guy face was gone, now replaced by his annoyed-alpha one.
“Oh, Derek is thinking of writing a book,”
Charlotte gushed. “He told me he is going to use me as his muse for the female lead,”
“Oh, really? That is awesome,”
I replied.
“Yes… but I will probably give the character a more… you know… feminine persona,”
Derek offered.
I looked over at Charlotte. Her long hair was curled and she had one side pinned up with a diamond hair clip. Her makeup was perfect, with bright red lipstick and a smokey eyelid color. Her nails were perfectly manicured, with a pinkish red color. She also had a beautiful sapphire-colored dress on.
In other words, just like always, Charlotte was the poster child for femininity.
“More feminine persona?”
I asked, surprised. “Charlotte is one of the most feminine she-wolves that I know.”
“Oh, I did not mean to suggest that Charlotte is not feminine. It is just that… well, I like my females a little more… Derek paused and looked at James for help. “James knows what I mean.”
James looked at Derek suspiciously. “Actually, I do not.”
Derek’s eyes darted to my chest. “Yeah, maybe you would not understand my concern. It looks like you are more than covered in that area.”
“What are you talking about?”
I asked angrily.
Derek gave me an annoyed look. “Are you really going to make me say it out loud?”
“Say what out loud?”
“What is wrong with Charlotte.”
I gasped. “There is nothing wrong with Charlotte!”
I looked over at my friend. My heart broke for her as I saw the hurt evident on her face.
“No, I am sorry. There is nothing wrong with Charlotte. You are right. I just meant that I have a certain…