Filed To Story: In the Shadow of the Past Luna (Lily & James)
“Hey, Cousin! I did not know that you were here. I assume that is why I was asked to come up here?”
“Sit down, Andrew,”
Brady said coldly.
Andrew raised his eyebrows. “Do you want to tell me why?”
“I said, sit down,”
Brady repeated in his alpha tone.
Andrew smirked and sat down. “Okay, okay. No need to get your panties in a twist. If this is not about a family reunion, I guess this is about Sammy?”
Brady growled. “Funny how that wasn’t the first thing you asked.”
Andrew smirked even more. “He’s a sweet kid, but he’s also resilient. As long as you cooperate with the kidnappers, everything will be fine, I am sure.”
“You sound awfully jovial for someone whose stepson has been kidnapped,”
I pointed out.
“And you seem awfully calm for someone who is about to give up his mate,”
Andrew retorted.
I frowned. “You know.”
“That Lily is your mate? Yeah, I figured that out. A lot too late for my liking, but I still did. I understand that Lily and Evelyn look alike. True doppelgangers, from what I have been told.”
“I am not giving her up.”
“Thankfully, no one expects you to. Lily will give herself up. After all, she does not want Sammy to die.
You see, Cousin, you found yourself a kind one. That is both your weakness and hers.”
I studied Andrew for a few moments, half-wondering whether he had been possessed by a demon. The cousin that I had been close to was strong but quiet, always focused on doing the right thing. The cousin that I knew would not be using sarcasm or talking so jovially about his stepson’s kidnap and my mate’s surrender.
“You obviously know that we are on to you, Andrew,”
I said.
“Yes, it did not take me long to figure it out. Especially when one of my sources saw Evelyn being led to the dungeons, and then your guys stuck to me like glue after insisting that I come to your office right away.”
“Why did you do it, Andrew? Are you working for someone? The Andrew that I knew would never dream of doing something like this.”
Andrew scoffed. “The Andrew you knew? How well did you really know me, James? Tell me.
I shook my head in aggravation. “Do you have something to say, Andrew? Say it.”
Andrew sneered. “Our mothers are sisters. We are cousins. That should have made us equals. But, noooo0000000000. My mother was mated to a beta, while your mother had to go and get herself an alpha. And because of that very small thing, you and I were never equals. Family functions, parties, events Your family was always treated better than mine was. Your family got the nicer rooms, the closer seats, the better invites. You always had just a little bit more money than we did. Hell, you even got served food before us.”
“That’s what this is about? You decided to go after my mate because you were served dinner second?
Not last, but second? Seriously?”
“SHE WAS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE YOUR MATE!!!! SHE WAS SUPPOSED TO BE MINE!!!!”
“On what planet, Andrew? Lily was never supposed to be yours. We talked to the Moon Goddess. She was always supposed to be mine.”
“Did you now? Well, aren’t you lucky,”
Andrew said sarcastically. “The problem that you have is that our Moon Goddess is a little finnicky. She likes to change her mind about things. I know that first-hand, better than anyone.”
“What are you talking about, Andrew?”
I said, getting more and more frustrated.
“I am talking about destiny, James. DESTINY. I am talking about the fact that I spent YEARS trying to earn my destiny. I never stepped out of line. I obeyed my parents. I helped elders and omegas whenever they needed something. I worked hard for my pack, very rarely missing even a day of work. And yet none of that mattered. The Moon Goddess only cared about her precious she-wolves. To hell with how that impacted the male wolves. To hell with how that impacted me!!!!”
I ran my hands through my hair. “Who are you working for, Andrew?”
I asked, trying to get back on topic.
“Like you care.”
“WHO ARE YOU WORKING FOR?”
Brady said using an alpha command.
Feeling the weight of the alpha command, Andrew started laughing. “You want to try that again, Brady? Go ahead. Give it all you got.”
Brady looked at Andrew and the rest of us with confusion. He gave the command again. Andrew still did not talk. Instead, he laughed.
“Just now figuring it out? Most alpha commands do not work on me.”
Dr. Hyder and Brady looked at Andrew in confusion. “How?”
“Oh, it was easy. I asked a friend on the werewolf council to order me to NOT OBEY any alpha commands given to me. His order trumps your order, Andrew announced proudly.
“The council member’s order does not trump my order,”
Lily said, stepping forward.
Suddenly, the confident and menacing look on Andrew’s face vanished. “You must be Lily?”
“Yes.”
He stood, smiled at her, and reached out to touch her cheek. Lily took a couple of steps backwards to prevent him from touching her. “Wow, you are beautiful. Even more so than my Evelyn. How is it that your grew up at West Mountain with my aunt and I never met you before?”
Sadly, I knew the answer to that question. Andrew’s family did not visit our pack very often, so when they did come, my mother would keep them super busy with activities. She would also host large parties and celebrations in their honor. Pups under age 14 were generally not invited to the kinds of activities and functions that she planned. And after Lily turned 14, she was not allowed to attend very many functions at all, much less ones hosted for Andrew’s family.
“Answer Brady’s question,”
Lily commanded.
“I work for no one but myself,”
Andrew responded stiffly.
Andrew’s face went from awe-struck to annoyed.
“Do that again, Lily, and there will be consequences,”
Andrew warned her.
“Do you really think you can threaten her?”
I asked him.
the
“Oh, I am not threatening her. I am promising her.”
“They can just alpha-order you, M oron,”
Brady reminded him. “The j ig is up. Make this easy on yourself and tell us what we want to know.”
Andrew laughed. “Do you really think I am that st upid? I have read the prophecy a million times. It was supposed to be my prophecy!!! Of course I know that they can alpha-order me. Which is why I came in here with insurance.”
Brady visibly hesitated. “What do you mean by insurance?”
Andrew smiled. “I messaged my guys… you know… the ones holding Sammy. I gave them strict instructions that they are to kill Sammy unless they are able to confirm that I have been released on my own within 40 minutes,”
he said proudly. “Looking at the clock, it seems that you have about eight minutes left.”
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?