Filed To Story: In the Shadow of the Past Luna (Lily & James)
“Would you stop Jane?!?!”
my mother yelled. “Money is not everything. My daughter just confessed to being raped. Have some sympathy! And BACK OFF!”
Jane stood and looked at my mother angrily. “Back off? Your daughter is lying about being raped and you know it. Your daughter has also cost this pack dearly for years. We have been bleeding money because of her, and we have been losing alliances because of her actions as well. I have every right to want to know how much she is going to cost us now with some grand party and unnecessary pampering trip.”
My mother reached out and slapped Jane as hard as she could.
“I will pay for our outing and party myself, out of my own funds. However, the next time that you raise your voice to me or say something negative about my daughter, I will be talking to the werewolf council about more than just the passes for Stephanie and Sheila. Am I understood?”
Jane held her cheek and looked down, trying to pretend like the pain did not bother her. Once she gathered herself, she left the garden without saying another word.
“Mom, why does Jane hate me so much?”
I asked once she was out of earshot.
My mother rubbed my shoulder. “Oh, do not take her too seriously, dear. She is just having a hard time with the idea of her only son getting mated and married. All mothers go through it to a certain extent.”
I plopped myself down in the chair that Jane had just been sitting in. “Well, she needs to get over it. I do not want my mate to believe I cannot get along with his mother.”
“Of course, dear. Now let’s talk about what kind of dress you want to be wearing when you see James for the first time.”
“I should probably get two dresses… one to see him in and one for the party.”
My mother smiled. “Of course. I completely agree.”
(Lily POV)
James laughed as he responded to a text on his phone. He then put the phone down and climbed into bed next to me. We were currently staying in a hotel about 25 minutes from West Mountain Pack. The hotel would act as our base of operations until we executed our final plans.
“Was that Joey?”
I asked.
He smiled. “Yeah. I owe him $500.”
“You lost the bet?”
|
“Yes. Can you believe it? I thought for sure at least one of them would have some shame. But no, not only did your mother convince the council to give both Stephanie AND Sheila passes so that they could go shopping, but they are also getting full hair and spa treatments too.”
I laughed. “I tried to warn you not to make that bet with him.”
James smiled. “At least they will look their best for their destruction.”
“I assume the party is on then too?”
“Oh, yeah. Margie has omegas working overtime getting ready for it. She is calling it a ‘small’ party… just
500 guests.”
I sighed. “It’s amazing how predictable all of them are.”
Now that I was participating, having the pack and council takeovers occur in a big, public setting was no longer as important as it was before. However, during our planning meetings, we all agreed that there was still value to getting the key players in the same room at the same time. That would prevent the key players from trying to hide or escape when they realized what was about to go down. Meanwhile, our allies would surround West Mountain’s borders in case any of the smaller players tried to make a run for it.
Notably, getting everyone in the same place at the same time was by far the easiest part of the plan.
Being as predictable as they are/were, we knew that all we had to do was inform Stephanie that James was coming back and wanted to see her. My mother would have a celebration put together in no time flat.
James’ face suddenly turned serious as he pulled me closer to him in the bed.
“Are you sure you are ready for all of this? I know it is a lot.”
I kissed him gently, put my head on his chest, and then grabbed his right hand, intertwining our fingers.
together.
“I am ready. It is a long time coming.”
“But you know that it isn’t just the council, or even your mother, Stephanie, and Sheila that you will have to deal with. It’s the whole pack. Are you sure that you are ready for all of that? To see your brother, Joey,
Jessica, and all the others?”
“Has anyone ever told you that you worry too much?”
I asked him.
“No.”
“Well, you do. I am going to be fine, I promise. Six months ago, I could never see myself coming back. I never WANTED to come back. But this is our destiny, and I believed you when you told me about the Movement and about all of the changes in the pack. Plus, even if were to ever begin to doubt, all I would have to do is look up at your handsome face or touch the mark you left on my neck, and I would remember. You are the best example in the world of the power of someone to change.
“The best example or the se xiest example?”
he asked, as the fingers of his left hand slowly began running up and down my leg.
“Both?”
“Good answer.”
James leaned over and kissed me as his fingers went between my legs. I thought things were about to get heated between us, and I was more than ready.
Unfortunately, James then suddenly paused as though he had a thought pop into his head. He began looking at me seriously again.
“What happened between you, Joey, and Jessica?”
he asked.
“Seriously, now you ask me that question?”
“Yes.”
“Why now?”
“Because every time I have asked you, Joey, or Jessica, you all find a way to avoid answering the question.”
I frowned. “I guess because I am a little confused too.”
“But something clearly happened. Even the Moon Goddess mentioned it. You helped Joey or saved him somehow. And whatever it was, Rose was involved because that is when Jessica saw her.”
I sighed.
I
“It isn’t that I am trying to hide it from you. It’s just that there is only one thing that I can remember happening with Joey, and I definitely do not remember Jessica being there. Rose was always so paranoid about shifting in front of other people, so it’s hard for me to believe that she was. Rose would have known.”
“Whatever it was, it was a big deal to Joey and Jessica. Will you tell me the incident that you remember?”
I took a deep breath. For half a second, I wondered if I should tell him Joey’s story given that Joey had chosen not to, but I decided to go ahead anyway. I liked that James and I did not have secrets from each other.
“As you know, Joey was one of my biggest bullies in school. Jessica and I used to be good friends, and so it bothered me when her boyfriend bullied me, probably even more than when others did things to me.
I usually just dealt with the bullying without saying anything, because it was important to Rose that we keeps a low profile. However, one day, I could not take it anymore. I don’t even remember what Joey did to me that particular day, but I do remember that I was tired, hungry, and frustrated. Joey’s mom was one of my teachers in middle school, and she was always nice to me. I somehow got it in my head that I should go to Joey’s house and tell her about what he had been doing. I thought maybe she could talk to
Joey and make him stop.
I went over to his house after I got off work. I knocked on the door, but no one answered. But I heard screaming from inside. To make a long story short, Joey’s dad was wasted drunk and angry.
I guess Joey’s parents were heavily in debt and they were afraid that they were going to lose their house. One of his dad’s friends was a ga mma in another pack, and his daughter had always had a crush on Joey even though she was four years older than him. When her mate unexpectedly died just a couple of weeks after they met, her dad was desperate to make her feel better. The ga mma offered Joey’s parents enough money to pay off the mortgage on their house if Joey would agree to marry his daughter.
Joey was not even 18 yet, and he was in love with Jessica. He was sure that she would end up being his mate. He thought his dad’s idea was insane, and he absolutely refused to marry anyone other than
Jessica.
I know all of this because when I got to his house, his dad was screaming the whole story in anger. Out of instinct, I opened the front door, which was unlocked. To my horror, I walked in on his dad whipping
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?