Filed To Story: In the Shadow of the Past Luna (Lily & James)
“Brady,”
I say tersely. “I did not realize that you were joining us.”
He smirks as we all sit down. “My father filled me in on the agreement. Lily would meet with you for two hours. You would have an opportunity to say whatever it is that you want to say, and ask whatever it is that you want to ask, but Lily would not be left alone with you under any circumstances.”
“I thought your father was referring to security personnel who would be hovering in the background, not at our table. I certainly did not expect an alpha wolf who rejected his own mate and now wants to take mine,”
I respond bitterly.
Brady gives me another evil smirk as he grabs Lily’s hand. “I am staying, you arrogant a&&hole, so get over it. It is not my fault that you made incorrect assumptions about what would happen at this meeting. Nor is it my fault that your FORMER mate can see through your bullsh&t and now finds herself attracted to a wolf who is better and bigger, if you know what I mean.”
Lily shakes off Brady’s hand and stands up. “I am not doing this. If the two of you want to fight like Immature teenagers, you can do it without me. Let me know when you are done.”
Lily starts to walk away. I immediately jump up, run to her, and gently grab the top of her arm. To my happy surprise, I still feel faint sparks. They are much, much weaker than the first day at the waterfall, but they are there. That gives me hope.
“Lily, please don’t go. I am sorry. Please, stay.”
“Get your hands off of her,”
Brady growls behind me. “You also agreed to no touching her without her consent, and that Lily had the right to terminate the meeting at any point. It seems she has decided to terminate it now. Better luck next time.”
Lily removes her arm from my grasp, and then turns to glare at… Brady?
“Brady Hyder, you are just as bad as he is. You are the one that insisted that I come here and meet with him, and yet now that we are here, you are trying to provoke a fight. I appreciate that you are trying to help me, I really do, but I can stand up for myself. You know that.”
Brady frowns, and I smirk. If this was a scoreboard, I would have just earned a point.
Unfortunately, Lily notices the look on my face.
*James, you can wipe that smirk off of your face as well. I am not here because I wanted to be, and in case you have not noticed, I am not the same weak little girl that you have been bullying for the past six years. I am here as a courtesy for you only, and so that you can have closure.”
1/2
Her words feel like a knife to my heart. Closure? I do not want closure. I want her to come home with me.
“I am glad you are finally admitting it,”
Luke links me.
“Lily, I
Lily glances around, noticing that we have managed to get the attention of many of the other people in the restaurant. “Let’s sit down and get breakfast. I will give both of you one more chance. But if either of you steps out of line, that is it. I am leaving.”
Brady and I silently follow her back to the table. I cannot help but think that this is déjà vu from our experience last night. Somehow, Lily has transformed from the girl that I used to think I knew into a beauty that literally has two alpha wolves following her around like lost puppies.
(Several hours earlier)
(Lily POV)
After the interaction with James and Brady at the luau, I knew that I needed to clear my head and get some rest. Unfortunately, my heart was racing and nothing I tried could calm my nerves. Seeing James had absolutely affected me, just like I was afraid it might.
It was not that I wanted to be with James; I didn’t. It was just that… the mate bond is hard to ignore. Even though I rejected James and he accepted the rejection, the lingering impacts of the (broken) bond continue to mess with my head and my heart in ways that I do not want it to.
I was about to try taking a sleeping pill when I heard a knock on my hotel room door. I looked at the clock and saw that it was 2 a.m. in the morning. Who could possibly be at my room at this hour?
I wrapped a robe around my nightgown and approached the door. “Who is it?”
I asked without opening it.
“Lily, it’s me,”
I heard Brady say.
I quickly opened the door, only to find Brady leaning against the door jam. He was quite obviously drunk and his hair and clothes were a mess, which was a contrast to his normally put-together appearance.
“Brady? What happened to you?!?!”
I exclaimed as I ushered him into my room.
I watched Brady stumble inside, and I could not help but wonder how much Brady had to drink to get to this point. This was a human resort, and as far as I knew, wolfsbane cocktails -the kinds of drinks. wolves usually drink when they want to get wasted- were not available.
Without answering my question, Brady closed the door to my room. He then got a strange look on his face as he approached me, grabbed my face with both of his hands, and then began kissing me as though his life depended on it.
At first, Brady’s kiss surprised me. But then, I felt myself slowly beginning to melt into it. I could feel a part of me hesitating the same part of me that was confused and struggling with James being here-, but a bigger part of me wanted to celebrate this feeling of finally being wanted and desired.
Eventually, that bigger part of me won out, and I began to kiss Brady back. I could not help but enjoy the sensation of his soft lips on my own. When I moaned and he thrust his tongue into my mouth, I tasted the whiskey on his breath and strangely found it to be more of a turn-on than a turn-off.
Brady slowly walked me back to the bed, and then climbed on top of me as he continued to passionately kiss me. A voice in the back of my head -npt Rose- encouraged me to be careful, but I ignored it, muscles as he wove his fingers through my hair. He then started to gently trace his hands south down my neck, across my shoulders, down my arms, and onto my waist.
It was only when I felt Brady reach for the tie of my robe that I finally snapped out of my Brady-trance. I broke the kiss and gently pushed him back. “Brady…”
Instead of responding to me, he removed his hands from the tie of my robe, rolled onto his side, and hugged me tightly to his chest.
“Brady….”
I whispered again.
“Sshhhhhh… Just… just let me hold you, okay? I just want to hold you.”
I nodded, relaxing my head onto his chest. Soon, both of us fell asleep.
Three hours later, I woke up. I was still in Brady’s arms, but we must have switched positions as we slept, because my back was now against his front and we were in a spooning position. I tried to gently free myself, but my movements only led Brady to tighten his grip on my waist.
“Rose?”
“Morning, Lily.”
“I am really confused, Rose.”
“Me, too, Lily. Me, too.”
“Is that why you did not say anything when Brady kissed me?”
“Yes. James and Luke are our fated mates, and I want us to be with them. At the same time, I do not know if we can be. I do not know if James has changed enough, and I do not know if the pack is safe for us yet. I want to believe that James and the pack have changed, but I can’t be sure. What I do know is that Brady is good for you. And Kalen is kind-of cute, too.”
“I thought picking a mate was an easy thing for a wolf,”
I half-teased Rose.
“It normally is. The game changes, however, when your fated mate’s human half has spent most of his life believing he was fated to, and in love with, your human’s sister,”
Rose responded.
I was a little surprised by Rose’s bluntness, but I also appreciated that I was not the only one of us feeling confused.
“I don’t think I can forgive James, Rose.”
“I don’t know if I can forgive him either, Lily,”
Rose responded sadly.
“What do we do about our meeting with him tomorrow?”
I ask her.
“Let’s go and see what James has to say. That will help us make a decision about the future.”
“What do we do about Brady?”
“We need to talk to him, too.”
“What do we say?”
“I don’t know.”
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?