Filed To Story: In the Shadow of the Past Luna (Lily & James)
“Joey. What’s up?”
Joey, Joey, one of my bullies Joey? Why is he calling James?
1 have kept Sheila distracted, Sir. But she is getting restless. Have things been… relaxing… on your end?”
Sheila? Why is Joey calling James about Sheila? And why does she need to be distracted?
lla? Why is too calli
“Things have been great. Better than expected.”
James pauses and smiles at me, squeezing my hand. again. “I will be heading back to Honolulu tomorrow. I can take over from there. I assume you can make
excuses to Sheila until then?”
“Yes, no problem, Sir. See you tomorrow.”
I let go of James‘ hand as he disconnects the call. The import of what I have just heard is sinking in, and it triggers a new wave of questions, fears, and doubts.
Was James with Sheila in Honolulu before coming here? It sounds like it. He clearly plans to go “back to Honolulu and Sheila tomorrow. Why? Did they… did they already… marry? He did hint at making her his luna during Stephanie’s memorial. Were they on their honeymoon before he came to see me?
I quickly glance at his neck. There is no mark. So if they are married, they did not mark each other yet. I look at his ring finger. There is no wedding ring, and no tell-tale signs of one normally being wom. But why else would they be in Honolulu together? And why is Joey having to keep Sheila distracted?
My mind continues to run through possibilities a million miles a second.
Before the rejection, James promised to get revenge on me. Has this whole day been about tricking me. into going back to West Mountain Pack with him so that he can get that revenge?
My heart now feels like it is going to fall out of my chest. Sheila is the same she-wolf who triggered me on the day of the rejection, and I am feeling almost the same as I did then. Only worse. So much worse.
Back then, I had no hope for James and I being together. But now… now my heart has started to crave. him. I’ve made myself vulnerable. If all of this is about revenge, James has successfully achieved his goal, because him being with Shella would absolutely crush me.
I think I am going to be sick.
I
James stops the car. Without saying anything to James, I get out and run as quickly as I can away from
him.
(James POV)
As we head back to the resort, I can tell that Lily’s mind is racing. It does not take a genius to figure out that today has been overwhelming for her. I cannot fault her for that; it has been overwhelming for me
I decide to invite her for a walk along the beach so that we can talk some more. I am absolutely thrilled when she agrees. I am even more thrilled when she lets me hold her hand during the drive.
As I am pulling into the resort, Joey calls me. Normally I would not take his call -especially in front of Lily – but he is playing interference with Sheila for me. The last thing that I need is Sheila causing problems for me right now; the situation with Lily is too fragile.
Unfortunately, I have my phone hooked up to the car’s bluetooth, meaning that Lily can hear both sides of the call perfectly. It does not occur to me to take the call privately. Nor does the moron in me think about the possibility that Joey might say something that could upset Lily.
I notice Lily first become uncomfortable when she hears Joey’s voice. Her discomfort distracts me, and I accidentally let it slip to Joey that I am not in Honolulu. Hopefully my slip-up went over Joey’s head.
Thankfully, he has never been that bright so there is a good chance that it did. I do not know where he thinks I am, but I would just as soon he assume I am still somewhere on the same island as they are.
I next notice that Lily becomes very, very stiff when Joey brings up Sheila. I know that Lily has never liked Sheila, but I am surprised that Lily is having such a strong reaction to simply hearing Sheila’s name. I briefly wonder to myself what that is about.
Then, as soon as I park the car, Lily pulls her hand away from me, gets out of the car, and runs. Crap.
“FOLLOW HER!”
Luke demands.
He does not need to tell me twice. I grab the car keys and take off after her. Brady’s men are following closely behind us, but I could care less. I just need to catch Lily and figure out exactly what it was that set her off.
Unfortunately, Lily is fast. Too fast. I cannot belleve that any she-wolf can run as fast as she can. The only reason that I am able to catch up with her is because she stops beside a few bushes and begins to dry heave.
“Lily”
I exclaim.
“Leave me alone, James,”
she yells at me angrily.
1/2
“What? Why? What just happened?”
She wipes her mouth and glares at me. “Was this all just a sick game to you, James? Come here, trick me into thinking that you have changed, get me to come back with you to West Mountain, and then re- invoke your revenge plan?”
“What? NO! Why would you think that?”
She steps forward angrily. I recognize the expression on her face; it is the same one she had on the day that she rejected me.
“Why would I think that? WHY WOULD I THINK THAT? Hmmmmm… Let’s think about this. You receive at call from Joey, one of my biggest bullies at school. He is doing you a favor and keeping Sheila distracted for you in Honolulu, which is where she is apparently waiting for you. Was the visit to see me just a detour on your way to happily wedded bliss with Sheila? Did you want to rub it in my face again that she is going to be your luna? If so, you can f&&k off.”
I
I rub my hands down my face as I think about what my conversation with Joey probably sounded like to her.
“Lily, please. Let me explain.”
ly wipes a few angry tears from her face. “I am not going to let you hurt me again, James. I know you think I deserve it, but I don’t. I really don’t. And I’m not strong enough to take it anymore. Please, just leave me alone. If you want Sheila, be with Sheila. Leave me the f&&k out of it.”
I don’t know what to say, so I do the only thing that I can think of to do right now. I know it is the one thing she does not want me to do, and it has a 50-50 chance of getting me attacked by Brady’s men, but I know I have to do something. If I let her go now, I will never see her again.
Instead of walking away, I walk closer to her. Once I am close enough, I grab her and wrap her tightly in a hug. Lily fights the hug with (almost) everything that she has, but I refuse to let her go.
After a few minutes, I notice that she is not fighting me anymore. Instead, she is crying her eyes out into my chest. My shirt is drenched, but I could care less. Without letting go of her, I gently push her away from me just enough so that I can look her in her beautiful eyes.
“Lily, in the past, I made a lot of incorrect assumptions about you, and I regret every d&&n one of them now. Please do not repeat my mistake by making incorrect assumptions about me. I promise that I will explain what you just heard, and I will tell you anything and everything that you want to know. If after hearing my explanation and answering your questions, you still want me to walk away and leave your alone, I will. It might kill me, but I will. I promise.”
Lily does not look convinced, so I point to Brady’s security guards, all of whom look like they are ready to attack. Honestly, I am surprised they haven’t already tried to intervene. I am sure they would have if I was anyone else; I’m guessing that my being an alpha wolf carries just enough weight to make them hesitate.
“Lily, as you can see, you have Brady’s entire team here to make sure that I honor my promises to you.
Just hear me out, okay?”
Lily studies my face for a while, and then eventually nods her head.
While continuing to hug her, I quickly lay it all out there for her, leaving nothing out. I tell her about the fight with my mother on my way out the door; I tell her how Sheila basically invited herself on the trip and then got my mother to back her up; and I tell her how Joey offered to help me keep Sheila occupied so that I could relax in peace. I even confess to Lily that my mother was pressuring me to make Sheila my future luna.
Lily continues to have a strong physical reaction every time I mention Sheila’s name, but I force myself to tell her everything anyway. If we are going to be together, which I hope we can be eventually, it has to be based on a foundation of truth. Too many lies, misunderstandings, and false assumptions have separated us in the past.
At the end of the story, I make sure to emphasize a few key points: “You do not have to feel threatened by Shella. I am not attracted to her and I do not have any feelings for her. I will never make Sheila my luna, even if you refuse me. My heart, if you want it, belongs to you and only to you.”
As I finish, I wait for Lily to react. She once again takes her time to study my eyes and my face. Finally, after what seems like forever, she speaks:
“Sheila is dangerous and evil. She is not who you think she is.”
Lily’s voice is quiet and full of sadness, and yet her comment shocks me. I find Sheila to be annoying
Had this conversation happened between Lily and I three months ago, I would have told Lily she was wrong. Hell, three months ago, I probably would have cursed Lily out and kissed Sheila in front of her just to be an a&&hole.
Thank Goddess I am not the same person anymore. Too many things have already blown up in my face for me to trust people simply because I have always trusted them, Plus, something deep in my gut tells me that Lily is telling me the truth. Luke agrees with me.
“Why don’t you tell me who she is, then,”
I say softly.
Lily says nothing. Instead, she lays her head against my chest again, as though she is taking comfort in my embrace. I hold her for a couple of minutes, finding comfort in her embrace as well. 1
Finally, I speak again.
“Are you still willing to take that walk with me? We still have a lot to talk about.”
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?