#4 Moonlight on the Water

Navy

“I have so many things to say.” Knox said as I walked back to him. I sighed,

“I’m sorry I didn’t wake you or tell you where I was going.”

“I was just worried.” Knox said, looking down at me.

“I know. I was in the archives this morning and when I found that note I knew I needed to speak to my grandma. I was just in a hurry. I knew I wasn’t in any danger, Knox.” I said. Knox and I were standing closely in the sand, watching the sun rise over the ocean.

“I’m always going to worry about you.” Knox shrugged.

“I’m not exactly a chaperoned type of girl.” I mumbled.

“I’ve noticed,” Knox chuckled,

“What do you think about what your grandma said?” He asked.

“I think that I’m not going to just let it go.” I replied stubbornly.

“I didn’t think so. Navy, just promise me that you won’t go off by yourself, again. I’m sorry, but I need to keep you safe. The Gamma’s job is to protect you, at least take Dover with you whenever you run off.” Knox’s eyes were pleading with me as he searched my face.

“I don’t need a babysitter, Knox, and I won’t be controlled.” I sighed. I didn’t allow myself to be controlled as a princess, I sure as hell wasn’t going to be controlled as a Luna.

“I’m not trying to control you. You can go wherever you want, Dover won’t try and stop you. I just need you to be safe.” He begged.

“Fine.” I grumbled loudly, making sure he knew I wasn’t happy with this arrangement. He sighed in relief,

“Thank you.” He said. I started walking back to the packhouse with Knox at my side.

“Can I ask you about something your grandma said?” Knox asked.

“Sure.” I shrugged.

“It’s about your mom.” I sighed at Knox,

“My mother is a complicated subject.”

“I know a little something about complicated parents.” Knox chuckled, causing me to look at him sideways.

“My mother is the reason why I have issues with control. She’s been micromanaging me my entire life. She didn’t want me to come here. She thinks that I have a perfect little life in the water with Cameron.” I saw Knox flinch at the mention of my siren mate, but he said nothing about it.

“Did you fight with her before you left?” Knox asked.

“Fighting involves talking. My mother didn’t speak to me before I left.” I said.

“I’m sorry, Navy, I didn’t want to cause problems for you.” Knox frowned.

“You didn’t. My mom and I have always had problems and probably always will. My dad is the only reason I got away with so much before I turned 18. He let me go to the surface against my mom’s wishes and he encouraged me to come here.” I said.

“I like your dad already.” Knox chuckled.

“No, you probably wouldn’t.” I said, shaking my head as we entered the sunroom.

“Why’s that?” Knox asked.

“I love my dad, don’t get me wrong, but he’s a king before he’s anything else. He parented like a king. Hudson, my eldest brother, got it the worst. He had to live up to my father’s expectations as the future king and couldn’t do anything for himself. The rest of us got off easy. As long as we didn’t embarrass the family, he stayed out of our business. Almost too much. Where most parents would be protective of their children, not wanting them to travel alone or be sad about the idea of them leaving home, my father didn’t care. As much as my mother is a helicopter mom, my father was an absentee dad.” I explained emotionlessly, having dealt with my daddy issues a long time ago,

“Something tells me you wouldn’t get along with a man who doesn’t put me and my safety first.” I added, to answer his question.

“You’re right.” Knox replied quietly, unable, or unwilling, to say more.

“It’s okay. I came to terms with it a long time ago.” I said, offering him a reassuring smile.

“I wish you didn’t have to.” Knox sighed. I decided to flip the script on him,

“What about your parents?” Knox grumbled, clearly not thrilled with the topic change.

“You really don’t want to know.” He said.

“You know all of my drama.” I whined.

“I told you that my parents aren’t happy with each other, so that wasn’t exactly easy growing up with. My father is a hardass who hates everything that I do, and my mother is basically a ghost.” Knox said, bowing his head in sadness or embarrassment, I wasn’t sure which.

“I’m sure your father doesn’t hate everything you do.” I tried to rationalize. Knox looked up at me with an amused expression on his face,

“Oh, he does.” He said bitterly,

“He hates that I chose to start my own business instead of taking over his, he hates how I run the pack, he hates that I’m so lenient, and he hates….” Knox clamped his mouth shut, halting his rambling. But, he didn’t have to say the words for me to know what they were,

“Me. He hates me.” I said. Knox turned to face me, grabbing my hands and pulling me close to him.

“I don’t care, you hear me? I don’t give a damn what he thinks.” His eyes were searching my face, trying to make sure that I understood his sincerity.

“It’s okay, I’m pretty sure my mom hates you, too.” I said with a smirk. Knox relaxed and replaced his frown with a grin,

“We make a good pair.” He said.

“Anything else you want to ask me?” I asked, figuring there was at least one more topic of conversation he would want to cover.

“I’d rather not talk about it.” Knox grumbled.

“You didn’t like that I asked about Cameron.” I said, ignoring his request. Knox glared at me, his eyes darkening as he pulled away.

“It’s hard for me to think about you having another mate, Navy.” He said coolly.

“I know.” I sighed. I knew that none of this was easy for Knox. I had all the power. He knew that, at any minute, I could decide to go back into the sea and be with Cameron. I had repeatedly made it a point to tell him that this was only temporary.

“He doesn’t deserve you.” Knox growled, surprising me.

“You don’t even know him.” I said, defensively crossing my arms over my chest.

“I don’t need to. No one is worthy of you.” Knox said.

“No one but you?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No, not even me.” Knox shook his head. I dropped my tough girl act, my hands dangling from my side. I didn’t know how to respond to that.

“I have to go to work. Will you be okay here by yourself?” Knox asked suddenly, barely looking at me. His expression was hard, and his eyes were dark and angry.

“Yes.” I mumbled.

“I’ll see you later.” He said plainly before leaving me alone in the sunroom. I grumbled under my breath before sulking back to the library, cursing at myself for bringing up Cameron and ruining a perfectly good morning.