#4 Moonlight on the Water

Navy

The next week went by in a flurry of activity. I got settled in Knox’s room and adjusted to living with someone else. I spent a lot of time with Jenna, Julia, and Natasha. Meredith didn’t care much for me. Melly was good company as well, but I rarely saw her outside of the working hours. Dover was always close to my side. It was interesting to watch as he changed from mate mode to Gamma mode. Even when I was hanging out with his mate, Natasha, he was still completely focused on me.

I didn’t see Clay much when I wasn’t with Knox. The brothers seemed to be attached at the hip. I learned that Clay wasn’t just Knox’s partner in the packhouse, but also his partner with the business. To their father’s complete disgust, Clay chose to work with Knox instead of at the family business. Meredith, on the other hand, was super interested in taking over the company. Apparently, Alto was too much of a prude to even consider that.

Jenna didn’t care about working nor did she have to. Mason took good care of his mate and was completely content with her being a stay-at-home mom once their pup was born. He worked at a lumber yard owned by werewolves. Jenna was 3 months pregnant with two more months to go. They found out they were having a son, but won’t give up his name.

In two days it would be Meredith’s 18th birthday and everyone was eager to see if Harvord was his mate. It was no secret that her siblings hoped that he wasn’t. I had to agree. Harvord had barely spoken two words to me and neither of them were very nice. I couldn’t help but wonder if he was bringing out the worst in Meredith.

Fiona was busy planning her youngest daughter’s 18th birthday party and ignored me for the most part. After I basically shot her down and told her I was going to reveal her secret, she didn’t much care for me, either. Something she had in common with her daughter. Clay, Jenna, and Knox told me to just ignore it, that their mother was known for her dramatics. I knew a little something about a mother’s fury, though, so I was eager to get on her good side.

Which is why I found myself in the sunroom with Fiona and Meredith, attempting to build a bridge between us by helping plan the birthday party of the decade, or at least that’s what they kept calling it.

“I want pink, that’s not pink.” Meredith grumbled, looking over the table settings. Apparently the table cloth wasn’t pink enough.

“Darling, this is pink. Look here, it says bubblegum pink.” Fiona read off the color from the sample.

“Well, it’s not.” Meredith said with a sigh.

“Alright, I’ll send for more samples.” Fiona quickly removed the not-pink sample and handed it to one of the staff. I felt bad for the poor girls who were in charge of helping plan this party.

“Right away, Luna Fiona.” The girl, her name was Nikki, I think, said in a rushed tone. Fiona didn’t even so much as look up at her.

“How about the flowers?” Fiona asked, holding up an album with pressed flowers. Meredith started flipping through the pages.

“Those are pretty!” I inserted my unwanted opinion, pointing at the pink orchids.

“They’re overdone.” Meredith huffed and I clamped my mouth shut. In the end, she chose a pink rose. Talk about overdone. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

Next, she decided on center pieces. She picked clear vases with crystals to hold the roses and some sort of fluffy, pink feathery thing for the vases to sit on. Nikki returned with more samples and Meredith found the right pink table cloth. I swear, it looked exactly like the first one.

Now it was time to pick the music. Apparently, Harvord had a band that was going to play for a couple of hours before a DJ would take over. I kept my mouth shut about how I thought that was a terrible idea in case Harvord wasn’t her mate. I was a little surprised when Meredith actually asked my opinion about the food options, that is until she explained why,

“I thought you would know what was good, you know, since you’re practically kitchen staff.” She smirked at me.

“Romino is a great chef, anything he prepares will be amazing.” I ignored her comment and Fiona’s not so subtle laughter.

“Will you be helping?” Meredith jabbed.

“Of course not, I’ll be with Knox.” I shrugged.

“Did he invite you?” Meredith glared at me.

“Uhm, excuse me?” I was taken aback by her comment,

“I’m his mate.”

“So?” Fiona spoke up now,

“That doesn’t mean you automatically get to do whatever you want.”

“Actually, it does.” A voice I would recognize anywhere filled the room. I didn’t turn around but Fiona and Meredith immediately stiffened,

“That’s exactly what it means. She’s my Luna and she gets to do whatever she wants, go anywhere she wants. No invitation needed.” Knox came up behind me and placed his hand on my shoulder.

“Well, she’s not the Luna yet. There’s been no ceremony and she’s not marked.” Meredith said in a snippy voice.

“Meredith, watch your tone when you speak to your Alpha.” Fiona suddenly changed her attitude. Meredith rolled her eyes.

“She is the Luna, Meredith. Get over it.” Knox said in an annoyed tone,

“Come, Navy.” Knox tugged on my arm and I stood up,

“You don’t need to deal with this. Let them plan the party themselves.” His voice was directed at me but his sour expression was pointed at his family. I nodded and took his hand, saying nothing as he removed me from the room.

“I’m sorry they speak to you like that.” Knox sighed as he led me out the door and towards the beach.

“I’m not sure what I did to make them hate me so much.” I grumbled.

“You didn’t do anything, they just have issues. Meredith is used to being the golden child and my mother is used to getting her way.” Knox said.

“What about Jenna? It’s not like I’m the only girl around here.” I pointed out.

“Jenna is used to it and she just avoids them. We let Mom and Meredith do their own thing and generally steer clear.” He explained.

“And here I am trying to be involved when they want nothing to do with me.” I sighed, feeling defeated.

“It was nice of you to try, Navy. Don’t let them bring you down. With any luck, Meredith isn’t mated to that idiot and she finds someone who settles her down. That’ll really put a kink in my mother’s plans.” Knox chuckled to himself.

“You really don’t like Harvord, do you?” I laughed.

“How can you like someone with a name like Harvord?” Knox snickered and I shrugged,

“Touche.”

“By the way, I have strong feelings against your mother or Meredith having anything to do with my Luna ceremony.” I said as we walked hand in hand down the beach. Knox looked down at me with laughter in his eyes,

“There is way too much pink going on in there.”

“I can only imagine.” He said.

“You haven’t said anything about it.” I said quietly.

“About what?” Knox eyed me curiously.

“The Luna ceremony.”

“Oh, I just figured you weren’t ready for that yet. I knew this was kind of a trial thing so I didn’t want to rush you.” Knox mumbled.

“Well, it’s not a trial thing anymore.” I quoted him. Knox looked over the ocean, avoiding me,

“Knox?” I tugged on his arm, making him look down at me.

“Yes, baby?”

“Do you believe me?”

“About what?” He asked, knowing damn well what I meant.

“You’re avoiding the subject.” I sighed.

“You’re right, I am. I’m sorry, love, I’m just not sure about anything. You were so against staying here at first.” He spoke hesitantly, like he was afraid of scaring me off. I pulled him to a halt,

“Knox, look at me,” I demanded,

“I’m not going anywhere, I promise. I’d accept you right now if I could.” I told him firmly.

“Why can’t you?” He nearly whimpered.

“I have to reject Cameron first. If I accept you before doing that, it’ll cause him a lot of pain and he doesn’t deserve that.” I explained,

“So, you have to go back home?” Knox asked.

“Yeah, for a little at least. Do you want to come with me?” I asked, suddenly having an idea.

“Really? I could do that?” Knox looked intrigued.

“Sure. I can give you a bubble for as long as I want. You could meet my family.” I smiled.

“I would love that, baby. We can go after my sister’s birthday.” He said.

“It’s a date.” I reached up on my tippy toes to give him a kiss. Even then, I wasn’t tall enough. Knox chuckled and bent down to reach me.

“I love you, baby girl.” He mumbled against my lips.

“I love you, too, wolf.” I replied blissfully.