#4 Moonlight on the Water

Navy

This was easily one of the most miserable days of my life. The entire party was awkward as hell after Harvord and Meredith realized they weren’t mates. Meredith came back out like everything was fine and Fiona was being overly obnoxious. Everyone was trying to act like it wasn’t the most cringy experience of their life. Eventually, they were all drunk enough that they actually didn’t remember anything.

“She’ll be fine, look at that pile of gifts.” Jenna said as we all huddled at a table together.

“Jenna.” Mason sighed at her.

“What?! It’s true.” She snapped. Clay and Knox shared a nod,

“It is.” They both agreed.

“I wonder who her mate is, then.” Julia said with a thoughtful voice.

“I pity the poor guy.” Dover mumbled, earning a slap from Natasha.

“Be nice!” Tasha said.

“Okay, this needs to end.” Dover mumbled, rubbing his arm.

“Yeah, how are we the bad guys here?” Clay asked.

“You’re guilty by default.” Jenna smirked.

“Plus, you’re the closest and, therefore, the easiest to hit.” Julia added.

“Are you mad at me, baby?” Knox purred in my ear. I blushed as the rest of the table made gagging noises.

“Oh, get a room!” Dover hollered at us.

“You don’t have to tell me twice!” Knox said, threatening to pick me up.

“Don’t you dare.” I said dangerously, earning a roar of laughter from the group.

Suddenly, I felt cold. Goosebumps covered my skin and the hair on the back of my neck stood taunt. I was on high alert. I stiffened and Knox noticed, even Dover responded, his Gamma instincts kicking in. Then, I heard it, a sweet song.

“What is it, Navy?” Knox’s arms circled my body protectively.

“A siren is here, she’s calling me.” I said, standing up.

“Who is it?” Dover stood with me, clearly ready for an attack.

“It’s okay, it’s just my mother.” I sighed, recognizing the song.

“Oh.” Dover sat back down,

“If it makes you feel any better, Dover, she is very dangerous.” I laughed,

“She’s not my biggest fan.” Dover jumped up again but Knox sat him back down forcefully.

“We’ve got this, Dover, chill out.” Knox grabbed my hand and we walked towards the beach together.

My mother was strolling away from the water, dripping wet but on two legs. Her hair was as white as mine, elegantly falling down her back. Her green eyes nearly glowed in the dark against the night sky. She eyed Knox with a stone cold expression.

“Mother.” I paused, keeping my distance from her.

“No hug for you mom?” She sneered.

“You couldn’t bother to say goodbye to me, why should I say hello?” I crossed my arms over my chest defensively.

“Oh, Navy, don’t be so sour.” She sighed,

“I didn’t raise you to be rude, either.” She looked pointedly at Knox.

“This is Alpha Knox Greystone, my mate.” I answered plainly. Knox stepped forward and offered my mother his hand,

“This is my mother, Queen Isla.”

“Pleasure to meet you, your highness.” Knox bowed his head, clearly unsure about how to address a Queen. My mother eyed his hand in disgust. I pulled Knox back towards me and shook my head,

“Just ignore her.” I said.

“You haven’t taught your dog how to properly greet a royal?” My mother said,

“Knock it off, Mom. What do you want?” I grumbled.

“I want to know when you are going to stop playing around and come home.” She said,

“I am not playing and I am not coming home, not permanently anyway. I’m staying here. I’ve decided to accept Knox as my mate and move here.” I announced, taking Knox’s hand in mind.

“That’s ridiculous, Navy.” My mother shook her head, clearly not taking me seriously,

“Cameron misses you.”

“I’ll explain everything to Cam and reject him properly so he can move on. We were planning a trip home soon.” I said.

“We?” My mother’s tone changed.

“Yes, we. My mate and I. We can’t be away from each other that long and I wanted him to meet my family. Although, now I’m having second thoughts.” I narrowed my eyes at her angrily.

“Oh, Navy, honestly. You’re a princess.”

“Now I’m a Luna.” I felt a surge of pride at using my title for the first time. The feeling got stronger and I realized that it was Knox’s emotions crashing into mine.

“Didn’t you learn anything from your grandmother’s story? She thought life was better here too, until she realized that it wasn’t and came home.” Mother said, trying to use a story she didn’t understand against me.

“That’s not true. I know the truth about grandma’s history. She didn’t choose to leave, she would’ve stayed if she could. She told me to stay.” I snapped.

“Don’t tell lies.” Mother scolded me.

“I’m not!”

“If you don’t come home right now and take Cameron as your mate, you will be disowned and no longer a princess!” Mother screamed at me.

“You don’t have the power to do that, and you know it. Only father can exile people and remove a royal rank.” I rolled my eyes at her temper,

“But, if that is his wish then so be it.” Mother’s eyes grew huge at my confession. I felt Knox tugging at me, like he was trying to tell me to think about what I was saying. I looked into his eyes and smiled, I knew what choice I was making.

“Your father will hear about this and he will disown you! I will make sure of it.” She said,

“Why did you bother to come here, Mother, if you were just planning on yelling at me? You don’t want me to come home because you love and miss me, you want me controlled.” I threw my accusations in her face.

“You are not my daughter.” Her words cut through me like a knife. I didn’t think her admission would bother me so much, but it did. She was still my mother. As much as I hated to admit it, her approval mattered to me as much as Alto’s approval mattered to Knox.

“If that’s how you really feel, Mom, then fine.” I frowned at her, feeling the anger leave my body. Knox held me tightly to his side, sensing my crushing sadness.

“Goodbye, Navy.” She shook her head at me and walked back into the water. I could barely see her in the darkness and I didn’t bother to say goodbye.

I was frozen in place. I could feel Knox trying to revive me, but I couldn’t move. He turned me in his arms and pulled me to his chest. I felt myself burying my face in his shirt, clutching it for dear life. I wanted to cry, but no tears would form; I was too broken.