Chapter 100
Chapter 0100
(Lily POV)
James and I placed an indefinite “pause” on our twenty-questions game. There were still plenty of
questions that we both had, and we still had plenty to talk about, but somehow nothing seemed that
important anymore.
We sat by the fire for another 45 minutes, enjoying the limited time that we had left together. A few
times, I was tempted to tell him that I had changed my mind about our future, but I knew that I could not
do that. At least not right now. As much as it hurt to let him go, I knew it would hurt more to let go of
myself again.
Instead of any more serious topics, we spent our remaining time chatting about lighter subjects. I was
surprised to find out that we had the same favorite human baseball team, and that our perspectives on
some of the recent scandals impacting that team were pretty similar. We also talked about some of the
dreams that James had as a little kid, before he realized his destiny had already been chosen for him
through his birthright. I was amused to hear that he wanted to be in a rock n’ roll band, especially
because he readily admitted that he cannot sing and has no musical talent. He had also dreamed of
being an astronaut, a lawyer, an automobile mechanic, and –not surprising at all– a professional baseball
player.
At one point in the discussion about our dreams, James had a sudden realization. Turning to me, he
commented:
“You know, Lily, your destiny was chosen for you too. You were born to be a Luna. I wish more than
anything that you still could be, but I guess the silver lining is that now you are free to become a doctor
and follow any other dreams that you might have.”
I teared up again when he made that comment, so we quickly changed the subject to something happier, but it definitely stuck with me. Was James’ observation correct? In choosing not to be with James, was I choosing to ignore my Goddess-intended destiny? If so, was my choice selfish and short-sighted, or was it healthy and freeing?
I suppose only time would tell.
Eventually, I yawned, and we both knew that we needed to call it a night. I agreed to let James walk me back to my hotel room.
That ended up being one of two very big mistakes, both of which would cause a ripple effect of problems in the future.
“Where is Brady’s room?” James asked as we got closer to mine.
“One floor up, why?”
“He did not get a room next to you or on your floor?”
“No, there are guards in the rooms all around me on this floor, but Brady wanted to be in the room directly above mine because there is a fire escape that connects the rooms. He also said something about being able to hear better through the venting system than through the walls. Why all the questions?”
Just then, we arrived at my room. Without thinking, I unlocked the door and opened it. That was the
second big mistake that I made.
I watched as James immediately picked up on a scent and stormed past me into my room without asking. He went over to my bed and picked up the pillow that Brady had slept on the night before. My heart dropped as James turned to face me with rage in his eyes. I could tell he was struggling with Luke
for control.
“I thought you said that you and Brady did not share a room,” he said. He was not yelling at me, but the
anger in his voice was unmistakable.
“Brady and I have our own rooms, James. I did not lie about that.”
And then the yelling started.
“THEN WHY DO I SMELL A MALE ALPHA WOLF IN YOUR ROOM, AND ON YOUR PILLOW?”
James’ eyes were now dark brown, which meant Luke had taken over control. I had never seen angry
Luke before.
I was trying to figure out how to answer honestly without upsetting him more, when Luke yelled again.
“THE ONLY MALE ALPHA WOLF AT THIS RESORT OTHER THAN ME IS BRADY. THIS IS BRADY’S SCENT,
IS IT NOT?”
I sighed. “Yes, but —”
“DID YOU SLEEP WITH HIM?”
“Luke, calm down.”
“ANSWER ME. DID YOU SLEEP WITH HIM?”
“No, Luke. I mean, yes, but not in the way that you think. We did not have sex. Please, give James
control back. I will explain it to him.”
“YOU ARE MY MATE, NOT HIS!”
“Luke, please. Just let me talk to James again, okay?”