The Unwanted Luna

Ayame-

-POV Once I pulled away from him, my dad ruffled my hair and looked around the room. "Any food left?" He asked, looking at the table.

Edon waved him over and Elizabeth grabbed him a plate. My dad started piling up the food on his dish and dug in. "So, what brings you by Jasper?" Edon asked while the conversations continued to flow around us.

Dad shrugged and grabbed another bite. "Just finished up a run and I thought I'd come by. That, and I could smell Ayame's cooking from a mile away." He bumped my shoulder and I smiled happily. At least I know he likes my cooking. I cannot wait to know what else makes my dad proud of me. Losing my mom at eighteen was hard, but I'm glad that I gained a father at twenty. It makes me feel like some part of my past is still with me, even though I don't remember it all yet. "Your suggestion to work on stamina and strength is a really good idea. I can actually take on the younger warriors now." He said with a grin.

"Nice! But I'll still give you a run for your money." Edon added with a chuckle and my dad raised a brow.

"Oh! That I would pay money to see! I haven't been able to beat my son since he shifted for the first time. I'm not that old, but I'm not that strong either." Papa Oden grumbled.

I giggled lightly. "I would actually like to see that too." I encouraged, and the testosterone on our side of the table increased exponentially.

"Tomorrow!" Edon bellowed.

My dad's eyes darkened and, for once, I think I saw his bear's spirit pushing through. "Count on it, cub." He growled back.

Papa Oden started laughing and I saw the determination in Edon's eyes and that had me laughing along with him. "Aya, you have a gaggle of children on your hands." Kyle said, and I realized the others had come into our conversation.

"Hey, it's just a friendly match between my daughter's mate and I. I will be...cordial. He is my alpha after all." Oh, I guess he is. When my father decided to live here, he did become part of the pack. This book has many missing chapters and scenes if you're not reading it on [J] o b n I b .c [o] m. Technically, until it is made official, he would have to stay on the outer border, but I pushed to get him moved closer to the pack house so I could visit him more.

"Oh, so now I'm an alpha instead of a cub?" Edon said tauntingly.

Edon always seemed to be the most laid back out of the three of them. I'm sure if my dad called Vil or Conri a pup, those two would lose it before the fight even started, but after I heard Edon and Conri's discussion earlier, I don't think I can put it past Edon to become territorial either. "Who says you can't be both?"

I rolled my eyes and raised my hands. "Enough you two. Goddess, Kyle is right, you guys are a bunch of children."

"Hey!" They all called in mocking offense.

I laughed at their hurt faces and Kyle joined me, which gave him a right slap in the face with Vil and Edon's bread rolls. The accuracy was impeccable. I bit my lip holding in my laugh as we finished our food and retired to the living room for some cake and coffee. "Starlight, wait up." Dad called before we made it into the room with everyone.

"Yes?" I asked, spinning around to meet his face.

Brows furrowed and nose scrunched up.... He seemed to be really deep in thought. "Look, I wanted to tell you that we got in contact with the fairy who took your memories. I wanted to let you know that they will be here for your Luna ceremony the night of the full moon. Unfortunately, that was the only condition he had. It had to be during the full moon."

I thought about it for a moment, letting it all sink in. "So, that means we have to do the Luna ceremony in tandem with remembering my past self?" The Luna ceremony begins when the moon is at its peak. If that's the case, then...I will remember my past in front of...the whole pack. "Yes, I'm so sorry about the timing." He whispered.

I shook my head. "No...it's okay. I can do this. I know I can."

"Well, what if there is something in there you don't want to remember?" He said again, almost too quietly for me to hear. Thankfully, my enhanced senses are already there and accounted for.

"Then I will have my family there to protect me. I don't want to miss another second without my memories of you...of our lives before."

He took a breath and his face relaxed as the stress dissipated. "Okay...that's great to hear. Let's get going."

I nodded and he threw his arm over my shoulder. We walked into the living room and Kyle and Charlie were fighting over which action movie to watch while Emily was enjoying her cake a little too much. Her parents even came down to enjoy the festivities. I nodded to her mother, and she smiled at me while enjoying her time with her daughter.

"Come sit with us, princess." Edon called and I hugged my dad one more time before running over and sitting in between my mates, wishing Conri was here too. I think my anger towards him was starting to fade. Stupid mate bond.

Once they finally picked the movie, the scenes started to play but I started getting distracted. Is there anything in my past that I don't want to remember? I mean, I already have a past that I wish I could forget, but I know that when this fairy comes I have to take everything in. The good and the bad. I'm glad my alphas pushed to have my ceremony on the full moon this weekend, but I still wish that Richard was taken care of already. I just have a bad feeling about leaving that undone for now, but I have to stay focused. My past is in the past. It can't hurt me. We made it through two movies and most of the room was knocked out. The parents have retired and my dad decided to crash in one of the guest rooms on the second floor. I looked around and the guys were now watching a horror flick but Conri still wasn't here. I hesitated for a moment, then I decided it was already eleven at night and it was more important for me to check on him than to ignore him out of pure spite. "Conri?" I called out. Nothing. I bit my lip and looked around the room again before sighing. "Daddy, please, if you can hear me, I just want to make sure you are okay. We are in the living room watching a movie if you want to join us when you get back." I pushed out the olive branch and nothing.

I sighed and snuggled into Edon's side while I wedged my feet under Vil's leg. I was cold. Right when I was about to nod off, the front door slammed open. My entire body was on alert when the sweetness of Conri's scent filled the room. "Co -"

I wanted to call out to him, but he was already up the stairs before I could say anything. He was caked in mud and leaves with a pair of clean basketball shorts on. "It's okay princess, just let him cool off like you did before." Edon said, giving me a kiss on my head.

Like I did before...? "No, what I did before was go to him. He's angry because he still thinks he can't protect me. That's not fair. He can't keep doing this."

"Let him be angry, angel." Vil warned, shrugging off my concern.

"Why?! Why should I let you guys suffer in silence while you always insist upon coddling my feelings?"

"Because we can handle this." Vil said, scoffing at my questions as if they were insignificant.

I pursed my lips. "Really, and I can't?"

I felt the anger rising and Edon rubbed my shoulder. "Vil, that's enough." He said, having to play mediator between me and his brothers again.

I shimmied out of their hold and walked out of the living room. "Goodnight!" I growled before running up the stairs after Conri.

I have three mates and it's exhausting, but I'm not going to let one suffer because the other two are making me comfy or think it's the better thing to do. I'll let them have their juvenile payback later, but I'm not going to just pretend Conri and I didn't have an argument! "I'm all for it Ayame, but don't forget to stay calm." My wolf urged. "I will.... Thanks for the reminder." I reassured her. She doesn't want me to accidentally shift either. At this point, I'm happy for her protection over theirs any day.

I made it to the third floor and a harsh whisper stopped me in my tracks. "Malerie, I'm doing my best, but they aren't really letting anyone near her at the moment." That whining. It sounds like....

I slipped onto the floor and hid behind the corner just before entering into the dorms. I leaned in a bit more, hoping I could hear Malerie on the other line. "Why can't you just slip her the poison? She's just a filthy human!" I held back the urge to gasp. There were only so many humans here and only one I know she's at odds with.

"I can't. She's already marked! It won't work on her anymore." The girl added with a stomp of her foot.

Now I remember her. She's the one that wanted Edon when I first came here. The one that said I was ugly and didn't deserve Edon as a mate. What was her name again...? My wolf growled and I took a breath to suppress her. I need to focus on what they are saying. I have a feeling it's extremely important. "That shouldn't make a difference!" Malerie shouted. "Just give her nightshade and that'll account for all of them. Especially if my oaf of a brother, Edon, was the one who marked her first."

I couldn't listen to much more of this, but I had to. It looks like Malerie isn't as stupid as we gave her credit for. She has back up plans. "Of course, Malerie." The girl obeyed.

"And...what of Charlie? What is he up to?"

The girl giggled. "I thought you said he was trash."

"He is. I just need him to soften a little bit, then I can finally get that bitch out of our pack house and away from my brothers. You and Aldopha are a much better match as my sister-in-laws than she will ever be. We can deal with Vil at a later date. I'm sure he's just tolerating that human anyway. Charlie will come back soon, so I'll keep you posted, but if all goes well, we will all benefit from this, even Tanya." Malerie's sadistic laugh rang through the mic and I almost yacked. They want me to go back to Richard. They are going to replace me with Tanya. "Of course, Malerie. I will slip it into her food tomorrow night at the welcome banquet. The Luna Ceremony is in five days. We don't have much time to waste." The girl said with a sigh. I waited for her to say something else but the phone went dead. The girl groaned irritably. "The things I do for that selfish bitch! If I get caught for this, I will not let them off easy. They will go down with me." The girl growled before disappearing into a room.

I turned back towards the stairs in utter shock and continued my way up to the fifth floor as my blood ran cold. Poison.... Malerie and that girl are going to poison me. I took a breath and walked up to Conri's room. His scent was strongest there and I had a feeling he wasn't going to join us tonight in our room. I released a shaky breath. "Edon...I will stay with Conri tonight, but I need to talk to you two later."

"Even Vil?" He asked.

"Yes, him too. This supersedes my anger for him right now." I added.

"Okay princess, sweet dreams."

I let my wolf purr at his response while I opened the door to Conri's room. Surprisingly, the door was unlocked. "Conri?" I called and the room stayed silent, but I could hear the shower water. It's been a while since I've been in his pristine room. Sometimes it reminds me of the differences between him and his brothers more often than not.

I shrugged and decided to wait until he got out of the shower. I walked over to his dresser and pulled out one of the few t-shirts he'd left in here just in case he wanted to sleep alone. Ever so often we do split off into our own rooms for some alone time. I always sleep in the main room for us though. It's comfier for me and it smells like the three of them. It makes me feel safe.

I pulled off all my clothes and slipped on the shirt, letting it fall over my knees. I crawled into bed and rested my head on the pillow. I was so relaxed that I almost nodded off to sleep until I heard the water cut off. No rest for the weary, I suppose.