Chapter 59
“You could have warned me you know; I could’ve dressed up a bit, I’ll be back, let me go change” he grabbed my arm stopping me dead in my tracks “Aid look at me, I can’t wear jeans to dinner with the Alpha and Luna” he smiled back at me
“Former Alpha and Luna” as though that mattered to me at all my heart started pounding,” this is why I didn’t tell you” I looked up at him curiously “I want them to get to know the real you”
“But I want them to like me” he chuckled and held me close kissing me on the top of my head his scent filling my lungs making me weak at the knees. “I don’t know if I can go just as plane old me”
“Plane, my lady could never be plane”
“I’m serious Aid, I really want them to like me” he took my hand and lead me to the car
“You know how sexy you sounded just then” I rolled my eyes at him
“You saved my mother’s life remember?”
“Yes but”
“You also saved my life, remember that” I scoffed back at him “after all that you still think that they care at all about what you look like” I felt a pain in my chest at his words, and I looked down trying to hide it from him. I know that he is right, but I can’t help it, I still feel guilty about what happened with Xavier, and I haven’t had the courage to ask Aiden if his parents know, I haven’t gotten the strength to ask him about that night, I don’t know if he feels guilty, angry, remorseful, or resentful, has he told his parents yet, does that night still haunt him? I think that I can’t bring myself to ask or even bring up the conversation because it still haunts me and if I feel this way I can’t imagine how he feels. “Hey, you look great, you’re my Scar and therefore can’t do no wrong” he said kissing the back of my hand, I laid my head on his shoulder and revelled in the silence as the car moved slowly towards the place that held a lot of painful memories for me.
“Ready?” I nodded and swallowed the lump in my throat as he opened the door, to my relief the house seemed empty, I breathed easier and started plotting my escape.
“There is no one around, should we go to a restaurant instead?” he didn’t respond, and I realised that the desperation in my voice showed more than I intended, he lead me down a hallway in the section of the house I had never seen before, there was oak everywhere, everything was shiny and clean carefully put in its place, my body went rigid, and in my mind I recited over and over don’t break anything, please don’t touch anything, everything looked expensive and exotic telling me that if I break it there is no way I could ever replace it we turned the corner and I gasped
“Miss Roberts I’m so glad you made it” the Alpha said with his arms stretched out inviting into a hug with the biggest smile on his face, my reflexes kicked in and my arms formed an X in front of me protecting my organs, his hug was swift and tight, I felt so uncomfortable that I forgot to breath, my eyes felt dry and I realised that I hadn’t blinked in a while, my eyelids felt like sand paper grinding my retina down sending a new wave of nervous energy rushing through my body. “Come in, come in, sit down” he said leading me to a long rectangular table wrapped in a white tablecloth, with three place settings laid out on top of a golden runner, he pulled out a chair for me, Aiden and I sat at opposite ends, and he sat at the head.
The silence was echoed by the clicking and clacking of the cutlery on the plates, the tension in here is intense I looked at Aiden and he didn’t seem phased at all, and that’s when I realised that this is the norm for him silently eating not saying a word to each other I mean we are sharing a meal together but we are not getting to know each other at all and yet they were both so comfortable in this silence that it made my heart sore, tears welled up in my eyes as I thought about how the dinners at my house normally went, mom and I would sometimes not even finish our food because we talked so much, I can’t let this distant nature ripple into mine and Aidens relationship, this is not a date after all this was a family dinner. And we needed to start acting like a family.
“So” I began breaking the silence and summoning every bit of bravery left within me “it sure is cold isn’t it” they both looked up at me and nodded and went back to eating “I prefer summer myself, all the layers required for winter exhaust me” I said cutting into my steak, they both looked at me with the same are you seriously talking about the weather look, their eyes slightly squinted and their heads tilted to the left, I fought the urge to laugh, there was no denying that they were father and son, “anyway, I thought the Luna was joining us” and the mood changed, the Alpha cleared his throat and looked at Aiden. Aiden dodged his gaze and looked down at his plate “I can have dinner with her next time, it’s no big deal” I realised my hands were waving franticly as I spoke, I immediately tucked them under the table, and I felt the thick oak under the tablecloth and my eyes wondered to the long table and I thought of how beautiful it would look without the cloth.
“Nonsense, she is waiting for you, in fact why don’t we let the ladies have desert together and you and I share a whisky” the Alpha said looking at Aiden
“Sure, I’ll just show her to moms’ room” the Alpha nodded, and Aiden got up immediately taking my hand and leading me out of the dining room and back to the long hallway, my mind went back to the coronation ceremony and the Luna’s words echoed in my head
“How dare you!” …” You know I have never liked you!” her expression and obvious disdain towards me in the office was very vivid in my mind, I swallowed realising that Aidens strides where getting shorter indicating that we were close. Be brave, be brave the words running like a mantra in my head and radiating throughout my body.
“Don’t be nervous she has been looking forward to a chat with you for a while now” he brought my hand to his mouth and as he kissed it I realised his hand was white indicating that it was deprived of blood, indicating that I had been blocking all his circulation with my tight grip “ready?” I let out a deep breath and my teeth shuttered, I bit my lip trying my best to not break out in hives, his hand gripped the door handle and turned, I felt my entire body flash read, my ears, cheeks and heart were throbbing, I tried breathing but it was impossible.
“That will be all Aiden” she said her voice smooth like butter flicking her hand letting him know it was time to leave
“Good luck” he whispered as he turned and rushed to the door and closed it behind him, I was in disbelief, he just left me, I can’t believe he just left me, my eyes widened at the thought.
“Don’t just stand there, come… sit” she patted an empty spot next to her on the bed, I swallowed, my legs moved but I had no idea how, my movement was completely robotic, I felt every muscle contract and release with every step, I sat down not knowing whether to take my boots off or leave them on, this was the Luna after all and the fact that I’m here is completely unreal, no one teaches you this; there is no subject in school that teaches you how to behave when meeting your future mother in law let alone the Luna. “Relax dear, you can put your feet on the bed, we have a lot to discuss, and we can’t very well do that with you feeling uncomfortable can we?” her smile reminded me of my mother when she tried to cheer me up or reassure me, “do you think you’re ready to become Luna dear?” my eyes shot up at her I guess we are jumping straight into it
“I…I’m not sure…I don’t know” I said shaking my head, doing my best forcing myself to smile
“You’re right, you’re not ready to become Luna” her face stoic and firm and I bit my lip
