Luna Rising by Sloane Murphy
Chapter Ten
I’ve spent the entire morning running around like a bird without a head after Mom, changing bed sheets and airing out the guest house. The summer sun beats down on me as I take a minute to chill in the yard. I heave a deep breath, scenting the fresh air and fighting the ever-present urge to escape into the tree line. I startle when I hear Mom calling for me. “Luna, did you check the fridge?”
“Yes, Mom,” I call as I move in the direction of the house. As I step through the door, a cool wall of air washes over my body. Thank Fates for air conditioners. As nice as the sunshine is, it’s fucking hot out there. “It’s fully stocked. I ran to the store first thing, remember?”
“Oh yes,” she says, blowing her hair out of her face as she rounds the bottom of the stairs. “I think that should be everything then.”
“Does this mean I can get out of here now?” My voice lilts at the end of the question, excitement at the thought of escaping the chaos tinging my tone. All I want is to run down to the beach for a bit. I haven’t been running as much as I usually do lately, and since I haven’t been training either, it’s starting to show. I’m fucking spent just from tidying, and that so isn’t me.
“Sure thing, but you have to be back by two. That’s when Remy said they’d be here.”
“Thank you!” I bounce over to her and plant a kiss on her cheek before practically skipping over to our house and changing into a sports bra and shorts. I slide on my arm band and set up my music before setting off. I usually prefer to run before the sun is this high in the sky, but I’ll take any chance at freedom.
There’s just something so freeing about running. On two and four legs. But as a human, escaping the current madness of the compound is a joy in itself right now. It’s not that the people there suck—well not all of them—it’s just that I’ve never done well with big crowds. I blame my surprise birthday party from when I turned six. Everyone jumped out to surprise me, and I peed my pants. How fucking humiliating is that?
Since then, big crowds of people and being the center of attention just hasn’t been my thing.
It could also be the two-faced bullshit I’ve dealt with from Lycans my entire life. At school everyone wanted to be my friend because I was the Alpha’s daughter, but no one actually wanted to get to know me, with the exception of Nova. Then Maddox started coming around and started school here, and it didn’t get any better. He’s always been Mr. Popular. The only upside was that people stopped trying as hard to be my friend with him around. It meant I didn’t have to try and work out if they wanted to be my friend because of me or because of my dad.
The whole thing made me pretty damn cynical. At the end of the day, I have zero issues with who I am as a person. Fuck anyone else if they do.
The feel of the pavement beneath my sneakers as I run toward the gate is so fucking good. My muscles tense and release as I run, eating up the distance between my house and the gate, and I can’t even begin to explain how good it feels. “Morning, Jake!”
Jacob beams back at me from the guard post, and the gate opens just as I reach it. “Morning, Luna!” he calls out as I run past with a quick wave. Since I’m alone, I push harder than when I run with Nova, needing the burn of exercise to pick me up.
When the pavement changes to sand, the intensity ratchets up, but I keep my pace exactly the same as it was on the asphalt. I run until my lungs burn and until the cliffs at the edge of the cove stretch up to greet me, meaning I can’t run any further. So I slip off my shoes, sliding my phone into one before running into the surf.
I dive underneath, enjoying the coolness of the water on my skin. I hold my breath and sink so I’m sitting on the floor of the ocean, enjoying the silence that comes with it. It’s so fucking serene… the endless quiet. I’ve been doing this for years, so I can hold my breath longer than most, but just as my lungs start to burn and I move to resurface, I’m yanked out of the water.
“What the fuck are you playing at?” The growl comes as I’m pulled onto the sand, and I find a seriously pissed off Jackson staring down at me as I splutter around the water running from hair and into my eyes and mouth.
Who the hell does he think he is? I scramble to my feet so he can’t look down at me like some stupid kid, but he’s so fucking tall that I still have to arch my neck to look him in the eye.
“Me? What the fuck are you doing manhandling me like that?” I’m so mad I could spit.
“Manhandling you? You were under there for so long you could’ve fucking drowned.” Apparently he’s pissed too. Fuck that. He has exactly zero reason to be out here, let alone putting his hands on me and pulling my ass out of the water like that.
“I’m a Lycan, dickhead. A little water isn’t going to kill me. Plus, it’s not like I was trying to kill myself. I was just finding some fucking peace for once in my goddamn life, and then you had to go and blow it all to hell,” I shout back to him, refusing to bow down. I don’t care who he is, he doesn’t have the right to yell at me like this. “Why the fuck are you out here anyway?”
I finally take in his enforcer uniform and frown. If he says what I think he’s going to, I swear to the Fates…
“I’m on Luna duty,” he spits, snarling around the words like they’re poison in his mouth. “That means when the princess leaves the castle, I follow and make sure she’s okay.”
“And who exactly gave that order?” My jaw clenches so hard I think I might break a goddamn tooth. This is utter fucking bullshit.
“Your dad and Thatcher. Who the fuck else? I sure as shit didn’t volunteer to look after a brat like you.”
I cross my arms and jut my chin out, looking every inch the brat he’s accusing me of being. “Consider yourself officially relieved of your responsibility. I can look after my damn self.”
“Until your dad calls me off, I’m stuck with you. So suck it up, princess.”
I growl, unable to form words around the fury surging through my entire being. I swear to the fucking Fates, my dad is about to get a whole new asshole torn. Grabbing my shoes and my phone, I tear off up the beach back toward the compound.
I’ve had e-fucking-nough. If Dad really thinks this is okay, he’s about to get a whole-ass lesson on just how much I don’t need to be babysat.
I’ll leave if that’s what it takes. I seethe with furious, panting breaths as I run toward the compound. Fuck this bullshit.
Fuck it all.
* * *
I tear into my father’s office, still so mad I can barely fucking see, and absolutely lose it the second I catch sight of him. “What the actual fuck is up with you treating me like a kid who can’t look after herself? A babysitter? Fucking really? I’ve had about enough of this bullshit, Dad. If you can’t treat me like a fucking adult, then maybe I’ll go somewhere where someone else will!”
“Luna, why don’t you sit down and take a breath.” The condescension in his voice only serves to make me angrier. I’m so focused on my rage, I don’t immediately notice Thatch in the office until he clears his throat. I turn on him with an equally angry snarl.
“And you! You were in on this too!” I poke at his chest, unable and unwilling to control my rage. I’ve never been as mad as I have been these last few days. I don’t know what the fuck’s going on with me. Maybe I’ve really just reached my limit on patriarchal male bullshit, and I am about to go nuclear.
“Luna, sit down!” The command in my dad’s tone forces me to drop to the floor and cross my legs. Stupid fucking Alpha command bullshit. “Now why don’t you tell me exactly what happened?”
With a clenched jaw, I tell him exactly what happened. Rather than showing even a modicum of remorse for crossing the line, Dad and Thatcher just seem amused. I clench my fists so hard that my nails break the skin of my palms. My nostrils flare at the coppery scent of blood wafting up from my hands, and my jaw clenches even harder. I cannot believe they have the nerve to just brush this off.
“Luna, we’re just trying to keep you safe.” My dad sighs, slumping back in his chair. “You were attacked, and then the compound was attacked almost immediately after! We just wanted to make sure that you were covered at all times.”
“I am fully fucking capable of looking after my damn self. I’ve been training with the enforcers my entire life, and I’ve been training with Maddox and Remy too! You don’t have the right to do this to me. I am a grown-ass woman, and I deserve some fucking privacy.” Usually I wouldn’t speak to my dad like this, but I’m at the end of my tether. I can't deal with this any more. I just can’t. “If you won’t give it to me, then I’ll do exactly what you did when Grandpa did this to you. I’ll pack up and leave, and there is dick all you can do about it.”
I stand and storm out of the office without giving him a chance to respond. My blood boils as I stomp across the square, and when I reach the house, I find Mom humming in the kitchen. She jumps as the door slams behind me, and the smile on her face falls when she sees whatever fury is emanating from mine. “What did he do now?”
A tear slips down my cheek because I’m so freaking angry. I swipe it away quickly and just shake my head. I’m too angry to even form words. It might seem irrational to be this angry and upset over it, but goddammit, it’s so humiliating to know that my father doesn’t trust me to be capable of looking after myself. To find out that at least all of the enforcers knew about it, because they’ve been tailing me, and I didn’t even fucking realize it.
I’m pissed at myself for not having noticed sooner too.
“Come sit down, I’ll make a pot of tea. When you feel like you can talk, you can tell me what’s going on.” She ushers me into the kitchen, pushing me into a chair at the table. I glance at the clock and realize that Maddox and company will be here in about an hour. I really need to calm myself down before then.
Mom bustles about making tea, and I put my head between my knees, sucking in air like I might run out of it while I try to calm down. “I remember before my twenty-first birthday I was a raging beast too. Don’t worry too much about all the extra anger, it’s natural.”
I give her a thumbs up but keep my head firmly between my legs as I try to let it go. At least the extra fury makes a little more sense now.
She sits at the table, and I can hear her pouring the tea. The tea set I got her for Christmas was the best gift ever. I’m not sure whether my mom has ever been to England, but her obsession with tea is very real.
As the anger finally starts to dissipate, I sit back up. Mom merely sits there, exuding the sense of calm and serenity I was trying to find on the ocean floor. I clench my fists thinking of how Jackson ripped me from the water and tip my head back, trying not to let the rage seep back in.
“He’s having me followed.” It’s all I manage to say while I stare at the ceiling, forcing myself to take deep breaths.
“He’s such a fucking idiot sometimes,” she mutters, and I bark out a laugh. “I’m sorry, Luna. I didn’t know.”
“You have nothing to be sorry about, Mom.” I take a sip of the tea, wincing at the sharp taste as it washes over my tongue. I’d rather have coffee any day, but I keep that to myself and tell her about what happened after I left for my run instead. By the time I’m done, she’s almost as angry as I am.
“There won’t be any more babysitting, Luna. I’ll fix this. I swear to the Fates… If he pushes you away, I’ll beat his ass with a stick daily until he fixes it.”
“Thank you. I tried, but…” I trail off, and she pats my hand before squeezing it.
“I know. He means well, but he doesn’t always go about things in the right way. Except, this time he knew it was wrong, and I know that because he didn’t tell me what he was doing.”
I laugh before finishing my tea. I can’t believe my dad had the audacity to act like he hadn’t done anything wrong when he didn’t even tell Mom what he was doing. “He probably put a tail on you too.”
She clamps her lips together, and her eyes go wide. “If he did, he’s going to regret it. A lot. Now you go upstairs and sort yourself out. Maddox will be here shortly.”
I snicker, shaking my head at her lack of subtlety. “Mom, you have to promise me that you won’t be too disappointed if he isn’t my mate.”
“Luna, you two have been drawn together since the first time you met. If he’s not your mate, I’ll eat my hat.” Her shit-eating grin just makes me laugh more.
“Well, if he is, we won’t find out yet anyway. He doesn’t turn twenty-one for a hot minute.”
She just shrugs as she starts clearing away the tea cups. “If he’s anything like his father, which we both know he is, then nothing is out of the realm of possibility. Just wait and see.”
* * *
“Luna!” Mom hollers my name just as I’m slipping my Chucks on, and I bounce down the stairs. I took a shower after my talk with her, and I feel tons better, even with her teasing me about Maddox and I. I think knowing the extra anger is all part of the Lycan cycle is helping me chill out a little more too.
That or she drugged my tea. Either way, I’ll take the good mood.
“They’ll be here any minute,” she says as I slide into the kitchen. “Your father is fully aware of just how angry I am also, because yes, I also had a babysitting duty. Needless to say, he’s currently very sorry and will apologize to you later, but first, let’s go greet our guests, shall we?”
I bite back the laughter that threatens to bubble up and nod. Dad is officially in the dog house, not that he doesn’t deserve it, because he definitely does. It’s just super funny to me, that the Alpha of our pack is in so much trouble.
That’ll teach him.
At least it damn well better.
I follow Mom out of the back doors into the yard to where Dad is already waiting with Thatcher. They both look as if they’ve been thoroughly chewed out, and I clamp my lips together to stop the smile that threatens to split my lips.
In a blink, a portal appears in the backyard. Remy appears first with Roman, practically battle ready, with sword in hand. Maddox, Raze, Evie, and Colt follow them with Kain, Creek, and Levi bringing up the rear. The whole gang really did come out early. Remy certainly has everyone trained well. The adults all say a quick hello before disappearing into the guest house with my parents and Thatch and leaving me with the four Bennett kids.
“Please tell me there is more to do here than nature shit,” Colt complains instantly, and Maddox smacks him around the back of the head. “Sorry. Hi, Luna, happy early birthday. Now, is there something to do that isn’t nature shit?”
I can’t help but laugh at the Angel-Demon hybrid. As someone who feels suffocated by pack life regularly, I totally understand him. “The nearest city is about a two-hour drive, but the enforcers will be training this afternoon if you want to fight some Lycans.”
“Now that’s what I’m talking about,” he grins at me, and Raze claps a hand on his shoulder before turning to me.
“Where is the training area?” Raze asks just as Nova walks out of the house.
“I can show you guys if you’d like. I’m heading there in a minute, but I wanted to swing by and say hi on my way.” She gives me a quick hug, whispering, “You doing okay? I heard you had a bit of a meltdown.”
Of course she heard. Fucking enforcers. “We’ll catch up later, but I’m good.”
“Okay, boys, follow me.” She grins widely as Colt lopes along behind her.
Raze looks at me with narrowed eyes before he turns to follow her. “I’ll catch you later, Luna.”
“Bye, Raze.” I wave before turning back to the other two.
Evie sighs dramatically before heading toward the guest house. “I am not about all of this sun. I’m going to nap. Nonnie’s lunch has nearly put me into a food coma.”
“Oh, okay. See you later.” I wave at her retreating form before turning to Maddox. “You in a food coma too?”
He just scoffs at me. “She eats like a freaking little bird. Nonnie didn’t even make that much food.” He stops and looks at me—really looks at me—and his head tilts. Maddox’s eyes narrow before he asks, “What’s wrong?”
I almost hate that he knows me so well. Mom was right about one thing, at least. We’ve been friends since the very first moment we met. Even if I can’t remember that particular moment, I don’t remember a time without him in my life. “I’ve had a day.”
“Burgers and a talk?” he offers, and I grin.
“You know I love me a burger. Wanna get out of the compound and head to Joe’s?” His grin matches mine as soon as I mention the burger place that’s in the next town over.
“Yes, let’s do it. But I’m driving.”
“Of course you are.” I roll my eyes and head inside, grabbing my keys from the hook and throwing them at him. “But I still control the music.”
“Whatever you want,” he teases before opening the door to the garage and waving me through. “Your chariot awaits.”
I can’t help but laugh at him, and some of the residual tension I was feeling eases away. Maybe Mom’s right. Maybe it would be easier if he was my mate.
* * *
“Luna, do you have a minute?”
I climb out of my truck with Maddox to find Roman waiting for us. I glance at Maddox who shrugs before turning back to Roman. “Erm, yeah sure. What’s up?”
“Come, walk with me.” He motions me to the back of the house with his head, and we leave Maddox on his own as we walk toward the forest.
We walk in silence for a few minutes until we’re in the thick of the trees. After another few silent moments of walking, he lets out a sigh. “First, I want to apologize on behalf of your father. I’m sure he’ll apologize too, but I agreed with his choice to give you and your mother a security detail. We all love you very much, and nobody wants to see you hurt.”
I open my mouth to interrupt him, but he holds up a hand, silencing me. “That being said, I’m aware that if either of our parents had done that to us, we’d have lost our shit too. Much like you, we were more than capable of looking after ourselves. We should have trusted the same thing from you.”
I feel so awkward right now. Having the Alpha of Alphas apologize to you isn’t exactly a small thing. I’m sure if he wasn’t as close to my family as he is, there’s no way he’d be here apologizing to me. “Thank you?”
He laughs a little, kicking a pebble on the ground before continuing deeper into the forest.
“Was that everything?” I ask, following along behind him like a lost puppy.
“Not quite.” He grins back at me, and it’s easy to see why so many people are terrified of him. He looks like a fucking psychopath right now, but I’m pretty sure I don’t have anything to be afraid of. I’ve only ever seen Roman, the dad and uncle. I’ve never seen the Roman Knight of legend—the man who would tear apart his enemies with his bare hands and laugh.
“I wanted to talk to you about your birthday. I know the mating thing is another hot topic for you, but I’m pretty sure you know how much of a big thing it is. Your mom mentioned that they haven’t been able to talk you through how it all actually works since you’ve been so against the whole thing, but you need to know before you walk into that party on Saturday. Otherwise, things could go very wrong.”
I stay quiet, despite him clearly waiting for me to respond. He isn’t wrong. This isn’t something I want to discuss, but I’m not about to yell at the Alpha of Alphas. I might pee my pants if I even try. It’s different with Dad. He might be my Alpha, but he’s also my dad. He won't command me to sit down and shut up unless it's absolutely necessary. We might be unusually close with Roman and his family, but I have little doubt that he would command me to do whatever he felt necessary to get me to listen.
“Things were different for me. I’m sure you’ve heard the controversy over how I found Remy. No one had ever mated outside of the faction before us. Everyone thought I’d lost my fucking mind… that there was no way it could be possible. But my wolf claimed her the very time he saw her when I was shifted, and I just knew she was mine. Even though she had no idea.
“Sometimes that happens. If your mate is older than you and they are a Lycan, they will be drawn to you in a way. Not always, sometimes it’s a shock to everyone, but with mates, once both people are of age, the pull is undeniable. Any love you might have thought you felt before the pull of your mate will seem inconsequential. You’ll realize that you never really knew love and belonging like you do with your mate.”
“But what if I don’t find mine?” I ask with a sigh. As much as I don’t want to find them, there’s still that little niggle inside of me that fears never finding them and spending my existence alone.
“Then you don’t find yours. Maybe they’re not of age yet. Maybe they’re from a different faction. But you’re an Alpha born, which is why we’re gathering as many of the packs together as we can around your birthday. We do the same for all Alpha born, and this means that those who have come of age in the last year will get to shift together at the celebration and potentially find their mates too.”
He looks at me like I’m a brat, and I have the decency to blush a little because, well, I hadn’t even really considered the implications for everyone else when I was refusing to have a birthday party. It kind of slipped my mind that others could use it as a chance to find their mate. I was being a little self-absorbed, and I’m now very aware of that. Apparently my feelings are written all over my face because he laughs softly.
“Don’t worry, Luna. We all have those moments sometimes.”
“Oops?” I lift up my hands in a dramatic shrug, and he shakes his head at me.
“Pretty much. I just wanted to clear some things up for you. I know you don’t necessarily want to find your mate yet. I promise you this, though, when you do, whether it happens on your birthday or not, it will be the happiest moment of your life. You still have to complete the bond even after you find your mate, but it feels as if your soul settles. As if you’ve found your place in life. I know from my experience with Remy that if you bond with another faction, it’s a little different. But a joining between two Lycans is as simple and as beautiful as it gets.”
“So no pressure then?” I laugh. I know he’s trying to make me feel better, but I can practically feel the spiral of shame coming. What if I don’t ever find my mate and everyone asks why? “Oh Fates, what if my mate doesn’t want me? What if I hate them?”
Roman barks a laugh at my question before calming himself. “Sorry, I don’t mean to laugh. No one has ever not wanted their mate. The pull is too strong. I’ve never heard of a rejection, even if there have been differences in the past. People trust the bond and work through their shit. But you’re still young, Luna. You haven’t had the chance to piss off too many people yet, so that shouldn’t be a problem.”
“It must have been hard for you, losing your mate time and time again,” I say because Remy was a Hunter before she was an Angel… But that’s a whole other story. I can’t imagine losing the person I love time and again. Especially if the bond is as strong as he says.
“I won’t lie and say it was easy. Even though I knew she’d come back to me because of the way the Hunter’s curse worked back then, I never knew if she’d remember me or if I’d find her before the others in her lives. But each time I found her and had her with me, it made all the pain worth it.” He looks out into the distance, almost forlorn before turning back to me and smiling. It doesn’t quite reach his eyes. “Now, why don’t we head back to the house?”
“That sounds good, and thank you… for making me listen.” I feel bad that I brought up some old memories for him, but after a second he seems to shake it off and is back to the old Roman I’ve always known and loved.
He grins down at me before wrapping an arm around my shoulders. “What are good Alphas for? Plus, you’re family. I’m always here to kick your ass if you need it to see sense.”
I laugh and side hug him back, feeling a bit lighter about Saturday after all. Maddox will be celebrating his birthday too, and if there are others searching for their mate, then maybe the focus really won’t be on me. Maybe it’ll be fun after all.
And just like that, I’m almost looking forward to it.
