Chapter 112
Chapter 112
His father sits at the head of the table, James and I on either side of him. James constantly gives me
reassuring looks, but I don't know if he's trying to reassure me or himself. It's clear that he's
uncomfortable with this, me meeting his father. It only makes me nervous. It only makes the weird
feelings grow.
"So, Rae," his father begins, taking lead, "what pack do you come from?"
"The Waters Pack," I answer timidly, not wanting to talk at all even though I agreed to this. I feel as I did
when I first met James, hardly saying a word.
His father nods. "And you're not of an Alpha bloodline?"
"No," I say carefully, "I'm not."
He nods again. "Of a Beta bloodline?"
I shake my head and throw in an amused smile to show that I'm not hurt, even though I am. I wonder if
he's comparing me to Julianna, if so, he's probably thinking that I'm worse at this point. At least she
was of Alpha blood.
James takes over and starts to talk about the rogue problem at the East Border and how they're trying
to solve it, giving me a moment to breathe. But it's not long until he comes back to me. "And what have
you been up to as Luna?"
James cuts in, trying to hold him back, "She hasn't been announced as Luna yet."
"Well surely she can announce herself as Luna," he says and looks to me, "right, Rae?"
"I suppose," I mumble, not wanting to bring up the fact that I have told a few people.
"No, it's not her fault. I should be the one to do it."
"I'm sure Rae can handle it. You're busy, James, let her work some," he says, continuously pointing the
finger at me. "I'm sure she needs things to do other than hanging around the house. Both the Alpha
and the Luna need to work together, you see, that's where I went wrong."
I lift small forks of potato into my mouth, wanting to leave. I didn't think he was going to bring up
Julianna, let alone blatantly compare us to them. "Rae is still getting used to the Pack," James
explains, "I'm sure she'd love to help out when she's ready."
I nod. "Of course."
"Good. The Pack comes first. I don't want to see you two rushing towards having children when there is
so much more to deal with. Family matters can wait until everything is near perfection, right Rae?"
This is all one giant lesson on what not to do. Part of me wants to disagree and say that I want a child
right now just to see what James will say, if he'd agree with his father. Maybe that's why he doesn't
want to touch me, because he doesn't want children. I don't see how that's a problem, though, with
means of protection. "Right," I say, not knowing how I really feel, "the Pack comes first."
When dinner comes to an end, I help Gail and Theresa clean up while James says goodbye to his
father. As I bring in the stack of plates, Gail asks, "How did it go?"
"He doesn't like me," I say.
"Oh, I doubt that," Theresa joins in. "I'm sure you're just taking what he said the wrong way, dear."
"The entire time he was telling me what to do and how to be better. It's clear that he's disappointed in
me as his son's mate. He thought I was going to at least be of Alpha blood."
Gail takes the plates from me, and I sit down at the counter. "Well, he's leaving now, so don't worry too
much about it, alright? What matters is what you think, not him. James is your mate, not his father, so
don't try to impress him, alright?" Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.
"Okay. You're right. At least he's leaving."