Since I wasn't going to be seeing Troy tonight because of the conference I decided to be proactive and get some homework done. Nothing like waiting till the end of the year to start doing homework, going out with a bang is how I see it. I was engrossed in a reading assignment when I heard a knock on my door.
"Thou shalt enter" I proclaimed in my most Shakespearian voice I had.
"Thou shalt enter?" My dad questioned me as he walked into my room.
"English homework, we have to read parts of a few of Shakespeare's works and I guess I was more into it than I thought." I smiled and looked over at my dad who was sitting on my bed. It was unusual for my dad to come into my room and talk to me, it usually meant I was in trouble.
"What's up?" I asked slowly, not sure if I really wanted to know why he was here.
"I just wanted to see if you were really set on making this trip across country to find your mate. There are perfectly good options here for you to choose from." One thing I appreciated about my dad was that he was straight to the point.
"You mean I have Sam right? Because that's the only option you have given me." I responded in what I hoped was a calm voice. I didn't want to snap at my dad but I was still very irritated that he had insisted that I take Sam as my mate. Scratch that, after what happened this morning with Sam I am more than irritated.
"I still stand by that decision, I think you would be mistaken to take anyone but Sam as your mate." I pushed down the feeling to roll my eyes and kept listening. "However, your mother and I have had a few discussions on the matter and your mother has changed my mind."
"What do you mean?" I asked. Mom knew about me and Troy, but there was no way she had told dad. He wouldn't be as calm as he is now, so I'm not sure where he is going with this.
"Annie, your mother and I have raised you to be a strong, independent woman who is going to be an excellent Luna. You have proved how capable, smart, and responsible you are on many occasions. With that being said, choosing your mate should not be decided by me or your mother." I looked at him with a confused expression, was this really happening? Was my dad giving me the okay to choose whoever I wanted, meaning I could have Troy by my side?
"If at the end of the summer you have not found your mate, you will need to choose one, I still stand by that decision. Now that you are eighteen your Luna training will increase and you need a mate by your side. I know I told you that you had to pick Sam, and I still think it is the best option; but we are giving you the okay to choose whichever boy from our pack that you would like to have as a mate. Your mother reminded me that we raise all of our young men to be fine wolves and warriors. With a few lessons from me they can be turned into a great Alpha."
My heart sunk, I couldn't choose whoever I wanted, I had to choose a wolf from our pack.
"What if my mate turns out to be a human? What then?" Troy could potentially turn into a human when I marked him. If I could get my dad to agree to me having a human mate everything may work out. This could be the loop hole I had been waiting for.
My dad scoffed at my question, "A human? Why would you want a human mate that you would have to start from scratch with? Human's that turn to werewolves after they are marked aren't nearly as strong as a born werewolf. Not to mention they would be a lot of work to prepare them to be an Alpha. You will need to have a werewolf as a mate, end of discussion." My father stood and walked to my bedroom door.
"I know this is hard on you Annie but there's the pack to think about. They need a leader, a strong one they can depend on. I hope you can understand that." He closed the door behind him and my room was silent once more. There was only one thing I understood, Troy and I would need a miracle if we were going to make it thru all of this together.
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Friday morning showed up bright and sunny, I was taking the amazing weather as a good sign. I stood in front of my closet staring at all of my clothes, what did one wear to meet royalty? Better question, what did someone wear when they were begging to be allowed to be their Queen? I had no clue.
"See! I told you guys she wouldn't be dressed." I peeked around my closet door and saw Renee, Lily, Scarlet and Ellie come into my room.
"What are you guys doing here?" I asked them.
"You think we would let you get ready for one of the biggest days of your life without us? Ha!" Lily said.
"And by the looks of it, you need our help. Have you even brushed your teeth yet?" Ellie leaned in and sniffed "Nope you haven't!"
"What about my dad? He will wonder why you guys are all here to help me get ready for school." I said panicked. I hadn't spoken to my dad since Wednesday night, the last thing I needed was for him to get suspicious.
"Relax, I talked to Aunt Susan yesterday about us helping you get ready and she said she would get your dad out of the house early so we could come over undetected." Renee said. She leaned in and sniffed like Ellie had just done, "Seriously, go brush your teeth and pull yourself together. We don't have much time before Trout will be here."
I gave her a look and stuck my tongue out, "I'll be right back" I walked out of my room and into the bathroom. I brushed my teeth, flossed, and then brushed them again. They couldn't complain about my dental hygiene now. When I came back into the room my bed was covered with clothes, as I got closer I noticed that none of the clothes were mine and a few even still had the price tags on them.
"What is all of this?" I gestured to the bed.
"We didn't know what you would want to wear so we all went shopping and then raided our closets for our best clothes then brought them over for you to pick from. We are all roughly the same size so we will be able to make anything work!" Scarlet explained. "It was all Renee's idea."
I looked at my best friend who was digging in my closet, I went up behind her and hugged her. "Thank you, you are seriously the best friend a girl could ask for."
"Just don't forget us little people when you are Queen." She said returning my hug. "Now, let's get you ready. Lily you are in charge of makeup, Ellie her hair, Scarlet and I will find you something to wear! Let's get to moving people!!"
Thirty minutes later I was ready, and I looked good! Ellie had swept my hair up into an elegant chiffon with a few loose curled strands to frame my face. Lily surprisingly had kept my makeup light, she was known to have a heavier hand when it came to applying makeup but she kept it light and natural for me. Scarlet and Renee had chosen a dark blue sundress with cap sleeves and sparkly silver flats to match.
I turned and looked at all of them, "Thank you guys for all of this, I don't know what I would do without you all."
"Don't you dare start crying and ruin my master piece!" Lily scolded me. I heard a truck pull in the drive way, I looked out my window and saw that it was Troy.
"I'll go let him in." Ellie said as she headed down stairs.
"I'm getting nervous." I confided in the girls. "What if they say no? What if they don't like me?"
"Then they're a bunch of stupid squids. This whole pack knows how lucky they will be to have you as their Luna, the mer people would be foolish to not want you as their queen." Renee pulled me into a hug.
"Ugh! There come the tears again, seriously you better not mess up your makeup!" Lily gave me a stern look then smiled "She's right though, I will be honored to have you as my Luna."
"So will I." Scarlet added in.
"Are you going to hide my mate up there forever?" I heard Troy shout from downstairs making me smile.
"Oh calm your gills Trout, we are coming." Renee hollered back. I couldn't help but laugh at the way those two bantered with each other. "Let's go knock his socks off." Renee winked at me and we all headed downstairs.
When I got to the top of the stairs I stopped in my tracks. I thought Troy had looked stunning in his khakis for our date, but this? Holy frosted flakes. He had on grey dress pants, a light blue dress shirt, and a dark blue tie that matched my dress perfectly.
"Are you sure we need to go to this thing? I think we should take him and mark him now. Like, right now." For once I wasn't in disagreement with Nan.
"You're both drooling. If it wasn't so gross it would be cute." Ellie said snapping me out of my stare. Troy had also been staring at me which made me feel even better.
"Little fish you look, wow." Troy's jaw was still dropped which put a little bounce in my step as I came down the stairs. "Just... wow." He stammered when I had stopped in front of him. I could feel myself blushing as Troy leaned down to kiss me. Once his lips touched mine I forget everything else and leaned in for more which he gave me willing.
"Seriously, I gave you one job and that was to not mess your makeup up!" Lily's voice jerked us out of our bubble. I pulled away from Troy embarrassed that we had done that in front of my friends, I looked at them and they were all smiling. Well except Lily, she looked more annoyed that I would destroy her masterpiece.
"You two are seriously the cutest things!" Ellie gushed.
"Eh, he's not bad for a Trout." Renee said.
"Right back at you mutt." Troy said with a smile as he pulled me to his side. "Are you ready to go?"
I took a deep breath, "Yes."
As we made our way to leave I told Troy to head to the truck and I would meet him out there. He kissed my forehead and then headed out the door. I turned to the girls, "I just want to thank you guys again for everything you've done for me. Not just today but for everything over the years and the last month especially. You guys never turned on me, or judged me, or told me I was crazy to want a Merman as a mate. You all are my rocks, and I want you to know that no matter what happens I will always need you in my life. I love you guys." They all rushed me at that point and we group hugged it out.
"We love you too, now get out there to your man." Scarlet said.
"Show those royals just what a Luna is made of." Renee said as I waved to them and walked down the stairs to my mate. Time to face the Kings and Queens.