36. Celebrations: Archer's Pov
Chapter Goal: 300 votes
QOTC- who's your least favorite character from this book and why?
The room is dimly lit by sunlight streaming in through the curtains when I wake. I lay with my arms around Josephine's waist, her back to me as she continues sleeping. Memories of last night flash through my head and I can't keep my wolf from howling in my mind, ecstatic that we've finally completed the mating process with Josephine. I softly kiss the skin of her bare shoulder, examining the hickeys and love bites I left on her skin last night. The room is still really cold from when I lowered the temperature to accommodate her Heat, but I can't bring myself to get out of bed to turn off the air conditioning. Instead, I readjust the covers and wrap my arms tighter around my mate, knowing that if I'm cold, then she's most definitely freezing.
I don't really have anything planned for today, but I know that I want to spend it making memories with Josephine. This whole trip has been memorable, even though nothing was really planned and done on a whim. I want to be able to take a real vacation with her, especially since I know she hasn't been on one before, but that will have to wait for some other time. 'We need to take mate to the hotels more often.' my wolf states, making me wonder why we haven't thought of taking her to our hotels before.
I unintentionally let out a low growl when I feel Josephine wriggle in my arms, my wolf not wanting to let her go just yet. Feeling her trying to push away from me as she's waking up, I reluctantly let her go, beginning to feel nervous about her reaction to the events of last night. My greatest fear is that she'll feel regret or disappointment, however, her mind isn't focused on the subject at all as she wakes. She sits up and shivers, rubbing her eyes before looking around the room.
As she does this, I pretend to be asleep, liking to give her some personal time in the mornings. The bed dips a little more as she lays back down, this time facing me so her head is rested on my chest, her hands finding themselves behind my neck playing with my hair. There's a deeper connection within our bond today and the sparks from her touch are even stronger than when we were just marked. I thought that I was able to have access into her mind before, but now I'm able to not only hear her thoughts, but feel them as if they're my own. It's amazing.
Her mind is primarily focused on getting warm, so I pull her closer to my body and pull the covers up so they cover her bare shoulders. The atmosphere is peaceful and after a while, I think she figures out that I'm awake, but doesn't pay any mind to it. I can't help but wonder if she's going to begin speaking again today, putting up my mental wall so she won't hear what I'm thinking, even though she rarely ever looks through my mind.
Will completing the mating process be enough for her to verbally communicate with me again? Because if that's not enough, then what is? She spoke last night, but I'm wondering if she'll continue to do so now that her Heat has ended.
I look down at her and watch as she traces patterns on my chest with her finger. She feels my stare and glances up at me, blushing and giving me a small smile when we make eye contact. I hold back a growl when she shuffles upward to kiss my cheek, feeling her naked body rub against mine. Soon after, I end up sitting against the headboard with her in my lap, our chests pressed together as we face each other.
My heart skips a beat when she opens her mouth, looking as if she's finally about to say something to me. But just as she's about to make a sound, I feel a wave of anxiety and a little bit of fear come from her through the mate-bond, stronger than I've ever felt from her before. "It's okay," I tell her, putting my hand on her cheek to make sure she doesn't look away from me. "I'll wait until you're ready. No matter how long it takes."
She gives me an apologetic look, almost as if to say, 'You shouldn't have to wait.'
She opens her mouth once more, the same feelings projecting to me through the mate-bond when she tries to force herself to speak. "You only want to speak right now because you feel like you have to," I state the truth. "I don't want that, and I know you don't either. Baby steps, okay?"
"Darling?" I ask when I don't get a response.
"Yeah." her voice is barely audible, quieter than a whisper, but it's there.
Hearing it causes a mix of emotions to stir in me; happiness from finally hearing it after so long, sadness because I know she's forcing herself to talk, and most of all, concern for her. I calm her increasing panic by pressing my lips to hers, satisfied when I feel her calm down. "Just like that." I smile, pecking her cheek once more. "I love you."
Her lips move as if to try saying 'I love you too', but I don't hear any sound come from her mouth. It doesn't matter though. The fact that she just said one word today means the world to me. She means the world to me.
I place more kisses on her face, pulling her closer to me as she giggles and scrunches her nose at me. Wrapping her legs around my torso and waiting for her to wrap her arms around my neck, I get off the bed holding her in my arms with a blanket draped over us, the air feeling a lot colder than before. "I know, I know. I'm turning it off right now." Although I know she's trying to stop it, I can feel her shaking from the cold as I turn off the air conditioning.
I'm reminded that Josephine takes extremely quick showers within the next five minutes. When she confirms that she doesn't use warm/hot water I frown even more. I make an effort to show her that she doesn't have to rush in the shower; that it's okay to stand there and relax. "Let me care for you too." I say when she tries to wash her own hair after doing mine.
I put a little bit of shampoo in my hands and work it into her scalp, content when she relaxes under my touch. As I wash her body, I can't help but let my eyes linger on her figure, entranced by the piece of artwork standing in my arms. This is something she notices and tries to cover up, but I take hold of both of her hands before she can do so. "Don't hide yourself from me." I whisper in her ear. She blushes and turns her head to the side, embarrassed when I pull her backside flush against me.
"You," I place a kiss on her cheek. "Are the most beautiful," I place another on her jaw. "Woman," behind her ear. "I have ever," on her neck. "Laid my eyes upon." I give extra attention to her mark, knowing I'm having a big effect on her when she gasps and grips my hands tighter.
I don't keep my lips on her mark for long though, wanting to give her skin a break from last night. All over her neck and shoulders are hickeys and love bites, a handful on her inner thighs as well. Let's just say I really gave her body attention last night.
Josephine blushes even more when she realizes what I'm thinking about, reaching to turn off the water so we can get out the shower. I chuckle and let her complete the action, following her to get a towel to wrap around my waist. Not having much to do now, I stand back and watch as Josephine brushes out her hair and does her morning skin routine, taking her hand as we walk to the closet to put some clothes on.
After throwing on a t-shirt and jeans, I turn around and see her wearing a pair of shorts with a hoodie of mine, covering the marks I left on her body. 'It looks like he tried to eat me.' I hear her think, her mind focused on covering up.
"Because I did." I smirk, chuckling when she blushes once more.
*** (a little over a week later)
I grab Josephine's shirt off the floor and help her put it back on, smiling as she helps me fix my hair before we rush into the car. She's breathless and still panting by the time we get to our destination, her cheeks tinted pink from our earlier actions. Let's just say that the two of us have had a hard time keeping our hands to ourselves since coming home.
I watch as she looks at herself in the car mirror, composing herself before taking a deep breath, her demeanor shifting when she sees the building and is reminded of where we are. This is the first time we've been to a pack-owned building or seeing other people since coming back from our trip. "It's going to be alright." I tell her, placing a kiss on the back of her hand after helping her out the car.
Her nervousness increases as we get closer to the building, not knowing the reaction she'll get from her siblings once they figure out we've completed the mating process. I look further into her mind and see that she's feeling a mix of emotions; anxiousness to see Eric, longing to see Nate. "Elia's not here?" I ask, noticing how her sister doesn't seem to be prominent in her thoughts at the moment.
She shakes her head, putting on a smile as we enter the building and meet Nate and Derrick. The two of them immediately turn their heads when they hear the door click, both recognizing the new change in Josephine and I's scents. Derrick doesn't seem phased since he already heard from me a couple days ago, but Nate stares at his younger sister for a while, not knowing how to react.
"Hi." as usual, her voice is barely audible as she greets her brother with a hug.
Nate and Derrick both look at me, wondering if they really heard her speak. 'Just a couple words a day.' I tell them privately. 'She still won't mind-link conversations either, so take it slow.'
"Mi sei mancata, sorellina," he returns her hug. (I missed you)
I go to the other side of the room where the file cabinet is and let them two have their moment, joining Derrick where he's sitting at the table.
The most she's consistently spoken so far is two words. And those two words were 'I'm fine.' I would love for her to tell me the truth and tell me that she's not fine, for she would be speaking if she were perfectly okay. The day after we came home, she spoke nearly ten words, but that number has been declining. The second day back she didn't reach five words, yesterday all that left her mouth was 'why' when I turned off the tv last night and 'there' when I asked where the remote was. Today she just said hi, so I'm not sure if that's all she'll be speaking today.
I've spent a lot of time trying to decipher her emotions. Most of the time she's content, which confuses me as to why she hasn't began openly speaking again. However, she always seems to be feeling some sort of fear, even if it's just a small amount. And it's always over little things like feeling exposed when she's alone, when I accidentally slam things, or just over bad memories that randomly occur in her mind. I try my best to comfort her when I sense her feeling that way, but she's so accustomed to hiding it from me that she gets confused when I try to give her extra attention.
Twenty minutes later, Nate, Derrick, and I are monitoring Josephine's interaction with Eric through the glass screen. "He said our mom has been trying to mind-link him, so he's been on low levels of wolfsbane for the past week." Nate says. "It's not enough to make him toxic to us, but it's enough to stop him from having contact with his wolf and mind-linking anyone."
"He's the one who asked for it too." Nate adds.
"Do you think it would be safe to set him free?" my question causes both Nate and Derrick to whip their heads towards me. "Monitored, of course."
"Honestly," Derrick is the first to speak up after a couple minutes. "I don't think he's a threat to anyone within the pack. I mean, he's the one who came back. And he hasn't been resisting."
"He would be monitored for a while before being completely on his own." I elaborate. "Because at the moment, I don't feel like we're making any progress keeping him in here. He's already given all the information that he's able to. What do you think, Nate?"
"Ankle monitored and watched 24/7." he responds. "I wouldn't trust him near the border or with any pack-member alone."
I know that out of everyone, Josephine trusts him the most, even though she still fears that he's going to leave again. However, she has that common fear with everyone in her life. It's just habit at this point. Unfortunate, but true.
"So we all agree on releasing him?" I get nods from both of them. "Let's do it today then."
"When?"
"Now." I answer, motioning for them to go into the interrogation room and retrieve Eric so he can shower and get clean.
He and Josephine are confused when he's taken out by Derrick, Nate walking to his sister to put some distance between the pair. "I'll be fine." Eric forces a smile, sensing her growing worry for him. He willingly leaves and doesn't ask any questions. Josephine, however, is a different story.
She tries to follow her brother, only to be held back by Nate. He waits a full minute for Eric and Derrick to leave sight before bringing her out to the main room. "Nothing bad is happening to him." he assures her. "He's just getting cleaned up."
She's still curious about what's going on, but holds her questions as she takes a seat at the table and waits. "Did you choose a place to eat yet?" Nate asks his sister, trying to distract her from worrying about Eric.
She shakes her head and shrugs, signaling that she hasn't chosen and doesn't care. The usual. Just letting others choose.
"The pack elders said that the paperwork should finally be finished by the end of this week." I inform her, also trying to take her mind off of Eric. "Your title will be official soon."
She nods in acknowledgment, but doesn't seem as excited about it as I am. "Is there going to be a ceremony?" Nate asks.
"Of course." I answer at the same time Josephine shakes her head.
"You don't want a ceremony?" Nate looks at his sister, shocked that she doesn't want to be celebrated amongst the pack. Lunas are basically the highest pack-position in the werewolf world. To not make a big deal of it is pretty much unheard of.
Josephine shakes her head once more, not sharing anyone's enthusiasm on the matter. "It'll be all about you," I tell her. "We want to celebrate you as our new, official Luna. Just a short ceremony with a reception after."
"Come on, sorellina," Nate sighs. "You're becoming our Luna, that's something you deserve to be celebrated for."
"Are we having a Luna ceremony for Sophie?" Derrick joins in the conversation, bringing out Eric who now has an ankle and wrist monitor on him.
"Do I get to go to that??" Eric asks, seeming excited now. "I wanna see you become Luna."
"Did the paperwork finally go through?" I nod in response to Derrick, showing him and Nate the conversation I had with the pack elders on my phone.
Eric's Pov
I watch my little sister as everyone in the room talks about her Luna ceremony, frowning when I see herself mentally detach herself from the situation. "Sophie," I take a seat next to her by the table.
She makes eye contact with me and blankly holds my gaze, not seeming interested in anything going on anymore. "Headache?" I assume, recognizing the look in her face.
She weakly nods, looking a little nauseous as well. "Do you feel like you're gonna throw up?" I watch as she nods again, putting a hand on her forehead only to realize that she isn't overly warm.
It takes her a couple seconds to regain her composure, but even then she's a little pale. This confuses me a little, as she was perfectly fine earlier when we were in the room. And I'm even more confused when about half a minute passes and she's back to how she was before, as if nothing even happened. I follow her gaze to the Alpha, Derrick, and Nate who are still talking about the Luna ceremony, all of them not taking into account the fact that Sophie simply doesn't want one. "It's tradition." I remind her, getting a nod of understanding in response.
The Alpha looks over to us when Sophie puts her head on my shoulder, surprisingly not separating us when he sees the unauthorized contact. "Derrick already explained to you what's going on?" I nod. "If you harm any pack member in any way, you'll be thrown into the cellars that all other prisoners are kept in. And if you try to escape or do anything else you're not suppose to, you will be shot at."
Sophie looks at the monitor on my ankle and the smaller one on my wrist, a small smile making its way onto her face when she realizes that I'm being freed from this building. "Where will I be staying?"
"A pack-owned apartment complex." I'm relieved when the Alpha tells me this; Nate and I are incapable of being around each other 24/7. We've never been able to do that in the past, and I know for a fact that we'll never get to that point. And we're both perfect ctly fine with that. "You'll still be monitored while you're there though."
As time passes, I observe my sister out the corner of my eye, noticing how she just sits in the chair keeping quiet while we sign papers and review things around her. The Alpha looks at her often and constantly tries to get her attention from where he stands across from her, but nothing seems to work. She just sits in her chair and looks around the room, not seeming to be too indulged in anything going on at the moment.
Her head is still rested on my shoulder when Nate tells me about our plans to eat out after this, but I don't think she acknowledges anything until I nudge her when she doesn't respond to Nate calling her name. "Hmm?" she sounds, sitting up straight.
"We're going out to eat."
The first person she looks at is Archer, immediately sensing that he isn't coming with us. "Derrick and I have pack-work to do." he tells her, getting a nod of understanding in response.
As we head into Nate's car, I observe the way he handled her as they walk side by side, his hand on the small of her waist as they make conversation. Well, they kind of make conversation. The Alpha speaks and pauses every couple phrases, as if Sophie is responding to him, but not a sound escapes from her mouth. He simply reads the little movements she makes and her facials. "I'll see you later, darling," he opens the car door for her and gets a quick kiss before leaving her in the backseat of the car with me.
Nate and I both stare at her, not gaining her attention until a couple minutes later when she realizes the car still hasn't moved. She snaps back into reality and gives us a look in return, as if to ask why we're staring. "Nothing." we both say at the same time.
The fact that she's fully mated to the Alpha is a little weird for Nate and I since we're her brothers, but we're in no position to ask her about it. That's more of an Elia-job. But at the same time, I don't know if she's close enough to talk to Elia about those things.
She shows us pictures of the places the Alpha took her to while they were out of town once we're seated in the restaurant. "Isn't that the hotel he owns?" I ask, getting a nod from her.
"One of the hotels he owns." Nate corrects. "And apparently you didn't even know about the franchises he owns until you went on that trip?"
She shakes her head.
It's hard for Nate to make conversation with her, it's obvious. He doesn't know how to decipher her subtle body language and facial expressions to get a real response from her other than 'yes' and 'no'. It's almost painful to watch; especially since everyone knows it's a struggle for the two to communicate in-person.
Throughout our meal, I can see the sadness in Nate's eyes whenever he looks away from our sister. It's the same look on the Alpha's face I've been seeing since Sophie stopped talking. They do a good job of masking it in front of her, but I can still tell they want nothing more than for her to start talking.
"Is Elia meeting us today?" I ask, wondering if our eldest sister is going to make an appearance today. From what I've heard from Nate, she's been caught up with her relationship with her mate. I wasn't surprised when I found out though. Elia's always been the type to spend time with more friends than family.
"She's busy with Wyatt." Nate says, sounding annoyed with her. "Like she always is."
"Have you been doing okay?" I ask Sophie, changing the subject. "I haven't seen you in a while."
She nods, a content look on her face as she pokes at her mostly uneaten food. No one has ever seen her go this long without talking and although the Alpha informed me that although she spoke a few words in the past week, that the number has been steadily decreasing. "You aren't hungry?" Nate asks, frowning when she decides to take the rest of her food to-go.
Sophie shakes her head, scrunching her nose at the smell of her food as if it's suddenly disgusting to her. As we head out, I notice her seeming nauseous again, this time a lot more prominent than before. Nate reaches over to put a hand on her forehead to see if she's warm, now concerned for her as well. "I'm okay." she whispers, stunning the both of us for a couple seconds.
"Alright." Nate nods, looking at me as if he were about to mind-link me before remembering that I'm on wolfsbane. The two of us know better than to outwardly make a big deal about our little sister speaking to us. The more attention we draw to it, the more self-conscious she'll feel and won't want to do it again.
"I think I'm getting a little sick." she says. "Like a cold or something. Nothing too bad."
"It's probably because you were traveling." Nate tells her, knowing that our family had never really traveled much. Plus the fact that Sophie's immune system is already weaker than most wolves explains why she's feeling like this too. "Did you enjoy the trip?"
He earns a nod in response this time, but no other comment from Sophie for the rest of the car ride. "Why are we at the training center?" I ask, recognizing the dreaded building. Before I moved away with my parents and Scarlet, I was constantly training here with Nate. I never had intentions on applying to become an Elite like Nate, but I wanted to be strong incase of an attack or emergency.
"Just because I'm not deployed anymore doesn't mean I changed my training schedule." he answers. "And I doubt Sophie trained at all when she was away, so we have to fix that. Plus, you haven't really worked out in the interrogation building. So we have to fix that too. I can't tolerate having weak siblings."
"I still have my abs." I raise my shirt to look at my stomach.
"Me too." Sophie does the same.
"Your guys' abs are nothing compared to mine." Nate shakes his head at us.
Sophie heads into the women's locker-room to get changed, most likely having a locker of her own with some spare clothes to workout in while I go with Nate to the men's locker-room where he lends me some clothes. "Do you think she's doing better?" I ask when I know our sister's out of earshot.
"I'm not sure." he sighs. "But we're gonna hope she's making progress."
*** (two weeks later)
Archer's Pov
"Is this helping, darling?" I ask as I massage Josephine's shoulders. She gives me a nod in response, murmuring a 'thanks, Archer'.
She's gone back to training with Nate and Eric twice a week, and although she's gotten sore plenty of times after training, she's been constantly aching since we returned from our trip. It's been about three weeks now and at first I thought she was coming down with a cold or that she was tired/recovering from our trip and mating, but now I'm not really sure. She been getting tired a lot faster and has been eating at different times than usual, which kind of concerns me. We've had some conversations, but nothing over a few sentences at a time from her.
"Are you going to be alright later for the ceremony?" I get another nod from her, feeling her shoulders loosen a little as I continue my work on her.
It didn't take a lot of time to plan her Luna-initiation ceremony since the pack elders and I have already been working on it for a while. The only reason we've waited a little longer since getting back is because I still had to make sure Josephine is okay with having one. I know that if it were up to her, she would still cancel the whole thing now, but that's the case with any type of celebration I try to throw for her.
"You should eat something before we go." I tell her, wanting her to at least snack on something before the ceremony so she has food in her system. "You want anything in particular?"
"Cherries."
I give her a look at her random choice, but sit down with her in the kitchen nonetheless. Earlier she refused to eat granola bars, the 'smell' apparently making her nauseous, and now she's craving cherries.
She looks absolutely stunning in her dress; it's the red one I bought for her that one time we went shopping before the trip. Most of her back is exposed and the front of her dress dips a little lower on her chest than I would like, but she still looks beautiful nonetheless. Courtney came earlier to help her get ready and although she couldn't convince my mate to wear her hair up, she was able to persuade her into actually dressing for the occasion. Apparently Josephine didn't want to look 'overdressed' at her own ceremony.
The necklace I gave her is the only jewelry she's wearing despite my offers to get her more to wear. She currently seems more than happy with just the necklace I gifted her as a late birthday present/apology, but I wish she would let me buy her something she would like. Preferably a ring for her left hand.
"The ceremony will go by quickly." I inform her once we're close to the venue. "I'm just going to say a couple words to the pack to formally announce you as Luna, you can speak as well if you'd like, then the reception will begin."
She nods, not really seeming to feel nervous about the event, which is a good thing. "I'll be right by your side the whole time, darling." I kiss the back of her hand, proud to finally be able to make this announcement public.
Everyone quiets down once they see us make a presence on the stage, our family and close friends sitting in the chairs closest to the front. "Good evening," I start off, putting my arm around Josephine's waist to make sure she's standing beside me and not behind. "As you all know, I've called everyone here today to make a long-awaited announcement."
"Almost a year ago, I met this wonderful woman standing by my side who I am lucky to be able to call my mate. Many of you have noticed an increase in wages, better working conditions, and a greater quality of life within pack overall; this is due to her. She has performed countless services for the pack, is our youngest Elite-trained tracker, and is one of the most caring, compassionate people I have ever met. So without further ado, I present to you my beautiful mate, Josephine Violet De Luca Mancini, your new official Luna!"
I chuckle when Josephine steps a little closer to me, shying away from the cheers and whistles of the crowd. "I am truly honored to be fulfilling this position and promise try my hardest to live up to the title of being Luna." she speaks into the microphone, everyone immediately quieting down to hear her before cheering again. "Thank you."
The loudest of the crowd are the younger people who know Josephine from school and work, all of them showing support for their friend officially becoming Luna. Everyone already referred to her as their Luna, but it's still nice to formally announce it. I proceed to give more information about the reception before dismissing everyone, getting an 'is that it?' look from Josephine as pack members file out. I nod, "Now we just spend time with the pack."
I know a lot other packs have elaborate Luna-initiation ceremonies, and it's werewolf tradition, but it's also usually at the demand of Luna's themselves. If i were to throw an elaborate party for Josephine though, she wouldn't enjoy it one bit. She wasn't raised being the center of attention and that's caused her to think she isn't worth the time, that's why I take it upon myself to do as much as I can for her. Even though this ceremony was extremely short and sweet compared to all others, it's the only thing we could've done without Josephine absolutely hating the idea.
I've made sure that the catered food is stuff that she likes and that the dessert table is filled with her favorite things as well. We'll be sitting at a table with our immediate families and Derrick, while everyone else fills the tables surrounding us. "Smile!" we look to our left and see my mom holding her phone up to take a picture of us. Pictures** of us.
Everyone at the table tries not making a big deal out of the ceremony, knowing that all that extra attention is the last thing Josephine wants. We're all surprised she chose to speak in front of the pack today and don't know what's going to come next from her. "If you feel overwhelmed, just let me know, alright, darling?" I whisper in her ear, noticing that she's beginning to feel uneasy. "Did the doctor say anything earlier?" I ask, referring to the doctor's appointment she had this morning. I wanted to come with her, but I had to make sure everything would be ready for tonight.
I frown when she shakes her head at me, the fact that she put up her mental wall letting me know that she's lying. "Did you take your medication today?" she shakes her head.
Eric overhears our conversation from where he sits on the other side of Josephine and opens his mouth to say something to her. But before either of us can get a word out, she tells us, "I can't."
She gives her brother a look to get him to stop asking her question, then mouths 'later' to me. "Tonight." I say, wanting answers before we go to bed. She hesitates, but eventually agrees.
'What is mate hiding?' my wolf asks me, hoping for the best. It has to be something serious. If it wasn't, she would've told me already and she wouldn't be feeling so anxious about it.
She sips her water and looks around as the table conversation continues, the two of us turning to each other again when a certain song comes on in the background.
Flashback (third night at the hotel)
I watch from the doorframe as Josephine plays with the remote controlling the lights in our suite. She's amused when she realizes she can make the lights fade to different colors, her jaw dropping as she looks at what she did. Turning on some music as well, I hear her giggle before realizing that I'm there watching. "It looks like we're in a club." I chuckle, making my way over to her and taking her hand, raising it to make her do a little twirl for me.
I look behind her to find a bottle of cold liquor on the table. Thoughts of her past with drinking flash through my mind and I ask twice if she's sure she wants to drink, but get positive feedback nonetheless. My wolf feels good knowing that our mate trusts us enough to drink tonight, enjoying the fact that she's comfortable with us.
"Just you and me," I tell her as I pour the first shot glasses full. "Our own little party."
Flashback Over
That night we stayed up drinking and dancing to music playing throughout the suite, just having fun with each other's company without any second thoughts. It was the first time I've ever seen Josephine have anything with alcohol too. She's told me about her drinking problem in the past and although I was weary about drinking with her that night, we both knew that it would just be the two of us alone staying in the suite, so nothing bad could've happened.
"I would ask you to dance, but I don't think how we danced to this song is appropriate for this setting." I murmur, earning a small laugh in return.
Various pack members approach us to congratulate Josephine on officially becoming Luna, a polite smile plastered on her face as the evening goes by. Her smile becomes more genuine when people she actually knows approach, proud expressions from her friends her own age.
She's began speaking again, but her voice is still extremely quiet and she won't talk as often as she used to. However, most people have gotten used to this from her. She speaks the most when it's a one-on-one conversation and puts in effort to keep it going, which I'm thankful for. These past few days she's showed drastic improvement and I'm ecstatic about it. Once the time is right, I'll ask her more about what caused her to go selectively mute for so long.
Josephine's Pov
I'm relieved when Archer's mom takes me away from her son, pulling me to the other side of the table where Camille and Elia are seated. I could tell that Archer was really curious about how my doctor's appointment went and the pressure was rising in me. "You already set it as your screensaver?" Elia looks at my phone, referring to the picture that Archer's mom, Laura, took of my mate and I.
I nod at her, smiling as I look at my phone once more. This is one of the only real pictures I have with Archer.
"I'm so happy you decided to take the Luna position. I know you gave up a lot to do this." Laura tells me, referring to the scholarship I passed up in order to stay here. Sometimes it makes me sad thinking about the opportunity I passed up, but I know that there are plenty more opportunities if I stay here. Plus I don't want to leave Archer or my family after we've just been reunited.
"You have no idea how happier Archer's been since you two got together." Camille chimes in, our eyes drifting to where he stands with Derrick, the pack gamma (third in command), and the pack delta (fourth in command). "He's less of an ass now too."
"Camille." Laura sends her a glare while Elia holds in snickers.
"It's true!" Camille gasps, as if she can't believe her mother isn't agreeing with her. "You've noticed it, I've noticed it, everyone's noticed it."
"What we're trying to say is that you've made a huge, positive impact on Archer's life." Laura says. "He's lucky to have you."
"I'm lucky to have him too." I whisper, unable to help myself from looking at him across the room. He flashes me a smile, causing everyone he's speaking with to cease their conversation and look at me when they catch him staring my direction.
"Stop it." he smacks each of them upside the head when their eyes linger a little too long on me. "She's mine."
"Boys." Elia rolls her eyes. Soon after, Wyatt and Robert, my sister's and Camille's mates, take them to the dance floor, leaving me alone with Laura at the table. It doesn't last very long though, for Vivian, Camille's five year old daughter runs up to us.
"Hi, Auntie Sophie. Hi, Grandma." she climbs onto my lap.
"Hi, Vivian," I chuckle, wrapping my arms around her waist. "I like your dress. It's really pretty."
"Mom made me wear it."
"What do you want for your birthday, Vivian?" Laura asks her granddaughter, referring to her sixth birthday coming up. "Your told me you asked her for a sibling."
Vivian quickly shakes her head, "I don't want a sibling because then I have to deal with them all the time. I want a sibling, but the kind where I only have to deal with them when I want to. A cousin. I want a cousin."
I choke on air when she says this.
"You and Uncle Archer should get me a cousin, Auntie Sophie. I'd love that." she adds. "If it's a girl, I can show her my dolls. And if it's a boy, I can show him my dolls too."
"You'll get a cousin in a couple months." I say, delivering the news to Laura.
"Yay!" Vivian exclaims.
Before she can run off, I hold out my pinky to her, "I need you to promise me something first."
"Okay." she nods, showing me that she's listening.
"It's a secret, so you can't tell anybody yet. Especially Uncle Archer. Pinky promise me you won't tell him yet."
"Pinky promise." she links her small pinky with mine and runs off.
"I had a feeling you were expecting." Laura whispers, a huge smile on her face. "When did you find out?"
"This morning." I answer, my nervousness rising once more as I think of how Archer wants answers before we go to bed tonight.
"Honey, you have nothing to worry about with telling him," Laura assures me, sensing my distraught. "He's always wanted to start a family, this will be great news to him."
"I don't know about that." I shake my head, my wolf and I stressing about the matter already. "Neither of us are ready for something like this."
It's really common for werewolf couples to have children young; it's even more common for wolves of higher pack positions to stater families while still in high school, so it's not like Archer and I are out of the ordinary. But the idea is still daunting. I just graduated and I'm still trying to figure out my life at the moment. There's just so much going on right now that I'm not really sure what direction is the one I should be stepping towards.
"You're afraid to tell him things... why?" Laura observes, giving me a look to tell me that I should know better than to lie to her about her own son. "You don't have to tell me everything, I just curious as to where this barrier is coming from. It takes a lot for a she-wolf to not speak to her mate for so long."
I let out a shaky breath, awkwardly shrugging as I try to think of an answer for her. The question makes me want to shut back up, but since gaining a deeper connection with Archer through the mate bond, I know that it'll just hurt him even more than I already have. I feel guilty for making him put up with it for so long, and I feel stupid for not being able to overcome it sooner.
"I don't want him to feel obligated to be a part of things that don't concern him." I say, not really knowing what else I'm suppose to tell her. I mean, I guess it's kind of the truth. After what happened with prom, my birthday, and my graduation, I just kind of learned that it's selfish of me to expect him to care about things like that if it's something he isn't concerned with. I didn't go to prom, and I still had a good time with my friends. I still got to spend my birthday with him, even if he didn't know it at the time, and parts of that day are still a good memory. I walked across a stage and got my diploma with no one in the crowd cheering me on, and I'm fine.
I'm fine.
Laura gets the hint that I'm not just talking about the news I'm going to be delivering to Archer soon, for we both know that this heavily involves Archer and I. "You know all he wants is to give you the world," she gives me a small smile. "But in order for him to do that, you need to let him."
I nod in understanding.
"Can I have a dance?" Eric holds his hand out for me to take.
In my heels, I'm only a couple inches shorter than him, something we both notice once we get on the dance floor. "This music is lame." he whispers to me, making sure that no one else can hear in fear of offending someone.
"Wait 'til the after-party." I lower my voice as well, winking at a couple of my friends behind Eric as I tell him about what we're all waiting for. Once the families and older wolves leave, we're changing the music, lights, and the whole mood of the room. I've been working on my twerking for later.
"Is the Alpha going to be a part of this?" he raises an eyebrow at me, wondering if I'm doing this without Archer knowing.
I nod, "I'm making him."
It's been a long while since I've partied; I don't think I've been to one since getting together with Archer. And since I'm no longer single, I know that I have to be careful with who I dance with/0n. I also can't drink tonight, so I'll be one of the only sober people in this place.
"You think Nate's gonna stay?"
I shrug, not knowing if our oldest brother is the type to party. He's probably been clubbing with his friends and stuff like that, but growing up, we've never really seen that side of him. If he has some sort of rebellious side, he does a good job of hiding it and being a 'good example' for us.
This is also going to be the first time Archer's going to be hanging out in a setting with my friends. To have the Alpha at any of our parties is kind of weird, but now that everyone's of legal age, I guess there's no harm. The fact that he even knows about my previous drinking problem is embarrassing. I mean, who develops a drinking problem before they're a legal adult? But at the same time, him knowing makes me feel a lot safer. Even though I don't always want to tell him things, I know it's good for him to know what's going on.
'Mmmhmm.' if my wolf were able to give me a pointed look, she would. 'You think that until it's actually time to tell mate something important. Then you come up with every excuse not to.'
'You don't have to attack me like that.' I tell her, already sending that I was going to suggest telling Archer our news tomorrow or something. 'If we tell him during the reception, he'll want to go home and we won't get to stay for the afterparty. And if wait until after the afterparty, then there's a chance he'll go to bed mad at us-'
'Don't even start with that.' my wolf growls at me. 'We're telling mate tonight and that's final.'
*** (four hours later)
The car ride home is a little awkward. As I'm driving the two of us home, I can feel him staring at me. His mind is open for me to read, and although I try not to, in attempt to stay focused on the road, but his not-so-clean thoughts about us are hard to ignore.
"You did this to me." he states, referring to the tent in his pants as if he's offended that I'm not outwardly paying him any attention.
"You didn't have to come get me." I whisper, taking the long way home on purpose just to make him wait.
Flashback
"You miss your single-days when you could shake it like nobody's business, Jo?" one of the girls, Kelsey, teases, knowing that I'm antsy to get on the dance floor.
"Just because she's with the Alpha doesn't mean she can't." Courtney rolls her eyes.
"He'd drag you off the moment he caught other guys looking." Eric says.
"He can try." I shrug, unable to keep a smirk off my face as I imagine Archer trying to stop me from dancing tonight. I will actually throw hands.
A couple minutes later, Courtney, Kelsey, and I are on the dance floor, all of us having fun until Alan makes his way over and takes Court away. "No balls." Kelsey dares me when Travis Scott starts playing, thinking I won't let loose and join her.
A circle quickly forms around us and a couple other people, hands trying to pull me towards them, but I push them away until I feel the familiar sparks of my mate. "What the hell are y-" not stopping the movement of my lower half, I turn my head and lock lips with Archer, feeling his hands move down to my hips.
Flashback Over
Long story short, I ended up being all over Archer on the dance floor. We were in the middle of a crowd so I figured I might as well give everyone a show, and Archer is still suffering the consequences of first trying to get me off the dance floor.
"There were guys trying to get you to dance on them." he growls. "I don't tolerate anyone trying to grab you like that."
He's a little drunk so I'm very surprised he didn't let his emotions get the better of him and hit someone. When he's sober he's already very protective. If he were a dog I would give him a bone.
I get out the car first when we make it home and go over to the passenger's side to guide him into the house. Taking my heels off by the door, I frown when I turn around and see Archer making a face at me, as if he's trying to hold in a laugh. "You just got a whole foot shorter." he chuckles.
Not replying, I take his hand and drag him upstairs with me. I help him undress and put up his clothes, grabbing one of his t-shirts to change into before joining him on the bed. He pulls me towards him in a spooning position, burying his face in the crook of my neck. "Did you have fun tonight at your celebration?" he asks.
"Mmhmm." I nod, turning a little so I can kiss him. "Thank you for throwing it for me."
-&&;$;/&:@$:/&/@;&$/&-@:&($&//&$;-@-"
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Super sorry for the late update (as usual). I really suck at being timely okay. And because of that, I know I will never make it back onto the hotlist, but it's okay. I continue to update because I enjoy writing. And that's all that matters.
xoxo Priscilla