Luna - Beasts of Beauty Series - Book 1

Chapter Thirty-Two

"This isn't a fairy wedding; I don't see why I can't see Sam before the ceremony." 

For the last two hours, my irritated grumbling has done little to change Marianne's mind. Tradition she called it. I wish I was warned about this tradition before they forced Sam out of our room before I was even awake. My chest aches, wishing I could have spent just five minutes snuggling him this morning.

"Wait, 'fairy wedding'?" Penelope perks up from her position on my bed. Marianne continues to fiddle with my hair, making sure the curls fall perfectly to her liking. 

"Fairies have a tradition where the mates aren't supposed to see each other until the wedding," I explain to her. "They say it's bad luck." She hums thoughtfully, though still looks very confused. 

"What's a wedding?" she finally asks. I chuckle softly. 

"It's like if you were to hold a mating ceremony," Marianne answers for me. A look of recognition dawns on Penelope's face. "Most fairies don't have mates, so when they choose their life partner, they host a ceremony to make their choice public."

"That sounds really sweet, actually," Penelope says wistfully. "I'm a fairy, could Connor and I have a wedding?" She cocks her head to the side in thought. "I really had been trying not to think about the fact that I'm a hybrid, but now that Dari-" her eyes widen and she glances at Marianne before clearing her throat quietly. "Now that it's safer," she rephrases, "I want to figure out what that means for me exactly."

"What do you mean?" I question. I'm sure being a hybrid definitely changes things for her, but it sounds like she has been thinking a lot about it.

"Well, you're the first hybrid. You have a plan - a prophecy, a destiny - you know? You're meant to be the strongest Luna yet. You're the most powerful witch and the most powerful wolf all in one creature," she gushes. "I'm just...a hybrid. Which is cool, but I don't know what it means for me. I feel like I know a lot about fairies, but at the same time, I feel lost and clueless because I never learned any of it... I just knew it because I'm a nymph - which is a really weird feeling and a topic for another time," she mumbles, reigning herself in before going off on a tangent. "I don't know if I want to embrace this side of me; and if I do, I don't know how." The room is quiet as Penelope finishes. It's clear that none of us know what to say. 

"Well, you can't ignore it," Marianne says after a moment.  

"She's right," I chime in. "Eliza stayed in hiding for years. I couldn't talk to her, I couldn't shift, I couldn't even sense her. I was miserable, honestly, not being in tune with that part of myself." Penelope nods as if she understands what I'm saying. "Have you asked your father about your mother at all?"

"My father doesn't even know I'm a fairy yet..." she trails off, biting her lip nervously. Marianne gasps suddenly. "I don't know how to tell him. I don't remember anything about my mother except for how broken he was when she left and how much he hates her now. How is he going to react when he finds out that I'm...like her?"

"He will love you," Marianne assures her, "because you are a strong, smart, beautiful, and kind woman that is nothing like her mother." Penelope's head snaps up.

"Did you know my mother?" she asks. 

"Briefly," Marianne confirms. "She stayed inside your home for most of her time here. She didn't try to acclimate to our community after your father moved her here. She only blamed him for how miserable she was. She claimed that he made her happy, but it was the pack community that she couldn't stand. But, then he offered to move you back to her frollick to make things easier for her. The next day, she was gone."