His Luna

Chapter Six

Kristoff Flores

It's been a few days since my sister has moved in with her mate and left me to the housework and business, and what do I have to show for it? A dirty house, less business than usual, and a pack that has sensed the discord from within.

Diego is of little help. He says customers will show, and as for the housework, he's never been any good at that. It was always mom and Daniela who took care of that, doing the cooking and cleaning. Diego and I can barely keep ourselves fed. If it weren't for takeout, I don't know what we'd do. Chinese takeout cartons litter the living room and pizza boxes lay on the stove in the kitchen. If Daniela saw this, she'd have an embolism. She always was a neat freak.

On a whim, I drive the half hour to the hotel to check in on my sister. Once inside, I instantly catch her scent and follow it to the dining area, and find her in a uniform, her hair tied in two braids.

She's a waitress? What is her mate thinking? My sister has never had a job before. She can't do this.

"What can I get you, sir?" Daniela asks with a smile.

"A hamburger, everything on it. A sweet tea. And could you throw in a basket of fries?" The gentleman asks. He's a human and Daniela continues smiling, writing down his order on a little pad of paper.

"Sure thing." Daniela says. "We'll have that right out to you." She turns around and heads back to the bar, slipping the piece of paper to a guy behind the bar. "The guy wants a basket of fries."

"Gotcha." He says.

Daniela turns around, leaning against the bar, and she gazes around, her eyes finally settling on me. "Kristoff?" She mumbles. I wander over. "What are you doing here?"

I stick my hands in my pockets. "I was wondering how you were doing."

"I'm fine." Daniela says. "Do I need to get Dakota?"

"No. I'm genuinely wondering how you're doing, sis." I tell her. "It's been a few days. How are you settling in?"

"Good." Daniela says, her eyes wounded. "You really hurt me, Kristoff."

"I know I did, Daniela." I tell her. "I seem to do that a lot."

"Yeah, you do." Daniela crosses her arms. "Are you just now realizing that?"

"I don't know. Maybe." I tell her. "It's not easy, you know, raising a teenager?"

"I'm not easy? I thought I'd made things very easy for you and dad, Kristoff. I never complained. I cooked and cleaned for you guys. I never asked for anything." Daniela insists.

"I know." I say, pained.

"Do you?" Daniela asks. "Because I don't think you do."

"I get it. We were the bad guys." I realize. "But I can't help that we didn't have a lot."

"No, but you guys could help the way you treated me." Daniela argues. "You could have met me halfway. We're a fucking family, Kristoff. Why couldn't you at least have made dinner some nights, or cleaned a pot?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't know you wanted me to." I say.

"You should have known." Daniela says. "You should have known."

"I'm sorry I didn't know."

"Order up."

Daniela grabs the food and takes it to her customer and I follow her.

"Here you go sir." She says. She hands him his food.

"I never got my sweet tea."

"It'll be just a minute." She tells him. She goes over to the machine and gets a cup, filling it to the brim, and takes it back to the customer. "Here you go." She reaches into her pocket and hands him a straw as well.