Forbidden Fruit

Chapter 14: Distractions & Visitors

Luna Cody

Alex's POV

When I hear my no longer best friends/mortal enemies open my door and enter the house on their own, I find myself contemplating just throwing myself into the Wedlyn Sea to avoid this encounter all together.

Not only did I start to feel like I might have a chance at breaking down some of these walls that Chloe wears like armor around him, but I haven't exactly gotten to courage to tell James and Cody about finding my Mate in the first place. How could I? They've been hoping and praying for this moment for me for years and my Soulmate doesn't even believe in the Bond. And is a Nightly through and through.

While James and Cody aren't ones to discriminate, I don't know how the rest of the pack would feel about having a Nightly as their Lune.

Something tells me that they wouldn't be too happy with it.

With zero time to prepare, I watch with agonizing torture as James and Cody come down the hallway and turn into the living room, sympathetic eyes and arms full of food aimed towards me. It doesn't even take them a full second to recognize the other person in the room, their noses notifying them before their other senses come in. I just sit in red earred silence as the Alpha and Luna take in Chloe stretched across my couch.

James is the first to speak, an encouraging smile plastered on his face. "Alex, getting your feet wet, I see. Finally went to the PD-" Before he can finish the most horrifying sentence he could have uttered, Cody growls at him in annoyance before elbowing my poor friend in the stomach, causing him to lost his breath for a moment , halting his offensive assumptions.

Cody's annoyed stare down turns sweet and welcoming the moment he turns towards Chloe, placing the food down on the coffee table in the middle of the room.

"Hi. You must be Alex's Mate. I knew something was up when he came to the meeting. I thought you had rejected him, but you're still here. Good. I'm Cody, the Luna of this pack and Alex's little brother. Nice to meet you." He introduces himself to Chloe, and once more I'm struck by just how comfortable Cody seems to have gotten in his skin and in his role as the caregiver of the pack. Everyone adores Cody and thinks he's the sweetest most thoughtful Luna they've had in a while. We all see his mother and father in him, and he's always been so understanding of what it was like to be alone and be terrified of staying that way. I should have known that he saw right through me this morning. 

Chloe blinks, a bit taken back, before laughing, his fox ears twitching in amusement as his joyful jiggle rings out, causing my cheeks to flood with color.

'You're whipped already.' Tobias snickers, though I notice the way he seems to watch Chloe's every move, graceful and elegant like a cat, though as expressive as a damn wall.

I'd love to see what he really thinks. What he's really gone through.

All the pain and the hate, and the core memories that shaped him into he is today. Does he have a James and a Cody? Does he have a twisted origin story that tends to dig deeper into your heart as time goes on? I was hoping to start to get to the bottom of the mystery that seems to be Chloe, though my friends seems to have other plans.

"Nice to meet you, Luna Cody. I'm Chloe. Your Alpha is right, I do live in a brothel in the Pleasure District, though I do have the delightful misfortune of being your Beta's Soulmate." He answers with a  sly smile, a twinkle in his eye that ignites something within.

"Delightful misfortune? You've only just met and he already knows you so well." James snorts as he comes over to claps me on the shoulder with a smirk thag melts into a genuine smile. "Congrats man, you deserve it. We'll go out for drinks and talk about it and celebrate once you're rested. But for now, relax. Seems like you got him talking, that's a good sign. Don't give up, okay? You got this." He tells me with a wink, poking me in my chest, and I can't deny that his words do raise my courage, boosting my confidence so that I won't give up.