Teenage Luna | ✔️

Chapter Twenty-Two

^Gif is of Burkely Duffield who plays William Gallagher. *hehehe*

I glared at Mum, silent. 

Her smirk broadened, "What were you saying?"

William stood up and held out his hand, "My name is Will. Nice to meet you, ma'am." 

Will?

"Call me Violet," she introduced herself, shaking his hand. 

What just happened? 

"Hi Kota," Mum ruffled his hair before turning back to me, "Lady Artemis, huh?"

My hands moved into fists in my lap and the living room dropped a few more degrees.

"Cut that out," Mum ordered, "I'm your mother and you do what I say."

I relaxed my hands but the rest of my body remained tense.

Mum crossed her arms, a small smile on her face, "What did she want?"

'Merge your packs.'

How can I do that when his pack isn't even registered? We haven't even had a full pack meeting with everyone to discuss this yet...

I glanced up at Mum, "She wants us to merge our packs..."

Mum's eyes narrowed, "But that would have to mean you two are mates."

"Excuse me?" William stiffened.

Of course. Of course, Lady Artemis would pull this on me. Trick me into finding my mate. 

I crossed my arms, leaning back in the couch, "I don't need a mate to make me happy."

There was a pregnant pause before I lifted my head to stare at them. 

Kota raised an eyebrow, "America, you don't even smile anymore... You need something to make you happy."

I pressed my lips together. Was he being serious right now? I smile. And laugh. I can't remember the last time I did either but it mustn't have been too long ago. 

"And your pack won't survive without you having one," Mum pressed on. 

I stood up quickly, "Yeah? Well, I know he's my mate. Lady Artemis told me. But I'm not ready. That's the problem, alright? I'm just... just not ready."

Running a hand down my face, I walked out of the living room. I found myself in my bedroom soon after, staring at a picture on my bedside table. 

Had I really just said all that? 

I'd torn myself open to Kota, Mum... William. 

They all now knew... I was afraid. I - America Lyra James, possibly the most frightening teenage girl on the planet - was afraid. Afraid of commitment. Afraid of having to care for someone. Afraid of leading the pack. Afraid to let someone else lead as well. Afraid of... well, afraid of loving someone. Or even liking someone. 

Like Josh had said, 'I push people away'. It's for my safety and theirs. 

***

My mum and dad had always had a really stable relationship. Each full moon, you could see the love in each other's eyes. Even when it wasn't the full moon you could see just how deeply devoted they were to each other. One of these times would be when Dad would randomly bring home flowers from the florist. He'd put them in a vase for my mum and order her to not cook. This used to happen about once or twice a month. Now, it's happening more regularly as time passes.

Today, was one of those days. 

When I'd finally calmed myself down, I'd walked out of my bedroom and followed the smell of cooking. There was an ornate vase on the table with a beautiful bouquet of orange tulips. Dad was humming to himself with his back to me at the stove. I got to see Mum's reaction when she walked into the kitchen. She saw the flowers and Dad and, like always, she leapt on him and showered him in kisses.