The Unexpected Mate

Part 49

I spent the weekend in my room sulking and crying, my heart broke a little every time I thought about the decision I had to make. All I wanted to do was talk to him about it but I knew I wouldn't be able to see Troy since my dad was now on high alert. I wouldn't be surprised if he had warriors surrounding our house. I thanked the goddess that I had signed up for cleanup day today at school. Every year students could earn extra credit by coming to the school the next business day after the last day to help wipe down desks, stack chairs, or whatever else they needed to close the school up for the summer. Troy had signed up too, not that he needed the extra credit but he knew we would get to spend time together. I got dressed quickly and raced down the stairs, for once in my life I actually wanted to get to school early. As I ran by the kitchen I was stopped by my father's voice. "Where do you think you are going?" He asked.

"Um, to school? It's cleanup day today." I said.

"I don't think so, you will not go anywhere that boy may be." My heart sunk at my dad's words, if he wouldn't let me go to school I couldn't talk to Troy.

"William, she has to go to the school today. This is for extra credit and she signed up for it." My mom said coming to stand in between us. "How would it look to the school and the pack if their Luna skipped out on something she had already promised to do? Unless you would care to explain to the whole pack why she didn't go today." Mom turned her back to my dad and gave me a wink. She knew dad wouldn't want to explain to everyone about Troy, he found it embarrassing that his daughter was mated with a merman.

"Fine." My dad grumbled. "But it is straight to the school and straight back, do you hear me? I will be waiting for you right here after school to make sure you come home and aren't fraternizing with that thing." Dad stepped out of the kitchen and walked to his office, we heard the door slam shut a few seconds later making both me and my mom jump.

"I'm sorry sweetie." My mom said.

"For what, it's him not you." She hadn't done anything wrong.

"For your dad, for everything I guess. I can't imagine what you are going thru right now, part of me doesn't want to know. Come on, I will walk with you to school so we can talk and you aren't late." She linked our arms together and we headed out the door towards school.

We had walked for a while before my mother spoke. "When I met your father it was love at first site, which you know because we've made you listen to the story a thousand times." She chuckled. Mom was right, David and I had heard lots of times about when mom and dad found each other, how it was love at first site and they were made to be together.

"But what you don't know is how very scared I was to be your fathers mate. I wasn't scared of him but of the responsibility of being a Luna to a pack. I would be in charge of people, and those people would look up to me as an example. What if I wasn't good enough, or what if I disappointed them? All these thoughts ran thru my head."

"But you are an amazing Luna mom." I interrupted. I wasn't just saying that either, my mom was a great Luna and the whole pack loved her.

"Thank you sweetie. My point to all of that is this, I never would be the Luna I am today without your father. He supported me, helped me, loved me, and encouraged me; he is the one who made me who I am today as a Luna. It goes the same way for him, that's how mates work. He wouldn't be who he is today without me. The moon goddess destines certain people to be together for a reason, so they can support, help, love, and encourage the other one in specific ways that only a mate would know how to do." She stopped as we neared the school. We both looked towards the front stairs and saw that Troy was waiting for me with Renee by his side.

"Annie, I can't imagine living life with anyone but your father. I want you to know that you will always be my little girl no matter what you decide." She paused as her eyes filled with tears. "I love you sweetie, now go to your mate and that best friend of yours." She gave me a quick hug and turned to walk back home. I stood there watching her leave, my mom had just said in not so many words that she understood if I chose Troy or the pack. She would still love me if I chose him and was shunned from the pack. I couldn't help the tears of love that I had for my mom slip down my cheek, she knew she would never be able to see me again but she knew that I needed Troy.

I walked towards Troy and Renee, they could both see the sadness on my face. "Annie, what's going on?" Renee asked me. I took a deep breath in to calm myself before I told them about my conversation with Oma and my mother.

"Trout won't die though, that's good news!" Renee said trying to be cheerful. I looked over at Troy and he looked as bad as I felt. Renee looked between the two of us, "Hey this isn't over guys, don't look defeated. We can figure this out!" We both looked at her like sad pups. "Stop right there with those sad looks! I'm going to figure this out, there has to be a loop hole somewhere! Your mom may be okay letting you go but I'm not! I will figure this out Annie." She gave me a quick hug and took off into the school mumbling to herself. I looked over at Troy who looked like he had been kicked in the stomach.

"Renee and I already got our assignments, you're in the English wing with Miss Courtney and I'm in the Chemistry wing. We have the same lunch break so we will talk then okay?" Troy said. It was not okay, I wanted to talk to him now and reassure him that everything would be okay. "I love you." He kissed my cheek and walked into the school leaving me outside a lone. All I wanted was to run for the woods and forget about everything just for a little while. But I knew if I skipped out on today Principle Jacobs would call my parents and tell them I was absent, the last thing I needed was my dad coming here guns blazing.

The morning dragged on and I was tired of sneezing from all the dust in my nose, I couldn't believe how filthy those rooms were. I walked in the lunch room looking for Troy or Renee, I didn't see either of them which I thought was weird. I walked out the back of the school and into the woods, maybe Troy was waiting for me at our spot. I felt a smile come on my face as I saw my mate sitting on a rock waiting for me. I ran the rest of the way to him and threw my arms around him, I felt him hesitate then wrap his arms around me.

"What's wrong?" I asked him, he had never hesitated to touch me.

"What isn't wrong?" He asked me. "You basically are having to choose me or your family. You can't have both according to your Oma. How can I ask that of you? How can I ask you to leave behind everything and everyone that you know for me?" He put his head in his hands. My heart broke seeing how upset he was, I reached out and lifted his chin so he could look me in the eyes. I could see tears forming in his eyes.

"Hey, don't think like that." I told him. "This isn't something that needs to be figured out right now, there's still a little time."

"We don't have time though. Your dad already knows about me, you really think he's going to wait before demanding that you reject me? All because I'm the wrong kind of animal. Which I would like to say is not fair in the slightest, just because you're the future Luna you have to have a wolf for a mate. If you weren't some kind of werewolf royalty that had ridiculous rules we wouldn't be having this problem!" Troy shouted. I stepped back from him, he had never yelled at me before.

"Oh, so this is my fault?" I asked. "I'm sorry, I didn't realize me being a future Luna was such an inconvenience for you! My apologies that the moon goddess was such a horrible person to you and mated you with me!" Now I was mad. How dare he try to pin this on me, couldn't he see that I was just as upset as he was over all of this? I turned to walk back to school, I didn't want to fight with him and say something I would regret later.

"Annie wait! I'm sorry, that's not what I meant. I was just upset with it all." Troy said as he came to catch up with me.

"You don't think I'm upset to? You don't think this isn't affecting me at all? I'm upset too but I would never take it out on you! Mates don't do that." I snapped at him and walked back to school leaving him standing in the woods. It hurt to leave him standing there but he needed to learn that we needed to work together on this, it would be the only way for us to make it.