The Luna

Chapter Ten

"Are you excited?" Natalya asked. She and Aleena were walking down the hall towards the dining hall. Well, she was walking and Aleena was skipping ahead, dragging her mother behind her.

"Yes!" Aleena cheered. "Do you think he'll like me? What should I call him? Dad? Daddy? Father?"

"How about you ask him?"

"That's embarrassing! I won't do that! He'll think I'm weird," Aleena rambled on. Natalya only smiled. Who wouldn't be nervous about meeting a parent for the first time or a stranger? Natalya blushed as she remembered the first time meeting Elijah and how he marked her in the bathroom before they even had a full conversation. However, that was normal for true mates; meeting, marking and mating usually within the first 24 hours to the first week.

"He won't think you're weird. He will adore you!" Natalya said.

"You think?"

"Yes." Natalya pushed the door to the dining hall open. As suspected no pack members were talking and eating breakfast. There were two waiters who placed a few last dishes on the table before disappearing behind the kitchen doors. No pack member was forced into any job. They were all paid fairly and applied to the jobs they wanted.

Elijah sat near the end of the table on the seat next to the head of the table. It must have been a tough decision for him to not sit at the seat of power. "Good morning," he said, standing up and pushing back his chair.

"Hi," said Aleena quietly as she hid behind Natalya's legs.

"Good morning, Alpha," Natalya smiled and limped over to the head of the table with a seven-year-old hanging off of her leg. "I'm glad you could join us this morning."

"I wouldn't have missed it."

"Cool." Natalya pulled Aleena off of her leg and tried to get her to sit opposite Elijah. Each time that she put Aleena in the chair she got up and rushed to her mother's side. "Aleena was very excited this morning to meet her father. Isn't that right, Aleena?"

"Mh-hmm," she replied to Natalya's side.

"How about you introduce us?" Elijah asked, making eye contact with his mate. Her blue eyes stared right back at him. She smiled at him.

"Elijah, this is my daughter Aleena." Elijah frowned at the 'my daughter'. "Aleena, this is your father."

Aleena made the same small smile her mother had moments ago. He could spot the similarities between his daughter and her mother. They had the same eyes and smile. But her blonde curly hair came from Elijah. The curls were tied back with pink ribbons keeping her wispies out of her face.

"Hello Aleena," Elijah said taking a seat which encouraged Aleena to sit in her own seat to match her father of who she was trying to impress.

"Hi," Aleena replied with her fingers in her mouth.

"Sweetie, look up when someone is talking to you. You don't need to be shy," Natalya encouraged. She began to pick up foods displayed on the table and distribute them to hers and Aleena's plates. She gave Aleena some pancakes and fruit, being careful to avoid putting pineapple on her plate since she was allergic.

"So Aleena, tell me about something about yourself," Elijah asked.

"Umm.." Aleena started. Then she said something incoherent.

"Pardon?"

"I like the colour pink, and purple, and blue, and green, and yellow."

"That's a lot of colours."

Natalya hummed. "Aleena likes all the colours except orange." She was trying to get a conversation started between the two of them.

"Yeah, orange is ugly."