125 Meeting Cassidy…
Lyla
I and Nathan sat in silence in his car outside the packhouse of Blue Ridge. We arrived nearly twenty minutes ago but no one was in the mood to leave yet.
My mind was running with a lot of conflicting emotions, I traced the edge of my blouse absently replaying everything that had happened today over and over. Suddenly announcing to Ramsey that Nathan had proposed to me without first accepting Nathan’s proposal properly was so embarrassing that I couldn’t even look at Nathan.
Did he think I was using him as a shield against Ramsey? Shame crept up to my cheeks at the thought but I shook my head again, trying to dispel the thoughts.
The silence stretched between us, comfortable yet filled with a lot of unspoken thoughts. Finally, Nathan
broke the silence.
“Did you mean it?” he asked quietly “About accepting my proposal?”
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125 Meeting Cassidy…
My heart skipped a beat. I turned to him, the sincerity in his gaze numbing my heart. Swallowing hard, I nodded.
“I do.”
A small smile touched his lips as they curved into a wide grin making my chest tighten with more guilt and uncertainty. “Okay,” he said simply as though my response was all he needed to hear.
The warmth in his smile made me uneasy – it was too forgiving, too kind. I fidgeted with the hem of my skirt trying to come up with the best way to express myself. Finally, I gathered the courage.
“Nathan…” I began hesitantly.
He turned to me, giving me another small smile. “Is everything alright?” he asked.
“Everything is fine it’s just that I have a lot going on back in the human world and now I don’t know If I’m
ready to leave everything I had there and come back here. There’s so much at stake now. My job, my life back there… I just…”
I inhaled deeply.
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“I don’t think I might be accepting this position whatever it is anytime soon. I think I made a mistake; I led everyone into believing that I wanted to live here and now… I just don’t know how to feel. Even if I do how can I explain to them that…”
Nathan reached over, gently placing a finger on my lips, stopping me mid–sentence. “Lyla,” he called softly, “all I want right now – all I want to know is if you truly want to be with me. Everything else? We’ll figure it out
later.”
The tenderness in his voice made my throat tighten
with emotion. I couldn’t afford to break his heart now or turn him down, especially after everything he has done for me. I looked away, unable to hold his gaze. I was silent for a few seconds before I finally whispered.
“I don’t love you, Nathan, not in the way you love me but I like you enough to know that I can learn how to love you and hope that we can be happy together for a long time.”
His smile returned, softer this time as though he understood my words. He reached out again and took my hands in his, squeezing gently. “That’s all I need.”
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125 Meeting Cassidy…
We sat together for a few more minutes, watching as the moon slowly rose to its fullness. The silence between us felt different now – lighter, more hopeful and oddly comforting.
“And Nathan,” I broke the silence again “Can we keep our engagement to ourselves at least for now? I don’t know what decisions I’ll make yet but I should be able to figure out a lot of things after your coronation.”
“Can I at least tell my dad? Don’t worry, he won’t tattle to anyone.”
“He might tell my mother,” I said quietly “And I don’t want her to know yet. At least not now and until everything is settled.”
He nodded. “I can do that. Anything to make you
happy.”
“Thank you,” I smiled. “I should go inside now.”
Finally, I gathered the courage and stepped out of the car. The walk to the Alpha house felt both longer and shorter than usual, my mind was racing as this was the first time I would be spending a night in the house
since I arrived.
When I ananad the front door the living wng dimly lit
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125 Meeting Cassidy.
The TV was on and Clarissa and my mother sat on the couch, they seemed to be in a discussion. They stopped talking as soon as I entered. My mother barely spared me a glance, only Clarissa who practically leaped from her seat and rushed towards me.
“Is it true?” she demanded; her eyes were wide with disbelief. “Are you really the Moonsinger?”
I managed a small, tired smile. “I’m too exhausted to talk about it right now, Risa,” I said sidestepping her. “Can we talk about it tomorrow?”
Clarissa frowned. “You just need to answer yes or no. It’s not a big deal. I just want to know.”
I inhaled deeply. “Fine, yes I am but I need to go now, I’m so tired that I might pass out.”
“That is…” she chuckled “Unexpected, who would believe that you had such powers. Then again, I saw you that day at Dad’s funeral. You were quite cool.”
“I’m going to take that compliment,” I smiled at her and brushed past her to continue to the stairs when her voice reached me again.
“You’re not spending the night at Nathan’s?” she asked
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125 Meeting Cassidy.
again making me pause my steps.
“Nope!” I shook my head. “I think it’s high time I come home until at least I go back to the human world.”
“You are the Moonsinger, you can’t just go back. What if there’s another attack and…”
“Clarissa!” I yelled raising my hand to stop her. “That’s enough and that’s too many questions. I had it really rough today. From leaving the pack hospital to being shepherded to the White Mountain Council, I haven’t had a lot of rest. I’m grumpy and I need to sleep.”
My mom stood up and walked up to where I was standing. “Sleep at Nathan’s house tonight, there’s no extra bedding in the house and I turned your room to storage after you left.”
“What? You can’t do that?” I retorted. “If not for
anything…”
“I’m not in the mood to banter words with you, Lyla… go over to Nathan’s, you’ve been quite comfortable there since you came, so don’t come here and try to
inconvenience us.”
“But Mom…”
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I tried to protest but she was already halfway on the staircase. I gritted my teeth in frustration, ignoring Clarissa who just stood there looking at me and started for the front door again.”
In the cold, I marched with annoyance towards Nathan’s house, I was pissed for some reason, my mother’s attitude to me wasn’t even one of them. I
rang the doorbell repeatedly until Nathan showed up at the door, his eyes wide with shock.
“Did you forget something?” he asked.
I pushed past him, stopping to bow stiffly to Beta Jeremy who was setting the dining table and straight to the stairs, calling over my shoulders. “I’m spending the night here; my mom threw me out.”
I retreated to Nathan’s room, showered and got dressed for bed. My mind was still swirling with Nathan and Ramsey and I was still angry. My emotions were just all over the place. I had just finished with my nightly skin routine when the door to the bedroom opened and Nathan poked his head in.
“Hey… do you want something to eat? We left you a plate.”
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“I’m not hungry,” I said quietly brushing my hair.
He stood for a few minutes at the door before entering the bedroom, closing the door in his wake.
“Ly…”
“I am fine, everything is fine and she didn’t push me out of the house. She just told me that she turned my room into a storage room after I left and please, I am not in the mood to answer any more questions.” I said rapidly before Nathan could talk.
He paused for a minute. “Okay… I’m just going to leave then. I’ll see you in the morning and if you need any other thing…”
I rose from the vanity chair and walked towards the door opening it for him.
“I won’t need anything, Nathan. Goodnight!” I said flatly, slamming the door in his wake.
I slipped under the covers of the bed, trying to will myself to sleep, hoping sleep would cure the angry ache in my chest. I had nearly succeeded when my phone rang on the nightstand. I groaned with
annoyance and reached for it, thinking of the thousand
words I would cou to whnavar umas callinent
ALD
125 Meeting Cassidy..
this hour.
The number was unfamiliar but something made me
answer anyway.
“Hello?”
“Well, if it isn’t the famous Moonsinger herself,” a cold, feminine voice drawled through the speaker. “Though I hear you’re not much of one anymore, are you?”
I sat up straighter, the anger leaving my body, getting replaced with tension coiling in my stomach. “Who is
this?”
“Oh, how rude of me,” the voice dripped with false sweetness. “This is Cassidy. You know, Ramsey’s Future mate and the soon–to–be Luna of the White Moon
Throne.”
Before I could respond, she continued her tone hardening. “I think it’s time we had a little chat. I’ll text you the address and time, the meeting will be for tomorrow.” She paused, then added with mock
concern, “Do try to be punctual dear. I so hate waiting.”
The line went dead before I could formulate a
response.
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