Chapter 84

Chapter 84
The kitchen was bursting at the seams as everyone was trying to get some food and find a place to sit. Most had moved to the actual dining room, but some were still lingering at the countertops. The staff had prepared almost everything you could think of: cold cut sandwiches, pastas, hamburgers, quesadillas, and a variety of salads. I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised as the war would start tomorrow and there were a lot of guests for the day.

“Mom and everyone are outside on the patio eating. Let’s grab something and head out there?” Wyatt said, almost yelling at me so I could hear him.

I just nodded yes as I made my way to the food. Looking around, I settled for a basic cold cut turkey on wheat with lettuce, mayo, and green peppers with barbeque chips. Wyatt chose a hamburger that was loaded so high, I doubted he would get it all in his mouth with one bite. He also had chips to go with it. We made our way to the patio, and sure enough, everyone was out there. Wyatt’s parents, Brooke, Zach, Kelly, Reed, Maverick, and many more people from his pack and just close friends we had grown to know.

“Hey, guys! We saved you both a seat!” Brooke said, pointing to two chairs off to the side.

“Thank you!” I said as we made our way to the chairs. “What are we discussing?”

“Trying to decide if Kelly is having a boy or girl?” Brooke said. I thought she was keeping it quiet, but word must have gotten out somehow. I didn’t bother to question it though.

“I am pretty sure I am having a boy. Just a feeling I have,” Kelly said like it was nothing.

“What about Carter for the name if it is a boy?” Brooke said, looking hopeful.

“Hell no! We need a strong boy name!” Reed said, looking appalled she even suggested that.

Brooke rolled her eyes and took another bite of her cheeseburger.

“What about Maximillian?” Wyatt said. “That is a strong name.”

“I like that…” Kelly said slowly as she was thinking really hard about it. She mouthed it a few times, seeing how it tasted on her tongue. “I got to yell it a few times to see if I like it.” Kelly bit down into her cheeseburger and a wad of ketchup spilled on her shirt. “Oh, crap! Nina, can you pass me a napkin?”

I looked around and saw a pile of napkins on the table next to me. I grabbed one and leaned over to hand it to her. As Kelly reached over to grab the napkin, she grabbed my hand instead and yanked it over to her, causing me to get pulled out of my seat and my plate to fall to the ground with a loud crash!

“WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?” Kelly screamed.

Wyatt was quick to grab me and help me stand up. “We were going to tell everyone today, but since we walked in on baby talk, we haven’t had the chance, but I asked Nina to marry me, and she said yes.”

All the girls screamed, and the men stood up and started giving Wyatt a handshake with a few hugs in there. I did my due diligence and held out my hand for the swarm of girls that had circled me.

“Oh, Nina! This is so pretty! I am so happy for you!” Kelly said as she broke down in tears and wrapped me in a hug.

“I am sorry we interrupted your baby talk!”

Kelly waved that comment off and hugged me again. “We have plenty of time for baby talk!”

“Welcome to the family, Nina!” Autumn said as she came in for a hug as well.

“Thank you! I am so honored to be able to!”

“I was hoping for us to be pregnant at the same time, but I can wait a little longer, I guess!” Kelly said as she wiped her eyes.

“Yeah, let’s make it through tomorrow and then we can talk about babies. In a few years!” I said laughing. I was not anywhere close to ready to have a baby. However, it wasn’t like we were using protection either…

“Bite your tongue, sister! No babies just yet!” Wyatt said as he came up beside me, slipping his arm around my waist. “There is a more pressing matter I do need your input on…” he said to me.

“Oh?” looking up at him, he seemed a little upset.

“Well, both of you girls need luna ceremonies. However, due to tomorrow, we need to make it official so you guys are connected to the rest of the packs, so you can communicate with anyone you need to. I am not sure what ceremony will be needed for you to be queen, but for now, you need to be able to link everyone tomorrow, not just me,” Wyatt said, looking at Kelly and me.

We looked at each other and let that sink in. I guess I knew I was going to have a luna ceremony, but it wasn’t high on my priorities at the moment.

“That means I have to denounce my ties to you and become part of another pack…” Kelly said. I got a sudden wave of nervousness and uncertainty from Kelly.

“Is that not what you want?” Reed asked, looking concerned as well.

“I… I mean…” Kelly stammered.

“I think what Kelly is trying to say is that, although that is what she wants, it is scary for her to denounce ties to a pack that she grew up with. It’s one thing to say, ‘Yeah, I will live here!’ and other thing to make it reality.”

“That makes sense to me,” Reed said, trying to sound reassured. Kelly looked appreciative towards me.

“She is right. I am ready to be your luna. It’s just scary and I hope your pack likes me!”

“Our pack,” Reed corrected her.

“Why was it so easy for you to leave and join our pack? You make it sound like it is a hard decision to leave one pack and live with your mate. It should be an easy decision!” Brooke said.

“Easy? Easy for who? ME?” I said. I got suddenly very angry at that comment.

“Brooke! That is not appropriate and completely disrespectful! Apologize right now!” Autumn said to her daughter.

Brooke didn’t look sorry though. “It was just a question!”

I looked right at Zach, who had a very nervous expression on his face. He kept looking between me and Brooke, waiting to see what I would do.

“Zach, take Brooke up to your room and stay there for the rest of the day,” Wyatt said in a surprisingly calm voice.

“You can’t just shut me up like that and put me in timeout! I am an adult here!” Brooke said as she stomped her foot.

“Then why are you acting like a child?” I asked as I dared her to answer me. I almost welcomed her backtalking to me, so I could put her in her place. I didn’t know if it was because she might be betraying us or if it was just because she had the audacity to actually question me leaving my old pack.

“I am not acting like a child! I just want to know why it was so easy for you to leave your pack. You make it sound like Kelly should have a hard time with it!”

I felt my eyes twinkle green but not quite glow. This bitch was actually trying to challenge me here. “If you remember correctly, my parents died. I had no family, and I just lost my friends. I had nothing to return to. Do you honestly think for one second that I am happy about that? You are highly mistaken. I want nothing more than to hug my mom one last time.” Brooke at least had the decency to start appearing uneasy. It might have had something to do with my aura I felt slipping out of me. “Last time I checked, you had no authority around here to demand anything. I suggest you listen to Wyatt and go to your room before I allow your mother to punish you as she sees fit.” That got Brooke’s attention as she looked horrified at her mother, who was glaring at her daughter like she wanted nothing more than to spank her.

“We are leaving now! Move, Brooke!” Zach said as he grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the patio. Autumn followed her.

Paul sighed and sat back down. “Please, please have a boy!”

Everyone laughed, and I focused on what Brooke and Zach were feeling. Brooke was scared and confused, and Zach was very pissed off and nervous. Their feelings really confused me. I could understand why Brooke would be scared of her mom disciplining her, but why confused? And it felt like Zach was pissed off at Brooke, which I understood, but why was he nervous?