by Belle Kayce
"Well, if isn't Gwen tattling to some grown up." Oliver looks me up and down. "Who are you?"
"I'm the luna." I raise my chin up haughtily, hoping I am playing the part right.
"Yeah right. We all know Grace is the luna."
I nearly choke on air.
"Um, no she's not." I can't believe I'm having this conversation with some little eight-year-old.
"Yes, she is. My mom says that our alpha is soon going to announce Grace, who's way prettier than you, as our luna."
Okay, why do they think Grace is going to be the luna? This is so messed up.
"Luna Ava is pretty too! The prettiest!" Gwen argues for my sake. I'm so glad I got the girls on my side.
"Yeah, my mom said the same thing. Grace is Luna," this pup with snot dripping down his nose agrees, looking at Oliver for approval.
"Shut up, Christopher." Oliver rolls his eyes.
The snot-nosed pup looks down. I feel bad for him because he needs better friends.
"Don't be so mean," I reprimand Oliver. Punk kids like these reminds me of my old pack when the guys used to make fun of Julia. She used to be a chubby but cute eight-year-old, but she grew out of it and now has the eyes of every male wolf in our pack. All the bullies of Julia soon regretted it, but Julia never did. "The world would be a better place if we all act nice towards each other. It's not that hard. The next time you do it, I'm going to put you in-in . . ." I think about what I’m going to do with the children, "in time-out!"
Cindy gasps out loud. "Not time-out!"
The other kids also agree that time-out is bad.
Oliver gives me his sneer. "You're a no one to be telling me what to do."
"Even if you don't believe I'm the luna, I'm still older than you." Has this pup's mother not taught him anything? My mom would beat me till the next day if I disrespected someone older than me.
Oliver crosses his arms. "Not happening, fake luna."
I want to strangle this kid. Really. Does pack law have something against this? Kids are so annoying sometimes. I look at the three girls behind me. Not them though. They are literally sweet little honey buns that need protection.
"Your mom is wrong. She is the luna," Gwen says.
Suddenly, Oliver whispers to the pups behind him, snickering.
"Attack her!" Oliver points to me.
I open my mouth to say something, but a bunch of eight-year-olds tackle me to the ground. I try so hard not to laugh at my life right now. They get up quickly, looking down on me. My ankle starts to sting, and I make a hissing noise of pain.
"Oh my gosh! Queen Ava, are you okay?!" Gwen tries to help me up, as do Cindy and Wendy. "You hurt her, you meanie-head!"
As much as I really like the sound of ‘Queen Ava’, my ankle is hurting. "Y-yeah," I lie to them weakly. The other pups that just casually tackled me to the ground all dismiss themselves, leaving Oliver alone with Christopher.
"You're lying," Oliver says to me.
Gee, thanks. I really do not like this kid.
"Thanks, Sherlock," I say.
"Who?" Oliver gives me the stank eye.
"Never mind," I mutter as I get pulled by three tiny pairs of hands.
"Look, Cole is coming this way!" Cindy exclaims. "Uncle Cole!"
Oliver and Christopher straighten up and look a little star struck. Hmmm.
"Ava, are you alright?" Cole looks at me, to the kids, then back at me.
"I think she hurt herself," Cindy says, batting her eyelashes at him. Oh brother.
"Whatever you need us to do, we can do," Oliver says to Cole.
"How about go away?" I suggest. I'm so tempted to stick my tongue out.
"They give you any trouble?" Cole raises his eyebrow at me.
"Nah," I say.
Oliver looks a little nervous.
"S-so you are the luna?" Oliver asks but he's looking at Cole for confirmation instead, which is super annoying.
"Yes, she is," Cole answers at the same time I say, "I am."
"See? See! I told you!" Gwen crosses her arms and smirks at Oliver in triumph. "You are such a meanie-face. I hope she punishes you."
Oliver visibly swallows.
"It's okay," I say to Gwen. "He can just be your servant for a week." Gwen beams up at me. "And has to play tea time with you."
"Can we make him dance with us too?" Cindy suggests evilly. These young girls are going to grow up good.
"Anything you guys want." I smile at her, then look at Oliver. "Do you have any complaints?"
"N-no," Oliver responds. He looks like he just ate a nail.
"Good," I say. "Now you all have to get along and be friends."
The three girls all look at each other and smile. One thing is for certain: I would not want to be on their bad side.
***
My favorite area in Noctis Luna is the garden. Sure, it’s one of the first places I ran off to when I came, but it has a special place in my heart already.
It has such a zen feeling to it with the large koi pond, a bridge over it, and all kinds of flowers in the surrounding area. My favorite are the roses. Naturally.
The best part of this garden is that no one ever comes here. Ever. I have not seen Meg, Bo, or Cole come here. Only me. This garden is my escape from anything.
Wanting to be alone for a moment to myself, I stop.
Someone is on the bench I always go to. Slowing down, I realize it’s . . . Lance.
Sleeping?
Of course Lance sleeps. It’s not like he’s a robot. This shouldn’t be strange, but out in the open like this? No one is around to protect him or keep an eye on him. I don’t think Lance is the type to just fall asleep in random places.
Sitting down next to him, I peek over to see his eyes. Yes indeed. He is definitely sleeping.
“Lance?” I whisper, looking at the binder of papers that are about to fall over from his grasp.
“Hmph,” Lance murmurs gently. He shifts position, so now his head is resting on my shoulder as a pillow.
I freeze, not wanting to wake him like this. I hope my shoulder is comfortable enough for him.
Honestly, he looks super tired. Ever since I came here, I haven’t seen much of him honestly, only glimpses. I just realized now that he’s really busy and does a lot of work.
It seems like the overworking got to him. Glancing at his face, I realize just how tired he must be to just pass out asleep like this.
The papers that are about to fall out of the binder look like they are financial papers. Gross.
Looking out into the garden, I’m happy to let Lance sleep as I enjoy the silence and the calming sounds of Lance’s faint breathing.
This is actually, dare I say, nice.
Much time passes, and Lance shifts position again. He then slowly lifts his head, obviously trying to make sense of his surroundings. He rubs his eyes.
“Hey there, sleepy,” I greet casually.
Lance runs a hand through his hair, getting more awake by the minute. “Ava? When did . . . how long . . . did I fall sleep?”
“Yep. Maybe close to two hours?” I answer, narrowing my eyes at him as I inspect him. “Rest well?”
“Still feel like I hadn’t slept at all.” Lance shakes his head, frowning a little as he straightens up his binder. He coughs a little, then sniffles. I hear it even though he makes it as though it’s nothing. “Ah, I really should get these done—"
“Hold on a minute,” I say, standing up and getting in front of him.
Lance looks up at me. I lean in closer, putting the back of my hand on his forehead. “You’re going to Raquel.”
***
Just as I suspected, Lance is sick.
Raquel has a stern look on her face as she faces her alpha, who is sitting on the clinic bed. “You need to rest and not work at all.”
I’m right next to Raquel, looking down at Lance on the bed. My arms are crossed, and I’m nodding at everything Raquel is saying. Of course, Lance got himself sick by working too
much.
“You’ve been working overtime. I know this for a fact, Lance,” Raquel continues. “It’s been . . . crazy busy for you, but you need to get a much-needed rest.”
“Alright,” Lance relents, still holding the binder. I snatch it from his hands.
“Sleep on a bed now,” I say, pointing at the hospital bed.
Lance’s lips twitch up a little. “Your shoulder was nice though.”
Someone barges into the room, hollering, “Lance!”
Bo is there, with Meg and Cole following him.
“Hi,” Lance says, voice sounding tired already.
“How could you do this to me?”
“Do what?” I ask Bo.
Bo turns to Lance, splaying out both hands towards the alpha.
“Get sick on me! You were our shining healthy alpha. I mean if I get sick, sure, but you?”
“Just get rest. You know how to do that, right?” Meg asks Lance.
We all look at him, then at the laptop and paper-filled binder on his bed.
He clears his throat. “Right.”
As they all hover over him, and he starts to cough, I know just the thing to make him feel better.
“Wait right here,” I instruct. “As if you can even go anywhere anyways.”
“We need to be on Lance watch,” Bo says. “If he even thinks about working, we do an intervention.”
“I won’t work.” Lance raises his hands.
Bo smacks his laptop and binder off the bed.
“Bo.” Lance tries to reach for the laptop, but it is too late. It shatters.
“Whoops. Well, at least we know you can’t actually do anything,” Bo says sheepishly.
As all of them are arguing over the laptop, I make my way into the kitchen, knowing he probably hasn’t eaten anything either. I’m thankful no one is there because I absolutely hate when someone is in the kitchen while I’m cooking. I get irrationally mad for no reason.
Opening the fridge that is filled with healthy food, I spot the carrots and celery easily. I take out the bag and wash the vegetables. I step inside the pantry and see that they do have wide egg noodles and chicken broth.
I get some spices such as paprika, red pepper flakes, and cajun seasoning so the soup wouldn’t be bland.
Julia always makes soups whether it’s chicken noodle, bean, or cheddar. All of them I love and all of them I know how to make, thanks to her.
I cube some chicken breasts and cook them as my soup broth boils with the noodles. Once cooked, the chicken goes into the broth. I let it simmer for a couple of minutes.
Grabbing a bowl and spoon, I put the soup in the bowl.
“There,” I say out loud but quickly realize I’m missing an important part of any sick person’s diet.
Heading over to the fridge, I open the bottom drawer where all the oranges are and cut them open. I take them one by one and squeeze them into the juicer. I see Meg use it from time to time when she’s on one of her juice cleanses I just cannot do. Vitamin C for his colds should help as well.
I put the bowl and glass on a tray and head to the clinic. It’s on the same floor but different wing. The pack house is too huge to really understand, but I know some places.
Everyone is out of the clinic by this time. Just like the doctor did not order, Lance has that huge mess of a binder open, reading something that looks important. His eyebrows are furrowed in concentration. He’s also coughing a little.
Work is not more important than your health.
“What are you doing?” I ask Lance, who almost jumps out of his bed.
“N-nothing.” Lance tries to close the binder slowly, but it’s too late. I’ve seen the crime committed.
“Don’t you understand, Lance? I’m the captain now.”
Lance raises both eyebrows, but his eyes travel to my tray. “Is that for me?”
“Yes.” I sigh, pulling the overbed table. “Chicken noodle soup always makes me feel better when I’m sick.”
“You made it?” Lance asks with renewed interest. “For me?”
“Of course.” I wave it off. “Look here, Alpha, I know you love to drown yourself in work, but if I see you even look at that ugly eyesore of a binder while you’re trying to get better, you’ll hate to be you.”
I’ll probably put some extra cayenne pepper in his soup.
“Alright,” Lance lifts the spoon, “Captain.”
***
I monitor how Lance is doing for three days as I also make his breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I don’t know why, but him being sick kind of brings out the overprotective side of me.
Even Bo is starting to wonder why I never make food for any of them.
“Well . . . ” I try to explain myself but don’t have any answers. I feel like Lance need extra taking-care-of, and he is actually a good patient.
I limit the calls and have been answering for him, per his request.
“Sorry, Lance is out of business right now,” I immediately answer the phone when it rings.
“Meredith? Is that you?” a familiar voice asks.
I gasp. “Alpha Heidi!”
“How have you been?” she asks me. We gush over what our lives have been like since we last seen each other, and I explain to her how my name is Ava and not Meredith, which Heidi tells me she had already guessed.
“What’s happening with you? You need Lance for any specific reason?” I ask her just as Lance comes into his office. I glower at him. He has been walking around since yesterday because he claims he can’t sit still and it shows.
He gives me an apologetic look.
“Actually, I really need to speak to him because of something happening in my pack,” Heidi explains. “He’s been helping me from the start, and it kind of gotten worse.”
“Oh no,” I say to her. I guess Lance can talk to a good friend. “Hold on, I’m giving the phone to him.”
I hand the cordless phone to Lance.
“Hello?” he says through the phone. I can’t hear what Heidi says, but Lance is frowning now. His frown gets deeper by the second. “Alright. I’ll try to come as soon as I can. Thanks. Yes, I’ll let her know.” Lance looks at me briefly, then nods at something Alpha Heidi is saying. “Goodbye.”
I stand up, hands on my hips. “What was that?”
“The elders in Heidi’s pack have been speaking to other packs about taking over control. Heidi asked me if I could talk to the other packs on her behalf while she tries to control the situation inside her pack.”
“You just got out of bed rest!” I exclaim.
Lance studies my face. “I feel just fine. Don’t you believe me?”
“No,” I deadpan at him.
“As much as I like you being my nurse, and I will get sick on purpose just for—"
“Hey—"
“It’s just slight travel. I don’t think I need to fight anyone. We won’t go immediately, perhaps tomorrow evening or after training.”
There is only one thing I hear. “Wait. You think you’re going to fight someone?”
“Maybe?”
Lance’s answer isn’t the best though.
“Take me with you then.”
“You want to come?” Lance asks, genuine surprise in his voice.
“I want to see Heidi.” I nod. “It’ll be fun.”
“This isn’t for fun, Ava. Her pack wants to overthrow her.”
I make a face. “Alphas and their never-ending drama. Geez.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
You know how you have those new year's resolutions that you never accomplish but still make every year just to see if you can do it?
That's how I'm feeling right now with training. Every. Single. Day.
I instructed Lance to not do anything strenuous during training. I had to speak to the three trainers—Carter, Raquel’s mate; John, the arrogant werewolf; Brick, who is built like a boulder—just to make sure.
John is currently yelling at me that my stance is bad as I'm trying to get in a f
ighting position. Bo is trying to make a straight face in front of me but is failing miserably. Why isn't Bo teaching John a lesson?
"Come on, lil Luna. Tell me you got something better than that," John hollers.
I glare back at him. "Don't call me ‘lil Luna’, especially if you're shorter than me."
Bo snickers, taking a sip of water from his water bottle.
"Sorry, just can't help it. You're not that good." John laughs.
I don't see anything funny in this situation at all.
In the distance, I see Lance with his arms crossed per usual. He's talking to Carter and Brick, and I can't help but admire the structure of his jaw. Oh my gosh! I am a jaw kind of girl.
As if feeling my eyes on him, Lance's head snaps up, instantly meeting my eyes. It’s almost like he feels my emotions. I wonder if he really is already feeling better and can travel like he says.
Bo snaps me out of my thoughts. "Ava, are you feeling a little . . . " Bo waggles his eyebrows and throws a water bottle at me. Since my reflexes suck, it just hits my leg and falls to the ground. ". . . thirsty?"
"I'm going to kill you!" I shout at him. I am embarrassed and I hope no one heard him, especially John over there. I bend down to pick up the water bottle and run towards Bo. He reacts in an instant and goes running off to where the track field is.
As I'm chasing him around the track with his cackling laughter annoying me, I don't even realize that I am running very fast, even with my ankle a little banged up from before. Unfortunately, Bo is faster, and he's having a laughing riot ten feet in front of me.
"Hold up!" I yell, a little out of breath, panting and coming to a stop. "I think my ankle is hurting again!"
Bo stops and comes over to me. Before he can realize my plan, I open the bottle cap and fling the water at him.
"You are such a dirty player!" Bo cries, putting both his hands in front of his face. I spill the rest of the water on my head because I'm sweating too.
"We're even," I tell him.
"Hardly." Bo snorts. "I'll get my revenge somehow."