The Reluctant Luna

Time for Bacon

*Abbi*

As I head into the kitchen, the delicious aroma of fresh cooked bacon almost has me drooling. I love food. Especially bacon! I would eat a pound of bacon every day if I could. Its on the menu a lot thankfully, as it is known to be a favorite around here. I get a frequent lecture on the unhealthiness of my diet but it does not stop Mrs. Mason from cooking my favorite items almost every morning. Mrs. Mason is our chef and she is like a mother to me as well and one of my favorite people.

"Good morning, Ms. Abbi" Mrs. Mason exclaims as she beams a smile at me.

"Good morning, Mrs. Mason." I respond back, while leaning over the counter and giving her a kiss on the cheek.

Mrs. Mason has always doted on me and my sister. She has only been blessed with sons herself and is still waiting for them to produce her much desired grandchildren. She treats my sister and I like the daughters that she never had and we love and dote on her in return.

My father, his Beta, and various other pack members are already at the table, which is piled with pancakes, eggs, bacon, danish, and every fruit imaginable.

I give my father a kiss on the cheek as well and then sit down and begin loading my plate up, my love for food revealing itself in my plus sized portions. Thankfully, I have a figure that allows me to eat what I want without worrying about picking up extra weight. Werewolves have a naturally fast metabolism and I am also continuously active, between work and training. So, I quickly burn off whatever I eat, almost as fast as I eat it or maybe even faster. That's probably why I feel like I'm starving all the time

“So, Abbi, how are things going with the wedding?” my father asks me

Even as the words come out of his mouth, I can hear the disappointment attached to them. Most fathers would be happy to see their daughter in love and getting married. But not mine.

Why?...... For the simple fact that I am not marrying my mate......

When you come from a family of werewolves, you are taught your entire life that the Moon Goddess makes and designs your mate just for you. This is the person that you are destined to live your life with. Mates love each other with everything that they have in them, have children, and build their lives together.

However, I have seen firsthand what losing a mate can do to someone. So, I'm determined to never experience pain or devastation, on that level. The only way to avoid pain like that is to make sure that you never love like that. You don't have to worry about losing your heart and soul if you never truly put it at risk in the first place.

My mother was killed when me and my sister were seven. My father was a wonderful, loving, and happy man while my mother was alive.

After my mother’s death, it was as though he died as well. My father became a shell of the man that he was before. He simply went through the motions, not really living, just existing. He isolated himself a lot and for years, it seemed as though he could barely even stand to look at us.

My sister and I are the splitting image of my mother and I think it pained my father even more that we were around. We are constant living reminders of the woman he lost. At one point, I had hoped that my father would get a second chance mate but unfortunately that does not appear to be in the cards for him. It's been thirteen years since my mother's death. I feel as though he would have found that second chance mate by now if it were meant to be. The thought makes me sad as my father is a good man at heart and he deserves to be happy. There's nothing that can be done about that, though. What's meant to be will be.

My father did end up remarrying a few years after my mother passed away. It did not turn out to be a happy union, however. I've always had the notion that my father only married the woman in hopes of having a son. His wife Sarah, on the other hand, did not have any intentions of having kids. I think her goal was to be the classic trophy wife and Luna. A title chaser. She was not warm, loving, or motherly. Her main goal in life was to shop as much as possible and throw parties.

In the beginning, Sarah had tried to appear as though she liked us girls. That image only lasted so long though before the truth slowly but surely revealed itself.

Sarah could barely stand to be around us either. She also viewed us as a reminder of the woman that she could never live up to, as a wife, a mother, or a Luna.

Wolves typically mate for life, whether they are fated mates, or chosen. The mate bond is meant to last forever, but after several years, my father divorced her. He was the first Alpha in recorded history to divorce a Luna and the only member of our pack to get a divorce. Such things are unheard of in our world. The entire experience was enough to leave a bad taste in my mouth.

Of course, I want a man to love me and a family, but I do not wish to experience the all-consuming love that mates are said to feel for each other. The Alpha-Luna mate bond is said to be even more intense and passionate, as we are the most fierce and possessive, of our breed. To me, that means scarier. I'd much rather have the more gentle and sweet love bonds that humans are said to have. Humans are also able to pick their own partners and decide who they want to spend their lives with. Which is exactly what I intend to do as well. I've already chosen my mate. I just need to marry and mark him.

Luckily, I have made it to the ripe age of 20 without finding my mate. Most werewolves find their mates shortly after their 18th birthdays. My sister and I have proved to be the exception to that rule so far.

Ava has vastly different ideas about her mate and has been impatiently waiting to meet him, while I have been incredibly happy that I have not met mine. She's ready to be a marked and mated "were-pair" as I term them.

The only thing in question is if we will share a mate or not. Most identical twins share a mate, due to being one egg that splits into two at conception. Therefore, we are still basically viewed as one person. One person, two bodies.

I really don't know if sharing a mate will be a good thing or not. I plan to reject my mate when I do come across him. If he has Ava as well, then she can help him bare the pain of rejection. Since having her would at least soften the blow. Then, when he is able to move on, they can live happily together.

My father clears his throat, interrupting my thought process, and I realize I haven't answered his question yet.

“Things are going well, Father. Thanks for asking” I reply before jamming yet another piece of bacon in my mouth.

“That’s good, I suppose.” My father said before hesitating and clearing his throat again “Abbi, I really wish that you would reconsider and just think about this a little more. I think that you are making a mistake here.”

“Well father, I’m sorry that you feel that way” I said with a slightly sarcastic undertone.

“Abbi…..” my father responded, a warning note present in his voice. He caught the sarcastic tone of my voice and clearly isn't pleased about it.

However, I'm not too pleased either about the constant line of questioning about my wedding. I'm 20 years old, a month shy of 21, and clearly capable of making my own choices.

I also found it funny that my father trusts me to take over the pack in a month, but doesn't trust me to pick my own husband. I understand his concern but my decision has been made and I am not going to change my mind now.

I finished eating and prepared to leave. I have to meet with the wedding coordinator to finalize some last-minute details for the wedding.

My father is also not pleased about the fact that the man I am marrying is not a wolf. Liam is a warlock and his family is a part of my Mother's old coven. My mother was a hybrid and a mixture of powerful witch and werewolf. My sister and I are hybrids too technically, although our witch side is not as powerful as my mother’s was. Which could be because Ava and I haven't really had anyone to help us develop our witchy skills. After our mother died, we were pretty much cut off from that aspect of our lives. I mean, no one taught us how to do spells and things of that nature. Liam has promised to teach me a few things after we get married, which I'm excited about that.

That is where the dreams and the visions that I get come from, though. The legacy my mother left me. Unfortunately, that seems to be the only power that I've inherited from my Mother, but I tell myself that its better then nothing. I refuse to act ungrateful, as I'm a powerful Alpha Female and that is enough for me.