“No! I won’t allow it!” he shouted. “If he doesn’t want to be with my daughter then she deserves better than that. Moon Goddess be damned! I had my choice taken away. And while I don’t regret it, I will not allow someone else’s to.” He poured more whiskey into his glass, sat down at the kitchen table, and started putting food on his plate.
My mom hesitated and sat down next to him at the table. She put some salad on her plate and then looked over at him. “Honey, think about what you’re saying. We can’t be allowing our daughter to disrespect the Moon Goddess. He has obligations, especially as the beta of this pack. Just think about it, okay?”
“My word is final,” he shot back at my mom. When I looked at her, I saw she looked devastated, eyes brimming with tears. Both my parents began eating in silence. I sat down at the table and took some food, having completely lost my appetite. I spooned small portions of both the salad and spaghetti and forced myself to shove some in my mouth.
After we were done eating, I silently helped my mom put everything into the dishwasher. Silence. Just silence. No one spoke. Feeling brave for a moment, I considered asking my mom for the whole story, knowing they were hiding something from me. But when I looked at the emotion in her eyes, I couldn’t do it. After years of being conditioned to never question them, it was terrifying and unnatural.
Finally, I went up to my room and texted Luke.My parents know.
A few minutes later, I received a text back.
Luke: Should I come over? I’ll talk to them
Me: It’s not a good time. They’re not talking right now...
Luke: Are you ok? I’d like to see you. Can you come to the packhouse?
Me: It’s better I don’t leave right now
Luke: I’m coming over
Me: Just park down the street and I’ll meet you. Don’t come near the house!
I threw on a jacket and went down the stairs, spotting my mom sitting on the couch.
“Where are you going?” she asked.
“I’m just going for a walk.”
“Don’t leave the territory,” she warned.
“I won’t,” I replied and slid out the front door. I made my way down to where Luke would need to turn to come onto my street. I waved as I saw his headlights. He pulled over and I jumped into the passenger side of his car.
“What’s going on?” He looked at me.
“Can we just park somewhere and talk?” I asked.
“Okay, let me just drive farther down where there aren’t any houses around.” He put his car into drive and drove ahead until he reached a forested area and pulled over. Then he turned to look at me, taking my hand. “Jasmine, what happened?”
“My parents know.”
“You told them?”
“No.”
“How did they find out?”
“Because Lucy has made it completely obvious. My mom’s basically president of the pack rumor mill. She got texts from all her busybody friends at work today. So, I basically got ambushed as soon as my parents got home.”
“How did they take it?” He took my other hand in his so he was holding both my hands now, looking intently into my eyes.
“How do you think they took it? Not well at all.”
“What did they say?”
“I don’t know. It was weird. My mom told my dad she would call her brother and nephew, and my dad wouldn’t let her. They started arguing about something that happened a long time ago, but when I asked what they were talking about they wouldn’t tell me.”
“Fuck.”