Chapter 47
Luke
Duringmylunchbreakon Thursday, after I had spent the morning leading training classes at the pack elementary school, I made my weekly FaceTime call to my parents. Both of them were seated in front of my dad’s iPad staring back at me.
“How are you doing, Luke?” my mom asked, leaning forward.
“I’m good,” I replied, knowing I’d have to break the big news to them during this call, but I couldn’t help but stall, knowing it would be a huge shock.
“How’s the situation with the security breaches? Did you catch the latest offenders yet?” my dad asked.
“Not yet.”
“How’s Jasmine? Any discussion of a wedding yet?” My mom winked and smiled at me.
I cringed internally, knowing I’d have to tell them. “Jasmine’s fine. Actually, I have some news.”
“Already?” My mom’s eyes widened. “It sounds like the two of you didn’t waste any time. How long have you been mates now again?”
“Erm, well, actually, the news isn’t about Jasmine.”
“Oh, what is it then, honey?”
“It’s actually about Lucy.”
“Lucy?”
“Yes, actually, I found out earlier this week that Lucy’s pregnant.” My mom gasped and fell back in her chair and my dad looked over at her. She had her hand to her chest, breathing heavily.
My dad turned back toward the screen and looked at me sternly. “Dear Goddess. Please tell me it’s not yours, Luke.”
I felt my cheeks redden as I rubbed the back of my neck from nervousness. “Actually, it is.”
“Fucking Artemis!” my dad shouted, surprising me as my dad didn’t often swear. My mom began crying, pulling a tissue from beyond where I could see on the screen. We stared at each other, no one saying a word.
Finally, my mom spoke. “I knew we shouldn’t have encouraged the relationship. This was only bound to happen. I tried to be open-minded to this whole girlfriend thing—I liked Lucy. But this is too much. What will the pack say?”
“I hope you’re not planning on dumping your mate for Lucy,” my dad chimed in.
“I wasn’t planning to,” I replied, seeing this conversation was not going at all the way I imagined. After Luna Sienna had seemed so open-minded to the situation, I thought my parents might be too.
“Good, because I will not allow it,” his jaw was tense, eyebrows scrunched together. “The last thing we need is for another pack to have a vendetta against us.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked.
“Jasmine comes from an alpha family. They’re notorious on the West Coast, and that pack is much larger than ours. We’re already not on the best terms with them and this wouldn’t be the first time that they’ve threaten us to ensure a mate bond is consummated.”
“Jasmine comes from an alpha family?” I asked, shocked by the information. I had known Jasmine for years and was surprised that I didn’t already know this tidbit about her. My mom started sobbing, and my dad put his arm around her.
“Yes, and what has happened is exactly why dating is discouraged in werewolf society. But what’s done is done. Just, for the love of Artemis, do not even think about rejecting Jasmine under any circumstance.”
I blinked at my parents, taken aback.
My dad continued. “I won’t be so callous as to tell you to banish Lucy from the pack like James has with all of his mistresses with illegitimate children. But, dear Goddess, you better make sure that you keep Jasmine happy. Her family in Alaska is no joke. If you think James is bad, just wait until you meet the alpha family of the Jade Moon Pack.”
I stared at my dad, speechless. I was not expecting the conversation to take this turn at all. I had always assumed that my parents would support any decision I made, even if it was taking a chosen mate. I now realized how naive I had been in my thinking.
“Listen to your father, Luke. You need to take responsibility for what you’ve done and put the pack first. As beta, you can’t make decisions without it affecting everyone. Now, I need to lie down. Honey, I love you,” my mom said and walked away.