Chapter Six: I’m Not Your Submissive

I felt like I was being watched, so I opened one eye just to check. My eye landed on a very curious-looking Mateo. I opened my other eye and smiled at him. His eyes seemed to twinkle at me doing that.

“You’re really here,” he whispered.

I giggled. “I’m really here.”

He frowned. “There’s something different about you.”

“Well, I missed you too,” I said, rolling my eyes. I mean, really? I didn’t expect him to pull me into a hug.

“I thought I would go crazy when they told me you’d been kidnapped,” he breathed a sigh of relief.

“It’s a long story and I wasn’t hurt while I was gone. In fact, I was treated more like royalty than anything,” I said as I traced his face. He had slight stubble that made him all the more handsome.

“When I woke up and found you here, I thought I was finally losing my mind,” he admitted.

“I was gone for two days babe,” I pointed out, laughing.

“It was the longest two days of my life!” he pouted.

OH MY GODDESS! HE LOOKS SUPER ADORABLE!

“Aaaaw, I’m glad you missed me. I missed you so much! One would think we’d been together for so long with how much I missed you,” I smiled.

“You’re never going anywhere without me knowing where you are! I have the right mind to have a tracking chip implanted in you,” he said seriously.

“Babe, put a tracker in me and you won’t live to see the next hour,” I warned.

“Noted! When did you get back?” he asked.

“What time is it now?” I asked.

“A little to ten,” he replied.

“About three hours ago. I thought you would hear me come in, but you were out like a light,” I teased.

“I guess I was more tired than I thought from looking for you and then having to approve a million things for Valentine. You unleashed a beast, by the way,” he said as he gave me a bored look.

“Me? She was already planning the thing before she even met me,” I defended.

He smirked. “Can’t I just blame you so that I don’t get the blame?”

“Ha! You wish!” I retorted, smacking him before there was a knock on the door.

“Go away!” he said.

“Get up! I need you to confirm something!” the devil herself said. He gave me a ‘you see?’ look.

“No Val, I need to sleep! Go away!” he replied.

“I’m just going to come in if you don’t get up,” she threatened.

“GO AWAY!” Mateo shouted in frustration.

“Okay!” she replied before walking right in.

“I told you I would just... June?” she frowned.

“Hi,” I greeted.

“I don’t think you understand the concept of ‘go away’,” Mateo mumbled.

“OH MY GODDESS, JUNE!” she squealed excitedly.

I smiled. “Hi Val.”

She glowered. “When did you get back?”

“This morning,” I replied.

She crossed her arms. “Impossible! I would’ve seen you come in.”

“I don’t remember mentioning using the front door,” I countered with a smirk. They both gave me questioning looks, to which I shrugged.

“Oh well! I still need you both to get up. The barbeque is starting at one, so you have three hours to help and get ready,” she demanded.

“Okay Val. Now go away!” I said sweetly.

“You two deserve each other!” she huffed before storming out of the room.

“How did you get here?” Mateo asked me once she was gone.

“Teleportation,” I replied.

“Who teleported you here?” he questioned.

I tapped his nose, making him scowl. “You ask too many questions.”

He narrowed his eyes. “You’re evading my question.”

I sighed. “And you’re giving me a headache with your persistence.”

“Excuse me if I want to know what stranger was in my room, no less,” he snapped.

“You don’t have to worry about it, Mateo. I’m here aren’t I? Does how I got here matter?” I asked in annoyance now.

“It does if some stranger was in my room, Juniper. Not even my pack members have access to my room,” he said angrily.

“Well then, you can choose to trust me, or you can choose to be mad at me for not telling you the truth,” I shrugged before walking to the bathroom and locking it behind me.

I didn’t want to tell him that I’m a witch yet, but he’s so damn persistent. I mean I thought coming back to him would be all rainbows and unicorns and now we’re mad at each other. It’s barely been an hour.

So much for that.

I stepped out of the shower and stepped into the bedroom, thanking the good graces that he wasn’t in it. After applying lotion onto my skin, I went to the closet. I got dressed in a matching black lace underwear set. Just as I was looking for something to wear, Valentine, Alexa and Anastasia came into the room.

“June?” Valentine called out.

“In here!” I shouted back before their faces appeared.

“You’re really back!” they said as they excitedly hugged me. Alexa had a suit-bag in her hands.

“I am. What you got there?” I asked.

“Well, since this is your inauguration, we brought you a dress to wear,” Anastasia beamed.

I scowled. “It’s my what now?”

“Well, it’s not a formal inauguration as such, but my brother sort of announced that you’re our new Luna, so everyone is really excited to formally meet you. You need to look perfect!” Valentine explained.

I raised my eyebrow. “When did he do this?”

“On Friday when he was asking the pack to help find you. He explained that you’re the person he’s chosen to be our Luna since everyone knows that he doesn’t actually have a fated mate,” Alexa replied.

“Oh, okay!” I replied.

“We’re here to do your hair and make-up too,” Val added.

“Oh and you can wear this dress with your black and white wedges,” Alexa suggested. That’s when I knew that I was wearing a white dress.

“Come on!” Alexa said, dragging me to the bed.

“Where’s Max?” I asked them. They suddenly grew quiet.

“Uhm June, Max is in a coma,” Alexa said lowly.

I raised my eyebrow. “A what, now?”

Boris said he would be fine.

“A coma! The operation to take out the bullets went well, but his wolf has shut everyone out,” Valentine explained.

“Oh alright! Finish up what you have to do so that I can go wake him up before I go fetch my guests,” I said.

Anastasia raised an eyebrow. “You’re going to just wake him up?”

“Yep!” I popped my ‘p’. They looked at me like I’d just told them I lay platinum eggs.

“Whatever you say,” Valentine said skeptically.

They styled my hair, settling for a semi-formal up-do. It was semi-formal in that I had strands that were strategically out of place. I wasn’t surprised to open the suit-bag to find a white dress, as I’d predicted.

It’s a beautiful dress though. It’s white and black, and it’s a one shoulder dress. It’s a ballerina type of cut with black lace detail on the side of the dress that has the shoulder. It also has a black belt on the torso area with a lovely black brooch buckle.

“You look beautiful, Luna,” they smiled once I was fully dressed.

I blushed. “Thanks guys.”

“Well, go and do the impossible with Max and fetch your guests. We still have a couple more things to attend to,” Alexa shooed me out of the room.

“Okay, okay!” I giggled as I stepped out of the room.

I went straight to the hospital with everyone bowing and greeting me the whole way. It was odd, but apparently, Star liked it. As an Alpha female, I guess she expects that kind of respect. Marissa rolled her eyes, making me laugh as I finally reached the hospital.

Pete beamed when he saw me. “Luna June! You’re back!”

“Hey Pete,” I giggled.

“I take it you’re here to see Max?” he asked. I nodded.

“His condition isn’t changing and it’s a little worrying,” he told me as he led me to the room Max was in. If I were to be honest, the twit looked fine to me. I immediately knew what this was about.

“Oh don’t worry Pete, Max is going to get up now. If he doesn’t, I’m going to personally smash his phone and his Xbox,” I said loud enough for Max to hear.

I saw his eye twitch, but he still didn’t wake up.

“Uh, I don’t see how that is going to help,” Pete frowned, clearly unaware of what I was doing.

“You’re right! Maybe I should do that, and burn his collection of signed basketballs. Or better yet, maybe I should smash the windows of his beloved car in,” I said thoughtfully. The heart monitor beeped erratically before Max shot up.

“Fine! I’m up you evil woman!” he grumbled.

“What? That’s all it took?” Pete looked at him in disbelief.

I laughed knowingly. “He didn’t want to wake up.”

“Hey! I woke up last night and I was going to just get on with life until I heard that the barbeque was back on and it was today. You don’t know what Val is like when she’s put in charge of organizing something,” Max argued.

“Oh, I think I have a pretty good idea. Come on! You can stick with me for the day so that you can escape her. Besides, I have a couple of people who would like to apologize to you. How are you feeling?” I asked him.

“I’m fine, honestly. I just have the gunshot wounds,” he sighed, showing me the damage. He was in shorts and he was shirtless, so it wasn’t awkward.

I sighed. “Well, we have to stop by the house so that you can get ready and show your Alpha that you’re alive and well.”

“My Alpha?” he asked, amusedly.

“Get ready to leave and I’ll tell you,” I said.

Pete frowned. “I don’t believe this.”

“It’s alright Pete. He just didn’t want to help Val. He’s fine, as you can see,” I smiled.

“I guess,” Pete replied. Max was soon ready to go and dressed in a T-shirt.

“So, what happened?” Max asked as we walked to the house.

“I was taken to Monte Carlo while you were brought back here. It wasn’t a dangerous kidnapping as such, even though you were shot. I’ll explain everything better later,” I responded.

He chuckled. “That’s great and all, but I was actually referring to you and Mateo.”

I shrugged as we arrived. “Oh, we just had a small fight over something he was making a big deal out of.”

“Oh my Goddess! She did it! She woke him up!” Alexa said in disbelief as her eyes landed on Max. Everyone turned our way.

“Hi guys,” we both said, since I was seeing Sam, Orion and Trey for the first time.

“You’re back!” Orion beamed as they came to hug me.

“Yep, I am! Where’s Mateo?” I asked.

“His office; he’s very pissy for some reason,” Orion replied.

I shrugged. “I’m the reason.”

“You are? One would’ve thought he would be happy to have you back,” Trey said in confusion.

I rolled my eyes. “Right?”

Sam chuckled. “Well, good luck!”

“Thanks! I’m going to need it,” I groaned as Max and I headed to his office.

When we walked in, I didn’t expect to find Naomi sitting on his desk, looking like she could jump him any second in her slutty outfit. While he wasn’t paying attention to her (which he gets points for), seeing her there didn’t sit well with Star, who made that known with a growl.

They both jumped up at the sound, fear showing in her eyes, and lust in his. He was looking at me like I was the most precious thing in his world, and then the look was gone, just to be replaced by his cold angry eyes.

“Do you need anything?” I asked Naomi.

“I didn’t know you were back,” she sneered.

I crossed my arms. “That’s wonderful, except it doesn’t answer my question.”

“I was just coming to check on my Alpha,” she, uh... purred?

“Oh? To what? Offer him hooker services? Or is the barbeque a costume event because, if so, then you’ve totally got the hooker thing down,” Star pushed through.

Whoa! Protective much?

“You’re such a bitch!” she spat.

“Naomi!” Mateo was the one to growl.

“What? She started it!” Naomi defended.

“She’s your Luna and you will respect her. You will also leave my office and go and dress appropriately! I better not see you at the barbeque looking like that,” he instructed.

“Yes, Alpha,” she submitted before leaving the room.

He turned to me. “Have you come to apologize and explain yourself?”

“You wish! I came here to show you that your Gamma is awake and well,” I scoffed, gesturing to Max, who was standing there awkwardly.

“It’s nice to have you back, Max. You can leave now,” Mateo told him coldly.

Max bowed. “Yes Alpha.”

“I’ll meet up with you downstairs when you’re done,” I told Max.

“Sure thing!” he replied before leaving.

“Did you really have to be that cold? He’s just come out of a coma!” I snapped.

“I don’t care! He’s fine, as you so nicely indicated. What I care about is my mate lying to me,” he growled.

I rolled my eyes. “I haven’t lied to you.”

“You were kidnapped, or so you say, and you come back by being teleported into my room and you refuse to tell me who got you there. I think that counts as lying,” he argued.

“I am not lying to you!” I said through clenched teeth, getting more and more annoyed by the second.

“But you’re not exactly being truthful now, are you?” he asked, stalking towards me.

“I told you that you have nothing to worry about. How the hell is it my fault that you’re the one being too hard-headed to let this go?” I countered.

“BECAUSE JUNE, I NEED TO BE ABLE TO TRUST YOU AND RIGHT NOW, I DON’T!” he shouted.

I went numb on the spot. I felt like he’d just shoved a glass shard into my heart. Regret very quickly replaced the cold and anger in his eyes, but it was already too late since I was already walking to the door.

I can’t believe he doesn’t trust me.

He got a hold of my arm. “June, I didn’t mean it.”

“People always mean what they say when they’re angry or drunk Mateo!” I snapped, taking my arm out of his grip before going downstairs.

Max was already waiting for me, freshly showered and dressed to kill. Knowing him, he’s probably dressed to impress the ladies. When he saw my mood, he saw fit not to ask anything. The sound of thunder was heard far away.

“JUNIPER LEE-ANN EVIGAN!” Valentine shouted.

I frowned as I watched her marching towards me. “What?”

“You’d better turn your mood around in the next hour because no storm is ruining this day! Are we clear?” she whisper-yelled. Her angry face was too adorable for me not to laugh.

“Crystal,” I giggled.

“That’s the spirit!” she beamed before walking off.

Max shook his head. “That girl is just too strange.”

“I know, right? Anyway, let’s head off! I’m sure my guests are wondering why I haven’t contacted them,” I commented.

“Were you supposed to call them?” he asked.

I nodded. “Yep!”

“So, why are we fetching them?” he asked as I handed him the SUV keys.

“Because I want to and I need to get away from this house for a while,” I huffed.

“Because you being in Monte Carlo wasn’t distant enough,” he teased.

“Shut up!” I laughed as we got onto the road.

“Where are they, anyway?” he asked.

“The hotel outside our borders,” I replied.

He raised an eyebrow. “Why are they so far away?”

“They didn’t want to have to cross our borders at six a.m., so they just stayed at the hotel and told me to call them when I was ready for them to come,” I explained.

“And how did you get back?” he questioned.

I shrugged. “I teleported myself.”

His eyebrows shot to his hairline. “You did what now?”

“It turns out that I am a witch after all, but not just any witch; a Naturalist witch,” I said proudly.

“Whoa! Those are the most powerful witches in existence! If I’m not mistaken, there are only two others,” he said thoughtfully.

“You’re not, and you’re going to meet one of those two,” I informed.

“Seriously? Which one is it? Balthazar or Odessa?” he asked.

“You’re very knowledgeable on many things,” I noted.

He shrugged. “I like to know what’s going on in the supernatural world.”

“It’s Balthazar. Apparently, Odessa is some evil witch, even though she’s my direct ancestor,” I replied.

He chuckled. “They call her the Ice Bitch.”

“Why ice?” I asked.

“Because it’s her most favorite thing to create with her powers,” he informed me.

I frowned. “Strange.”

“Wait, if you’re a Naturalist witch, then that means you have the power of the elements,” he said in awe.

“Yep!” I made a fire from my palm as we reached the hotel.

“That is so cool!” he said excitedly.

We stepped out of the car and I went up to the guys’ room, remembering that they asked for the penthouse suite yet again. I knocked on their door and Boris was the one to open the door. He looked absolutely dashing in jeans, a dress shirt and dress shoes. I wasn’t shocked to find that Balthazar was dressed similarly, while Mark was in jeans, a T-shirt and sneakers.

“Pumpkin, I thought I said you should call, not come all the way here,” Balthazar commented.

I shrugged. “Eh, I needed the break.”

“Trouble in paradise already? You’ve barely been back for a day,” Mark joked.

I rolled my eyes. “Tell me about it!”

“What did you fight about?” Boris asked.

“He wanted to know who teleported me back to our room. Apparently, he doesn’t like not knowing what strange person was in his room. That fight led to a second fight and he told me that because I’m keeping this from him and he doesn’t trust me,” I huffed. Max looked surprised.

Boris shook his head. “Idiot.”

“Why didn’t you just tell him that you took yourself there?” Balthazar questioned.

“Because then she would’ve had to explain everything else,” Mark replied knowingly.

“Exactly! And for that to happen, the three of you need to be there,” I added.

Boris smiled. “Well, you’re being rude! Who’s your friend?”

“Really? You’re really going to act like you don’t know who Max is?” I asked, deadpan.

“Hey! I remember you! You’re the guy who had me shot at!” Max shouted.

I smirked. “See, he remembers you.”

“Now young one, I apologize, but that needed to happen. You will learn everything later, but I do apologize for that incident,” Boris apologized.

Max shrugged. “As long as June is okay.”

“You’ve got a loyal one here,” Balthazar noted.

“I know! That’s why he’s my best friend. Max, this is Boris, the lovely witch who kidnapped me, that’s Mark, my half-brother, and that’s Balthazar, who I’m sure you know all about,” I introduced.

“It is awesome to meet you guys. Wait, did you say ‘brother’?” Max asked, turning to me.

“Yep! Mark Evigan, my father’s unknown son and the rightful heir to the Alpha title back at Litmus,” I said, smiling at my brother. He winked back.

“Whoa! I’ve never heard of a pack that’s had so many Alphas to be in one generation,” Max joked.

“Now that you mention it,” the guys and I laughed.

“Well guys, gather your stuff and let’s get going,” I said.

They got their bags and we loaded them into the SUV before making our way back to the pack. Since we were traveling in Max’s car, the guys on patrol let us in and out without any hassle, especially since they saw both Max and I in the car.

We made it to the main pack house at exactly one o’clock. Valentine was either going to kill us, or she was going to kill us. We walked in and she, Anastasia and Alexa were waiting expectantly.

“You’re late!” they chorused.

“By a minute!” I argued.

“Even if you’d been late by a second, you would’ve still been late!” Valentine snapped as Trey, Orion, Sam and Mateo entered the lobby. Mateo looked ready to kill my brother since Mark had his arm around my shoulder.

“Whatever! Guys, these are my guests, Balthazar, Boris and my brother Mark. Guys, this is Valentine; Mateo’s sister, Alexa; Trey’s mate, Anastasia, Sam; our Delta, Trey; our Enforcer, Orion; our Beta and Val’s mate, and Mateo Santiago; the most feared Alpha in the world,” I introduced sweetly.

None of them missed my animosity towards Mateo.

“Welcome to my territory. As my mate’s guests, you will be treated with the highest honor,” Mateo said, stressing the word ‘mate’. I could only glare at him.

“That’s not necessary, but it’s lovely to meet you all,” Mark smiled, still not letting go of me.

The girls turned to me. “Brother? You never mentioned a brother!”

“He’s my half-brother who I just found out about hours ago too, so hold up with your attacks. Everything will be explained to you all, unless if, of course, you don’t trust me!” I emphasized, staring straight at Mateo. His eyes narrowed in anger.

“OKAY! Let’s get these bags to the guest rooms and join everyone outside!” Max saved everyone from the tension between Mateo and I.

“We will show you to your rooms,” Anastasia smiled.

The guys carried the luggage, while the girls led the way. Mark kissed my forehead, which made the stupid Alpha growl. From how quickly everyone walked away, it was easy enough to figure out that they wanted to get away from Mateo and I, and I couldn’t very well blame them. I wanted to get away from him too, which is why I went towards the terrace door, only to be stopped.

“You’re being childish, June,” Mateo said, gripping my wrist, but not painfully or tightly.

“I can be whatever I like, Mateo,” I growled.

“Stop being ridiculous! I already said I didn’t mean it like that,” he snapped.

“Oh, so now I’m being ridiculous? I’m untrustworthy and ridiculous? Great going!” I said sarcastically before breaking free and walking out.

Before me was the most beautiful sight I’d ever seen. It looked as extravagant as a wedding, and one would never think that it was just a simple barbeque. Although there are three pack houses, all three of them share the one spacious backyard.

It’s actually more of a clearing. There were decorations everywhere and they were all in white. Since I was standing on the terrace, which was a few steps off the ground, everyone could see me and they all beamed at my presence, making me smile right back. This is my family now. I almost jumped when I felt arms go around my waist.

“Don’t fight me for the sake of appearances,” Mateo linked me. I wanted so badly to burn his hands, but thought against it.

“I don’t care that you want to keep up appearances, but you WILL limit your touching me. I don’t want you anywhere near me as it is,” I replied, although on the outside I was playing the affectionate Luna.

“What else do you want me to say to you?” he growled in my mind.

“What? You’ve run out of insults already? One would think someone as scary as you carried a whole load of them,” I sarcastically replied before stepping out of his hold and blocking my mind-link.

He has some nerve!

A bunch of little kids came running to me. I’d never had any contact with kids this young, so I was freaking out a little. A good Luna is normally one who has excellent interaction with children and Elders. Elders I can handle, but not little kids. There were four boys and a little girl.

“Stop thinking so much about it. You’ll do just fine. Just be yourself,” a voice I recognized as Balthazar’s said in my head. I turned back to see him smiling at me. I didn’t know witches could link too.

“Thank you,” I returned the thought before turning to the kids.

“Luna June, you’re so pretty!” the little girl smiled. She was missing so many teeth, but she was adorable, regardless. I squatted down to her level (despite my wedge heels).

“Thank you, my angel! You’re also pretty,” I winked.

“No she’s not! She’s weird and she has cooties!” the boys teased. I could see tears in the little girl’s eyes.

“Boys! That’s not a nice thing to say!” I scolded them.

“Sorry Luna,” they said shamefacedly.

“What’s your name?” I asked the little girl.

“It’s Rose,” she whispered.

“Well Rose, I have a surprise for you,” I smiled.

“Really?” she asked excitedly.

“Uh huh!” I said before taking my hand into her hair. When I pulled it out, there was a pink rose in my hand, matching the dress she was wearing. There were astonished people all around as everyone looked on.

“Whoa!” the boys said.

Rose smiled, not really caring where the flower came from. “It’s so pretty!”

“It’s a rose as pretty as my Rose,” I said before putting it in her hair and kissing her cheek.

Her tiny arms wrapped around my neck as she hugged me. “Thank you Luna.”

“It’s my pleasure Rose,” I winked before getting up.

Around me were proud pack members as they all eyed me with smiles of approval. I felt like for the first time in my life I’d got it right. Even Mateo looked touched, which pleased me, as pissed off as I am at him. The scene with the kids seemed to kick things off as everyone came to introduce themselves to me. I didn’t think I would remember all of them, but apparently, Starlet and Marissa would be doing the remembering for me.

Val and her crew really outdid themselves. Everyone was having so much fun and I managed to avoid Mateo without making it obvious that I was. I could tell that as much as they wanted to be respectful, some of the guys were having trouble not lusting after me. I don’t blame them, since I was technically unmated.

“Are you enjoying yourself, Luna?” Mark and Max teased. The two of them are pretty tight from what I can see.

“I am!” I smiled. I was sitting at a bench, viewing everyone before me.

“And paradise?” Mark asked.

I sighed. “Still in the ruins.”

Max shook his head, making me laugh. “Doucheness.”

“What about you guys? Are you having fun?” I asked them.

“Well, I know everyone here so it’s just like any other normal day, but Mark here is stealing all the ladies,” Max complained.

“Well, he is an Alpha male. You think I don’t see how some of these women are eyeing Mateo?” I replied, pointing out a few.

“The hard lives we live,” Mark said dramatically.

“Oh, please!” I giggled.

“So, Mark, have you found your mate yet?” Max asked him.

He shrugged. “Nope! I’ve given up looking for her.”

“Aaaaw, don’t give up so easily,” I pouted.

He gave me a sad smile. “Sis, I shifted when I was thirteen and I was supposed to have found her when I turned sixteen. I’m twenty-four now, which means wherever she is, she’s eight years late.”

“I still say you shouldn’t give up. You will find her,” I said as I hugged him.

“Thanks, squirt,” he said. I punched him in the stomach just for that.

“I’m still going to call you squirt, June,” he groaned.

“And I’ll punch you every time you say it, Mark,” I said innocently.

Max shook his head at us. “You guys are strange.”

“Excuse me, can I steal June for a second?” Mateo interrupted.

“No,” the guys replied, shocking both Mateo and I.

He frowned. “Why not?”

“Because she’s not talking to you,” Mark said angrily. Well, what do you know?

Mark is a protective big brother.

Mateo looked absolutely livid as he walked away. I couldn’t help but wonder what he wanted from me. After all the fighting we’ve done today, I wondered if we were still going to continue fighting.

I turned to Max. “That was a big risk you took.”

Defying his Alpha like that could’ve had dire consequences, especially with an Alpha like Mateo.

“I know, but you can’t sell yourself short June. You’re his equal now, and I’m just as indebted to you as I am to him. You’re both my Alphas, and it just so happens that I’m on your side. I think the girls would be too if they knew what he said,” Max pointed out.

“What did he say?” Valentine asked angrily.

What is with these people and coming out of nowhere?

“It’s nothing,” I sighed, looking straight at Mateo across the clearing. I knew he could hear us perfectly fine.

Stupid Alpha hearing.

“It’s not nothing, Juniper! The two of you were fine when I saw you this morning, but now you’re just glaring at each other and emphasizing stupid phrases,” Valentine hissed.

“If you recall the one phrase I emphasized then you’ll have your answer,” I hinted. She, Alexa and Anastasia looked like they were in thought.

Anastasia frowned. “You’re his mate?”

“No, think deeper,” I replied. Alexa’s eyes went wide with realization.

“He actually said that to you?” she asked in disbelief.

I nodded. “Yep!”

“Said what?” Valentine asked in confusion.

“How are you guys supposed to rule together if he doesn’t trust you?” Alexa whispered.

“HE TOLD YOU THAT HE DOESN’T TRUST YOU?” Valentine and Anastasia whisper-yelled.

“Pretty much!” I said.

Before I could blink, Mateo was at my side, throwing me over his shoulder. I squealed and screamed. While the pack members thought it was the most adorable thing, I was genuinely screaming my head off.

“Put me down Mateo!” I huffed once we were in the house. He ignored me and took us to our room before actually putting me down.

“You’re making me look bad,” he said angrily.

I folded my arms. “Uh, I’m not the one who doesn’t trust their mate. How am I making you look bad? By seeking comfort from my friends? Friends who actually trust me?”

“You’re making this a bigger deal than it really is, Juniper,” he said in frustration.

“You just don’t get it do you? Mateo, you expect me to be your mate and yet you don’t trust me? How the hell are we supposed to rule together when you don’t trust me? I feel like everything I do now, you’re just sitting there analyzing it to see if I’m being genuine or not. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that I missed the fact that you actually insinuated that I staged my own kidnapping. If that’s how lowly you think of me, then maybe I shouldn’t be Luna after all,” I said before marching out of the room.

OF COURSE HE STOPPED ME.

“I did not insinuate that you staged your own kidnapping Juniper. Don’t put words in my mouth,” he said tersely.

“And I quote: ‘you were kidnapped, or so you say’. Tell me that that isn’t an implication. Mateo, you have insulted me today more than any other people but my parents. You’ve called me a liar, you’ve called me childish, you’ve called me ridiculous, you’ve basically called me a phony and best of all, you don’t trust me. Now you expect me to just stand here and pretend that I’m okay with that, or that because ‘you didn’t mean it like that’ automatically means you didn’t say it? To top it off, when I try to talk to someone else about it, you have the decency to tell me that I’m making you look bad. You wanted this Mateo, and now you screwed up,” I said as I wiped away my tears. I think only then did it finally dawn on him.

“So, you don’t want to be my mate anymore?” he asked in his cold and clipped tone.

Unbelievable!

“You’re not serious! After everything I just told you, you want to turn around and make me seem like the bad guy here?” I asked in incredulity.

“I don’t know what you want from me! I’ve never done this before!” he shouted.

“And I have? You can’t do that Mateo, and I won’t allow you to! You can go around blaming your attitude on whatever past you have and whatever curse is on your family, and that’s fine, but not when it comes to this; not when it comes to us! You’re the one that wanted this and I accepted believing that you actually wanted to be with me and try to be a mate for me. You were doing great, that I won’t lie about, but you need to understand that you’re asking me to be your mate, your equal and not your bloody submissive! I know what I want in a mate Mateo, and a dictator who’s going to insult me and tell me what to do and what not to do isn’t it,” I snapped, my tears still falling.

“What are you saying, Juniper?” he whispered.

“I’m leaving, Mateo! I don’t know what you want from me either, but I can’t stay here and pretend to be happy when my heart is breaking into a million pieces because I was actually stupid enough to think I had a chance at love,” I replied.

Thankfully, he let my hand go.

I knew that a big part of me was being unreasonable about this, especially because I was able to open up to everyone else so easily. However, the reality was that I didn’t know Mateo all that well, so a part of me didn’t trust him enough to tell him the truth about my powers.

I didn’t know what he could do with that kind of information and how it would impact our relationship.

I went downstairs, still crying, and found Max’s keys. I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t mind me taking his car. Taking one last look at Mateo, I felt my heart cave in even more before I got outside. The skies were clouding quickly and I couldn’t help but feel guilty for ruining the day.

“I’m sorry Val,” I linked her before blocking everyone off.

***

“I’m sorry Val.”

Valentine jumped at the sound of June’s voice in her head. She watched as the clouds began to darken and she knew that something bad had happened between Juniper and her brother. She ran inside the house to find him on the stairs. When he looked up at her, she gasped as she saw tears in his eyes.

She’d NEVER seen her brother cry before.

“What happened?” she asked him.

“She’s gone, Val. She left me,” he whispered.

“She left you, or you made her leave?” As much as she loved her brother, she knew that he could be an ass.

“I made her leave,” he admitted.

She sighed, going to sit on the stair before him. “Why? Why would you do that to her? To everyone? We all love her Mateo and whether she knows it or not, she loves you! She’s the first woman you’ve ever given the time of day to and she’s the first person other than me and Orion to actually believe that you are way more than this image everyone has of you. Why would you ruin this?”

“Because this is who I am and she gave up on me,” he replied. She did something she’d never done in her life - she slapped him, hard.

He looked as shocked as she felt.

“Don’t you dare turn around and victimize yourself! You wanted her to be your mate. What did you expect? That she would just bow down and forgive you every time you decided that being an ass to her is okay? It doesn’t work that way, Mateo. If you want her as your mate then you’re going to have to work at it. I know that everything else in your life comes easy to you because of who you are and your reputation, but all of that means nothing to her, and when it comes to her it should mean nothing to you too. I know, better than anyone else, what mom and dad really put you through, and I’m sorry for that, but you can’t let them get to you, even in death. You have to fight, brother! Just like you fought to be the greatest Alpha in the world right now, you have to fight to be the greatest mate to her if you really want her. Do you think you’re up for that challenge?” she asked him. He was quiet for the longest time, and she was worried that she’d gone too far.

She’d never spoken to him like that before.

“If she comes back to me, I’ll fight,” he said lowly.

She smiled. “Now that’s the brother I know.”

“I’m sorry Val,” he suddenly said.

“What for?” she asked.

“For keeping you at a distance. You’re my little sister and yet I treat you the same way I treat everyone else. I wasn’t there for you when we lost mom and dad. I wasn’t even happy for you when you found out that Ryan is your mate, and I’m just sorry,” he apologized. She went up a step so that she could hug him. His arms went around her and he held onto her like she would disappear at any moment.

“You’re not a bad person or a bad brother, Teo. Honestly, mom and dad are to blame for your lack of compassion, or your inability to truly be happy because they took that away from you when you were just a little boy. I know that June seems like a happy person, but did it ever occur to you that you and her are one in the same? Both your parents treated you like shit. She hurts too, and she doesn’t need one more person treating her like she doesn’t matter. I’ll work on getting her back here while you work on keeping her here. You need to always remember that you’re not the only person who had a rough past or has a complicated present. You’re going to learn things about June that you didn’t even know because she couldn’t find the right words to say them. I want you to promise me that you’re going to fight to be someone that she can trust and always come to with her problems. I want you to promise me that you’re going to give your relationship with her your absolute all, and that you’re going to treat her with the highest respect and as an equal, not just some ordinary person. I know that she just got here, and not in the best way either, but she wants to start a new life and you’re going to help her. She doesn’t have any secret agendas Mateo, and you need to trust that; you need to trust her. I know that it takes you a while to fully trust someone, but Zeus chose her for a reason. Don’t turn her away because of your own insecurities. We’re all here for you, brother, and it’s time you became happy,” she smiled at him.

He smirked. “Since when are you so smart?”

“Since I’ve had the best brother in the world,” she winked.

“I promise that I will try my all for this, Val. I’ve listened to what you have to say and I understand now. I also understand that as horrible as my past was, I have the opportunity to make it better,” he said.

She kissed his cheek. “That’s the spirit! I only wish happiness for you, Teo.”

“I know, baby sis. Te amo hermana,” he said before kissing her forehead.

“Te amo hermano,” she smiled, hugging him one more time.

“Let’s go and hear what June’s guests have to say - that’s if they don’t kill me first,” he mumbled.

“Don’t worry! They won’t kill you without me killing you first,” she giggled, earning myself a glare.

“I take back my love,” he taunted.

“You can’t do that, even if you wanted to,” she said before she stuck her tongue out at him as they walked back onto the terrace.

He was back to his old cold self. You’d never say she’d found him on the verge of a breakdown just moments ago. Outside, people were moving at unimaginable speeds, trying to get everything out of the rain. Within minutes, everything was out of the rain’s way. She just hoped that June was fine. It wasn’t a heavy storm, but a typical shower of rain, meaning Juniper was really heartbroken.

“I’m sorry that our wonderful barbeque has been ruined by the weather. I promise you all that we will have another one soon. I guess you can all retreat to the pack houses if you wish,” Mateo linked the pack.

“Where’s June?” Trey asked.

“Gone,” the guy June introduced as Balthazar replied.

“How do you know?” Valentine asked.

He shrugged. “She told me.”

“Wait, so she’s really gone?” Mark asked.

“Yes,” Mateo replied.

“She did ask for us to still tell you everything without her being there,” Balthazar announced.

“How did she tell you of this?” Orion asked.

“Mind-link,” Balthazar replied.

Sam frowned. “But you’re not from this pack.”

Balthazar rolled his eyes. “I’m also not a werewolf, boy.”

“Well then, let’s go inside,” Mateo announced.

They all moved off to the lounge in the main pack house and got comfortable. They looked like little children gathering around for story time. Valentine was curious to finally learn the truth about her sister in mating, but she already knew that June was something special.