#4 Moonlight on the Water

Navy

Jenna was still in the hospital with Titan and Mason. I didn’t want to bother her, so I went to find Julia and Tasha. They were on the second floor making sure that the nursery was ready.

“I need help.” I grumbled, walking into the unnecessarily large nursery. The walls were painted a deep midnight blue and there were moons and stars all over the place.

“What’s wrong, Luna?” Melly’s voice surprised me. I jumped and turned around,

“Melly, were you following me?”

“No, Luna, I was just bringing these up for baby Titan.” She smiled, handing over a basket of blankets.

“Well, stay, I need all the advice I can get.”

“What happened now, Navy?” Julia snickered at me. I told her all about Cameron and Knox all the sudden getting along and planning out our entire lives together, without me.

“I’m not surprised. He was talking about having a baby with you and Cameron yesterday.” Julia said.

“He was?”

“Yeah, he wanted our opinions on having an Alpha heir who wasn’t a werewolf.” Tasha added. I blinked at them in shock,

“He was just saying that he wanted an heir and then we wouldn’t worry about who the father was of the rest of the kids.”

“He must’ve just decided that with Cameron. He wasn’t really concerned about it at first. I hope we didn’t upset you, Navy, but we all wanted a werewolf Alpha. It doesn’t matter if he’s half siren, but we thought it would be better to have an Alpha who understood what it was like to have a wolf.” Julia explained.

“I completely agree.” I nodded,

“This is what I mean though. He’s already thinking about what our kids are gonna to be like and how we’re all going to raise them together. And here I am barely able to accept having two mates.” I sighed in frustration.

“It’s a lot for you, Navy. You were just plucked from your realm not too long ago to live with a bunch of werewolves and now you’re being thrown for another loop.” Melly said compassionately.

“Yeah, but I don’t know why you’re so hung up on the two mates thing. I would die for that!” Julia giggled and Tasha quickly nodded,

“Have you even stopped to think about what two mates really means?” Tasha winked at me.

“I can’t get past holding both their hands let alone think about….that!” I yelled at the girls.

“Two mates, two handsome men who adore and worship you, two strong, able bodied men who want nothing but to pleasure you. Yes please!” Julia wasn’t backing down.

“Oh my Goddess.” I put my head in my hands and plopped down on the rocking chair.

“You need to just relax, Navy, you have yourself way too worked up. You’re overthinking the shit out of this and you need to stop.” Tasha shook her head at me.

“Seriously, girl, just go with the flow and let what happens, happen. Those guys will take good care of you and your needs, no matter what they are.” Julia added.

“So everyone here is clearly team two mates.” I said to myself.

“I’m sorry, Luna, but you’re not getting any pity from us.” Tasha pats my shoulder softly.

“I’m wondering what I need to do for the Moon Goddess to get myself another mate.” Julia said with her back to the door.

“Excuse me?” Uncontrollable laughter burst out of me as Clay entered the room. Julia spun around with a huge grin on her face,

“Oh, nothing, honey.” She batted her eyes innocently.

“What are you filling their heads with, Luna?” Clay rolled his eyes at me.

“I’m complaining about having two mates! So, don’t look at me.” I squeaked, jumping up.

“Jenna wants to see you.” Clay said to me, shaking his head.

“Walk with me?” I asked Clay, waiting for him in the doorway. He raised an eyebrow at me but nodded.

“You don’t need my mate, too!” Julia whined. I rolled my eyes at her,

“Trust me, I’m good with two.”

“What’s up, Navy?” Clay asked once we were in the elevator.

“What do you think of Cameron?” I asked. Clay blinked in shock,

“I think whatever you think, Luna.” He mumbled.

“Yeah, right.” I snorted at Clay. We were never on the same page,

“Try again.”

“Fine, I’m skeptical.” He huffed.

“Why?”

“He’s not from here. He’s a siren.” He said.

“So am I.” I pointed out.

“Yeah, but you’re our Luna. The Moon Goddess thought you were good enough so who am I to question that?” Clay replied.

“The Moon Goddess mated me with Cameron too so, by that logic, you should also trust him.” I said. Clay grumbled to himself.

“I’m impartial here, Clay, I’m looking for some honest opinions.” I added.

“He’s not a bad guy, alright. He did fine on our mission together, more than fine, actually. He did nothing but talk about you and getting the closure that you needed. And, I’ll deny this if anyone asks, but I did notice a certain aurora about him.” Clay sighed.

“An aurora?” I was confused.

“Like an Alpha or Luna aurora but not quite that strong. I could’ve disobeyed him if I really wanted to, but neither me nor my wolf wanted to. We wanted to submit to him.” Clay explained reluctantly.

“Really?” I was surprised. Clay was a Beta, it took a rank stronger than his to order him around. The Alpha and Luna were the only ranks above him. So, what did that mean?

“I guess it’s because he’s mated to our Alpha and Luna, so we feel inclined to follow him as well.” Clay looked uncomfortable as we stood outside the hospital wing.

“Thanks, Clay.” I dismissed him and he sighed in relief.

“Luna?” He paused in his retreat,

“For what it’s worth, I really do just want you to be happy. You and your two mates might make me physically ill, but I’m good with whatever makes my Alpha and Luna happy.” He answered honestly. I smiled widely at him,

“Awh, you do love me, Clay!” I made a kissy face at him and he bailed. I was still laughing at him when I entered Jenna’s room.

“Sister!” Jenna smiled, waving me over. Titan was in a little tub beside her, sleeping away.

“How are you?” I asked, giving Jenna a hug.

“Good, surprisingly. Not too sore, I’ve already healed for the most part.” She shrugged,

“And he’s perfect. Strong like his daddy and uncle.”

“And his mama.” I added, leaning over the tub to admire him.

“You can hold him if you want. He sleeps like a rock, you won’t disturb him.” She didn’t have to tell me twice. I scooped him up and cradled him in my arms.

“Sit.” Jenna pats the empty spot beside her in the hospital bed.

“Did you want to talk to me about something?” I asked as I cooed at Titan.

“Before Titan decided to make his debut, Knox was talking about you taking another mate.” Jenna began.

“Oh, no, not you too.” I grumbled.

“I know, I know, you’re probably tired of talking about this.” She said with a knowing grin,

“But, I thought maybe you would want to talk to someone who knows a little bit about what you’re going through.”

“What?” I blinked at her in a daze.

“Nobody knows this except for Mason.” She said in a low voice,

“And I want it to stay that way, okay?” I bit my lip, nervous about the idea of lying to my mates, but I nodded anyway.

“Okay.” I agreed.

“Mason wasn’t my first mate.” She confessed and I stifled a gasp,

“I went out to a party a few days after I turned 18 with some friends. The second I stepped into the bar I knew I was in trouble. Of course, I could smell my mate from a mile away. The problem was, we had gone to a mixer bar so it had humans and werewolves. My mate was a human.” Jenna took a deep breath as she told me her story, pausing to collect herself before continuing,

“I didn’t care. Like Knox, I wasn’t bothered by mixing up the species. We hit it off right away but I was terrified to tell him that I was a werewolf. Months went by and I still didn’t confess. I just saw him in secret. Everyone here thought I was going through a ‘wild phase’ and didn’t question my late nights or disappearances. It was like I was living a double life,

“At around 6 months I got pregnant. It wasn’t planned, we were even using protection to avoid it. But, shit happens. That’s when I knew I had to tell him the truth, since werewolf pregnancies are so different from a human’s,” She took a shaky breath and I had a feeling this story was about to take a turn for the worse,

“He freaked out, he was absolutely petrified of me. It didn’t matter that he had fallen in love with me over the last six months, all he saw was a monster. I could only half shift since I was pregnant, he didn’t even see me in my full form. I don’t know, maybe that would’ve been better. Anyway, he left me. I never even got around to explaining the mate bond so he didn’t reject me properly. I had never been in so much pain in my entire life,

“I don’t know if it was the broken heart or not, but I lost the baby a few weeks later. I was in the deepest despair anyone can be in, I was so broken and lost. I left my family a note and ran away. I intended to kill myself. Instead, I met Mason. He put me back together and healed my soul. Two months after losing the baby, I returned home with my mate and nobody knew the wiser.” Jenna finished her tale and I was left speechless. I had no idea she was sheltering such a burden.

“Why haven’t you told Knox?” I wondered.

“Some things aren’t meant for others to know about. I think that’s the case for you and my brother and Cameron. The world doesn’t need to know the choices between you three or the reasons. It only matters what you and your mates decide. I just wanted you to know that it’s okay to keep things private and it’s okay to make a decision that might not make everyone happy. You have to do what’s best for you.” Jenna said earnestly, holding my hand.

“Thank you for trusting me with your secret, Jenna.” I didn’t know what else to say.

“I’ve loved two mates with all of my heart. I know how that feels. It’s not the same, but I loved them both at the same time even if my human, Lucas, left me before I met Mason. At first, I never would have imagined my heart was big enough to love Mason when I was still so broken over Lucas. I didn’t think it was fair that I was given another mate so soon, I thought I deserved to suffer after not succeeding at keeping my first mate. Mason taught me how to see the world from a different perspective, all I had to do was open my heart and mind up to him.” She gave my hand a loving squeeze.

“I’m not so good at giving up control and listening to others.” I confessed.

“Me either.” Jenna chuckled. I looked into Titan’s face,

“But, somehow, the world just makes more sense looking into this sweet face.” I muttered.

“Everything always makes more sense when you’re looking at a baby.” Jenna agreed.

“Thanks, Jenna. You know, I have a sister at home but our relationship was never like this. I’m glad that you’re in my life.” I smiled back up at her.

“I’m glad you’re in my life, too, sis. Now, give me back my baby and quit hiding from your mates.” She called me out. I laughed and reluctantly handed Titan over.

It was easy for me to find my mates, especially since they were together. It was like a neon sign was pointing me in their direction. I couldn’t avoid them even if I wanted to. Although, I wasn’t entirely sure why they were in the Luna’s quarters. I shoved open the door without knocking and stared down my mates.

“Alright, let’s do this thing.” I announced.