The Unwanted Luna

-POV Charlie-

I pulled open the back door to my rental and Zelena rushed up to me. "Oh! Shoot, let me go get the car seat."

Before she could spin on her heels, I reached out for her hand to stop her. "I already have a booster seat. I got one from the store up the road before I came over here. I thought it would be helpful. Is this okay? If not, I can -"

She didn't even let me finish before kissing my cheek again. I'm glad I was leaning over so she didn't have to stand on her tip toes again. "Thank you. That is perfect. You thought of everything." She said.

"I tried." I placed her onto the car seat and buckled her in before placing the bag behind my seat and switching on the child safety lock. I closed the door slowly to make sure she didn't put her fingers in the way. Kids are pretty crafty when they want to be. "Who knew you were so good with kids?" She said breathlessly, while her cheeks had that soft pink undertone to them and her sexy curves played flawlessly with the fabric of her clothes.

"Meh, I'm the oldest out of our group at home, so I tended to be the one that gathered the kids a lot when we were younger." I smirked and opened her door for her. "Ladies first."

She smiled and slipped in before I closed the door behind her. I hopped into the driver's seat and headed for a seafood place down the street. "So, just to confirm, Raven isn't allergic to anything, is she?" I asked, turning onto the main road. Zelena shook her head. "No, but um...where are we going?" She asked, playing with the strap on her purse.

"There is this seafood place I saw when I was looking up places to eat around here. I thought it would be fun since they allow you to eat shellfish out of a bag." I glanced at her and she looked up at me curiously.

"Wait, Zak's Shack?! I love that place. I used to go there all the time when I was pregnant, but it's been a while. Since I'm by myself, it does get a little exhausting to go to restaurants."

I winced, not wanting to bring up any bad memories. "Oh...do you want to go somewhere else?" I asked, thinking she might remember her previous mate or something. She hasn't talked much about it, but she seems like she is okay.

She lightly patted my arm. "No, like I said, I love that place." She hummed happily and Raven giggled.

"Mommy!! Zak! Zak!" She shouted.

"Yes, my little Ravi. It's one of your mommy's favorite restaurants. You're going to love it."

"Really, mommy?"

Zelena turned to smile at the little princess in the backseat. "Of course! I'll even let you taste my food."

Raven squealed happily and I let my girls chat while I focused on the road. My wolf howled at the notion of our girls and I let him have his fun. I know I was. Once we made it into the parking lot, it didn't look too crowded. I opened my door and grabbed Raven's bag and Zelena got Raven. She adjusted her on her hip and I grinned before holding out my hand.

"Report." I called out to my men in the mindlink while we walked up to the restaurant.

"Donna and Malerie are back at the house with Adolpha. Tanya is there too and they are whining about how much they can't stand being around you and Tanya is whining about Richard being an asshole." One of the spies said, as if this was too boring of an update. "Okay, okay. Just let me know if they leave the house." I called not really caring about their mundane conversations.

"They really are evil." One of the other warriors called. "Are you sure you're okay with this Head Warrior?" It's no secret that Malerie was my mate, but there is now an emphasis on was. I straight up don't care.

"Yep, it's fine. How's the tracker on Zelena and her daughter?" I asked.

"Right. I don't know why we had him detained, but he is secure and required to send regular updates to Donnna as you requested."

"Good." I said before cutting off the link. The target is off of Zelena and her daughter, but Donna cannot know that. If that hitman values his life, he will keep it that way.

"How many?" The concierge asked. I blinked and looked down at the kid behind the podium.

"Three please." I said, and he looked at the list before pulling out some menus.

"Right this way. Would you like a highchair?"

"Yes, please." Zelena called and I ushered for her to go first. She smiled and nodded. I walked behind her and made sure the two of them were covered by me while I checked all of the entry points. Even though I got the all clear from the spies, I'm still on edge. I haven't contacted the Alphas yet, and I want to keep this a surprise. I figured no news was good news. I need to stay discreet.

Zelena stood next to the booth while the man grabbed a highchair for Raven. Once he put it down, she placed the toddler in the wooden contraption and buckled her in. "Thank you." She said before sitting down herself. I nodded to the man and slipped into the booth across from her.

Raven leaned over to reach for the crayons on the table. Zelena was looking in her bag for something, so I decided to help Raven instead. "Here you go." I said with a smile, placing the coloring paper on her little tray and the crayons to the left of it.

"Thank you." She said sweetly before pulling out the red one.

I smiled and nodded. "You are welcome." She giggled and started drawing stars when her mother looked up.

"Sorry. I got a message from Donna. She wants to know how the spell is going." She sighed softly.

"How is it going?" I thought it would just be a quick rhyme or something, but I won't tell her that.

Zelena huffed. "Well, full transfiguration spells take time and articles from those you want to shift. It's not an easy thing. I can transfigure smaller things with the snap of my fingers, but humans are tricky. It's more of like a...sacrifice thing."

I hummed in acknowledgement and nodded. I opened up the menu and everything looked good. "That sounds annoying. Can you get it done on time, or will it take more? I can help if you need it."

She giggled and it was almost the same sweet sound as her daughters. The two of them are making me putty in their hands. "No, it's okay. I would need another witch to help me with this and I cannot tell anyone else in my coven. I don't want them to be implicated if this goes south." Zelena confessed. "Okay, let me know if you need us to get involved."

She nodded once and looked over her menu as well. "So! Normally, I get the Clam bake special that has everything, but it might get a little messy." She added with a wrinkle of her nose.

"Alright, we will order that."

"Oh, but I have to get Ravi something too. She can't have all of that. It's too messy for a three-year-old."

I nodded in agreement and looked over the children's menu for a second. "Hey Raven?" I asked, trying to get her involved.

She tilted her head towards me but she was really focused on her new drawing over the crossword puzzle. "Humm?"

"How would you like some chicken fingers?" She shot up at that and started nodding her head super fast.

"Yes please!!" She shouted and a couple of tables turned our way while I laughed along with her. I don't think I've had this much fun in a while.

"Okay, chicken fingers it is!" I bellowed back, not caring about the obvious stares.

Zelena held back a laugh and tucked a bit of hair behind her ear. "You really are different." She said. "Different...bad?" I asked.

She shook her head and reached out her hand, which I immediately took. "I wouldn't say that."

The rest of the dinner continued seamlessly and at some point, Zelena and I had a contest about who could crack the most crab legs. She underestimated my skills and lost beautifully. She had to clean up all the shells as retribution. I still helped though. I wasn't going to let her do it on her own. Then, after we were done with dinner, I ended up sharing a slice of chocolate cake with a kid who ate all of her veggies and chicken before finding herself sitting on my lap. I fed her a bite and the flash of a camera turned my attention back to Zelena. I raised a brow and she smiled with a tear in her eye. "What's wrong?" I asked, already beyond concerned for my mate.

"Nothing. I'm just so happy she gets to have this, you know?" She said before smirking a bit and wiping the tear away that escaped her eye.

"Well, I'm happy to have the two of you so I think I'm getting the better end of the deal here." I added before Raven patted my hand and opened her mouth, which was still full of cake. I tapped her nose just like I had with my kitten and she closed her mouth. "Finish chewing and swallowing princess, then you get another piece."

She giggled and did as I asked. I gave Raven another bite, then turned back to Zelena. "So, when does the party start?"

She looked at her phone and back at me. "Oh, in about a half hour. We have time. It's more like a bunch of witches getting together to have some caramel apples and watch the moon rise. There is some stuff for the kids but we can always cut out early." She asked, biting her lip. "Early?"

"Yes! Dude! Leave early!" My wolf bellowed.

"Yes, I'm sure Raven would love to watch a movie and just relax while I get to spend some more time with you?" She asked and it was definitely a question.

I grinned, looking forward to tonight even more than before. "Sure."

She clapped her hands excitedly. "Great! Okay, so we will meet some of my sisters and then head to the house." She sighed in relief.

I'm starting to think my mate is a homebody. Thank the goddess. We finished up our food and I settled the bill while Zelena cleaned Raven's hands and mouth in the bathroom. Once my girls came out, I reached out my hand to Zelena and she took it happily before we walked back to the car.

Just like last time, I made sure the two of them were set before we headed out. When we got to the festival, there were lights streaming from one booth to another and Raven stopped her third round of the alphabet song to see all the people and lights. It wasn't a big shindig, but there were still a lot of people here. I turned around to see Raven pressing her face on the window. "Princess?" I asked her and she turned to me.

"Yes, Mr.Charlie?" She asked with a smile and her legs started swinging excitedly.

"You promise to stay close, right?" I asked and she nodded.

"Yes!! I'm a good girl!" She shouted and Zelena laughed.

"I don't know what kind of magic you have, Charlie, but I would trade it for mine any day." She added with a smirk.

I rolled my eyes and stepped out of the car. I slung the bag on my shoulder and Raven held Zelena's hand while we walked up to the ticket booth. I made sure to buy as many as I could so we wouldn't run out, then I let the adventure begin. As we walked through the different booths, I noticed there were humans here too. I bumped Zelena's shoulder and she looked up at me. "Humans?" I asked just loud enough for only her to hear.

"Yeah, we let the town partake in the festivities too. It gives us some income for the coven. I cannot wait until we can leave here. I already have a date set to talk to the council, I...I hope you can help me with that too."

I grinned and nodded. "Of course, kitten, but I'm hoping you will move in earlier than them." She blushed and shrugged a bit. I hope that was a yes.

We meandered through a few more booths and I waved at Zelena and Raven when they got on the kids' rides together. I was...a little too big to fit, but I'm glad they enjoyed it. After about two hours, I feel like I've met more witches than I've seen in a lifetime. We were enjoying some of the fudge from one of the stands when a small hand tapped my leg. I looked down and Raven's eyes were drooping. I caught her candy bag and kneeled down so I could be at her level. "Hey, Princess, what's wrong?" I asked gently while she rubbed her eyes. "Can...can you carry me?" She whimpered and a couple of tears fell while her eyes darted behind me. I glanced back to see what she was looking at and my heart broke a little when another couple was walking with a kid on their dad's back.

I turned back to her and Zelena saw the same thing I did. "Ravi...how about I carry you instead."

Raven pulled away from her mom and ran straight into me. I was taken aback, but she had really gotten comfortable with me almost instantaneously. I blame the mate bond. I heard it has an effect on the children as well as the parent, but I've never seen it in action before. I mean,

it's not the same, of course, but they have a connection with the parent's mate even if it's not their biological parent. I gave our bags of fudge to Zelena and she smiled and gently took them from me. "I want to be carried by Mr.Charlie!" She shouted before the tears came in full force. I patted her back gently and pulled her closer to me. "It's okay, princess. I'll carry you. Don't worry."

She sniffled and pulled away, but her hand was still holding onto my shirt tightly. "You promise?" She whimpered.

"Of course." I spun around and held my arms behind me so she could climb on. "Hop on, kiddo."

She sniffled and wrapped her arms around my neck. I stood upright and her legs rested on my hands. "Are you sure you are okay with this?" Zelena asked.

I shifted her on my back and nodded. "I am. Don't you worry about me. We will be headed back soon anyway. I was promised a movie, remember?" I said with a smile while Raven snuggled into my back.

Zelena pulled my sleeve and I looked down at her before she pulled one more time and I tilted a bit. At that, our lips met when the fireworks began.