"Don't you eat, dear?" Lady Melrose spoke.
I looked at the food before me.
Anita had whipped it up and it honestly smelt and looked amazing.
Chicken a la king.
There were chicken strips and pasta dipped in a creamy cheesy sauce with mushrooms.
But my nerves honestly weren't letting me eat much. I took one bite and immediately went back to thinking about Joshua's bloody skin, about the wolf...
I thought about the people back at school; Kat and Chris... were they safe? Had they been sent home?
What about Aunt Sarah and Uncle Victor?
Aunt Sarah worked at the nursery school so she would have to stay there.
But Uncle Victor's construction jobs probably weren't much of a priority, I'm sure he was allowed to leave and be with Aunt Sarah, Hazel and Parker.
"Francesca, she obviously can't stomach the stuff, leave her alone." Anita spoke, smiling at me warmly as she came to place a hand on my shoulder. "It's okay, sweetie. When my son got back from the war, he couldn't stomach anything either."
I gave her an appreciative look.
"It honestly does taste amazing though." I tried, hoping it would make her feel better.
"You kids these days have such weak stomachs." Lady Melrose spoke as she dug into her own food.
"It was the same thing with Tristan's father, you know." She explained. "I asked Jean if she was sure about that one. A few broken bones on Tristan and he was almost out the door."
I rose my brows at Lady Melrose. "Tristan broke his bones?"
She smiled. "Quite the scoundrel, that one, that's why he has always been my favourite."
"Francesca, you're not allowed to say such things! Think about how the others feel!" Anita yelled over her shoulder from where she stood by the sink doing dishes.
"I'm only kidding, Anita!" She yelled.
She then leaned closer to me and whispered; "No I'm not."
I placed my hand on my mouth to stifle a laugh.
I had decided that I actually did like Lady Melrose - or Nana Francesca as she specifically said I should call her.
All her favourite grandchildren called her that, apparently.
I was flattered.
She might have been blunt and very straight forward and to be honest, she kind of frightened me but she seemed nice enough.
And she was definitely entertaining to be around.
Her relationship with Anita was particularly interesting even though she had a good twenty years on her.
I couldn't understand the dynamic, little sister/ big sister? Aunt/niece?
Anita spent a lot of time scolding her bluntness and Nana Francesca was unapologetic about it all.
"Oh sounds like the boys are back." Anita announced as she wiped her hands on her apron.
I heard it as well, a door opening and footsteps followed by voices.
"I'm not saying you should. I'm just saying you could use this to our advantage."
"Shut up Mikey." I heard the unmistakable grumpy voice of Joshua.
"Dude! This opportunity comes once in a lifetime, you don't get poisoned and let it pass without using it to skip a few days of school. Come on Tristan, tell him!"
"I'm the alpha, Mikey. You can't honestly expect me to agree with you."
I don't know if it was the mating bond but for some reason I was more attuned to him.
I could sense his aura, just the pitch of his voice made my body twitch.
I got up.
Nana Francesca just looked at me with a knowing look on her face.
I was compelled to follow him, to find him. It's like there was a magnetic pull.
This wasn't normal.
Stop it, body!
"Don't act like a saint! You skipped school lots of times when you were our age!" I heard Mikey protest.
"You know what, Michael, if you want to ditch school so much why don't we poison you instead." Joshua snapped.
"Come at me, bro! You can hardly walk, all I have to do is nudge you with my pinky finger and you'll be down."
"Try me!" I heard Joshua growl.
Then I heard a snarl.
"Guys!" Tristan snapped.
"Oh dear." I heard Anita mutter.
The boys finally appeared through the door.
Tristan was holding Joshua up from one side and Micheal was on his other side.
Peter walked in behind them silently.
Tristan's eyes immediately fixed on me.
It was definitely the bond. I felt literally attracted to him, like all I wanted to do was be close to him.
I gripped the stool I had been sitting on to keep myself where I was.
"Hey." He spoke.
"Hi." I responded in a quiet voice.
Where was the Crystal who was supposed to be yelling his ear off?
I felt like I was betraying myself and all the promises I had made to deal with him.
Or at least my body was.
I wanted him more than I have ever wanted anything or anyone.
"Are you okay?" He asked me.
I simply nodded, not really knowing what to do.
Micheal was also staring at me, sort of in disappointment.
I remember what Joshua had said about him having a crush on me.
Well, this must have been especially awkward for him.
I turned to look at Joshua.
There wasn't really any expression on his face so I didn't know where I stood with him, really.
Or what he made of Tristan claiming me.
Eventually he nodded at me. "Thank you." He mumbled gruffly.
Micheal nudged him.
I saw both of them flinch a little.
Joshua glared at his twin brother who gave him a stern look.
He sighed before looking at me again. "I wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for you."
I nodded. I honestly couldn't think of anything to say so I just said the first thing that came to mind.
"Cool."
I guess that argument we had in the forest would stay in the forest.
He suddenly flinched again.
"Oh, don't tell me the hospital let you out this early." Anita spoke.
"They didn't." Micheal answered for his brother. "Jerkface here just wanted to get discharged as soon as possible."
"Joshua!" Anita scolded.
"Snitch." Joshua hissed at his brother.
"Idiot." Micheal hissed back.
"And you let him?" Anita snapped at Tristan.
Tristan shrugged. "He said he was fine."
"Look at him! He clearly isn't." Anita protested. "Come on dear, you might have been discharged from the hospital but you're in my care now." Anita spoke as she rushed to take Joshua's other arm from Micheal and tried to start leading him away.
"Nita, I'm fine!" Joshua protested.
"No you're not." Anita shot back.
"Grandma, tell her!" Joshua protested.
Nana Francesca who had been uncharacteristically quiet just gave Joshua a 'that's not my problem' look.
"I'm not getting involved, dear. Tata." She waved.
Joshua's eyes widened at the old lady. "You get involved in literally everything. And you choose now to stay impartial."
"What can I say? New leaf and what not." Nana Francesca shrugged.
"New leaf, my foot." Joshua grumbled. "T, tell her!" He begged his older brother.
Tristan just shrugged at him. "Sorry, little brother, she's the boss."
"Traitor." Joshua grumbled before turning to Instructor Peter who immediately raised his hands and shook his head frantically.
Before his eyes could even settle on Micheal, he was already shaking his head. "Sorry brother, I can't hear you over the fact that I have to go to school tomorrow!"
And so Anita led a reluctant Joshua away.
He made sure to leave everyone with death glares.
Nana Francesca clapped her hands together.
"Okay, well, I'm going to leave now." She announced.
"Grandma, there's a rogue on the loose. I'd much rather you stay here." Tristan spoke.
"Grandma, there's a rogue on the loose." Nana Francesca mimicked his voice. She waved him off. "I'd like to see those rogues try me."
"You go Nana!" Micheal cheered.
Nana Francesca offered him a 'power to the people' air fist.
Tristan glared at Micheal who cleared his throat and looked away
He turned his attention back to her.
"Grandma..." Tristan spoke in a warning tone.
Nana Francesca didn't pay any attention to him, she walked up to me and surprised me by giving me a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
"Goodbye sweetie, don't be a stranger."
She then walked up to Tristan and also gave him a kiss on the cheek before patting it.
"You, don't you worry about a thing except running this pack. You have enough problems without worrying about this old lady. I'll be fine, like I always am. Besides, you have those two robots following me everywhere, anyway."
I assume she meant her two personal guards, the ladies she had arrived with.
Apparently they had been apprentices too in Tristan's mother's days as alpha and they had specially been assigned to Lady Melrose.
"Take care of this one, and for goodness sake don't dishonour her! You kids and your hormones." She muttered.
I saw blood rushing to Tristan's cheeks, tinting them pink.
I couldn't judge. My own cheeks felt warm.
"Nana... you're making things awkward." Micheal cleared his throat.
She looked around in confusion. "Don't you all know what sex is?" She yelled.
My eyes widened. Tristan slapped his forehead. Peter and Micheal looked about ready to bury themselves.
Nana Francesca scoffed. "Prudes."
Oh my goodness. This woman.
"Anyway, I made sure that wouldn't happen tonight." She had a knowing smile on her face.
I didn't even want to think about what she could have done.
"But I'm serious," she pointed at Tristan. "Take care of this one. I like her better than the other one."
Other one?
I looked at Tristan and the boy actually looked away from me.
Oh now I was mad again.
Peter scratched the back of his head awkwardly. And Micheal just coughed.
Nana Francesca seemed oblivious to the problem she had made and sauntered over to Peter to give him an kiss on the cheek.
"My favourite godson." She announced.
He gave a dimpled smile. "I'm your only godson, Nana."
"And for good reason too." She smiled a genuine smile.
Huh, looks like she has a soft spot for someone.
"I saw that fiancée of yours earlier." She added.
Oh... May was his fiancée.
Now it made sense.
I couldn't help but actually think about what a good couple they made.
I mean they didn't show it at all during training or I guess they pretended not to.
"Did you give her a hard time?" Peter sighed.
"How else will she grow some thick skin?" Nana Francesca asked defensively.
"Nana-" Peter started in a warning tone.
"See you all later." She sang before turning to make her exit.
"Nana!" Micheal protested. "Aren't you forgetting something?" He asked, holding his arms out.
"No." She simply spoke with a smile before turning to leave.
There goes a great woman...
Micheal remained staring in the direction she had just gone. "That hurt. Right here." He spoke as he tapped his chest.
Peter walked up to him and patted his back.
"Come on, you need to get some rest buddy, you have school tomorrow."
Micheal groaned but got up none the less.
His eyes landed on me.
He looked like he wanted to say something.
He looked at Tristan then back at me, then Tristan again.
He opened his mouth but nothing came out.
So in the end, he just hang his head in disappointment and muttered, 'goodnight' before leaving the room.
Poor kid looked dejected.
Tristan was looking after him in confusion.
"He's acting weirder than usual." He told Peter.
I guess he didn't know about the little 'crush'.
"It's Mikey." Peter shrugged as means of explanation. "I'm going to check on May before the meeting later on. I'm sure your grandmother did a number on her." He spoke with a sigh.
"Sorry man." Tristan spoke, "But that's what you get for being her favourite."
"Blessing and a curse." He muttered.
He looked at me. "Your bracelet will be activated tomorrow at training by the way." He told me.
We were still doing this training thing?
Didn't I atleast get an out after everything I had been through?
"Bracelet?" I asked in confusion.
He pointed at me wrist. "The proximity bracelet. Aren't you wondering why you didn't get fried when you got separated from Joshua?"
"Oh."
I completely forgot about the black band on my wrist. I hadn't even been aware that the red blinking light had gone off.
"Um, thank you Instructor -"
"I don't think you need to call me that, anymore." He spoke with a small smile. "It's Peter to you, Luna."
Huh, I guess I had achieved a boost in status afterall.
"Er... okay, Peter, um... Am I required to show up for training tomorrow?" I asked, biting my lower lip nervously.
"Um..." Peter looked at Tristan. "That's really not for me to decide."
Was it Tristan's decision?
Did he really have the right to make any decisions for me after what had happened?
"We'll talk about it." Tristan spoke. "Goodnight, Pete."
"Night, T." Peter responded before turning to leave.
When Peter left, Tristan walked towards the fridge and took out a bottle of water.
He gave me a brief glance before turning away.
I looked after him in outrage.
"Er hheeermmm!" I yelled as I rushed after him, he had reached the staircase already.
Stupid long legs.
He turned to look at me, a blank expression on his face. "What?"
What?
He couldn't be serious.
"In case you didn't notice, we have a lot to talk about."
Tristan turned around.
"Tristan!" I yelled. "Where are you going?"
"My room." He responded. "I'm tired, come with me if you really want to talk."
I stayed in my position.
What was he suggesting?
He suddenly stopped on the steps and turned to look at me.
He rolled his eyes at the frightened look on my face.
"Nothing's going to happen, Crystal. I wouldn't - for goodness sake. Besides, my grandmother made sure of that."
Every one knows that the first two weeks after the mating bond has been established, everyone's hormones are all over the place.
Especially at my age. Tristan seemed to have more control than me and I wondered if it was because he had passed the awkward teen years.
But then again, IÂ wasn't that much younger than Tristan afterall, I would be eighteen soon.
So if something was to happen...
Stop it, body!
"Wait? What does that mean? What did Nana Francesca do?" I called after him as I started ascending the staircase, trying to catch up with him.
"You're wearing my mother's dress." Tristan muttered in a low voice.
I looked down at the yellow and black floral dress that Nana Francesca had given me to wear.
Anita had given her a funny look when she had brought it out but I had thought nothing of it at the time.
"Oh - I - I'm sorry, I didn't know." I blurted out. "She just gave it to me, I had no idea -"
Tristan waved me off. "Don't worry. She never wore dresses. Nana Francesca would get them for her but they just sat in her closet most of the time. I can just smell her scent - that's all."
There's no better way to kill the mood than to smell your dead mother on your mate.
Congratulations, Nana Francesca.
I still wanted to apologise to Tristan but he simply kept walking.
I don't know what his parents had meant to him.
I wasn't around when they were alive.
But I knew, personally how hard it was to lose your parents.
I followed Tristan down the hallways to the familiar room.
"Tristan, we still need to talk." I continued.
I didn't feel as confident after the realisation that had settled upon me.
In fact, I felt bad for opening old wounds.
"So, talk." He spoke, walking to the desk with scattered papers on it and half sitting on it. He folded his arms across his chest, giving me his full attention.
I cleared my throat.
"I don't like what you did earlier." I didn't sound as confident as I was supposed to.
Thank you Tristan. Thank you for ruining my angry rage.
He rose his brows, urging me to go on.
"You claimed me! In front of everyone when you promised!" I sounded like a child right now but I didn't care.
It had been a long day and now just talking about this... I couldn't help but get emotional.
"You said you respected my decision! I don't want to be the Luna, I never did and now you've just forced this upon me. Tristan, these people hate me. I - I just can't -" my voice cracked.
All attempts at fighting my tears failed and they just fell down my cheeks like the traitors they were.
Tristan got up and strode towards me in five steps.
Next thing I knew, I was in his arms.
I was too exhausted to fight so I just rested my head on his chest.
"Trust me, Crystal." He whispered. "The last thing I wanted to do was to go against your wishes."
"But you did, you jerk." I mumbled and gave him a weak punch.
He only held me closer.
"You just don't know how it feels. How it hurts. Not just the after effects of the rejection. I could go a thousand years with the pain of knowing that you didn't want me, trust me, I could. But I would never be able to survive if something happened to you."
I could hear the emotion in his voice. This is the first time I had ever heard Tristan sound so... desperate.
It almost hurt me too.
The first week of the mating bond came with an empathy link as well so to some extent, what he felt, I did too.
And right now, it felt like my heart was about to fall out of my chest. Like I was desperately clinging to something I could lose at any moment.
"Knowing that you're around, Crystal, knowing that you're within walking distance but not being able to come to you... you have no idea what it's like to feel your presence, catch your scent on strangers... so close but out of reach."
Despite my better judgement, I wrapped my arms around Tristan in return.
I felt it. I felt it all.
His pain, the elusiveness of me.
It's that one thing you desperately needed to the point that it literally hurt.
A need that was being deprived.
And I had been doing this to him the whole time.
"Even that, as excruciating as it was, I could handle that." He confessed.
"But Roman being back? I know he'll seek you out sooner or later. And call me selfish all you want but I am not letting him take you away and pollute your mind." He growled in this possessive tone. I felt his body tense up and I could tell he was getting angry. "I'm sorry for taking away your choice like that but on this one, I need you to trust me. Roman is up to no good. Hate me all you want, but I'm just trying to protect you. I promise, just let me take care of what's going on. Let me handle it knowing that you're safe in my care. Then - then if you want - you - you can reject me again. I promise."