Dead Luna
Chapter 80

Jackson's

POV

In public, Amy was being a trooper. Calm and commanding. Making decisions. A force to be reckoned with, even. In private, she was a mess. I was proud of Amy, as well as scared of what the future was likely to bring for her. I know facing a potential future without Leo terrifies her, but it's the reality we will most likely be facing.

I'm having a difficult time balancing the needs of my new mate Danika with Amy's needs. She had been dealt so many hard blows, and wasn't coping well. Which was to be expected. But Danika needed me to focus on her, and to feel as if she is my priority. And she is! But Amy's needs are greater. So I'm feeling like I'm being pulled in 2 different directions.

I could only half attend to the planning meeting that was going on as I thought about this morning, waking to the feeling of Amy getting frisky with Leo. Now that I understand how bad the situation is for Leo, I'm not as angry with her. And I was relieved to have Danika with me at the time. Danika apparently isn't fond of early mornings in general, but she was a good sport about it when I said I needed her right now!

Everyone in the planning meeting agreed with Amy about postponing the swearing in of Alpha Leo and the Luna ceremony until the next full moon in 28 days. So the rest of the schedule was moved around accordingly.

The cocktail party would be moved a half hour later, then Amy would be pairing the Alphas with their new mates, followed by dinner, and then the mating ball would begin a bit earlier. Amy would be having her first shift in an undisclosed location with only a few witnesses, me, her mom, Danika, Ashley and Desiree. She would be very vulnerable during this time, and I don't want her to be without protection in case of rogues or any sort of stunt of her father's doing.

Meanwhile, busses filled with single wolves would begin arriving around 1 pm, just after lunch. And everyone's identity would be checked. So the number of guards posted at the 2 entrances to the pack would be nearly tripled to prevent delays, and there would be plenty of security set up around the ball as well as around the territory. This pack was going to be well protected.

Many of the arriving wolves would be staying nearby at the wolves only ski resort on nearby Mt Hood, which was owned by the pack. Being that it was mid August, the resort was otherwise unused at this time of year and the rooms were steeply discounted. Some of the wolves would be staying within the pack, but accommodations were limited for such a large event. Some of the poorer packs (such as Silver Lake and Satus Pass) had opted to stay at nearby campgrounds to save money.

There was nothing to be done for the next few hours until the buses begin to arrive, other than to supervise the set up of the different party areas and check how things are going in the kitchens. The menu for the evening was going to be very basic, since the event was so large and some of the kitchen staff would be participating. Many wolves were being called upon to do extra duties outside of their normal duties in order for the event to run smoothly.

The cocktail party was basically a huge charcuterie board for people to graze at, set up in 3 locations, and there were 3 locations serving a choice of beer, wine or lemonade. We didnt want anyone imbibing so much that things got out of hand. The dinner was also a buffet spread, again set up in 3 locations, serving fried chicken, bbq pulled pork, meatballs, macaroni and cheese, baked beans, coleslaw, crudités, watermelon slices, and a variety of cookies and pies for dessert. Nothing fancy, but no one should complain. So, the planning session over, Amy heads back to the medical clinic once more. I understand her need to be with him, but I feel like she goes mainly to torture herself with guilt. And I'm sure Leo doesn't blame her! The true culprit in all of this is her father, who abandoned his fated mate, resulting in Amy growing up not knowing who or what she was, and then compounded the situation by trying to kill off Amy's fated mate. I hope the moon goddess makes him rot in hell!

At this point Leo has become delirious, and unable to speak clearly at all. He just mumbles, his eyes only half opened when he is awake, which is happening less and less now. Amy climbs onto the bed next to Leo, and snuggles in close to him, which seems to soothe Leo and he drifts back to sleep. Then she mind links to me.

Go enjoy a few hours with Danika. She's working later, and I won't need you until 4:00 at the earliest.

I grab Danika's hand and we head out the door, going back to her room in the warrior barracks. We are very quiet along the way, me, miserable over the messed up state of affairs at this time, and Danika is angry. I can only hazard a guess as to why.

As soon as the door to her room shuts, I go in to kiss her, but she turns her head away from me. I wrap my arms around her instead and bring her in close, whispering in her ear.

"Please don't be angry with me. My friend is dying right now, Amy is devastated, and I just couldn't handle another burden right now."

"You love her, don't you?" She accuses me. I must have taken too long to respond, because after a second she continues. "Don't deny it, I've seen how you look at her. It's almost like I don't even exist when she's in the room."

"Not a single male wolf on the planet could resist loving Amelia if she likes them and turns on the Lycan charm," I say. "Not because she is beautiful, or smart, or they even know her all that well. It's because she is an untrained Lycan princess with a strong aura that she hasn't learned to control yet. All unmated males will be naturally drawn to her until she is mated and marked. So yes, until I met you, I too thought that I was in love with her. But honestly, I had no idea what true love was until yesterday when I first saw you!" "Now, I care for Amelia because I'm her Gamma as well as her friend." I say, hoping I'm getting through to her. "I won't insult your intelligence by pretending your jealousy is completely unfounded. You have every right to feel as you do. And once everything is all over, I'll willingly go with you wherever you want me to go if it'll make you more comfortable. But for now, I can't just abandon Amy because she needs me. She is my friend. But you, Danika, are my heart. It beats only for you."

I can tell Danika is thinking carefully about everything I just said. I can tell she is concerned that I might still have feelings for Amy. Deep down, though, she knows I was absolutely honest with her. I never want her to feel that I would lie to her, ever. Even if the truth isn't pretty, or might cause pain. The ugly truth will always be preferable to pretty lies.

Then I feel as if the entire attitude within the room suddenly changes, and she stares up at me with her gorgeous chocolate brown eyes and smiles. "So I'm your heart, hmm?"

"Now that I've found you, I can't live without you." I say, going in for a sweet, gentle kiss. One that she eagerly returns. And before long we are tearing each other's clothes off and making passionate love, taking turns worshipping each other's bodies until we both are completely sated, as well as exhausted.

We lay there in each other arms as our breathing comes back to normal, each enjoying the sparkly feel of being in our mates embrace. But I can tell Danika still has more concerns regarding our last conversation. I'm not very surprised when she starts asking more questions.

"So why was Amelia so surprised and shocked when I mentioned you were a virgin?" She asks me.

I laugh at that, and then laugh some more at the adorable frown on her face.

"I really don't know how it all began," I begin, "but I guess it's because I wasn't running around chasing anything in a skirt like the typical young wolves my age tend to do. I guess there was this rumor going around that I was gay. And since I honestly only ever found Amy to be attractive, most likely thanks to her aura, and I actually did think some male wolves bodies were attractive, that I wasn't even sure, myself! So therefore Amy assumed that I must have been out having s*x with a bunch of guys if I apparently wasn't interested in girls. Only I never found any guy that I was ever even remotely in love with. I guess what I'm trying to say is, I was waiting to fall in love with only my true fated mate."

Angela's POV

And that confession, dear readers, earned our boy Jackson another round of sexy time with his fated mate.