Page 29 of The Alpha and His Childhood Sweetheart

I loved my family, but the next two days refused to end. Finally, the day EJ was popping to me arrived. I grabbed my dress and fixed my hair. When I came downstairs my dad smiled, “You look beautiful, sweetie. You know that EJ won’t be here for a little bit. He’ll pop in the second he’s allowed, but you’re ready early.”

Ray snorted, “The little Luna is counting down the hours just like the young Alpha.” I stuck my tongue out. My dad laughed, “Ray will be going with you.” I shrugged, “Ok.” Ray said, “Unlike last time, I will be fast enough, so the little Alpha wolf doesn’t pop away before I get a hold of him.”

I looked at my dad pleading, “Will you consider letting EJ and I go to the dance with just us?” Ray growled. I sighed, “It’s our territory, with our pack. You know EJ and his guard will be there. Please, just think about it?” My mom touched my dad's shoulder, “It is in our territory Peter.” My dad sighed, “I’ll think about it, but EJ’s guard will be with him not her.” I squealed, “Thanks daddy!” Ray grumbled but I didn’t care.

My mom winked at me which meant my dad was going to let me go somewhere without Ray. I knew EJ’s guards would be there, but they stayed hidden. Ray did too, but we could smell him. I didn’t mind Ray. In fact, I really liked him. I just wanted some alone time with EJ.

I watched the clock for the next thirty minutes. My brothers got bored and ran outside to play. Now I was literally counting down the seconds. The moment it hit time EJ was here. His eyes never left mine as I took in his charcoal scent. It was so comforting.

When we got to the Hackura realm the first face I saw was Alexander’s. He looked stoic but I could see the hurt in his eyes. Was he still upset about not being able to pop unless it was an emergency? Poor guy. He was the most sensitive out of the siblings. He was the only one that could heal so far. They thought Cassie and EJ could when they were little, but it turned out they could just give Alexander more juice in their connection.

His healing abilities made him a bit more emotional than the others. Cassie was technically supposed to be more emotional than Alexander because she was the Truth Seeker, but she tended to lean towards her Hackura side, so she let things roll off her back. They both had their things, I guess.

Cassie used to be very sensitive about the Cassandra topic, but obviously that wasn't the case anymore. I felt bad Cayden wasn’t coming because I knew Cassie wanted to meet him. Theykept missing each other, and she was really annoyed by it. Fairies got that way when they felt things weren’t fair.

Micah not coming was sad. I was hoping to meet him since he was usually with his mom’s if we were here. He was just as good with computers as his dad, Gunner. Even though he was only twelve. I was surprised to hear he was in the field, but Cayden was seventeen. Maybe he just needed a tech guy with him.

EJ popped me away for some private time. When he put his hands on my hips my heart started racing. Was he going to kiss me? I’d been dreaming about our first kiss for ages. I didn’t really know what I was doing, but we managed to keep kissing. I should’ve looked up how to kiss.

I didn’t know how long it was before EJ pulled back, but I wanted him to keep going. It wasn’t long before his lips were back on mine. We were more confident of what to do now. EJ was smiling his happiest smile when he pulled back and told me we had to go.

When we got back everyone clearly knew we’d kissed. The ground could swallow me whole now. When we took our seats for the ceremony, I glared at several girls who were openly staring at my mate. They met my stare with their own of jealousy, hatred, and contempt for me. I held out, and eventually they looked away first. That was right. He was MINE!

I was never more grateful to EJ for teaching me Latin. I would’ve been so lost here. It was a surprisingly short ceremony. I looked around for Ray and spotted him quickly. He shot me a wink. Once everything was said and done Bjourn announced it was time to celebrate.

I tensed, but I’d been preparing myself. They had orgies here and I knew there would be one today. This was totally normal to EJ and his siblings since they’d grown up around it. I was taking deep breaths, because I could do this. It didn’t faze anyone else.

EJ had made other plans that made me love him more. We were away from the crowd spending time together. I nearly laughed when he brought up my dress for the school dance. My dad would freak out when he saw it. My mom and I bought it when he was in a meeting. He would not like the low cut of the top, but my mom said I was beautiful in it.

I wanted to sigh over how sweet EJ was. People didn’t always believe me when I said that. The Conners had a reputation for being stern. They were sweet though with those they loved. It always amazed me that he didn’t see how many people wanted him or were afraid to cross him. I knew he didn’t mind the second part though.

I knew I’d have to deal with catty people and proving EJ was mine. My mom did it and so did Haley. It was just the way things went. On the one hand, I knew what they saw. EJ was handsome. He was perfect and too dang sexy. His whole family was attractive, and they knew it. They didn’t seem to understand the concept though. It was kind of funny.

When we got back, I let myself get lost in the emotions of the day. I enjoyed watching the Conners around me teasing each other. I saw balloons with Bjourn and Astrid’s faces on them, which screamed that Haley’s planned it. She went all out for things.

Watching EJ with his siblings had my thoughts trending towards how cute EJ would be with our pups one day. I’d been thinking a lot lately about that. It was fairly common for Werewolf couples to have pups right away once they found each other. I just wasn’t sure I wanted to do that.

I was going to be moving to Black Mountain and it was a large territory. I didn’t want EJ to have to worry about me and a pup. I just wasn’t sure how he’d react to me wanting to wait on starting a family. I wanted to be sure before I told him. Right now, I waffled. I needed to sort through my feelings about it.

After a while I saw Ray shoot me an apologetic glance and I knew it was time to go. I didn’t want to because I hated it when EJ and I were apart. They started talking about the dance. Cassie winked at me. I knew she had no idea how excited Jason was that she’d said yes to being his date. Honestly, I was really excited about the dance too.

It hit me the second I laid eyes on my mate’s brother that Melanie and Alexander were finally going to meet. This was actually exciting! EJ popped me home. I saw the flash of pride in Ray’s eyes for EJ as he recounted the events to my parents. When EJ left, I already missed him.

When he left, I told my parents about everything except the kisses EJ and I shared. I’d tell mom later. I didn’t want to talk about that with my dad. I excused myself and went upstairs. After a while, my mom joined me.

I smiled greeting, “Hey, mom.” She cooed, “So, what did you leave out of the story with your dad back there?” I blushed, “How did you know?” My mom winked, “A mother knows.” I looked down, “We kissed a few times.”

My mom sat down, “We haven’t had that talk yet.” I blushed, “Mom, it was just kissing!” My mom clucked her tongue, “One day it won’t be. I just don’t want you to feel pressured. You can wait as long as you want. Or you don’t have to wait at all. I’d like it if you were a bit older, but we know he’s your mate. It’s natural to want to be with him in that way.”

I blushed, “We aren’t there yet mom.” My mom smiled, “When you are, you can talk to me.” I whispered, “Do you think he’d be upset if I didn’t want to have pups right away? Right after I turn eighteen?” My mom took my hands, “I think that boy loves you and you’re his whole world. He’ll give you whatever you want. Everyone does things in their own time and their own way. If you want to wait for any of it EJ will understand. Out of curiosity, why do you think you want to wait?”

I explained, “We’ll be taking on such a large pack. There will be things that come up every day. I just want to have a handle on things before we have pups. Plus, we’re going to live for centuries. There’s no rush. I know there’s no perfectly safe time to have pups, but I just want to have a handle on the Luna duties first. I don’t want him to take over worrying about me and our pups.”

My mom smiled, “Alpha Eric isn’t going anywhere when you take over. He’ll be there to guide EJ. Alexander, and Cassie will be by his side as well. If you aren’t ready when the time comes, we can get you on birth control. You have plenty of time for pups.” I smiled, “Thanks, mom.”

My mom kissed my forehead, “Just make sure to check in with yourself. Don’t do things because of fear or pressure. Do them because they are what you want. Your dad and I had you before we took over, and I’ve never regretted it for one second. Sharon and Garrett waited awhile, and they didn’t regret it either. Everyone has their own paths, sweetie. You just have to find yours and EJ’s. Talk to him.” I nodded, “Thanks mom.” She kissed the top of my head now, “Of course.” She left me to my thoughts.

I’d talk to EJ about it when I was sure what I wanted. I fell asleep happy with where everything was. I woke up to my phone ringing with EJ on the other line. I knew something was wrong. I could hear the hurt and fear in his tone. I reassured him and we fell asleep on the phone.

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