The Luna’s Choice

Chapter 13

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Chapter 13: Theo

Once I was in my own bed, I fell into a restless sleep. I got up early and decided to go and see my parents. They had been spending more time at the lake house lately. It was where they planned to move permanently once I took over as Alpha, and it was good for Dad to be away from the bustle of the packhouse.

The lake house was about forty–five minutes away, and I made the drive as the sun was rising.

It was a beautiful drive. Roads weaving through the mountains, revealing idyllic scenes of forests and stone peaks overlooking the valleys below full of towns and cities.

I loved this drive. I took my time that morning, just enjoying the simplicity of life on that road.

But the lake house came into view, and I had to pull myself back to reality.

I parked the truck I had taken next to my mom’s SUV. She greeted me on the front porch as I approached the house. She must have already been up and saw me come up the drive.

“Theo, this is a pleasant surprise,” she said, opening her arms wide for an embrace.

I happily took it, wrapping my own arms around her delicate frame. My mother had always been a lot stronger than she looked. It was a trait I had always loved about her growing up.

Chapter 13: Theo

It made her a force to be reckoned with. But it also made her approachable, which made others feel safe with her. It was a vital attribute for a great Luna.

“What are you doing here?” she asked as she pulled away, giving me a once–over. “You look tired. Is everything okay?”

I gave her a smile. “Everything is fine,” I lied. “I just missed you and Dad.”

“Well, a mother’s never going to argue with that,” she replied brightly.

She tucked her arm in mine and led me into the house. My dad was sitting on the couch in the living room reading a newspaper when we walked in. He looked up and his face lit up when he spotted me.

“Theo,” his big voice bellowed, “we weren’t expecting to see you until this weekend.”

He stood up as I approached, groaning slightly. Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

“I felt like coming up sooner. I wanted to check on you guys out here all by yourselves.”

“Well, I won’t lie and say it hasn’t been nice having your mother all to myself,” Dad teased, elbowing me suggestively. “It’s like we’re newly mated again.”

“Dad, I really don’t need to know that,” I said with a grimace but still happy they were enjoying their time together.

“And how is Kylee doing? Is her mother still… settling in?” Mom asked as she brought me and Dad a cup of coffee.

“Kylee is fine,” I said tightly. “And as far as I know, Marie

Chapter 13: Theo

seems comfortable with the move.”

“That’s good,” Dad said, clapping his hand on my back. “Come on, son. Let’s go out on the porch and talk.”

I followed him out to the back porch, and we took our seats in the big wooden deck chairs, looking out over the water. We sat quietly for a little while, just enjoying each other’s

company.

“How are you feeling, Dad?” I asked soberly.

He sighed deeply. “I’m doing okay. As well as can be expected, at least. Although, I felt a little off earlier this week.”

“What do you mean?” I asked worriedly.

He shook his head. “It’s probably nothing. Just an episode with my wolf. But…”

“You can tell me, Dad,” I assured him.

“I felt like a lost someone.”

My stomach clenched and I almost choked on my coffee. “You lost someone?”

“I thought it was a tether breaking,” he said, rubbing his chest absently.

I felt the blood drain from my face.

“It happened so fast I couldn’t make out whose it was. And to be honest, I’ve been having trouble separating them lately. So it was probably nothing,” he said, waving it off.

“What if it wasn’t nothing?” I asked hesitantly.

Chapter 13: Theo

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He looked over at me curiously. He instantly knew I wasn’t telling him something. I waited for him to say something, but he didn’t. He just raised an eyebrow, telling me to go on.

“There’s something I need to tell you,” I said.

“That doesn’t sound good,” Mom said as she came outside just as I said the words. “Theo, what’s going on?”

“Dad just told me he thought he lost someone the other day. A pack member,” I said.

“I remember that. He was confused for a while after that.”

“Well,” I began, unsure if I was ready to tell them, “you did lose someone, Dad.”

My mom gasped. They knew the tie was severed. An Alpha knew the difference between a pack member dying and a tether being broken. He knew someone had gone rogue.

“Son, did you…”

I shook my head. “No, I didn’t do it.”

“Who?” was all Dad could say next.

“Ayla Garner.”

“Oh, no,” Mom whispered.

I looked at my father, and there was a deep sorrow in his eyes that I hadn’t expected to see. I expected him to be upset, even hurt. But this wasn’t that. This was pure sadness. I even thought I saw tears brimming as he stood from his chair and slowly walked off, descending the porch steps and entering

the trees.

Chapter 13: Theo

“How did this happen, Theo?” my mother asked gently.

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I kept my eyes on my father as he just stood in the shadows of the forest, his shoulders hunched.

“It was… complicated,” was all I could say. I didn’t know how else to say it at that moment. “He’s taking it pretty hard.”

“The Garner family is a hard subject for him,” she said solemnly.

“How so?”

“He feels he failed them as an Alpha after Jack, their father, died. Especially Ayla.” I could hear her own sadness in her voice and looked up at her as a tear ran down her face.

“Mom, why does he think he failed them?”

“He didn’t realize how rough they had it until later, when…” She shook her head and swiped at her cheek. “That’s why he decided to give you his blessing to take Kylee as your chosen mate. He felt like maybe he was making it up to her

somehow.”

“Wait, he didn’t want to give us his blessing?”

Her brow furrowed. “Theo, you know we both would rather you wait to find your fated mate. That bond is so important for an Alpha and a Luna. But if you want to be with Kylee, we will support that decision. But yes, her being Ayla’s sister had a large part in his decision.”

I didn’t realize he knew Ayla that well. Kylee had said she remembered meeting him after her father died but couldn’t remember him coming around after that.

Chapter 13. Theo

For the first time, I thought about just how young Ayla was when their father was killed. She was still a kid herself. Her grief may have caused her to make decisions that hurt her family, but it was still grief nonetheless.

And now I was left wondering who was there to help her through it.