Dark Moon (The Moon Series #2)

Five

I turn around, grinning when I see Sam and Blade strut in here. I squeal, jumping to my feet and hugging them.

"You guys! I thought you wouldn't be here for another week at least!" I exclaim, Blade grins.

"We got information out of them faster than I thought I would. Then again, it was easier with me being their Beta and all." He winks, Sam smiles and grabs a hold of me in another hug.

"Thank you for letting us stay longer, Luna." Sam smiles gratefully, I smile.

"One, don't call me Luna. We're family. Second, you could have stayed there for as long as you'd like. You don't even have to come down here, we want you here sure, but you deserve to be happy with your families. I've kept you away long enough." I speak softly, gazing at them with love.

"Jay, you are our family. We missed our parents, sure, but we grew up with you more than we were with our parents. It's overwhelming to be there. Do you know how many people look at us as if we saved the world? Or came back from the dead?" Sam chuckles, always having been soft-spoken, I was surprised to hear his voice clear as a bell.

"But-" I begin, Sam grabs my shoulders gently.

"No buts, Luna Jay. You're our family, and we want you to be a part of our lives. Now, we already checked in with the school and got our schedules. I talked to Jace, and he says we have the rest of our classes together just you and me after lunch!" Sam speaks excitedly, his eyes alight with joy.

"Okay, let's go!" I agree, giving Blade a confused but happy look. Blade shrugs, smirking as Sam leads me past gawking humans.

Once we're far enough away, I nudge Sam with my hip as we walk down the empty halls. "What's up? Am I missing anything?" I giggle, he blushes a deep red.

"A little... Blade and I accepted each other and we, ya know..." He drifts off, embarrassed as a blush crawls up his neck and warms his cheeks. His blonde hair was tousled from the wind, brown eyes sparkling with happiness despite being so embarrassed.

"I'm so proud of you guys! Finally, I have my Beta's mate to help me lead." I wink at him, he blushes a deeper red as we enter the classroom of our sixth period just as it ends. We sit down in the back, laughing and chatting.

"Okay, so I was thinking that we can change up the living room just a bit." I exclaim as the first of the students enter. Sam tilts his head, pursing his lips.

"How so?" He questions, brushing his hair back. I should give him a haircut when we get home.

"Well, I was thinking we can rearrange the furniture, right? Then, get white curtains instead of black for the living room to make it more appealing and maybe adding some fairy lights or something behind the tv. We should also get a metal guard in front of the fireplace, so the kids can't fall in, I've been worried about that ever since I realized we didn't own one." I begin, outlining what I wanted to do.

He nods, agreeing with me. "Okay, but what if we added a rocking chair or two for the new mothers by the windows, so if they wanted they could create a small space for the babies and toddlers to play or take a nap when they still have to do their duties?" Sam suggested with a broad grin. I squeal, clapping my hands. Everyone pauses in shock, staring at me.

"Yes! You're a genius Sam! If we do that for the new mothers, maybe we should do something even more, what if we also sectioned off that place for little kids only and assign a couple of the young women to watch them as we build a small daycare for the kids. Then, we need to start sending the kids old enough to school. They need education, just like we do." I agree, taking his plan a step further. He nods vigorously.

"Yes! Can we go shopping after school? Blade gave me his debit card." Sam winks, I giggle.

"Yes! I don't have any meetings today or any certain duties to do until dinner. Then, I have to oversee the dinner preparations and blah blah blah." I roll my eyes, Sam playfully gasps.

"You have to do that though! That's part of your responsibility as a Luna!" He teasingly reprimands me, I stick my tongue out at him.

"Yeah, yeah. And your point is?" I prompt sassily, he chuckles.

"If Kiko was here he'd smack you for that." Sam remarks, I shrug.

"We're both only kidding, Sam. You and I both know that." I giggle, bouncing in my seat excitedly. Then I realize the whole class had been silent as Sam and I talked.

"Are you done, Ms. Ranger?" Mrs. Palmer sighs, looking at me without fear in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Palmer. We'll be quiet, right Sam?" I look at him accusingly, as if he started all of this. He gawks at me.

"I'll show you..." He mutters under his breath, nodding nonetheless. I giggle, leaning back in my seat.

"Finally, now to start off with art is a delicate process. We're focusing on painting intermediate pairs with a theme of your choice. You may work in partners, but I will be coming around to approve you're pairs and theme. You also have to give me a plan. You two, give me a second before I catch you up." Mrs. Palmer nods to us, we smile and lean back in our seats.

"Want to do it as partners?" Sam asks hopefully, I giggle.

"Of course!" I agree, we go quiet as we survey the room.

Who said you could go shopping? Ash remarks in my mind, I smile as I submerge myself into my mind.

Well, I did. I do have my own savings you know. I sass, he chuckles in my mind. His beautiful chuckle echoed around in my mind.

Love, if you're going to go shopping for the Pack, you'll be using the Pack's card. Come meet me in the bathroom in a few minutes. I have a feeling you're going to skip after this period since your next class is a free period anyway. He orders, I nod outwardly but instantly remember he can't see that.

Yes, Mr. Alpha. I tease, blocking him off from my mind with a smirk. "Mrs. Palmer!" I call, she looks up and bustles over to me. She had a heavyset figure, but it was almost motherly with the way she looked at me.

"Yes, Jaiyana?" She smiles, all the humans going quiet.

"May I go to the bathroom? I'll be back quickly, I promise." I smile, looking up at her with almost a pleading look. "Female emergency." I wince as I say it.

"Of course! Go ahead. Just grab the hall pass on your way out." Mrs. Palmer smiles, bustling away once again to another student. I stand, winking at Sam as I go to grab a hall pass.

"Does she go outside like a dog?" I hear a girl ask loudly, I pause in my tracks. Echo growls angrily in my head, ready to fight the girl. I hear a chair being scraped back hurriedly, knowing who it was I spin around and grab Sam's arm as he begins to growl.

"Sam! It's an order to leave her alone!" My Luna Dominance exuding around me, he gasps at the force and falls to his knees before me.

"I'm sorry, please forgive me Luna." His wolf, Niko, begs.

"I forgive you, but you know the rule. No matter what, we treat humans with kindness." I speak softly, he nods even as he submits to me. "Now, go sit and relax. I'll be back in a minute, from the bathroom." I shoot a look at the girl, she looks at us in awe almost.

"You... you protected me?" She gasps, her boyfriend half standing as if to protect her.

"Well, that's my job as a Luna. Protect everyone around me and make sure they are happy and safe. I know my presence scares you, but I can promise that nothing bad will ever happen to anyone here. Now I really need to get going." I say awkwardly, speeding off. I slide into the bathroom, already knowing only Ash was in there and that no one saw me.

He pushes off the wall, handing me a black card. "Go and have fun, Jay. Treat yourself before you do anything for the Pack. Blade is telling Sam the same thing, so don't worry. And if you don't treat yourself and relax first, then I will come and force you into the mall's massage chair and make you." He promises, I smile and kiss his softly.

"I promise, Ash. I love you so much! Thank you!" I squeal, hugging him tight. Chuckling, he kisses the top of my head. With a final quiet squeal, I scamper back to class.