3rd Times A Charm

Chapter 14

Julie's POV

We are sitting at the dining table waiting for Derek's parents and sister to arrive. It doesn't take long for the chef to make enough sandwiches for five people. After the chef leaves, a middle aged couple walks in with a teen age girl behind them. We stand up to meet the them, and Derek hugs the woman. She looks at me and smothers me in a hug. A stiffen for a second before returning the hug. 

She pulls away and says, "You are beautiful. I am so glad my son finally found his mate. Oh sorry. I am getting ahead of myself. My name is Shannon, and my husband is Charlie."

I smile and say, "It's nice to meet you. I am Julie. I am also glad that I found Derek." I am tackled to the ground by what I am guessing is Alice. She smiles at me sheepishly when Derek yells, "Alice! Don't do that! Julie is injured!" Her eyes widen, and she jumps off me while Derek helps me up.

"I am so sorry. I didn't know," she says.

"It's okay. It doesn't hurt anymore," I reply, "You must be Alice. It's nice to meet you. I had to borrow some of your clothes. You have an interesting style."

"That's fine. I am not here as much as I use to. My saying is 'Once you go colorful, you are wonderful.'" Charlie came over and hugged me. 

"He finally found you. Took him long enough," Charlie whispers.

"Ok. Let's have lunch and catch up," Derek says sitting down. We all follow his lead and have a seat. Grabbing sandwiches, Derek catches up with his parents while I sit back and watch. He has a good relationship with his parents. I have always wanted that. 

Alice goes on talking about school and other things going on. It makes me sad that I never got to have these simple yet fulfilling conversations with my parents. Shannon looks over at me and says, "Okay, enough about you Alice. I want to know about Julie." They all turn to me when I am about to take a bite. I put the sandwich down and ask, "What do you want to know?"

"Everything."

"Okay," and then I go on to explain my life and everything that happened in the last week. I get looks of sympathy, angry, and pride. The look of pride was from Charlie when I talked about getting help for my depression and how I stood up for myself at the mall. I felt... I don't know what this feeling is called but I feel pride in myself that I made Charlie proud of me. 

The tears slide down my, Shannon, and Alice's cheeks. Derek has pulled me into his lap, so he can comfort me. I must look like a weak mate for Derek. They must think that I am not going to make a good Queen. I can't look anyone in the eye after I finish telling about my past. 

There is a period of silence where they process all I have said. Our tears have dried, and I am still sitting in Derek's lap waiting to see what their reactions are going to be. 

"How could your parents do that to their child? It is unacceptable. Julie, I don't want you to think that is how me and Charlie will treat you. Mothers and fathers are suppose to love and guide their children, not make them into soldiers. If you want Julie, I would be delighted if you called me and Charlie, mom and dad," Shannon comments.

"You want me to call you mom and dad? Even after learning about how weak and damaged I am."

"Sweetheart, you are not weak. If anything, you are the strongest person I know. To go through that and get help yourself, then you hung on even when all hope was lost. You are damaged, but so is everyone. Nobody is perfect; everyone has problems and is a little broken. Would be proud to be your dad?" Charlie said.

I look at Charlie and Shannon, and they have love and pride in their eyes while looking at me. My parents never looked at me like that. They never told me anything other than about being the best head warrior. I feel relieved that still they like me even after I told them about my past. They want me. Tears build in my eyes again and I say, "Thank you... mom, dad." They both have huge smiles on their faces, and I can feel happiness pouring off of Derek.

"Hell yeah! I have the coolest, strongest sister ever!" Alice cheers. We all laugh and continue on with lunch. They accept me. I feel so much better about myself. Looking around the table, everyone is enjoying their lunch while talking. Is this what real family is like? It feels great. 

I feel like I finally belong somewhere. I turn back and look at Derek. He looks down at me and smiles. I smile back and he gives me a quick kiss before going back to the conversation. Derek has changed my life, and I will do anything to stay with him. He is my mate and no one is going to take him away from me, especially not Rick.

As I engage in the conversation going on, I start to believe in myself more. There are so many people who believe in me and have my back. My self-esteem is going up by the minute and my wolf thrives on it. Suddenly everything sinks in. 

I am the mate of the Werewolf King. I am going to be the Werewolf Queen. Instead of feeling scared like I use to, I feel confident. I am the Queen. I was born for this, and I have trained for this day. I have been through a lot and that makes me better for being Luna. As Luna, I am expected to be emotional support for the pact. I will be able to help others that have been in the same position as I have. This makes me more understanding and supportive of others. 

Now that my wolf and I have some our confidence back, there will be some changes. We are going to make sure that pups don't have to go through what I did or worst. 

I look back at Derek and say, "I want to do the Luna Ceremony."