Dancing with the Shadows // #wattys2019

Chapter 8

Cedric sat at the table, staring at the coffee cup in his hands as if the black liquid would give him something other than warmth and caffeine.

The chime sounded as the door to the diner opened, and a few moments later Sophie was sliding into the booth across from him.

"Sorry, I'm late!" she said, flipping over the menu in front of her and giving it a quick skim, "Did you order already?"

He shook his head, not looking up at her. She didn't notice, looking up from the menu and calling over the waiter.

"Alpha? Luna? What can I get you?"

"I'll take the tuna melt and Cedric? What do you want?"

"Oh, uh, I don't know, um, pancakes and sausages, I guess."

"For lunch?" she asked.

"Sure," he shrugged. He didn't want to think too hard about food right now.

"Coming right up," the waiter took the menus and hurried away.

She talked at him for a little while, going on about her work teaching the fifth grade at the local elementary school, the kids showing the first signs of the supernatural, of their wolves. He could hear the excitement in her voice, and it made his stomach clench.

"Mom, can I ask you something?"

She broke off mid-story about a boy named Danny and peered at him with concerned eyes.

"Of course, honey, what's wrong?"

"When Dad found you, how did you decide what would happen next?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, her forehead creasing.

"I mean, did you ever discuss having children, you coming here to live with him? You stopped working, how did you guys decide on that?"

Sophie frowned at her son. "He was the Alpha, Cedric. I was going to be his Luna. It wasn't a discussion. It just...it just was. I only started teaching again because he was gone, and you had taken over. I wasn't really the Luna anymore. You had your..." She broke off uncomfortably and played with her fingers.

"But, what if you didn't want kids? Or if you couldn't have kids? What would have happened?"

Sophie looked at him, horrified. "The Moon Goddess wouldn't pair someone who couldn't have kids with an Alpha, or a Beta, for that matter. What would be the purpose of such a match? She would be cursing the bloodline. As for not wanting children, how selfish can you be? You set aside your own needs for that of your pack. For your Alpha," she held herself up proudly. "We had two beautiful sons and I couldn't be happier with how my life turned out. Though, I wish your father could have seen how well you've done," she smiled sadly at him, and he managed to grimace back at her. "Where is this coming from anyway? Is this to do with that...that Alman girl, from however long ago?"

"No," Cedric lied. "No, I was, I was just curious,"

Sophie nodded, looking unconvinced. "Are you alright?" she asked.

He nodded and took a sip of coffee. The waiter came back and set the food down. He asked if they needed anything else, before walking away again.

"Do..." Sophie was choosing her words carefully, "Do you miss her? You haven't talked about any of this before."

"I don't know," he shrugged, and thinking of a cover. "Bryan was talking about Michelle and the kids at a meeting the other day, and I was thinking about it."

Her mouth opened in a small "Oh," and she gently put her hand on top of his. He gave her a small smile and enclosed her hand in both of his.

"I'm fine," he reassured her. This was why he hated talking about Caia. All the pity. It was why he'd been happily operating under the assumption that only his mother and Roman knew about her being his mate. He didn't want to think that what Caia had said had been true, that everyone knew. Though a small part of him had to admit, he'd been painfully naive to ever think otherwise.