Chapter 31

It hurt seeing Sophie so upset. Blaze was howling and urging me to comfort her. I wanted to make all the pain go away. I wanted to make everything perfect again. I got her into the car, and she leaned her head against the window. Tears streamed down her cheeks. I looked back over that Mary's house and sighed. I'm sure it would just take some time. Mary would come around and be happy about our pup. Besides, nobody was perfect.

Humans were stereotypical when it came to having children. In their eyes being pregnant at 18 was not normal. Seen as a waste of life, never to experience all the fun and mishaps of young adulthood that happen along the way. As werewolves we aren't like that. Once a pair are mated there's nothing stopping them from beginning a family. There is no stigma over 'teen pregnancy'. There is an understanding and respect for the couple. I knew that for humans to find their soul mates was almost impossible and that their children sometimes come into the world haphazardly. I understood where Mary was coming from, but she seemed to have forgotten, Sophie is a werewolf not a human.

I got into the car. Sophie had stopped crying but was staring absentmindedly in front of her. Her cheeks were still wet from her tears. I was worried about her. Something like this would ruin her confidence. I linked with my Mother. If anyone could help Sophie now it would be her.

"Mother, Sophie has had a falling out with Mary. She asked us to leave when we told her about the pup."

"Humans." She sighed "Bring her back home. We will have tea, lets try and focus on tonight."

"Isn't it a bit late for tea?" I looked at my watch, time was slipping away. It was only three and a half hours until the pack meeting was scheduled.

"Eric, do you want my help or not?"

I sighed. "We are on our way back to the house. See you in a few minutes."

"Good. And Eric?"

"Yes Mother?"

"We will get her through this."

***

I hadn't said anything to Sophie while we drove back to the house. I left her to her thoughts. When I stole a look at her I could see her tears had dried on her porcelain cheeks, her lips were flushed pink, and her eyes were glassy pools. Blaze whimpered at the sight of our mate, torn and broken.

After parking the car, I moved my hand to her thigh giving it gentle squeeze. She flinched as she realised, we'd arrived home. She turned to me and smiled sadly.

"My Mother wants to see us for tea." I said breaking the very long silence.

A look of horror spread across Sophie's face. "Really? Isn't having one mother hate me enough?" Tears threatened again so I quickly went on to explain.

"No, she doesn't hate you Sophie. She wants to see you and get to know you better." I tried reassuringly.

Her eyes narrowed. "Did you tell her about my mother?" She asked.

"Well, she wanted to know what we were doing so I told her." I mumbled. That was a lie.

Sophie got out of the car and slammed the door. I could tell she wasn't happy, and I sighed with frustration. I got out of the car and looked over at her. She looked furious, her arms were folded over her chest and she was glaring at me. I went around the car thinking if I held her, she would calm down and we could talk rationally about it. But she stopped me as I held my arms out for her.

"You had no right Eric. A few hours ago, you said we shouldn't trust her. Now all of a sudden you organise tea with her so we can bond." She yelled.

"You're right..." I commented, trying to calm her.

"Why didn't you at least ask me first?" She eyes were pleading with me. She was right. I should have asked her. We stood for a few minutes in silence. Suddenly she shot her hands up and began walking away. Blaze urged me to make it right. I went after her and grabbed her hand. She kept trying to push me off. It reminded me of when I found out I could have killed her and our pup.

"I know I stuffed up. I know I keep doing that but please hear me out." She stopped struggling and looked at me before nodding. "I saw how hurt and upset you were. I wanted to make all the pain go away. I wanted to see you smile again. I didn't know how though so I reached out to my mother. She thought distracting you with tonight's event would help take your mind off your mother." I stood there hoping she would understand.

"Why didn't you just say that to begin with." She said quietly. I scooped her into my arms and held her.

"I didn't want you to think we were conspiring against you. And for the record I still don't trust my mother. I just wanted something to distract you with." I kissed her forehead as she sighed into my shoulder.

"I'm still mad at you." She said leaning into me. "But I get it. Nobody wants a grumpy Luna."

I laughed. "Baby, you can be as grumpy as you like. I just don't like seeing you hurt."

She looked up at me and smiled her loving smile. I leaned down kissing her gently on her soft lips.After a minute she pulled away.

"We better go see your Mother then." She grabbed my hand and lead me out of the garage.

We arrived at my Mother's living quarters as one of the Omega's arrived with the tea. My mother relished the chance to boss someone around. She would have done nicely in 19th century England in some manor with servants running around after her. Although Omega's were generally classed as the lower ranks of the pack, we would never deem them as servants. They were willing participants in their roles, and we never treated them with any disrespect., unless you were my mother.

Sophie smiled politely at the Omega who had drawn the short straw. My mother however glared at them. They shuffled uncomfortably as they unloaded the trolley full of pastries, cakes and sandwiches.

"How many people are you expecting mother?" I asked in awe of the amount of food.

"A Luna growing a pup needs all the delicacies one can offer." She nodded at Sophie who blushed profusely.

"This is lovely Luna Bianca." Sophie managed to say. But her body gave her away. Her hands twisted in front of her, so I quickly grabbed one, pulling her towards the plush sofas and coffee table.

We sat down opposite my Mother who continued to scold the Omega with her eyes. Sophie relaxed a little into my side and I squeezed her thigh for reassurance.

"Have you decided how tonight's meeting will go?" My mother asked keeping her eyes glued to the trembling Omega.

"Yes. We have decided that honesty is the best option. It will prevent rumours and hearsay." I leaned back into the sofa stretching my arms out along the back.

"And who's idea was that." My Mother's eyes darted from me to Sophie. I could feel Sophie stiffen next to me, so I began to rub her back.

"It…it was my idea, Luna Bianca." Sophie said in almost a whisper.

We sat in silence. You could have cut the tension in the air with a knife. It felt like Sophie had stopped breathing. She sat incredibly still, and I began to worry that she would pass out.

"Good." Replied my mother. My eyebrows jumped up in shock. "Sophie my dear, you are already showing some wonderful Luna qualities. I don't think you'll need as much guidance as I originally thought." The Omega placed a cup down in front of her and she swatted them out of the way. "We can manage now Jillian." A hint of frustration in her voice.

"Yes Luna." Jillian bowed and smiled curtly before wheeling the trolley back to the kitchens.

The rest of the afternoon was taken up with my Mother and Sophie discussing what she would wear tonight as well answering any questions Sophie had about her new upcoming role. It felt weird listening to all of this. I wasn't really sure how I should react but as long as Sophie and my Mother were getting along, and Sophie was happy I didn't care.

At 6pm Sophie and I returned to our room. I could sense Sophie's anxiety washing over her again. I grabbed her in my arms and began kissing her, hoping it would prove a useful distraction. She gave in at first, kissing me back with her passion and hast. But she soon slowed down and pulled away. Her hand travelled down my body resting on my semi hard penis.

"Seriously Eric you want sex?" She went and sat on the bed.

I laughed. "Sorry but kissing you does things to me." I wiggled my eyebrows and she giggled before playfully hitting me. "What was that for?"

"I know what you're doing." She smirked at me.

"I have no idea what you mean." I walked to the closet with my cheekiest grin and began searching for the perfect suit. Sophie soon followed me in and began browsing the variety of dresses my mother had organised for her.

"You were trying to distract me… Thank you." She came up behind me and gave me a hug.

"I know this is nerve racking for you. Not only are you becoming a member of my pack, but you are being announced as Luna and mother to my heir all on the one night. Even I'm nervous." I swung around and hugged her back. "But we can do this." I whispered in her ear before laying a trail of kisses down her neck.

She moaned as I kissed her mark and I smiled. I loved how I made her feel under my touch. The way her body responded made me crazy for her. I kissed her lips again this time slowly and with devotion. I wanted her to know we were in this together.

We separated and went back to looking for suitable attire. I chose my favourite charcoal grey suit with a dark burgundy tie. I hated wearing ties but when I was dealing with the pack as a whole, I needed to look presentable, and my father always wore a tie. I saw Sophie had decided on a wine-coloured dress that had lace over the bodice covering her shoulders. She looked beautiful. Of course, Blaze commented that my opinion was biased but I ignored him.

"You look handsome." Sophie said as she eyed me from head to toe. If she kept that up our clothes would be off our bodies in seconds so I could ravish her.

I cleared my throat pushing my dirty mind to one side. "And you look beautiful." I commented making her face light up with a smile. "Are we ready?" I held out my hand to her and she nodded placing her hand in mine.