His Blue Moon Princess
Chapter 52

The next morning, I wake up with a very annoying headache. I'm a bit disoriented, and for a while, I have no idea where I am. Until I remember last night. The party.

Gosh... I wish I had forgotten a bit longer. I get up. Oh right, Daniel gave me his bed. Their apartment only has a room with two beds, so he slept on the couch. I walk into the main room, but it seems like I'm the last one up. Elena is curled up on the couch, and Daniel is busy making hot chocolates behind the kitchen counter. It's still pouring outside, and so dark, it's hard to say what time of the day it is. "Good morning, cousin," she says with a smile.

I can't help but smile when I hear that. It does sound good... I sit on the couch with her, and Daniel brings us the cups.

"So, everyone decided to wake up early," sighs Daniel. "What is the program for today, ladies?"

"Waiting for Bobo, for now," says Elena. "And I'm not going anywhere with this rain and this hellish nausea."

"... How is the baby?" I ask.

She smiles. "Fine, thank you. I think..."

But before she can finish her sentence, the doorbell rings. She smiles at Daniel, who is slightly blushing. He rolls his eyes and gets up to go open the door. Bobo appears, carrying a little paper bag that smells terribly good. Daniel, still blushing, tries to avoid looking at him in the eyes, but Bobo grabs him around the shoulders anyway and kisses his forehead.

Oh my Goddess, Daniel is so red, it's like his hair is about to change color, too.

"S...stop it. Just... come in. Wh-What's with the ba...bag?"

Next to me, Elena laughs behind her cup. "I never see Daniel stutter like this, unless Bobo is there. Never. It's so cute," she whispers to me.

Indeed, it's too cute and funny to watch. Bobo's eyes are fixated on his beloved with a little smile, while Daniel is really clumsily trying to ignore him, despite being red like a tomato and his eyes blinking way too many times. He goes to the kitchen, but still stumbles halfway. I can't help but chuckle, too. I didn't know there was someone who could be worse than me around their mate...

Bobo walks up to us, and Elena opens the bag with hungry eyes. "Croissants! Thank you, Bobo, we didn't get any breakfast yet," she says while taking one.

"It's from Nathaniel, actually. Did you tell him about...?"

But Elena shakes her head while he's trying to replace his words. "No, he doesn't know about the baby yet."

"Oh, okay. Well, he was a bit worried about you. You should give him a call."

"Mhmm."

But she doesn't say anything else and starts eating her croissant. Too soon, I guess....

Then, Bobo comes closer and sits just next to me, on the floor. He is so tall that it's doesn't really make a difference, though.

"Hi, Nora," he says with his usual smile.

"I'm mad at you, too, you know."

My wolf raises her head, a bit annoyed at me. Why are we mad at Bobo? She likes Bobo; she is not really mad at him. We should be just mad at our mate, shouldn't we? But I decide to ignore her.

Bobo and Tonia kept things from us, too, remember?

"I know. I just came to check on you. How are you?"

"Are we talking about my feet or my feelings?"

"Both."

"My feet are fine."

Not the rest, though. I'm really hurt by their lies. I still can't believe none of them told me anything. About Damian's engagement. About that woman, Alexandra King, whoever she is. Do I mean nothing in their eyes? Don't I deserve to know the truth? Even Bobo didn't say a thing... I sigh. "I don't know, Bobo, I can't get what Damian's thinking. He... He said he loves me, but..."

My voice breaks, and I feel tears coming. I don't know what to believe anymore... I love him, I really do. Nothing to do with that stupid mate thing. I just love Damian. His silver eyes and the way he looks at me. His voice, so deep. How he treats me like I'm so precious, his large hands, and gentle touch. I don't want to lose him.

Bobo puts his large hand on mine. "He loves you, Nora, a lot more than you think. He really does. If you had seen him after you left yesterday..."

"But what about this engagement then?!"

Why would he get engaged to another woman?! And he knew I existed, that he had a mate, for years! If he was searching for me, what was the point if he planned to marry someone else anyway? I start crying silently and I hate it.

I hate feeling so lost and powerless. I have no idea what to do, what to say to them. Am I supposed to make decisions now? My mind is in such a mess! I don't want to.

Elena starts patting my back. "Hey Nora, it's okay. Why don't you take a couple of days to cool off, hm? I think you might need a little break to think things over. Stay here for the weekend, with us."

I look at Daniel and Elena. Is that okay? I do feel like I really need a break right now. "What about Daniel? You are not going to keep sleeping on the couch..."

"Daniel can sleep at my place," says Bobo immediately.

"You...your place?" Stutters the concerned Daniel, blushing again.

"Great idea!" Says Elena with a big smile.

"What a great idea! I haven't agreed to it. ...Yet. Maybe I... I like the couch," mumbles Daniel.

"Oh, please. I'm done with you complaining about Bobo staying with Nora all the time, so now you enjoy your man all you want and I'll spend time with my cousin. Come on, baby, you know you want it," says Elena, pushing him gently with her feet. "Elena!"

But we both laugh at his offended look. Daniel is so red and embarrassed, it's way too cute, even for me. Bobo starts whispering something into his ear that no one else can hear, and Elena winks at me. A few seconds later, Daniel is red like a tomato again and pushing Bobo away.

"Okay, okay, okay! I'm coming, but please, stop that! Where did you learn to say such... stuff?!"

He steps away from his boyfriend and comes to grab a croissant, before sitting between me and Elena, who teases him again. I know this whole scene is also to help me cheer up a bit. Bobo joins us, sitting on the floor next to me again.

While Elena is arguing with Daniel about some sweatshirt that she apparently took from him, Bobo comes closer to me. "He canceled the party yesterday."

I stare at him, surprised. "...Really?"

He nods. "Right after you left. He sent everyone home, and he didn't want to see anyone, either. It took a while to calm him down."

I remember Damian's eyes yesterday. Usually, they shine with assurance, but all I saw last night was confusion, and even fear. He was truly panicked. I play with my pendant between my fingers for a while, remembering the night he gave it to me. I finally raise my head to look Bobo in the eye. "...So, he really doesn't love her... Alexandra?"

He shakes his head and gently tightens his hand around mine. "No. Trust me, Nora. I may not be the closest one to the Boss, but one thing I've seen is the way he looks at you. The way he is with you, he isn't like that with anyone else. Be fore he found you, he was like a machine. The only ones who could approach him without any fear were his brothers. You are immune to the Alpha's aura, so you don't notice this, but for anyone else, Damian Black is the most terrifying being in this city."

This is strange, hearing it all from Bobo's mouth. It's like I was blinded for a while. I know how much Damian tried to protect me, but along the way, I also forgot what kind of man he was, and the responsibilities that come with it. And how lucky I've been so far... Without Damian, I would be dead, killed by my own brother's hands. He gave me everything I needed, and way more. For two months, I have been living without any worries about where to sleep or what to eat. Compared to the last ten years of my existence, it's... It doesn't change what I saw yesterday, but I can't just blame Damian and forget everything he's done for me either. That would be too unfair of me.

"I need time, Bobo. Thank you for talking to me, but this is still too fresh for me. No matter Damian's reasons... He kept it hidden from me, for weeks. He should have told me. I've had too many secrets in my life already. I want to be able to trust my mate. For real." He nods. "I understand. I just wanted to tell you. And, um... Liam wants to talk to you, too."

"Liam?"

He suddenly takes something out of his pocket and gives it to me. My phone! Oh right, I left it at the party last night... I open it. Six missed calls from Damian, and two from Tonia. He left a message on the voicemail... I hesitate and decide I will listen to it later. Not now, not in front of these three. And whatever he said in that message, I'm not ready to listen to it for now.

Liam left me a text, though, so I open it. He apologizes for last night, though he feels I deserved the truth. He says he wants to talk to me, face to face. "No surprises this time."

I reply back, a quick text to say we can meet tonight.

I finally feel a bit better now. I take a sip of Daniel's delicious hot chocolate, warming myself up from the outside a little. Elena is right. All I might need right now is a bit of time.

Since the downpour should continue all day, we decide not to go out. Daniel has to prepare some exam coming up and surrounds himself with lots of enormous books. Apparently, he wants to specialize in psychology. Elena is a business student, but she doesn't feel like studying today. She goes to shower first and changes into baggy jeans and an oversized top. She then says she will wait for me to do the same, and lends me some of her clothes.

But when I come out of the shower, it turns out that she fell asleep on the couch while waiting, despite the radio station playing in the kitchen.

Daniel raises his head from his books. "Don't worry, it's like that since she learned about her pregnancy. She will wake up from her mini-nap in ten minutes or so."

"Is she okay?"

"Yeah, it happens to some pregnant women. She feels sleepy all of sudden, and within a minute, she's napping. But don't worry, she's perfectly fine."

I nod. Elena is curled up on one corner of the couch and one of the boys covered her with a blanket. Bobo is sitting at the opposite corner, while Daniel is on the carpet, bent over the little table with all his books and a computer.

I make myself some tea and come back, sitting next to Daniel. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"How did you meet Elena?"

He smiles and takes off his glasses to look at his sleeping friend. "When we were really young, like five or six. The same pack, but we didn't really fit with the other kids. I would always get mocked by the other boys for being tinier, weaker than them. Elena was an orphan, so she was ostracized, too. But unlike me, she was the one who would come and beat those kids once they were done kicking my a*s, saying they were weaklings." He chuckles at the memory. "She made the boys cry a lot. She was a real little punk, even picking fights with kids bigger than her. She hated when they picked on others."

"So she helped you?"

"Oh no, she kicked my a*s and called me a weakling a lot of times, too! But after that, she would always come and share her cookie with me or something. She was like that. Even when she lost and got beaten up, Elena would never hold it against them. She moved on and trained harder. So, I trained harder, too."

"Pfft... You cried whenever I trained you."

Elena just woke up and is looking at us with a grumpy look.

Daniel sticks his tongue out to her. "That is not how I recall it, mama. And for the record, you were a violent, thick-headed little punk."

"Not going to deny that..."

I laugh. It's funny to see them interact. They are best friends, but also like brother and sister, bickering non-stop. I suppose Daniel will always be there for her, even if she decides to part ways with Nathaniel...

And here I am thinking about Damian again. He brought more people into my life than I thought I could ever have. Bobo is like a big, protective brother to me. Liam is a bit of a brat, but he still is someone I trust and like having around. Tonia, too, is like an older sister. I never had anyone like those three in my life before.

Elena was right about the downpour. It rained all day, but despite that and everything else, we had a good day. Those two basically listen to music all day, and they even danced around sometimes. They made me cook for lunch, and in the afternoon, I trained a bit with Elena, while Bobo helped Daniel review his notes for his upcoming exams. We couldn't do any boxing or shapeshift because of her condition, but she did show me some new workout exercises and moves. She also explained to me some meditation techniques to help me interact better with my inner wolf, things I had never tried before. It was like opening a new door, and at the same time, seeing things differently, better.

The training helped me empty my mind for a while, and it felt really good. Also, I had no time to be anxious before Liam's arrival, though it came quickly.

As planned, he showed up around eight, alone. "Hi, Nora. Ready for our little date?"

I smile and grab the coat Elena landed me.

"Yes. Where do you want to go?"

"Since you met with the Sea Moon Wolves, how about the harbor? There is a little café by the docks I used to go to a lot when I was a kid, and the lady there makes mean hot chocolates..."