Dead Luna
Chapter 53

Amelia's POV

Amelia, can you PLEASE come out of the bathroom for a minute? If you don't, Derrick will kill me.

RRR!

I put down the stupid vibrator, which was really rather unsatisfactory anyway, wrap a towel around myself, and get ready to kick some a*s.

I burst thru the door and start shouting without hardly even looking at whatever nonsense is going on.

"Why can't you f*****g idiots leave a girl to be miserable in peace?" I say, grabbing my clothes and starting to put them on. "I can't f*****g believe you told Derrick I was here, after you promised not to! I'll go get my own breakfast, and then I'm leaving Winter Moon, by myself. Have fun killing each other!"

"Whoa, wait a second!" Derrick shouts. "You're not going anywhere until I know what's going on here!"

"Oh, as if Jackson hadn't been telling you everything all along!" I shout back. "You've probably concocted this stupid scenario together so I don't "suspect" anything. Well, guess what? I'm not that stupid! I've been on to whatever clever game you've been playing all along. And now done playing, and I'm leaving! Now!"

"You can't leave this room," Jackson tries to reason with me, and moving to block the door so I can't leave. "Every single male within miles will scent you out!"

"Wait, are you in heat?" Derrick ask, looking confused. "Is that why it smells like s*x in here?"

"As if you didn't know! Your little informant here has been feeding you every detail he can about me, hasn't he? Don't deny it! My friends. My favorite flowers. Who my father is. And just as soon as I tested him with the whole I'd like to have s*x with all the alphas crap, you concocted that whole naked picnic at the hot springs scenario. You have failed that test miserably, by the way. And I'll just bet it was YOUR idea for Jackson to accidentally get me drunk again last night. You are both incredibly manipulative jerks! Trying to win my heart by underhanded methods, or force my hand if you can't. Well, I now know exactly what sort of alpha you are, which is what this week was all about. So now I can leave. Good-bye!

"Don't blame Jackson," Derrick pleads. "It was entirely my fault! I alpha ordered him to get all that information, he didn't have any choice."

"Then you are even more despicable than I thought!" I tell him, my voice filled with disdain. "Why did you think that you could make me to choose you, anyway? You should have been authentic with me, instead of treating this like some competition that you must win at all costs. And the fact that you had to force your Beta into giving up information rather than him giving it you willingly as a trusted friend says even more about your character. As a young girl I was in love with the little boy who cried because his beloved grandmother died. The boy who helped me care for an injured cat. Not whatever this is that you've become."

"Jackson!" I say, addressing the beta who had been silent while I tore out a couple pieces of his alpha. "Coffee. Grease. Sugar. Salt. I'm still waiting!"

"Yes ma'am!" Jackson says with a military type salute, and leaves.

I'm left alone with Derrick, who now looks contrite.

"You're absolutely right," he says quietly. "I was thinking only about what I needed and what I wanted, and how to get it no matter the cost or who I had to manipulate to get it. Not about whether I was the person you wanted. Not whether this was at all fair to you, or anyone else involved. I'm sorry."

"In Jackson's defense, he actually did guard you well, and he wouldn't allow me to cross your established boundaries." Derrick continued. "He was very adamant about where I was and wasn't allowed to touch you after you passed out at the hot springs. He wouldn't even allow me to put your underwear on, so I had to wrap your lower half in the picnic blanket to prevent touching anywhere you hadn't given me permission to do. So you must have told him not to tell me you were in heat, because he didn't." "I really did believe the two of you had s*x in here, and I really was going to kill him."

I walk into the bathroom, grab the vibrator, and then hand it to him. "This is what I had s*x with. Go ahead and kill it, if you like. You'll probably get more satisfaction doing that than I got out of it!"

I go and lay down on the bed, on my stomach, feeling drained after venting my spleen like I did. I see little point in acting like I'm perfectly fine.

"Are you going to be ok?"

"Yeah, Ambrosia is starting to wake up now. She will get back to work masking the symptoms of me being in heat." I say with little enthusiasm. "No need to put yourself out, offering your services as a stud to help. And once I'm all sorted, I'll be on my way. You can have your evening free to do whatever you want to. Enjoy your freedom while you can, since I'll probably pair you up with some manipulative she wolf and you'll be able to compete with each other over who is the most manipulative."

Derrick sits down on the bed next to me, and gently massages my back. It feels very pleasant and I sigh out loud.

"I wish things didn't end this way," He says. "I'll bet."

"I like to think that I'm actually a nice guy, but I guess I just got carried away." He claims. I roll my eyes. "No, really! I don't usually act like this, at least, I don't think so. Inside of me the little boy who cried because his grandma died still lives on. But I felt like the stakes were just so high. I decided that I was going to have you as my Luna, and nothing was going to stand in my way. Whether you were the right Luna for me, or not."

"So I admit I was wrong. And I shouldn't have used Jackson like I did. But it would also be wrong of you to punish the whole pack just because of my mistake. I need a Luna who is caring and compassionate, and someone the pack can depend on. Maybe just a little bit kick a*s and sexy. Someone just like you, actually. But that's your choice to make, not mine. Or so I've recently come to understand."

"Oh sure, turn into Mr. Nice Guy just as soon as I strike you off my potential mate list." I grumble. "Our date is still off for this evening though. Ambrosia is super pissed off about being passed out drunk for two nights in a row."

"That's a shame. You and I were going to have prime rib in the private dining room," He confides. Damn, of course he would be offering my favorite meal on our last date! "There will be plenty, if you'd like to invite your mom along. I promise, no alcohol. I'll see if we can get a bottle or two of sparkling cider instead."

"What's for dessert?"

"White chocolate raspberry Cheesecake, of course! I've done my research, after all." Derrick says, a smug look on his face. He starts to knead the tight muscles in my neck and shoulders as I relax to the gentle onslaught of his large, skilled hands. "I'll see you there at 7 pm sharp. And the prime rib better be served with garlic mashed potatoes, horseradish sauce, and au jus." "Done!" Derrick says with a laugh. "And I haven't forgotten about the broccoli and the sourdough bread rolls, either."

My stomach growls right then. It all sounds so wonderful, and it was already planned so I may as well enjoy it. And mom, too.

Moments later Jackson returns with a tray laden with coffee, cheese danish, bacon, and biscuits with sausage gravy. The tray even has legs on it, and I get to eat breakfast in bed! My hero!

"Is everything good here?" Jackson asks. "I can go get whatever you like. The other options available this morning are poached eggs, ham, English muffins, yogurt, blueberries and cantaloupe." "This is perfect, thanks."

"So, alpha," Jackson says, addressing Derrick. "Did you have any particular reason for knocking on my door this morning?"