Dr. Luna
Chapter 16

Avery chatted endlessly for the entire ride. She had explained to Lilly what to expect at the banquet. The big room would be divided into sections of long tables for each pack. Then there would be a large dancing area and also a string of buffet tables. There was a lot of socializing and most of the unmated wolves would wander around hoping to find their mate. The evening was centered around dancing for the most part. Just a peaceful gathering of a few other packs to keep up relations. "It is a lot like a school dance or prom." Avery looked at Lilly, who stared at her blankly.

"Like I said before, I did not attend anything with crowds... ever. The last thing was when I shifted, and boy did that end up being a mistake." Lilly chuckled and could feel the gazes of sympathy again. She did not like people feeling sorry for her. It made her feel bad about herself.

Avery crossed her arms angrily. "So, your first big event out and Tyler isn't even showing you a good time. Man am I getting angry. He can be such a dumbass."

"You said it," Cedric growled out in agreement. The two looked at each other and Avery raised her eyes at him.

"So, what are your intentions with our Luna here?" Avery kept her arms folded and looked at Cedric with accusation in her voice.

Cedric chuckled and met her eyes seriously. "I'm going to do my best to keep her safe."

"Safe from what?" Avery asked curiously.

"Everything that is a threat." Cedric stared at her and Avery sensed his determination and honesty in his voice.

"Fair enough." Avery was satisfied with his answer and turned around and began to chat with Caleb happily.

Lilly's eyes remained focused on Cedric, who redirected his attention to her. She looked at him curiously. She was his Luna, but she felt like his protection stemmed from somewhere else. He had hinted to the fact that she was forgetting something and that she did know him, but what was she forgetting, and how does she know him? She could not remember but felt that she should. As she stared at Cedric, she felt a sadness creep in her heart. She should know him, her body could sense that she knew him, but she kept drawing a blank. Her memories have always been a bit fuzzy at times.

"We are here toots." Avery looked out the window as they pulled up to a large building.

Lilly scooted out of the vehicle and looked at the elegant building in front of her. It was not only huge but very elegant. Most of the packs were already inside, including their own. Lilly watched as Jessica clung to Tyler's arm as they walked into the banquet hall together. Tyler did not look back at Lilly once; she watched to see if he would. Avery and Caleb followed behind Kade. Lilly took in a deep breath. She was about to enter a very crowded area. It was not just her pack in there, which she had a hard-enough time meeting. It was four other packs in there.

Cedric walked up beside Lilly with his date latched onto his arm. He nodded his head towards the building, planning to follow her in.

Lilly was never one to be intimidated and shy. Regardless of the past, she had to embrace what she wanted in the future. She held her head high and walked into the hall with all her confidence. Tyler wanted to ignore her, then she was going to make him regret what he was ignoring. She felt a fire light inside of her when she thought about Tyler. He did not even check on her or see how she was doing. He did not wait for her to walk inside the building. He did not even pay her the tiniest compliment.

Lilly walked through the double doors and looked at the big open room. The banquet hall had a couple thousand people there at least. The hall was surrounded with wall to floor big open windows and sparkled with crystal lighting. It was a breath-taking sight to behold. Lilly turned and shot Cedric a wide smile showing her excitement at what she was seeing. She walked into the room admiring the view. She could feel that she had eyes burning into her from all around, but it had to have been her imagination. There were so many people there, why would the focus be on her.

"This way princess." Cedric called to her, snapping her attention towards his direction. He motioned over to the far wall where she recognized her pack members.

Tyler was tending to Jessica and pulling out her chair for her. A few seats down from them were Avery and Caleb. Avery waved for Lilly to join them and she smiled as she walked over.

"What do you think?" Avery asked in excitement.

"It is amazing." Lilly looked up at the large windows, taking in the scenery once again.

"You are getting so much attention. You are too good looking for your own good." Avery teased Lilly.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Lilly looked at her confused. What attention was she getting? Lilly listened to the music start-up in the background and saw waves of couples head to the enormous dance floor.

"Come on Tyler, let's dance." Jessica held her hand up and Tyler took it gently and escorted her out to dance.

"Let's shake a leg Ave." Caleb said.

"I don't want to leave Lilly here all alone." Avery looked at Lilly with a frown, feeling guilty.

"Go! I mean it or I'll be angry." Lilly pushed Avery into Caleb's arms and she smiled at her in appreciation. Cedric's eyes lingered on Lilly as he walked away with his date.

Lilly was now sitting at her table all alone. She stared out at the couples dancing. She caught a glimpse of Tyler and Jessica who was holding her body flush against his. Lilly felt her anger stir, but the sudden crowd growing in the distance caught her eye. She could hear growling and shouting. Curiously, she made her way over and peered through the crowd. Lilly could see two big muscular men standing toe to toe. Their fists were clenched, and they were shouting angrily at one another.

"This is not going to be good. They are going to end up fighting for sure." Lilly heard one of the people say.

The music stopped as the sounds of roaring and yelling continued.

"Two alphas fighting... this is going to get bad." Another voice whispered.

Everyone on the dance floor had stopped dancing and the whole room had their attention drawn towards the commotion in the middle of the room. No one was moving to stop the fight. Who would get in between a fight of two Alphas? It was not just dangerous, but suicide.

Lilly took a step through the crowd and looked at the two men. She could see the one's arm trembling with anger, and it was clear he was going to strike soon. She could not believe no one was even attempting to stop them. She felt irritated at the men for causing a ruckus on an evening that was supposed to be fun.

Lilly ran over into the open area towards the two men. Just as the one pulled his arm back Lilly grabbed it with her two hands. The two men stopped and turned and stared at her.

"What the hell is wrong with you two?" Lilly jumped up and smacked the back of the head of the man's arm she was holding. A ripple of gasps was heard throughout the room. "Do I always have to play referee?" Lilly snorted angrily.

"Lilly?" The man she hit looked down at her. His eyes returned to his normal blue color.

"In the flesh." Lilly smiled up at the monstrous man.

"You can say that again. Damn Lilly, you have filled out nicely." The other man grinned at her and pulled her away from the other man into his arms, giving her a hug.

"I can see that you two haven't changed... well mentally. You two have really grown." Lilly beamed as she looked up at James. She pulled away and then turned and hugged Tristan. "You two should feel horrible for not contacting me in so long." Lilly pouted. "Sorry about that, Lill. I was planning to come and see you soon. Honest." Tristan apologized.

"He just had to work on getting that temper of his under control." James snorted, causing Tristan to let out a low growl again.

"Don't make me lose my temper, Tristan." Lilly put her hands on her hip and tapped her foot at him in irritation. Tristan was ginormous, easily the tallest man in the room with bulging muscles to boot. James and him were so different. He wasn't short, but next to Tristan he looked it... hell everyone did.

Tristan chuckled at her and then looked at her seriously. "What are you doing here, Lilly? Your pack is not here."

"Okay, here is the cliff notes version... I ran into my mate and he forced me to go back with him. Either I come willingly, or he would take me by force. My brother had a fit, but it's not like my pack would really fight for me anyways. So, I am here because my mate insisted I come. Though I am here mainly as a decoration since he brought a date." Lilly did not need to hide anything from them. They were friends of hers and she did not have many of those. Though lately, she was getting more. Tristan growled in irritation as he heard this, and James seemed to look irritated as well.

"What about you boys? I heard James found his mate." Lilly continued on with the conversation.

"Yeah, I have. Tristan here, though, is still a loner. I'm confused, Lilly. You said you found your mate, but you are unmarked." James looked over her neck. It was the equivalent of looking for a wedding ring with regular humans. "I still want to explain to him about myself. I still have yet to take this necklace off too." They knew about Lilly, more than she even knew about herself really.

"I don't like the fact that you are here unattended. Things have been dangerous lately." Tristan stared at Lilly; he was uncomfortable about her being here. "I did not come with a date, so you will stay with me for the rest of the night." "Oh good, would you babysit him, Lilly?" James chuckled out pleadingly and Lilly giggled back in response.

"Okay, but I have a pretty steep rate." Lilly grinned as Tristan snorted in response. "Aww Tristan, you know I love you." Lilly walked into Tristan's side and a loud growl was heard from behind her.