C9 Chapter 8. Parents

8. Parents

I couldn't make sense of what my brother was saying.

So Skylar had been Charlotte's mate all along.

I couldn't believe he was still sane after everything he'd been through.

I'm curious how long he knew she was his mate.

"Sky, tell me you're joking me," I asked my brother.

I know it was ridiculous to question him about him; he wouldn't joke about it for the life of him.

I know what goes on inside my brother's head. Right now, I might appear ridiculous in his eyes for not believing his words.

"How can you even ask me that, Astrid?" he exclaimed, looking at me in bewilderment.

"I'm sorry, it's just that I couldn't handle rejection, and it may have gotten into my head." I sighed and shrugged.

"Oh, okay," he could only remark.

I know Sky prefers silence at the moment, and I want to respect that without pressuring him or bringing up the issue again.

We sat there for a while longer, and Sky's gaze was drawn to me.

"Astrid?" he inquired.

"hmmm?" In return, I responded.

"Why didn't you accept his rejection? You're hurting yourself much more by not doing so," he pondered.

"Sky, I wasn't aware of this; I didn't realize we had to say it loud and clear that we accept the rejection. It's not like he gave me a chance to say anything; he just slapped his words on my face and walked away, "I told him.

I could only tell that I wasn't totally aware of the procedure in my defense.

"Oh, I see," he said, nodding his head and resting his back on the tree trunk when I suddenly remembered something.

"Sky," I yelled quickly. "I'm not even nineteen yet, yet how am I able to feel the sorrow of rejection?" I shook my head.

"I've been telling you all this time that you're adopted, but you wouldn't believe me," he said boringly.

"Very funny," I muttered. "It's not humorous, believe me."

"Okay, joking aside, but to answer your question, I'm not sure why this is happening to you when you don't have a say in it, but let me go into your case and ask someone why it's happening," he said.

"I suppose that would be better," I said, nodding.

"But, Astrid, are we going to tell Mom and Dad?" he inquired.

"I'm not sure what you should do, Sky, but I'm not going to tell anyone about it," I shook my head, "I'll do the same and try to move on from her, but you have to come right to me if you have this ache back," he said sternly.

"Aye Aye, Captain," I saluted.

"Drama queen," he joked.

"Yes, I am," I laughed.

"Now, returning to the serious point, I want you to go to Edward and tell him the unambiguous words of rejection," He said.

In response, I nodded.

"Come on, let's go," he said as he took my hand in his firm grip and began heading towards home.

I expected my parents to be on the "Union" ground once more because Edward had very indeed completed the mating procedure by now. They were expected to see them being crowned as Alpha and Luna, respectively.

"Sky, should we descend to the ground again, I believe our absence will be questioned if we don't," I said.

I came to a halt and glanced at myself.

He groaned softly as he stroked his temples.

"I'm not sure what we should do, Astrid, and even if we go, how will we watch our mates with someone else?" He shook his head.

"However, our absence will be called into question because, according to pack norms, anyone from the elite group who does not attend the ceremony will be deemed a traitor." I informed him of the fact that governs the pack's rules.

"What should we do now, Astrid?" he said.

"After all we've been through, I'm convinced we can handle even more." I gave him a sour smile.

"Okay, one more time," he said as he took my hand in his and turned away from us, leading us to the ground.

The ground was vibrating again as we arrived.

Skylar took my hand in his firm grip, smiled at me, and began heading inside.

When we did, our parents' attention was drawn to us, and everyone else followed their gaze as if we were aliens.

Mom began to walk towards me, her teeth clenched in rage.

She smiled at everyone, grabbed my free hand, and began taking me away from the people around us.

I had my hand in Sky's during the procedure, and he was walking alongside us.

"Where are you taking me, Mom?" she inquired.

"Shut up and follow me, Astrid," she shouted.

I shushed and did what she instructed.

Mom yanked my hand from her hold once we were out of sight of everyone.

"You did nothing but make us look bad. Even after being warned, you had to attend the event and disrupt everyone's serenity. What did you receive after coming here?" Mom inquired.

"However, Mom..." I attempted to tell her the truth, but she wasn't ready to listen.

"But it's not like you found your mate or anything," she said, disgusted.

Skylar cut in, "Mom, she did find her Mate."

Mom stared at him in surprise and blinked at him.

"What are you saying, Skylar?" Mom inquired.

"Yes, Mom, and so did I," Skylar responded.

She shifted her gaze to me. "Who is it, Astrid, and why aren't you and your friends together?" Mom inquired.

"It's... It's" I couldn't think of any words to describe my scene to her.

"What exactly is it? Tell me who it is right now, "She placed another order.

Then she noticed the mark on my wrist.

She took my wrist and looked at it.

She flushed as she decoded the name hidden behind the mark.

Her eyes widened in surprise as she stared at me.

"Astrid, please tell me I'm wrong," she begged.

"No, Mom, you might be correct," I answered honestly, least expecting her to understand my pain, but she turned towards Skylar.

"Who are you, Sky, and why aren't you both with them?" Mom inquired.

Skylar responded, "Mom, Edward is her Mate, and Charlotte is mine."

"What!!" When we turned around, we saw Dad standing there.

As I lowered my head, he dashed at us.

"Did you just say Charlotte and Edward are your friends?" Dad repeated it.

Skylar said, "Yes, Dad."

"Then why are they both mated and claiming to be each other's mates?" Dad inquired.

Skylar and I stayed silent.

Mom shifted my gaze back to her.

"Astrid, tell me why Edward is with Charlotte and what happened to both of you?" Mom became terrified.

I assumed Mom would understand our situation and try to console both of us.

I reasoned that it would be better if I told her the truth. I first chose to inform her about my deed so that she would have some motive to say to him about his experience as well.

"Mom.... Edward rejected me," I replied, my eyes welling up.

I expected her to console me and assure me that everything would be fine.

I guess I was mistaken since a harsh slap landed on my cheek.