Alpha's Hidden Precious Luna-Chapter 120

Lily POV

Somehow, I made it through week four.

But despite my best efforts to avoid any form of socializing, Celeste had finally managed to pull me away from my house and bring me to hers. I hadn’t wanted to come, but she’d used her trump card – her grandparents. “They miss you,” she’d said, and I couldn’t refuse them.

The moment I stepped into Celeste’s house, Grandma Elena – Celeste grandmother enveloped me in a warm hug that smelled of vanilla and freshly- baked cookies. “Look how thin you’ ve gotten,” she tutted, leading me to her favorite couch in the living room. Grandpa Marcus was in his favorite armchair reading a book.

His eyes lit up when he saw me. Immediately, he closed the book and rose up to come meet me.

“Leave the girl, alone, Elena,” he chuckled, but his eyes were concerned as they studied my face. “Though a few of your sugar cookies wouldn’t hurt.”

I bit my lips hard until I could taste blood. I felt so guilty and relieved at the same time. Guilty that I’ve been so swamped with school work and did not make out time to visit Celeste’s grandparents often.

Celeste rushed out from the room almost immediately. “We need supplies!” she announced, grabbing her car keys. “I’ll be right back. Don’t her escape, Grandma!”

Grandma Elena dragged me to her couch as both of them flanked me on both sides. They asked me about school, about my classes, about everything except what had happened to Kai. I knew they were carefully avoiding the topic and it made my throat tight with gratitude.

“Remember when you and Celeste tried to bake a cake in our kitchen? Grandma Elena laughed. “You had just arrived at the pack and you were trying to bake me a gratitude cake.”

“The fire alarm went off,” I smiled despite myself. “Honestly, I was nervous. I used to do all the menial jobs back in my pack house. I was just trying to make sure it was perfect. Grandpa Marcus had to fan the smoke oout with a newspaper.”

“Worth it though,” he winked. “That was the best burnt chocolate cake I ever tasted.”

A short while later, Celeste returned, laden with grocery bags, the entire house became lively. Celeste turned on the music from the kitchen speakers, and she pulled me in to help with dinner preparations.

"Mrs. Henderson asked about you today," she said, chopping vegetables. "She thinks you should join the art committee for the spring festival."

I concentrated on stirring the sauce. "I don’t know, Cel..."

"Come on, you love art! Remember that mural you designed last year? Everyone loved it."

"That was different. I was different then."

She bumped my hip with hers. "You’re still you, Lily. Just going through a rough patch."

There was a short silence before Celeste broke it again.

“So,” Celeste started, glancing at me as she put a bag of chips in the cabinet, “how’s school been? You actually keeping up, or are you just pretending?”

I shrugged, grabbing a carton of milk and placing it in the fridge. “I’m keeping up. Barely.”

Celeste snorted. “Figured as much. Jake says you’ve been dodging him, by the way.”

“I haven’t been dodging him,” I said quickly. “I just... haven’t been in the mood to hang out.”

“Uh-huh.” She arched a brow. “And work? Are you still doing your shifts at the café?”

I hesitated before shaking my head. “I haven’t gone back yet.”

Celeste frowned. “Lily, you love that job.”

“I know,” I muttered, focusing on placing items in their correct spots. “I just don’t have the energy right now.”

She didn’t argue, just nodded before changing the subject. “Okay, serious question—do you think Mr. Lawson’s new haircut makes him look cooler or just more like a midlife crisis?”

I laughed despite myself. “Definitely a midlife crisis.”

Celeste grinned. “Knew it. I said the same thing, but everyone in class was like, ‘Oh no, it makes him look younger!’” She scoffed. “Yeah, younger if he was trying to look like a 90s boy band reject.”

The rest of our conversation was easy, filled with random topics—rumors about pack politics, upcoming school events, and which teachers were clearly over their jobs.

Eventually, her grandparents left for a senior gathering, and it was just the two of us. We had dinner, lounged in the living room, and let the silence settle comfortably between us. For the first time in days, I felt... normal.

I was halfway to dozing off when the doorbell rang.

Celeste groaned, stretching as she got up. “If this is another delivery for Grandpa’s hobby supplies, I swear...”

I barely registered her moving toward the door. My eyes were heavy, my mind drifting. I only caught snippets of the conversation—Celeste’s voice questioning someone, then a pause.

"I’m sorry, who are you?"

A pause.

"How do you know Lily?"

Another pause, longer this time.

Then her footsteps returned, faster this time, and she stood in front of me, her expression unreadable.

I was drifting between sleep and wakefulness when Celeste’s hand gently shook my shoulder. Her face, when I opened my eyes, wore an expression I’d never seen before – confusion mixed with something like wonder.

“Lily.”

I blinked up at her sleepily. “Hm?”

“There’s... a man outside.” She hesitated. “He says he’s your uncle.”

I sat up straighter. “My what?”

Celeste crossed her arms. “And he means it. I can sense he’s telling the truth.”

Sleep vanished instantly. I sat up, my heart was pounding suddenly. “What? I don’t have an uncle.”

“He says you do. He says...” Celeste hesitated again. “He says he’s been looking for you for a very long time.”

My mind raced. The only family I’d ever known was my father, Alpha Gregory and my sister, Vanessa. They’d never mentioned any other family member except of course my dead mom. I’d assumed I was alone in this world after my dad threw me in and Kai took me in.

“You don’t have to see him if you don’t want to,” Celeste was saying. “I could tell him to come later when gramps and grams are here. It’s just that he said you led him here. So...”

“I will see him!” I sprang to my feet, straightening my clothes. “At least, to hear what he needs to say first.”