This is basically chapter 25 part 2

I drop Moon with his brothers inside the spacious kitchen and head towards the living room, the place I first met the Pattinsons when we arrived less than a week ago. "Hi!" Andrew is seated on the black couch (a popular color in this house it seems), my parents chatting away with Gabe to their right. At the sound of my voice they stop, rushing up from their seats to hug me.

"I can't wait to meet him! Where is he?I want to see him!" My mom screams, her heels clicking when she jumps and her artificial brunette curls flying. "Where?!" She shouts. Dad grabs her by the waist, pulling her back down to the couch where she swings her legs in anticipation. Andrew calls in the boys, all five lining up in the sitting room. "Which one? Wait! Let me guess!" I notice Moon step back slightly at her tone, his eyes bouncing everywhere but the people straight ahead of him.

"You aren't fond of muscles...but you don't like them too skinny. Are you into the nerdy type?" She asks, taking in James's reading glasses. "Well maybe you are...Gabe said something about dark hair so it isn't that one. I give up," She throws her hands up dramatically, slapping them against her thighs. "tell me before I die of excitement. I do love surprises." She says to Andrew, fanning herself with done-up nails that are probably fake too.

My hand grabs Moon's giving it a slight squeeze before I guide him up to them. Dad scrunches his graying eyebrows, tilting his head to get a better view. "He's gorgeous." Mom whispers wide-eyed. I've never heard her so quiet in my life, the woman that always had something to say is at a loss for words. "Meg said he was pretty but...have you had work done sweetie? It may not be LA but it's still California." She breaks herself from her trance, pulling at Moon's sleeve to get his attention.

He shakes his head 'no' nervously, his body shifting closer to me as I take a seat on the sofa. "Look how cute he is, Valencia." She nudges Dad's Blood Servant, the woman's emerald eyes becoming alert as she wakes up.

"Yes, he is quite cute, Madam." Valencia shakes her blonde pixie cut, her head lolling onto Dad's shoulder without a care.

"What is his name?" Mom asks, watching Dad converse with Andrew and the boys sprawl over each other.

"Moon."

"How unusual! The girls from the club said to get every detail, they were jumping up and down as much as I was when he called!" Moon buries his face between my shoulder and the couch, his legs quivering as he wraps them around my own. "The country club of course." She corrects herself. "Honey," She absentmindedly swats her husband with her hand. "Honey!" Andrew gives him a gentle smile, every ones attention seeming to be on us now that the individual conversations have simmered down. "Have you even taken two looks at the boy?"

Dad grunts. "Well it's kind of hard to when his face is buried in the couch like an ostrich." I coax Moon from out under my arm, his hair tussled and his face red.

"He's very shy." Moon's forehead falls against my shoulder, his black curtain of hair shielding his face from my parents.

"He's adorable, Jules." Mom pats my knee, petting Moon's tense shoulder until he relaxes. "I still wish you'd gone with Meg's sister though. Keep it in the family you know?"

Barely suppressing my eye-roll I hold back my tongue and comment: "We would've both been miserable."

"I suppose your right...how old is he? He looks awfully young." Andrew tenses up by my side and I glance over confused, Moon finally sitting with the side of his head on my shoulder, face turned towards my family.

"He's seventeen." Mom jumps backwards, her eyebrows furrowing as she grabs Valencia's small thigh.

"Julius! Are you trying to tell me he isn't even legal?! You can go to jail!" She fans her breasts and flips her hair, red lines covering their servant's thighs as she refuses to let go. "When is his eighteenth?!"

"Winter." Moon answers quietly, the response almost going unnoticed.

"February the eighth." Kai answers in more detail, eyeing his brother with a bit of confusion. The same emotion I'm sure we're all feeling at the moment.

"That's in forever!"

"Julius stop giving your mother a heart attack." I'm scolded, Gabe snickers just as he had when we were young.

"He acts older than he really is. He's mature for his age, acts nothing like a child." I assure her, smiling a bit when I see her calm down.

"He's exceptionally well behaved." She grins, taking out her phone. "Does he have any hobbies?"

"Music." He answers for himself.

I can't help but brag. "He's amazing at spells, was even the cover of Magix."

"Magix?! Wait until the girls hear this!" She's back to her old self again, jumping up in down in her red heels and banging them together in excitement. "You have to do a spell for me!"

Moon gives me a quick glare before turning to my mom. "W-what...er spell?"

"What's a hard one, V?"

Valencia gives a small shrug, leaning forward with almost as much enthusiasm as her master. "I heard levitation can be tricky."

"Oh come on! At least try to give him a hard one!" Will's hand comes flying up, slamming down on Moon's shoulder and shaking it violently.

Moon blushes the hue of a raspberry as he speaks. "What are you afraid of, Valencia?"

Her eyes widen as if shocked he's speaking to her. "B-bees." She leans her head down but Moon swiftly picks it up, his lips handing on hers and his hand resting on the side of her upper thigh. As he pulls back a black smoke follows the trail of his lips, the room turning quiet as he grips the smoke with two fingers, his hand turning over and a black rose appearing. A single bee flys around the dead flower, Valencia jumping back behind Dad when he pushes it towards her.

Moon shakes his shaggy hair in humor, tossing the rose in the air where it turns back to smoke, the light grays transforming into a scene for all to watch. Valencia continues to shake behind Dad, the smoke condensing into a bead the size of a marble. As it falls back to the ground he catches it in his palm, placing it on the floor and crushing it with his foot. Now overcome with curiosity, V leans forward towards the dusty fragments of the bead. "That wasnt much of a trick." My mother pouts, crossing her arms like a spoiled child.

"Valencia, will you please look up." All eyes are on the ceiling but it's nothing but a yellow blur, thousands of bees flying on the ceiling of the sitting room. "Are you still scared?"

"H-how d-d-did you..." Her shaky finger points towards the swarm, Moon only smiling as a few bees land on her. "N-no, w-why am I not freaking out?" Her head tilts to the side as the bees vanish, snowflakes replacing them and drifting to the onyx couches.

"It's magic." He laughs, licking a snowflake off his pink lips, my heart going insane at the motion.

Mom finally closes her wide-open mouth, grabbing a jewerly box from her purse. "Thinking of magic, this is for you." She hands Moon the box, his slender pianist fingers opening it with care.

"It's beautiful." He smiles slightly, mostly out of shock. I eye the black necklace laying against the white card, our family emblem held by a shining silver chain.

"I recalled someone saying you had dark hair and dark eyes and I thought it would look great against you."

He pulls the necklace out by it's chain, unclasping it and holding it in front of him. Moon begins to wrap the chain around his neck, stopping with the emblem centimeters from his skin. "It's very nice...what is this? Black diamond?"

"Obsidian."

Every Pattinson's eyes widen in shock, Moon throwing the necklace and clawing my arm with his nails. His breathing quickens as he tries to swallow his fear, hand on his heart as he realizes how close he came to death. "Um...it's...i'm highly allergic to obsidian that's all." He plays, running a hand through his hair as he awkwardly attempts to grin.

"Obsidian allergy? I've never heard of that."

"It's very rare." Andrew steps in for his son. "It's reaction is similar to that of a nickel allergy."

She nods, completely absorbing the lie while Gabe and Dad's eyes furrow to see the truth in Andrew's words.

Holding Moon tightly, I ask: "Where do you even find obsidian anyway?" She purses her lips, retrieving the necklace with her high heel. "I think a blue would look nice on him, a lapis lazuli maybe? An amethyst would be good as well."

"And it's his birthstone!" She claps. "I'll run by and get it done tomorrow!"

"Mom, I can-"

"Julius, it's the parent's job and I want to do it! Does he have any other weird allergies? I may get him stuff while I'm out."

"No chocolate."

"What is he a dog?" Dad barks out in laughter, Moon stiffening beside me.

"No chocolate, no obsidian, anything else?"

"No caffeine." I add in last minute.

"Do you like clothes? Colognes? Jewels? What about a new guitar? I want to get you something nice!" She pats his knee quickly, already busy planning her Black Friday shopping extravaganza. "I can take Valencia and Meg with me, have a nice girl on girl moment! Then you, your father, and Gabe can go do manly things together. Later, Valencia and Meg and Moon can go do whatever servants like to do. Probably gossip about their masters!"

I scratch the back of my neck awkwardly. "I don't like leaving Moon places..."

"Is he easily scared? Poor baby! Surrounded by all these boys, he needs a nice, strong, mama!" She gathers him in a bear hug, dragging him to the other couch with her. "Are you married, Andrew?" She asks, Moon glaring daggers behind her.

"No." He smiles, tugging Will by the arm to get him off of a wiggling Kai.

"Have you just not found the right lady yet? What about Internet dating, it's all the kids talk about now?"

"I'm not-"

"I completely understand!" She giggles. "The whole bar scene is more of your type. I can see it."

"No-"

"You can meet men there too if you go that way!"

"I'm asexual." He rushes out before she can cut him off again.

"I thought only plants did that."

"That's a different kind." He laughs, his cheeks reddening as he smiles. "There is a wide spectrum of meaning differing for each person but in my case it just means I don't desire to have a partner of any kind. I'm happy being a single parent."

"What about the boys? Don't they want a mom?"

"If they have they've never mentioned it to me."

"Do you have sex?"

"I don't crave that like a 'normal' person would."

"How weird. I think Valencia may be like that, she doesn't show any interest in wanting a boyfriend." The four boys leave the room, heading towards what seems like the kitchen. "Do you want help setting the table for dinner? Valencia go help." She orders the girl, holding onto her suspiciously quiet husband.

"Go help your brothers." Moon leaves with his dad's orders, joining the other boys and Valencia as Meg follows suit.

•••

Moon places a teacup and saucer before Kai, a few peas and barely a sliver of meat adorning it. Kai pushes the small platter away, shoveling the food onto James's plate. "Please eat..." He pleads as he takes his seat next to me, playing with his own food as everyone devours theirs.

"So what catalog did you get him from?" I cringe as Dad stares at me, my eyes failing to meet his.

"He isn't Catalog." I mumble, scooping turkey into my mouth to avoid another question.

"So where did you get him?"

"A brothel."

He chokes on his cranberries, Valencia patting his back as his face flushes red. "He's a prostitute?!"

Gabe attempts to step in, backing away when Dad's glare is redirected towards him. "Dad..."

"Julius, do you know what kind of people become postitutes? Failures and girls with daddy issues."

My cheeks burn, anger coursing through me as Moon sinks further into his seat. "Well he sure as hell isn't a failure."

"The boys is selling himself! His asshole is probably the size of a moon crater!"

"What did you want me to do? Leave him there?!"

"Yes!" He screams like it's the most obvious answer.

"They would have killed him, Dad..."

He quiets down, the rage simmering down inside the enclosed space. "He's a street rat he could of fended for hisself."

I roll my eyes. "Because you can totally fend for yourself when you're chained to a wall."

"You could have dropped him off at a group home for Pete's sake!

"A group home? He's seventeen he wouldn't of gotten adopted! And even if he did it would probably be for the wrong reasons."

"They do background checks. Look I just want the best for you okay? I was fine with you not choosing to carry out tradition, I always kind of thought you were different. But I thought you'd choose a nice, proper boy from a well known catalog and be happy."

"I am happy, and Moon is a nice boy."

Dad snorts, dropping his fork to the porcelain plate and laughing. "That boy looks about as nice as a shifter! He looks ready to kill someone!"

Fingernails dig into my thigh at Dad's comments, Moon's entire hand trembling underneath the table. I take it in mine to attempt to calm him down, the tremors traveling up his arm. "Shifters are nice too."

"Have you ever met one?" He challenges, leaning forward to search my eyes.

"No, have you?" I bite my lip and raise my brow, a move I always do when I lie.

"You know, when you were little I always wanted to take you shooting with me, get you a good one. I knew how much you wanted a dog. When I was young my dad took me hunting for my first ever pet. He taught me how to gut them of their jewels and strip them of their curse. I always wanted to relive that memory with you but you were too squeamish." He jokes, guzzling his wine as a small tear drips down Moon's embarrassed cheek.

"If anyone is cursed it's us." My tongue bleeds poison, the fire being fed with every tear Moon sheds.

"Have you ever gone hunting, Andrew? You probably have some nice ones in those woods..."

He bites back his lip, swallowing the venom in his tone. "I don't believe in killing people."

"They aren't people, they're animals. it's no different from deer hunting really." He shrugs with a satisfied grin.

My fork drops, reminding us of just how quiet the room has become. "Stop being a redneck."

"Stop being a princess." Moon quietly excuses himself from the table, his head down so no one can see his silent tears. I follow suit and let him lead me to the cream room, his face blotchy under the bright fluorescent lights.

"Moo-"

"You could have told me he was a prejudice bigot!" He cries, tears falling faster as he wipes his burning eyes with the back of his hand.

I gather the sobbing boy in my arms, his shoulders rising with each hiccuping cry. "I would have if I knew you were calling them to come over."

"I hate him."

I hush him while gingerly stroking his hair backwards, giggling quietly when it sticks up and refuses to fall back down. "Quiet before he hears you."

"He'll probably kill me and mount my head on his wall." He laughs through the obvious pain he feels.

"Show you off to all his redneck friends. 'See that one?'" I mock in his 'informal' tone. "'That right there is the sweetest, prettiest, most gorgeous, one of them all.'" I whisper to him, my nose pressed against his hair breathing in the lavender fumes. "Don't let him get to you." I breathe into the black sea I'm buried in.

"He made fun of one of my biggest fucking insecurities." Moon growls under his breath, clenching and unclenching his hands into fists

"I know...let's just go eat." Walking him back to the table, I grab hold of his hand, bringing it to my lips for a gentle kiss.

The table is roaring with laughter, Gabe most likely telling them the story of how we almost got away with stealing a pack of war horses. Good times. "You're back." He points out, everyone's eyes on us as I scoot Moon's chair in. He flushes a deep red and sighs, his scarred hands running through his tangled mess of hair.

"I'm still taking you hunting." He gives a wink. Typical.

The eye-roll can't be contained. "I'm not killing people, Dad. It's not right."

"They kill people. Children in fact."

"Not all of them."

"Every shifter has murdered at least one person in it's life. It's genetic, you can't out breed crazy." He speaks as if it's fact, his mouth full of mashed potatoes and turkey.

I grit my teeth. "Not all of them." Moon tenses up beside me once more, what little breathing he is doing coming out ragged and stiff.

"They're killers!"

Ignoring his comments, I scoop up the empty plates, carrying them into the kitchen where the Pattinson boys assist with cleanup. Moon finds his way to a corner, his knees drawn to his chest as he lays his head down gently sobbing.

"What happened, Julius? You used to not mind your father's stories. You loved them in fact. Of how he took down a grizzly with his bare hands, skinned an alligator and lived to tell the tale." Valencia smiles up at me, her blonde hair falling over her eyes. Even after all these years they still hold the caring gaze of a mother, my own mom too careless to do the job of raising kids herself.

"I grew up."

Her smile turns to a subtle frown. "I don't think that's the case."

The dishes clash in the sink even though I hold them in an unconscious death grip. "Then what do you think is the case?" I growl. I should really stop doing that.

Her smile returns as she places her hand on my lower back, rubbing small circles like she did when I was little. Valencia's eyes land on Moon in the corner for a brief second before finding their way back to mine. "I think a black-haired boy opened your eyes to the world."