Jules’ POV

“Duke you’re being very irrational right now. I’m not going to die by having friends. Nobody is going to come up to me and then just punch me in the stomach either” I groaned my complaints at the annoying alpha clinging to me.

“You don’t know that” I was really going to rip my hair out at this point. I’ve never had friends, but I really want to start connecting with people as their luna and someone they can reach out to. I understand that I’m very far into my pregnancy but I highly doubt that socialising will end up killing me.

“Just for a little while, please. You can come with me to make sure nothing happens. I’m so tired of being stuck in the house. I love Cooper, but he is driving me insane” Cooper has decided that he would love to be a ninja and keeps sneaking up on people trying to scare them.

“Fine, if it will make you happy we can go hang out at the pack house” I practically jumped in joy and hugged my mate as tight as I could. He chuckled and kissed me sweetly.

When we arrived at the house all eyes landed on us and it made me extremely nervous despite the welcoming aura they all emitted.

“Good morning Alpha, Luna,” a boy around my age smiled and nodded at the two of us. I waved at him shyly as Duke returned his smile.

“Good morning Ralphie, how are you doing today?” Duke asked the boy with the mousy brown hair.

His grin went from ear to ear, “I’m doing great! My friends and I are going to the the recreation center today”

“The recreation center?” I was confused as to what that could possibly be.

“You’ve never been before Luna? It’s one of the best places to hang out and relax. Do you wanna come with us? I’m sure the other guys won’t mind” Before I could respond Duke gave his two cents.

“Thanks, but no thanks” I was a little miffed that he was answering for me.

“Actually Duke, Ralphie asked me and I think that I would love to go. Thank you for inviting me” I gave Duke a harsh glare before smiling at Ralphie.

“What? Are you seriously considering it Jules? I have things to do today you can’t go” Duke was clearly upset that I was disagreeing with him.

“Actually my schedule is all free so I can go, it’s you that can’t go. Also you weren’t invited” I was really irked now.

“I don’t want to cause any trouble. We can hang out some other time Luna” Ralphie stood there awkwardly.

“Don’t worry Ralphie, there’s no trouble at all. Am I dressed good enough for the occasion?” I reassured him. I was wearing a simple gown that was a lot less constricting than my other dresses now that we had announced my pregnancy.

“Yes what you’re wearing right now is perfect. I’ll be right back. I need to go grab my bag from my room” He scurried off into what I assumed was one of the many apartments.

“I can’t believe that you are going against me right now Jules. I have many duties, and I can’t be there to watch you. I don’t want you to get hurt” His eyes showed his displeasure with me.

“I am not against you Duke. I am just sticking up for what I want. I have this opportunity to make friends and yet you are trying to hold me back. The whole point of us coming here was so that I can make friends, was it not? I understand that you have responsibilities, and I am not preventing you from doing your duty. I am not a mere toddler Duke. If I am to be the Luna of this pack then I must be able to stand my ground without using you as a crutch all of the time” I expressed myself to him.

“Ugh why must you be so good with words, and have such a beautiful smile. You know I can never win against you, it is unfair. I’m not happy, but I can accept these circumstances if it will make my omega happy” Duke held me tight against him as he embraced me.

“Thank you Duke! I’ll make sure to show you just how happy it makes me” I smirked as he looked down at me with a hard glint in his eyes.

“I changed my mind. The only socialising my omega needs is with his Alpha in our bed” Duke ran his nose along my neck, grinning as he felt me shudder.

“Sorry to interrupt, but are you ready to go now Luna?” I squeaked as Ralphie coughed awkwardly.

“Yes of course. Bye Duke, good luck on your Alpha business whatever that entails” I kissed him softly and allowed Ralphie to lead me out the door.

I learned a lot about Ralphie on the way to the recreation center. He is the baby of three, and he has two older sisters that drive him crazy. Ralphie is actually seventeen years old, and has a girlfriend named Nadia. They don’t think that they are mates, but love each other and hope to stay friends forever. I also learned that Ralphie is deathly afraid of spiders which I find hilarious. I told him about my fear of my teeth falling out. He laughed but I enjoyed making someone else happy. It truly is a rewarding feeling.

When we got to the center I saw a group of four people waiting outside. Ralphie waved at them and they waved back. They stopped waving at the sight of me and quickly started to bow. I was a little embarrassed at the display of authority even if I knew that they were only being respectful.

“Hello Luna what brings you here?” A short haired girl asks me, her voice full of curiosity.

“Ralphie was so kind to invite me to hang out with you guys as I’ve never been to the recreation center” They looked a little shocked.

“That’s right, Luna has agreed to be my best friend” Ralphie slung his arm over my shoulders in a friendly manner.

“What?! I thought I was your best friend” I giggled as a particularly muscular teen whined at Ralphie.

“Not anymore. Luna, this is Ulysses, Nadia, Faith, and Orville” I smiled shyly at the group, a little unsure of what I was supposed to say.

“It’s so nice to meet all of you. Now let’s get started with whatever you do in a recreation center” I clapped my hands together.

“There’s a lot to do in this recreation center. We can play sports, board games, read, play music, and there’s even a restaurant” Ulysses told me excitedly.

“Those all sound like so much fun, but I don’t think that Duke or the baby would appreciate it very much if I partook in any sports today. Perhaps after the baby is born then we can play” I say sadly as I would love to actually participate in a sport other than hunting.

“Of course! We can just stick to board games. I’m not really into sports so board games are my favorite” Faith reassured me and together we walked into a room that was filled with tables. There were shelves filled with various different games.

“Would you like to pick the game that we play today, Luna?” Orville looked up at me shyly. He had the cutest glasses that framed his face perfectly.

“I’m flattered, but unfortunately I’m not that well versed in board games. Maybe you could pick for me Orville” He nodded and went off to go pick out a game while the rest of us sat down.

Oliver came back with a game called sorry. I wasn’t quite sure how to play this game and only four people could play at a time so I chose to sit out the first round and watch how the game was played. It seemed simple enough but still very competitive. Faith managed to win by a split hair, and Ralphie didn’t seem too happy.

“That was just pure luck” He crossed his arms.

Faith shrugged, “Nope that was pure strategy, baby”

“Whatever, Do you want to play the next round, Luna?” Ralphie asked me seemingly over his earlier despair.

“I’d love to though don’t be surprised if I make mistakes” I warned my new friends and picked one of the characters. Green is obviously the best choice out of the four of them. I managed to get in third place somehow and beat Nadia who didn’t seem very fazed by her loss.

After that round of sorry we brought out a deck of cards and played a few card games. I knew how to play some card games because my brother and my father would play them with me when I was younger. I’m scarily good at solitaire due to all of the time I spent alone.

Then we moved out to the gym, Faith and I chose to sit out and watch the others chase both each other and a ball around. I guess I could see the fun in that, especially in wolf form. Ralphie and Ulysses seemed much more competitive than Nadia and Orville who looked like they were just there to have a good time. The goal of this game seemed to be kicking a ball into some sort of net.

I was surprised when Ralphie suggested that I try to kick it into the net myself. I was a little hesitant considering I didn’t want to get hurt or fall since I couldn’t really see the ball, but Ralphie assured me that he would stand next to me and break my fall for me if I fell. The ball was stationary and it was just one little kick so I didn’t think it would hurt me. I lined my foot up and kicked it as hard as I could with a ball for my stomach as well. I cheered as it soared into the net.

“Not bad, Luna. Once you lose that bump, you’ll be better than Ralphie” Ulysses praised me and I preened under his kind words.

My smile soon faded when I caught a whiff of Duke’s scent. I turned in the direction and glared at the eyes peeping into one of the gym windows. What a jerk! Is this what his “alpha duties” were? Spying on his mate? I can’t believe that he doesn’t trust me enough to take care of myself.

I didn’t let on that I knew he was there, and continued to have fun with my new friends. Just to mess with him I was a little more handsy with Ulysses than I knew that Duke would appreciate, but not anything that would make Ulysses uncomfortable. Duke is just a possessive jerk.

When I got home it was well into the evening. Duke had rushed home after he heard that we were done at the recreation center. I opened the door to the house exhausted. My feet were absolutely killing me. I decided to get into the bath and just relax my muscles.

I got into the bath, and when I opened my eyes after closing them in pleasure from the enveloping warmth, Duke was right in front of me. I jumped a little, “Oh you scared me, how was your day? I’m sorry I couldn’t be here with you, but I had a great day today. Thank you so much for trusting me to go out and make friends on my own”

I was trying to guilt trip him into admitting that he was wrong, and I think it was working, “Of course, I promised you didn’t I?”

“That’s right my Alpha is the best Alpha in the whole world. I couldn’t ask for a better mate” The cocky bastard had the audacity to puff up his chest at my praise, “I met a lot of new friends. I really like them especially Ulysses”

He tensed up at the mention of another dominant male, “Is that so?”

“Yeah he’s a total dreamboat. I can tell why all the submissives love him. He even gave me a kiss when I scored my first goal today” I blatantly lied and he growled lowly.

“What!? When did that puny kid have the chance to kiss you?! I swore I was watching that whole time! I knew I shouldn’t have let that stupid squirrel distract me” He cursed and glared at his hand that was clenched tightly in a fist.

“I knew it! I can’t believe you admitted that you were spying so easily” I crossed my arms in disappointment.

Duke seemed to have realised his mistake, “Fuck”

“Yeah that’s right. I can’t believe you lied to me. You said that you would let me go out with Ralphie and his friends while you worked. I can’t believe you don’t trust me, and think that I would let another dominant who knows that I’m mated kiss me” He looked a little flustered that he got caught, but not guilty at all which made me even more irritated.

“I can explain” He started but I cut him off.

“I don’t really want to hear it right now. I’m very upset and I would like to take a bath in peace. Close the door on your way out please” He looked like he wanted to protest but saw my serious expression and walked out of the bathroom with his head hung low.

When the anger and adrenaline wore off from the confrontation I was left feeling even more exhausted and extremely hurt. Duke promised me the freedom that my old life denied me yet I can’t help but feel like he’s keeping me as a prisoner of his possession currently. Maybe I’m just cranky and overreacting. I just want to cuddle and be happy. Is that too much to ask?