Kelp pov
Alpha Lorn stood staring for a moment, wondering what he was looking at. Was it a person, or a ghost? Finally, his brain kicked in. It registered that it was a young girl and the other pack members there with her were surrounding her protectively. Who was she? Why were they so protective of her?
Someone exclaimed, “It’s our little Luna. She is alive. How though? We all saw her body carried away.” The rest of the pack started migrating towards this little person. None of them seemed to care that their Alpha had just lost a challenge and died. No one was bothered by the fact that they had a new Alpha and would belong to a new pack. It was like they were drawn to her.
“Father, what the hell is wrong with them?” The Alpha asked. His father remained quiet and watchful.
Doc and Mark had reached our little unit and Doc spoke with the rest. “Your Luna is alive. You saw what we wanted you to see to keep her safe from Alpha Thomas. We kept her hidden and she has been healing all this time. She is stronger than she has ever been, but still very weak for a werewolf. Her wolf, as you know, was awoken very young by the Alpha and is still healing herself and maturing. Just recently our little Luna used one of her other nicknames to instill fear in Alpha Thomas for poking around where he shouldn’t. That is why she looks as she does. She has been pretending to be a ghost. The rest of the pack laughed while the visiting members of the pack looked as if they thought we were crazy.
Alpha Lorn kept sniffing the air. Our little Luna kept doing the same. It sent a chill down my spine and hoped that it did not mean what I thought it did. I did not think Lorn understood the entire situation. I think he saw a young girl playing pretend and could not figure out why she needed to play dead. He had not connected the dots. That she was the dead Alpha’s chosen mate he believed dead by his hand. Which is why he died with the wide-eyed stare when he had seen her at the tree line.
Lorn pov
There it is again, oranges and cinnamon. It is coming from the direction of the Blood Meadow pack gathering. I heard the doctor say something but was not paying enough attention to make out what he said. The smell was driving me crazy. I had to find out where it was coming from. My wolf was going crazy. “Quiet down Cully. You just won a fight. Aren’t you needing some rest?”
“No Lorn, I am fine. That smell is making me nuts. It is mate. Mate is here. Find her.” Cully retorted.
“Great, in this pack? She would have to be in this pack. They are so dumb they don’t even realize they should be giving their loyalty to me. Instead, they are worried about some little girl named Luna.” Lorn grumbled back.
He kept walking toward the big group of pack members, but they all still surrounded the little one as if she was the most precious thing they ever owned. All of them were doing this, even the higher-ranking wolves. Who is this little girl?
Once I was a few feet away, she stepped out of the circle of people and sniffed the air in my direction. No! Please don’t let this little urchin be my mate. Look at her. She is a child, skinny, and weak looking. I need a grown woman with the strength to run a pack when I am away. I need a grown woman to bare my children. She is a tiny child. How could the goddess do this? I will be too old by the time she grows up.
Cully growls, “Look at her face Lorn, she is gorgeous. She is a tiny woman, but she is a woman. She has been mistreated and needs to be loved, pampered, and taken care of. She will become everything you want and dream of in a Luna if you take the time to care for her.”
“Are we looking at the same girl? She is filthy, pale, covered in dried blood she has not even tried to clean off. Look at her hair. It looks like she hasn’t combed it in ages. I do not have the time to pamper and wait on her. She needs to be ready to be my Luna now.” I seethed at him.
“Lorn, do not reject her. It will be the biggest mistake of your life. If you listen to nothing else, I say please listen to me about this.” My wolf pleads.
“I must reject her. It would not be fair to her or me if I did not. She will get a second chance mate when she grows up and maybe we will get one eventually too. You just want your mate and I understand that, but you will get another.” I tried to placate him.
“Like Zor did?” He asked. Zor was Alpha Thomas’ wolf and I really hoped that the moon goddess saw fit to give his wolf spirit to a more deserving werewolf.
“You know that Zor did everything he could to keep Thomas from hurting anyone else. He fought him every single day. Refused to shift even during the fight with you, he did not let the shift happen until he had to. Then he did not fight at all. He just asked me to end it so he would not have to live with that person any longer. You know Zor would not ever accept another mate for Thomas,” I argued. “This is different. I have two packs that will combine and become one now. My Luna needs to be strong, independent, and ready to defend her pack if needed. This child is not any of those things.”
The little one was suddenly in front of me. “Mate” she exclaimed through a mind link and took a deep breath.
The mind link surprised me, “What is your name little one?” I asked.
Smiling, she said, “Katia Lane of the Moon Touched pack”. Confused, I looked at the rest of her pack members and they all nodded their heads in affirmation. They had just created their own pack. She continued smiling up at me, “What is your name, Mate?”
Could she link them all and include them in the conversation? I smiled back at her. She was a sweet little girl. “Why did you say you were of the Moon Touched pack?”
Cully was growling in my head, “Look at her. See her for who she is before it is too late.”
“I do see her, Cully. She is a little girl playing pretend. Why does she not speak? Why is she only linking?” Why can he not see it? Is it the mate pull? I feel the pull also, but I cannot mate a little girl.
Just then she answered my question, “Moon Touched is my pack. We started creating it after my supposed death with those that wish to be my protectors. Then, when Alpha Thomas left this world, the rest of Blood Meadow gave their loyalty to me and joined my pack. I am Alpha Luna of the Moon Touched pack.”
The child is playing pretend, and the others are playing along. Why? What matters about the game of children? “Because it is not a game. She only links because she cannot use her voice. Look at her throat. She is speaking the truth though. They are planning to ask the council to approve them as a pack.”
“Cully, there is no such thing as an Alpha Luna. She is playing a game and, for whatever reason, they are playing along with her. Maybe she was damaged in the brain somehow and they feel sorry for her. She must be an orphan as no parents have come to claim her.” I pointed it out to him.
“Lorn, you are wrong. She is not a child. An orphan, yes, but not a child and that is why there are no parents. She is gathering her protectors, and she is forming a pack. You will regret rejecting her if you do that. You are the one damaged in the head!” He curled up in the back of his mind and finally quieted.
Looking at her, “So little Katia, you are telling me all of these good people have sworn loyalty to you when they should have sworn it to me?”
The little thing continued beaming up at me, “Yes, they do not trust you. However, they do trust me and once we are mated, they will then be loyal to you and your pack may join mine.”
“Ah, I see. You want to add my pack to yours?” I looked at her in disbelief.
“What does it matter what we are called? We will still be one pack.” She asked.
“As much as I would like to continue to play this game with you, I have adult things to do and must get on with those tasks.” I said, a little bothered by the look of confusion on her face.
“Mate, where would you like me to stay? In my cabin or at the pack house?” she asked with stars in her eyes.
I looked her in the eyes, “I Alpha Lorn Prance, of the Starlight pack, reject you Katia Lane, of the Blood Meadow/ Moon Touched or whatever pack you are from, as my mate and Luna.” As I finished the last words she dropped to the ground as pack gamma screamed, “No, what have you done?”
The pain in my chest felt like someone was digging a whole through it. Cully was beside himself, whining and growling, telling me I was an idiot. I looked at her as the Beta reached down and helped her stand up. I could tell they were communicating but she had blocked anyone not part of her pack.
She stepped up closer to me, “I, Katia Lane, Alpha Luna of the Moon Touched pack, accept your rejection, Alpha Lorn Prance of the Starlight pack and wish to never set eyes on you again.” She barely got out as a whispery moaning sound. Tears were streaming down her face as she started backing away. The look of sheer devastation on her face was impossible to ignore.
The doctor and nurse tried to console her, “Little Luna, let's go to the cabin and rest. Once you have a chance to think, we can formulate a plan and go.”
She just looked at them. Her stare was completely blank like she did not see anyone. She turned to look at the Beta and Gamma. There was an exchange I was not privy to, and she took off.
The Beta turned to me, “What have you done? All she had ever wanted was for her fated mate to come for her and love her. What do you do? You reject her. Did not even give her a chance. Just rejected her. The worse part is you have no idea what you have thrown away.”
The Beta, Gamma, and head warrior took off after her. I could hear them screaming her name. My father stepped forwards, “Boy what have you done?”
The doctor looked at my father, “We mean you no disrespect and are all sorry for what our Alpha did to your daughter, our first Luna. However, we will not stay and be part of a pack that has no use for our little Luna or us. We stay with her and if we lose her, we remain together and become a pack she would be proud of.”
Every single pack member turned and walked into the woods with nothing but their clothes on their backs. They went to find their Alpha Luna.