Finally Finding My Luna

Chapter 17 pt. 1

{Zader POV}

The mindlink closed, and I found myself in the waiting room with Brett, Carina and Davian. Carina and Davian were both in wolf form, and I was too. I eyed Brett, and luckily he knew what I was hinting at. 

“Hey! Nurse, can we have some clothes for them?” he called to the young woman who had come in for the early morning shift. She nodded and quickly scurried around the desk and down the hallway. We all silently waited for her return, and she came back soon carrying three sets of clothes in her arms. 

I took a set in my mouth and walked around the corner to shift. Carina and Davian shifted in the waiting room while Brett waited outside the door. We all rejoined in the lobby as humans again. “Davian, call three warriors to come guard Analia’s room and then everyone needs to go get some rest.”

After the pack warriors showed up for their post, we all three walked back to the packhouse together. I finally got back up to my floor and laid down on the couch. I grabbed my phone off of the table and opened the home screen. 5:42 am. I had to internally cut off the groan that was coming out of my chest. 

I was going to be dead at work today, but I couldn’t do anything about it now. I closed my eyes to get what little sleep I could before I had to get up for work. I had just started to doze off when I heard Enslee stir. She started crying and rolling violently. Another nightmare.

I jumped to my feet and immediately ran to the bed. I sat down and wrapped her up in my arms to keep her from hurting herself or falling off the bed. I started whispering in her ear so she knew I was here. 

“It’s okay sweetheart. I know you’re scared right now, but I’ve got you baby. I will always protect you and stand beside you. No one can hurt you now. I know you’re healing right now, and that’s okay. Take your time, because I’m not going anywhere.”

She settled down a little bit, but her face was still contorted in pain. I kissed her forehead and leaned back in the bed. I knew I wasn’t getting any sleep now, but that didn’t matter to me. I was getting to hold my little mate while she slept in my arms. She would always get priority over my own needs.

We stayed like that until the sun started breaking through the horizon and streamed in softly through the window. I looked at my phone again, and this time it read 7:07 am. I knew I had to get up and go to work. I slid Enslee’s still body off of my chest and onto the pillows. I carefully pulled the covers up over her shoulders.

After getting a quick shower I got dressed and combed my hair. I finally got downstairs and into my car. Thirty minutes later I pulled into the parking garage underneath the building where I worked. I stepped onto the private employee elevator and went up to my floor.

I walked through the empty floor and sat in my own office. I always got to work before anyone else to set a good example for my employees. I decided to use this quiet time to call the Elder Council. I picked up my phone and dialed the head Elder. 

“Hello?” she spoke from the other end of the phone. 

“Elder Joanna, this is Alpha Zader Hale of the Black Mountain pack. If you have a few minutes, I need to update you on quite a few things that have happened in the last few days.”

“Ah Zader, yes I do believe I had heard about you finding your mate and in a rather violent situation.”

I sighed and laid the phone on my desk in front of me. “Yes, she was being sexually assaulted by the Gamma of the Blue Lake pack when i first found her.”

“You killed him?” she asked curiously. I stifled the growl that wanted to rise to my throat from the thought of being questioned over protecting my mate. It was punishable by law to challenge an Elder in any way. They were the law enforcers and they upheld our pack traditions. The Elders were the oldest, most experienced wolves that were voted into lifelong positions on the council. 

“Yes Elder Joanna, I killed him.”

“Well good. He deserved it from what I hear. You were well within your legal rights to do so, and personally I am glad that this world doesn’t have him in it anymore. What else did you have to discuss with me?”

“My mate, Enslee, is actually the daughter of former Alpha Kaine Ashford and former Luna Joslyn Ashford of the Red Moon pack. Her parents were murdered by Slade Davis and he forced Enslee into being the pack’s slave by blaming her mother’s death on her.”

“Well Alpha Hale, that is a rather large accusation to throw at a fellow Alpha. I know you feel very protective of your mate, but this matter was settled a decade ago when Luna Joslyn died. How do you know your mate is telling the truth?”

I remembered when the hearing took place. Alphas from each state of the country were required to attend the hearing to represent the voice of the wolves as the Elders presided over the decision making process. It was my first time to travel on official pack business. I was only 13, but my father believed in training from a young age. 

Flashback

---

“Zader, I want you to come with me for this trial. The Red Moon pack is an ally of ours, and I want to try to keep it that way if we can.” my father said. He put on his coat and headed out the front door of the packhouse. 

I turned around to my mother who was standing in the doorway smiling widely at me. “Why do I have to go all the way across the country to some stupid trial?” I whined with the usual contempt of a bratty thirteen-year-old boy. 

She walked over to me on the couch and sat next to me with a sigh. “Well sweetheart it’s because you’re dad thinks you’re ready to start training to take over as Alpha one day. This trial requires alphas from all over the country to attend so we wolves can be represented. When an alpha or luna is murdered by a pack member, there must be a trial to determine if the killing was justified.”

I looked at my mom with a horror-stricken face and gaping mouth. “He didn’t say it was a murder trial!!!! Who got killed??”

My mom huffed at my boyish excitement at something so gruesome. “Sweetheart, murder is nothing to be so enthusiastic over. But to answer your question, it was Luna Joslyn Ashford of the Red Moon Pack out of Maine. They are one of our biggest allies on the Eastern coast.”

“Well, who killed her?”

My mother’s eyes dropped to the floor and she let out a sad sigh. “The accusation is that her daughter may have killed her out of anger because she chose a new mate after her true mate died suddenly. They are holding a trial for the young luna to see if she did indeed kill her own mother.”

My brows furrowed in confusion. I could understand that the girl would be upset with her mother’s decision, especially so soon after her father’s death, but I didn’t think it warrented murder. “How old is the young luna?”

My mother rubbed a hand down her face, and I could see the weariness in her eyes. “She’s 11.”

I shook my head in bewilderment. “No way. There is no way an 11 year old girl could kill her own mom. You don’t think it’s true do you?”

My mom shook her head and looked down at her lap. “No sweetheart, I don’t think she did kill her mother.”

“So why does everyone else?”

“Well baby, no one has proof one way or the other, and many people are afraid to challenge Slade. His pack members won’t speak out against him out of fear, and the council of Elders can’t punish him unless they have proof.”

“Well can’t the girl just say that she didn’t kill her mom?”

“Baby, it’s not that simple. A kid’s word wouldn’t stand against an adult’s word, especially a high ranking adult.”

About that time my dad came back inside to get me. “Alright son, your bag is loaded in the car. We need to get to the airport.”

He leaned down and kissed my mom goodbye. My mom stood and walked us to the door to wave goodbye. My dad got into the driver’s seat and started the car. I turned and told my mom goodbye and she put a finger to her lips. “We won’t tell anyone about what we just talked about. That will be our little secret. Your dad doesn’t need to know that we discussed, okay?”

I nodded at her and hugged her around her waist. After she let me go I ran off to get in the car with my dad. 

---

“Elder Joanna, I can assure you that my mate is certainly not lying about this. But if you don’t take her word for it, there are several Red Moon pack members that would speak on her behalf. They know the truth about Alpha Ashford’s and Luna Ashford’s death, along with how he forced Enslee to be a slave for the last decade.”

“Would these members be willing to testify at a hearing to prove Enslee’s story?”

“I believe some of them would if they were offered sanctuary outside of Slade’s reach. They have no protection from him, which is why they haven’t come forward yet. Now that Enslee is here with me, we would be happy to offer them a pack membership here at Black Mountain if you approve.”

“Well, I think that would be fine after they’ve delivered their testimonies before the Elder council. I approve the change in membership if the pack members willingly agree to testify in front of the Elders. I will notify the rest of the council of this action. We will schedule the testimony after New Year’s. Is there anything else you need to bring to attention?”

I thought about my next issue very hard before I answered. I didn’t want to bring any trouble to Enslee or my pack by potentially exposing us for these powers that I suspected we had. But I also knew that we had no idea what Enslee was or what I was, so we had to get help. 

“Actually, yes there is one other thing I needed to ask you about.”

After explaining the ordeal that Enslee went through along with my vision of Anlia being choked, Joanna was silent on the other end of the phone. 

“Hello? Elder Joanna?”

“Uh. Yes Alpha Zader, I am still here. Excuse me, I am just fairly stunned. I never thought I would live to see this day.”

“What do you mean?” I was shocked to hear Joanna so stunned. She was at a loss for words, which was rare. Joanna was always composed and put together. 

“You have no idea what both of you are do you?”

“Uh, no. That’s why I am asking you for help.” I was incredulous. It sounded like she actually had knowledge about these weird abilities that suddenly appeared.

“Oh my goddess. Your mate is a Kinsmir wolf.” I furrowed my brows in frustration. 

“Okay, and?”

“And you’re an Epsilon wolf.”

“Neither of those terms means anything to me.”

“Let me just say it this way. You two are VERY rare and special wolves. You were destined to be mated thousands of years ago, and your mating also means that both of you will blossom into your full powers.”

“Did you just say ‘thousands’ of years ago?”

“Zader, it is EXTREMELY important that you don’t speak of this conversation to anyone that you cannot 100% trust. I need to visit your pack to inform you about the werewolf history and the story of you and your mate. No one can know that I am coming, not even the other Elders.”

I agreed to secretly meet with her after New Year’s and hung up the phone. I decided to keep this to myself for now, since I knew the party was tomorrow night on New Year’s Eve. I didn’t want to ruin everyone’s joy about having the banquet and officially welcoming Carina and Renley into the pack. We all needed a reason to kick back and relax.