CROWNED AS THE RUTHLESS ALPHA'S CELESTIAL LUNA

SON

HEIDI’S POV

Kurt pushed the heavy wooden door open so forcefully that the metal handle dented the plaster of the hallway wall. He prepared his body to fight a dangerous intruder, completely expecting to find an assassin waiting to ambush us. I refused to remain alone in the hallway while he faced a potential threat, so I completely ignored his previous command to stay back. I stepped around his broad shoulders and followed him directly into the massive kitchen.

The room featured gleaming stainless steel appliances, pristine white marble countertops, and a massive oak dining table positioned squarely in the center of the floor. There were no armed hunters or rival pack members in the room. Instead, the polished hardwood floor was completely covered with sharp, shattered pieces of a large ceramic water pitcher, and a wide puddle of cold water soaked rapidly into a decorative woven rug.

Kurt let out a sudden, sharp exhale and instantly dropped his defensive posture. He fell to his knees near the edge of the puddle and reached his hands under the heavy oak table. I leaned forward to look past his muscular arms, and I saw a very small boy hiding underneath the wooden furniture.

The young boy had messy dark hair and wide, terrified brown eyes. He pressed his back firmly against the thick wooden table leg while covering his ears tightly with both of his small hands. He wore soft blue pajamas, and his bare feet were dangerously close to the sharpest ceramic shards scattered across the floor. He was trembling violently, completely overwhelmed by the recent shouting outside and the sudden loud noise of the breaking pitcher.

"Leo, you need to come out from under the table right now so you do not cut your feet on this broken glass," Kurt commanded the child. He clearly attempted to sound gentle and comforting, but his natural voice was simply too deep, and his tone still carried the heavy, authoritative weight of an Alpha.

Leo flinched violently at the sound of his father's booming voice. The boy squeezed his eyes shut and buried his face into his knees while fresh tears streamed down his pale cheeks. He refused to uncover his ears, and he pushed his small body further into the dark corner beneath the table.

I immediately realized Kurt was making the situation significantly worse because the child was clearly suffering from a severe panic attack. Kurt understood how to lead warriors and fight wars, but he obviously struggled to comfort a terrified six-year-old.

I stepped around my massive mate and knelt directly onto the wet hardwood floor, completely ignoring the sharp pieces of ceramic pressing dangerously close to the fabric of my jeans. I made sure to lower my posture as much as possible, so I appeared much smaller and significantly less threatening to the crying boy.

"Hello there, Leo," I said softly, keeping my voice very calm and steady while I rested my hands flat and open on my lap to show I was not going to grab him. "My name is Heidi. I understand exactly why you are hiding right now because loud noises used to scare me very much when I was your age. You do not need to cover your ears anymore since the scary noises are finished, and nobody is going to shout in this house ever again."

Leo slowly opened his eyes and looked directly at my face. He studied my expression carefully, searching for any signs of anger or deception. He slowly lowered his hands from his ears, although he kept his back pressed firmly against the table leg.

"I was trying to get a glass of water from the counter, but the pitcher was too heavy, and it slipped out of my hands," Leo whispered. His voice trembled terribly as he looked at the ruined rug and the broken mess on the floor. "I am sorry for breaking the dishes. I know I am going to be punished for making a mess in the kitchen."

"Nobody is ever going to punish you for an accident in this house, Leo," I assured him quickly. I remembered how Susan used to lock me in the freezing basement without dinner for dropping a single metal fork on the floor, and my heart broke for the frightened child. "Water pitchers are incredibly slippery, and breaking one is a completely normal mistake. In fact, I dropped a massive glass bowl filled with a dozen raw eggs just last week, and it made a much bigger, stickier mess than this puddle of water."

Leo sniffled quietly and wiped his nose with the back of his pajama sleeve. "You dropped all the eggs on the floor?"

"I absolutely did drop them, and it took me an entire hour to scrub the sticky yolks off the tiles," I told him, keeping a warm and encouraging smile on my face. "Why don't you come out from under the table so we can move your bare feet away from this sharp glass? Once we sweep up this ceramic, I can cook you a fresh batch of chocolate chip pancakes, or I can make you a warm cup of hot chocolate. After you eat your sweet treats, we can run a warm bubble bath upstairs so you can wash the dirt off your hands and relax before bedtime."

Leo looked at my outstretched hand for several long seconds, and then he looked up at his massive father.

Kurt nodded his head silently. His dark eyes were wide with absolute shock as he watched my interaction with his traumatized son. Leo slowly crawled forward, carefully avoiding the broken pieces of the pitcher, and he placed his tiny hand directly into my open palm.

I gently pulled him into my arms and lifted him securely onto my hip. He felt very light for a six-year-old boy. He rested his head against my shoulder, wrapped his small arms around my neck, and let out a long, exhausted sigh of relief.

Kurt stood up from the wet floor and walked over to us. He reached out and gently rubbed his son's back, but his intense gaze remained completely focused on my face.

"He has never allowed a stranger to hold him or touch him since the Institute attacked our home three years ago," Kurt whispered. He was clearly moved by the peaceful domestic scene unfolding in his kitchen.

"You possess an incredibly rare gift, Heidi, and I am endlessly grateful the fates brought you to my family today."

"He just needed someone to talk to him like a normal human being instead of treating him like a pack soldier," I replied easily. I reached over to grab a plastic broom and a metal dustpan from the corner of the kitchen, and I started sweeping the broken ceramic into a neat pile while still holding the heavy boy on my hip.

I gathered the glass carefully, threw the sharp pieces into the metal trash can, and used a towel to soak up the spilled water. I walked over to the large stainless steel refrigerator to find the butter, milk, and eggs for Leo's pancakes.

The kitchen finally felt calm and incredibly safe, but the peaceful domestic atmosphere was shattered instantly when the heavy front doors of the estate banged open loudly. Heavy boots stomped hurriedly down the hallway hardwood, and Jason rushed directly into the kitchen. He was breathing heavily, and he carried a deeply annoyed expression on his sharp face.

"I apologize for the sudden intrusion, Alpha," Jason announced loudly. He crossed his arms over his chest as he stopped near the marble kitchen island. "However, we have a major problem developing in the main square right now. The senior pack elders and a very angry couple named Robert and Susan are demanding an immediate audience with you. They are officially refusing to accept Heidi as the new Luna because she does not possess a wolf, and they are actively threatening to challenge your authority to the Supernatural Council if you do not banish her from the territory tonight."

Kurt growled loudly from deep within his chest, and his dark eyes flashed with sudden, violent anger. He took a heavy step toward the hallway to slaughter them, but I quickly reached out and placed my free hand firmly against his solid chest to stop him from moving forward. I set Leo down gently on the counter, grabbed a clean cloth to wipe the flour off my hands, and smiled widely at the Beta.

"Tell the elders to wait in the formal sitting room, Jason, because I am going to handle this pathetic garbage myself right now."