The Moon's Daughter

Chapter 4

I sat in my car parked in the driveway of my home, dreading on entering the house. Not because the memories were bad but because there were so many good memories of my dad every corner I turned. He was murdered five years ago from a rogue, or so the story goes. My father was the Beta of the Moon before he got revoked and Beta Yu took his position. If it wasn’t for the rogue who killed my father, he wouldn’t have lost his Beta position and he would still be alive today. 

 My father was an honest and reliable man. One day a stray walked onto our land and claimed she had amnesia. My father, having a keen sense when it came to these things, didn't believe her story. He believed her to be a rogue and a powerful one at that. Rogues tend to let out a certain smell, one that smelt of rotten corpses so that the stench of betrayal followed them everywhere they’d gone. But in rare cases, a rogue can mask their smell, fooling the people they are around. That she-wolf fooled everyone but my father. He went and told Alpha Don that she was a rogue only for him to not believe him. He told my father that he was losing his touch and relieved him of his Beta duties and let Yu take over. Two days after he made that report, he was brutally murdered. 

His corpse hung onto the tree in my backyard, I can still see it in my head. I came home after a late night walk from the oak tree and instead of going in through the back like I usually do, I walked into the house using the front door. That night, the house felt wrong with a cold chill in the air. I assumed that my mother had left a window cracked open in the kitchen and just forgot to close it like she always does. But when I went into my room, it was cold as ice. I shivered and went to check on my window thinking it was cracked when I found him. His guts strewn across the branches of the tree as the blood pooled onto the grass underneath him. His eyes stared up at me dull and lifeless with his tongue lolling out of his mouth as if it had been pulled out of his mouth. The sight itself was a nightmare I had wished to wake up from. I threw up everything I had eaten that night and mind-linked the Alpha before losing consciousness. 

My mother found me in my room the next morning, still unconscious and apparently I had stayed that way for two days. Between the two of us, the pain of losing him hit my mother the most, she was his mate after all. The rogue came into our house that night to have a chat with my dad. According to my mother, the talk had something to do with pack business so she excused herself from the room to give them privacy. Next thing she knew, she felt a sharp pang in her chest and crumbled to the floor. The pain intensified, burning her from within until black took her. She woke to Alpha Don and his men in our home while our Luna comforted her. 

I never told my mother, but I blamed Alpha Don for the death of my father. If only he had believed him, none of this would have happened and the threat would’ve been eradicated. Soon after that incident, I left home with the intention of never coming back when my mother called me that she was dating again. Another Beta, which happened to be Beta Yu. She begged that I come home on multiple occasions but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. The pain of having to lose someone I loved killed a part of me, it numbed me to the point I seeked isolation instead of comfort.  

About a year ago, they decided to get married and I couldn’t have been more thrilled. Beta Yu had been mateless, and was unfortunate in the aspect of finding his mate. I felt as if my mom settled for him, she felt the need to be comforted and with my father gone, Beta Yu filled the shoe. I didn’t come to their wedding, didn’t feel like it was necessary to watch her marry someone else. I was happy for her but at the same time it angered and saddened me. For her to just replace father like he meant nothing to her.

When she called me again, I was already living my life away from the pack. I had secured a job at a hospital an hour away from pack territory. There was sadness in her voice each time I talked to her on the phone. It must have been guilt that drove me back close to home and the next thing I knew, I left that hospital and transferred to the one fifteen minutes away from pack territory. She knew and insisted I moved back in with her but I declined her offer. I didn’t have a reason to step into pack territory again until they deemed it necessary to come back. That was when she called and told me about the changing of the Alpha. 

I agreed to move back into pack territory but instead of moving back home, I decided to move into the Packhouse that was meant for the singles and Warrior shifters. That place reminded me of the typically stereotyped frat house. There was always music, booze, parties and s*x that were never ending. I contemplated on moving back to the house but after a while, you just learn to shut things out. 

The light in my mother’s bedroom turned on and I took that as my que to leave my car. Before my hand touched the door knob, the door swung open and my mother pulled me into a tight hug. 

“Welcome home, sweet heart. I’ve missed you”. I took in her scent before letting her go to stare into her sea-green eyes. Wrinkles were starting to form on the creases of her forehead and the end of her eyes from age and worry. Her red hair has become muted whereas it used to shine bright and fierce. “Are you tired?” She asked while stroking my hair. 

I shook my head no. Somehow being here with her in this house gave me a small spurt of energy. Nothing in this house has changed. Everything still looked the same except there were some new pictures of Mother and Beta Yu together. The smell of gingerbread cookies still filled the air from her favorite plug in scent. Somethings just never changed. 

We made our way into the kitchen as she prepared a kettle to boil. She then took out two mugs and two teabags. I grabbed the box and read the name on it, “Sleepytime tea, you’re not trying to poison me are you?” I teased. 

“Of course not! Now tell me, how was the trip? Was it a demon?” She asked curiously. 

“Not bad. It wasn’t a demon but a fae”. 

“What’s a fae doing all the way out here?” 

“Not sure, Zahruk has him in the Main Packhouse and I’m guessing he’s going to interrogate him with Beta Yu and his brother. Which I’m sure you already know. But I did think it was weird when he told me his reason for coming here”. 

“And what was the reason?”

“He said that he’s looking for the dragon king”. 

“Good luck with that”, she said while rolling her eyes. 

“And the Daughter of the Moon. Crazy right?” I chuckled. My mother’s face turned white when the kettle whistled at us that it was ready. She got up from the chair and turned the stove off. Her hands shook as she poured the boiling water into the cups. “Mom? Are you okay?”

“Did he really say that, Elira? That he was looking for the Moon’s daughter?” Her voice was shaking with fear. 

“Yes, why? Do you know something?” I asked, suspiciously. 

She turned and placed a mug in my hand before taking a seat. “Elira, I have to tell you something. It may be time you know about who you really are”. 

“What do you mean?” I could feel my heart beat a million times a minute. 

“You aren’t my daughter by blood”. 

“What?” I stood up shocked and bewildered at the news. 

“Listen. I’m going to tell you the story of how I met you and your father”. She reached for my hand and gave it a small squeeze, her eyes never leaving mine. “I was coming home from the pack hospital 23 years ago when I met your biological mother. She stood there looking distraught, leaning onto a wolf while you were laid asleep on its back. I thought she might’ve been injured or needed help, so I instinctively ran towards her. She grabbed my arms and fell to the ground crying, telling me how important it is for you to stay safe and that our lives depended on you. She left you in the care of me and the wolf she came down with. She turned the wolf into a man and that man was your father, not by blood of course. 

His name was Hadik but you know him as Harry Evans. She gifted him with something a wolf had always searched for, a mate. We weren’t mates at first but when she touched our chests, a mate bond appeared. She told him, ‘It’s time you live your life Hadik and protect my daughter’ before disappearing with a flash. Hadik, or Harry, told me that you are the daughter to the Moon and Wolf Goddess, Diana and the Wolf God, Fenrir”. 

I gasped upon hearing those names as I recalled the vision or out of body experience I had at the hospital. “But I thought Diana was in love with Endymion?”

“According to Hadik, Endymion was a mortal who happened to swoon your mother. He died of old age and wasn’t able to stay with Diana. After losing her twins to a tragic accident, she roamed the land of the Gods before stumbling upon Fenrir, who was chained and bound. Fenrir was waiting for his death while Diana seeked it. The Fates heard their pleas and set Diana’s course towards Fenrir. And with one look into each other’s eyes, they fell into one another. A bond deep and strong that it broke the curse Fenrir was to face one day”. 

“What curse was that?”

“Destruction to the world of Gods”. I sat there, speechless. What is someone supposed to say in a situation like this? I didn’t know what to make of the situation, so I stood up from the chair and placed a kiss on my mother’s cheek. 

“I, um… I think I’m going to head to bed and sleep it off. I’m tired, we’ll talk more tomorrow?” I told her a little sleepily. I wasn’t that tired but I needed time alone to process the information she unloaded on me tonight. To think that my parents weren’t actually my parents and my real parents were some mythical creatures that we didn’t think to still exist. 

“I understand and remember, don’t tell anyone what you had heard about today. I had a feeling that Hadik’s death was just the beginning of it all. We can’t risk anyone finding out, not even Alpha Zahruk”, she said with a forced smile. I gave her a small nod and walked towards the stairs when she called for me again. I turned, looking at her before making my way up. “I love you, Elira”. 

“I love you too, mom”. She smiled wide and I climbed up the stairs to my room. I plopped myself down onto the bed, not caring that I was still caked with makeup. I was more shocked than I was tired. I closed my eyes, needing to process everything. The world around me became dark before sleep took me. 

I woke the next morning to the smell of bacon being cooked. I dragged myself into the shower before getting dressed and sluggishly making my way downstairs. I could hear giggling coming from the kitchen and I can only assume that Beta Yu is back from his torture-fest with the Naydan brothers. 

“Morning”, I chirped as I entered the kitchen. I took my seat at the table and Beta Yu placed a plate with egg, bacon and toast in front of me. I took a whiff at the delicious aroma before digging into my meal. “Thanks!” I managed to get out with a mouth full of eggs and toast. 

“No problem”, he said. I looked over at the clock and noticed there was thirty minutes left before meeting up with Zahruk at the Main Packhouse. 

There were two Packhouses here on the territory. The first is the Main, where all the important meetings and esteemed guests are gathered, the second is for the Warriors and singles. The Alpha has his own living quarters and doesn't reside in the Packhouse, he gathers there every week day. The old Alpha liked his privacy and having our territory look like a small community instead of having everyone share one giant house. 

“Oh by the way this clock is fifteen minutes fast”. I choked on my toast and glared at Beta Yu and my mother. 

“Who does that?!” I coughed. I had ten minutes left before the clock hit ten. 

“Your mother”, said Beta Yu. 

“Oh stop that! I just don’t want Yu to be late to his meetings is all. He has a tendency to run late”, she giggled. I downed the cup of water and headed straight out the door once I finished. Well, it’s a good thing that the Main Packhouse is only five minutes away. 

I parked my car in the designated parking area and made my way inside the house. I followed Zahruk’s scent up the stairs where it was strongest. My nose took me to a set of double oak doors, elegant in design and stained with a mahogany brown. I rapped my knuckles on the door three times before hearing his deep voice echo. 

“Come in”, he said, sounding agitated. I pushed the door open and stepped up to his desk, tapping my fingers on it. His office was surprisingly neat and had that lavender mahogany smell to it. His desk was neatly organized with papers to the left and pens on the right. The books on the shelf were arranged by color and not by alphabet which I thought was strange. I watched him work, face glued to the papers in front of him. 

“I’m surprised at how neat this place looks. I took you as the messy type” I asked, trying to break him out of his flow. 

“Really?” He said while his eyes are still glued to the papers. 

“Oh yeah, shocking”, I said while raising both my brows at him. I walked over towards his bookshelf to see what type of books he’s into. You could tell a lot about a person by the books they read. “Oh, this is shocking too”, I said while pulling out Romeo and Juliet off the shelf.  

“What can I say, I’m a romantic at heart”. 

“Oh, I see”. I walked behind his chair, peering over his shoulder to see what he was working on. “Am I disturbing you? I can come back later, tomorrow? You told me to be here by ten and here I am waiting on you”. 

“Actually, Elira, you are fifteen minutes early”, he said while looking up at me with a smirk on his face. “If I’m not mistaken, I think that you wanted to spend the extra fifteen minutes alone with me”. My face heated and I internally cursed out my mother and Beta Yu. He tapped his clock that was on his desk and it read 9:45. I walked back to the front of his desk so that I could better explain myself. 

“No, no. My mom set the clock in the house fifteen minutes ahead and I thought I was going to be late! I didn’t even get to enjoy my breakfast”. I eyed him suspiciously, knowing he was working with Beta Yu last night. “Did you tell Beta Yu to set me up?” 

He chuckled deeply and I felt my stomach churn with desire. “Maybe. What are you going to do about it?” I raise an eyebrow while pursing my lips, glaring at him for tricking me. “Well?” 

I opened my mouth but closed when I didn’t have anything to say. He stood up from his chair and walked over to the other side of the desk, taking a seat in one of the chairs across from me. He scrubbed his face with his hands before letting his arms settle onto his knees, looking up at me. He looked exhausted, and judging from his reaction, the fae probably didn’t give him the intel he desired. 

“What did you get out of Torin?” He raised his eyebrow and c****d his head at me. 

“Torin?” He asked cluelessly. 

“The fae from last night?” As I put my hands on my hips. He reached out his arms, grabbing my waist and pulling me closer to him. My hands landed on his shoulder for support as he nuzzled his head into my stomach, inhaling my scent. 

“Mmm, he gave me a location for the king of dragons”. 

“And?”

“And?” He said while kissing my belly. “And nothing else. We already know about the Unseelie prince, Brayan, from our brother”. He mumbled in between kisses. His hands left my waist and entered underneath my shirt. The warmth of his skin made me hiss as my body started to heat with the need to be with him. He hooked the hem of my shirt to his thumb and slowly lifted it up. His kisses were soft, warm, and playful. My hands left his shoulder as they trailed up to play with his hair. He growled as he nipped my waist, leaving a mark there. My body reacted to his claim and liquid started to pool in between my thighs. “I can smell you”, he rasped. 

His voice was like liquid gold as they slithered over my skin causing me to shudder and melt into his touch. He wrapped his arms around me, lifting me up to straddle him. My hips moved against his clothed erection and I let out a small moan. I pulled his hair back, forcing him to look at me as his eyes swirled gold. His stare brought something to life inside me and our lips crashed onto one another. It wasn’t soft, it wasn’t hard but it was enough to make us lose our senses. I’ve never felt this way before, the feeling of having my mind in a haze and not being able to think clearly. I wanted to get lost in his touch. 

His tongue pushed past my lips and swirled with mine. I licked and nicked his bottom lip, pulling a groan from him. “Elira”, he moaned. Hearing my name in that fashion drove me mad with lust. I lifted his shirt up and over him and went down to work on his belt buckle. He lifted me up and walked us over towards the couch that was against the wall in his office. He laid me down softly as he worked on taking my pants off. His fingers delved past my lips and I moaned wantonly while rocking my hips into his touch. I could feel myself getting close when he removed his fingers from me to pull down his pants. 

His d**k bounced back up, hitting his stomach with a light thud and my eyes widened at the size. He was jaw dropping when he was flaccid but enormous to me while erected. I had never been intimate with anyone before, and this would be my first. The thought of him stretching brought upon a weird sensation of both pain and pleasure. I swallowed past the lump in my throat and whimpered when he rubbed his tip on my swollen nub. All feelings of hesitation and unease washed away as his touch ignited me once more. Our breathing labored and our chest rose and fell with the anticipation of what's to come next. 

I can see it in his eyes, the hesitation. He wanted me but at the same time he fought the urge to take me. I could feel the tears slide down my cheeks as I realized that I was probably not what he wanted. It was the mate bond that is driving his lust, our lust. 

It was like he could feel my grief as he kissed my tears away before laying his forehead on mine. His d**k slipped between my folds, rubbing against my c**t as he slowly rocked his hips. “I want you”, his voice thick with lust. “But not like this, not here”. His speed picked up and I spread my knees further. My head falls back as the familiar knot in my belly gets stronger. 

“Take me, Zahruk”, I manage to let out. His d**k was coated with my arousal and his breathing became heavy. He licked the base of my neck, as if getting ready to claim me. His teeth nipped and grazed but never once sank into me. “Zahruk”, I moaned as I pushed his head down onto my neck. His movements became erratic and my breathing was getting short as I felt my s*x tightened. My nails dug into his back as I came while he grunted into my ear, spilling his seeds onto my belly. 

He kissed my ear, my neck, my jaw just to end with giving me a slow passionate kiss on the lips. My hands went up to stroke his cheeks and that burning passion started to burn between the two of us again. I pushed him back, making him sit up as I straddled him. I rubbed his d**k against my s*x as his tip teased my opening. He grabbed my waist, stilling my hips and shaking his head. 

“Not today”, he said breathlessly. 

“Why? Don’t you want me?” I asked. I could feel my confidence slowly diminishing from his rejection. I’ve never actively chased after someone or lust over them before and this was hitting me harder than I had expected. 

“That’s not it, Elira”, he said while cupping my cheeks. “I want our first time together to be special and not here at the office”. I scanned his eyes for any lies but didn’t find any. 

“But we’re practically naked in your office, doing a s****l act, here. How is that any different?”

“Because, if I were to take you right here, right now… I wouldn’t be able to control myself. I will lock us in this room for days to come until we are both sated enough to leave. When that happens, I rather us be in a room with a bed, bathroom and food so we have all the necessities we need to survive”. He smirked and I felt his d**k twitch from underneath me. He looked at me like I was his world as he brushed my hair away from my face and tucked it behind my ear. “So, Elira Evans? Will you wait for me then?”