The Banished Luna

Chapter 7

Have hope, my child…

“Who are you?”

Georgia stood on a moonlit shore and a voice spoke to her from across the waves, but it wasn’t Geneva. In fact, it wasn’t a voice she’d ever heard in her life.

“Mother?”

Georgia woke up with her head swimming.Her body was stiff and sore, and her mind was heavy and foggy. It was already light outside, but the small clock on the wall said it was only 4am, but the sun was already shining brightly through the window.

She would be expected to be in the kitchen at 6, so she pulled the quilt over her head and tried to block out the early polar sun.

Floating between sleeping and waking, Georgia tried to connect to the voice again.

It’s not gonna come back. Geneva whispered in the back of her mind. I think it was that weird smoke from last night.

“Do you know who it was?”

Probably a hallucination from whatever weird drugs they were all on last night. That place was creepy.

Georgia couldn’t argue that. There was definitely a mysteriousness around the Wisdom House that felt almost magical. Was it actual magic, though? She couldn’t tell.

The groggy girl rolled out of bed and stretched her sore muscles. Her tired feet dragged as she walked to the closet and donned her rough kitchenware. By the time she appeared at the door of the kitchen though, the dream had faded from her mind.

Flora greeted her warmly.

“Are ye ready for the new day?” She announced, giving the girl a quick hug.

Flora was really the only person that Georgia could talk to in the kitchen. There were two older ladies, Annika and Kaija, and a small girl, Jela, who also worked there, but if they spoke English, they wouldn’t let it be known to Georgia.

Every now and then, other young members of the pack would help serve meals or clean up, but the core staff would spend their entire days in the kitchen. Flora was the unofficial kitchen manager, having run a restaurant back in Scotland. Annika and Kaija were spinster sisters who very much kept to themselves and their prep work. Jela was a cheerful child who might have been a ray of kindness to the new Omega, but she was too scared of Annika and Kaija’s disapproving glowers to reach attempt a friendship.

And so, the days passed, one much like the next. Wake up, cook, wash dishes, Wisdom house. Wash, rinse, repeat.

She only saw the rest of Snowbright pack from behind trays and dishes, or if they visited the Wisdom house. As an Omega and a traitor, she was not invited to pack celebrations, only glimpsing the festivities through the small window of her tiny bedroom. And the only warmth she experienced was Flora’s cheerful conversation and tight hugs.

Life with North Star became a distant memory. The pain of her father’s scheming and her Alpha’s rejection dulled and nearly disappeared with the fading summer.

Geneva started to fade as well. The young woman’s wolf became a silent, seething presence in the back of her mind. Surprisingly, Georgia was actually feeling better without the harsh words and insults from her animal self.

“Should I be worried that Geneva isn’t speaking to me anymore?” She asked Flora one day as they cleared up after the evening meal.

“Ach, that’s a question for Granny Sigrit” She replied, “but I can’t imagine it’s good for ye”

“I mean, it’s been kinda nice without her,” Georgia shrugged, causing her pile of dishes in her arms to rattle and teeter.

“And ye haven’t been out to run these last few months?” Flora asked, her voice edged with worry.

“No…but then, I haven’t done much of anything. Nobody else will talk to me other than to order me around. Except you.” She grinned at the older woman. “And I’m not allowed to go to pack gatherings.”

“That will change, lass, once they trust ye. I swear it. And ye’ve been doing so well.” She smiled indulgently. “These Northern wolves are a stubborn sort. It took years for them to truly accept me, even when I was mated of one of their own.”

They placed their dishes carefully in the sink and returned to the main hall.

“One more trip should do it, then ye can head on to the Wisdom House.” Flora announced cheerfully, piling a stack of platters into Georgia’s arms.

Georgia turned around to head back to the kitchen when she was hit with an exquisite scent - dark berries, smoke and pine. It smelled like the first snowfall in the forests of her home. Her knees went weak and the platters fell and shattered on the floor.

“Goddess, Georgia! What in the -"

“Mate?” The word was hushed and reverent.

Flora turned in the direction Georgia was staring. “Oh no…” But before she could reach out a steadying hand to Georgia, the girl had taken off at a run, her eyes wide and wild.

MATE!!! Geneva howled in her mind with the desperation of a caged animal finally being freed.

She ran through the longhouse, towards her mate. She saw his silhouette standing at the door, the evening sun blazing behind him. But just as soon as she saw him, an arm shot out from outside the door, yanking him away, and she was met with a form she knew all too well.

By the time she reached the door, the scent of her mate was washing over her, strong and sweet, and she longed to be in his arms.

“Kara, please…” Georgia whimpered. “He’s my mate… finally, my true mate.” Tears started forming in her eyes.

“He is my brother!” Kara hissed, venom dripping from her every word.

“Kara, what is happening?” A voice came from beyond the door. It was soft and melodic, so unlike Kara's.

“Stay there, Avi” Kara yelled at him. “I am not letting you bond with this trash”

“Your brother?” Georgia’s heart sank.

“My twin. And I would sooner ride to Hel and return as a corpse than see him mated to you, Traitor!” She spat

“But the Goddess…?”

“She chose wrong.” And with that, Kara turned on her heel and walked away, pulling her brother by the arm.

` He looked back, locking eyes with his mate. Behind his pale grey eyes, his wolf was hungry and yearning, but unwilling to go against his twin.

It was more than the unbalanced Geneva could take. Without warning, she shifted and launched at the retreating pair.

“Geneva, what are you doing?” Georgia cried inside her mind, unable to control her estranged wolf.

But Kara was ready.

“KARA! NO!” Avi tried to hold his sister back as her pale skin melted into white fur.