The Banished Luna

Chapter 2

"Three days? Will I at least have wifi?" Georgia whined, pulling out her dead phone and holding it up. "And I need to charge up."

The younger kids tittered and started whispering to each other. One of the older girls shushed them and spoke,

"We do not have wifi here. Or electricity." She explained.

Georgia's jaw dropped, and Geneva scoffed in the back of her mind.

"Kara is right." Alpha Torvald said in a voice that rumbled like thunder. He placed a hand on his niece's shoulder. "How about you take our guest to her room."

Kara obediently stepped forward and scowled at Georgia. She hadn't had her first shift yet, but a fierce she-wolf flashed behind her eyes already. She was on the cusp of adulthood.

"Come on." She said tersely. "You will meet the rest of the family after your penance has been served."

Georgia looked to others for any glimmer of sympathy, but got something worse - pity.

Kara walked in front of Georgia, back straight, hands folded in front of her. The girls' piety got on Georgia's nerves immediately.

I can just tell she's a prissy b***h that's going to make my life hell. She thought.

Can't you feel her power though? Geneva replied in her mind, It would serve you well to stay on her good side.

The woman tried to shove her wolf's words into the back of her consciousness. The last thing she wanted was to hear Geneva talking about power when it was that lust for power that landed her here. Instead, she forced herself to take in her surroundings.

They were walking through a huge room that looked like a banquet hall. Long tables surrounded a fire pit, where two women were tending to hunks of meat and stirring a large cauldron. They stared at her with surprise for the briefest moment before turning their heads back to their work.

"What are you staring at?" Georgia snapped at them haughtily.

Kara, whipped around and gave her a smart slap across the cheek.

"How dare you speak to our household in such a way!" Her words were indignant, but devoid of anger. "You will be respectful!"

This was more than the travel-weary Georgia could bear.

"How dare I?" Her eyes flashed amber as her rage burst free, allowing Geneva to take control. With a snarl, she shifted and lunged at the young girl.

Kara watched the shift dispassionately. Before Geneva could get within a foot of her, a blur of red and white hit the enraged wolf with the speed and force of a bullet, launching her sideways and into one of the tables.

Geneva scrabbled up to her feet and searched with wild eyes for the source of the interception. Standing between her and Kara was a small red fox. It let out a single shrill bark, startling Geneva enough to pause, which was all the fox needed. It dove for Geneva's neck, and despite the fact that it was less than half her size, it pulled her heavily to the ground before leaping gracefully away.

"I would stay down." Kara called out, with a hint of amusement in her voice. "You won't catch her."

The downed wolf huffed and snorted, but didn't get up.

Alpha Torvald, having heard the commotion, stepped onto the scene and stood next to his niece.

"Georgia, come out now. You have shamed yourself." He said, quietly, but with undeniable authority. Kara kneeled respectfully, and the fox lowered itself to the ground in submission.

Geneva glared at the Alpha, but found that she could not meet his steely gaze. She knew she was beaten.

Kara looked up as Geneva's fur receded back into delicate human skin and Georgia sat up, pulling her knees up to her chest and seething.

Embarrassed tears filled Georgia's eyes, but she refused to cry. Not in front of these assholes.

"You can return to your post now, Marja" Alpha Torvald addressed the fox.

Georgia looked up to see a petite redhead standing before the Alpha, head bowed. Without a word, the woman picked up a white robe from the floor nearby and slipped away.

"Now, child, you will follow Kara to your room with no more foolishness, yes?"

She balked at being referred to as a child, but decided that it was best to behave herself.

"Can I have some clothes?" She asked meekly.

"Your suitcases are in your room. Until then, you can live with the consequences of your action."

And with that, the Alpha left her alone once more with Kara.

"Come along, then." Kara's heavy skirt swished as she turned on her heel and headed towards the far end of the longhouse.

Georgia got up, covered herself as best she could with a ripped scrap of her shirt, and scurried after her. She could hear the serving women tittering behind her, and her cheeks burned with embarrassment. By the time they reached the small dark room in the far corner of the longhouse, though, she was shivering and covered with goose pimples.

"You will stay here." Kara motioned to her suitcases which were piled neatly in a corner. "There is no electricity, but in the cupboard are candles and matches if you need them, and through that door is a toilet and sink."

"What if I want to shower?" Georgia asked.

"We sauna and wash on Saturdays."

"What day is it today?" She'd lost count of the days during her long journey

"It is Monday."

"So I have to wait until Saturday to wash?" She already felt gross from the cross-country cart ride and using bushes as bathrooms.

"There is soap in the lavatory," Kara replied. "You can wash here if you wish. Someone will come fetch you in three days." And with that, Georgia was left alone in her new home.

She looked around. It was a small room with a tiny window, a desk, and a single bed with a patchwork quilt. A bookshelf with a handful of books hung on one wall, and the other three were bare but for the colourful painted geometric border that wound around the room.

That window looks big enough to climb through.

"Shut up." Georgia muttered to her wolf. "You've gotten me into enough trouble today."

She flopped onto the unyielding mattress of the bed. Despite the inviting colours of the quilt, it was far from comfortable. Tears welled up in her eyes and she forced her sobs into the thin pillow.

Georgia wouldn't give them the satisfaction of hearing her cry.