The Luna's Alliance

[Prologue] She couldn't run any longer. Her long golden hair was sticking to her face from sweat, and her lungs were fit to burst. She turned to face her aggressor, refusing weakness to have any part of her last few moments in this life. The mist of the mountains swirled around her, as it usually would this time of night. If she had to pick a place to die, this was preferable. She took a few stabilizing breaths. "I'm ready. I'm ready to die." He only smiled, a grin so vile that she almost wretched at its mere presence. "You will never find it! The gift will never be yours," she screamed defiantly, leaning her upper body towards him in fury, hands balling into fists at her side as she struggled to keep her wolf in check. Her wolf growled regardless. His smugness was intolerable to her final display of strength. "And how do you know that I am even looking?" he sneered. Still, the smile never left his face. He was enjoying playing cat to her mouse. She elongated her claws one last time. His eyes grew wide, finally understanding the look of determination on her face. There was no time to shift. No time to stop the events from unfolding. He needed her. She lifted a talon, slicing her own throat nearly in two. No regeneration, no savior, no miracle would come for her. "f**k!" He shouted into the solitary mist, watching the glow leave her eyes one last time. He had been so close to getting what he most desired. Now he would have to start his search all over again. *** [About ten years later...] Mating Customs of the European Lycans from the Renaissance through the Great Migration, written by Lucilla Edwina Butler. “Eighteen words down, and only 4,982 left to go,” Lucy thought aloud. She’d been staring at a blank page long enough to make her eyes water. She looked away, rubbing her sockets gently, but still saw the dreaded white screen behind her eyelids. She reminded herself what a luxury it was to do something so mundane as sit and write a paper in the midst of an increasingly precarious war, but the reminder did nothing for her writer's block. "Time to take a break." She hadn’t made much progress on her history paper; the final paper of her high school career. It seemed with every graduation party invitation that arrived, her dedication to schoolwork ebbed away a bit more. Lucy had been trying to work at the kitchen table for the last two hours only to have written a title and saved the document. She decided that going in search of the saltiest snack on earth was a far greater use of her mental focus for the moment. Graduation was exciting, but the real joy was having something worth celebrating. The only gatherings for the last year had been funerals. Parting Ceremonies used to be splendid nights during her childhood. A time when life was celebrated with the most beautiful music and keening of loved ones under the stars. Then, the Luna would recite a blessing for the bodies while smoke, salt, and sage filled their senses and carried the soul upwards to the sky to reunite with the Moon Goddess herself. The joy of seeing someone’s life so well lived, and their spirit finding the next step in their journey was overwhelming. At least that is how she remembered her mother’s parting ceremony; joyous and utterly overwhelming. Of course, Lucy was only eight years old then, so overwhelming was to be expected. Her father, Edwin Butler, was the Beta of the Southern Forest pack. When his mate died in a rogue werebear attack on the edge of their border during her routine patrol shift, it left him understandably devastated. Losing one’s destined mate and the other half of your soul usually kills the survivor. Edwin and Rosalee Butler were the epitome of love. Lucy and her brother were always walking into a room catching their parents kissing. Lucy remembered being cared for by the Luna after her mother’s Parting Ceremony, while her father searched endlessly for the werebear to avenge his lost love. When the deed was done, he returned home four months later covered in dried blood. The only spots clean on his entire body were the stripes on his face left visible from tears. Lucy was sure he only survived the pain of losing his mate because of his duty and love for her younger brother and herself. Things slowly got better after that night, and the three of them fell into a routine of daily life. School, work, dinner, bed. School, work, dinner, bed. Edwin Butler came from a long lineage of strong Betas, but the combination of that pain and becoming a single parent took its toll, which often left Lucy caring for her younger brother, Freddy, on her own. Eight years old may as well have been the age of her maturity. When Lucy was thirteen, she also began assisting the Luna of Southern Forest pack, as was her mother’s role before her. Housing repairs, omega work rotation schedules, and pack food budgets filled her time after school. Lucy was never resentful of these duties, but rather proud to be thought capable enough to step into her mother’s shoes. This role gave her a chance to truly know the people of her pack and build many friendships. Her love for her family, her pack, and even her Alpha and Luna were worth the strain on her time. With a freshly opened bag of sea salt pita chips and a tall glass of grape juice nestled at her side, Lucy opened her computer with renewed focus. She counted her words again. Still only eighteen words... Eighteen; the very age she will turn two weeks after graduation. With her birthday being so close to graduation, combined with the difficulties of having warriors spare time from tactical drills, she was adamant to Luna Mary that she would not have a birthday party of any kind. She refused to be self-centered enough to spend time and resources on something so singular. The Luna put up a good fight, but gave in when she saw what it meant to Lucy. Luna Mary had always loved planning a good party, but she loved Lucy more. Lucy nonchalantly suggested the lack of a party could be the Alpha and Luna’s gift to her. Lucy chuckled to herself now when she remembered the manner in which Luna laughed at her and waved her hand casually away, as if to say their gift to her would never be so inconsequential. The Alpha family were renowned for their generosity. “I’m sure there is another birthday wish you have, my dear. You just have a good think on that,” Luna had jested with a sly smile. She most definitely implied a hope that Lucy would find her mate. At that time, Lucy had walked away embarrassed. In this moment, however, alone with her thoughts, Lucy could be more honest. She did want to find what her mother and father had. Something that could break her father, one of the most indestructible men she had ever known, must have been a truly powerful bond. A bond worth experiencing at any cost, surely. Nevertheless, Lucy’s only birthday wish could not be granted this year. All she secretly wished for was to meet a boy. A certain boy. While she had no proof whatsoever as to her mate’s true identity, she had hopes. She hoped that a tall, dark-haired boy by the name of Theodore Wilson was her destined mate. He was also from a long, proud line of Betas, and it was rumored he had his first shift at sixteen, which was almost unheard of. He was faster than most of the kids she knew, but he had as much brains as brawn. He wasn’t studious, if what he told her of his studies at home was accurate, but he was cunning. He even figured out how they could steal Mrs. Morgan’s best pastries without being caught. Theodore Wilson did indeed have plenty of traits to elevate him above others, but Lucy cared most about his smile. His smile was playful and mischievous, so she prayed to the Moon Goddess that one day it could belong only to her. Lucy suddenly felt a wave of foolishness and shame for allowing herself to even think of Theo. He was the future Beta to the Northern Forest pack. The very same pack that had been locked in war with her own for two long, grueling years. Both packs had migrated to the Appalachian lands centuries ago, defending each other as allies against rogue incursions for generations. The partnership had been lucrative on many levels. The Northern Forest had always been more numerous and boasted the fiercer warriors. The Southern Forest was considerably smaller, but held the best defensive and agricultural lands. The strengths of the two packs complimented each other so well, they grew into two of the most powerful packs in North America. Over time, Northern Forest had become so militarily disciplined and powerful that they bestowed royal titles on themselves and built a new castle-like packhouse as a demonstration of strength. That was when Alpha Brock came to his title. In one stunning move of arrogance, Northern Forest began claiming surrounding lands it shared equally with other packs, thus alienating many allies. Wolves are notoriously territorial creatures; werewolves even more so. Southern Forest remained neutral, and even continued hosting the annual Harvest Feast Gathering. This was each pack’s most pivotal event, in which many packs of the mountains came together to exchange everything from delicious foods and recipes, to security innovations, and even last names, as many young werewolves would meet their mates; all further tightening the bonds of kinship between the packs. Thus, Southern Forest tried to maintain peace, using the Gathering each year as an extended olive branch. Those Harvest Feast Gatherings were the favorite memories of Lucy’s first sixteen years of life. She recalled watching her mother and father dancing under the moon, her baby brother eating his first foods, and, of course, playing with Theo. While his best friend and future Alpha of Northern Forest, Jace, kept busy like so many other young, ranked wolves, Theo always made time for her during the Gathering days. When they were little, they played tag, climbed trees, and used rope swings to dive into the lake. He taught her to ride a bike without training wheels, and she in turn taught him how to make the perfect s'mores. As they grew, she taught Theo about the history of their kind, when Zeus cursed a man named Lycaon to live a sad life as a lone wolf, but the Moon Goddess took pity on him and allowed him to turn his destined mate and their families, ensuring a werewolf line. Then, in his turn, Theo taught what became the most treasured and enlightened lesson of Lucy's life; a kiss. Not a chaste peck of friendship, but a kiss that curled her toes and ignited every nerve in her body. That kiss was the last thing they shared, because the following day the Northern Forest pack returned home. Over the last sixteen years, Southern Forest had experienced a boom of prosperity. Their business dealings, ranked matings, birth numbers, and even weather phenomena all thrived beyond measure. It was rumored that someone from the pack must have received a blessing from the Moon Goddess herself to bring about such a golden era. Alpha Brock of Northern Forest was growing more paranoid with each passing year. Exactly one week after that Gathering, the Northern Forest warriors returned to the gate demanding part of Southern Forests lands as tribute. They claimed, as allies, Southern Forest was not sharing their good fortune to its fullest. When Southern Forest tried to then negotiate a land trade, Alpha Brock of Northern Forest took it as a personal show of disrespect. That day they went to war. Two years later, the geographic landscape looked the same, but the pack numbers on both sides had dwindled. Lucy slammed her laptop closed with more force than she meant to. She hadn’t seen Theo in two years and two months, but she remembered his face with more detail than her own. The damned war had changed so much. She could not afford to dream about seeing that smile again. “He probably doesn’t even look like that anymore,” she reminded herself. Thinking about that face or that kiss made her stomach drop. He isn’t the boy I played with now. He’s a man. A man who will take over for his father as Beta. Even if he isn’t yet responsible for the death of my pack members, he soon will be. I don’t have time for self-pity or anything else. I can’t let my mind go there. I can’t do this. “I can’t do this!” Lucy declared out loud. “What can’t you do?” asked Freddy. Her younger brother, Frederick Butler, had just come into the kitchen where she was supposed to be finishing her history paper and last hurdle to graduation. “This paper,” she lied, while pointing at her laptop and piles of books next to her snack of salty goodness. “I’m distracted with all the thoughts of graduation.” “Well, then, I have another good distraction if you’d prefer, darling,” replied her father. Beta Edwin Butler was also waltzing into the kitchen with more pep than she had seen in some time. Both kids seemed to notice, eyeing him with surprise. Her father just smiled and continued, “I’d like to give you your graduation gift.” “Oh, Beta Edwin, you shouldn’t have,” Lucy teased as she hastily took the small box from her father. The box wasn’t wrapped. It was a simple brown, rectangular box that looked old and weathered with the insignia of a jeweler she had never heard of. She opened it to find the most exquisite necklace she had ever seen cradled among some loose cotton. A delicate gold chain connected on either side to a pendant. The ornament was made of three different sized circles made of diamonds set inside one another, and at the center of the smallest circle was a large citrine stone. The citrine was flawless, but when the light suddenly hit the gem it almost seemed to glow, startling Lucy, who looked back at her father. “It was your mother’s. When we met at a Harvest Feast Gathering, she was wearing this necklace. I remember her telling me it had been in her family as long as she could remember. She used to joke that it brought good luck. The day you were born she stopped wearing it. She said that since your eyes shone the same golden color of this stone, that she would rather look at you. I know she saved it for you.” This was the longest Edwin had spoken about Lucy’s mother in one sitting for ages. Lucy knew that speaking about her brought him equal parts comfort and pain. Freddy cleared his throat. They both seemed to have forgotten he was still standing there. Freddy’s intrusion into Edwin’s thoughts caused their father to dig back inside his jacket. Edwin stood up and handed Lucy another box. This box was the modern black velvet style one might expect to contain a beautiful piece of jewelry. “And this is your birthday gift. I know it’s two weeks away, but I think this is the perfect time. I hope you know how incredibly special you are to me. The whole pack, in fact, is proud of you,” he finished as she lifted the lid. Inside the black box was a pair of circular citrine gem-studded earrings. They were absolutely beautiful. Lucy angled them around a bit to watch the light dance off them. They were dazzling, but she did not see the same glow this time. “Thank you so much, daddy,” Lucy cried into his shoulder as she hugged him. Her father always smelled slightly of fresh sawdust in a way she found comforting and safe. Having that scent in her life was an incomparable gift. “I love you.” “I love you, darling. Always,” Beta Edwin replied.