The Heart Of The Luna

[Imani’s POV] I stare at the scenery around me, taking in the large trees that line the drive that my mother slowly drives down. They’ve grown together enough to block basically anything behind as though they’re trying to keep whatever hides there at bay and whoever dwells within trapped. Above, there is a lush green canopy that only allows specks of blue and sun here and there, but not enough to warm me. Up ahead, there’s a large building. One that has clearly stood there, for decades homing the ones who are lucky enough to be born for greatness and reminding those who weren’t that if someone lived within those walls, then you should at least respect them. This building, at the end of this path, is supposed to be mine and my mother’s new home, but even now as we grow closer to the large gates that separate us from that building and that pack that lives and thrives within and around that building, I don’t feel the slightest bit of excitement. Instead, I feel restless and just want to beg my mom to turn back, but I can't because her happiness was within those walls. It wasn’t like I wasn’t happy for my mother or anything. I mean, how could I not not be happy for her when she finally found someone to fill the void that my father left, but it was all just so sudden. One day, it was just me and my mother, living on the outskirts of Ridgewood, our pack, and then suddenly my mother was remarrying and we would be saying goodbye to Ridgewood, to our small little house with its vivid rose garden and the small pond just a ways away, and would be saying hello to our new lives in Onyx Moon. It wasn’t like I was devastated to be leaving Ridgewood. How would I? Back there in that pack, in that place, I was a freak, an outcast, and I was treated like s**t by everybody including the alpha and his son who made it his life’s mission to mock me. I was born as the daughter of a beta, but when my first full moon came after I turned thirteen, I didn’t shift like everyone else around me. Before that night, I was at least respected because my father was a beta, the alpha’s righthand man, but after, I was treated like a disgrace by everybody. And then, my father ended up dying while on a mission which meant that his next of kin would become the next beta and when that happened, there was no longer any room for my mother and me within the packhouse. It was then that we moved into that small house where we were considered bad luck because I couldn’t shift and then my father died, but despite that Alpha Rider allowed us to stay because he said he owed it to my father. “Imani,” my mother’s voice slowly draws me out of my reverie and when I focus on the world in front of me, I find that the large iron gate in front of us has begun to open, allowing us to move forward where I can see three people standing on the stairs of the packhouse waiting. As we draw closer, those people come more and more into view and once they do, I know right then and there that the older man with sandy blonde hair, a large build, and a handsome face must be Adam, my mother’s future husband. But who were the ones standing on either side of him? They’re handsome, that much is obvious from my viewpoint. They look almost like greek gods with their chiseled faces, wavy blonde hair, and sparkling blue eyes, but something in those eyes tells me they are dangerous, but in what way, I’m not certain. Best to steer clear of them. I tell myself as my mother pulls into the drive and then cuts the car. “Are you ready?” My mother asks me, turning her excited green gaze to mine. “Adam and his sons have been expecting us.” “His sons,” I repeat, shifting my gaze to the two men again. So, they were Adam’s sons. That meant that they would be my stepbrothers. At this realization, my stomach begins to twist and my heart rate kicks up because it was already nerve-wracking enough knowing that I would have to get used to a new father, but now I was also being told that I would also have to get used to his two sons. “Don’t worry,” my mother continues, taking my silence as anxiety. “Austin and Aiden aren’t bad guys. They’re actually quite polite and caring.” “Polite and caring,” I repeat, trying to put those words with the two that are watching us like predators. “Are you certain?” I know that I’m being a bit paranoid here with my immediate hesitance in being anywhere near those two, but I just can’t shake the unease I’m feeling. It was nothing like what I felt back in Ridgewood when I didn’t shift and everyone’s way of treating me changed. Back then, I knew what to expect because it was the only obvious outcome from what took place, but with these two…I didn’t know what they would do. Would they just accept a wolfless omega as their stepsister? Would they accept my mother who was also nothing more than an omega to be with their father? And their father… I shift my gaze to Adam as he starts to move toward us. Why did he accept my mother given her position? I mean, I wasn’t saying that my mother wasn’t worth the time of day. She was. She was a beauty with her fiery red hair, pale skins, and emerald green eyes. Add in her lean build and five foot eight height and she was definitely at the level of all the other wolf women, but she was an omega. Omega’s tended to marry amongst themselves since they weren’t blessed with mates like those who were higher ranking, but if a higher ranked wolf happened to have an omega mate, they would accept them. But my mother was my father’s mate. That meant that this union that was about to take place was made out of love and not that connection. Things like this weren’t really heard of and when I asked my mother about their sudden desire to wed and about how Onyx Moon would take it that their alpha was bringing in a luna who was neither mated to him, nor carrying an heir for him, she just said that it was true love. Now, I watch that true love in action as Adam reaches our car and pulls open my mother’s door. As he does, he holds out a hand and then waits until my mother takes it. “Welcome,” he murmurs while she rises to her feet and once she is standing, he brings her hand to his lips and kisses it. “I’m so happy that you’ve finally agreed to move in with us.” “How could I not?” My mother smiles and I feel a bit sick over how lovestruck she is acting. “You made me an offer that I just couldn’t refuse.” As she speaks, I fight the urge to gag and when I turn my gaze away from hers and Adam’s PDA, I find Austin and Aiden watching me. What? I mouth, not wanting to seem weak or easily intimidated in front of them. What are you looking at? For a minute, they just stand there, their blue gazes burning into me and when their lips finally twitch into smiles, I find myself feeling like the best thing I could do for myself is run.