The Lost Luna

Chapter Twelve

Mary’s POV

“Your mother and I grew up together in this pack. While we weren’t best friends per say, we were rather close. She met her mate shortly after turning eighteen, and since he wasn’t from our pack traditionally, she left ours to join him in his. We promised to keep in touch with each other, but people tend to drift apart with distance and life changes. I had been mated to Jacob and was busy planning my Luna ceremony and your mother was trying to fit into a new pack and her new life. And mind you, this was before cellphones were a thing.” I took my hand away and intertwined my fingers.

“The first few months we sent letters often, along with photos. I had become pregnant with Blake and when I wrote to her, I sent an ultrasound photo. She wrote back congratulating me and informing me we HAD to plan a visit soon.” I chuckled a little, “one thing to know about your mother is that she was as polite as you and about as demanding as a donkey.” Annabella chuckled a little, I could make out tears in her eyes. “Then that was the last time I heard from her, I was only able to write a few more letters during my pregnancy and I think maybe one or two the following months after delivery.” I smiled at my son while flashes of the past went through my mind.

“By the time he was six months old I had completely stopped hearing from her and truthfully, I wasn’t a very good friend and didn’t try either. It wasn’t until the two of you were toddlers, two going on three that she contacted me. She called and asked if we would allow them to join the pack and that they now have a daughter. We didn’t second guess anything and two days later there you guys were. You moved into her parents’ old home and from what I could tell settled in just fine. I had given your parents a couple of weeks to settle in, but after that I still hadn’t heard from Beth so I went out there to check in.” I looked away knowing what I was leading up to you. I remembered it like it was yesterday.

“Come in Luna, please sit down and I will go get Beth for you. She is just giving Annabella a bath upstairs.” I watched as Beth’s mate, Kyle, ran upstairs to get her. She came down, the front of her shirt drenched, telling signs of a toddler enjoying her bath. She looked at me and smiled wide, I got up and went to hug her, but she put her hand out. “Your outfit is so beautiful, and I would hate to ruin it with my soaking shirt.” I chuckled and grabbed her by the arms and pulled her into a hug. “I would gladly ruin any outfit for my friend.” I whispered in her ear, and after a moment we pulled away and sat back down.

“As much as I have missed you, and love the fact that I am seeing you in person for the first time without an entire pack staring at us in years, why are you here Mary?” That was Beth, always demanding and to the point. “Honestly, I am not sure. Maybe its because I missed my friend, maybe its because even though she moved back she hasn’t come to see me. Something is going on, please tell me so I can help.” About that time Kyle brought down Annabella wrapped in a towel. “I am sorry Luna, but this little las was crying for her mum.” Beth reached out her arms and took her daughter and put her on her lap. I smiled at her and reached out to touch her. She grabbed my hand and giggled. Beth looked scared, I turned my attention to her.

“Please Mary, please promise me you will keep Annabella safe.” I looked between my oldest friend and her toddler. Just a few months younger than my son. “Of course, I will Beth, you know that, but what is going on? Please just tell me. I promise whatever it is we will figure it out together.” I grab her hands in mine. Her large eyes growing in size and filling with tears that didn’t stop. Once Kyle and Annabella were out of the room, she got up and started pacing. “She isn’t ours. Well, she is. she’s MY child but biologically she isn’t ours and she’s only part wolf. Her mother and her showed up shortly after us, she hadn’t been born yet. The pack they had been at before was completely destroyed by rogues. She said they were the only survivors, but she was still covered in injuries, so she had to fight her way out. Two days after arriving she had Annabella. She wasn’t really active in pack life at all and pretty much kept to herself when out. We had been attacked one night by a few rogues, nothing bad at all. They didn’t get through the border patrol. I don’t know if it was the trauma or what, but it absolutely sent Willa off the deep end. We continued to have small rogue attacks like that for a few months, nothing serious. Until one night when they found a way in.”

Her hands were shaking, and she was pale, her eyes were absent like she was reliving it in her mind. “Willa came up to our house that evening. We welcomed her and her child in and she asked us to take Annabella from her. That the rogue attacks were because of her, they were searching for her, and her child was at risk. At first Kyle said no and that she should have let Alpha know. She agreed but knew it would be best for Annabella if she didn’t. At that point that last attack hadn’t happened so nothing serious had come of it. We asked her why she wanted to give her up, why not run with her? She said that he would always chase her, that he would always find her. At that point she was crying so hard. We had no luck in conceiving at that point and I desperately wanted a baby. So without thinking I said yes.” She smiled warmly to herself, I knew without a doubt that she loved the girl no differently than if she had been flesh and blood.

“She just didn’t hand her off, she kept ahold of her and told us that she learned about a witch that casted a spell into a bottle. One that would change her appearance and make her look like someone else. That we would most likely be in danger for having her, but the Gods chose us to keep her alive until her fifth birthday. Honestly, she just sounded like she was mad. Ya know Kyle was lead warrior in his pack, so for him being protective just comes naturally. He swore to her that he wouldn’t let anything ever happen to her. She then made me drink the potion first, I assumed it was to make sure it was safe. After a minute she gave the rest to Annabella. She left and shortly after she fell asleep in my arms for the first time. I laid her on our bed and went to the kitchen when the alarms sounded. Kyle had been out on patrol and he came running in, covered in blood. He was yelling to get her and head to the pack house. By the time I got to her she had already changed and she looked so much like me. I grabbed her and I ran. I didn’t even look back for Kyle. I just got us to a safe spot.” She was crying, so I reached out and wiped tears away for her.

“It was over pretty quickly after that, while there were a ton of injuries the only one who was missing was Willa. We assumed she had been taken by rogues, they tend to do that sometimes. Kyle led multiple search teams for a week with nothing. It was like she vanished, so we decided it was best to leave. We stayed out of packs for a year until we found a very small one on the coast. It was so peaceful and sunny. I took Annabella to the beach every day, but then they were attacked by rogues and we barely made it out and then we came here.”