Hestia House Book One

Chapter Four

~Arynn's POV~

The rest of that first day went by in a blur for me. After Leo left, his two warriors escorted my parents and me to our house, then set to finding luggage and boxes for us. After leaving us to start packing, they went to retrieve the SUV. My mom made me sit and eat first, knowing I wouldn't have the strength for anything else without that reprieve. She always kept a stash of my favorite granola on hand, knowing how little food I ever received at the pack house. I had finished eating when both my parents sat at the table with me.

"Well, this doesn't bode well for me," I joke before sipping my tea. My smile dies as my parents nervously play with their coffee mugs. My father speaks first.

"Arynn, there are things we need to talk to you about. About your parents."

"Oh, am I adopted?" I joke as I stand to take my dishes into the kitchen. My mother's voice is so serious and deadly it causes me to drop my dishes, breaking them on the floor, and my laughter to die in my throat.

"Yes. And your parents were the alpha and luna of a pack that has been expunged from written history." Over the next hour my parents explain to me my true heritage, and how we came to be a part of Lone Fang.

~

Many years ago there was a pack of wolves living further north that had been blessed abundantly by the Moon Goddess. Unlike other packs, this one accepted rogues and disgraced wolves into their midst. The rogues still maintained their autonomy, but were able to settle and thrive alongside an actual pack. This was beneficial for both groups as it diminished attacks, and gave extra help where needed. The alpha and luna had been blessed by the Moon Goddess with keen minds and special gifts. When needed, the alpha could become as strong as ten wolves. Alternatively, the luna was able to nurture plants to grow in the harshest environments. Both these gifts proved very useful in the unfavorable northern territory, allowing their pack to grow in size and prosperity.

Due to the prosperity and unique nature of their pack, the alpha and luna came under scrutiny by other neighboring packs. This suspicion was compounded by the absence of children from them. They were not the only mated wolves withiut pups in their pack, but were ib the spotlight since they were the leaders. Rumors began spreading that their gifts were from a dark power, not the Moon Goddess. But still, the alpha and luna persisted in their dream of a diverse pack.

Then one day, twenty-four years ago, a healer came to their pack. Another wolf gifted by the Moon Goddess, she had felt led to visit. She discovered an herb the pack had been using was blocking conception, and helped with cleansing. A year later the alpha and luna had a daughter. Close to the same time, Jim and Jessa Wren also had a daughter. They didn't stand out in the pack, but Jessa had a way with children of all ages, so they were recruited to help with the nursery babies.

It was late September during a pack council meeting, when the first of many explosions went off. The entire council chamber in the pack house was in pieces, leaving no survivors. Included in the deceased was the alpha. The second explosion happened in the green house, where the luna had just collapsed from the pain and sorrow of her broken mate bond.

One by one, major pack buildings were decimated by explosions, until the last major pack building, the storage barn, was left. And beside it was the pack nursery, where infants and toddlers from two months old to four years old stayed while their parents either worked, or took a rest. And a chance to breath and work in the plants is why the luna's little girl, only 1 month old, was in the nursery with Jessa that day. Jessa had taken her in since her own little one was 3 months old, and she had the little babies that day. She remembered the exhaustion of newborns, and had graciously taken the infant for her luna. She was in a rocking chair by a middle wall, her own child in a crib across the room, when the storage barn exploded. The debris had crushed the far side of the room, and the sound waves had shaken the entire building. Blessed by the Moon Goddess or from sheer luck, Jessa and the luna's infant had escaped injury, but her own child had not. Crushed by her own grief, Jessa wanted to run, abandoning everything, until she heard the gun fire and snarls. So, tears streaming down her face, she grabbed the nearest intact diaper bag, and ran.

Their house was the furthest from the pack buildings, which saved their lives that day. Jim had stayed home to fix a few things, and had thrown together bags for Jessa and their daughter before waiting on the porch for them. Their mate bond allowed him to know she was alive, but heartbroken over something. It wasn't until she ran into the clearing around their house that he knew they had lost their daughter, but had gained a new one. While Jessa adjusted the car seat for this little one, Jim repacked her bag. Then they drove away.

It was almost a year of running, hiding, and protecting themselves before they found Pack Lone Fang. Even when they found the group of 20 wolves just starting their own pack, they weren't sure they would stay. But eventually they realized the severe isolation of this pack offered its own protection. But it also came with its own difficulties and dangers.

Alpha Sean Dawson was full of charisma, and able to win many wolves over to his way of thinking. It was a slow process, but over the years he had gradually shifted from the normal pack hierarchy of rank through birth or strength to one based on fur color. None of the rules or systems were based on logic, but whatever fit his fancy at the time. The Wrens suspected Sean wasn't a true alpha, but had culled enough wolves that the remaining few had awarded him that title. And he loved the power it brought. So knowing Arynn's family lineage, they lied about her birthday to protect her. And they had done their best to protect her up until now.

Now they only had to leave.

~

I spent the next two hours after my parent's revelation sitting in my room staring at my mirror. My name is the one they had given their birth daughter. They wouldn't tell me what my given name was, what my parent's names were, or what pack we were from originally. They said it was still too dangerous, but would tell me when we were safely in Shadow Fang. I was still musing over this when a soft knock sounded on my door, followed by it opening. One of the warriors Leo left peeked his head around the corner.

"Hey Luna. I was just coming to see if I could help you. Your parents told Levi that you were up here, and I came to see if you needed help. My name is Thomas." He walked in and sat on the floor by my bed. "You can call me Tom. I may not be a ranked wolf, but I am here to help, however I can." He had a sweet, sad smile, like he could sense my distress. Feeling relieved to have a friend who would be with me, I opened up to him.

"Thanks Tom. I'm just nervous about everything. I'll have people watching me, and I have spent my life trying to avoid the spotlight. But, if you are there, then I'm sure I will get through it." I gave him my best fake smile and stood up to pack my clothes. In truth, I was so emotionally distraught that I had no idea which way to go. But I had the rest of my life to figure that out. So for the rest of the day, I packed and sorted twenty-three years worth of belongings with Tom’s help and avoided my parents. I brought my small meals back to my room, getting odd looks from Levi and Tom, though they wouldn't say why. And that night, the two warriors slept in the living room, while I stayed up until 2 A.M. trying to figure out my emotions and thoughts.

The next day wasn't going much better, so instead, I baked. I baked everything I possibly could with the stores my mom, adopted mom, had saved up. We would have enough biscuits, scones, cookies, and breads to feed an entire pack by the time I finished. When I gave a plate of goodies to the warriors, they stopped me and had me sit down. Forcing a cookie into my hand, Levi spoke to me.

“If you don’t eat more, we will get in trouble with our alpha. We know omegas are normally looked down upon, but in Shadow Fang they are at least allowed to eat regular meals. Not scraps.” His voice was brighter than I was expecting, but the concern they both felt for me was overwhelming, especially with the emotional baggage I was already carrying. So I broke down crying over a cookie, causing both Levi and Tom to hit panic mode. My parents came into the room at their insistence, and sat on the couch to comfort me. My heart still had lots of processing and mending to do, but this was a good start. We sat there until we had all made two dozen cookies disappear.

I was glad for the emotional outpour, because it allowed me to rest that night. We just needed to load the vehicles tomorrow and we were leaving. Hope once again found its way back to the front of my emotions, and I fell asleep thinking about our bright future.