Chapter Four- The Future Luna
1305 Words
Becs woke slowly, For a few moments she couldn't remember where she was. The bed was soft, the room was warm and something solid was wrapped around her. Strong, comforting and safe. A heartbeat echoed beneath her ear, steady and familiar. Becs froze, then slowly looked up. Killian.
His arms were wrapped around her, one draped protectively across her waist the other rested beneath her head. SHe should have been embarrassed, mortified. Instead… she felt happy. The realization surprised her, a lot. Because for the first time in her life she felt safe enough to sleep beside someone.
Luna stretched happily in her mind.
He’s very comfortable.
Becs smiled, for once she didn’t argue. Killian’s eyes opened, silver met green. For a moment neither spoke, they just starred. Killian smiled, a real smile that was only reserved for her.
“Good morning”
Becs immediately forgot how words work, she felt herself getting flustered.
“Uh…”
Luna rolled on her back laughing at her.
Pathetic
“Shut up”
The wolf only laughed harder. Killian’s smile widened
“You slept well.”
It wasn’t a question. Becs nodded while smiling. Then the smile slowly faded, because she realized something. For the first time since arriving at the pack, she hadn’t had a nightmare. No burning castle, no screams, no death, nothing. Just a peaceful night's sleep. The realization hit harder than expected. Killian noticed the change immediately.
“What’s wrong?”
“I didn’t have any nightmares”
His eyes softened. And somehow he understood exactly why that mattered.
Later that morning, the entire pack was buzzing with excitement. Because Killian had called a pack meeting. Pack meetings didn’t happen very often, when they did it was for either good or bad news. But they knew one thing for sure that something important was happening. Very important.
As the large clearing where pack meetings were held started to fill up. Becs stood to Killian left on a large wooden platform overlooking the clearing, Ethan stood to Becs’s left and Lucas to Killian right. As the flow of people started to slow, Becs suddenly wanted to run.
Luna would not allow it
Coward
I am not!
You totally are
Killian could feel Becs tense up and leaned down to whisper in her ear.
“Nervous?”
“No,” she lied.
He raised an eyebrow
“You’re squeezing my hand hard enough to break it.”
Becs suddenly let go, giving him an apologetic look. He laughed, the sound settled her nerves. A little. Seeing this KIllian took her hand again. The crowd settled and became silent, Killian stepped forward. His Alpha aura radiated off of him, instantly every wolf focused on him.
His voice carried easily.
“Blackwood”
The pack roared, then became silent again. Killian looked towards Becs, pride filled his eyes and something else. Love. The realization made her heart skip.
“I have an announcement”
The crowd waited.
“I have found my mate!”
The entire pack erupted with cheers, howls and celebration. Becs nearly jumped at the loud noise. The wolves looked thrilled. Killian smiled, then continued.
“Becca Nightshade”
Every eye turned to her, as Killian continued.
“Will one day stand beside me as Luna to the Blackwood pack and Queen of the northern wolf territory. The crowd erupted again, all the attention made Becs feel overwhelmed. There was no fear, no suspicion. They were happy, actually happy. The feeling made her want to cry.
In the afternoon, Killian dragged her to the training grounds. Against her will, mostly.
“Definatily not.”
“Absolutly”
“I was shot”
“Almost two weeks ago”
“It’s too soon.”
“You’re not only a werewolf but a vampire, Ava even said you healed annoyingly quick”
Becs glared, Killian was entirely unbothered. He crossed his arms, while staring at her sternly.
“If you’re going to be Luna”
They felt strange to hear, even stranger to say.
“You need to know how to protect yourself”
Becs hated that he was right, almost as much as she hated how attractive he looked while being right.
Luna wasn’t helping
Our mate is hot
“Stop!”
Killan blinked
“What?”
“Not you”
His grin appeared immediately
“Oh”
Great, Now he was amused.
After dinner, the blackwood elders arrived at the fortress. The three ancient wolves entered the council chamber. All powerful, all respected. The all stared directly at Becs, she suddenly understood why prey ran from predators.
The older of the elders smiled warmly
“You look just like your mother”
Becs froze
“What?”
He nodded
“We all knew Queen Lyra”
For the next hour Becs sat next to Killian as the elders told her stories about her parents. About their kindness, courage and love. For the first time Becs began seeing them as people, not just figures from a tragedy in history. Killian suddenly got a far away look in his eyes. A mindlink. Becs waited , but she noticed as Killian’s jaw tightened.
“I’m sorry but we need to stop, there is a group of uninvited and unexpected visitors at my borders.”
The elders stood, seeing themselves out of the chambers. Killian grabbed Becs’s hand for her to stand next to him. Just as she stood up the doors opened and entered a group of warriors, behind them followed an elegant silver-haired woman and two other guests. She looked around until her eye landed on Becs, and they suddenly filled with tears. She stopped breathing, suddenly dropping to one knee.
“My Queen”
Becs stared, as the visitor dropped down to one knee the other two followed suit. Repeating
“My Queen”
“My Queen”
The words echoed through the room, Becs felt completely unprepared. The woman looked up and smiled through her tears.
“I am Lady Seraphina”
She felt familiar, like family. Seraphina carefully carried a large wooden box. Old and beautiful, she placed it at Becs’s feet.
“I’ve been protecting this for the last seventeen years.”
Becs’s hands trembled. Slowly she opened the box. Inside were treasures, letters, jewelry, books, a silver hair brush, a small blanket and dozens of pictures. Things that belonged to her mother, and father. A sob escaped her, Seraphina stood and moved closer. She didn't touch Becs, just stood close enough to let her know she was there.
“Your mother loved books”
Bec’s smiled through tears
“Really?”
She nodded
“She read every night.”
Seraphina continued sharing stories, stories about her parents, and about her kingdom. Stories that Becs had been denied her entire life. For the first time she felt connected to them, connected to her past,connected to who she was.
The lost princess, no longer quite so lost.
That night as the moon rose over the territory, Killian found himself standing on a balcony overlooking the forest. As he stood there, he heard heavy footsteps approaching. Lucas. Something’s wrong, he could feel it in the air between them.
“What happened?”
Lucas handed him a folder, Killian opened it. He read the first page, then the next. His expression darkened dangerously. Lucas swallowed.
“The information came from Saint Catherine’s records.”
Killian looked up, fear filled his eyes.
“What is it?”
Killian was deathly calm
“There was another hybrid.”
Silence, Lucas nodded.
“And according to the files…”
The beta hesitated, Killian’s stomach dropped.
“What?”
Lucas looked towards the master bedroom door, the room where Becs slept.
“They never found the body”
And somewhere far away in the darkness.
Someone with crimson eyes smiled.
- Writer
