The Luna's Prophecy

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

“She’s the flower?” Ryker looked between me and my grandma, a look of disbelief plastered on his face.

“I’m sorry, but what am I missing?” I interrupted. Everyone looked at me with fear and pity. Why would they be scared of me or feel pity for me? None of this was making sense and it was so frustrating.

“Honey let’s sit. I’ll make some tea,” Gigi gave my hand a gentle squeeze.

“Maybe I should head home,” Chels suggested.

“No, I want you to stay. Plus, I have the feeling you already know what’s going to be said,” I stared at her accusingly.

“Will, everything that has ever been done has been to protect you,” She gave me a sad smile.

“Yeah, whatever that is. From what I’m understanding, everyone has been hiding some huge s**t from me. And something about me being a flower is scary. Which only confuses me more, because Ryker here told me I’m a werewolf, but then Gigi said I’m a flower. So what the f**k?” I threw my hands in exasperation and plopped myself on the couch.

Ryker took the seat beside me, our shoulders touching, while Chelsea sat on the armchair across from me. Gigi walked in with a tray of cookies and tea and placed them on the glass coffee table in front of us. Ryker had no shame and dove right for the cookies. Honestly, I couldn’t blame him, Gigi was an excellent baker, but right now my stomach was full of knots. Ryker poured himself a cup of tea and then handed me one. I was surprised that he had made it exactly how I take it, milk and no sugar. I raised an eyebrow at him, and he just winked at me. I could tell exactly what he was thinking, “it’s the mate bond.” Whatever that even means.

“Where to begin?” Gigi sighed as she sipped her tea.

“At the beginning would be great,” I snapped. I shocked myself with my tone, in my twenty-two years I had never raised my voice or given Gigi attitude. Maybe it was the massive headache I had, and I was just so overwhelmed with anger and confusion I couldn’t hold my tongue.

“Willow be kind,” Chelsea looked at me with pleading eyes.

“Easy for you to say, you already know all about me being a flower or werewolf or wereflower. Whatever the f**k I am.” I saw Ryker stifle a laugh when I said wereflower, I’m glad someone was having a good time.

“Willow you don’t know how incredibly hard it’s been hiding the truth from you. I’m your best friend, everything about our friendship has been genuine.”

“Best friends don’t hide life-changing secrets,” I countered.

“Chelsea has been nothing but loyal and protective of you since you were little pups. Give us a chance to explain everything to you. Once we’re through you’ll understand that everything we did was out of love for you.” Gigi held Chelsea’s hand.

“I’m listening,” I crossed my arms and sat back against the sofa. From the corner of my eye, I saw Ryker smirk. He probably thought I was being childish, and deep down I know I am. I just didn’t know what I was feeling or how I was supposed to be reacting in this crazy situation.

“You are indeed a werewolf,” Gigi confessed.

“How is that even humanly possible? How does someone just become a wolf? You’re not a wolf, are you?”

“How about we let her speak and save any questions for later,” Ryker smiled at me as he placed his hand on my knee. My knee suddenly had the feeling as though it had been set on fire. I nodded in agreement, allowing Gigi to continue.

“Your parents did not die in a house fire as I had once told you,” I gasped at her revelation; Ryker squeezed my knee to remind me to let her continue.

“Your mother came to me when she first learned she was pregnant with you. She was fleeing from her mate, and evil evil man. She left the instant she suspected she was pregnant. Had he known she was pregnant, he would have likely made her abort the baby, abort you. You see, all your birth father cared about was power, not his mate and certainly not any pups. She showed up at this very apartment and begged me to help her. I couldn’t turn her away, so I allowed her to stay with me until she gave birth to you. With the help of a witch, we were able to cloak her from her evil mate. After she gave birth to you, she became paranoid. She believed she was being followed everywhere and that one day she would lead her mate here to you. A very powerful witch cast the cloaking spell on her and you, there is no way her mate would have been able to find you guys, but she was convinced. She decided that she needed to lead her mate away from here, away from you.

One day, shortly after your first birthday, she insisted that I take you to the park for some fresh air. I thought nothing of it at the time, looking back it was a huge mistake. As soon as we returned, I knew something was wrong. I found your mother in her room on her bed, there was no heartbeat. I knew I couldn’t call a pack coroner; I didn’t want to give your birth father any idea of where your mother had been the past two years, but it was pretty clear she overdosed on wolfsbane. With the help of Chelsea’s parents, we were able to cremate your mother and give her the burial she would have wanted. Chelsea’s parents were really good friends of your mothers and vowed to help care for you. For your safety it was imperative that we hide the fact that you’re a werewolf. With the help of a powerful witch, we were able to get a serum that would suppress your wolf, one that would prevent you from shifting on your sixteenth birthday.” Gigi finally took a breath, and a sip of her tea.

“My medication,” I whispered, making the connection.

“Yes, the medication you’ve been taking your whole life for ADHD was actually an elixir to suppress your wolf,” Gigi confessed.

“Do you know who my dad it?” I asked, unsure if I wanted to know the answer.

“I do, but I don’t think you’re ready for that part yet.”

“Why was my mom hiding from him?”

“He did terrible things to gain power. Unknowing to your mother, he sacrificed his first five unborn pups to gain access to dark magic.”

“He—sacrificed my siblings?” My voice began to shake.  Ryker began to rub my leg, never daring to go higher than mid-thigh, though a tiny part of me hoped he would. What is wrong with my brain? Has anyone gotten a hold of that therapist?

“The first five times your mother fell pregnant, she lost the pups during birth. At first, she thought something was wrong with her, but then she realized it was her mate. He never grieved for his dead pups, instead he was almost excited and quick to suggest they try for another. Once your mother realized what he was doing, she knew she had to leave.”

“What an abomination,” I could feel my voice becoming thick and my throat tightening. Who is capable of sacrificing their own children? My father, that’s who. No, not my father, he doesn’t deserve that title. He’s more of a sperm donor.

“My dear, would you like to take a break? We can continue this later. There is still much to discuss,” Gigi looked at me concerningly. My voice was caught in my throat, I didn’t know what I wanted. I wanted to know more about being a werewolf, I wanted to know more about being a flower, I wanted to know more about my mom, but I don’t know how much more information my brain can take.

“I think the faster we get everything in the open, the faster we can create a plan,” Ryker gave me a reassuring smile and another gentle knee squeeze.

“A plan?” I asked.

He turned his head, so his icy eyes were looking directly into mine. “There’s so much more for you to discover and understand. Once you know everything, we can decide what to do next. Like where you would live,” He explained.

“Why would I live anywhere but here?”

“It’s a mate thing, and I’m an Alpha.” Again with that mate thing. Even with all the information Gigi just gave me, I still don’t have a clue about anything. Ryker could see the apparent confusion on my face as he began to explain to me what he means.

“Werewolves are said to be a gift from the Moon Goddess. She blessed select humans with the spirit of a wolf. These humans are able to shift into a wolf and possess superhuman traits. They’re faster, stronger, and have better sight and smell. That’s why I was able to scent that you and Chelsea are wolves, though both of your scents are masked. Over time these werewolves broke up into smaller groups, or packs. Every pack needs a leader, or an Alpha. Alphas are generally born but can sometimes be appointed or earned through battle. Alphas are responsible for taking care of their pack and their packs safety. I guess you can say Alphas are the boss, but a boss that actually cares about you. Some Alphas crave power, so it has happened that they will challenge another Alpha and their pack. The winner gets to be the Alpha of both packs and inherits all of that pack’s riches. While the Moon Goddess created werewolves, she also created mates. This is a human and wolfs soulmate, if you must. Unlike human relationships, these mates are for life. They are connected in both their human and wolf forms, two pieces of a whole. Being mated makes each partner even stronger. After the age of eighteen werewolves are able to find their mates. Everyone only has one mate, and it is impossible to miss them once you’ve run into them. Everything about them is intoxicating to you, their scent, their voice and their body. Every single cell in your body craves them, craves their love and craves to be near them. Without them it feels like you can’t breathe, the air becomes too thick.”

I could feel my face redden as he described what mates feel for each other. Does this mean he feels all of this towards me? He craves being near me? He craves my body? Just the thought of his hands on my body sets my skin on fire. He gives me a knowing smile. Can mates read each other’s minds?

“The fact that your wolf is suppressed means you can’t feel the mate bond like I can, though my feelings will be stronger once your wolf is no longer suppressed. Your human part may find me attractive, but it is the wolf side that connects our hearts.”

“Do you have a mate?” I turned to Chelsea. I mean she’s hidden the fact that her and I are wolves for our whole lives, maybe she could also hide a mate from me.

“No, I don’t. Living in the human world it is rare that we come across many of our kind. Like Ryker mentioned, we live in packs. Werewolves prefer to live in areas where they don’t have to hide from humans.” She looked out the living room window, almost as if she was searching for something.

“Wait, so you gave up potentially meeting your mate, to stay with me?” I felt waves of guilt start to wash over me. I had been so angry that her and Gigi had hidden this all from me, that I hadn’t considered what they may have given up.

“Willow, you have no idea how incredibly important you are. If I ever want to find my mate, we need you to survive.”

“What? What does me surviving have to do with your mate?” Just when I thought I was understanding everything, I was back to being confused.

“There was a prophecy made before you and I were born. One that would end the reign of a heinous leader. That prophecy was about you.”