Fall of the Luna (completed)

Family

Jacob’s POV

              Yesterday was my ninth birthday and Gamma Osmond’s mate, Tressa, had organized a party for me. Dad and Mum were both there and it made me really happy to see my parents together with me. Actually, since Luna Kayla was gone, I had secretly hope that Dad and Mum would be with each other. I felt terrible for wishing that because I know if not for me, Luna Kayla would still be here. On that night, I was really nervous because Mum said that I’d be presented in front of the whole pack as Dad’s pup and heir. Mum had told me that it’d be ok and told me to go to the entrance of the forest to look for Luna Kayla so that she could help me get ready for the ceremony. When I got there, there was no one and then suddenly, something stabbed me in the neck and it was so painful. Even now I’d sometimes have nightmares of being stabbed in the neck and my whole body felt like it caught fire. I never told anyone that was how I was almost kidnapped. I was afraid that Dad would resent me even more if he knew that I went to the forest entrance by myself. If I hadn’t done that, maybe Luna Kayla would still be here. I really do miss her. Dad was nicer to me when she was here and we spent a lot of time together.

              At the party yesterday. Dad didn’t stay for very long and I was disappointed but at least he praised me for inviting not only the ranked pack members’ pups but also all the pups from the orphanage. I thought that he’d like me to do that after the lecture he gave me. I know that he’s right and what I did was wrong. Cedar is only a little pup and an orphan too. I should be nicer to him but every time when I see Dad spending time with him, I’d feel this anger bubbling inside me. The way that Dad smiles at him hurts me. Dad has never smiled at me the same way before and it was all that I’ve ever wanted. Mum told me that if I want Dad to pay more attention to me, I’d need to do better. She has been pushing me to start training with the warriors even though pups don’t start until they have their first shift, normally between 16 to 18. I asked the warrior in charge of training younger pack members in both of my parents’ Packs and they told me that the youngest trainees they have are all at least 16 years old. After that failed, Mum told me to focus on school. If I could do well in school, then I could be a big help to Dad at managing the Pack. I’ve been trying very hard but I just don’t enjoy school. I’d much rather spend my time outside playing sports with the other pups, but to please both Mum and Dad, I’ve been doing my best to stay indoors and learn for school in my free time.

              Today was an exception though. I just had my birthday and decided to give myself a day off! I strolled to the recreational area of the pack house where the football field was to check if there were pups to play with. There were some younger pups playing tag but that was too childish for me and I looked to the other side of the field to see Claron playing catch practise with Cedar. I quite like baseball and ran up to them to asked if I could join. “I’m sorry, Jacob, I don’t have an extra glove. Cedar is using my old glove and mine is new, look! Mummy bought it for me from her business trip,” Claron gave me a toothy grin before turning back to play with Cedar. A surge of jealousy filled my heart and I felt like Cedar was not only stealing Dad but also my friend. Claron used to follow me around all the time because I was older and had the coolest toys but now, he’d rather play with Cedar than me. “You’ve been playing for a while. How about one of you take a break and I could have a turn and then we rotate again?” I tried to find a middle ground but to my surprise, Claron rejected my proposal. My face was heating up with anger and I couldn’t control myself anymore.

              I lunged at Claron and he fell onto the ground. Using my knees to pin him down, I tried to grab his arm and pull the baseball glove off his hand. “Stop it, Jacob!” Claron was shouting at me but I refused to stop. I would not allow anyone to ignore me again! “No!” Cedar growled as he launched himself at me, knocking me off Claron. I quickly got up and this time I jumped at Cedar, grabbing one of his legs and dragging him off the ground. To my horror, I heard bones cracking and quickly let go, afraid that I had really hurt Cedar. A loud growl escaped Cedar’s mouth and before any of us could react, he was gone, replaced by a tiny white pup. “Oh my Goddess,” gasped Claron and I turned to see that he was backing away from the tiny white pup. “Oooow,” the tiny pup whimpered as it look a step towards us while we took three steps back. Suddenly, the tiny pup took off into the forest and in that moment, I came back to my senses. “Oh no no, we gotta get an adult! Claron, come on!” I grabbed Claron’s hand and ran back into the pack house, shouting for help.

Reena’s POV

              I was preparing to make my morning rounds in the hospital after a short call with Leyton. He had gone to Pemberton to continue investigating Larsa, after managing to find out that’s where she was living with her boyfriend. I was worried about him being out there alone but he insisted everything is fine and the two warriors who had gone with him were investigating another valuable lead. It was still too early but I hope with all my heart that my gut feeling is right and soon, we’d be reunited with our little sister. Before I could leave my office, my phone rang and I ran to get it, thinking it might be Leyton again.

              “Mummy! Help! Mummy, please come, I’m scared!” Claron’s frantic voice was like a hand squeezing my heart and I had to calm my wolf down to figure out what was wrong. “Where are you, baby? Tell Mummy and I’ll come right away.” I could hear Claron take a few deep breaths before saying in a calmer voice, “it’s not me, Mummy. I’m at the pack house. It’s Cedar. He ran into the forest alone. He.. he was a white wolf, Mummy!” My eyes widened in shock and I was struggled for a second to put make sense of what my little pup had just said. How was that possible? Cedar is only three years old. “Ok, baby, Mummy is going to look for him. You stay where you are and wait for me ok?” Claron obediently said ok but I could tell he was still shaken. Torn between running to my baby to comfort him and figuring out what is happening, I decided to mind-link our Alpha.

              Alpha, Claron told me that Cedar just ran into the forest on his own, in his wolf form, a white wolf. I don’t understand it but something is not adding up. We need to find Cedar right away.

              I heard a loud growl over our mind-link and then it was shut off. Worried about Claron and Cedar, I decided to run to the pack house and bring my pup over to the hospital and wait for news about Cedar together. To calm Claron’s nerves, I bought him a small cup of hot chocolate and sat with him in the waiting area of the ER. “Are you ok now, baby?” I asked while stroking his back to sooth him. My little baby looks up at me and said, “Mummy, Cedar’s wolf was snow white, just like Aunty Kayla. He was trying to help me but I was so scared when I saw the tiny wolf staring at me.” I could hear guilt in his voice and carried him to sit on my lap so that I could hug him and comfort him. What he said shook my heart to its core and I didn’t know what to think but I wondered what Cedar was trying to help with. “It’s ok, baby, it wasn’t your fault. Tell Mummy why did Cedar help you?” Claron hesitated before looking at me with his cute puppy eyes, the eyes he always made when he did something wrong. “Don’t be mad, Mummy. I got into a fight with Jacob because I didn’t let him play catch with us. We only had two gloves and I just wanted to play with Cedar. I guess Jacob was angry and he pushed me to snatch my glove. Cedar was trying to help me but Jacob must have frightened him when he jumped at Cedar.”

              Shaking my head, I hugged Claron closed to me and lectured him on the importance of sharing but at the same time, I was proud of him and Cedar for standing up for themselves and defending each other. No matter what it is, whoever starts the violence if in the wrong and I want my pup to stand his ground when someone wrongs him. Reena, prepare to do a check-up! I found Cedar and we’re coming to the hospital now. Alpha Finn’s mind-link got me to my feet and I asked Claron to wait in the waiting area while I asked one of the nurses to prepare a bed for Cedar. Soon, I saw Alpha Finn rushing in with a tiny white wolf pup in his arms. I motioned for him to place Cedar on the bed and proceeded to the prepared station to perform vital checks. To my relief, all vitals were good but Cedar’s pulse was very fast, probably from all the adrenaline. I stoked his fur gently and nuzzled his muzzle to calm him down. Gradually, his pulse return to normal and he opened his eyes to look at me. His green eyes reminded me so much of Alpha Finn that I was speechless for a short moment. It was Cedar’s whimper that reminded me that the pup must be really afraid now, not knowing how to shift back. I nuzzled his muzzle again and whispered gently in his ear to imagine how he looks like when he sees himself in the mirror. He must have understood because in the next moment, the tiny white wolf pup disappeared, replaced by a little boy. He pulled the covers over himself shyly and I told the nurse to run a few more tests just to be sure that Cedar was fine.

              I had barely stepped out of the examination station when Alpha Finn grabbed my arm and demanded to know how Cedar was doing. “He’s fine, Alpha, in shock but fine and he has shifted back,” I explained. I could tell that Alpha Finn was very unsettled as he ran his fingers through his hair while his eyebrows were knitted tightly together. “Let’s go get Claron and then we’ll talk in my office, ok?” Alpha Finn nodded absent-mindedly and headed towards my office while I went to get Claron. When we were finally alone in the privacy of my office, I asked Claron to recount everything that happened again. There was a moment of silence and I could see the conflicting emotions flashing across Alpha Finn’s face. Finally, he broke the silence. “I know this sounds crazy, Reena, but what if Cedar is mine. Not just mine, but Kayla’s and mine? I mean how else is this possible? The only other wolf who shifted as a kid, the only one I know of is Kayla. And a white wolf too? They literally don’t exist! Other than Kayla, there are no white wolves, that’s why I don’t allow her to shift in front of other Packs.” Alpha Finn was pacing now and his voice was breaking as he let out all his frustration and pain. “How is this even possible? Our pup died, Reena, my wolf recognized the blood in the umbilical cord that the mutt sent to us three years ago. And how could I not recognize my own pup when he’s just right in front of me? But then why do I feel so drawn to him and.. why was he hiding in the hollow of that tree in the forest? That tree that hid Kayla when she was a pup and in danger.”

              Hope started to crawl back into his voice as he said those last few words and I didn’t know how to react to all the information that he had just bombarded me with nor how to handle his hopeful look at me. “I don’t know what to tell you, Alpha but we all know that there’s always magic and it has fooled you in the past before. Who’s to say that the mutt didn’t trick us again?” I didn’t want to get his hopes up high but we needed to know for sure what is happening here and I knew there was one way to do this that magic couldn’t temper with. The good old human way – a DNA test. After getting Alpha Finn onboard, I took a sample of his hair and Cedar’s hair to do a paternity test. While waiting for the test, I told Alpha Finn that Cedar would stay with me and Claron until we get to the bottom of this. He agreed with me and we arranged to look at the test results together the next day.

Finn’s POV

              I tossed and turned in bed but it was simply impossible to sleep. My heart was pounding in anticipation of the paternity test results and sparks of hope that Cedar was my pup ignited feelings in me that I have forgotten I was still capable of. Even my wolf was back and no longer ignoring me. He was curious about Cedar and even though he couldn’t tell if Cedar is our pup, he couldn’t tell that he wasn’t either. This convinced me even more that foul play is involved and my brain was already going into overdrive thinking about how to protect my pup. Most of all, in the darkest corner of my heart, a part of me that I thought was dead, a dim light shone again in the faint hope that my mate is out there and waiting for me to find her and bring her home. If the Moon Goddess blessed us with a miracle pup and returned him to me in such a miraculous way, surely, she’d help me to find my mate too?

              In an hour, the sun would be rising and finally I gave up trying to sleep at all. I decided to clean up the spare bedroom in our house, which Kayla had planned for the baby I never thought we would have. After cleaning the room, I quickly went online to order a bed and mattress for a toddler, and other furniture that I think would be necessary. Time passed relatively quickly and by the time I was done, it was time to go to the hospital. I headed nervously to Reena’s office and the moment I saw her face, my heart sang and my wolf howled joyously in my head, the first time he had done so in three years. Reena handed the papers to me and when I saw the results for myself, it felt even more real and my heart felt like a thousand different emotions was bombarding it. Tears of joy trickled down my cheeks and I hugged Reena before letting it all out. All of the torment and pain from the past three years, the frustration and hopelessness, the anger and the guilt, so many different emotions were wrecking my body and I needed to let it all out or I’d definitely implode. 

                Finally, for the first time in three years, I allowed myself to cry my heart out in front of someone else, to grief for everything I’ve lost and to rejoice for what the Moon Goddess has given me – a miracle. A miracle that I didn't deserve and was all the more grateful for. In the past three years, not a day had gone by where I was not constantly reminded by everyone and everything around me that I had f****d up and lost my mate and our pup. My only connection to Kayla, her family, has distant themselves from me, to the extend that Reena and Claron would now only refer to me as Alpha. Other members of my pack looked at me with pity in their eyes and I could sense that some of them were frustrated at the lack of leadership from me. If I haven't lost half of my soul, there was no way I'd allow such disrespect. An Alpha doesn't need pity and an Alpha's leadership does not allow questioning but without my wolf, I was simply an Alpha in name. Honestly, I'm just grateful that my Pack hasn't abandoned me and despite the distancing, I know that Leyton blamed himself just as much as myself for allowing that mutt past our defenses three years ago. After letting out all of my pent up emotions, I allowed, for the first time in three years, the tiny sparks of hope in my heart to flourish. Hope that my mate is out there and alive even though I haven't been able to feel her through our bond for three years; hope that the Moon Goddess will have mercy on me and give me another miracle; hope that I still have a chance to redeem myself with my mate and give my pup the home that he deserves.