The Moon's Legacy

The Implications

Luna Eliza

The omega who brought my morning tea was quiet, slipping in and out of the dining room. Her presence barely registered as I focused on my daughters sitting in front of me.

"Now that we've solved the problem of that little brat, we need to move on to finding good matches for both of you," I said. Willow had been a thorn in my side since I took my rightful place as Luna, and I was glad to be rid of her. That she was going to Alpha Keith was just a bonus. I knew what her life would be like in that pack. After all, I'd grown up there.

Sonya giggled. "I can't wait, Mother!" She looked at her sister, smiling widely. "There are so many alphas out there to choose from!"

Fleur was more subdued. "You can't just pick one and say, 'Tag, you're it,' you i***t. We need to think about this strategically."

I smiled into my teacup. My oldest daughter was a carbon copy of me, and I couldn't be prouder of her. Sonya, on the other hand…well, I suppose it was too much to ask to have more than one daughter with a brain in her head. At least she was easy to maneuver where I needed her.

"Your sister is correct, Sonya, but we do have options. The three of us will be attending the mating ball being held next full moon at Silver Crest Pack. Alpha Farkas has two sons who are of age and looking for mates. We'll start there."

Fleur rolled her eyes at the excited noise her sister made, then looked at me. "Obviously, finding that we're fated to one of them is the best-case scenario. But if not? What kind of alliance are we offering them?"

"You let me worry about those details. Now that Keith is taking Willow off our hands, we have a brand new avenue of income to explore." I tapped my nails against my cup, then narrowed my eyes at my oldest daughter. "I want you to focus on Damian Leroux. There are rumors he's going to attend the ball, that his Elder Council is pushing him to find another mate. If we could get the power of Crescent Peak Pack attached to ours, we'd be one of the top packs in the territory."

She raised her eyebrow. "Another mate?"

"He found his fated mate years ago. She betrayed him, and the bond broke. I suspect he'll be more open to making a choice about his future mate than most others."

She nodded. "Okay. I'll do what I can."

The door opened, and Ellis strode in. He came over to the table, dropping a kiss on the top of Sonya's head as he greeted her, then said hello to Fleur. Finally, he turned to me.

"Good morning, my dear. We need to get Willow ready. Alpha Keith has decided that he wants to move the ceremony up—he is eager to bond with her."

"How soon?" I asked.

"Tonight."

Irritation spiked at the inconvenience, but I quickly smothered it. "Fine. The sooner we get this deal signed, the better for the pack. I'll see to it."

He smiled, then bent down and pressed a kiss to my forehead. "Thank you, dear. I knew I could count on you to handle it." After grabbing a slice of toast from the stack on the table, he strode out.

I finished my breakfast, listening to my girls discuss the potential candidates for their future mates, then stood. "All right, girls. I'm going to take care of the Willow situation. I want you to remain on your best behavior while Alpha Keith is here, so keep any talk of mates to yourselves for now."

With that, I turned and headed for the door. Allison passed me as I exited, giving me a brief nod and a hello before she went in to get her own breakfast. I still couldn't figure out how to get rid of her. She was firmly entrenched as the beta female, and Ellis was pleased with Timothy, but I knew she had been good friends with Ellis's first mate. I never felt like she truly accepted me as her new Luna.

Brushing it from my mind as a worry for another day, I headed up the stairs and down the hallway to Willow's room. I knocked on her door. Silence greeted me.

Aggravated, I knocked again. "Willow, you need to open up. We have a lot to do today."

After another minute with no response, I tried the handle. It turned, the door swinging open. My eyes darted around—her bed was made, her bathroom empty, her closet door open. There was nothing on her desk except her phone.

I reached for her through the mindlink, only to find the path to her was no longer there. Dread curdled in my stomach at the implications. This was not a missing girl. This was a broken contract. Our entire agreement with Keith was off the table if we couldn't find her. The millions we stood to make in his fighting ring were nothing compared to the retribution he would bring against our pack for failing to uphold a bargain with him.

My steps echoed through the hallway as I rushed to Ellis's office. I had to stop myself several times from running outright. I slammed through the doors of the Alpha office. Ellis jerked his head up, startled. When he saw it was me, concern laced his features.

"Eliza? What's wrong?"

"Willow's not in her room. Her phone's on her desk. I tried reaching her through mindlink, but there's nothing there. It's just blank," I hissed.

"What? That doesn't make sense." His face turned pale. "No, no, that's not possible."

"What's not possible?"

"I felt a pack link break early this morning. I didn't really think anything of it. Keith had warned me he might mark Willow before the ceremony, so I figured it was just him following through on that. He seemed anxious to bond with her when we had our nightcap last night." Ellis's eyes met mine. "You don't think she ran, do you?"

I started pacing, too stressed to stand still. I ran my hand through my hair. "That's exactly what I think. She wasn't acting right at dinner last night. She was too calm, too accommodating, considering she was facing being traded off to an Alpha for an alliance." I shook my head, thinking it through. "She's been acting like that for days now. I should have seen it earlier."

I stopped pacing and turned to face him. "We need to alert the patrols and send someone to search for her."

His eyes glazed over as he started issuing the orders. When they cleared, he looked at me. "She doesn't have anywhere to go. She won't get far. The girl has been stuck inside this pack her entire life."

"We can't let Keith know. You need to delay him."

"How the hell am I supposed to do that?" He threw his hands up. "The man is set on having her. And I already agreed that he could move up the ceremony. Going back on that now only calls attention to the issue." He shoved back from his desk and stood. "No, our best course of action is to find her quickly, before he even notices she's gone. We'll tell him that she's off territory getting a spa treatment or something if he asks for her today."

I nodded. That could work. "I'll send the girls out, spread it around that the three of them are having one last day as sisters before her mating. That should buy us some time."

A voice spoke from the open door. "Buy you some time for what, exactly?"