Losing The Light Of The Moon

Completing Auntie's Army

Chapter 20: Completing Auntie’s Army

TATIANA

From the time she was born, Remi was special—no one could ever deny it. Her beautiful tender heart shined as bright as her dazzling smile. I can still picture Gareth’s deep brown eyes lighting up every time his baby girl would sweetly run up to him with a dandelion giggling out, “Remi Magic!”. 

Amitola and I would watch them, laughing as Remi blew the white pappus in front of his face as Gareth dramatically closed his eyes before Remi would jump up into his lap singing “Ta-Ta!” then kiss his cheek. He would then open his eyes, looking down at her with a stunned expression, acting completely shocked to find her there. Remi's radiant smile peering up at him, Gareth would always tell her that her Aunt Tati couldn’t have performed her Remi Magic any better...

While our Remi was now all grown up, her heart and her smile were just as beautiful and dazzling, if not more so. I was glad I asked her to come to my room early, enjoying our chat while I waited for my other two guests to arrive...

Sitting on a couch in the small sitting area of my suite, I curiously asked, “So, tell me, Remi. I know you are vastly talented at both, but what do you enjoy more? Being a healer or a warrior?”

“Honestly? I love them both equally,” Remi sincerely replied, “I love being able to help heal people quickly. And it means a lot to me that I could help save Tink and Madeline...and my Zayden—he struggled for long, but now—he is living the life he always dreamed of in a body he should have always had! That makes me really happy, because I love him...I love all my family...so much.”

Pausing for a long moment, Remi thoughtfully continued, “But I also love being a warrior. I can’t really explain how good it feels inside and how it is also fulfilling to me—especially when I am able to use my strength and agility as part of a group...a family that stands for something good. It’s exhilarating for me—the ability to be both—I feel so powerful and free.”

Her heartfelt words brought tears to the corners of my eyes, my voice cracking slightly in my reply, “Remi, my darling girl, you are indeed the perfect combination of both Gareth and Amitola. So much like them both!”

“Thank you! That makes me really happy too—knowing I’m carrying parts of both of them inside,” Remi sweetly replied, “I guess I still have some Remi Magic after all, huh?”

She was so young then and had been through so much, I was stunned that Remi had any memories of that time, “Y-You remember!”  

Nodding at me with that radiant smile, Remi dramatically threw out her arms, exclaiming, “Ta-Ta!”, both of us immediately giggling afterwards. 

Winking at her, I kindly said, “You know, I haven’t forgotten your aunts and I promised to help you further master your healing skills. I will make sure we carve some time out for that very soon. But in the meantime, I would love for you to join my team for the demonstration. I have special plans for you—something you are very familiar with—I would like you to be a part of a trio I have in mind.”

Remi was immediately intrigued, however, chuckled slightly in confusion, “Well, I am up for anything you need, Auntie, and I am used to working with Jade and Zayn. Can I ask who else you have in mind for the trio?”

Right on cue, there was a knock on my door. My mouth curving up into a sly grin, I whispered, “I think showing you who I have in mind will be more fun!”

Quickly walking towards the door, I opened it to reveal the rest of my intended trio, elated when I heard Remi’s thrilled gasp. 

“Well, this is unexpected! So, Auntie has not only chosen my lovely fiancé and I to take part in this demonstration of hers, but my Remi-girl too?” Gavin cheerfully exclaimed.

“Wait! Remi, too?” Lorelei happily declared, beaming at me, “You aren’t going to give the Howling Winds any chance at all, are you Auntie?”

“Not if I can help it,” I grinned, “and knowing Soren, he wouldn’t want it any other way. Come on in, you two! We need to talk about the plans I have for my brilliant trio!”

Gavin’s jaw dropped slightly, “A rare opportunity to work side by side with both my beloved little sister and beautiful mate? Whatever your plans are, Auntie, you can count me in!”

Little did Gavin know, there were several reasons I was bringing the three of them together—reasons based on a feeling deep inside that it would be necessary in the near future—for the three deeply connected young warriors to come together as one to defeat an enemy they would soon face in battle.

“I do have a question I hope you will answer before we leave, though,” Remi impishly grinned, returning my focus to the three, “Who is the last member of Auntie’s army?”

**************

REMI

After hearing Auntie’s plans, I was beaming, and my wolf was in an elated frenzy. Walking back into our room, I looked up to find Zayden waiting for me on our bed, his arms folded with a knowing grin as he exhaled out, “Looks like we both had a good night. I have a workout with Nicholas tomorrow, since you will be busy with Auntie’s army, and I’ve already told Zayn he lost our bet.”  Laughing under his breath, he continued, “Priceless moment, by the way!”

“I feel really bad about abandoning you, but I’m glad Nicholas will be able to see your progress firsthand,” I affectionately replied, “I had a priceless moment too—I’m in a trio with Gavin and Lorelei. If Nicholas agrees, that is. But I can’t give you many details, I’m afraid. Auntie wants to keep it under wraps until the demonstration.”

“Well, Auntie is building quite an army,” Zayden slowly breathed out, “and I bet you that I already know who her last member is—Badru.”

My jaw dropped slightly, “How did you know that?”

“Not too hard to figure out, my Remi. Knowing she was planning on involving all the Council packs, it was the smartest decision,” Zayden nonchalantly replied, “and Auntie is incredibly smart.”

“And so are you,” I sweetly returned, making my way towards the bed into his waiting arms, which were quickly around me, pulling me up to sit on his lap as I wrapped my arms around his neck, “You know, I’m thinking once you get through training, you should explore working with Nicholas, Gavin, and Jace on the tactical plans. You have very keen instincts.”

“Add a third job?” Zayden mockingly scoffed before kissing me softly, but over-compensating afterwards in a serious tone, “I’d never get to see my Remi.  That would definitely be pushing it in the multi-tasking department, something I fear my mate is currently doing. I love you and can’t live without you, Remi. Please don’t forsake me.”

Rolling my eyes, I chuckled, “I love you and can’t live without you—but I also know you—they’ve already talked to you about it, haven’t they?”

“Yeah, kinda,” Zayden softly laughed, kissing me again, “But I won’t forsake you, my Remi, I promise.”

“Ahhhh, so you haven’t told Nicholas about Gavin, Lorelei, and Badru just now?” I giggled, already knowing the answer.

“I won’t forsake our private time?” Zayden innocently smiled, nuzzling my neck, “How about I multi-task now? Make love to my Remi while also making sure all of our muscles are good and stretched before our workouts tomorrow?”

As he ran his tongue over his mark on my neck, my wolf was in a different kind of frenzy as I softly teased, “Nice save, my Zayden. And you’re right, we should always stretch well before a workout! Judging by Auntie’s plans, I’m going to need it for this adventure!”

****************

TATIANA

Though I was not surprised when Remi kindly informed me that Nicholas was aware of my chosen picks for Auntie’s army, I still gave him a bit of a hard time about his lack of patience. But much like his father, Nicholas charmed his way into quick forgiveness, not that it would have taken much as I love and adore him so very much...

After our talk, I asked Nicholas to join me on my visits today so I could go over my plans with both him and Soren at Howling Winds. Horacio joined us as well for our discussion with Umar. I was quite surprised when we arrived, however, to see Mahan and Badru sitting in the office. Apparently, Soren had also surmised my choice from the Moon Stone pack and was incredibly anxious to finalize our lineup.

It was unanimously agreed that we would still refrain from fully disclosing the Power of Three’s connection to Crescent Moon at the demonstration, wanting to limit any knowledge of our true connections with one another for now that could potentially get back to the Blood Horizons and their witch.

Following that, however, there was a bit of a debate between Nicholas, Mahan, and Soren regarding the involvement of the Betas, much to Horacio, Umar, and Badru’s chagrin. Fortunately for them, the Alpha of the Howling Winds remained firm in his stance on the matter...

“Trust me,” Soren sighed out in frustration, “They will see it as a welcomed challenge, especially going head-to-head with Umar, Horacio, and Badru. We have a lot of young men that have moved up the ranks following several retirements after the battle with Roman—truth be told, too many retirements for my liking.  That’s the primary reason I want this demonstration—to prove to the youth in my army that experience and knowledge are valuable. They tend to think of us as ‘old-school’ and are a bit arrogant. And because of their parents recollecting some of our much less favorable past experiences, they are quite biased as far as witches.”

Standing behind Soren, Umar chuckled, “It also doesn’t hurt that he is anxious to see me working with Tink, Beast, and Horacio.”

“Lorenzo feels the same,” Horacio exhaustively sighed out, “which is why I’ll be residing at Crescent Moon until the demonstration.”

Snapping his head around, Soren animatedly admonished his Beta, “Well, can you blame us? I’ve been saying since the last demonstration that you four should put aside this silly feud of yours—that Tink is a genius when it comes to designing maneuvers! If it weren’t for the fact that she is Beast’s mate, I would have made every attempt to have her join us! And Tati is a master at strategizing an attack! You will be heading to Crescent Moon as soon as possible yourself, Umar!”

“Thank you for that, Soren,” I pleasantly replied, “And I’m sure Nicholas will agree that, while I don’t think you could have swayed our Tink, I’m glad there has been a truce between them as well. I am looking forward to highlighting what can be done with the many talents of each of my team members. I have chosen them for more than just their physical strength.”

“I would expect nothing less, Tati,” Mahan mused, “and truthfully, I’m looking forward to seeing the demonstration.”

“And I am incredibly appreciative to be a part of your army, Aunt Tati,” Badru excitedly stated, “Luminara will be joining me, of course, to spend some time with Madeline while I’m preparing for the demonstration. I’m afraid my father-in-law is also ready for us to join you soon, so I will stop grilling him about what to expect.”

Mahan immediately laughed out, “Yes, our Badru is always one to be prepared, but his research has been quite exhaustive on my brain! However, it has made me wish I was taking part as well after reminiscing about our past work together, Tati.”

“We have had many adventures, Mahan,” I sweetly replied, “and just as many good memories from them.”

Standing up from his chair, Nicholas humorously sighed out, “Well, I guess it’s decided then.  If this is what you want, Uncle, then I’m on board and we look forward to seeing everyone soon at the main house. I’m sure the demonstration will be an eye-opening experience!”

We were interrupted then by a loud knock upon Soren’s door, causing us all to reactively turn our heads just as two young men walked into the room—one of whom was the spitting image of a young Umar, leading me to believe that it was Guntur, his oldest.

“Mattias!” Nicholas happily greeted, enlightening me on the identity of the other young man, “It’s good to see you, cousin.”

“Good to see you too, cousin. After grandfather told me you and Horacio were stopping in, Guntur and I thought we would come say hello. I hope we aren’t disturbing your meeting,” Mattias pleasantly returned as they embraced one another.

Standing up, I had to hold back a fit of giggles as I turned to find Guntur staring at me with wide-eyed wonderment. His father and Horacio obviously noticed as well, both clearing their throats to snap him out of it, causing Soren, Mahan, and Badru to chuckle under their breath.

“Hello, Guntur,” I warmly greeted, “I have to say, you are the spitting image of your father! I’m Tatiana. It’s nice to meet you.”

“Tatiana,” he slowly repeated before admiringly blurting out, “No offense, but man, you’re pretty! If you are the one heading up this demonstration, I’m not only worried about your magic, but your powers of distraction with our men too!”

“Guntur!” Umar embarrassingly admonished, shooting his son a furious warning glare.

“Oh, give the kid a break, Umar,” Horacio deadpanned, “Tatiana tends to have that effect.”

Grinning widely, Guntur gushed, “Thanks, Unc.  It would be hard not to acknowledge this kind of beauty. No spell needed!”

As he turned his gaze towards me, it appeared I had two new admirers as Mattias heavily exhaled out, “No kidding! Wow!”

Though he was unable to hold back his laughter, Nicholas lightly smacked his cousin upside the head in response, muttering, “Not helping, Mattias.”

Shaking his head, Horacio sarcastically snickered, “I’m afraid you two are on your own. I can’t save either one of you now.”

As Soren’s boisterous laugh filled the room, Mahan quietly stated, “It would seem some things never change, Tati. You’ve made quite the first impression on these two young men!”

I couldn’t stop my humored giggles any longer, murmuring, “Mmmmm, they have definitely boosted my ego this morning.” 

Forcing myself to quell my humored state momentarily, I kindly told them, “Thank you for your kind compliments, gentlemen. It is truly a pleasure to meet you both.”

“You too,” they both admiringly sang out in unison.

“Sorry about that, Tatiana. We’ll be harshly reminding them about respect after you leave,” Umar sternly stated, his narrowed eyes glaring at both boys now.

“Oh, don’t be too hard on them, Umar,” I softly urged, “I find it very sweet.” Looking back at Mattias and Guntur, I smiled brightly, “And I hope to see both of you at the demonstration!”

Again, in perfect sync, Mattias and Guntur eagerly exclaimed, “Oh, we’ll be there!”

**********  

HORACIO

I waited outside on the front lawn while Nicholas went to see his Aunt Altalune for a moment, watching as Tati said goodbye to Mahan and Badru. It would seem my adopted nephew and I had the same taste in women, though knowing Umar, Guntur was getting quite an earful about his initial reaction to Tati, even if it was harmless. Though if it hadn’t been someone who was harmless—I probably would have a very different reaction...

“So, I wasn’t expecting you to come back to Crescent Moon with us,” Tatiana kindly said as she walked back towards me, her platinum curls beautifully blowing all around in the wind, “Tink will be thrilled. She’s looking forward to working on some of the ideas you discussed.”

“Me too. Umar won’t be arriving until tomorrow, though,” I reluctantly sighed out, “I hope you don’t mind—my being there a day early.”

“Not at all!” Tatiana delightedly exclaimed, “It will be nice having you there for the first practice. And I was planning on some baking later, if you would like to chat in the kitchen. Maybe we can do some more plotting together.”

“All you had to say was baking and I’m there,” I chuckled, looking down and admiring her long off-white dress with bright multi-colored flowers embroidered down the sides accentuating her petite curves—no wonder Gunter and Mattias reacted the way they did—quickly covering, “With all that power you have, I don’t think I’ve ever realized how tiny you are.”

“I barely come up to your chest, how can you just now realize I look like a little fairy compared to you?” Tatiana laughed out.

“Well, Tatiana does mean fairy queen, so I guess I should have,” I countered before I could stop myself, “Is that why they named you Tatiana, because you’re so tiny?  No offense, but Persephone and Reina are built very differently than you.”

Her expression quickly reflecting her astonishment, Tatiana softly replied, “Actually, that is the reason. My mother told me that, unlike my sisters, when she was pregnant with me, I was so tiny that she only felt a flutter when I moved. But, how did you know my name means fairy queen?”

Reluctantly, I replied, “When Celestia was pregnant with Caelus, I was watching Guntur while she and Umar went to a doctor’s appointment. I got bored and flipped through her book of baby names while Guntur was napping. It was right after you saved my life the first time, so I looked up your name and the meaning...guess it stuck with me.”

A beautiful deep crimson flooded her cheeks as Tatiana shyly grinned, “That’s very sweet, actually. Thank you, Horacio. I like knowing that story...very much.”

“I like knowing that story about your name,” I kindly replied before kicking myself for my confession, gruffly adding, “Tell anyone and I’ll deny it.”

“How did I know you were going to say that?” she teased.

“Because you know me, little Fairy Queen,” I softly chortled, “A benefit of being in the small circle, I suppose.”

Both of us laughed before I quickly changed the subject to today’s practice. I always give a hundred percent to everything I do and will do so today at practice. But, I also couldn’t deny that what I looked forward to most was being around the woman who put my mind and heart at ease and left me feeling completely content.