ALPHA LUNA ROMANNIE BLACKMORE

Chapter Two - Saving Grace

CHAPTER TWO - SAVING GRACE

{{Grace POV}}

Oh sweet child, why must the world be so cruel. I stare at the young life before me, restlessly sleeping. How did we get to this point of heartbreak? Moon Goddess please watch over this child. The path you have chosen for her will not be easy but she will rise. She will be great. She will be a force to reckon with. Allow me to see her day of redemption. 

{{Flashback 4 days prior}}

Tending to my garden has always been so relaxing for me. A small 10 acre lot gifted to me to keep my mouth shut of secrets I know. But there is alot more to the story than just 10 acres of land. Another story for another time. As I tend to my berry garden, Iʻm loving how the varieties are growing in abundance. I'm glad my home's  greenhouse has become a safe haven for these berries in the winter. Strawberries I use mostly in infused water with mint leaves. But I do like them for their health properties as well. Packed with vitamins, fiber and antioxidants they are beneficial to keeping my cholesterol and blood pressure down in my human form. Blueberries are a favorite among humans not only for being a superfood but for the different ways they can be prepared. I myself, honestly love blueberry lemonade and always have a pitcher at the ready. Now blackberries are not one of my favorite berries but they have their perks. I like to use them for yogurt mixtures or made as a syrup for tea sweeteners. Dewberries are a close second to blackberries. I do like how they come out in cobblers and preserves. Buffalo berries are a great addition to the garden. Meats used in this northern area of Canada are mostly venison but a rancher I know raises buffalo and these berries go rather well with dried buffalo meat jerky, almost like a chutney. Donʻt get me wrong, Iʻll take local grocery meats anytime, but I am old school and still do love the wild taste of fresh meat. Hey, Iʻm a wolf, Iʻm an opportunist but still like the sport of hunting. I love huckleberries, they are a great addition to infused water but I also like to make candies for when I get a little sweet tooth now and again. I must say, I have no raspberries in my garden. As much as Iʻve tried, I could never acquire the taste. Rose hips are grown in the most abundance in my garden. Due to its medicinal properties, I make alot of dried rose hips to help with my rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis in my knees. These old wolf bones arenʻt what they used to be and shifting is painful. Eating dried rose hips or steeped in tea has helped with the pain. And last but not least, my prized Saskatoon berries. I love the sweet nutty almond taste of these berries. Tarts are my favorite but jams are also sooooo delicious. I love adding them on top of ice cream, heck, you could even blend them into the ice cream, making berry crisp, throwing them in overnight oats, on oatmeal, or in muffins, smoothies, breakfast cookies, and pancakes. Saskatoon berries although look  like blueberries are more closely related to the apple family. I am happy they thrive in my garden. 

I continue working in my garden cleaning out the old and dried leaves, when a foreboding feeling washes over me. Iʻm hit with instant heartbreak and sadness. I go outside of my greenhouse and  I lift my nose to the air to see if maybe I can smell what may be coming. My eyes turn black as what hit my nostrils was not good. Jake Landry!! Nothing can ever come out good when it comes to the Landryʻs. It is because of them, my family was pushed underground. Fear builds as I hurry to get packed. It is at least a 2 day travel by wolf to Black Lake and I must hurry! 

As I quickly pack I am reminded of Jake Landry and his ruthless rise to power. Bloodthirsty and ruling with an iron fist he has struck fear in everyone he encounters. Alpha of Reindeer Lake but more commonly known, due his lust for blood as Red Fear Lake he is definitely feared by many. But not all, there are many who despise him just because of his ruthless ways. Many that would rise up under the right power to battle Alpha Jake. But until the right leader comes along, we continue to wait in the shadows. One day he will get what he deserves.

Before heading out, I prepare some rosehip tea for the travels while I take a swig before shifting. As I shift, I can feel the rose hip helping with the transition and the pain is bearable. My wolf Delaney is eager to leave but is also cautious. She knows something is up.

“Grace, Jake is on the horizon and I smell death in his path” says Delaney

“I know Delaney, death follows him everywhere” I reply

“You donʻt think he knows?”

“I pray to the Moon Goddess not, but we must head to Black Lake just to be sure.”

“Iʻm a step ahead of you. Letʻs pray Annieʻs shield hasnʻt been broken thru”

Fear grips my heart with just the thought of her cover being blown. I mindlink Herrod, Queen Sorcerer but there is no answer. A mindlink from Constance, Queen Herrods apprentice, is filled with terror. 

“Your Highness, Alpha Jake has broken through our forcefield and invaded our town! Our 

Queen is dead!! Repeat, Our Queen Is Dead! We have suffered some collateral damage but

 most of our sorcerers took invisible refuge before the attack.  I am invoking my position as the 

new Queen. Repairs will be swift and the forcefield back in place. Unfortunately, upon the 

Queens death, the shield surrounding Annie has been compromised! I repeat, compromised! 

Your Highness, Annie is in trouble as well as everyone in her pack!  Alpha Jake is on his way 

there!” 

No, no, no! It canʻt be! My heart breaks for Queen Herrod. But Constance will be a great Queen. Now, my heart races and I start to pick up full speed toward Black Lake. I pray Iʻm not too late. Moon Goddess please donʻt  let me be late.

Itʻs been a full day of non-stop sprinting and I am exhausted. I push on because the smell before me tells me Alpha Jake has a lead on me. After running for almost 20 straight hours, my legs are weak. I must rest. I shift back and cover myself panting breathlessly. Only allowing myself to rest for an hour, two at the most. I must narrow the distance between us if I am to ever get the word to Annie to ready themselves for the battle fast approaching. Being that she doesnʻt realize the Queen Sorcerer is dead she has no idea the shield has been broken and that death is on his way. I cannot yet mindlink her as I am still too far. Another half day travels and I should be able to get word to her. 

I receive a mindlink from Constance.

“Your Highness, I have teleported one of my sorcerers to Black Lake to let them know of the

 impending war. Hopefully we are not too late”

“Thank you Constance. You are truly your mothers child. She would be so proud of you for 

standing in the gap and continue to worldly good”

“Thank you, Your Highness. That means the world to me”

I stand to stretch my muscles realizing the pain from the running will slow my step. I dig in my bag for some rose hip candy and pop 2 into my mouth and I shift again. Stretching my hinds and forepaws I shake off the pain eased by the rose hip and start again to sprint. 

I am a half day's run to the Castle and the sun is beating harshly. It doesnʻt help when the next quarter of the day will be a full run in open fields and the sun's direct heat. I push on. I see the forest in the clearing and head to it. The stream that runs alongside is a welcome rest for my weary body. I jump in to cool myself and stop for some rest. Iʻm almost there. I shift back and sit, reaching into my bag for some buffalo jerky to whet my appetite. 

I can feel my eyes getting heavy and my mind drifting off. Drifting to when I was a child about 7 or 8 years old, this was almost 150 years ago. Iʻd been training with my mother, Queen Merrie, short for Montgomerrie. She was a beautiful woman. Her jet black hair and ice blue eyes showed no fear. She was the best warrior of her time and she made sure her daughters' upbringing would leave no question to chance that I too would be a mighty she-warrior. Already being a wolf had its advantages but we couldnʻt always depend on our wolves when going into battle. This is the reason human battle training was included in my upbringing, my mothers upbringing and the upbringing of many she-wolves before her. At the early age or 4, my mother already had me training with crossbows, swords, daggers, brass knuckles and axes. But there was one weapon that intrigued me. It was made of a wood that does not come from our region. Dense yet beautiful and it was polished to a beautiful shine. It had what looked like some kind of animal teeth on it but Iʻve never seen such an animal with that teeth before.  I watched as she held this weapon while slicing thru a slab of hanging venison. How easily it sliced and I couldnʻt help but wonder with wide eyes, what kind of damage it would do to another wolf.

“Mother? That is a beautiful weapon. Iʻve never anything like it. Will I be able to train using it as well?”

“Yes, my child. This is the only weapon of its kind in our arsenal. A great warrior from across many

 lakes and a vast ocean gifted this to me. She was a honey skinned warrior, whoʻs ancients traveled 

across many oceans to settle on an island in the middle of the sea. She was not a she-wolf but a 

human. But that didnʻt stop her from being a great she-warrior in her own right.”

My mothers eyes glazed over as she fondly thought of her friend. 

“Mother? What is your friend's name and where is she now? Can I meet her one day?”

“Iʻm sorry child, because she was human she could not live many years as we do. She died almost 100 

years ago. She had the most beautiful brown eyes and light brown hair that was almost blonde to a 

point. She called itʻs color, Ehu. Her honey colored skin told me she loved and worshipped the sun. Her 

name was Welina, with the ʻWʻ making the sound like a ʻVʻ.” 

“What a beautiful name Mother. Do you know what it means? And what is that weapon called? And 

how is it made? And? And? What kind of animals teeth are those?”

“Child! So many questions. Welina came from islands called Hawaiʻi. Her name she said was an 

affection greeting. And this weapon my dear child is called Niho Lei O Manō or garland of sharks 

Teeth.”

My eyes widened like saucers. Iʻve heard stories of travelers whoʻs seen the oceans tell of tales of 

massive fish with razor sharp teeth called sharks but Iʻve never seen one. 

“May I hold it Mother?”

“Yes, child but be very careful, these teeth are very sharp as you can see by that piece of meat I just 

sliced” 

I wondered about this brown skinned woman with the beautiful name and the people she came from. 

“Your Highness!!” “Your Highness!!” It was Constance, mind linking me. Stirring from my sleep I 

jumped at hearing her voice. Realizing it was very late in the afternoon I needed to get moving. 

“Queen Constance, what is it?”

“Your Highness, my sorcerer just got to Black Lake and Alpha Jake is fast approaching the Castle with  

less than 30 minutes before he reaches the pack's territory. Black Lake is preparing as quickly as 

possible but I donʻt think itʻll be enough time. We are already on our way with reinforcements from the 

different realms but we may not get there in time” 

“Iʻm on my way” 

I start sprinting toward Black Lake, my heart in my throat for falling asleep. How could I be so stupid!! I am almost at the edge of the pack's territory and I can hear screams from within the walls. I leap the 15 foot wall with ease  to be confronted with a vast wasteland of c*****e before me. Wolves everywhere. Ripped and shredded to pieces. Some known to be from Alpha Jakes pack but not many. Itʻs already getting dark and I still have 10 more miles to reach the castle. I continue carefully so as not to be caught. I want to get ahead of the group but cannot risk being caught. I mind link Annie.

“Annie! Annie! Can you hear me?! Annie!!!”

“Mother!! Where are you? Mother, please, stay away. Itʻs too dangerous!!” 

“Annie, get the pups to the safe room now!! Where is Romannie?”

“Mother, theyʻve already breached the walls and are right outside the castle heading in! We havenʻt had 

time to get the pups to the saferoom!”

Oh no!!! “Annie!,where's Romannie?”

“Mother!! I have her with me, but theyʻre inside the castle now. Iʻm in the kitchen! Head to the west side 

of the castle Mother!! Get to the kitchen side, I will try to get Romannie to you. Please mother!!”

I head to the west side of the kitchen, my heart is pounding a million miles a minute. 

“Ahhhhh! Mother!!”

“Mother, Romannie….outside the window….please save her….tell her her father and I love her with everything we are…..” Her voice getting farther as her mind link is fading…..mindlink disconnect. 

I can hear screams coming from in and around the castle. Men, women, pups. All being slaughtered. I head to the west side of the castle where the forest helps to keep me concealed. I slowly creep along the edge of the forest looking for any hope of Romannie. All of a sudden, I catch a scent. Night Jasmine and mint. Itʻs Romannie! I know her scent anywhere. Imprinted on my mind the day she was born. I search for her but donʻt see her near or around the castle. Her scent gets stronger as I follow. Through the dark, I see a patch of midnight black fur, her tail twitching. As my paw snaps a twig, I see her freeze. She stays absolutely still. I continue to approach her, worried she might be hurt. I know sheʻs still alive. Her scent tells me so. Praying to the Moon Goddess that she is okay, I approach ever so slowly. I gently pick her up by her scruff and hope she doesnʻt growl and bring any attention to us. But to my surprise her body is listless. I turn and sprint with her in my powerful jaws. Sprinting because our lives depend on it. Oh this poor child. What has she witnessed. We hurriedly head out of the pack territory passing the Triple S brigade coming in. I pray there are survivors. 

I pray my Annie is alive. Iʻd have stayed if I knew Romannie would be safe. I couldnʻt take the risk. Romannie MUST survive. 

We traveled in the thickest part of the forest on the way back to my cottage. All the while little Romannie remained unconscious. I worried for her but as long as she was breathing, I knew she was okay andI had to keep moving. After a day of travel I finally stopped to rest. My jaws were numbed from carrying the pup. I stretched my limbs and my jaw as well. Stopping near a stream to drink and shift so I could thoroughly check on the pup. I used the time to get a couple more rose hip candies for my pain as well as get some buffalo jerky to hold me over.

“Your Highness” it was Constance. 

“Yes, Queen Constance. Please tell me my daughter is alive?” I said with concern. 

“Iʻm so sorry, Your Highness. There were no survivors. The Castle was burned to rubble and everyone inside

along with it. We fought Alpha Jakes pack but were outnumbered and had to retreat. Again, I am so sorry”.  

“Thank you for trying Queen Constance. I know everyone did their best” 

  Tears flowed freely for my child. My fourth and final daughter, maliciously taken from me again... by Alpha Jake.  I hated this man with all of me. He has done everything in his power to stop the prophecy from happening. Killing my daughters would ensure that a female from the next generation would not be born to fulfill the prophecy. Two of four of my daughters, twins Ashlyn and Auralyn, he took before they could bare pups. They were only 10 years old. Ariess was taken while pregnant. Annie was the only one whoʻs pup survived and only because of the shield put in place by the Triple S. Our world of supernaturals had had enough of Alpha Jakes rampage across Canada and built an alliance against him. But the only way we could win is if a great granddaughter of Queen Merrie was born and survived to see the prophecy thru. This is the reason Alpha Jake is so hell bent on making sure none survives. His reign ends with her. 

I continued on my solemn journey with my grandpup. It will be our journey now. I pray to the Moon Goddess that Alpha Jake does not find out of her existence, or at least till after I can fully train her for the battle she will face. 

The following afternoon we finally reach home and I ready venison stew and dessert knowing she would be hungry when she awoke. I lay her down and softly whisper “shift”. She shifts and I carefully put an old shirt that belonged to her grandfather on her. She looks so troubled in her sleep. 

As I sit and mend a pillowcase, humming a lullaby,  Iʻm startled by this child that jumps out of bed ready for battle. 

  “Child” I calmly say “Iʻm not going to hurt you. Iʻm the one that saved you. You are safe here”. 

She sits back down and eyes me questionably. 

“Romannie, are you hungry dear?” 

“How do you know my name and who are you?” 

“My name is Grace and Iʻve known you since before you were born. But that will be a story for 

another time my dear. Again, are you hungry?” 

 “yes , maʻam, I am hungry”. 

“well, okay then sweetie. How about we get some nourishment into your little body so you can gain 

your strength?” I make us 2 bowls of venison stew

“dearie, come and join me”. We sit and eat in silence as she looks around at her surroundings. 

“How is your stew Romannie?” I ask

 “Very delicious, thank you” she replies.

 “Would you like some dinner rolls with that?”

 “Oh yes please!” she exclaims. I get up and get 4 dinner rolls,homemade  butter and Saskatoon 

  Jam. I also fill two mason jars with Strawberry and wild mint iced tea for the both of us. 

 “Do I know you? I feel like I know you. I remember your scent from somewhere and I remember the

 melody from the song you were humming.” 

“your memories come from before you were born. In time you will come to understand who I am. But 

for now, let's work on getting you better shall we?.” 

We continue our dinner and clear the table for dessert. 

“I hope you like blueberry and lemon coffee cake with whipped cream?” 

“Oh yes!” 

We finish dessert and she retreats to the couch as I wash and clean our dinner dishes. I return to my rocker

to find her deep in thought watching the flames from the fire. What did she see in the firelight? I hope whatever it is, brings her comfort, and yet I know, whatever it is is bringing her heartache instead. In time sweet child. The memories that hurt at the moment will bring smiles. Your early life was filled with loving memories. You will be glad you have them. I watch as her eyes close and she drifts off to sleep.