ALPHA LUNA ROMANNIE BLACKMORE

Chapter Four - New Beginnings

{{Romannies POV}}

I woke early the next morning, still not used to where I was. At first I was scared because I didnʻt remember anything from the day before. That is until I saw the dying embers in the fireplace. Everything came crashing back. Losing my parents, my pack, watching with horror as both my parents lost their lives. Waking up here to this kindly woman who saved my life. I will forever be in her debt. But the void of being alone in the world was a lot to handle. Somehow, I wish I was dead too.

I stood up and looked around the cottage. It was still a little dark but morning was coming and I could see a little. I looked for the lady and found her asleep on the rocker, not too far from me. I really needed to pee, badly. I figured I could look around for the bathroom, or wake the lady up, what was her name again? Oh yes, Grace. I guess my dancing around stirred her awake. 

“Dear child, what are you doing”

“I gotta pee, I gotta pee, badly. Where is the bathroom?”

“Come and follow me.” She stood up and I followed her to the doorway under the stairs.

“Here you go sweetie, help yourself”

“Thank you”

So I go into the bathroom and it is the cutest place. Fresh flowers on the sink, near the window and on a shelf. I do my business and come outside. 

“Are you okay”

“Yes, Maʻam” I finish up and come out.

“Can I go home?”

“Iʻm sorry honey, there is no home left for you to go to.” Her eyes filled with sorrow.

“I wanna go home! I want my mommy and daddy!” I bawled

“I know you do sweetie, and if I could bring them back, I would believe me I would.”

“He killed them! That man with the ouch-ee on his back, he killed my daddy. I saw my mommy

fighting and the bad man's guys killed her too! I want my daddy and mommy!” I screamed

Grace came to me and held me tight. I fought to get away from this lady. I didnʻt want her or

anyone else touching me. But she just continue to hold me tight until finally I just cried and cried

in her arms. I could tell that she was crying as well. I couldnʻt understand why but I felt that she

was hurting too. We held each other for a good long while, just sobbing our heartache away. 

When we were out of tears, I just sat there while she rocked me in her arms in the rocking chair. She started humming that familiar lullaby and I hummed along with her. She smiled at me as I looked up at her and she softly sang the words. 

“If you need me, youʻll find me there…

Where the wind softly blows…

Past the open prairie fields...

Where the needle & thread grass grows.”

“Listen for the whippoorwills song…

That sweetly chimes in your ear…

Let it soothe your soul, sweet pup aglow…

And know that my heartʻs always near.”

“Aspen and spruce grow high above…

Itʻs shadows cast by the moon…

The Boreal forest will call out your name…

To the Moon Goddess sing your tune.”

“Cloaked in your fur, dark as night…

Iʻm here in the light of the moon…

Follow the scent of the sweet smell of musk…

To the place where the Wolfwillow blooms.”

“Let not your heart be hurt... 

If you cannot find me…

I am everywhere you are…

My sweet Alpha-Luna indeed.”

I looked up at her surprised to hear the words. The very words my mother sang to me. I always felt like

 it was a sad song and never understood until this very moment what the words truly meant. Tears slowly trickled down my cheek and Grace softly wiped them away. 

“Alright, enough tears. You must be hungry?”

“How do you know that song? Mommy always sang it to me. She said it was our song. So how

do you know our song?”

“I will explain later, child, but for now we need to have breakfast, there's a lot of work still to be 

done.”

“Work? But Iʻm a kid. I donʻt know how to work. Mommy only taught me how to fight!” 

Grace smiled “Well is that so? Then we need to continue the training then huh?”

“Oh yes, yes, yes! I like training, mommy said I was really good at it and someday I would

become a Warrior Queen!” 

“Indeed you will. But training to fight is not the only kind of training there is to become a Warrior 

Queen. There is much to learn.”

“Can I live with you or are you going to give me away?”

“Oh I would never give you away! Of course you can live here.”

“Can you train me?”

“Train you to fight?” Grace raised her brow

“No, train me to be a Warrior Queen.” I saw the sparkle in her eyes

“Thatta girl. But today? We work.” 

"Ughhhh!"

Grace walked toward a set of french doors, opened them and stepped through. I followed her to find out 

later that this part of the house was called a greenhouse. In this greenhouse grew fresh vegetables, fruits, all kinds of berries, herbs, and many plants I either saw but didnʻt know and some Iʻd never seen in Saskatchewan ever. The front of the greenhouse had a sitting area with couches that surround a connecting fireplace to the house and in the back area was a dining area for meals. I guess if you didnʻt want to eat at the breakfast nook or the formal dining room. That would be a nice place to eat and enjoy all the greenery of the plants. Grace took me around the greenhouse to where the berries grew. She grabbed a few blueberries and strawberries then picked a pear shaped fruit from a tall tree. The trunk was narrow and tall and Itʻs leaves  reminded me of a star. Iʻve seen trees in books and this one reminded me of a coconut tree. Grace called it a papaya tree and said the fruit had a lot of black seeds and its meat was orange and tasted very sweet. I couldnʻt wait to taste it. We went into the kitchen where I helped Grace prepare our breakfast of waffles with strawberries and Blueberries, toast  and we shared the papaya. It was delicious! 

After breakfast we got everything cleaned up while Graced hummed the lullaby. When we were done, 

we sat in the greenhouseʻ sitting area. 

“Grace, how do you know our song?”

“I guess now is as good a time as any to tell you the truth. Honey, my name is Grace Bergeron

Levesque. That man in the painting was my husband, Maddox Levesque. I am your mommyʻs 

Mom and your grandma.”

My eyes widened with tears. I was so happy to hear of this. I still had family. I am not alone in 

this world.

“My grandma? Mommy never told me I had a grandma. Do I have aunts or uncles? What about

cousins? Do I have a lot of cousins I can play with? Do they have animals? Where is this 

house? Are we close to our pack house? Oh no! What if the bad man finds us?”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Questions coming a mile a minute. Slow down. We have a lot of time to get to know each other.” 

Grace stood up and went to a shelf under the stairs, near where the bathroom door is and pulled out a book. I sat next to her and held her hand. 

“What is that?”

“This is a photo album of our family.” She opened the book

“Wait, donʻt you have a tablet with pictures? Why are these pictures in a book?”

“Oh geez!” Romannie, grandma doesnʻt use a tablet.”

“But grandma, do you have a computer?”

“I donʻt, but my friend does. So if I need to have something done, my friend helps me.” 

Oh the horror! My grandma doesnʻt have a tablet for me to watch my kiddie shows. 

“Grandma? Do you have a tv?” 

“Nope. Grandma is what you call, old school. I grow my own food, hunt my own meat, sew my own clothes. Which reminds me, I have some old clothes that may just fit you. I donʻt need all of that techy stuff. It makes my head hurt.”

“But how am I supposed to watch my shows?”

“You wonʻt need to, you wonʻt have time since youʻll be training to be a warrior queen. 

“Well that sucks!” Grace breaks out in a laugh and she sounds just like my mommy/

She opens the book and begins to tell me the story of her family….my family. 

“This is Queen Merrie, her real name was Queen Montgomerrie Weston Bergeron and that's her husband King Ashford Bergeron. These are my parents, your mommyʻs grandparents and your great grandparents. And that's me when I was a little girl.”

“Wow, their clothes are really old.”

“This picture is of me when I was younger. I was already married to your grandfather Maddox and this is our family. Your mommy isnʻt in the picture because she wasnʻt born yet.”

“Who are those other girls?”

“Those were my other daughters, your auntʻs.”

“Oh, so will I get to meet them and do they have kids? How many cousins do I have?”

“Your auntʻs are all dead sweetie. Killed by the same bad man that killed your daddy and mommy.”

“I hate that bad man! When I grow up, Iʻm going to kill him just like he killed my family. Tell me about my aunts?”

“Well, these 2 are my twins Ashlyn and Auralyn. We lived further east at the time and the girls went out to pick Chokecherries in the Boreal forest behind our pack house. It was within our territory but they still had to be careful. They were 10 years old. The bad man sent his army out and they found the girls in the forest and had them killed. We didnʻt know what happened til we went looking for them.” Grandmaʻs eyes glistened over and tears spilled down her cheek. 

“This girl is Ariess. She lived to be a young lady, got married and was pregnant with my grandbaby.”

“Oh no! What happened?”

“The same bad man sent his army out again and found Ariess in her packhouse. He did to her what he did to your daddy and mommy.” Tears continue to spill. 

“Grandma? Who is this bad man? What is his name? Where does he live? And why is he killing our family?”

“I will tell you some information but not all. Some information is not for you now but later when you are a little more grown and still other information for when you become an adult and finally THE Warrior Queen.”

I smiled at the thought. But the smile was not only for what my Grandma just said but because I was already scheming about how I wanted this man to die.” 

“The bad man's name is Alpa Jake Landry. He is the Alpha of the Reindeer Lake Pack but calls his pack the Red Fear Lake Pack. He wants to rule all of Canadaʻs region and will kill anyone who gets in his way.”

Is that why he is killing our family? Because we are getting in his way?”

Yes honey, that's exactly it.”

“Then why didnʻt daddy and mommy just get out of his way? If they did, they would still be here and we would still be a family.”

“Oh honey, it's not as simple as that. That's information for when you get a little older, okay?” I nod.

“This is your mommy when she was a baby. Then here when she was about your age. And this one was when she was 16 years old and met your daddy. Here is daddy and mommy on their wedding day. This is mommy with her big belly, that's you in there.” giving me a tickle that made me giggle. 

“This is you when you were born.”

“Grandma!? That's you! Carrying me! 

“Thatʻs right Romannie.”

“But where is grandpa in the picture?”

“Your grandpa was killed right after your mommy married your daddy. Your grandpa at least got to walk your mommy down the aisle and gave her away on her wedding day. He was killed not long after.”

“Did Alpha Jake kill him too?”

“No honey, your grandpa was killed out of pure jealousy. He was killed by Alpha Johnathon, Alpha Jake's father. And that dear is another story for when you are older.”

“Grandma, did you used to sing our song to my mommy?” Is that why my mommy knew that song and sang it to me?”

“That is exactly right. It was a song my mommy sang to me, I sang to your mommy and your mommy sang to you.”

“I love the words. Its kind of sad but the words tell me that my mommy and daddy are with me always. Wherever I am, they are there too.”

“That is exactly what the song is meant to tell you. You are such a smart little girl and I love having you here with me.”

“I love you grandma”

“And I love you, Romannie. So, so much!” Grandma gives me a hug and it feels so, so good.

“Well, now we need to add pictures of you into this photo album now donʻt we. Let me get my camera and we will get our first picture together.”

“Oh you have a cell phone to take a picture. I like selfies.”

ʻUm no, I have a camera.”

“I donʻt know what you mean grandma?”

 “A camera that's not a cell phone. Just a camera.”

“Okay, whatever that is.” Rolling my eyes. Grandma comes back with a “camera” and we start taking pictures. When weʻre done itʻs almost lunch time. I guess its time for work.

We go out to the greenhouse and out another door that leads to the outside garden. Its the first time Iʻve seen her home from the outside. It's just as cute as inside but her yard is huge. She had a huge garden with all kinds of plants growing. In the field you can see a couple of cows and horses. There is a barn as well and Iʻm guessing it has some farm animals like pigs, chickens, goats and whatever animals thats on a farm. We pick some lettuce, red, orange and yellow bell peppers, celery, carrots, ginger and onions. We then go to a shed that leads to an underground room that is very cold. Grandma grabs 2 kinds of meat and my little wolf Harlowe starts salivating. Sheʻs such a cute pup. Midnight black with violet tips on her fur and a light violet, almost lilac color eyes. We head to the outside of the greenhouse to wash off the veggies in a sink and take them inside. Grandma puts them in the kitchen sink and makes us a sandwich with the cured roast beef, fresh lettuce (yuck) and homemade bread. She pours us a glass of blueberry lemonade, such deliciousness. When we are done eating and cleaning, I begin to help her prep for dinner. She shows me how to peel and cut vegetables. Something mommy never let me do because I might cut myself. But grandma showed me how to hold the peeler and knife and watched me carefully. It made me feel important to help grandma. Made me feel needed. I liked the feeling. While grandma had the meat and vegetables cooking on the stove, we went upstairs to look for clothes that would fit. 

We climbed the stairs that was across the breakfast table and came up to a loft area that was set up as another sitting area. To the left was a door and another to the back of the loft on the right. We headed for the back room. As the door opened, I could see that this room was huge. It had a large bed in the center of the left wall. An L shape desk and chair in the corner at the wall where the loft was on the other side. To the right wall, was a huge sliding door. The kind that had 2 sliders on each side to open extra wide. It was open and there was a railing. As I went to look over the railing I realized that it overlooked the greenhouse. I hadnʻt noticed the railing when we were out there today but the view was gorgeous from up here. Looking out over the greenhouse I could see the outside garden and prairie field where the cows and horses were. I couldnʻt see the barn as it was situated farther to the left of the greenhouse. I turned and scanned the room and could tell this was certainly a girls room. My mommyʻs room. There were pictures of her in school, as a cheerleader and playing the flute in a band. Trophies and pom poms were on a shelf in the corner. There was a door to the back of the room that grandma said was a bathroom. 

“Wow, this is a cool room. Was this mommyʻs room?”

“Yes it was. And now this will be your room.”

“Oh thank you grandma!”

Grandma is looking through the closet but doesn't find what she's looking for. So we head for the other room which has a stately bed and grand dresser but not as cute as mine. But it does have a fireplace and of course ANOTHER sitting area. Grandma says it's her room but because of the stairs she rather sleep downstairs. There is an extra door in her room that leads to the attic. We climb the stairs and the attic is beautiful. Set up like of course, ANOTHER sitting area. Whats with all these sitting areas. There is only one person, well now two living here. I guess where ever you are you can sit and rest I guess. One area of the attic has a door that is used for storage. We head into the room and start rummaging through boxes until grandma finds what she's looking for. 3 boxes. On the box reads Annie 3-7 years old clothes, Annie 3-7 years old underwear/socks/hats, Annie 3-7 years old sweaters, jackets and winter wear. 

“Here we go. Now let's get them washed so we can get you into something more suitable.”

“Grandma, I hope you have a washer.”

“Ha,ha,ha. Not only do I have a washer, but I have a dryer too. But I do prefer to line dry. However, Iʻll make an exception in this case.” Whatever that means.

As I am getting familiar with my new room, grandma is washing and drying my clothes. When the first set is done, grandmas tells me to take a bath and gives me an outfit and a clean set of underwear. I take a nice long warm bath. The bubble bath smells just like roses and the shampoo like sweet ginger and berries. I come out feeling refreshed and very happy. 

“Grandma! What kind of clothes is this?”

“Sorry Romannie, it's the only kind of clothes you mom had. Itʻs not in today's style but it will have

to do for now.”

“Oh grandma, but I love it! As long as it belonged to my mommy, I love it. I love all of it. And I

love you grandma! Did I tell you that already?”

“Yes, you did but you can tell me as much as you want. I love you too Romannie.”

{{GracesPOV}}

I think itʻs gonna be interesting having this little pup around. She is eager to learn and works hard from what I saw in the garden and kitchen. Lets see how sheʻll react when it's time to muck the stalls and feed the animals. Iʻll ease her in. Sheʻs just a little wee pup. There is plenty enough work here to keep her busy. She reminds me so much of her mom at that age. Always asking a million and one questions. Its like raising her mom all over again. But this time around things will be different for sure. Raising Annie was mostly to protect her from harm. While Romannie, Iʻll need not only extra protection but extra help in raising and training her. Time to contact the Triple S. The Secret Society of Supernaturals. Her training starts in one month. But first, I need to put up extra shields to ensure Alpha Jake never finds her. Itʻs a good thing for us, he doesnʻt know Annie had a child, a daughter no less. AND he doesnʻt know this child survived. The prophecy is proving true to form.