Reclaiming the Luna's Throne

Getting to Know You

[Rowan]

I slept lightly, as I would if I were sleeping in the woods and half on guard for signs of danger. My hands felt empty with neither a sword nearby nor access to my claws.

My heart had nearly leapt out of my chest when I thought Natalie was about to suggest sharing the bed. The thought of being so close to my mate but unable to touch her, knowing she didn't feel the mate bond and wouldn't understand, was unbearable. Even with my wolf far away and my senses muffled.

I could tell I'd embarrassed her by jumping to that conclusion and kicked myself for not having controlled my reaction better. She just didn't understand. Not yet.

It was the second thing I'd felt guilty for tonight. The first was outright lying to her. I'd never leave her. Her life would never be the same again. If she said no to returning to Trinity City with me… well, I was a soldier, and my orders – all of our orders – were to bring the girls back, no matter what.

Whether they agreed or not.

One of these girls was the rightful Alpha Queen, and without a leader, the werewolf society was a shell of what it should be. We just weren't built for that level of independent, unstructured society, no matter how competent the Beta was. And it left us vulnerable to our enemies.

But could I hurt her?

Could I force her to go, knowing she'd likely hate me forever?

Could I stay, if it came down to that, betraying not only my people but separating myself forever from my wolf and becoming essentially human?

My heart burned and ached, and I knew, if Aran could have shared his thoughts just now, he would be howling in pain and betrayal.

But would even Aran choose to leave our mate?

It was unthinkable. Either option was unthinkable. I'd just have to convince her in time.

With that, I fell into a light and troubled sleep, dreaming silently of that war long ago and its painful aftermath, though I'd been barely more than a baby myself.

I'd lost my own mother then, and as a child, I hadn't understood. I'd cried for months, looking for her in all the usual places and amongst the shadows of the trees. One of these lost girls, trapped here on earth for nearly 30 years, was my sister too.

As I woke, I knew with a chill that I could never betray my people. Just as I expected my sister's own mate to find her and bring her home, I had to fulfill my own duty and bring Natalie back, no matter what.

Even if it meant she would hate me.

I ground my teeth together thinking about it and hoping that over the next day and a half, I'd be able to convince her to make the right choice. She seemed at least slightly open to it, so that was a good sign? I hoped to myself.

I sat up silently and simply sat in a simple meditative pose, cross-legged, lost in my own tormented thoughts, until Natalie woke up.

Around noon, my stomach growled lightly, but it was nothing compared to the worst I'd experienced out on a mission. I waited.

In the early afternoon, she finally woke, rubbing her eyes and yawning. She rolled over and froze, eyes wide in shock as she saw me sitting there and watching her, and I could practically see the thoughts racing through her head as she unconsciously clutched the blanket higher up on her chest (though she was still fully clothed) and replayed the events of last night in her head.

Finally, she cleared her throat.

"Uh, hi. Do you want some more coffee?"

I smiled slightly and nodded, if only to give us both something else to focus on for a moment.

"Coffee sounds good. Thanks."

She got up and busied herself with the cups, chewing on her lip again, and then handed me a cup.

"Do you need to use the bathroom? I'm just going to take a quick shower."

I shook my head quickly.

"No, you go ahead, I'm fine here."

She nodded again, somewhat awkwardly, and disappeared into the bathroom. When she emerged, refreshed and dressed in new clothes, she seemed to have regained her composure a little and sat calmly on the seat in front of me. The only thing she seemed to raise an eyebrow at was that I hadn't moved from my spot on the floor.

"So, I was thinking… that's a pretty big decision you've given me to make by tomorrow, and if what you say is true, I guess you haven't seen much of Earth."

I shook my head slightly, confirming her thoughts as she continued.

"So let's go for a walk and show you around a bit… god knows I need to eat something so we can get something to eat, and you can tell me a bit more about this… Syrrah?"

"Yes."

I confirmed her question and agreed to her suggestions all at once. I had a little more than 24 hours to answer all her questions, put her mind at ease, and convince her to jump through a tree, never to return to the only world she had known her entire life.

How hard could it be?

For the next 24 hours, minus another short break for sleep, she showed me around the neighborhood, though honestly, I wasn't paying that much attention (except to the food, which was surprisingly excellent). And I attempted to explain some of the history of Syrrah and what she could expect.

"In many ways it's much like Earth, with different continents and climates. Different peoples and their own cultures. The only difference is that magic is the primary civilizing force, where here on Earth, it's science. We have science too, of course, but it's developed a little… differently. I mean, when you have magic available to fill in some of the gaps, you make different shortcuts and come to different conclusions."

She nodded thoughtfully, evidently finding that to be a sensible explanation. At that point, we were sitting in a small café drinking coffee and eating avocado toast with eggs.

"Do you have coffee?"

I grinned.

"Yes, and people are just as addicted to it as they are here."

"Toast?"

"Believe it or not, bread was invented long before the two worlds split," I rolled my eyes a little sarcastically, pleased to see her smile slightly in response. "Yes, we have toast."

"Eggs?"

"Where there are birds, there are eggs."

"Avocados?"

"Ah, sadly, no… but we have something very similar, only it's blue."

She squinted down at her plate, processing that information, and continued her interrogation.

"Television?"

"No."

"Cars?"

"No, never been needed."

"Hot water plumbing."

"Definitely."

"What are the animals like?"

"Many are the same, or similar to what you would be used to… some are… a little different."

"Tell me about your country."

"My country is called Trinity. It's one of the more progressive and forward-thinking nations in Syrrah. It's had gender and racial equality for years, whereas some of the others have been… slow to adjust."

"Well, that sounds like a good place at least."

I could hear the wistfulness in my own voice, despite having been away for only 2 days.

"It is…"

"And this war that you say drove your people to… abandon me. Us."

I thought I detected a hint of hostility in her voice.

"The 38 infant girls here – how did that start?"

My hands clenched.

"It's a very long story but essentially, a rival nation objected to the fact that we were thriving and prospering under the rule of a Queen, who was set to have a daughter as a firstborn heir."

Natalie blinked at me a few times before letting out a short, dry laugh.

"You have to be kidding. So I'd be returning to an apparent home world, which I was forced from as a baby due to a misogynistic and power-hungry bastard?"

I nodded, and she rolled her eyes.

"Are you sure this is another world? Cos it sounds pretty much like Earth."

We continued discussing the everyday differences of Syrrah and Terra (Earth) late into the night and through the next day, and eventually, there were only a few hours left. I, normally stoic and calm, found myself nervously rubbing my thumbs over the sides of my hands.

"Natalie…"

She looked up questioningly, already so much more at ease in my company than she had been less than 48 hours before.

"It's time. You need to decide, and if you wish, pack up a few things to take with you."

Natalie drew in her breath in a sharp hiss, looking out the window at the late afternoon light starting to dim the sky. The time had gone so fast.

"This is a lot. I mean, what about my apartment? If I just don't come back? I mean, whatever, I'm probably coming back, you still have to open a… golden door in a tree."

She scoffed, but she had a pained look in her eyes, which in turn pained me.

"What about money? I mean, I don't have a lot of savings, but I'd just be abandoning it. Does it go to the government? I don't have any family. Should I bring it with me?"

I shook my head.

"Earth money would be useless anyway."

"Ok. Ok. Passport?"

"You don't need it."

"It would feel weird to leave it."

She had stood up and grabbed a large duffel bag from somewhere and begun to put small items in it. Mostly clothes. Her favorite coffee cup. An old, worn-out journal. I saw her looking around the room for other important items, looking over the small bookcase, digging again through the closet. She took a bottle of body wash and a few more clothes, as well as a few of what I presumed were her favorite chocolate bars, and then zipped the bag up with determination. Almost as an afterthought, she grabbed her pillow off the bed and threw it on top of the bag in a haphazard pile.

She caught me looking at her quizzically and shrugged her shoulders.

"It's really hard to find a perfectly comfortable pillow."

I chuckled slightly under my breath as she took in a deep breath and exhaled.

"Natalie. It's time."