LUNA'S RETURN

CHAPTER ONE: BETA'S DEATH

RIVERA’S POV

“He’s dead Rivera!” Casper screamed from afar amidst the tears flowing freely from his eyes.

I withdrew myself from Luna Raina’s arms and fled to the warriors to get a closer look at the body on their shoulders.

“No! Not him!” I screamed at the top of my voice, approaching the warriors and begging them to bring my father back.

Casper put his arms around me and pulled me into his arms very quickly so I couldn’t obstruct the warriors anymore and comforted me as I walked with them to the center of the pack house.

“Drop the body” Alpha Boris ordered and the warriors released the body carefully on the ground.

I knelt beside her father’s body and sobbed quietly.

“Why did you have to leave me papa?! And on my sixteenth birthday of all days! Who is going to love me as wholeheartedly as you did? Who is going to treat me like you did? Who is going to be there for me wherever, whenever papa?” I questioned repeatedly, mentioning the name I called him which he had always been fond of.

I lay my head on his chest, my long raven-black silky hair covering his left arm and sniffled between tears that clung to my eyes. Casper stepped into the space the crowd had created for my father’s body and handed me a napkin, which I thought was a really sweet act especially as the other members of the pack were too shocked on what to do in this situation.

I turned, taking the napkin and mouthing a thank you before wiping my entire face carefully and sat up beside my father’s body. I traced the lines along his hair which was raven-black like mine, except that his had silver streaks which glistened in the sun.

I could feel his presence hovering around me just laying on his body, I wished I could be left there with him forever. I sobbed some more, it was like a daydream, a really bad one I couldn’t get out of. I had to be strong for him, I had to be strong for myself and the years that were ahead of me.

I prayed to the moon goddess to preserve him and watch over me.

“Rest well papa. I love you forever” I muttered under my breath and planted a kiss on his forehead.

I stood up, wiped the tears that flowed freely from my eyes and stood apart with the rest of the crowd with my friend Celeste’s arms around my shoulder from behind and comforting me. My father was taken away to be laid to rest permanently in a ceremony that was according to the customs of the Pack.

My father, Jared Jordan was the Beta of Chann Wolf Clan, our pack.

He had served closely with Alpha Boris to protect the interest of the pack members and occasionally trained the young ones like me to fight.

My father had worked his way up to Beta position to our Alpha. I always thought he deserved all he got because of how hardworking he was. He had a pure love for me and whenever he was proud of me, his eyes had a twinkle in them. It was me and him against the world, or so I had thought up till now.

“Rivs” Casper called, his voice snapping me out of my thoughts.

I was sitting with my legs folded on one of the rocks facing the pack springs. I looked behind to see him standing tall and smiling sweetly at me. He sat beside me and pulled me into a side embrace.

“I’ve been looking all over the pack house for you.” He started.

“Well here I am.” I responded, with a shrug.

“It's going to be fine Rivs. We’re all here for you. We love you.” He assured me, rubbing his hands up and down my upper back.

I was not one to have someone pity me but I couldn’t help myself this time as I turned to face Casper and buried my head in his chest, sobbing. The warm Cashmere sweater he had on smelled like a mix of sandalwood and scented candles and gave me a comforting warmth.

When I raised my head up, Casper handed me a napkin which I used to clean my tears, before pulling me into an embrace. I was glad Casper was here for me because he was my best friend and the only person I wanted to see right now. He planted a kiss on my forehead and we stared at the sunset beyond the springs together in silence.

“I love you Rivs ”Casper said, breaking the ice.

I lifted my head up from his shoulder and stared at him.

“I know this is not a good time especially since Beta just passed on but I meant everything I said to you yesterday Rivs. I care for you truly and I want to be the one who stands by you in your most difficult times” he continued.

My mind was taken back to the night before when we had confessed our feelings to each other wholeheartedly.

I was deeply in love with my childhood friend. It was like a fairytale and I felt like I was on top of every one of my fantasies, grinning like a school girl. Now I felt sour and empty, not knowing what to say to Casper.

As if reading my thoughts, he interrupted my stutter, “It’s alright if you don’t have anything to say right now, I just wanted you to know that I love you and I am always here for you princess”.

As much as we had made love passionately the night before, things had changed and I wanted to honor my father’s memories first before rushing into our new relationship.

I took a deep breath and faced Casper.

“I love you Casper, I always have. I just wanted you to know that I would love to…”.

Casper’s lips smashed against mine in a split second, his hands caressing my face, and I was enraged. I pushed him back roughly.

“Why, Casper? I just lost my father, is that all you have to offer to me right now? I can’t go through this. I know we had an amazing time last night, Casper but get some self control at least! How can I honor my father and his memories if we make out the same day he was laid to rest?!” I said, lashing at him.

Casper cleaned his lips with the back of his palm, the expression on his face had changed from a plain to a more ashamed look.

The full moon was in view already and I didn’t want to have to deal with Casper anymore.

“Please let me deal with my father’s death for the main time Casper” I told him, standing up.

I was ready to go to bed and as much as I hated his actions I was willing to forgive him.

“I’m really sorry Rivs, I’ll give you your space and let you be” Casper responded quietly.

I nodded my head reluctantly, I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction that I was tempted to give in to his advances.

Casper had been my best friend since childhood and my lover just last night which was my sixteenth birthday. He was Alpha’s son which would have made it near impossible for him to be friends with me as other girls, some of who were as pretty as I was and others prettier, made efforts to befriend him.

My father was made Beta and along with the title came free accommodation in the Alpha’s quarters in the pack house, a beautiful room with a window that overlooked the alluring sights of the pack springs. So I was closer to Casper than any other girl could dream of.

Luna Raina took me in and treated me as her own daughter. Having given birth to just three sons for the Alpha, I was like the daughter she never had and she never failed to remind me of this. I was served the best food and given the most beautiful dresses.

When I wasn’t playing with her sons, Luna Raina braided my long hair while telling me stories from history books. I regarded her as my mother and her sons my brothers. Casper was a year older than me and never failed to remind me, especially when I teased him.

Eric and Lucian, his unidentical twin brothers were just three years younger than me. We found our common interests and interacted with free spirits and childish playfulness. As Casper and I approached our teenage years, we began to see the signs that we had evolved from being good friends to falling in love with each other.

As blissful as it sounded, we were still unable to confess our feelings to each other until the day before, which was my sixteenth birthday.