The Reincarnated Luna

Fin

I uncomfortably sat there in silence waiting for Eli to start the conversation. When he didn't I panicked.

"So I'm supposed to be your soulmate?" I blurted out, hopefully sounding more sophisticated than I felt. Eli has a way of making me feel exposed under his gaze.

A deep rumble erupted out of him as he sat back and held his stomach laughing.

Was that really such a stupid question? I started fiddling with the ring my mom left me that I always wear. Finally, his laugh attack subsided and he began to speak, all traces of humor leaving him.

"Yes, I know it's weird, but it is true. Mates are specifically made for one another. Hand-picked by the gods." I scrunched my nose at the idea of being made for another person when another thought dawned on me.

"But I've been attracted to other people before." Eli's shoulders tensed as he sat forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

"I have too." His voice was almost inaudible as my stomach dropped and Selene let out a whimper in my mind. I don't know him, I shouldn't feel anything for him. So why did that hurt so much? I balled my fists and steadied myself.

"But a mate is a partner the Moon Goddess chooses for us. There will never be someone that compares to you in my eyes." His voice just barely above a whisper his shoulders dropped, almost looking defeated.

"Mates complete you in every way. In theory, you are everything I need, everything I could ever hope for. Of course, nothing is perfect." Eli doesn't seem like the type to get flustered easily, but he is being incredibly cute. He cleared his throat and acted as if he was picking lint off of his pants.

"As we grow up in a pack we're told the story about the Mood Goddess Selene and Fenrir-"

"Wait, the Moon Goddess' name is Selene?" I froze, a cold bead of sweat dripping down my back.

Selene? But she didn't answer.

"Yes?" He paused again. This time he c****d one of his eyebrows but continued his explanation anyway. "We're taught about mates from a young age in a pack, and many of us eventually find them, but it's never promised. Some people go their whole lives without finding their mate, without being completed." Eli kept talking but I wasn't processing anything. I was stuck in my head.

Selene talk to me right now! A few seconds passed before she finally responded.

"I think it's true. I remember my name being Selene, and the Luna Goddess feels as if it was my title." She sounded quiet and small and I had this overwhelming feeling of dread forming in the pit of my stomach.

"I've been sealed away for thousands of years, unable to help my children and stuck watching the ones I love die." I shuddered and looked up, realizing Eli wasn't talking anymore. Without me noticing, he had moved to sit beside me.

"You were just talking to your wolf, weren't you? " He didn't seem upset, I honestly couldn't read his emotions. "Your eyes were glazed over." He stared into my eyes so intensely that I felt compelled to respond.

"Does Luna mean anything to you?" Eli seemed taken aback by this question and tilted his head to the side once again. If I wasn't dealing with the fact that I had a literal goddess living inside me, I would even say he is incredibly adorable right now.

"That is the name of the Alpha's mate. The Alpha is the leader of the pack; he makes sure everyone in the pack is treated fairly and taken care of. The Luna is equal in all things in regards to the Alpha and the pack, so she is the leaser alongside him."

"So, kind of like a king and queen scenario?" I felt incredibly stupid asking all these questions, but Eli didn't seem to mind. It's incredibly comforting how understanding he is of my ignorance of his culture.

"You could say that in a sense, but a pack is more of a family. An Alpha should never do anything for personal gain, and he should always make choices for the good of the pack. The Alpha and Luna are more like the heart and brain of a body. Without one or the other the pack would suffer. That being said, Amaruq are susceptible to the same things as humans, like greed and selfishness."

"What does it mean when my wolf tells me her name is Selene?" Eli's electric blue eyes widened as he tightened his grip on my hands.

"My wolf introduced himself to me as Fin." A few seconds passed as we sat in silence, processing the weight of what we just realized, but were scared to speak aloud.

"What is this supposed to mean?" My voice came out like a child's as I let my gaze fall to the floor. "We have the spirits of gods in our heads? Wasn't Fenrir struck down in battle? Why is he alive?" I started to ramble, doubt seeping into my every word. That is until Eli's strong hand took my jaw and guided me to meet his eyes once again.

"Look, that is a lot to take in on top of everything else you are trying to process. Fin is also telling me a few things. It seems like he can't fully sense Selene in you. Maybe she isn't fully awakened?"

"I don't know how to describe it. There are times when she's there, and then there are times when it feels like I can't reach her. Like there's a giant wall and I can't communicate with her through it." Eli nodded his head like he knew exactly what I meant.

"Why don't you seem surprised that Fenrir is your wolf?"

"When is your birthday?" He avoided my question.

I knew it had to be a coincidence. There is no way he could have known my birthday, even if we have some sort of connection.

"June 20th, I'll be 20 ." A small grin tugged at his lips.

"My birthday is December 21st, the winter solstice. Did you know June 6th is the summer solstice?" I started to smile too, there are a lot of weird coincidences going on here.

"So you probably don't know this because in the colonies you're only taught how to identify a werewolf, but while it's very rare, some don't truly turn until their 20th birthday. This has only happened three other times that my scientists know of. There's not much information on why this happens, but my group of researchers have been looking into it."

"If it's so rare how do you know about it?" He stood, walking over to the small bar on the left side of the large room. I heard a few glasses clink before he turned around carrying two drinks. One was filled with the same honey-colored dark liquid that Sam served him, and the other was filled with a slightly tan bubbly liquid.

"Do you like ginger ale?" He randomly asked, passing me the glass of tan bubbly liquid and taking his original seat acrossed from me. The spot next to me felt empty without his warmth.

"Yeah, it tends to help my stomach whenever my anxiety is acting up." I slowly sipped it, sloshing the mild ginger-flavored liquid around my mouth before swallowing.

It is a lot stronger than the stuff you can buy at the market. Weirdly, I didn't mind the strong peppery and sweet flavor that spread through my mouth.

"That drink has been infused with a few different herbs that promote healing and peace of mind, allowing you to have a deeper spiritual connection. We're hoping it can help strengthen our bond with our wolves."

"Well I don't know about the healing properties, but the flavor is incredible." I smiled, taking another sip.

"We have quite a few projects going on right now, along with a few different enhanced drinks. I'll let my lead Scientist know that you like the flavor of this one. They started to develop this one specifically for me. They were stumped when it never helped trigger my transformation, but it would almost instantly start the transformation process for normal wolves. I was finally able to transition on my 20th birthday. My father started the research when I didn't turn at 16. The only other two we have documented were over a century ago, so they assumed it was the case of my wolf. We didn't exactly know that Fin was Fenrir, but he has expressed some things that have set him aside from normal Alphas."

"What do you mean? Aren't Alphas just normal wolves? " I couldn't help but be interested in knowing more.

"Yes and no. Alphas are stronger and tend to have better intellect, along with a few other things that set them aside from your average omega. Even then, Fin still set himself aside from other Alpha wolves. For instance, he told me about his past lives, and while we grow up believing in reincarnation, witnessing it is a bit more mind-boggling. I became Alpha on my twentieth birthday after my first shift, four years ago, but I was working with my father and the council long before I became Alpha. "

Selene, were you able to connect with your past lives?

"I was able to grant the gift of transitioning, but I was unable to communicate or aid them in any way. I wasn't a separate entity from them, and I had no recollection of who I actually was. I was always very frail and sickly from my energy being suppressed. I was completely unaware of who I was until you lifted the veil that night with Lilly."

I wonder what changed, why you're now your own uh 'entity.' This entire conversation is way over my head.

"Fin wasn't able to even speak or communicate with me until after my transformation, so with you being able to communicate with-" He paused, taking a deep inhale. "the Moon Goddess, your situation may be different."

"Selene said that she could remember her past lives but that she was them. That she wasn't a separate voice in their heads." Eli threw back the rest of his drink and stood reaching his hand toward me. Almost as if it was second nature, I extended my hand to his, letting him slowly pull me to my feet so I was standing just inches away from him.

"I don't know what the future has in store for us kid, but that's enough for now. It's almost noon, let's go get some food." He started to lead me to the door.

"Just because we're supposed to be 'soul mates' does not mean you can go around calling me 'kid'. It's demeaning and I will fight you- MMPH" I slammed into his rock-solid back, not realizing he had stopped dead in his tracks. He spun in a circle and gripped my forearms.

"You know no one is allowed to speak with me that way." A teasing smirk crossed his face as he towered over me. I never considered myself to be tiny, but as a wapping five feet tall, compared to Eli I really did feel small. I stood my ground.

"You know I really don't care how you're use to being treated." I shook his hands off, racing past him toward the elevator. "You will speak to me with respect. No matter what we're supposed to be, I still don't exactly know you." While my tone was teasing, I firmly believed in what I was saying and I knew if I looked him in the eyes I would back down. I can't let him treat me how he wants. I've only known him two days.

"Oh is it like that then?" He reached from behind me, pressing the button to call the elevator before I could. He leaned in, slightly hovering behind me, not quite touching, but I could feel his body radiating heat against my back. We stood like that for a minute or so until the elevator door opened. The entire time, my heartbeat was in my ears, and I couldn't bare to look his way. I darted into the elevator, pressing the button for the ground floor before he even stepped in. We stood there in silence all the way down, and I was painfully aware of how close we were in this small space.

"Just so you know, I will never intentionally disrespect you." His lips lightly brushed my ear, making my face flush as his luscious voice glided through me. "From this moment forward, I acknowledge you as my mate and future Luna." He then walked past me, out of the elevator onto the ground floor. Leaving me stunned after declaring I would be his.

"Al!" Lilly squealed as she ran from Sam's side and slammed into me full force. "I really like it here! I have so many friends!" She started to ramble about a few kids that she had met in the school wing. Eli was talking to Sam as Denver and a beautiful slender woman sauntered up. I still attempted to listen to Lilly, but I couldn't take my eyes off the way this woman's beautiful black curls bounced over her silky caramel skin, and how her beautiful chocolate eyes never left Eli. She placed her hand on Eli's shoulder and I felt rage start to build up in the back of my throat. She was the exact opposite of me. I'm not exactly what people would call fat, but I definitely have some curves and am as pale as snow. She let out a cute little giggle in Eli's direction and I snapped. Grabbing Lilly's tiny hand, I marched up to the group of four and smiled while thrusting my free hand in front of the woman.

"Hi, I don't believe we've met just yet." She looked a little startled and took her hand from Eli's shoulder.

"I don't think we have, I'm Nia. Who might you be?" Her perfectly straight white teeth showed through her smile. I glanced down at her pristine manicured hand in my own, realizing my nails were chipped and unkempt.

I should crush it. I was unable to stop myself before I had the overbearing thought and immediately I felt horrible.

What am I doing? Dropping her hand, I tried to laugh it off.

"I'm new, but you obviously already knew that." I stumbled over my words, trying to find a way to explain the situation.

"She's my mate," Eli stepped beside me, placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder. Nia's eyes widened for a second before a grin crossed her face.

"Hell yes! Finally!" Denver punched Eli in the shoulder. Nia didn't speak for several moments, as her face was completely blank. In a whirlwind of movement, she picked me up in a bear hug, squaring tight enough to cut off my breath mid-inhale. My arms were left dangling awkwardly at my sides.

"I can't believe it's finally happened! There for a while, I didn't think that the big man would find you!" She pulled back, seeming to realize I was uncomfortable.

"I'm sorry about this one here, she doesn't exactly know a stranger." Denver came up, snaking a lean arm around her waist. "She's my mate." My mouth opened slightly as it dawned on me how stupidly jealous I had been for no reason. Denver had dark brown hair that was slicked back and very high cheekbones. He was slightly taller than Nia, who was very tall compared to a normal female. Looking around, I was the only adult in the building under 5'6, let alone being 5ft. They complemented one another.

"We've all been friends since we were little. These two have been in love since day one. Even when they couldn't feel the mate bond, they were inseparable." I thought I saw a flash of pain flicker across Nia's face before she quickly smiled, leaning into Denver.

"It's amazing you finally found your mate though! I can't believe she'd been hiding in a Colony of all places!" I caught a look of disgust on Nia's face before she quickly smiled again.

" Anyway, I'm starving! We'll meet you in the dining hall okay?" Denver gave a small wave before he led Nia away.

Lilly tried to go running after them before I caught her by the shoulder.

"Hey, what are you doing?" I said, maybe a little too harshly.

"I want to go sit with my friends." She pulled from my grip.

"Hey-" I yelled after her, but Eli started to follow her before I could.

"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on her." Without me even uttering a word, Eli and Lilly rounded the corner and were out of sight.

"I've never liked her." Sam said looking in the direction that everyone just went.

"Who, Nia? Why?" Sam sent me a long sideways glance, making a face as if I had just asked the dumbest question in the world.

"Honey, it was written all over your face that you didn't like her. Not to mention she was obviously too close to Eli. She got a little touchy with my mate once and I almost sent her through a wall."