The Cursed Luna and Her Fated Mate

Chapter 3: The Disaster

“Here? But you’ll have to walk so far, I’m happy to drop you at home, Celeste,” the bus driver responded. He was a kindly older man from another pack; he was hired as a third party both packs trusted on their territory. He probably hadn’t noticed the smoke.

“Yes, here. We would like to walk the rest of the way,” Celeste responded firmly. The bus driver shrugged his shoulders before bringing the bus to a halt. The younger pups protested, but everyone got off the bus and gathered together.

“Pups, I want you to hide in these bushes for me,” said Celeste, as calmly as she could. The pups obeyed, tucking themselves into the brush, hidden from sight. Celeste addressed the older pack mates once the pups were out of earshot.

“Look up at the smoke. It is coming from the pack house,” said Celeste, a hint of fear in her voice but her facial expression remained stoic. The teens nodded, tears welled up in Rhiannon and Astrid’s eyes.

“Astrid, Rhiannon, and Seth, stay here with the pups, hide in the brush and keep them safe. Trevor, come with me and watch my six, we’re going to investigate,” commanded Celeste.

Trevor nodded; he was a man of few words but also the toughest fighter of the five wolves. Celeste and Trevor walked as stealthily as possible toward the pack house. Their movements became slower and quieter as they approached the pack house.

The pack house was burning down quickly, the entire building engulfed in flame. Celeste and Trevor looked on in horror, ducking down into the brush when they heard voices.

“Those stupid wolves couldn’t keep up on their debts. Now their land and mine are ours,” one wolf sneered to another.

“They never knew the true value of their mine; our pack will be even richer than the royal family,” the other wolf said with an evil grin. He fired one last flaming arrow into a corner of the pack house that was not burning as quickly as the rest before the two wolves ran back into the forest toward the Blood Moon pack.

Trevor and Celeste remained crouched down to the forest floor for several minutes to be sure that they were gone, just listening to the agonizing sound of their home burning to the ground. The minutes felt like hours. Celeste prayed to the moon goddess to hear the voices of her mother and father rising above the sound of the flames, but there was nothing but silence. Curse, mind-bending, torturous silence.

Once Celeste and Trevor were certain that they were alone on the property, they headed toward the building to search for survivors. The fire had mostly burned itself out, a few embers remained on the charred house. Celeste and Trevor found the charred remains of a few wolves in the house, too badly burned to recognize their bodies or scents. The two went to inspect the back of the pack house. There, they found the lifeless remains of Celeste’s mother and father face down in the grass. They had clearly attempted to fight the Blood Moon warriors, but were overpowered.

Celeste dropped to her knees, tears flowing from her eyes. Trevor gently patted her back, clearly fighting tears as well.

“They’re all gone, Trevor. I can sense it,” said Celeste.

“I know, Luna,” Trevor responded.

Luna. Celeste was Luna now. It felt wrong, no ceremony, no handing over of the pack from her mother and father. But now she was Luna. Celeste wiped her eyes and stood up.

“I want to bury them, but we can’t. We need to leave without them knowing we were here. Clearly they forgot we were at school and attacked while we were away. If they know we live, they might hunt us,” Celeste said. She mind-linked Astrid.

“Everything is gone, Astrid. We can’t go home. Tell the other teens, not the pups. Not yet,” she said.

Astrid didn’t respond. Celeste turned back to Trevor.

“Father prepared me for something like this. Come on, we need to be able to survive,” said Celeste. Trevor nodded and followed her silently.

Celeste led Trevor to the woods, behind a large oak tree. She moved some brush away to reveal a locked bunker. Celeste held her hand to the bunker and uttered a magical phrase, the lock popped open.

“He got a witch to come and enchant this bunker. It was so if there was an attack I could bring vulnerable members of the pack here to hide. There are supplies down there. Come, follow me,” said Celeste. As she climbed down, she noted the smell of her father, and earthy pine scent that brought her comfort. He had been down here recently.

Inside the bunker were five large duffel bags. Tents, canned and dried foods, sleeping bags, blankets, coats, clothes, soap, fire starters, weapons, tools to hunt and fish, water filters… Everything they would need to survive in the woods for some time, along with a few thousand dollars in cash. She turned toward Trevor before noticing a note on the wall.

“Dearest Celeste,

If you are reading this, I am so sorry. We fell behind on our debt to Blood Moon. They have been looking for an excuse to attack. I packed everything I could think to pack. Our savings, and everything I can provide for you to survive as best you can. You are strong. Lead and protect your peers, live the best you can. Our pack might be destroyed, but we live on through you and your actions. The best reflection of us, you were born to lead this pack. Your mom and I love you.

Love always,

Dad”