Two Halves of a Whole

Chapter 13

Lugos was shocked by what they were told and also what it hinted at. He hurried to leave to go find his mate. He linked Cara to find out where they were and rushed to catch up with them.

“Have you girls been having fun?” He tried to sound casual, as if he didn’t just talk to a wolf that may or may not be her cousin. As if that wolf had not implied that her uncle either had her parents killed or killed them himself. He hoped it was a lie but part of him knew that there was no way Shelly had been able to resist the alpha aura that had forced the truth from her.

“Cara showed me the training yard behind the pack house. She took me to the bakery and we had some fresh sweet rolls. She showed me the best place to get clothes without leaving pack grounds. She must have introduced me to just about everyone in the pack. I can see why she is going to make a good beta, she knows just about everyone,” Sattira said with a giggle.

“Well, not personally but I have a good idea of who most of the pack members are but Lugos and his father make a point to visit with anyone they don’t see just from living in the pack house,” Cara told her with a trace of pride seeping into her voice.

Sattira was impressed, “You must know close to a thousand people.”

“There are not quite that many people in the pack,” he told her looking a little uncomfortable with all the praise.

“Lugos, we just got to Sattira’s house and there is a problem,” Brad sounded like he was going to give him news he wasn’t going to like.

“What is it?” Lugos was getting a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach.

“There are human police everywhere,” Brad told him, “and they removed at least two people in body bags when we first got here.”

“Have you told my father yet?” He was afraid of what this could mean for his mate.

“I wanted to let you know first,” his beta told him, “I am getting ready to do so now.”

“Thanks for the heads up. Keep me posted on what you find,” he said before ending the link.

Sattira was looking at him expectantly and he realized she must have said something to him that required a response.

“Sorry, I was dealing with pack business,” he apologized.

“It’s fine. I was just asking you if you had a favorite spot here while at the pack house.” She was so relaxed after spending time with Cara and he didn’t want to upset her until he had all the facts. He was still hoping her parents were alive and well somewhere.

“You have probably guessed that the lake house is my favorite place on the pack lands. If I had to pick a spot closer to the pack house, it would have to be by the waterfall.” He answered her question and waited for her to ask about the waterfall, as he was sure she had not had a chance to get there yet.

“There’s a waterfall here?” She didn’t disappoint him, immediately asking about it.

“Yes, we can pack a lunch and check it out during your time here,” he promised her, “if you’d like to that is.”

“I would love it,” she said excitedly. She green eyes lit up with excitement. He felt a twinge of guilt at not telling her about what happened at her parent’s house.

“Have you had lunch yet?”He started walking them back towards the pack house.

“We have not. Why, you inviting me to eat with you?” She was starting to understand that being in the presence of the alpha and his family was considered a huge honor.

Cara had tried to explain a bit of how thing were in a pack. Sattira knew that if everyone knew she was his mate it would be less of a big deal for him to spend time with her but from what she had learned from Cara without giving anything away, if people were to realize she was his mate the pack members would constantly be watching her and looking for signs that she was pregnant. She was not quite ready for that kind of interest in her.

“If you don’t mind the company,” he half teased her. Part of him was looking for any show of interest in him from her.

“I don’t know..” she pretended to consider her options. “I guess it won’t be so bad. I have to eat lunch at some point.”

Cara was watching the exchange with interest. She wasn’t sure why Lugos was keeping company with this new she wolf but didn’t want to jump to conclusions. There were a few reasons he might spend time with her but from what Cara could see he didn’t seem to act like he minded it. Then again Sattira was very friendly and she herself had enjoyed spending time with Sattira so it wasn’t like that alone was a reason to be suspicious.

“What do you think they made for lunch?” Sattira was curious, this would be her first lunch with the pack. She wasn’t sure what to expect.

They walked to the counter separating the kitchen from the dining hall and each grabbed what they wanted for food from the buffet set out for them to choose from. Lugos lead them to a table with a man that looked like Lugos except his hair was brown and he looked older. A woman with hair that was such a light ash blonde it was almost silver sat to his right. Lugos set his plate at the spot across from the woman and pulled out the chair of the place next to the one he had chosen for himself for Sattira to sit in before helping her get situated. Once he had seated Cara on the other side of her her took his seat.

“Sattira, this is Alpha Stephan and Luna Lilly,” he introduced them, “my parents.”

“It’s so nice to meet you,” Sattira said as she smiled politely. “Your son has been very helpful with trying to help me understand how to be a proper werewolf.”

“It’s nice to finally meet you. Our son has told us a lot about you,” his mother greeted her.

“Yes, have you ever thought about joining a pack,” his father asked.

“Everything is really new to me still but I am sure at some point I should join a pack,” she answered him.

“Stephan, don’t pester the girl with such serious talk. She just learned she is one of us. Besides, I am sure when she finds her mate she will want to join his pack,” the Luna looked at her with laugher in her eyes. Sattira smiled as if she wasn’t hiding the fact she already found her mate.

“Now Lilly, you know that it is just as common for males to end up joining the pack their mate is from. I ended up joining your pack, or did you forget,” he asked her.

Sattira was curious about this. “I thought first born sons were the only ones who could be Alpha?”

“My mom was an only child,” Lugos explained. “Her mom was an only child before her. When an Alpha and Luna mate they combine their strength so any inherited power is shared between them. My dad was the younger brother, so his older brother became alpha of their pack.”

“Oh, that was convenient,” she said. It was a wonder to her how well it worked out.

“The moon goddess definitely planned that out well,” Lilly said as she looked at her mate with love in her eyes.

“I bet there is quite the story there,” Sattira said. “You make such a nice couple, you both seem so happy together.” Sattira’s voice sounded wishful as she watched the mated pair.

“There is definitely a story although it was not always happy,” the Luna’s voice was tinged with traces of sorrow.

“Her mother and father were not mates but her grandfather refused to allow her mother to rule unless she excepted my grandfather as her mate. When she finally found her mate she send my mother to live in the pack orphanage,” Lugos explained.

“That is horrible, why would your grandmother allow that? Why didn’t her father take her in?” Sattira was horrified. She could not imagine any mother being so cruel.

“To take the Alpha position from my grandfather, my grandmother’s mate had to challenge him. Alpha fights are almost always to the death but I doubt it would have mattered because mates see red when they find the one the moon goddess gifted them claimed by another,” Lugos continued to explain.

“But why would anyone blame an innocent child? And what kind of a mother rejects their child?” Sattira tried to keep her voice down so it didn’t attract attention from the pack members eating in the dining hall.

“It was actually kinder than forcing me to live with her mate. He wasn’t an unkind man but I could see how he despised me every time he looked at me. He was very cold and avoided me whenever he could. And the whole thing had a happy ending,” the Luna said as she looked at her mate with so much love as he reached for her hand and gave it a light squeeze.

“The goddess refused to bless my mother and her mate with a child. They died coming back from the yearly Alpha Conference. No one is quite sure how the hunters found out who they were but after the bond they had with the pack broke the Acting Beta couple at that time came to the orphanage where I was still staying and brought me back to act as Alpha until I found my mate,” she smiled at Alpha Stephan giving his hand a squeeze.

“Wow, that must have been difficult. How old were you when they died? Sorry, I probably should not pry..” Sattira started to apologize.

“Nonsense, the pack were there and almost everyone knows about it already. It is a part of the past,” Lilly smile graciously. “I was only 16 when they passed. I had lived in the orphanage for nine years. Beta William’s parents were a goddess sent. I would not have made it until I met Stephan without them and the pack would never have survived to be as strong and prosperous as it is today.”

“And that is why it is so important to surround yourself with people who are trustworthy,” Stephan said. “There are some people who would have used the opportunity to take over the pack if they had been the Beta at the time. Most of the pack members would not have gone against the Beta as her mother had sent her to the orphanage. They could have argued that it was the same as disowning her. But the Beta was wise and realized that she carried the power of the alpha that was passed down through her mother’s side.”

“Why is the alpha power so important? What is it?” Sattira was curious about it.

“Remember when you were having trouble shifting and I ordered you to shift,” Lugos asked her. She didn’t understand the brief look of regret she saw flash through his eyes.

“There was a heavy pressure, then I shifted,” Sattira answered him.

“That heavy pressure was my alpha aura. It forced you to shift. It basically forces any less powerful wolf to submit to my will,” Lugos was acting uncomfortable as he talked about how his aura worked.

“Even if they don’t want to,” she was secretly horrified by the implication of what could be done with that kind of power.

“Yes, but our wolf will only let us use it for the safety of our pack. If I were to try to use it for personal gain it would never work,” Lugos explained. “All wolves are pure. If our human side becomes corrupt our wolf side will refuse to help us.”

Sattira was relieved to hear this.