Fate’s Design

Honor and Respect

Seth POV

I could tell by the looks on the Elders’ faces that something wasn’t right. Then it hit me. I couldn’t feel a new wolf added to the pack. There should have been a bit of a buzz as Mason’s blood flowed into Kelsey. And from what little I knew of her lineage, it should have been pretty noticeable, especially to those of us waiting for it. But there was nothing.

Kelsey saw our expressions, and her own was grim. “When Mason went out, so did my wolf. I can’t communicate with her. I can just barely feel her. I think she’s in as bad of shape as Mason is, even if my human side isn’t.” She told us.

The Elders exchanged a glance. Elder Jackson said, “You are Luna in your entirety, with or without a conscious wolf. If your wolf dies, you will soon follow. That is always how it has been. If you recover, it is likely our Alpha will as well. Beta Adrian will guide you through this time.” He said simply, leaving the room with the other Elders in tow.

Mom walked up to Mason, looking briefly to Kelsey, almost as if silently asking permission, before brushing a strand of hair off his forehead. “You get well soon, Mason.” She said.

It infuriated me to see my mother being deferential to Kelsey after all this, but I knew I couldn’t argue. Like it or not, she was Mason’s mate and our Luna.

My mother left the room, and my father turned to me.

“Son, the Luna and I need to discuss next steps.” He said, suddenly all business.

I started to protest, but my dad cut me off with a sharp look.

“He can stay.” Kelsey said, her voice quiet, but firm. My dad looked just as surprised as I was.

“I’m sorry, what?” I asked, shocked.

“Stay. You’re like a brother to Mason. You should be here for him. And I’m not leaving either, so we’re having this little meeting with all of us here.” She said, looking at my father and almost daring him to object.

“Luna, I’m not sure that’s wise. Emotions are running high right now, for everyone.”

“I understand your concern, Beta. But Seth stays. That is what is best for Mason. Did I not just vow to honor his needs and seek his welfare?” She said calmly, but surely.

“Very well. As you wish.” He agreed.

I was surprised to see him give in so quickly, but I knew how much he respected Kelsey’s new title and her place as Mason’s mate. I stayed by Mason’s side, silently willing him to wake up and for the color to return to his face. Kelsey stayed at his other side, stroking the back of his hand. I noticed that both their palms, while no longer bleeding, were still wounded. I didn’t say anything, neither did Dad and Kelsey. We all knew why they weren’t healing, and no one wanted to say it.

I heard my dad and Kelsey talking, but didn’t pay much attention to them. It wasn’t my conversation, Dad had made that plenty clear. Instead, I focused on Mason.

“Hey, man. Snap out of it. You got your girl. Now you gotta come back to us and handle her yourself. Don’t leave me to deal with this chick alone, man.” I said, not entirely sure myself how much I was joking.

Apparently I was a little louder than I meant to be. My dad shot me a look of combined amusement and disapproval that I had seen often in my teen years, while Kelsey just raised an eyebrow.

“I understand your concerns, Beta Adrian. I do. But I’ve never been one to commit to something and then do it halfway. When I told Mason I’d give us a chance, things were over between me and Alex. When I marked my mate, he became my whole world. When I took my vows for Mason and the pack just now, I meant every word. You’ve seen a glimpse of my wolf’s power. Once she’s awake again, I will protect this pack right alongside my mate. I will do whatever I have to do to take care of my own. And now, all of Harvest Moon are my people. I might not always like everything that happens, but that doesn’t change that I am the Luna of this pack, and I take that responsibility very seriously.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. Kelsey sounded determined and sincere. She sounded like she actually believed what she was saying. I knew I should stay out of it, but I couldn’t bring myself to.

“Because of you, Mason is in a coma, Kelsey! How can you talk about protecting this pack, or caring at all, when you did this?” I asked, my temper starting to get the best of me.

“Seth.” My dad said in a warning tone. I knew he agreed with me. There was no way he didn’t. “Mason made it very clear that Kelsey was to be Luna, no matter what happened to him. And now she is. If you’re ever going to be Beta, you have to learn to put your personal feelings aside and respect your Alpha and Luna.”

He was right. I knew he was. I couldn’t talk to Kelsey like that without it being seen as a challenge not only to her, but to Mason. I couldn’t support Mason without supporting his mate. “Fine.” I grumbled. “My apologies, Luna.”

Kelsey looked at me for a moment with an expression that I couldn’t quite read. She didn’t exactly look angry… but I couldn’t quite tell what she was thinking. There were a few beats of tense silence before she responded.

“Do you think I don’t understand that this is my fault?” She asked, her tone quiet, but authoritative. “Do you think I’m not scared to death at the thought that my choices could cost my mate his life? Mason should have rejected me. He was supposed to reject me. If I had expected things to play out this way, I would have waited a lifetime for him. But I can’t change the past any more than you can. What we can do is find a way to get Mason well again. So I am asking you, not as your Luna, but as your best friend’s mate, to put our differences behind us and work together. Not for me. For Mason. He needs all of us fighting for him, not fighting each other.”

Dad and I both looked at her with shocked expressions. Where had all that wisdom and maturity come from? Was this really the same girl that had trampled everything we held most sacred?

“Well said, Luna.” My dad responded after a moment.

Kelsey looked between me and my dad, then at Mason. “What I’m about to tell you doesn’t leave this room. Do you both understand?” She said soberly.

Kelsey POV

This wasn’t the plan. I knew they would find out that my wolf was in trouble, but I hadn’t planned on going any further than that. But the truth was that Tanya was my best hope of saving Mason, which meant we had to figure out how to bring her back, which I had no idea how to do. I looked them both in the eye as I charged them with secrecy. I couldn’t afford for this to get out. Not without knowing more about it myself. They looked at each other like the pair of idiots they were, and I had to remind myself that I needed them if I was going to get my mate back. And also that they probably weren’t idiots. Maybe.

Then they looked back at me and nodded solemnly. “On my honor.” They both said. I took a deep breath and began.

“Crystal Run and Black Claw have been at odds my whole life, and most of my parents’ lives. After extensive peace talks, they finally agreed to sign a treaty with us. It was a big enough deal that the Alpha, Beta, and Gamma families all went to show our support for peace. But it was all a ploy. They ambushed our caravan, with help from blood-suckers and who knows what all else.”

“I remember hearing about that.” Beta Adrian said, his tone sympathetic, but serious. “That was what, four or five years ago now?”

I nodded. “About five years, yeah. Several of our people died that day, including our Alpha and my parents. They took me with them when they left.

“They wanted my wolf. They forced her to wake up, and —”

“Hold on, your wolf woke up five years ago? I know you’re not supposed to ask a lady her age and all that, but you can’t be old enough for that.” Seth interjected, confusion etched on his face.

“That’s the thing. My wolf woke up when I was only sixteen because of whatever it was they did.” I told him.

Seth glanced at his dad. “I’ve never heard of a wolf waking up before eighteen.” The Beta said. He didn’t sound like he was doubting my story, just that he was perplexed by the whole thing.

I nodded again. “I know. I don’t know of anyone else this has happened with. And it didn’t just happen, either. They did things to me. I’m not even sure what. I was in and out of consciousness most of the time I was with them. Jordan says I was gone for a few weeks. I just remember snippets until my wolf woke up. They hadn’t anticipated how powerful she would be. Once she was awake, she quickly broke free and…” I looked down at my hands. I had never told anyone any of what I experienced. I think Jordan suspected, but he knew better than to ask. “And I made them turn on each other.” I said.

“Made them turn on each other?” Beta Adrian asked. “How?”

Seth looked like he was starting to put the pieces together. “The same way you made me stop talking the other day. Right?” He asked thoughtfully. I nodded.

“Exactly like that. I don’t know why or how, but I can command any wolf, even an Alpha, and while I can’t truly command other species, like the blood-suckers that were in cahoots with Black Claw, I can… influence them, I suppose. Make them feel like they should believe what I say and do what I tell them to do.”

“So you told them to kill each other off.” Seth surmised.

I laughed bitterly. “That would have been too good for them. I made they destroy each other with as much brutality as they could.”

“Luna… we value your story, but why are you telling us this?” Beta Adrian asked.

“Because my wolf can do more than boss people around.” I answered. “Tanya and I… we have a connection to the earth that no one else seems to have. It’s like… the world around us communicates. And I’m the only one who hears it. The same power that gives all wolves the ability to heal… I can access that power in a way that others can’t. It’s how I knew about your forest. That’s why I was out earlier, to help the forest. If we can find a way to wake up my wolf, maybe she can heal Mason.”