Chapter Six: The Luna Mother

ZOVADA

With a quickened pace, I buried the unsettled emotions and made my way to the healing wing of the manse. The guards silently pulled the massive French doors open, I offered a grateful nod as I passed through, they nodded in return as the doors slammed with a loud bang. With a sigh, I took in all the fresh scents, the wing had been outfitted to look like half greenhouse, half hospital. Doctors, nurses, herbalists, and Omegas wandered the wing. All of my stress and worry melted away at an instant, even with the fear of Luna’s health looming, I still felt at ease.

The Sanctuary, as I liked to call the healing wing of the Pack House, was so different. The air was lighter between the free air for the medicinal plants, the giant windows for the sun, and the secured, sterilized hospital pod areas. For me though, the best part was ….

“Good afternoon, Luna Zovada.” A beautiful Omega nurse called out. I turned to her, she smiled brightly as she offered me a tray with an assortment of beverages and snacks. I smiled and took a bottle of water. Luna Zovada. The title warmed me from the inside out, even though it felt far away. This was the one place aside from the Gammas, that I truly felt like the future Luna of Horne Pack. 

“Hello Nurse Hillary. Thank you.”

“Luna Mother Claudia is in the garden”

“The garden? She should be resting. Has something happened?”

Nurse Hillary sighed. “I know, but she feels trapped and restless lately. Unsettled?” Nurse Hillary stared out the window.  “She is desperate for your time, and terribly worried about you. She senses something on the horizon.”

I sighed. Dread knotted in my stomach. As if I needed validation of my own terrifying thoughts that something was coming….

Luna Claudia had a sixth sense. She seemed to always know something was afoot before it happened. Whether she knew the details or not was never clear. I nodded in response. She smiled warmly and wandered off to the hospital pods with her snacks. It was like I was in a completely different world from the rest of the packhouse, Sanctuary felt like home.

My feet carried me to the opposite end of the corridor with brilliant diamond glass doors propped open to welcome in the cool breeze. I knew she’d be the furthest from the ward, lost in her roses, as she had always found solace in privacy and with a determined mind, ventured forth.

Taken in by the blooms and greens, the butterflies and birdsongs, I could almost forget the digital and concrete world on the other side. The emotional turmoil and devastation of my frayed mate bond, the uncertainty of whether or not I had a wolf, all of it. 

With a smile, I finally found the rows of roses against the white picket fence and pushed open the white door. As soon as I crossed the threshold, I heard the snip of her pruning shears and relief flooded me so viciously I thought I might cry. .

There she was, even in her weakened state, her Luna power was palpable as her silhouette stood against the rays of sun, surrounded by her rainbow roses. I opened my mouth to say something, but she beat me to it. “Little Leaf. What has my son done to you now? I can smell the distress dripping off of you. Your bond with Simon has weakened further, and you are in pain.”

“Luna Mother. Your instincts are as sharp as ever.” I said softly as I stared into the line of giant rose bushes that separated us. So, my scent has not been lost after all. I am not turning into a human like I feared. Tears stung my eyes, whether it be from relief or pain, I did not know as I stared at the sky and swallowed hard.

When I didn’t reply, Claudia let out a sigh laced with emotion. “None of that matters right now. We’ll get to it later. Come over here and get your hands in the dirt. It will….help.”

I nodded and made my way around the bushes. Claudia wore a beautiful orange sun dress that hung off of her shoulders. Her bare feet made no sound as she adjusted her position to allow space for me beside her. Under a giant brown sun hat, her long curly grey hair was wild in the wind. She smiled warmly, but didn’t dare try to hug me, but I knew she supported me based on the pain etched into her own face. We both knew I would fall apart if she tried. 

We dropped to our knees, and she gave me instructions on what she wanted for the garden. I’d always had a green thumb, but her telling me what to do gave me room to empty my brain.

The minute my fingers were lodged into the cool, wet, soil an instant calm came over me.

Claudia watched as my hands moved within the earth and dug the holes she wanted, she dropped her seeds in, all the while she never took her eyes off me. 

Together we covered them, her hands covered mine, the smooth ground beneath my palm was stabilizing and freeing for me in a way that attuned me to the land around me. My veins vibrated, my heart thundered in my chest.

Wait…what is this feeling? It feels familiar… Something deep within felt connected, found, like it had always been there but…suppressed. Tears fell like diamonds from my eyes and splashed where we planted, and a few moments later we had a mini fleet of sprouts.

Claudia chuckled. “I knew it.”

We pulled our hands away and admired the sprouts. Light green leaves, it felt as though something monumental just happened. “What…?” I whispered.

Claudia shifted toward me and placed her hands on my cheeks. After a moment, she moved to pull my gaze to look into her eyes, which shimmered with tears. “You precious girl. He has no idea what he has right in front of him, does he?”

She ran her fingers through the hairs that fell loose from my bun. “Listen to me Zovada. You are the Luna of the Horne Pack. You and I both know, you’ve been handling the Pack affairs in my stead for years while I have been ill. You have been keeping this pack afloat while Richard has burnt through money to support that harlot mistress of his and their brazen daughter. We need to tell Simon.”

“Luna Mother… I can’t…he knows I have been doing the work of Luna. He just doesn’t understand what all that entails.”

She scoffed. “Fucking Alphas. They have no idea how much work running a pack is. They’re all brawn and have no brains.” 

I chuckled. 

“It’s more than that though, Little Leaf. Look what you can do.”  She motioned to the sprouts.

I gasped. “That was me?” My voice sounded foreign in my ears.

“Yes. It was you. It certainly wasn’t me. This isn’t the first time, Zovada.”

“That’s impossible.”

“Is it? Think about your life since you’ve arrived at the packhouse. These gardens. Of course I helped you, gave you knowledge I'd already gathered from my own experiences. But–”

Realization dawned on me. “But Mary….”

“Mary?” Claudia tilted her head. “The Omega? What about her?” 

I fell backward, something akin to panic rose in my chest. She reached for me and called my name, yet she felt so far away. I pressed a hand to my temple as my surroundings blurred to a different garden with stone walls instead of the white picket fence for a moment. 

“I…I.. she said she was in pain, threw out her back. I remember, I pressed my hand against it when I steadied her, and then suddenly, she was able to stand tall again. Luna Mother… What is wrong with me?” 

“You healed her?” Tears streamed down her cheeks. “Oh, Little Leaf, this is… What were you doing beforehand?” 

“I…what was I doing?” My heart jumped in my throat. “The living wall, the one with the climbing thyme, the Clematis and Wisteria? Your favorite in the main corridor?” 

“Of course. We planted it together when you first arrived, one of my favorite memories, my Little Leaf.” 

“Simon and I had just had a fight, it was like it had empathy for my own misery in that moment. I took care of it, touched it, moved some things around, and it stood taller, then I saw Mary and–”

Claudia smiled proudly at me. “Just like the sprouts?”

“How is this possible?”

“Because you, Little Leaf, are my impossible, possible girl. The only person who was ever convinced it couldn’t work, or you were undeserving of anything but success? Was you. It is not just your power, but your resilience. Your persistence. Your energy. It's infectious. Your ingenuity. You patented the diamond glass for greenhouse living and for sterilization for the hospital. Found the correct blend of plants for my poultices? You are single handedly the only reason I am still alive. The tea you gave to the Doctors earlier? The elderberry spritz? Perfection.”

“No that’s not—”

“Who taught you?” When I couldn’t reply, she smirked. “Exactly. You just knew.”

She reached in a hidden pocket within her dress and pulled out a leather pouch marked with a leaf insignia. She passed it to me. “I have always known you were special. You came out of nowhere. I have no idea how old you are. I know your birthday, but not the year you were born. I know we shifters tend to age slower.” 

“Well, sure, if I had a wolf, I feel like I get new grey hair every day.” I muttered.

She chuckled. “Grey? I think not. White? Perhaps. Also, this whole Wolfless business? I don’t believe that for a second Little Leaf. You could be old enough to be my mother, or young enough to be a daughter. All that matters is, when we found you lost in that human city. Living your life on the streets as a human orphan caring for those children, with the scent of a shifter, we knew we needed to bring you home. Even now, every spare cent you have, you send to that orphanage. There is not another soul in this world better prepared to be a Luna, than you.”

I opened the pouch. It smelled of chamomile, juniper, and cinnamon. I pulled out a large iron key, beautifully crafted. On the back of it was engraved ‘Vale.’

“What is this?”

“I don’t know. I found it in your things when you were younger. I say younger, but you look almost exactly the same as the day I found you. Regardless, when we found you, I helped you unpack your boxes, and it was buried. There was a War, long ago. The War of the Witches, not much of the story survives today. There were four clans, each one represented an element. Guess what the clan name was that represented Earth?”

“Vale.” I whispered.

She nodded. “I feared for your safety if someone discovered that key in your possession and I wanted to keep you safe. So, I took it and buried this secret. For that I am sorry, Little Leaf.”

“But you said, I have the scent of a shifter, how can I be some type of Vale Earth Witch?”

“I don’t know. What I do know is that you have never shifted, but I have seen you miraculously make things grow in days that should take years.”

“Why tell me this now?”

“You are the future Luna in this pack. It is time for my son to stop dragging his feet and embrace the bond. I have a feeling that once you are mated. Fully. With a Mark. You will find all of your answers.”

“I—”

Suddenly, Luna Claudia’s maid rushed over. “Luna Zovada! Come quick!”

I quickly covered the key and shoved it in my overall pocket. 

“What’s wrong Margery?” Luna Claudia asked when she knew the key was stowed away.

“Alpha Richard requested a pack-wide meeting. Immediately. He demands Luna Zovada’s presence.”

Luna Claudia and I exchanged a glance. “A pack wide announcement? Well then, that is something new.” We helped each other to our feet. “Margery. Tell my husband that his whore will vacate my seat.”

“Are you sure?” Margery and I asked in unison.

Luna Mother Claudia smirked. “Yes. Time to remind them that I am still alive.”

Margery nodded and took off at once. Once she was clear of them Luna Claudia turned towards me. “I know our time was cut short. Take a moment to process everything.”

I nodded. She placed a hand on my cheek. “You are powerful. Beautiful. Your potential, beauty, and heart, knows no bounds. Nothing will stop you–unless you let it.”

“Thank you, Luna Mother...” She winked and walked off. 

Once I was alone, I pulled the key out of my pocket, and once it was free from the pouch and the cool iron was against my flesh, the scenery around me faded to black. The voices in my head surrounded me. 

You’re running out of time, Zovada. 

Find Norcunis…before he finds you. 

Things shifted, and a forest engulfed me. In the center was a sprawling mossy cobblestone manse, surrounded by flowers and herbs. I walked toward the massive double oak door. The smell of juniper and cinnamon invaded my senses with a feeling of warmth. Carved into the door was ‘Vale Manor’ in gorgeous script. 

I reached a hand out to twist the beautifully crafted black iron door knob, Your memories–

Before I could connect with the metal, I was propelled back into the rose garden I’d shared with Luna Claudia. 

What was that?