The Lone She-Wolf

Chapter 22

Diane's POV

I knew exactly who the woman was before me. Her long flowing ebony black hair, her skin as pale as the moon, her eyes that seemed to hold every color of the rainbow but to me there was a bit more of an amethyst purple to them. She was currently wearing a dress of moonlight with amethyst lace that had a hint of red, it went well with the purple iris flowers and baby red roses that were styled into her hair.

"Lady Luna, the Moon Goddess, Mother Moon to all wolves... I am deeply honored to be in your presence." I finally manage to speak as I feel my face become warm with a blush because I realize that I've been staring at her this entire time.

"Please, there are no need for formalities between family members. Come let me have a good look at you my daughter." She tells me, her voice feels like the soft caress of a warm evening breeze against one's skin.

"I thought Clarion was my mother?" I comment in confusion as I stand before her, allowing her to turn me about slowly so that she can inspect me to her heart's content.

"She is. I am more like a Great Grandmother... by several centuries." She informs me and I blanch at the fact that I am related distantly to this ethereal being, "I'm glad that you were finally able to get here though. I was beginning to worry that my wolf line had come to very tragic end."

"It almost did." I tell her and she stops inspecting me in order to stare into my eyes like she did and did not know what I meant.

"Wilma... she's always been a difficult one." She sighs sadly as she takes my hand and places it in her elbow as she guides me out of the small meadow clearing and into the trees that surrounded us, "I'll get ahold of the Crone for you and set up an emergency meeting with the Heads of the other Lunar Bloodlines. This is not something that should have happened and it won't happen ever again... I forbid my family from fighting each other like that."

"I just feel bad for my parents and my mate." I reply to her oath and she looks at me with a questioning gaze, "My parents lives were destroyed because of a distant witch relative and now my mate has to deal with my damaged self."

"You are not as damaged as you seem to think. You're strong, you always have been... you're just letting your fear of what happened and the fear of what could happen be chains that keep you from really accepting everything that you deserve... from accepting the happiness that I wish to bless upon you and so much more." She corrects me like she's gently scolding me as she taps my nose gently, "As for your parents, don't feel bad for them. They wouldn't want you to waste time mourning what happened to them like this... isn't that right Clarion, Marcus?"

I looked past the Moon Goddess to see the couple that had joined us from a different part of the trees. They looked as old as the days they died, but their energy reminded me of how they used to be before Wilma had brought her magic into our lives.

"My moonbeam." My mother says with tears in her eyes, a smile upon her lips and her arms open wide like she used to do when I would run to her for hugs when I was little.

I couldn't help running to her now, tears in my own eyes as I hugged her tightly, yet laughter spilled from my lips as I enjoyed the warm embrace that I had missed so much. My father stood back behind my mother by several steps, shame rolled off of him in waves, but when I slowly approached him with my mother's hand in mine he finally looked me in the eye.

"I'm so sorry... our little moonbeam. You're so much strong than the both of us." He tells me as tears stream down his face, his voice breaking a little as he spoke to me.

"I forgive you." I tell him, shock taking over his face completely as I smiled at him gently, "You're both free now... you're free Daddy."

I closed the distance between us, hugging him tightly as he sobbed into my hair than waving happily to them as they left the Moon Goddess and I to walk by ourselves again. I felt a huge weight had been lifted, and I had a feeling that that had been one of the Moon Goddess's goals for when we had come across their path. Taking my hand in hers, she guided me out of the trees into a different clearing, this one had a lake in it, and we came to stand on the sand with our feet getting splashed by the gentle waves that came up to meet us.