The Rise of a Luna

Chapter 10

After I watch Lizzie go off with Jess, I let out a small sigh. She's in good hands with Jess and the security team.
"Luke, how is this possible? How is she alive? What in the hell was she doing at Blood River?" My mom asks me with a pained look on her face.
"Not here, too many ears. Let's go to my office?" I say as I start ushering her up the stairs towards my office. I send Nathan a mind link to come as well. Once the three of us are all situated and the door is securely locked, my mom starts in again.
"Mom, Lizzie survived the attack because her mom had hidden her away. From what she's told me, Alpha Justin's father and his Beta found her when they were clearing the house after it burned down." I explain.
"Oh my goodness! Bless the moon goddess, but the poor child!" My mom gasps as tears start to form in her eyes.
"From what I have gathered, it was assumed that she was a surviving Omega pup. So, they took her in and turned her in a child slave." I practically spit the words out.
"THEY DID WHAT?!" My mom shouts.
She cooked, cleaned, was giving a pantry behind the kitchen to sleep in, was beaten, mistreated, abused, starved, and even had to bathe in the pond behind the house." I explain while pinching the bridge of my nose. I take a calming breath before I continue. "Theo sensed her during the birthday party, but I couldn't find her until blood started to mix with her scent. Theo practically broke through the walls to find her, which by the way, was bleeding out on the bathroom floor while a group of sadistic girls beat on her." I finally meet my mom's eyes and see that they've gone dark. Annie was her best friend, in fact unbeknownst to Lizzie, my mom is her godmother. If her survival had been advertised somehow, she would have come straight here.
"Well, if she's anything like Annie was, then she's one hell of a fighter. Both in and out of a fight." My mom says as she shakes her head. I look over at Nathan who shoots me a knowing look.
"Luna Caroline, you're spot on." Nathan says with a grimace. He saw first hand the situation that Lizzie was in. I give an involuntary shudder.
"I cannot believe the nerve that man had. Taking in a child to only turn her into a slave! Don't they have an Elder in their pack?" My mom asks with venom in her words. I get the feeling her wolf is trying to come out and kill someone.
"Now that you mention it, I didn't see an Elder present at the party. Which is unusual." I rub my chin in thought. "Did you see one?" I ask Nathan.
"No, I didn't even sense one." He says with wide eyes.
"I will look into that." She growls at the two of us. We hold our hands up in a sign of peace.
"All yours. But, there's more." I tell her with a wince.
"Excuse me?" She asks eerily calm. Scary calm.
"Their pack doctor told us that he was prohibited from ever treating Lizzie's wounds or injuries." I tell her. She eyes turn black again and she goes oddly still. She's not just fighting with herself, she's fighting with her wolf now to stay calm.
"Are you saying they made a pup heal from injuries... with... no... medical... treatment?" She asks and enunciates the last part.
"Until Alpha Justin took over, he never renewed that Alpha order. Which meant the doc's hands were no longer tied." I explain.
"Tell me he helped the poor girl." She says quietly.
"Oh yes, so much so that I brought him and his mate here with us. That pack didn't deserve him or the kindness of his wife." I explain with a shrug of the shoulders. This brings a smile to my mom's face.
"That's my boy." She says with pride.
"Of course, now we need to alert the Elders." I state as I take a seat behind my large mahogany desk. I open my laptop and wait for it to boot up so I can start sending emails to the appropriate contacts.
"The Elders are sure to charge Blood River with these heinous crimes." My mom expels another deep breath as she takes a seat across from me. Nathan does the same.
"To be honest, I can't believe we didn't have more of a fight getting her out of there. I mean we practically just walked out the front door. It's extremely odd that they gave up their slave so willingly." Nathan says with a scratch to the back of his neck.
    "That's a good point." I meet his eyes. "That pack won't last more than a few days without her."
    "Especially since letting her go with you meant losing possibly the most powerful wolf within their pack." My mom says as she rubs her hands over her face. I can only imagine the emotional turmoil that she's feeling at the moment. She's lost so much between my dad, Annie, her husband, and she thought Lizzie was gone as well. To than find out Lizzie is alive and also my destined mate, she's the strongest woman I know.
    "What do you mean the most powerful?" Nathan asks.
    "That's right, I never told you," Mom looks between Nathan and I. "Lizzie isn't just an Alpha because of James' bloodline, but also Annie's. My mom explains.
    "Wait, say that again?" I ask with shock.
    "Annie was the only female Alpha on her side of the family in many generations. Her direct bloodline always had boys and they all eventually had their own packs or became ranking members, including her brother." My mom goes on to explain. "I never did hear what happened to Adam after he met his own mate who was in line for her own pack as a Luna." She adds lost in thought. I can see her reliving the memories as she gazes off in the distance. "Annie and I were from the same pack and quickly became friends when she stood up for me against a group of mean girls. Even though she was technically my superior by blood, she never made it seem that way." She lets out a shaky breath.
    "So, Lizzie comes from two pure blood Alphas?" I ask completely shocked.
    "Yes, she probably doesn't even know it. Honestly, she's probably even more powerful than you are, just based on DNA." My mom says in a serious tone.
    "Mate is more powerful than us! Yes!" Theo shouts.
    "Glad we are both okay with this." I tell him.
"Luke, does she remember you?" My mom asks softly with sadness written all over her face.
"I don't think she does. I only interacted with her that one time when she was like three. So, I don't think she remembers me at all." I rub my hands over my face in frustration. "I'm not even sure if I should bring that up." I sigh.
"Wait, rewind, and freeze. Is this the same Elizabeth that you rescued from that group of rogues when you were ten? Wasn't she practically still in diapers?" Nathan looks at me incredulously.
"one in the same." I pinch the bridge of my nose.
"Damn, no wonder you never found your mate. The mood goddess has had this written in the starts for years it seems." Nathan lets out a whistle.
"Annie and I once had a conversation about how perfect it would be if our kids ended up being mates. She used to tell me how amazing it would be to officially be family." I can see the haunted memories in her eyes.
"I mean, she was so young that I don't even think she'd believe me even if I did tell her." I tell them.
"Personally, I recommend that you just rip the bandaid off. It'll be better than keeping it from her as a secret. Plus, Aunt Caroline is the closest thing to family that she has since she's her godmother." Nathan says as he sits back in his chair and props his feet up on my desk.
"Wait! There's a photo!" My mom practically flys out of her chair and out of my office.
I shove Nathan's feet off my desk as we exchange looks of confusion. We wait a few minutes in silence before my mom comes flying back in like a tornado with a shoebox. She sets it on the desk and starts shuffling through it. I can see that there's close to a hundred old photos of various people and things shuffled and messily stacked inside.
"Ah ha!" My mom says in triumphant. She passes me an old photo. "This photo will help, even if she doesn't remember." She says.
I hold the photo up and examine it. It's a photo of Annie, James, Lizzie, and myself. Only, I'm carrying Lizzie on my back and she's kissing the back of my neck in the cute way that toddlers do. This photo was taken after we returned Lizzie to her parents after the attack. I've never and will never forget this day. It was the day I made my first kill, the day I broke my wrist for the first time in an attack, and the day I felt extremely uncomfortable sparks from a three year old's kiss that had been planted on the back of my neck.

-Flashback-
"Mommy! I want my warrior to carry me though!" The little girl whined.
"Sweetheart, Lizzie, don't bother Luke like that. Now come to mommy." Her mother said sternly.
"I honestly don't mind." I tell her as I crouch down in front of the small little girl. "How about a piggy back ride?" I ask her with a smile.
"Yes please!" The little girl giggles as she climbs up on my back. For a toddler, she's pretty strong.
"Can I keep my warrior daddy?" The little girl begs of her dad as she clutches my shoulders. I remember the kiss she placed on the back of my neck so clearly because the sparks shocked me like a lightening bolt. Even before our wolves were present. I remember shooting my mom a look of surprise and seeing the knowing and equally shocked look in her eyes. It was at that moment that my mom decided it would be a good idea to capture a picture. I remember she pulled out her camera and snapped one so fast that none of us had time to protest.
"I don't know Lizzie, Aunt Caroline would like to have him back." Her dad says with a chuckle. I can feel her pouting against my back and it almost crushed my ten year old heart.
"I'll make you a deal Lizzie." I pull her around my side so I'm carrying her in my arms. "When you're big and strong, I will come back. You can keep me then. How does that sound?" I ask her before she can start crying.
"Promise?" She sniffles and wipes her nose.
"Promise." I carry her like that the rest of the way back to her pack's pack house.
-End of Flashback-

I look up from the picture and meet my mom's eyes. With my mind made up, I decide that I'm going to just tell Lizzie about this and see what happens. I say a silent prayer though that after I tell her about this that she'll be able to trust me more and feel more comfortable. It'd be nice though, if this could just give her a little piece of her past back after all these years.
"I'll talk to her tonight." I tell them with my mind made up.
"When do you think we can plan the Luna ceremony?" My mom asks with a small tired smile.
    "Probably after she accepts me as her mate." I cautiously say.
    "Excuse me?" My mom raises an eyebrow at me.
    "Well, she, um... hasn't actually accepted me as her mate yet." I look away so I don't have to meet her eyes.
    "Why not?" She asks softly.
    "Considering all the shit she's been through, and all the loss, I'm sure she has some trust issues. I'm trying to give her time to come to terms with all of this on her own. Frankly, I'm not looking to pressure or push her into anything." I tell them both. I watch as empathy and understanding cross their faces. "With everything she's been through in the last ten years, I don't want to give her any reason to not trust me or this pack." I go on to explain.
    "I think we can all understand that son." My mom says with pride in her eyes. She reaches across my desk to grab my hand. "Your father and I raised you right." She says with tear filled eyes.