His Moon

XXX | Breathe

It was usually her mom's words that came to her when she needed them the most. It was like whenever she was sad or scared, whenever the wind was blowing right through her, a little butterfly would land on her finger and tell her that it was all going to be alright.

But this time, she couldn't remember her mom's words with ease. There was an eerie silence around her, outside and in. She was standing in the forest alone. It was the same place she and Kaleb had gone after the Lunar Ceremony. It was here that her path had drastically changed direction, where everything had started going wrong. 

That's where it had started, Kaia realized, when she had chosen to tug on the loose string, to follow her curiosity. Because for some reason, she'd had to know the truth. Was it regret that hung heavy around her heart? It felt like this massive lead weight that she had to drag around with her. 

Kaia's father wasn't her father. It was terrifying how badly Kaia suddenly wanted the man she'd grown up with to be her birth father because anything was better than Jack. But he wasn't. Jack was. And that made Kaia want to scratch her arms out until all of that bad blood in her veins disappeared. 

The man who'd killed her mother, the murderer that Kaia had hated for years was her father. The thought alone made Kaia's head spin, and she leaned heavily against the tree, sliding down it despite the bark scraping at her skin. 

Maybe it was because thinking about her gave Kaia's mind a break from her other worries, but she couldn't stop wondering who the woman was who she'd seen in Jack's mind. She also thought about how Kaleb felt about her now that he knew that Jack was her father, the same man who'd murdered his parents; but she wasn't worried. The fear had disappeared just as quickly as it had come. Kaia didn't hate herself, so why should Kaleb hate her? She trusted their bond.

Kaia was tired. She did want to have to think about all of her problems any longer. She wanted to curl up with a book and hot chocolate at the Prowler Mansion and read, to cry, to hide.

But Kaia couldn't disappear. She was Luna, and she had to face the music. Being Luna came with a responsibility to her Pack to make a decision. She'd stopped Kaleb from killing Jack on the spot but hadn't been sure why. Perhaps it was to spare Kaleb from having more blood on his hands. She hated to think of the possibility that she did it because no matter how disgusting a man he was, Kaia was still connected to Jack. He was her biological father, and since her mother was dead, he was the only birth parent she had left. 

That was a sad thought. 

"Hello, child." At first, Kaia thought that Jack had somehow escaped the cells in the Mansion's basement and found his way out into the forest to haunt her. But then she realized that this voice had none of the false kindness and over-the-top bravado that Jack's had. The word 'child' was ruined for her now, though. 

Kaia turned around slowly and was surprised to see the old man from the Lunar Ceremony standing in front of her, leaning heavily on his cane. He was still wearing a bow tie and donned sweet old man suspenders. He was the definition of adorable, with his kind eyes and soft smile. "What are you doing sitting in the woods alone? Kaleb's not with you?" Ben asked. 

Kaia shook her head, "I needed to think. I do that best when I'm alone in the woods." She nervously laughed. 

Ben nodded, "I understand that. I have a thinking place, too, but I always do it better when my wife's around." 

"Your wife?" Kaia asked. 

Ben nodded and smiled, coming to sit down slowly on a rock near Kaia's spot. His voice was soft and strangely comforting. Kaia felt like she could reveal secrets to this man and not even know she was doing it. "Rosy always has the guts to tell me when I'm playing the fool," Ben said, nodding.