The Moon Wolf

Chapter 29 (1st Draft)

Penn looked at Reagan's fingers, which gently clasped her arm turning it a bit to the right and then the left, but could not see anything strange about her limb.

"See what?" Penn asked with growing frustration and anxiety.

She didn't have time for this - whatever this was. She needed to find the children. That's what the dream or vision was about wasn't it? It was a message from the Moon goddess telling her to come and find the children. She felt a burning need to see them and instinctively knew that feeling would only intensify the longer she stood there waiting for everyone's bewilderment to abate. 

It was the Master at Arms who came forward then and shared what everyone was thinking. "You look more like the Moon goddess right now than you do you."

"Moon goddess?" Penn repeated incredulously. "You've all gone mad," she declared with true astonishment. She was just a packless wolf, a nobody, a worthless mutt. It was sacrilegious of Arn to compare her in any small way with the Moon goddess.

Baffled and too impatient to get to the bottom of whatever was ailing everyone right then, she turned away from Ruuni, Reagan and Arn to look up at Troy, who still held her hand. He smiled gently at her. His warm, inviting smile was reassuring.

"I don't understand what's going on with everyone, but, I need to see the children tonight, Alpha Troy. Can you help me?"

"Of course," he encouraged her. After all, he'd already agreed to her request up in Fancy's room. He just didn't realize she was in such a panic to see them so urgently until that moment. That pleading look in her eyes said it all to him.

He looked over at Lucas. "I need you to contact all the children's families and have them bring the kids to the square." It was the most central location in the village. Everyone would be able to arrive about the same time.

"No," Penn said straight away, "not the square." Wasn't the centre of town the place in her dream where the pups perished? She shivered at the vivid and life-like memory. "No, no," she mumbled to herself. "Ah, let them meet us at the pack house. Will that work for everyone?" She asked as she looked from Troy to Lucas and then back to Troy again.

"Yes, no problem," Troy replied before he gave Lucas a nod. He then turned his attention back to Penn, taking hold of her shoulders and turning her to face him directly. "What's going on Penn?"

"I don't know," she told him truthfully. "I just know .. I .. I know I have to see them right now."

From behind, Elder Ruuni placed a comforting hand on Penn's right shoulder and spoke to Alpha Troy, "Leave it with us. We'll take care of it."

He gave her a grateful smile and a nod before looking down at Penn and saying, "Lets head over to the pack house and wait."

Penn gave him an eager nod and to Ruuni she gave the woman a grateful smile. It wasn't lost on her how keen everyone was to help. Not a single person present had offered any resistance or complained in any way about her presence there in the dead of night. They really were the most caring and supportive group of wolves she had ever encountered in her entire life. Penn gave up a silent prayer of thanks to the Moon goddess, who surely had a hand in all of this.