Mrs. Gray's home is one of surprise. While I anticipated something like her son's grand manor, she's more of the cottage type. The men hang back waiting just until I knock to step forward onto the wood patio wrapping around her home. It's an eerie feeling of silence while we wait for her, and just as I go to back away and leave the door cracks open to a young girl, tears streaming down her pale face, "W-welcome." Her little arm waves around inviting me in.
For the first time since meeting some of the pack, I think I'm starting to understand why I haven't met her. Her home is one of absolute disaster, the servants all looking like they've seen a ghost. It's hard to watch, and even harder to think about, "And your name is?"
"Debby. I'm the handmaiden for Mrs. Gray. She's in her... office right now follow me." The three of us stay right on the heels of the woman. She knows the piles of junk like the back of her hand and swivels just perfectly through them. Catch me off guard again when the previous Luna is sitting on the floor with a bottle of whiskey hanging from her hand. She's frail and broken, eyes sunken deep into her head. The whiskey is almost gone, just the final swigs remain in the bottom. The servant clears her throat looking at the mom crumpled within herself on the ground, "Mrs. Gray, Luna Smite is here to greet you."
I give an awkward wave. The woman haggles herself to standing, "I've been telling that asshole of a son to introduce us," She holds out the bottle of whiskey, realizes what she does, then pulls it back to offer her other hand, "I'm Mrs. Gray. The previous Luna before my husband was violently murdered by your mate."
"I'm... Veronica. It's lovely to meet you." I try to ignore the sweat covering her hand, or the beads of terror that trickle down her skin. The servant stands on the side with worry while the two men get closer by the second, "I'll take my hand back now."
"You here to kill me?" Is this what happens when you lose your mate? And why would she say Ares killed him?
"Nothing of the sort. I want to introduce myself to you, and maybe sit down over some lunch. Ms. Debby, do you have anything we could make?" I turn to the servant who nods quickly rushing from the room. Her frail voice calls out a random amount of time that I don't bother to take note of. It'll probably be cold by the time Mrs. Gray, and I make it, "Now why don't we sit down for a moment." I lead her over a desk piled high with things. With my free hand I shove everything off the chair and drop her butt down. The woman groans but appreciates the place to plop her head.
"Luna?" Jackson interrupts when I start to walk away. I stop and give him a glance from the corner of my eye, "Do you need us to do anything?"
"I expect an explanation and be sure to talk quickly." I pop a hand on my hip looking over the two men. Both grunt in agreement while Mrs. Gray sings to herself in the corner. The clatter of pots and pans can be heard from the kitchen while Ms. Debby vigorously works to prepare a meal.
"As per tradition, the previous Alpha faced the trials after gaining the power the current Alpha had when he took over. He was challenged by twenty wolves, most coming from outside packs. The late-Alpha demanded his son step up and fight for his honor, much to the disagreement of Mrs. Gray. However, it was the only way to keep their family blood line in power. Once the late-Alpha killed the twenty, it was too late for our Alpha to back down from the trial. It's too the death, and every wolf respects the honor of the tradition. Both Alpha's put up a fair fight, but the father wasn't prepared to kill his son. Alpha Gray was forced to kill his father to keep power and gain respect from surrounding packs." Jackson sighs looking over to the sad woman, her heart aches calling out for anyone to help her, "It's common for the son to kill their father in this world, but Mrs. Gray broke at the sight. Instead of standing up, her mind was already weak and succumb to the pain of the mate bond breaking. Now Alpha Gray supports her as much as he can. She blames him for everything, calls him a traitor to the family, but takes his money without thought."
"Why would Ares have to join if the previous Alpha could have won?"
He nods, "The trials work in a 'compete until no one stands' fashion. If the Alpha had lost, which he assumed he would have after so many fights, the other men would have fought until death to secure their position. Ares was young and overly talented. His father knew his death was upcoming, expected someone to best him, and wanted a fall back. It was unexpected how much fight the Late-Alpha had, leading to the final battle that neither wanted to do."
The thoughts swirl in my head, a horrible idea forming, "That settles it then."
"Settles what?" Mark chips in after helping Mrs. Gray back onto the floor, "Please don't tell me you're planning something stupid."
"Get me Tusk and Gerald. After lunch we'll have some fun."
~
The mother refused to eat leading us to feed her like a child. All she wanted was another bottle and peace. Now that she's met me, she knows who to stab. Her words, not mine. Ares informed me that he'd planned to tell me sooner, but she was ripping into his head so much he figured me strong enough to handle it on my own. He also told me that I'd never have to meet her again if I so choose, "Welcome!" My voice carries to the front where Tusk enters. He gives a big grin dragging in his mate who shows just as much excitement to see me.
"Jackson and Mark told us to get here and soon as possible, what's going on Luna?" Gerald crosses his arms looking around. Neither seem surprised by the space. It could be possible they've been here many times before.
"I'm the Luna!" Mrs. Gray screams throwing an empty bottle towards the new faces. Tusk catches it midair throwing it behind his back with a grunt. For a drunk, that woman has an arm. I turn my head to study her. She must've been human before coming here and looking at her neck she bares the mark of a wolf. Her reflexes must be just as well off as drunk as they are sober. Sobs wrack through her again. The servant is so flustered and tired that when the woman drops to the ground, she lets her stay there. You aren't paid enough.
"Did you send word to Monica and Reynolds at the manor?" I turn to Jackson. He gives a weary nod, "Thank you. Now, Ms. Debby?"
The woman freezes looking up to me, "Yes, Luna?"
"You won't be working for Mrs. Gray anymore. I'll have you transferred to the manor with some lovely ladies. Please go pack your things." The woman reaches out as if to hug me but turns her focus to rushing towards a bedroom. My ears have started to adapt to the sensitive sounds, her movements being detectable, "Tusk, Gerald, you're in charge of Mrs. Gray. Get her to the manor. She will be staying in a lower-level room under constant surveillance."
"Wait what?" Tusk hisses giving me a stabbing look, "You can't be serious. She is a disaster; we can't have her in the manor."
"I don't believe that's for you to decide?" My smile is blinding towards him, him backing down, "And this woman needs help. She's Ares's mother for fucks sake. If we can at least get her sober enough to talk, maybe clean up the cottage, we might be able to get her a little more herself. I've heard wonderful stories about her, and I won't let this image taint the woman I know she can be."
Gerald clicks his tongue towards me with a frown, "You're a better person than I'll ever be, Luna."
Hours later we have her screeching voice in a lower room thankfully with sound proofed walls. She's not locked in the space, but guards are always placed at the door to monitor what she's doing. Anything that involves alcohol is an absolute no. I've sent message for a pack therapist as well. Maybe talking through it with a professional could help. Ares also helped me organize a cleaning crew for his mother's cottage to get things back in order in case she would ever like to return. After many apologies through the bond, and in person, he's kneeling before me kissing the back of my hands, "You are a goddess." He whispers peppering over my hand once more.
"Why haven't you tried to help her before?" My butt falls into the closet chair. Ares stays kneeling before me, but after a few moments pushes back on his haunches until he's sitting on his butt.
"I hadn't thought to try. My mother chose that path, and after we made such a decision without her, we decided that she should be able to make that on her own." His guilt eats at him. I can tell reading his face that he's tired of handling such a woman. Even the guards and servants grunt and groan at the thought of the previous Luna staying in the house.
"She's your mother." I pinch the end of my nose trying not to get too frustrated. This isn't really my place to move into family affairs whenever I'm not married but knowing what happened to me, I'd hate to see a similar ending.
"You're right." He runs a hand through his brindle hair, those gold eyes looking at me with a wonderfully warm smile, "And I want you to know I'll support you and her however I need too. While I hadn't thought to help her, your determination is enough to encourage. Thank you... I must admit it'd be nice to see a glimpse of her old self."
"Thank you for the thank you." I giggle in return. My head drops into the back of the chair looking up at the ceiling. Ares moves his tired body to standing walking the few steps to drop into the other chair, "Am I going to be like her if you die?"
"You won't have to find out." He wraps his hand around mine dragging it up to the table to rub his tub back and forth, "I have too much to fight for. Just like my father. I wish it hadn't turned out how it did. He would still be here and possibly submitted his position of his own will, but the world didn't want that. And he didn't trust himself."
"Jackson told me what happened. It was hard to hear that you were forced to kill your father. Did you not have any other way?" My head lulls to the side to look at him. Ares gives me a small smile, but no happiness met the eyes.
"As wolves are prideful and full of expectations, if I was to submit to him instead of fight, I would've forfeited my future Alpha status. My father wouldn't have been able to submit to me like the original plan. Because of my entry, I was already seen as vengeful. We both knew that if I didn't kill him then, I would be forced to kill him later. It was a hard choice, but a noble one on his part. He felt his time was up. My mother and him met very late in life, he was already looking for a choice mate by the time they ran into each other."
"Just don't die, okay?" I mumble. It's the best way to put the internal thoughts, the feelings of angst that build. I know that Ares is strong, but fifteen people is so much at one time that internal doubts eat away. His father handled twenty, but his father had more experience, more fight, can he truly kill his brothers?
"I swear to you, my love, I'll come home to you." His response is genuine which successfully shakes off some of my nerves, but the conversation takes a major turn when he breaks the sweet air between us, "And your parents. You haven't been forefront on what happened to them."
"My parents... they left me with debt. So much of it that I felt as though I was going to have to kill myself to get out of it. They invested in the wrong things, took too much money without protecting their debt, and later in life found a gambling addiction. They loved me fiercely when I was child. Never made me want, nor did I ever feel an ounce of unloved. They made sure they showed up for every event, every party, and even the stupid things like me getting my first driver's license photo." Waves of depression roll over, I've never enjoyed these conversations, "But as I got older, they had friends that invited them into the wrong circles. My parents were always easily influenced. Especially when their daughter was so good at getting what she wants. They died a little after I turned eighteen. Shot in the head point blank by their friends they owed too much money too. That's where James came in, he swept me under his feet knowing about the debt and for three years I suffered with this intense feeling I should be grateful to him."
"I'm sorry that happened to you." Ares whispers living through the memories in my mind as they play like a theater. He doesn't offer anything else. I can tell the pain I'm sharing with him is more than he expected.
"No need to be sorry. People are terrible, things are hard. You've helped me move on from that. My shoulder holds a good memory of them, and I always try to think of the good things. I know it's their fault we were so financially messed up, but if I knew them at all I know their intentions were genuine when they started."
"You believe they wanted to build a better life?"
"I do. While we weren't poor, we weren't rich either. A solid middle class. They wanted to give me the world as their only child. College, the wedding, the works. Investing isn't inherently evil, it's the other stuff they were dragged into that led to their fall. It wasn't until the end they pushed me to marry rich, and here we are." I wave my hand in the air motioning to the extravagant bedroom, "While I know I should be mad about how we got together. I know I should be giving you hell for everything; I need to stop and say thank you."
"Thank you? For what my love?"
"Yes, you kidnapped me, and yes you drugged me. I already forgave you for marking me, but you also saved me from my past. My demons. You've shown nothing but love and care. If forever happiness and security is the cost of a getting taken from a business lunch, then I'd pay it again."
"I love you so very much Veronica."
I crawl from my chair and into his lap, my heart beats in sync with his, eyes closing the moment I lay my head against his chest, "I love you so very much too. I hope we can help your mother, and I hope we have a long and happy life ahead of us."
Ares sets his hand over my belly. His palms run back and forth over the tiny bump starting to form, "You're my most valuable gift."