Athena had no trouble getting to the human town, the asshole following her as usual. Skipping the coffee and bookstore, she opted to find a busy store and a spot in the parking lot. Placing the envelope inside her gym bag, she locked up before going in the store. The first place she headed was the fragrance area, dousing herself with every sample available to mask her scent.
Adequately satisfied she would be able to slip out unnoticed, she wound her way through the store then dashed out. She entered the address Gramps gave her into the GPS, leading her downtown. Frowning, she pulled into a lawyers office and Gramps' truck wasn't in the lot.
She grabbed her bag and sniffed the air, getting traces of Gramps and Grandma's scents. Walking in the front door, she is assaulted by her grandparents.
"Oh honey, how are you holding up?" Grandma asked.
"I'm fine."
"You might be good at hiding your emotions, but you can't fool me. You can stay in your delusion. For now." They both hugged her tight.
"Here's the stuff from mom." Athena took the packet from her bag, handing it over to Gramps.
"Excellent! I'll take these back to the boys," he turned and walked down a hallway.
"Grandma, what's going on? Why are we at a human lawyer's? How did you get here, I didn't see Gramps truck."
"We got a ride from Uber, Mike and Chris are both visiting other packs for us. The rest of your questions will be answered, but not by me."
"Where is everyone?" Athena asked as she looked around the empty office.
"It was important to have privacy so the workers went home."
"Why?"
"You'll find out when I do dear."
After an hour of visiting, Gramps called them back to a conference room. "Have a seat Athena. Do you remember your grandmother?" Athena looked at Linda, "your father's mother."
"Not really, she died when I was young."
"Hmm, well, let me start at the beginning, since I doubt you've heard it. Ryan is four years older than Michelle, and she was twenty-one when they met. I finally convinced her to attend the games, in hopes of finding her mate. Michelle worried that her mate would be upset about her being an Omega. Turns out she had good reason." Gramps paused a moment.
"Ryan was always disappointed with Michelle, he treated her with distain, especially in the first years together. I found out years later that Ryan wanted to reject her. His father stopped him, because having a weak true Luna is better than rejecting a destined one to take a chosen one."
"My mother isn't weak! Did he forget she has Alpha blood?"
"He didn't care, her Omega gene was the only thing he focused on. Because of his treatment of her, she miscarried her first two pups. His mother, Susan, was the one to rescue Michelle, making her stand up to him. He either changed his ways or she was going to reject him. By that time, she'd been Luna a couple of years and had the support of many wolves."
"I had more siblings?" Artemis whined in her head.
"Three more, to be exact. She lost the last one in between you and Nick. When Michelle found out she was pregnant with you, Susan intervened, putting her on constant bed rest. Susan kept Ryan away and under control until you were born. Ryan was disappointed again when you turned out to be a she-wolf instead of a male. The first two were both boys."
"Boo hoo for him," she grumbled, "that makes some sense."
"Susan watched over you when you were little, she was worried about how you were raised. Michelle being who and what she is, couldn't stand up to Ryan and fight for you. Susan, however, had more power over him. Unfortunately, she and your grandfather, Paul, were away when Michelle got pregnant again. After that, she rarely left her side."
"I don't remember her much, dad never talks about her. I haven't thought about her much either, I thought she was treated the same as the other she-wolves of the pack."
"No, Susan was a strong Luna, Michelle was seen as weak by Ryan and Paul. Before that, she-wolves in your pack were treated much better. Susan died when you were about six, after that no one was around to keep those bastards in check."
"This is interesting, but why are we in a lawyers office to talk about my grandmother?" Athena was starting to get impatient.
"Because she left you an inheritance. She knew as soon as you were born that you are an Alpha. She also knew how Ryan was and that he wouldn't take care of you like he should. She set aside a portfolio for you and any other female Michelle might give birth to. Obviously you will be the only one so it all goes to you."
"An inheritance? Like a will?" Athena was confused.
"Not exactly, a will would've been contested. The only people who knew about it besides Susan was Michelle and the partner of this firm. Your mother had the transferring documents in her safe, the attorney has had all the investments. You brought them here. He's working on getting everything for you to sign, now that you're eighteen you can claim it."
"Okay," she slowly said, "how much are we talking about? A couple thousand dollars?"
"I don't know, even Michelle doesn't know exactly what was in the portfolio. Michelle was the beneficiary until you came of age. That's why she had to sign them over to the lawyer."
A man interrupted after knocking, "there's a personal letter here for Athena, we should have everything ready soon." He handed an envelope to Athena then left the room.
She looked at her grandparents before carefully opening the yellow flap, the glue still sticking together.
My dearest granddaughter,
I'm sorry I wasn't there to watch you grow and become the strong, wonderful woman I know you will be. I knew from the moment I held you in my arms that you were meant for great things. The Moon Goddess has truly blessed our family by giving you to us. I also know my son and he's too stubborn and set in the ways of the past. He will not help you succeed and it breaks my heart. I have done my best to raise him differently but I've failed him and in doing so, I've failed you. I can only pray to the Goddess to watch over you instead. You are the next link in a long chain of remarkable Lunas. We have been taking care of each other for decades. You are destined to be our first female Alpha, not Luna, but your mate will be Luna. I can trust you to protect the secrets you will learn. It is your duty to pass it to the next Luna of the Crescent Moon Pack, be it your daughter or not. Of course you can provide for her as well, it is our legacy that I leave in your capable hands. You are well loved, in this life and the next. I will be watching over you always, my precious Athena.
Your loving grandmother,
Susan
Athena had tears falling down her face, dripping on the bottom of the page. "I wish I remembered her, she had faith in me and I was just a child."
"Even as a child, we could see you were a bright, caring, determined person. Time hasn't changed you, you feel a powerful desire to protect. As a matter of fact, Susan is the one who named you. Michelle had picked out a different girl name, I don't recall what it was. Susan picked you up and said you deserved a name to suit how blessed you were. She said Athena after the Greek goddess would be the only appropriate name for you. She was right," Grandma said.
"The only one without faith is Ryan, but his opinion is worthless." Gramps grunted.
"Did she know Artemis was my wolf?"
"Of course not, no one besides the Moon Goddess herself knows who your wolf is until they wake up on your tenth birthday."
A knock sounded on the door before two men walked in carrying several folders of papers. "Hello, I'm Benjamin Hudson, senior partner here at Hudson, Hill and Reed." The older man looked to be in his fifties, close in age to Gramps, with greying light brown hair.
"My name is Adam Hill, nice to meet you." He was a blonde in his mid forties, after the group all shook hands then Adam said, "if you follow me, I'll escort you out," speaking to Gramps and Grandma.
Benjamin made a copy of her drivers license, then he explained what was going on.
"Agatha Knight, born May first, eighteen sixty three, was the first of your ancestors to save money and start investing," the older of the two men said.
"Excuse me, did you say eighteen sixty three? As in born during the Civil War? I thought my grandmother Susan started this."
"Agatha was born during the Civil War, I believe the horrors of the war prompted her to take action to preserve the future. Since that time, her decendants have grown the family fortune a considerable amount. It is not in a will, instead the beneficiary has been added to all holdings. Your name was added after Susan Knight, deceased, and Michelle Knight, conservator since your birth. Susan was the sixth generation to receive the legacy."
"I have money? How much money?" Athena was skeptical that this would help her.
"If we were to sell everything including but not limited to stocks, bonds and property," he paused a moment to check the computer he brought. "It would be around three hundred and fifty million dollars."