"Sit down." Zane commanded his mother.
Taking her time to get comfortable, she finally looked at him. "If you expect an apology, you'll be disappointed."
"Never fear, mother," putting a slight sarcastic tone on the last word, "That's the last thing I'd ever expect from you." Tightly controlling his anger, he repeated in his head 'remember the girls'.
"Well, I'm glad we got that out of the way. Did you want to discuss how the shopping trip went?"
"No. I am going to be very clear. Say another demeaning word to Sierra, and I will banish you again. Say anything derogatory about Sierra, and you'll be removed from the pack."
"What did I say? Only the truth. I know you, son. If you actually wanted her to be your Luna, you would've done it already. If you wanted to have her as your mate, you would've marked her. Since you've done neither of those things, it's clear to me that you realize she's not worthy. Now, as to who is worthy, you should make Lily your Luna. She would be wonderful at it. Then you'd guarantee her and Andrew staying."
Seeing red at the way she spoke about Sierra, he almost missed her comment about Lily. Clutching his fists, he focused on keeping control.
She does have a point. If Sierra was over eighteen, we would've marked her, and she'd officially be our Luna.
That doesn't give her rights to insult Sierra.
No.
"Lily will not be Luna."
"Why not? It makes perfect sense. She's not a ranked wolf in Silver Moon. She's been trained for this."
"By whom? If Andrew wasn't born to rank, neither was she."
"Pish posh, I trained her. Always knew my Lily would be a Luna."
"I never asked you to train her. Why would I want you to do that?"
"I am the Luna of this pack."
Standing up, he's had enough. "You are NOT the Luna of my pack! You haven't been one officially since the day I took Alpha over twenty years ago. Before that, you were a pitiful excuse for a Luna and a mother. The only reason you're allowed here is because my daughters love you. I have no idea why, but they do. Out of respect for them, I'm allowing you to stay. If I hear you've said anything about the love of my life, I will not hesitate to make you a rogue. Do not spread rumors about Lily being Luna because she will never be. Do you understand?"
Towering over her and letting some of his Alpha power out, she was unable to form a comeback. "Yes, Alpha." Stressing Alpha, she was glad to see she got under his skin.
"Good, now get out." He growled at her.
Slowly rising, she walked backward towards the door. Bowing her head dramatically, she said, "Whatever you wish, Alpha." Then she left.
We can still send her to a cell for a few hours. Or days.
Not helping.
I guess it would upset the girls.
Brittany is beginning to warm up to Sierra, or at least being civil.
Fine, we won't punish her yet.
Let's see what her next move is.
Fuming, Karen stalked away. Wolves bent their heads at her out of respect but scattered out of her way when they saw her face. She was in no mood for chit-chat. She had no doubt Zane would follow through on his threats. He was no longer that little boy who wanted her approval. Nor was he drowning in grief anymore. That little bitch did something to him. There was more going on here, but in order to find out, she would have to tread very carefully. She didn't care if he asked her to leave. She was terrified of becoming rogue, though. She would die if that happened.
Entering Lily's house, she sighed when she heard giggling from upstairs. Those two fucked like rabbits. It was annoying. Too bad Brittany had school today. At least with her younger sister around Lily and Andrew settled down a bit. Tossing the car keys on the counter, she hoped the noise would break them up.
"Grandma!" Lily called from upstairs. "We'll be down in a minute!"
Ten minutes later, they finally graced her with their presence. "Well, what did dad say? Will he make me Luna?" Lily squealed, the noise grating on Karen's nerves.
"No." Lily's expression fell, and she was about to ask Andrew to leave them in private, but he spoke up.
"Why the hell not? Lily deserves to be Luna. Is it because she's not twenty-one yet? You know, it didn't even cross my mind. Sometimes I forget you're younger than me." He kissed Lily's lips in a quick kiss.
"It's not her age." She scrutinized him from head to toe. She met him a few days ago and hasn't had a chance to get to know him. Yesterday was all talk about the house.
"Then what is it?" He frowned, looking from one female to the other.
"Andrew, do you want Lily to be Luna of Night Wind?"
"Of course! She would be a wonderful Luna."
Narrowing her eyes, she asked him. "What's in it for you?"
"For me?" He tried acting shocked, but Karen saw through it.
"Cut the crap. I don't know you, so lay it out." She crossed her arms, waiting.
Looking at his mate for confirmation, he decided to tell her. "I'm the third son of an Alpha. My oldest brother has the gene, making it impossible for me to even think about taking it from him. My other brother is his Beta since my dad's Beta never had a son, just two girls. The Delta and Gamma spots were handed down. That leaves me an Alpha's son without a title. Alpha Zane has no sons to take over the pack. If Lily is Luna, it would also make sense for him to pass Alpha to me when he's ready. I would never challenge him." He quickly added the last part, and Karen saw the flicker of fear.
"That's some ambition. It would be difficult to achieve without help. The gene is active everywhere. Could you fight for this pack and win against someone like your brother?"
"I've been training harder since I found out I wouldn't have a place in my pack."
Karen thought for a moment. She highly doubted the male in front of her could win against a true Alpha in a battle. That wasn't important right now, though. She didn't care who Zane passed the pack to. He's still in his prime. It wouldn't surprise her if he kept being Alpha another thirty years. She wanted, no, needed, Lily to become Luna. It would be the only way for her to be accepted back in the pack. Zane allowed her to visit, but never more than a month at a time. She was tired of moving around and wanted to come home. Zane was being his usual stubborn self.
"We have to let it rest for now. That little bitch has Zane wrapped around her finger. What I can't figure out is why he hasn't marked her. He's too protective and won't give her up easily. If he hears anyone say anything about her, he will toss them out. He won't listen to reason. The only way to break them up is through her. We must be careful. Something is not right here, and I need time to figure it out."
"What should we do?" Lily asked.
"Make nice with her. Lull her into trusting you. Discover her secrets. It's useless to try to poison his mind about her. That will turn out bad for us. We need to get her to leave. That's the key. Make her turn on him, and then we will be there to console him. He will see he needs you as Luna. Mark my words."
Satisfied for now, she let the couple turn their attention to finishing their house. It really was a grand place, and it was obvious Zane spared no expense building it. She felt a ping of jealousy and anger since Zane never did anything for her. Pushing it aside, she vowed to get her position back. Mother of the Luna. She liked that.
Sierra picked up Angie from daycare before heading to Zane's office to do her school work. She tried doing it at home, but sitting next to him after being at school was soothing. She tried not to think about it too much.
Who are you kidding? You think about him all day.
Do not!
Even when I wasn't strong enough to talk to you, I heard your thoughts.
Can you go back to being quiet?
Nope.
"What's wrong, sweetheart?" Zane asked as she stepped into his space.
"Star! All day, she's been yapping in my head."
I don't yap!
Zane laughed, "I bet she liked that." He kissed her and took Angie from her arms. "How is my angel?" He blew raspberries on her tummy. "Did you miss Daddy?"
"Dada! Mush Dada."
"I missed you both. Doing paperwork is boring by myself." He sat down at his desk, holding her on his lap.
"I can put her in the pen."
"Nah, I just need to do some stuff on the computer. She can color on paper. Sit and do your studies. I love having you near me. It calms me and Xav."
Let's go for a run! Come on, Xavier, I know you want to.
Yes, but now is not a good time, sweet.
Party pooper.
We need to talk to them, Star is bugging me to go on a run.
Shit. I just got comfortable.
Standing back up, he put Angie in her play area. Sierra frowned at him, wondering what's going on.
"We need to talk, sweetheart."
"That doesn't sound good."
"It's not." He sighed, then motioned for her to join him on the couch. "Can I assume you know what Star looks like?"
"That's a weird question. Yeah, she's dark brown. Well, reddish brown, but it's hard to see the red unless the sun hits her."
Interesting.
"She's not brown anymore."
"What do you mean?"
"Star is red, a deep, blood red. Do you know why or how her fur color changed?"
"Oh my Goddess." At the sudden onslaught of emotions, she couldn't stop the tears from falling.
Zane held her close, mutering sweet nothings in her ear. He waited patiently for her to compose herself before wiping her face. He knew it had to do with her pack.
"My dad and brother were the red wolves in our family. I guess I got it since they died. I never expected to inherit it. I forgot all about it. What does this mean?"
"It means Star can't go running where someone might see her. One look, and they would know your blood line."
Swallowing, she repeated the words from memory. "Selene bestowed the blessing of the red wolf on our family as a sign of honor for all wolves to see."
"Anyone who knows our history knows the red wolves belong to the Blood Moon Pack. They might not know they are exclusive to your family, but the only true red wolves have all been in Blood Moon."
"What am I going to do?" Tears formed again in her eyes.
"We are going to protect your secret. We have to be careful when letting Star out for a run. I won't keep her locked up, but you both have to realize the severity of the situation. It's safer if everyone believes you don't have a wolf."
Star growled at that.
"Don't growl at me, little one. I would do anything to keep you safe. Until I can figure out who killed your pack, you're in hiding. No shifting unless I allow it, no growling and no mind-linking anyone except for me. Understand?"
You can try to use a command.
No.
"Star? Answer me."
I'm not happy about it, but I understand. Alpha.
That's my girl. I promise we will go for a run a couple of times a week. Cheeky wolf. I love you.
I love you, too.