QUILLA
“Why is he such an ass?” I grumble turning to stare over the backseat out the rear window to glare at Viggo’s black SUV following us.
I hope he can feel the death stare I’m throwing through the windshield. He seems to be able to feel and sense everything else about me. I can’t believe what I heard him say to Sebastian. He honestly thinks I’m going to let him put a baby in me? Fuck that shit.
My mother turns over in her seat to answer.
“That’s just an Alpha being an Alpha,” she says drily.
“Hey!” Sebastian protests with a low growl.
“Present company excluded. You’re the best kind.” she apologizes, flicking Sebastian a warm side smile.
“I should think so, but to be fair to Viggo, he is in general a level-headed Alpha and has been a good King. His lycan on the other hand, well, not so much. What Kyros did marking you was definitely an ass move.” Sebastian agrees catching my eyes in the rearview mirror.
I’m tempted to touch the mark on my neck. Ever since I woke up yesterday it has been gently tingling under my skin. Even now I feel it spreading across my shoulder and down my chest. Only pure stubbornness keeps my hands at bay. I’m going to pretend for as long as I can it doesn’t exist.
“Gods I wish we were heading home instead of Lycanos,” Neo grumbles turning back forward in her seat with her arms crossed.
“Where is home?” I ask feeling Kyra’s interest pique matching mine.
Neo turns around again to face me with a smile.
“Crystal Moon. That is our home pack. You’d love it there. Not very different from Black Oak. Mountainous, but we have the most beautiful pine forest I swear. It is a several-day drive from Lycanos though. We used to have a jet but we had a few difficult years after you were taken and we had to sell it.”
“Wow, a jet? So you come from a wealthy pack?” It’s hard to reconcile that thought with the well-kept but old truck we are traveling in.
Neo frowns. “Well, not as well off as we used to be.” she glances at Sebastian and some unspoken communication seems to happen before she continues.
“Our pack, Crystal Moon, was part of the Prime 10 Wolf Council, but several things happened after you were taken and about seven years ago we lost our position. We are doing fine though, it’s just been difficult.”
“Was it because of me?” I ask knowing instinctively it was. I can tell Neo is mulling over what to say before she speaks.
“Yes, and no.” she sighs, her blue eyes darkening as she seems to disappear into memory before coming back. “At the time you were taken, there was dissent growing among the packs about Crystal Moon and how my sisters were all mated to Prime 10 Alphas and a perceived shift of unbalanced power in Crystal Moon’s favor.”
Neo spends the next few minutes telling me about her six older sisters, their mates, and my astounding twenty-five cousins. I’m speechless as my mind takes in the fact I have a massive extended family.
I spent all my life in a small bear clan hiding from the fact I could have a wolf family out there in the world and the truth all along was I did. A huge family, and a powerful one at that too.
“The wolf that took you, Cain, was Viggo’s father’s Beta. He was crazed by mate-death madness - and he used the dissent against Crystal Moon to cover and craft his secret plot to take revenge on Viggo’s father who had claimed his mate as his Luna. Cain knew he had no hope of getting to either King Viktor or Viggo at Lycanos so he went for you. The night you were taken your father and I were fighting off an attack at Crystal Moon, we had sent you to stay with your father’s brother Mateo at his home pack Blood Stone, but somehow Cain had that figured out. A crazed lycan is deadly, unpredictable, and never to be underestimated. We made the mistake of underestimating Cain and you paid for it. He killed all of King Viktor’s guards who were sent to protect you and almost killed your cousin Astrid.”
I shiver under my skin, resisting the urge to throw my hands over my ears and not hear this. Every word Neo speaks about Cain sends ice into my veins as clear memories of the night I was taken surface.
Neos voice fades into a murmur I don’t hear as I slip into darkeness. Cold sweat breaks my skin, my chest burns as I try to catch my breath. Cain crawls towards me escaping the dark bonds where I usually keep him locked away. Images flash before my eyes, the bloody white wolf, Cain’s blood filled mouth. The air around me fills with wild bergamot and fear, my body aches with the remembered pain of having my arm snapped to subdue me.
“Damn it.” Sebastian curses and slows the truck down, pulling it to the side of the road.
“What’s going on?” Neo says confused as the entire convoy pulls over.
“Viggo has ordered us to pull over he said something is wrong with Quilla. Honey, are you okay?”
Cold sweat beads on my forehead and I stare unable to speak out the window where Viggo appears tapping the glass with a rap that threatens to break it.
Sebastian winds my window down and Viggo leans into the truck his eyes scanning me over.
His scent swarms around me and for a singular moment as I draw on it with a deep shuddering breath I feel calm descend over me.
“She’s terrified. What the fuck happened?” Viggo says glaring at my parents.
Neo frowns and reaches back to lay a hand on my knee. I grab it without thinking and clutch it hard.
“It’s my fault I was talking to her about Cain.”
Viggo snarls at Neo.
“Is everyone fucking blind? He is obviously a trigger for her. This is not the first time she’s gone into a near panic attack but it will be the last. Do not speak about him unless she brings it up.”
I can only stare at Viggo as his anger fills the cabin but I know it’s not directed at either me or my parents.
He holds my eyes and breathes deep. I find myself matching my breath to his unconsciously until my blood warms, and clarity surfaces.
“Are you okay now?” Viggo asks, his tone and demeanor gentle. As he speaks to me, and the bond inside me hums with calm as I feel him almost willing me to relax.
“I’m fine. Um, thanks.” I choke,
“Good, we are stopping in a few hours at Birchwood Pack so you can rest tonight. We will be at Lycanos tomorrow afternoon. If you need anything, just ask.”
Viggo walks away, his jaw clenching and Sebastian rolls the window up with a sigh and gets us on the road again.
“I’m so sorry Quilla, I should have realized earlier what was happening,” Neo says, guilt seeping from her scent. I shake my head squeezing my mother’s hand.
Fuck I hate this. I hate seeing pity in people’s eyes.
“Can you just keep telling me more about Crystal Moon, please? I want to know everything. Just don’t mention you know who.”
Neo and Sebastian exchange a look before she replies.
“Of course, but I need you to tell me if anything I say does upset you. Okay?”
I nod, relaxing back into the seat, focusing on Neo gentle voice to keep me out of the raw darkness.
“Your father and I never gave up looking for you. Unfortunately, it meant we were not always at home and Mateo and Astrid took care of Crystal Moon for us as long as they could. Pack comes first Quilla, that is the hard rule of being an Alpha, but we could not let you go. I always knew you were alive. Don’t ask me how.” she shrugs and smiles before continuing.
“Our pack understood how important it was to us to find you. We ended up having to scale back much of our operations and sell off assets so that the day-to-day management of the pack was minimized. We only kept on our small pharmaceutical production in our medical facilities that makes the anti-heat drug and contraceptive.”
“I’m sorry,” I whisper not knowing what else to say, an immense weight sits on my chest as I mull the account over.
“Do not say that.” Sebastian’s angry voice resounds in the truck cabin with a power that makes me tilt my neck in surprise. He holds my eyes in the rearview mirror.
“You are our daughter. The heir of Crystal Moon. Everything we have ever done was to get you back, and having you here with us right now has made it all worth it. Your mother is right. We should be heading home to Crystal Moon to celebrate your return with our pack. Viggo has taken that away from us all.” Sebastian growls a little under his breath turning his eyes back to the road before muttering, “Ass.”
Neo chuckles looking over at him with a twinkle in her eye, “Glad we are on the same page again.”
Warmth resonates between the two of them and I relax in the back seat, letting their evident love for each other flow over me.
“Will I be able to visit Crystal Moon after Lycanos?” I ask and again Neo turns around to answer me.
“Lycanos is a lycan pack. Their traditions are very different from ours. Normally she-wolves mated to lycans leave their home pack and are never seen again. Lycans serve the King directly and never leave his side, they are dedicated to protecting the King and their pack.” I can see she wants to say more but she doesn’t and instead smiles,
“You however are the Luna Queen, and the first thing you need to learn is you carry power. Viggo has marked you, which transfers his power to you in the eyes of all lycans and wolves alike. I’m sure you’ve seen that already with the Lycans you got to take you home. In their eyes you are the Luna Queen, you are Viggo’s equal. I think if you want to come to Crystal Moon, there would be little Viggo could do to stop you.”
I smile at my mother, accepting the gift she just handed me.
“Well, at least there’s something advantageous to almost getting my head bitten off.” Again I’m tempted to rub the warm spot on my neck but keep my hands in my lap.
Sebastian huffs, “We seriously need to talk about something else,” the low timbre in his voice tells me his wolf is not far away from the surface and in agreement about Viggo’s asshole move.
“I’d love to meet your wolves,” I say gently, sinking into the warmth of my father’s protective anger filling the cabin. Neo smiles warmly again with a smile that lights up her face, the gold in her eyes glowing as her wolf comes forward.
“As soon as you are settled at Lycanos we will go for a run. Lyka and Zeke cannot wait to meet Kyra again.”
Happy memories press forward in my head, of playing with two large wolves, snuggling in soft fur, riding on the back of my father’s large black wolf. Beautiful, joyous memories that chase the dark clouds away.
Neo turns back quickly to face the front but not before I see the water in her eyes or scent the saltiness of her tears.
Happy tears I know. They match mine overflowing in my heart. I don’t know how I ever lived without these memories before.
Kyra nuzzles me gently, almost apologetically. I nudge her back, rubbing my chest.
I honestly don’t know where this path I am on is going to lead me, but I know I am heading in the right direction. With my family.
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