“Brownies!” Chann crowed, hurrying to the pups to help keep their attention. “I only see one brownie, does that mean it’s all for me?” As the pups groaned and poked at him, I turned to Luna.
“Are you okay talking to me, Luna?” I asked her quietly. “Away from the others?” I didn’t want her afraid. She nodded and took my hand, letting me lead her to the sitting room. I left the door cracked, hoping it would help her feel safer. I settled onto one of the chairs, unsure what to do or say, but knowing I couldn’t leave it up to her. “How are you, Luna? Are you doing okay?” I winced. Stupid question.
She studied me, her golden eyes bright. “You saved me.”
I blinked at her, shifting in my seat. “Um, I guess so.” The walls of the sitting room felt like they were closing in on me, and I fought to draw in enough air.
“I loved my mama.” Her voice was serious as she played with the ends of her hair. “She made pretty braids in my hair and made me nice clothes.”
My heart squeezed tightly in my chest and I nodded, clearing my throat before I trusted myself to speak. I’d seen her run to her mom at the firelight festival. I’d even seen the costume she’d made her for the masquerade. “I know you did, Luna.” Even after clearing my throat, it sounded like I’d gargled with gravel.
“She didn’t really love me though.” Her words were soft, and I whipped my eyes back to her as she studied her hair, angling it so the color caught the light. “She didn’t believe in the moon blessed. I told her Selene whispered to me in the moonlight, about how the wolves needed to be nice to each other, about how things needed to change.” Her golden eyes glowed now with a ring of silver edging in from the outside, and a shiver worked across my spine. “She didn’t believe me. She said I was evil. I was bad. I made my papa go away.” Her lip quivered now and a tear spilled from her eyes as I scooped her onto my lap. “I wanted to stay with Zelda and Borris, but she wouldn’t let me. Sometimes she was nice and I loved her, but then she wasn’t nice. I didn’t want to hate her, but I did,” she sobbed into my shoulder. I rocked her side to side, pressing my lips into her hair.
“It’s not your fault, baby. It’s not. Moms are supposed to protect their pups, no matter what.” My wolf howled her agreement, pressing forward to offer her own comfort to the little pup in my lap, who was clutching onto me like I was her lifeline.
“I asked Selene to help me,” she whispered, holding me. “I wanted someone to come, and then you did. And you were so mad, and I thought you were going to hurt me too, and then you picked me up and I realized it was all going to be okay. But then she hurt you!” Her sobs shook her so badly I had trouble holding onto her.
“I’m sorry you had to see that, Luna.” I hugged her tightly. “It’s not a place for pups. I want to see if it’s something I can change.”
“When… when she died…” Luna gasped out, her sobs making her words ragged and nearly unintelligible. “I was happy because she couldn’t hurt me anymore. You’re the beta and you saved me.” Tears tracked down my cheeks, soaking into her hair as I rocked her.
“I’ll always protect you, Luna. I’m sorry you had to see it, but I will always protect you,” I vowed, squeezing her tightly.
“I know. Selene told me you would. You didn’t let the bad wolf take me either.” She shivered at the thought and I froze. I pulled back carefully, knowing she’d smell it if I let my emotions take control.
“The bad wolf?” I inquired, shifting our position on the couch so I could prop her up more before tucking her damp hair behind her ear. I began to braid it in small strands, hoping the soothing motion would help distract her.
“The one who gave her the ring that smelled funny,” she told me, wrinkling her nose and toying with the tiny braids I made. “These are pretty.”
“Of course they are, pretty braids for a pretty pup,” I teased, tapping her on the nose and beginning another one, this one thinner so I could wrap it around the first. “Had you met the bad wolf before?”
“Mm-hmm,” she murmured in agreement, tilting her head so she could look in the mirror on the wall as I wove the braids around each other, letting the repetitive motions keep my hands steady. “Mama used to go meet him sometimes. He’s not nice. He used to pinch me or hit me if I’d cry. He and Mama would go off into the woods and make me wait in the car. It took a long time. Mama came back all stinky.”
“Well, that’s silly,” I told her, keeping my tone light. “Did they ever talk about anything in front of you? Anything weird?”
“They were mean.” Her eyes clouded over, her lip going out into a pout. “They didn’t like Alpha. They said he was bad and they’d make him go away. I like Alpha. He’s nice. He doesn’t hit.”
“I like him too. You know he likes strawberry shortcake?” I told her with a smile. Her eyes went wide.
“Me too!” she chirped with a sharp nod, twirling the braids I’d made. She paused and studied me. “He didn’t like you,” she told me softly. “They were in my room that night. He didn’t like you very much at all.”
I bopped her nose and smiled. “Well, it just so happens I don’t like him either, and I think I may be just a bit scarier than he is.” She giggled at that as I made a face at her.
“I love you, Beta,” she told me, looking up through her golden hair. “Thank you for saving me.”
I swallowed hard, scooping her up into a hug as the walls around my heart shattered into dust. “Love you, kiddo.” There was no going back now. This was my pack, these were my pups, my friends, and my lovers to protect. And I was going to do just that.
Chapter Eleven
Zev
“Is bribery legal?” Chann questioned, sprawled on the floor of the training room. Pixie was spread out next to him, her head resting on his stomach as she gasped for air. I rolled my eyes at the pair of them.
“Seriously?” I threw my hands into the air. “You’re making me be the bad guy here?”
“I thought we were supposed to be playing,” Chann whined, cracking one eye open to look up at me, ignoring the bow he dropped on the floor beside him.
“Yeah, aren’t you supposed to be the fun one?” Pixie teased with a wink before stretching out the muscles in her arms. “You’re as much of a taskmaster as the other two.”
I groaned. “Yeah, yeah, thanks for the reminder.” It wasn’t like I wanted to be, but with Raff away, Starlight Woods causing problems, and our confrontation with Lyle coming up, it wasn’t like I had much of a choice.
“Come on, bro, give us a break.” Chann winced, stretching out a cramp in his hand. “We’ve been training nonstop. I, for one, don’t want Tinkerbell here to kick our asses again for making us overdo it.”
“Very wise.” She patted his leg lazily, unwilling to get up. “Ten points to team Chann.” I knew damn well the blue floor mats were far from comfortable, but the pair looked close to napping if I didn’t get them moving.