Chapter 17
Morning came by really soon and Drew was already up and getting ready for the day. I knew today my stomach was going to be in knots of the anticipation of it. But I know I had people who were going to respect my effort if I did bring her there. I said my goodbyes to Nathan and his pack and hopped in Drew’s vehicle as we made our way to his kingdom. I mean it can only go up from here, right? “ So tell me, are you going to forgive your mate for going behind your back?” He asked me. But that was a question I wasn’t even sure of. The only thing I wanted right now was my daughter and sister. I mean it’s like no matter how hard I try to trust Vincent something always happens. That I couldn’t just be happy and stick with it. I wanted more and that was my issue. “Would you?” I rested my head on the seat and looked at him. Drew took a glimpse at me and back to the road. “If you would have asked me a long time ago then I’d say no. But I watched my 2nd stepfather and my mom back and forth until Asher died. She wanted more so people saw her a different way because that’s how she was born. She was born to never settle for less and that means ignoring her happiness. But when she finally got her happy ending with Alec well that’s when the real happiness came. She let down her walls and rules and she just started living. She wasn’t just someone’s Queen or Mate. She was just a wolf. Someone’s friend. When you have a wolf as old as she is it’s hard for her to want modern things. I think forgiveness is important but your self-respect is more important. Ask yourself something about this. Will you be able to be with him and not resent him for doing what he did? Or always use it against him because you’re hurt? I reached for his hand just wanting some comfort and he entangled his fingers with mine. This was purely just friendship. But he was right. I had to make a choice that was hard. And I could lose both in the end of it all. I loved them both dearly but they also had self-respect and morals that they’re lowering just to have me.
Vince
Weeks had gone by and there was still no sign of her. We found a carcass with her blood on it but something didn’t seem right about that. It just didn’t feel real. Maybe she tried to make it seem like she was dead so that we would stop trying to find her? But we really didn’t stop. We headed off to where Jack was staying and we got into the car and just drove to nearby packs. But if she took off that meant she is probably anywhere in the states right about now. I tried not to think of the worst but why would she leave her daughter? You would think that she would come back for her. But maybe she knew that she would be protected and loved regardless. But this is all wishful thinking. We both ended up in Arkansas and went to different packs all around but no one had any idea. Her scent would have faded right about now so that didn’t work. After two weeks we both went back to our brother’s pack and just took a load off. She didn’t want to be found but I knew that she would be back if she wanted to be. I want her is all I knew. But it was Ryn that was worrying us more. She kept waking up in sweats, telling us that something bad was coming. Karina was saying there was a war that was coming. With Karina being the daughter of the Goddess. She had this ability to sense the future but her’s was so clear. Ryn was the same way. She only had bad dreams and sometimes it’s hard to tell from fake and reality but she wouldn’t go to bed without someone holding her because she was scared to dream of blood again. It gave me a chance to bond with her and get to know her but only refers to me as the black wolf in her dream. Apparently, she had some kind of obsession with that as she said my wolf told her we’d protect her always. But with her worrying so much I entertained it so she wouldn’t be worrying so much anymore. Who was I to kill a little girl’s dream?
Athena
The drive went on for a long time and it wasn’t long before he pulled up into a gate that was heavily guarded. It was huge. There were so many wolves just handing out and it looked like it went for acres. Now I was a little kid in a candy store. He had taken us to this large palace which could only mean that this is where the Queen lives. I wasn’t prepared but I was also worried that she wouldn’t agree to it. After parking, he took my hand in his and led us into the large building. I stood there in total awe just trying to wrap my head around this. “Listen, my mom can seem intimidating and she has this spell on people where they get wildly attracted to her. But she is a very nice person with a wall up so try to be respectful.” His words caught me out of my trance as he entangled his fingers with mine again and he led me up into the doors of her palace. There were workers all-around running around and open offices as well. This place was just insane and wow I’d love to live here. I feel like this is how things should be running but hey apparently what I had was too good for me. I looked at Drew and he was in a mind-link for a good minute. “She and Alec will meet us in her study.” He led me upstairs and down a hall which took almost ten minutes to finally get there. When I walked in I just about fainted. She was one of the most beautiful beings to ever exist and I was suddenly questioning my sexuality at the moment. A squeeze to my hand woke me from my thoughts. She and some man were standing right in front of us and I suddenly lost my ability to speak.
“Luna, it’s an honor to meet you.” I lowered my head in respect. Before I lifted it back up. “Mom, this is Athena Sadar. She was the king farm girl who took care of me in Colorado.” I smiled awkwardly still not knowing how to react. “I am Alec. It’s amazing to meet you. We want to thank you for taking care of our son.” He responded while offering his hand which I gratefully accepted. She remained silent and just stared at me. Like she was trying to figure me out. Vanessa had closed the distance between us and shockingly connected my lips with hers. I stood there frozen as if I was in some kind of black trance. It felt like we were there forever. Until she released me and took a step back. “Your soul is dark. It’s empty. What did you lose recently?” She asked me. “My mom can pretty much see everything with a kiss so I am sorry for that,” Drew said like he was embarrassed by the actions. But Alec was calm. “The Moon Goddess,” I replied. Her face went sour as she took a step back in distaste. “Why do you have a connection with that treacherous bitch?” Her words came out like venom. “That’s what I came here to ask for help about. You see I was the host of the Goddess and she selfishly ripped from me. She is evil and she has people locked up like slaves. I was a slave for a short period of time and she is doing everything in her power to destroy me. She’s taken my land, my mate, and my freedom. She abandoned her role of cupid. I need your help.” Vanessa had walked to her desk and sat down just processing my short story. Quite frankly, I was tired of telling that story. “You know Athena, here we follow the Moon God. The reason we do this is because of the way the Goddess had abandoned us. The God is my father, well my adopted one. He was her mate but as you know they couldn’t be together. So she became heartless. What I am saying is she is heartbroken. So she takes it out on everyone else so we can be just as miserable as she is. My mother was my dad’s second mate when the Goddess had left and never was to be seen again because of the curse that she refused to break so they could be together.”
I looked at her in shock at the news that was given. Who would have thought she wouldn’t do anything for her mate. “What was she supposed to do in order to break her curse to be with the Goddess,” I asked. She looked at me intensely. “She would have had to make a deal with Hades. He wanted her firstborn child and she refused to do so. Now here we are.”