☽ Chapter 16: Mother ☾

?Chapter 16 – Mother?

"Alpha, are you in here?" A voice calls out, the sound distorted and dreamlike as I float in the moon pool. The silver water shimmers with the light of the Full Moon above me. It has been over two years since my rejection, two years since founding Silver Crystal Crescent Pack, and two years since meeting my mother Lisandra for training in the dreamscape. “Quiet, she is going to the dreamscape to train with her mother.” Ariven warns in as low a voice possible while my eyes close and I let the magic surround me. My eyes open and I find myself gazing down at earth, the sky alight with stars as the galaxy shines above me. I am in the dreamscape, a lush garden of moonflowers growing from moonstones surrounding me with the trickle of a small stream sounding from my left. "Gem, you're late." The melodic voice of my mother reaches me, and I smile as I rush to her arms and hold her tight. For the past two years, I have gotten to know her, and came to realize the death of the Alpha and Luna from my old pack was caused by my kidnapping. My mother had learned I was hidden in Hidden Claws and told my father such where he promptly ordered my retrieval. Their death was caused by some of his pack members defying orders and seeking their own revenge by killing the Alpha pair. It was a tragic event that should have never happened, and the wolves involved were punished with the death penalty as well. “Sorry, Mother. I had some unexpected events in the pack happen that had to be taken care of.” I answer, enjoying the warmth of her embrace as if I was a pup again. Our hug ends too soon as she links her arm with mine and leads me to a gazebo where a tea set and snacks wait for us. Once seated, our lesson begins, and Mother continues the history lesson from last week, starting with the rule of the fourth Moon Goddess, Alexandra the Dark. The rule led to the bubonic plague that spread throughout Europe, killing both humans and Wolves alike from the disease and starving vampires to death, nearly causing their extinction from lack of food. I listen attentively, taking notes in the book given to me by my Mother and jotting down my own thoughts of what not to do. If wolves and humans were to go extinct, so will other races. “Since the plague only lasted five years, did that mean Alexandra was replaced as the next Moon Goddess?” I ask, getting a smile from my mother. “That’s right, her twin sister Goddess Mirabella with the help of the Goddess of Destiny Morai and a few light witches replaced her right away. Mirabella then helped to suppress the plague and help wolves heal.” My mother answers and I smile thinking of my ancestor. “You said something interesting before, that the second Moon Goddess is actually a twin.” I continue, my mother letting out a sigh as she looks towards a bright star. “Yes. The First King, King Spirit, and his Queen, the first Moon Goddess Luna, had three children. They had a son and twin daughters. They soon realized their son would not make a great ruler, and planned to hand the throne to their Princess, one with hair as pure as snow named Crystalline. But she went missing and, as such, the Prince took the throne when he came of age and the second Moon Goddess, our ancestor, became the Moon Goddess.” My mother answers, taking out a white box and handing it to me. Inside is a moonstone of the purest white carved into a snowflake, the magic inside flowing through my body as soon as I touch it. “This necklace will react to a moonstone that was given to the lost Princess. Her necklace is a moonstone that looks identical to a Full Moon, and under the moonlight, it shimmers like our hair. It is our duty to find and train the lost Princess or her descendant and restore her to the throne one day.” Mother continues. I go to hand the necklace back to her, but she refuses and instead helps to secure the necklace around my neck. “Your twenty-first birthday is in a few months, consider this an early gift. You are ready to wear it and take responsibility for the task handed down to each new Goddess, of finding the lost daughter to the Alpha King Spirit.” She explains, the pride of her placing such an important task on me making me smile happily. “I can’t wait for that day so I can come down and visit everyone for a week, including your father.” She chuckles and I cringe, already knowing that this might lead to another sibling. Connor will be taking over as Alpha soon, meaning my father will have more time to visit my mother. If that happens, Connor and I will get to be older siblings to a new brother or sister in no time. “Speaking of Father, Connor and he say hi and that they miss you.” I change the topic quickly, getting a chuckle from my mother in response. “I miss them too. I wish I could have raised you pups, but I had already been instated as the next Moon Goddess before meeting your father.” My mother sighs sadly. I stand, walking to her side and giving my mother a tight hug. I can feel her sadness, one that I empathize with, wishing that I had been raised by my true family. But I would have never had Alex as my brother and would not have created a pack as open and accepting as my own. “When did you know dad was your mate?” I ask quietly, feeling her arms wrap around me as well. “It was on the day of his birth actually. A Full Moon was shining on his mother who was in the middle of the forest as their pack was being attacked about four hundred years ago. The moment he was born and let out his first cry, I knew instantly. I couldn’t abandon my responsibilities but kept track of him over the years. When he became Alpha, he grew his pack. For one hundred years, he stayed celibate, waiting for his mate, for me.” I watch my mother’s face soften as she explains how she knew father and here were meant to be, how he grew Northern Snow to where it is today. “Then, while visiting another pack, he was ambushed and nearly killed. That’s when I was finally able to break through the barrier and save him just in time. After the initial shock, I was ready to return to the Moon when my mother said she would step in and give us some time to get to know each other. A few months later, we were married and mated.” I smile, listening to my mother fondly retell the past as I return to my seat and sip on the hot tea. I sigh, thinking about my rejection with Mika and if I will ever gain a second-chance mate like other wolves when the time is right, or if I will be alone for hundreds of years. Our talk returns to the history lesson and then onto what my mother calls “deity training,” as she teaches me how to pair mates with a list the Goddess of Destiny hands to her every couple of years. “You see, every wolf has a person who is their perfect match at conception. Of course, their perfect match does change and, as such, the list also includes wolves who are compatible but not yet perfect for their souls to resonate with.” She begins, pointing at a name. The name of a newly conceive wolf shimmers before the list changes to where only her name and the list of her soulmate and potential mates appear. “This is where the second-chance mate comes into play as within three years, their souls resonate with one another once the rejected party goes through changes of their own to grow and become stronger.” Mother continues explaining, handing me a list of a she-wolf that is only a few minutes old. I smile, reading the names of her perfect mate and her compatible ones, wondering how her life will play out. “Sometimes within the three years, their first mate and the rejected party make up and they are able to complete the mating bond. Other times they end up with completely different wolves.” She finishes, and I think of Amberle and Dominic. Those two are perfect for each other, even though Amberle was rejected by her first mate and Dominic had to kill his first mate for trying to destroy his pack and murdering his mother. Life may be planned out on a map by the Goddess of Destiny, but she has written out multiple paths, twists, and turns. Sometimes life veers into the alternate paths, sometimes they create their own. But all paths are intertwined. We spend what feels like hours talking about mates and pairings until I yawn, the magic that keeps me in the dreamscape weakening. “I have to go soon.” I yawn, rubbing my tired eyes. “I know, darling. The Full Moon lasts for three days, so we have two more days to train.” My mother concedes, pulling me in for one last tight hug and planting a kiss on my forehead. “I will see you tomorrow then, mom.” I whisper, closing my eyes as her embrace slips away.

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A finger poking my cheek has me stirring, the warm water making me want to fall asleep and rest after the training I have had. I need time to process all the information given to me today. "Geeeeem." Someone calls out gently, this someone most likely the owner of the finger that is repeatedly poking my cheek. I count the rhythm of the poking and time it just right that when the person disturbing me goes to poke my cheek again, I turn my face slightly and bite their finger gently. Hearing a familiar chuckle, I open my eyes to see Ariven staring down at me warmly. “How is mom doing?” He asks, not fazed by me biting his finger as his free hand twirls a wet strand of my hair around his index finger. “Gwood. She sways hi.” I mumble, biting slightly harder on the offending finger in my mouth before releasing it. “That’s good, darling. Nice necklace, a gift from your mother?” I lift my hand to the place where Ariven points, finding a familiar feeling necklace around my neck. I smile, feeling the magic flow inside me again and close my eyes, thanking my mother for the gift and trusting me with the responsibility of finding the lost Princess, my Great-something Aunt. “Anything happen since being in the dreamscape?” I ask quietly, turning to look at Ariven who sighs. “Yes. A pack has been declining lately since their Alpha took over and they requested help, asking if we can be there in a few days.” Ariven answers as he scoops me into his arms and out of the moon pool. I sigh, since making an Alliance with Amberle and Dominic and becoming a strong pack, Silver Crystal Crescent has been receiving many requests to help with training. “Did they request specific ranks?” I ask, needing more details as we exit the basement up the stairs and pass the living area of my house before heading to the next floor. “Yes, the Alpha, Theta and a few of our top Warriors and Trackers.” The answer doesn’t surprise me, and I frown. To request this many people means the situation is serious. “Tell Alex he is in charge as of tomorrow and have everything ready to leave by one in the afternoon.” “Already done, Gem.” He whispers as he crawls into my bed with me in his lap. I was exhausted. "Riv?" "Yes, Gem?" "Will you ask Lizaria to keep an eye on this pack for me as well? I trust her to keep an eye on the pack with Alex." I yawn and snuggle into him, feeling his arms tighten around me. "Of course." I smile at his response. The sound of the TV being turned on fills the comfortable silence and the sweet bliss of sleep. Visiting Mother Is always mentally exhausting and requires a lot of sleep to recover.