Daughter of the Darkest Moon

Dark Moon Pack

[3rd person]

Tamara Renault stormed down the hall of the pack house. Quentin came to her first thing that morning to tell her Liviana was dead. She’d had plans for the girl and now everything was ruined. Another powerful female would have to be found if she were to have grandchildren who were worth anything.

She stopped outside the Alpha’s room and thought for a second about knocking before she tried the knob. He’d taken to locking his door at night ever since he received some death threats a few years ago. It didn’t move. Even though it didn’t surprise her, it still made her angry.

Tamara pounded on the door.

“Lyall! Open this door right now!” She shouted.

There was a shuffling sound in the room and hushed voices. He’d started keeping a guard in his room while he slept because of the threat. Though she was glad he was taking his life and safety seriously, Tamara hated not being able to have access to her son when she wanted it.

The door lock clicked and she didn’t even wait a beat before opening it and pushing in. Lyall was sitting up in his bed while his guard, Philip, stood near the door.

Philip was a good looking boy. She didn’t understand why he didn’t have a mate yet. There were a lot of young women who wanted a warrior for a mate.

“Why are you still in bed? You should have been up hours ago! Philip, did you forget to set his alarm again? It’s like you don’t even care about your pack! Get dressed! You have a lot of work to do!” She scolded without taking a breath.

“What’s going on, mom? It’s only seven in the morning. You know I like to sleep until seven-thirty. Don’t yell at Philip. He’s done nothing wrong.” Lyall sighed.

Lyall and Philip usually spent the morning preparing to go out and pretend they weren’t together. Getting ready for not being able to touch each other or look at each other for any length of time. Lyall was still trying to hide the evidence of exactly what they’d been up to before she slammed in.

“Get out of bed, Lyall!”

“Elder.” Philip said softly. “If you could turn away please. The Alpha is experiencing the… morning difficulty most men have. He probably doesn’t feel comfortable with his mother seeing. I’m sure you understand.”

“Oh!” She turned away and Lyall flashed a grateful smile to his mate.

“Can you tell me what’s got you all twisted up while I dress, mom?” He asked while climbing out of bed and heading to the bathroom.

“Of course. As soon as you’re out of the bathroom.” She acquiesced before turning to Philip. “Why haven’t you been at the last few socials, Philip? You’re attractive enough, don’t you want a mate? I know a few girls who’ve asked after you. They’re non-dominants. I think they’d make good matches for you. Nice, pliable girls.”

“I’d rather focus entirely on protecting my alpha and pack, ma’am. I hope you understand. I’m not looking for a woman.” He smiled politely.

This was a common occurrence. She was always trying to get him to the local gatherings in hopes of finding youthful matches who would stay in the pack. There were fewer and fewer couples staying anymore.

A huge wave left after Oliver Sandulf died. And even more after Livy left. The pack was getting smaller by the day.

Lyall exited the bathroom and crossed to his closet. While he looked through his clothes, he cursed his mother quietly.

Maybe he should just take Livy’s advice and tell her to go to hell. Properly mark Philip and try to fix everything his mother did to his pack. But, what if they wouldn’t accept him as Alpha anymore?

“I came to tell you, Quentin got a call from the Beta of the Sawtooth pack in Idaho last night.” She said.

“Why would they be calling? Do they need help with rogues?” He asked.

“No. They were calling to report a death of one of our pack members.”

“I don’t remember anyone heading out that way. Was it one of our members who was transferring to a pack out there?”

“It was Liviana. They found her murdered by hunters. They’re sending a lock of her hair for confirmation, but have already burned the body.” She sighed.

Lyall froze. He looked at Philip who was stricken. Livy was the only one who knew about them. She supported them. Her grandfather supported them because of her.

He hadn’t listened to his mother when she insisted he should send warriors after her. Lyall wanted to let her be happy even if he couldn’t. She was one of his closest friends.

“Not Livy. Oh goddess.” Lyall sat heavily on the bench in his closet.

“We’re calling a meeting of the elders to decide how to address the information. She had friends in a lot of different packs and we don’t want it said that we withheld information.” Tamara announced. “So get dressed and come to the elder’s council room.”

She walked out of the room, ending any further discussion. Like she was done with him entirely. Philip locked the door behind her and bound across the room, wrapping his arms around Lyall.

“Babe. Are you okay?” He murmured as he rocked his mate.

“She was my best friend. If not for her, I wouldn’t have ever talked to you. We wouldn’t have been able to see each other. She did so much for us. Livy was the one to bring us together. Now she’s gone. Our piglet’s gone, Philip!” Lyall clung to Philip and wept in his arms.

“Hush, babe. You know she didn’t like crying. We gotta be strong for her now. Like she was for us. Let’s get you cleaned up. Then, we can go deal with the council. Okay?” Philip kissed his temple and squeezed his shoulders.

They finished getting ready for the day. Lyall couldn’t believe the passionate, vibrant girl who’d pushed him to begin his relationship with his mate was really gone. She was so much like her mother. A real leader.

Lyall wished he could be like them, but he couldn’t seem to stand up to his mother. He always felt like a little boy, not an alpha wolf, when she started scolding. Some part of him was resigned to being ‘Tamara’s little pup’, but another wanted to claim his title and be his own man. Livy always tried to push him to embrace it.

In the council room, most of the eight elders had already arrived along with Quentin. They bowed slightly to their Alpha as he entered, followed by Philip. He’d gotten himself under control and cleaned up so no one would know he’d been crying. The last elders arrived as everyone was taking a seat.

“If everyone will quiet down. We can get to the matter at hand.” Tamara announced authoritatively.

The room stilled and everyone looked at her. She liked being the center of attention. Being chief elder was one of the best things to ever happen to her. She nodded to Quentin and he stood.

“Late last night, I got a call from the Beta of the Sawtooth Pack letting me know Liviana Drake was killed by hunters in their territory. They’ve taken care of her body and are sending us a lock of her hair for confirmation. Our concern, is that one of the hunters told them who she was. That means someone hired hunters to kill her. No one even knew she existed outside of our pack and the Forest Wave Pack. We need to reach out to them and get more information on the hunters.” Quentin stated.

“Do you think whoever it is might try for Lyall next?” Tamara asked.

“Possibly. We need to keep our pack safe. She didn’t seem to have any enemies. Who could have ordered the hit?” Quentin replied.

Tamara had a look on her face that concerned Lyall. His mother was trying to plan something. He knew the look well. It made him wonder if she’d been the one to kill Liviana.

She hadn’t liked how the elders recommended seeing a witch over just killing the girl when it was discovered that the accident caused her wolf to come out early. It’d seemed like Tamara was warming up to her when she said it would be a good idea to have Lyall marry Livy and make her the Luna of their pack.

When she left after Oliver’s funeral, Tamara had flown into a rage. It was Lyall who tried to tell her it was possible she was just visiting her other family. He’d hoped it would give Livy enough time to get away.

“Can we call him and get more information?” Lyall asked.

“It’s just after five-thirty there. Let’s call in a few hours. We need to figure out what we’re going to do about getting the news to others.” Quentin said.

“Get together a notice of death to be sent out to the Betas of the packs who accepted her friends. Her friends deserve to know. I’ll call her grandparents in a couple hours and inform them myself. Let me know when it’s ready so I can proof it.” Lyall stated.

Everyone looked to Tamara, who nodded as if it were her decision. It made Lyall furious. He was the Alpha. Not his mother.

Livy was right. He needed to take control back. If nothing else, he’d do that to honor Livy’s memory. Lyall was done being weak.

“Are you her children now? Why are you looking to her for permission before following the orders of your Alpha?” He growled.

“Lyall, sweetie. I’m the head of this council. They only look to me because of my position.” She smiled.

“From now on, the council will return to being a group who makes suggestions rather than a ruling body. I am the Alpha. I will run this pack. I let you take over after Ylva died and our pack is dwindling. Soon, we’ll be the first pack to have been created and die out within less than one hundred years. Humans don’t understand how wolves need to live. This council is too human heavy to be effective.” Lyall stated.

“You can’t do that! If not for me, this whole pack would be a bunch of slavering animals! Not the civilized pack we have!” Tamara snarled.

“No, mother. You’ve killed our pack. Livy said it over and over. I should’ve listened to her. You can either accept it or you can leave. Quentin, assemble the pack for an announcement. I want to speak to everyone in one hour.” Lyall commanded coldly.

“Yes, Alpha.” He nodded and left the room.

“Come on, Philip. We need to get ready to address our pack.” Lyall said as he left the room.

Tamara stared after him. Her son never talked to her like that. She’d lost the power she’d been hanging on to all these years. Everything was gone in an instant. No… He was just upset and would back off once he calmed down. She was sure of it.