The Luna

Chapter 7

I found myself sandwiched, once again, between guards as we started up the stairs that lead to my mothers suite. Ryan was flush against my back, a strong arm wrapped around my stomach, but I didn't mind. My legs were still weak and his grip was helping me make it up the stairs. I also was having a hard time with what I did to that shifter. I had never used my powers to hurt or kill anyone before and I could already tell it was something I wouldn't get over easily. I pushed it out of my mind because now was not the time to be distracted as we came to the top floor of the palace.

As we stepped onto the floor I could tell the Blue Moon pack had already been here as over a dozen of the Luna's guard layed strewn around. They probably attacked here first in hopes of taking out our most powerful weapon, my mother. As we walked to the door of her suites, stepping over dead guards and rogues I noticed my mothers Beta sprawled dead in front of her door. Lyonel stepped over her body to listen at the door for any enemies as I stared down at Maxine.

She was on her back, limbs sprawled out starfish style, her unseeing eyes fixed on the ceiling. Her throat had been torn out but she hadn't gone down without a fight. In her clawed hand she had someone's heart clenched tight. Anger raged through me as I looked down at Maxine's stiffening body. I had dreamed for years what I would do to Maxine once I became Luna. She had been complicite to everything my mother had done to me across the years and even gave suggestions on how to make my suffering worse. She hadn't suffered enough, hadn't felt enough pain, and didn't get half as much as she deserved for what she had done to me. I started to shake as I looked down as her and I wasn't sure if it was rage or exhaustion.

"You ready?" Lyonel asked as he looked over at me.

I gave him a nod and stepped on Maxine to get to the door because that b***h didn't deserve better. He opened the door slowly and five guards went with him into the room first, then Ryan and I went in. I stepped into my mother's suite, a place I had never been allowed in before and it felt like I was walking into a tomb. It was like her, icy and cold, everything in gray and white, minimalistic at it's finest. There were several bodies on the floor, guards and attackers.

"Dani." Lyonel's strained voice made me turn to him where he stood at a doo, I was pretty sure lead to the bedroom.

His face told me all I needed to know, my mother was dead. I took a deep breath bracing myself to what I would see inside. When I stepped into the room, the scene I saw was not what I was expecting. There were no bodies or blood splattered along the floor. Nothing was knocked over or even looked like it had been bumped. The only body in the room was my mothers, laying tucked away in her bed. It almost looked like she was sleeping except for the giant silver knife that had been stabbed into her heart. I walked over to the bed my steps shaky as I came up beside her.

"How did she not wake up?" I whispered as I looked down at the woman who had made my life a living Hell.

Her eyes were still closed, her face serene with a slight smile on her lips. Lyonel looked around, bringing the glass on the nightstand to his nose and his face screwed up. His face would have been comical if this wasn't a life or death situation. He passed the glass over to me and I took a small whiff and was immediately overwhelmed with the smell of clove and other herbs.

"What is that?" I asked disgusted by the smell.

"Something wolfsbane could easily be hidden in." Lyonel answered as he picked up a small red bottle by the glass.

I looked back down at my mother, that would make sense if she had wolfsbane in her system if she was a regular shifter but she had built up her tolerance to wolfsbane over the years to a scary efficiency.

"Take that to test later." I say as I looked back at the woman in the bed.

There laid the woman who gave birth to me, the only positive thing she had ever done for me. She was suppose to love and protect me but instead she caused the most pain I had ever felt in my life, almost killed me several times and also wanted to take my powers. So many emotions flowed through me, rage, fear, and sadness. I wasn't sure if the sadness was because of the fact she was dead or I wasn't the one who did it.

"Grab anything of value. Money and jewelry is best but anything we can carry easily that can be pawned will be good." I say as I look away from the bed.

The guards quickly started to search all the rooms while I returned to the main room to where I knew my mother's safe was. Behind the only picture in the room, ironically of herself, was my mothers safe. My brothers were the ones who had told me about it, unfortunately they didn't know the code. Throwing the picture to the ground startling several of my guards I stared at the digital pin pad in front of me. I sighed as I looked at the pad and knew it could be a hundred different combos but my mother was a vain person. I knew it wouldn't be any of her kids birthdays but something that was fully about herself.

I typed in the date she was made Luna and the little light to the right lit green. Rolling my eyes as I opened the small door, I looked at the few item in the safe. There were several files on the bottom and I grabbed them stuffing them in my backpack to look over later. Several pieces of her prized jewelry were in here too, and I quickly placed them in the backpack but they were trifles to the big item in the safe. The Luna crown sat by itself on a small shelf. I gently grabbed the delicate item and held it gingerly in my hands. It was a small delicate thing with its swirl of gold and sapphires.

"Lady Danika." My head snapped around to where Lyonel was standing, he never used my title unless we were around my mother.

"We need to perform the ceremony." He said as he bowed his head to me, around me all the other guards stopped what they were doing and also bowed their heads.

"We don't have time." I answered as I looked back down at the crown in my hands.

"We will make the time. If we ever want to reclaim the Goddess Moon pack lands you will need to be named Luna and this will make your claim stronger if you can transfer your mother's blood." He came up besides me taking the crown out of my hands before guiding me back into the room by my mothers bed.

I went with him knowing he was right but the thought of touching my dead mother was freaking me out.

"Here." he layed a blade in my hands.

"What if there is wolfsbane in her blood and it weakens me even more than I already am?." I say softly as I look down at the knife.

"That's why we are here." He gestured to the guards around us.

"Why I am here." Lyonell whispered into my ear as he stepped behind me, giving me the strength of his body.

He placed the crown on my head and it was so light it barely disrupted my hair.

I nodded as I reached down grabbing my mother's hand trying to ignore how cold and stiff it was.

The knife cut through the skin on the palm of her hand but no blood appeared and for a moment panicked seized me. What if it wouldn't work? I quickly pushed that thought out of my mind, pack leaders died all the time in battle and their packs were still able to go on.

"I, Danika Rosaline Everleigh Lunessa, promise to protect the Goddess Moon pack with my life. To use my powers to benefit the pack, never against it." My voice was shaky at first but it grew stronger as I went along.

I cut my own palm and then pressed the wound to my mothers.

"From this day I am Luna and will be till my dying day."

As soon as I said the last words I could feel the power of becoming Luna flow up my arm. My head throbbed for a moment and I knew that would have been me connecting to all the pack member's if the mindlink wasn't blocked. My knees gave out under me and Lyonel quickly grabbed me pressing me hard against him. I regained my balance and stepped back giving Lyonel a nod. He gave a small smile before he knelt in front of me, and then I noticed all my guards were kneeling, their heads bowed. I grabbed Lyonel to pull him up.

"No kneeling to a Luna that doesn't have a pack anymore." I mumble as I pull the crown from my head.

"The pack is wherever you are." Lyonell answered as he looked down at me, his blue eyes filled with something other than lust and I quickly broke eye contact.