His Missing Luna

Chapter Twelve

Amelia's Point of View

"When I shielded you and your mother there were two rules which had to be followed. Number one was that when you were old enough to understand she would let you know that you were shielded. And number two, when you had your wolf, you had the right to choose whether to take it down. She did neither of those things."

"But that was only for my protection. I can't be mad at her for not telling me." Although, if I was honest with myself, I was kind of pissed off that I couldn't go to her for an explanation.

"Be that as it may. They were my rules, and she didn't follow them." Bethany's expression had turned to stone. She had given my Mom her protection and, the way she saw it, my mother had abused her trust. It was probably best to change the subject.

"Well, can I make my choice now? Because I choose to have it on at all times."

But Bethany was already shaking her head from side to side, denying my request.

"Amelia, you don't need to be shielded anymore. Alpha Andras is dead and the few wolves that held the same ideas as him are also dead. The pack is run by Alpha Peyton now, and everything is peaceful. He is a good Alpha."

"He's the one I need protecting from." I blurted out.

"Peyton is your mate. He is the last person you need protecting from."

Why was this mate thing so important? Why would it stop him from doing to me exactly what he did to my Mom?

"Peyton killed my Mom." I told her sadly.

"What do you mean?" She asked calmly. I'd expected her to be angry, or upset at least, but her voice was almost emotionless.

"I mean he murdered her." I spoke slowly so that she could grasp the magnitude of what I was telling her. "I begged her to save his life. She didn't want to do it, and now I know why. As soon as he recovered, he stabbed her with a silver blade."

Bethany tilted her head to one side and stared at me for a while. Eventually, she spoke.

"Alpha Peyton did not kill your mother." She stated the words with complete certainty. There wasn't a doubt in her mind.

"Do you have proof?" I demanded.

"Do you?"

"My mother linked me just before she died. He had come for the both of us. He wanted me as his Luna and he wanted her dead." My last conversation with her had been horrendous. I still had nightmares about it to this day. I felt the back of my eyes start to prickle.

Bethany did not look convinced.

"And how did he intend to capture you whilst he was dying at your feet?"

"It must have been a trap. Just like the one that Andras used." Like father, like son.

"And how do you suppose he found you when you were both wearing shields?"

Excellent question. I'd not known about the shields so, naturally, it had never crossed my mind.

"Maybe my mother took hers off?" I was really scraping the bottom of the answer barrel with that one.

"It's not an item of clothing, Amelia." She quipped.

"Well, perhaps it wasn't working." Even Vae rolled her eyes at that.

Bethany scoffed. "My magic works fine, thank you very much."

"So it was a coincidence then? He just happened to randomly stagger into our diner? Just a remarkable set of circumstances?"

"That's exactly what a coincidence is. Perhaps you should look it up in the dictionary."

I pulled a face at her remark, and instantly regretted it.

"And the building blowing up?" I tried.

"I suspect that was done by the wolves that killed your mother."

"But how could they have found her? Like you said, she was shielded!" The conversation was making me incredibly frustrated. My mother had been killed by Peyton. There was absolutely no doubt in my mind. "No, she wouldn't have lied to me about something as important as that." Would she?

"Amelia, the only person that can answer any of these questions is no longer with us."

"So what do I do now?" I asked tearfully. "I'm dirty, I'm hungry and I'm alone. I'm not welcome anywhere, I have nowhere to go." My life was a total disaster area.

"You can go home." She said simply.

"No I can't." I said flatly. "Our apartment was firebombed too."

"I don't mean to where you lived with your mother. I mean you can go home to your pack."

The Winter Witch was out of her mind if she thought I was going to agree to that. "I can't go to the pack, he'll kill me."

Bethany sighed. "Alpha Peyton is not the murdering type! And even if he was, he couldn't kill you because you are his mate.

Again with the mate thing. "What does that even mean?"

"You don't know what a mate is? Did your mother not explain that to you?"

"She didn't get the chance," I sniffed.

"Oh Amelia," she murmured my name with a great deal of compassion, "a mate bond is something so sacred it is talked about every single day by the wolves. Why do you think you're reacting to Peyton in the way that you are?"

"The bond makes you violent?" I wasn't expecting that.

"I'm not talking about how you have been educated to feel about him. I'm talking about your true feelings. How your wolf is feeling."

I went to tell her that I wasn't feeling anything, but I couldn't get my stupid mouth to open.

"That's the truth spell," Bethany laughed the sound of musical bells. "You can't lie, so I wouldn't waste your time trying."

Despite her words, I was determined to deny it. But the only thing that came out of my mouth was a string of noises not fit for the purpose of being understood.

"Why don't you try shaking your head, perhaps that will be easier," she encouraged.

I tried and failed. In fact, every time I went to shake my head, it started to nod as if it had a mind of its own.

By this time Bethany was doubled over in fits of childish laughter.

"Stop it Amelia, or I'll pee my pants."

Seeing Bethany laughing like a toddler that was being tickled mercilessly started to rub off on me and I found myself laughing a little too.

Eventually, Bethany sobered. "Even if Peyton was the horrible monster you claim him to be, he could never kill you. If he did either, he and his wolf would die shortly afterward. Or if he managed to survive he would be driven mad and become a rogue himself.

"Is that what Rogues are?" I asked, genuinely interested. "You mentioned them in your story and I was so engrossed in what you were saying, that I didn't want to interrupt."

"Amelia, what exactly did your mother tell you about your heritage?"

"Nothing."

As soon as the word fell from my lips, I realized that it had been totally the wrong thing to say. Bethany started to scream in a way I didn't even know was possible. Her little face was red with anger and she looked absolutely murderous.

"Nothing?" She screeched at me at a pitch that could break glass.

"I'm so sorry, but no. I know I am a werewolf. And that our creator is the moon goddess, and that a beautiful and glorious sorceress known as the Winter Witch saved my life." I didn't need a truth spell to speak those words.

Hearing the sincerity in my voice, Bethany stopped screaming and gave me the most enigmatic smile instead.

"Thank you." Her face turned serious. "It is decided. You will go to the pack with Alpha Peyton."

"I will not!"

Bethany raised her eyebrows. "Are you arguing with me?"

"Yes Ma'am" Bloody truth spell, I was so over it.

Vae gave a little snicker. 'Oh so you are awake then? Nice of you to finally join us.'

"Well you shouldn't." Bethany continued, unaware of my internal discussions. "You need to meet other wolves, and you need to learn about where you come from." Her eyes dropped from my face to my stomach. "And if your appearance is anything to go by, you need to learn how to hunt too."

"Don't I get a choice?" I asked her, exasperated at how this conversation was going.

"Yes. You can choose to defy the seraph of the Moon Goddess."

I gulped. That was clearly not an option.

"How long have I got to stay there?"

"I'll ask her, and get back to you."

I opened my mouth for clarification of who that was, before I realized that the world had started up again. People were walking past us with their heads down, clearly not interested in our drama. The humans watching us were still there, waiting to see what the next move was. I'd completely forgotten where we were in our conversations. I'd been out of the loop with Bethany for a long time now and was struggling to get my thoughts in order.

"We're ready to go home now." Bethany announced to the two guys who were either side of me.

No one moved for a second and, despite how confused I was about everything, I couldn't stop myself from smiling, neither, it seemed, could Bethany.

"I think you can take your finger off your lips now, Alpha. You look like a true idiot."

"Pardon?" Peyton answered me in a voice that was as confused as his beautiful features.

"This is not a conversation that needs several hundred witnesses." I stage whispered his earlier words right back at him.

"Why have you stopped yelling at me?" He asked suspiciously.

"There will be plenty of time for that when I'm living at Amethyst."

I watched Peyton's jaw drop and his mouth pop open. It was strangely satisfying.

"Beta Finlay, your Alpha appears to have lost the power of speech. Would you mind showing me to the car?"