A Luna's Power

Chapter 6: A Sister Bond

-Lara-

I mimicked the queen’s stand while we watched each other. I was a little surprised she came here to defend my sister. Those two had after all been fighting for the same male once. My sister had even become a joke because of her and I knew my sister had not treated the queen very nice either, but then again those two had been through a lot and they lived together now and were both very happy with their mates. Maybe I should not have been surprised.

“You think I haven’t?” I asked. “You don’t think I have tried for years? Or given her chance after chance to be my sister?”

The queen raised an eyebrow, unsure what to say.

“Selene was the perfect daughter. I was the disappointment, yet I still tried … I tried overcoming this giant space between us, but she had to continue being the perfect daughter and only when we were alone could we be sisters. I tried, my queen. I really did, but you know how many times she called home once she came to live here as Valerio’s queen?”

She waited for me to continue as her silver eyes watched me intensely.

“Zero. She only came home after the Moon Ball where I know you were hurt. She never told me the truth, but I know she was … involved in some way in your accident, and even when she came home, we didn’t even really talk. It was only after she had cut ties with Valerio and my father was gone, that we finally started to work on our relationship and still … still we were strangers. I tried, my queen. For years, but I was never like her. I was never good enough. So, I am sorry if I don’t jump at the chance of having a good relationship with my sister. In truth, I am probably waiting for her to ignore me again,” I told her.

“She has changed,” she said.

“So have I.”

“Yes, Valerio told me something about you being on the council shortly before we began to eat. You think that is a good choice?” she asked.

“I would think you of all people would be supportive of it. You aren’t really the queen all those snobby and bigheaded alphas want, and you don’t really give a damn.”

“You are right, I don’t, but I don’t have to deal with them all the time, like you will have to if you are a part of the council.”

“I have made up my mind. I will change this world. Even if I have to do it alone,” I said.

“You don’t have to be alone, Lara. I know your sister has had her flaws. She has worked on it, and now she wants to try again.”

“Yes, but now I am luna. Of the pack she left. Even when she was there, she wasn’t even its luna. I did all the real work, and I am not about to put it on a break because she now wants to be sisters.”

“She always wanted to be your sister. She even brought you back home from that alpha,” she said, spitting the word alpha.

She was right. Selene had to come get me before I got stuck with him, but then it was like everything had returned to normal. I had hoped for more. Especially when she talked about communicating more. I had truly hoped I would have her as my sister now, but I had been wrong, and I was once again the id!ot. So, I had stopped hoping.

“I understand,” she said. “But life will be very lonely if we decide to push people away just because we are afraid to get hurt. Have you even met the twins?”

“I hear they are doing good,” was all I said.

“Yes, they are, but have you met them?”

To be honest, I didn’t want to. I had seen them shortly at dinner, but I had not spent any time on actually meeting them and my sister had not pushed me. She probably knew we had our own problems to work through before I got to know them. I knew I was the one who told her to go have this life, and still I felt sort of abandoned by her. She had gotten this amazing life, not that I envied it, but while I had worked so hard on everything, she just left behind, she still didn’t come to visit. She barely called me or texted me. Maybe I should have done some more reaching out as well, but I was tired of being the one doing it. I now had more important things to do, and, of course, now she decided to try to fix things. Did she not see she was only making it difficult for me?

“I saw them at dinner,” I said.

“But you didn’t try and get close or barely even acknowledged them.”

“You’re right … I didn’t and, while I appreciate all you have done for my sister, considering your past with her, I would prefer it if you didn’t push me on this, my queen.”

Her silver eyes narrowed a little but eventually she just nodded.

“Very well. I just hope you see past everything and maybe get your sister back.”

“I never had her in the first place …” I said and turned around.

I had always admired Octavia, but when it came to my sister and our relationship, I didn’t appreciate her thoughts on it. I would deal with it how I wanted to deal with it. She was my sister and if I wanted our relationship to get better, I would, but at the moment I had other things on my mind. I knew I sounded cold, but being ignored for so long and disappointed over and over, you just stopped trying. I knew Selene had not been a bad sister on purpose, it was not her fault that we had become strangers. It was our father’s fault. He had forced her to stay away as much as she could, so only when we were alone could she really be my sister.

I came outside where the sun was only now slowly going down, but I did not stop to look at it. Instead I found myself stopping a few feet away because of what I saw lying on my bike. Was that a …

Cat?!

Its yellow eyes were locked on me, and it was quite large, to say it in a nice way, and its tail was going back and forth. So the rumors were true. They really had a cat, I thought, as I looked over my shoulder at the castle before turning to the cat again.

“Go on!” I said, waving my hands at it, telling it to go away. “Go back inside. I am sure they are missing you.”

It just narrowed its eyes slightly while looking at me almost … smug?

“Did you not hear me?” I asked.

It continued to look at me and I groaned, feeling irritated. I needed it to get down from my seat so I could leave. I had a lot to prepare for the next council meeting, and I certainly did not have time to argue with a cat.

“You! Orange fatball, get off my bike!” I sneered.

“Meow!”

It certainly did not like what I said, but the cat could seriously do with some workout!

“Yes, you!”

“Meow!”

“Get down!” I ordered.

The smug look only got stronger, and the tail swung back and forth, almost telling me, why don’t you move me yourself?

I sighed, leaning my head back and placing my hands on my hips.

“Okay, listen, I have had a weird day, can you just … move?!”

It stopped swinging its tail but still did not move.

“I seriously don’t have time for this!” I said and walked over to it.

Its eyes were on me the entire time watching me, as I came closer, and when I grabbed it around its round belly and lifted it, it meowed displeased at me before I put it down on the ground. It walked away and then turned around, sitting down on the ground while watching me with those intense yellow eyes.

“What?” I asked, as I got on my bike, looking at it. “You could just have moved!”

“Meow!”

“I have to go, and you wouldn’t move. You don’t have to be so mad about it.”

Was I really arguing with a cat?

“Meow!”

It certainly was not pleased with me, but I didn’t have time for this. I reached for my helmet and put it on before turning on the bike. The whole time, the cat was watching me. Even when I turned the bike, it stayed in place watching me with those intense yellow eyes. It gave me a strange feeling. Why was it watching me like that?

I paused as I had turned the bike half around, but then I realized I was being stupid. It was just a cat. It made no sense why it looked like it was almost waiting for me … to do what I was unsure of. I believed it probably wanted me to follow it, but it was most likely just hungry. It was stupid to think that this cat wanted more from me.

I shook my head, feeling ridiculous and then I drove out of there, leaving the cat, the castle, my sister and everyone else behind me. Maybe I should not have been so hard on my sister. The queen was right. She was trying. She had come to a place in her life where she could be herself and the sister, she wanted to be. She no longer had our father to control her, but she was a lot freer than me. Because she did not take over as luna. She was free to be the mother and friend she wanted to be. I now had an entire pack to be responsible for, while she stayed at the castle, protected and safe with her kids. I did not have the same security, which meant I had other things to focus on. I had to protect myself and what I had built. I did not have time to work on becoming sisters again, at least not right now … and maybe … maybe I was mad at her as well. She had not been my sister when I truly needed her and now … now I didn’t need her. I had found a power in myself and I refused to let anyone take it from me.