Daughter Of Light

The Short Straw

Jackson

“I told you no applicants that were underage. Why are we even going.” I growled to Iris, my frustration at finally getting to visit Crimson Pack, the pack responsible for the death of my mate and father three years ago and I was here on official business. I clenched and unclenched my fists. I wanted to destroy the pack not pretend I wanted to take the alpha’s daughter as a chosen luna.

“It was the only way we could get inside. They have refused to let us visit, even with the council. You know we have searched every other starter pack except this. However they couldn’t ignore the summons and because she isn’t 18 yet a visit was reasonable first.” Iris patiently replied. She was a powerful silver wolf, gifted beyond belief. As Luna to one of the oldest and largest packs, mother to two unruly boys, and mate of my best friend Oliver the current alpha of alphas, she had had to developed a patience I would never have expected her capable of.

I had lost my beloved mate three years ago in an attack by this very pack. As a result in order to keep the pack for my son to inherit I was now seeking a luna. I had another year in which to find her but Iris insisted we needed to move before she turned 18. If she met her mate our chance would be gone.

“I don’t understand how you think she is important. Literally nothing has happened in the pack for three years. We have watched them like a hawk.”

“Jackson her name literally means light. It’s one of the founding packs and she is a alpha’s daughter. She could be who we have been looking for.”

Ever since they met Flora, another silver wolf with the gift of prophecy they had been searching for a special wolf.

The moon goddess blessed some wolves with gifted silver wolves a long time ago legend has our greed for power caused some wolves to do unspeakable things to each other, and as a result they were cursed. The curse turned their silver wolves jet black, preventing them from receiving their gifts and trying to end the line forever.

Iris and my sister Thea were desperately trying to break the curse as my sister was mated to an all back wolf, distantly related to the line they believed to be cursed.

They hadn’t been blessed with any pups yet and Iris was convinced things would change for them if they broke the curse.

“So what’s the plan?” I asked again. I needed to follow it very carefully, I could feel the control on my anger slipping. It happened sometimes, while I was getting better at controlling it, I never felt fully in control. A stark contrast from the perfect alpha I had trained my whole life to be. Loss of control is something I would have laughed about in my previous life and joked was Oliver’s problem.

Oliver, Iris’s mate, currently alpha of Blue Moon and alpha of alphas was the biggest hot head you could meet. I was sure that the council now dreaded when he bothered to show up to meetings.

“They have claimed that she is underage and in line to be luna of this pack, that is ain’t suitable for you. They have offered her older cousin instead. She meets all the criteria so Oliver suggested we meet them both, on the proviso that she could be your second chance mate. They are so keen to keep us away they offered to send the other one to you, without you meeting her. They must be hiding something. All the signs point to her being the one.”

“Who is the one they offered again?” Applicants for my chosen luna had been few and far between, with my current history, lack of requirement for an heir and new reputation as a ruthless alpha there wasn’t a lot of interest.

Frankly I didn’t care who it was, they wouldn’t have been I do much as my mother was still happily doing luna duties, my son Lachlan would be heir when he came of age. My only requirement was that they didn’t look like my mate. I didn’t want my new luna to have any illusions that she could compete with my perfect mate.

“The daughter of the previous alpha.”

I raised a brow at Iris. This was a development. Crimson pack accused me of murdering, or ordering the murder of the previous alpha. In an attack I had nothing to do with, the currently alpha’s mate and alpha Jason were lost and apparently the daughter had been injured. Why would you send your niece to become luna of the alpha that you believed murdered her father.

“They really don’t want us here do they?”

“Exactly. So you play nice. I know it will be hard for you to be here but we have to focus on the mission. There are bigger things that your revenge.”

Iris was the only person I couldn’t argue with here. She had lost her entire family in an attack on her pack by gifted that intended to take her for her gifts. One of the wolves responsible was still alive. We had been after him for years but just when we thought we were getting something on him, there would be an attack or disaster that would divert attention from him to us. We were always on the back foot. Oliver had promised Iris Christian’s head on a platter, but the slippery eel had remained intact so far.

We had taken two cars in case we found anyone we needed to bring back with us. We had a habit of collecting wolfs at the moment. Iris and Thea had found a few silver wolves over the years. None so far had gifts as impressive as Iris’s were.

I hadn’t been looking forward to this so had been grumpier than usual. I surmised that they must have drawn straws to decide who came with me. There is no way Oliver and Iris would have chosen to split up. Even two pups later they were still sickly sweet in love, possibly even more so than my sister and her mate Luke, my other best friend.

I tried not to burn with jealousy at their happy lives. Ultimately I wouldn’t have that again, second chance mates were rare but I had no notion of accepting mine if she was given. I barely survived the loss of Scarlett, even if I could bring myself to replace her in my heart, which I knew I couldn’t, I wouldn’t put myself in that position again.

I felt Oynx whine at the thought of the rest of his life without a mate but I knew he understood. I had hoped he would grown fond of a witch I saw from time to time, but, unlike the shewolves that tried to offer themselves to me that he would happily rip from limb to limb, he did have much of an opinion towards her. Which was preferable to his opinion most of the time to be honest.

“We are here, let Oliver do most of the talking. Hopefully we won’t need Plan B to go exploring because that won’t do your reputation any good.”

I had forgotten what Plan B was but whatever it was didn’t sound good for me.