The Moonchild

SOME PERSPECTIVE

“What do you mean when you say that you don’t know who she is?” My mom asked with her mouth agape. She and my dad were looking at me as if it had grown a second head on my shoulder.

“That’s exactly what I meant, mom. I don’t know who she is,” I told them, but they remained clueless, so I tried to continue: “She appeared on our land in a… different way,” I told them.

My dad crossed his arms on his chest and asked suspiciously: “What do you mean by arriving in a different way, son?”

“I was on a patrol with Jackson and Christian when we heard thunder and we went to investigate the noise, and boom! There she was.” I told them.

They continued looking at me clueless, until my mom told us: “You mean that she appeared with the thunder?”

I shrugged and told them: “Well, that’s all I know for now, but Jackson and a small group of warriors are looking into the place once again to see if they can find something else that could help us to solve the mystery of who Kendra is.”

My mom smiled and told me: “So, her name is Kendra? What a beautiful name! Although I don’t know a thing about her, I already like her.”

My dad hugged my mom’s shoulder and told me: “Well, if it is written that you were made to be together, so be it.”

That made me smile a little bit, but also brought me some memories of my deceased and good-for-nothing brother-in-law, so I told them: “Well, it was written that Ava should be with that piece of s**t Newton, but still, this wasn’t the best for her, right?”

My mother's face dropped a little. Some of the memories William Newton had brought to our family were still fresh as open wounds in our minds.

"I understand where your doubts come from, son," my father told me, and then continued, "I can't deny that you must be careful. God only knows what your sister went through. But if you look for signs and evidence, maybe you should talk to her," my dad suggested.

"You know, even though she doesn't live with us or the packhouse anymore, she lives nearby," my mom told me. Her eyes showed her concern for me and my recent discovery of my mate.

I nodded to them. They were right, after all. “Yeah, sure. I'll talk to her”, I told them. “But right after dinner. I haven't eaten with you guys for ages now”.

“Then I will call your sister. It’s been days since I’ve seen our little Heather,” my dad told us and left the room.

“Who would think that a baby girl could soften the big bad alpha like this,” my mom told me, chuckling,

I chuckled with her and then I said: “If his beta and gamma saw him like that..."

My mom laughed again and moved her hand dismissively: "They had grandchildren too. They must all be as soft as marshmallows, like Jeb is now."

"You're probably right," I told my mom and followed her into the kitchen.

***

“Something is different with you tonight,” my sister Ava told me at my parents’ porch. We had just finished washing the dishes, and my mom and dad, as always, were spending time with baby Heather. I was drinking a beer and my sister had cup of lemonade in her hands. She normally does not complain about breastfeeding, except when she wants to have a glass of wine, so she looked at my beer with the envy of someone who couldn’t drink alcohol.

I hesitated for a few seconds, and she looked at me expectantly.

“You know, you can trust me, right?” She put a hand on my arm and insisted after a few more moments.

“Yeah, I know I can trust you. It is just… I needed to talk to you about… my mate, and I don’t know how to talk to you about this, little sis,” I told her.

“You mean that you have met your mate?” Ava asked me excitedly.

“Yeah, but I’m not sure if I should talk to you about her. Newton’s death is still recent, and although he was a maniac, you suffered like hell when he died,” I told her.

“Yeah, he hurt the hell out of me, there’s no denial here, and there were some moments… OK, a lot of moments, when I wondered if the will of heaven was indeed right, and if my destiny was really to suffer... but here I am: stronger than before, with a little mouth to feed, and not allowed to drink a drop of wine,” she chuckled with her little joke.

“But you’re not supposed to hear about my problems, Ava. You are still healing from your own wounds,” I told her.

“You know… this is the beauty of love, Ax. My love towards you didn’t change just because my mate used me, hit me, and stole from me repeatedly. I still have space for you in my heart. You will always be my big bro,” she told me with a genuine smile.

I smiled back at her, and then I said: “It is just that I don’t know a thing about her.”

Ava nodded and told me: “I know, mom mentioned it to me earlier.”

“But how…?” I asked her, amazed. I hadn’t seen them alone for enough time so my mom could tell her what was going on.

Ava shrugged and told me: “She has her means. Anyways, I did know a lot of things about William Newton and when I found out that he was my mate, I was delighted. Still, he turned out to be someone else. Someone completely different from the teenager that I met years ago.” I could see the shadows passing through her eyes as she remembered the horrors she had endured. She never mentioned them for a couple of minutes at a time. The only person that knew her complete story was our sister-in-law, Sylvia.

After William Newton’s tragic death, Ava found herself a young widow, pregnant and alone. Well, at least, she thought that she was alone. She couldn’t stand being around us, among her own kind, so she asked James and Sylvia for shelter on Sylvia’s coven so she could be away from the pack. She left our pack with a small bump and came back with a little sweetheart: her new reason for living who had her eyes and cute dimples. Since then, Ava is healing slowly, but steady, and this was a relief for me. I swear that if I could, I would resurrect Newton just to kill him one more time just for what he did to my sister.

“What do you mean?” I turned back to our conversation.

“I mean that you will never know if you don’t give her a chance,” she told me. “Besides, I wouldn’t have Heather if it wasn’t for William,” she told me with a small smile upon her face.

“Yeah, that little girl is something else,” I told her.

“She has each one of us wrapped up in her little fingers,” Ava told me, chuckling.

“Your point is…?” I asked her.

“My point is that if I knew that I would have to go through everything again and, in the end, I would still have her, I would do it all again for that little one,” she told me with a tender smile on her lips. “Believe me, I’m the living proof that something genuinely good can come from desperation and sadness,” she told me. “And you will never know if you never try,” she finished her little speech.

I chuckled at her last sentence: “It sounds like a song”.

“I believe that the lyrics are backwards,” she chuckled. “So, what are you going to do about your relationship? Can I meet her?” Ava asked me excitedly.

“Yeah, I will give it a try, and sure, let’s see about you meeting her,” I told Ava. “You know, you did give me some perspective here,” I smiled at her.

“You’re welcome, big bro,” She smiled back at me.