The Lonely Luna

Mint Chocolate chips

*Amorah*

The early morning hours flew by as I worked on paperwork, until I eventually took a break and went to have breakfast with my son. I found him in the kitchen with the omega, Ms. Megan, who regularly helps out with him. Brandon was helping the staff stir up a bowl of pancake mix and was making a lovely mess of it all over the counter.

I walk around the island, scooping my little man into my arms and listening as he squeals in delight and wraps his arms around my neck.

"We are making your favorite food, Mommy" he says, tightening his arms until he nearly has me in a stranglehold.

I tug on his arm gently, loosening his grip a little bit before replying. "And what is that, baby?"

"Chocolate chip pancakes, of course." he responds, a smile lighting up his gorgeous little face. I smile back at him, before leaning forward and kissing his soft little cheeks.

I put him back down on his stool and he finishes mixing the batter, watching closely while Ms. Megan takes the bowl, stirs it a few more times, and then pours some into the skillet on the stove. He stands and watches her every move as the pancakes cook and she flips them side to side.

"Almost done, Mommy." He yells out when she gets ready to remove a few from the pan. I take his plate as she hands it to me, cutting up the pancakes and getting them ready for him to eat before walking them over to the table.

"Come sit down and eat, baby." I said, pulling his chair out and waiting for him to climb into his booster seat before pushing it closer to the table.

Brandon starts eating his pancakes and I wait as Ms. Megan makes more.

"Here, Mommy" Brandon says, offering me a bite "You can have some of mine if your too hungry to wait."

I smile, shaking my head. "That's ok, baby. My pancakes are almost done. You eat all of yours and get your belly nice and full, ok?"

He nods his head, shoving another bite of pancake in his mouth as the staff brings my plate to the table as well.

I eat my pancakes slowly, savoring the taste and watching my son. "Slow down, they aren't going anywhere." I prompt him gently at one point as he shoves more and more in his mouth, his cheeks shoved full and making him look like a chipmunk.

"I'm sorry. I'm just starved half to death" he says, the words sounding hilarious in his babyish voice. The boy barely knows the meaning of the word starving and certainly never has been, but everything in life is dramatic when your three, I guess.

I eat the rest of my pancakes and then grab another cup of coffee before giving the baby another kiss

"Mommy has to head upstairs and start getting ready for a meeting, ok?" I inform him, giving him a quick hug.

"Ok, Mommy" he says as I gather both of our plates and take them to the sink as he continues to sit at the table and drink some milk.

"Ms. Megan, I'll be in my room if you need me, or he needs me, for anything. I'll let you know when I'm leaving." I explain

"Yes, Luna. Brandon and I should be fine, though. I hope your meeting goes well." Ms. Megan says, with a slight bow of her head.

"Thank you." I reply before retreating and heading back to my room.

Ms. Megan and a few of the other omega are an invaluable source of help that I appreciate having beyond belief. This obviously isn't the situation I envisioned when I got pregnant with my son, but I'm happy that I at least have them. Ms. Megan treats my son like one of her own, even though she's young, and doesn't have any children of her own yet.

Technically, now that I think about it, she's slightly older then me, so still old enough to be a mother. Brandon adores her and likes to help her out in the kitchen and with other little things that he's old enough to do and it helps me tremendously. I've been running the pack on my own, with the help of my Beta and Gamma, of course but even with their help, the work load can be quite intense at times.

I do my best to divide my time between Brandon and my pack duties, making sure that I see him in the morning, eat meals with him, and try to spend the evening hours with him. I make sure I do his bedtime routine and put him to bed every night. As busy as I get sometimes, those are things I don't like to budge on. My son is still my son, and even though I appreciate the help with him, I still take my position as his mother very seriously. Especially since I'm the only parent he has here, with his father residing with the Moon Goddess and all.

I talk with Brandon about his father often, showing him pictures, and telling him what a proud and handsome man he was, how much he loved him, and couldn't wait to meet him. How I know he wishes he was here, but is watching over him instead... and I pray every day that those words are true. I hope that Brandon Sr. can see the bright, articulate little man our three year old is already. It's been hard, living each day without him, struggling with the dreams each night, but I take comfort in the belief that he got to see our son, after all.... that he continues to watch over him every day. I refuse to believe anything else. I honestly can't bare to believe anything else. It would simply be too cruel.

I reach my room, heading for the closet and grabbing some clothes out. I throw on a simple pair of jeans, a spaghetti strap shirt, and put a thin half jacket over top. I throw a pair of shoes on and pull my hair up out of my face, before throwing some lip gloss on. I don't typcially wear much makeup. I never really have but especially not now. Who do I have to worry about impressing, anyways? I'm mateless, so I don't have to worry about dressing up for anyone. Although, I do have to make sure I look presentable. My position as Luna demands it, even though there are times I would love to lounge around with a t-shirt and sweat pants on, preferably watching TV and binging on ice cream.

I look myself over one last time, content with how I look but still wishing the circles under my eyes would disappear. It makes me look tired and sleep deprived all the time and to be honest, I am.... but that doesn't mean I want to see that every time I look at myself in the mirror.

I grab my car keys and head for my bedroom door, walking through the pack house and giving Brandon one last hug and kiss. I inform the staff that I'll be back in a few hours, before heading out of the door. I'm not sure how long the Alpha meeting will be with all things considered but anticipate it lasting at least an hour or more. It's not every day that an Alpha goes missing and is nowhere to be found. At least, not in my neck of the woods and definitely not an Alpha of Alpha Abbi's caliber. She is loved, respected, and powerful. It takes a very bold person... or crew... to risk the wrath of an Alpha as strong as her or the vengeance of her pissed off mate. I don't want to be in their shoes when Alpha James finally finds her. I can guarantee it won't end well for the other side, but that's no less then what they deserve. I've heard the rumors that there was a note left claiming that Abbi was leaving on her own, but I don't believe it was valid. Probably nothing more then a distraction to try to keep her Alpha mate from hunting her down. I don't know Alpha Abbi well on a personal level but I know enough to know that its very unlikely that she would take off on her wedding day, especially after having just been sworn in as Co-Alpha of their new pack. It just doesn't make any sense and the person who wrote that note, thinking it would help their cause, clearly isn't as bright as they think they are. I laugh to myself as I think about it and once again I wonder if it was wolves or not. That's another thing that doesn't make sense to me. A wolf knows how other wolves feel about their mates and the lengths they will go to protect them. Even if that person hasn't found their mate themselves yet... the fated mate bond is something that we are all taught about from childhood and something that we look forward to finding for ourselves. That magical, mystical bond we share with our soul mates. There is nothing in this world that compares and the higher ranked a wolf is the stronger the bond typically is as well, so no self respecting Alpha is going to let his mate be taken, or just leave, without hunting down the ends of the earth trying to find them.

The trip over to the Golden Moon Pack doesn't take long and it's merely ten minutes before I'm pulling through patrol, the wolves confirming that I'm Luna Amorah Williams before pushing me through. I travel the rest of the way through the pack lands, and then park on the side of the pack house, before jumping out and walking towards the door.

The door opens before I reach it, a she-wolf standing there and gesturing for me to come in as I walk up the steps. "Good Afternoon, Luna Amorah" she says graciously, bowing slightly.

"Good afternoon..." I replied, as I walk past.

"My name is Beth" she responds and then gestures for me to follow her as she walks through the pack house towards the conference room. "It's nice to officially meet you, Luna. I've heard so much about you, considering we share a border."

I smile, acknowledging her words, but wondering if what she has heard is good or bad. I don't really care though, either way. As a pack leader and a single mother, I do the best I can, but I am aware of the nickname that floats around, with others referring to me as "the Lonely Luna" behind my back. It doesn't really bother me and its scarily accurate. I'm the Luna and I've been lonely as hell since the day my mate died. If it weren't for my son to motivate me to continue on, filling part of the endless void in my heart, I don't know where I would be today.

I smile again and nod my head in thanks as we approach the conference door, before stiffening slightly as the most delicious scent hits my nose. It's a mixture, reminding me of hot chocolate chip cookies, fresh from the oven. That's my favorite way to eat them. When they are still hot and fresh and the chocolate is melted and gooey. I also detect a hit of mint, reminding me of my second favorite dessert, mint chocolate chip ice cream. It's funny because as a child, I hated mint chocolate chip ice cream. It reminded me of tooth paste, with chocolate chips mixed in but as I got older, my taste buds must have changed, and it now ranks as one of my favorites.

I push the door open, eyeing the Alpha's sitting across the table but barely acknowledging them as I gaze around the room. I see Alpha James and Beta Michael sitting at the end of the table with another man. A gorgeous man... that must be another of the Alpha's brother. He looks slightly different but too much like him to be anyone else.

I hold in a gasp, feeling my heart drop into my stomach, as he lifts his blue eyes to mine and I hear the word bouncing in my head that I never thought I'd hear again.

"Mate!"