LUNA : The Wolf in Disguise

Chapter 2

"Mia, can you lighten up for a second" My mother sighed, "You're going to end up with fine lines on your face at such a young age if don't quit scowling all the time" She shook her head at me disapprovingly.

That only made my scowl deepen, "Try losing your wolf once, and you will know why I am like this all the time," I muttered under my breath, glowering at her sharply.

I knew she would've heard me. She is a werewolf, after all. We all have heightened senses.

My mother made a face at that, "It's only temporary, sweetheart. You will get back your wolf before you know it. " She tried to make me feel better, "It is just to protect you from -"

I shook my head at her, "It has only been three days since losing my wolf, but it feels like an eternity for me, Mom. You wouldn't understand. It's like a huge part of me is missing. " I tried to explain, "I don't feel like myself anymore. " I can hear my voice cracking as I talk. I took a deep breath to stop myself from bursting into tears.

I will do that when I am alone.

The last three days have been nothing but purgatory for me. I couldn't feel my wolf at all. It is as if someone had ripped my heart into pieces, and it has been glued back together, but one major piece was missing. That's how it felt for me.

I spent the nights crying in my room and questioning everything in my mind about the moon goddess. Why did I have to be the white wolf that everyone is crazy about?

"Mia," I heard my father's voice in the hallway, snapping me out of my internal monologue, "Mia, come here! I have something for you. " I heard him call out for me urgently.

I threw my legs off the couch begrudgingly and walked in that direction.

My parents tried everything to make me feel better, but none of it worked. I am sure my father was calling me now to cheer me up in any way that he could, but I am not sure if that would help now.

"Mia, faster!" He called out again, "Come on, run to me, will you?!"

I stomped my foot against the ground out of anger, "Not a wolf here, remember? I am the slowest in the pack now, " I grumbled, but I quickened up my pace. I was kind of interested to know why he was calling me there.

Once I turned up in the hallway, I saw my father holding a small gift bag in his hands. "What's this about?" I asked him, eyeing the bag warily. "If you think a teddy bear is going to make me smile, then I am sorry to burst your bubble. It will not."

"You haven't even seen what I brought you yet, Mia," my father said, his eyes crinkling, "I am sure that you will love this one."

I narrowed my eyes at him and then at the bag he was holding, "What is that?" I asked.

"See for yourself," He said, extending the bag towards me.

I let out a sigh and made my way towards him to take the bag from him. My father gave it to me and watched me carefully as I took out a small teal box from it, "Ah, you think I am old enough for jewelry now?" I asked, putting the bag away.

He didn't answer me, so I carefully undid the clasp of the box and pulled it open. My eyes widened and a gasp left my lips when I saw a small miniature wolf necklace with my name written on it, "This is so pretty" I said, feeling the surface of the necklace with my fingertip.

"I know you miss your wolf. Believe me, I feel so awful for making you go through that but I had no choice, dear" He said, taking the box from me and pulling out the necklace, "I know that this is not much but I hope this somehow makes you feel a little less unhappy"

He put the necklace around my neck and took a step back to look at me again, "It looks good on you," He said, nodding his head as if he was satisfied.

For some reason, I thought the pendant felt slightly warmer against my skin. It also lifted my overall mood, "It feels warm," I said, looking up at my father.

My father nodded, "Adam said it should feel like that" He informed me, "I told Adam that you are not yourself since the ritual and he said he might have something that could make you feel better. This is it. "

I couldn't help but touch that wolf again, "Thanks, Dad. It is a thoughtful gift. It may not be up to par with my real wolf, but it will make do for the next few years." I sighed, wrapping my arms around his body.

My father hugged me back and put his chin on top of my head, "Anything to make you happy, sweetie," I heard him say.

"So the princess is feeling better now" My mother sang, walking into the living area, "You know it was so hard to put a smile on her face for the past three days but you managed to do that, John. Bravo, " my mother clapped, grinning.

I felt a light blush spreading on my face, "He genuinely tried to make me happy," I retorted.

My mother's jaw dropped, "Excuse me! I genuinely tried to make you happy as well. " She came at me, making me giggle and run around my father to avoid getting tackled by her.

My father laughed as my mother chased me around, "Run, Mia." He cheered for me, making me giggle again. This is how we usually are, always laughing about something and chasing each other around the house for fun.

"Alright, alright," my mother said, pretending to look tired now, "All those running made me hungry. Why don't we have dinner now?" She asked, hugging me and my father together, "It has been days since you ate properly, "

I nodded at her, "Yeah, that does sound good. Now I think about it, I am starving, Mom, " I said, clutching my stomach.

"Then what are we waiting for? To the dining table, " My father grinned, ushering the both of us towards the dining area.

We had dinner together like we always would. For the first time in three days, I felt slightly better. Good enough to have a decent conversation with my parents while we eat.

"I am scared to go back to school," I sighed, "Everyone is going to make fun of me for losing my wolf."

My parents exchanged a meaningful glance, "Nonsense. No one dares to mess with an Alpha's daughter, right Laura?" He asked my mother.

My mother nodded her head, "Yeah, whoever dares to do that clearly had lost their mind." My mother agreed, "Don't worry, darling. They won't mess with you. You do know what to tell them if they ask you about it, right?"

"That I woke up one day and couldn't feel my wolf?" I asked, and my parents nodded in approval, "Don't you think it's a little bit hard to believe?"

"Losing your wolf is already a hard-to-believe matter. I am sure the pack would be curious to know what happened, but they know their limits. They wouldn't press you much about it, " my mother reassured.

I looked down at my almost empty plate, "I hope they won't," I said in a small voice, "I am not strong enough to fight back with them if they did."

I felt a hand under my chin and then my father lifted my face so he could see my eyes again, "You are the strongest girl that I have ever seen, sweetheart" He said, "Tell me, how many out there are willing to lose their wolf? You did, right? That's because you're brave and strong. "

"And your wolf doesn't define who you are, baby," my mother added, "You are strong with or without your wolf. Never doubt yourself because your wolf is no longer with you, okay?"

I attempted to smile but it didn't look like it worked because my parent's faces creased with immense worry, "Okay, Mom" I said even though I didn't feel like it would be okay at all.

"If anyone tries to make fun of you then you can always come to me-" He stopped whatever he was going to say abruptly and I saw his soft eyes glazed over, indicating someone was mindlinking him.

I immediately stiffened, feeling the atmosphere become thick with tension. I watched his face carefully and I saw him look at my mother with a panicked expression, "Laura, you have to go now" He said, jumping to his feet, "Mia, go with your mother" He said before scurrying away from there.

"What's wrong, mom?" I asked, feeling something drop in the pit of my stomach. Something wasn't right. I had a terrible feeling that something bad was going to happen and that thought alone terrified me.

"Rogues." My mother grabbed my arm and pulled me to my feet, "We have to get you to a safe zone," She said, dragging me into her room, "Please wait here. Do not go anywhere, okay?" She said when we stepped into her room.

She used her heightened speed to get across her room and grabbed a bag from there, "Here. Put this on, " She said, "I have prepared everything for you just in case something like this happened, " She said, making me put the bag on.

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.

Her eyes held immense anguish in them, "Mia if things get out of hand today, I want you to run away from here. There is cash and some documents in that bag along with a bank card. " She said hurriedly that I had a hard time catching all her words, "You can survive with that. "

My throat went dry, "Mom..." I trailed, unable to form a proper sentence.

What in the world was going on?

My mother's eyes teared up, and her beautiful face red, "I am sorry, honey. If this is our last day together, I want you to know that your father and I loved you with all our hearts, and none of this is your fault, okay?" She said, putting a hand against my cheek.

Seeing tears stream down her face made my eyes start to prick with tears as well, "Mom, you're scaring me," I said, my voice cracking.

She shook her head and took a deep breath, wiping her tears away with the sleeves of her top, "No, honey. There is nothing to be afraid of, okay? You will do excellent on your own. I believe in you, " She said, pulling her hand away from my cheeks, "Let's just pray that it doesn't come down to that. "

She grabbed my hand once again, and we ran towards the backdoor. My mother phased into her wolf once we stepped out of the house and gestured for me to hop on her back.

It has been so long since she carried me this way. I kind of missed it, but strangely, this time, it didn't bring me any kind of joy. I climbed behind her back, running my fingers over her soft fur before gripping it in my fists when she lurched forward into the forest.

I held on to her for my dear life as the trees whizzed by behind us. My hair flew around my face, becoming a knot of mess. I just hoped everyone in the pack would be alright. We have a pretty good security and defense system in this pack so it is highly unlikely to win over us.

But...There is still a chance for any rogue to succeed- I shook my head, pushing away all the negative thoughts. I have to remain optimistic in this kind of dire situation.

My mother kept running until we came into a clearing where most of our pack members had gathered. They were all in their wolf form except for me. I recognized some of them and a sense of relief washed over me when I saw no young pups present there.

But my father wasn't there. In fact, all the male werewolf weren't there. It dawned on me that the fight was taking place somewhere else.

It was disconcerting to know they were conversing via their mind link and I wasn't able to hear them. Suppressing my wolf had its consequences. I lost all my heightened senses and the ability to use mindlink.

In other words, I am just a mere human now.

I don't know what they conversed about but my mother took off running again, leaving her pack mates behind. I glanced over my shoulder just in time to look at them going the other way, letting eerie howl to the sky.

Where they were going? Why we are not going with them? Where we were going? So many questions started to pile up in my head as I had a hard time comprehending what was going on.

Maybe they have a strategy-

I let out a screech when my mother came to an abrupt halt, almost throwing me to the ground. I heaved a breath and looked up to see my father approaching us in his wolf form.

He went behind a tree and phased into his wolf before stepping away from there with a pair of trousers, "Mia" He said, coming over us at a light speed, pulling me down from my mother's back and hugging me tightly, "I am going to miss you so much"

My heart sank, "Dad..." I pulled away to look at him, bewildered.

"Listen, sweetie. The situation in the southern border has officially gotten out of hand. You have to head north and escape from this property" He said, words flowing out from his mouth like fluid.

"No" I shook my head, "I am not leaving you two behind. Let's run away together"

"I can't leave the pack behind, Mia. I have a responsibility and I am to be held accountable for it" His eyes looked pained as he talked, "Please, you have to understand. They are here for you. You have to go now!"

"They are here for me?" I asked, stupefied.

"You are the white wolf. They are here for you but thank the moon goddess, we have suppressed your wolf. They won't be able to trace you now" His eyes glazed over towards the end of his speech, "There is no time to waste. Go now, Mia."

"But- But-" Tears started to flow freely down my cheeks.

"We love you," My father said, "Please go now"

When I didn't move, my father took a deep breath, his eyes brimming with bushed tears as well, "I command you to go to the north and exit the territory, Mia" He said in his Alpha tone.

"No" I whimpered weakly but my body was already obeying him. I started to sprint away from there with a heavy heart. I couldn't believe this was happening.

Once I got to a reasonable distance, I glanced behind my back to see my parents for one last time but what I saw shook me to my core.

Two rouges attacked my parents from behind as they watched me. The merciless creatures fought with my mother as my father shifted into his wolf. One of the wolves went straight to my mother's neck killing her instantly. I let out a gasp and hid behind a tree, putting a hand over my mouth.

I heard my father let out a pained howl before that too gets cut short.

I peeked from behind the tree to see those Rogues running away from my parents' motionless figures. I wanted to run towards them but I couldn't as my body was still obeying my father's command.

I thought losing my wolf was the worst thing that could happen to me but...

This was a million times worse than that.

Grief overtook me as I knew they wouldn't make it. The Rogues wouldn't let them. I cried silently as I ran away from there, knowing I had lost both of my parents right in front of my eyes.

What made it all worse was that I couldn't even go back to look at their lifeless bodies.