The Luna

17

Malachi and I avoid the topic of Caspian and his Lotus pack for the rest of the drive. Instead, he suggested we play twenty questions to pass the time. It's a light conversation which, I think, after the night and last few hours we've had, is something that we really needed.

It was nice not to have to really think for a while. That is to say, though, Caspian and his pack never really left my mind, the worry and doubt still sat there in the back, nagging at me like a song you can't get out of your head. But they were easy to avoid when I was arguing with Malachi about why black licorice is disgusting or how the Twilight books were infinitely better than the movies.

And I stand by that.

"Any tattoos or piercings?" I ask when it's my turn. I hadn't seen any piercings on his face, but the robes cover him so much, he could be fully covered in tattoos with a belly button ring, for all I know.

"I have a tattoo on my wrist," he stretches his right arm out towards me, nodding for me to move the robe. The black circle is neat and perfectly centered on his inner wrist. Inside is a small wolf baying at a perfect crescent moon. It's the size of a half-dollar and is beautiful in its simplicity.

"It's the symbol for the council," he pulls his arm from me and begins to merge off the highway. Trees surround us - as far as the eye can see. The setting sun causes the leaves to change colors. Greens, pinks, purples of all shades color these woods, making them look magical. Like something out of Frozen 2.

"The council?"

"Yes, that's where we are. The Concilium. It's where the council resides," he nods to a turn off-road that I would have missed had I been driving.

Large pine trees line the dirt path on both sides with nothing more than a large boulder marking the turn-off point. The road itself is slightly smoother than the dirt path we took leaving Caspian's pack but still rocky enough that I'm gripping my seatbelt tightly wondering how Indiana Jones did this so often.

"Listen, when we get in there, let me talk, okay?" He pulls up in front of a large, unassuming brick building that I honestly think sprouted out of nowhere.

Vines sprawl up the sides of the brick, but not in a way that makes it look unkempt. In fact, it's the opposite. It's almost like someone drew neat lines for the vines to follow. It's charming and fits so quaintly among the trees that I wonder if the trees were planted around it or if it was built around the trees.

Malachi opens my door for me. I had been so wrapped up in the building that I hadn't seen him slip out of the car and walk around.

"You can take the robe off now," he shrugs off his own robe, and for a minute, I'm surprised to see jeans and a black t-shirt underneath. I don't know what I expected him to be wearing under there, if anything, honestly, but something so simple and classic wasn't it.

"The entire Concilium can hide scents, like the robes, so we don't have to wear them here," He takes my robe from me and tosses them both back into the SUV like someone would a sweater on a warm summer day. Malachi gave me a reassuring smile, placing his hand between my shoulder blades, and leading me towards the large wooden door.

I had been expecting some sort of rustic farmhouse decor. With large open windows framing the woods surrounding them. For a place that Malachi said the council resides in, I thought this would be a house, maybe even similar (if not grander) than what Caspian had.

But this is more like a large office, at least on this floor. A large open floor plan with high vaulted ceilings. There are no couches, no chairs - only pristine marble floors and painted portraits lining the walls.

Wolves really like their portraits, don't they?

"These are all past council members. It's an honor to be chosen, but it comes with a cost." Malachi doesn't rush me as I look around. He stands next to me with his hands in his pockets, looking at the paintings with as much interest as I am, even though he has probably seen them many times.

"What type of cost?" My eyes are glued to a woman dressed in a high-necked black lace dress. Her gaze is soft as she stares out from the painting.

"Council members are sworn to protect and uphold our laws. They can't have any impartiality towards specific packs or people," His eyes move along the portraits before landing back on me with a soft smile, "It's the highest honor to serve on the council, but they've sacrificed titles, friends, even names, in some cases."

Malachi gestured towards a hallway off the left side, inclining his head that we should go that way. With one last glance at the paintings, I followed his instructions.

"What about their families?" I ask, still taking in all the artwork they have on the walls. Framed maps, illustrations of the woods, and paintings of their Moon Goddess with wolves. I recognize the soft features of her face, the glow of the moon almost like it's from her skin and not the sky.

"When someone starts working for the council, it's usually from a young age, and it's because they've lost their family and are alone. It's easy to give up everything when you have nothing," he says wistfully, and my heart breaks a little.

My eyes look to his wrist, uncovered without the robe, and the tattoo peeking back at me. People work for the council when they have nothing and no one. I can understand where he is coming from - it is easy to walk away when there is no one being left behind.

Caspian may have led me to his people, but having nothing to stay behind for had made it easier for me to go. I wonder if that was what had appealed to me most about leaving with him?

I don't know that I want to go down that train of thought. It's a rabbit hole that could completely ruin me. So I push it away, lock it up so that I don't have to think about it.

"Is that why you're here?" I pause as two wolf statues stand tall, guarding large double wooden doors that come into view.

"For the most part, listen, Mia," Malachi moves to stand in front of me, his hands on my shoulders as he looks directly into my eyes, "Just stay calm. No matter what they say, what you hear, remember that you're safe for now. Okay?" I took a second to take in his words, again thinking about arguing the thought that I may never be safe again, but I had come this far on trust with Malachi.

So I settle for a slight nod of understanding. He opens his mouth like he is going to say something but thinks better of it, turning to open the large wooden doors.

Voices carry through the hall once the doors are open. The constant chatter of indistinguishable words from voices that seemed firm and powerful. I should have asked how many council members there were because, by the sound of it, it's a full stadium of wolves.

"Pardon my intrusion, your excellences", the room quiets as Malachi steps in and bows his head slightly in respect "But I have found -"

I stepped into the room behind him, ready to bow my head when gasps of shock sounded around the room.

"A Human?! Malachi, what is the meaning of this?!" I jumped a little when a large man slams his palm down hard on the table in front of him.

His chair screeches against the floor as he rises quickly and I unconsciously step closer to Malachi. Seven pairs of eyes stay locked on me, taking me in from head to toe as if I am some sort of anomaly that they can't believe is in front of them.

"I apologize for not bringing this to your attention sooner, but there wasn't a lot of time, so I made a choice," Malachi turned sideways, placing his hand between my shoulder blades and moving me closer in front of him, "This is Amelia, Luna of Lotus pa-"

"Luna?!" it seemed all seven of them shouted at the same time, their voices mixing together until it all became a roar in my ears.

I risk a glance at the seven council members, three women, and four men, now standing from their half circle table in front of us. My gaze catches on the man in the middle, but only because he has stepped from around the table and is inching cautiously closer as if I'm the predator here, not the other way around.

His gray hair is shaved close to his head and his dark blue eyes are intense as he stops in front of Malachi and me. My fingers twitch to move Malachi in front of me, to shield me from this wolf whose power reminds me so much of what Atticus radiates that it sets me on edge and my heart stutters in my chest.

The man raises his hand and the other council members go silent.

"Luna," he says carefully, distaste clear on his tongue, but I get the feeling he wants to clarify he heard Malachi correctly.

Shame and embarrassment color my cheeks and my eyes drop to the floor. How could I have been so naive to think that Caspian was genuine in wanting to sweep me off my feet? I should know by now that fairy tales aren't real. That I am no princess and I don't have a knight in shining armor to save me.

"So the rumors are true," I looked to see another council member moving around the table, but he doesn't come as close. Instead, he is just on the edge of the table, his hands fidgeting with his salt and pepper beard, "We've suspected as much for years, Favian, but now.... Malachi has brought us proof,"

The wolf in front of me, Favian, nods absently at the other council members' words, his eyes still on me, but it's easy to tell he's deep in thought.

"Malachi," my name wasn't called, and yet I turned to look at the woman at the edge of the table. Her dark hair pulled into a ponytail and lips painted a raspberry color, "Are you absolutely sure?" Before he can respond, another council member responds.

"Why would he make this up, Roslyn?" the man stares at the dark-haired woman, his face Stoic as he continues, "Neither he nor the Human have any reason to lie about something like this,"

Once again, all the council members start talking at once. Their voices were louder than before and this time, I didn't stop myself from stepping closer to Malachi. I try to reason with myself that I'm not in danger, that Malachi brought me here to help me.

But it's hard to do with Favian staring at me so strangely and the other six council members arguing back and forth.

"....it goes far beyond that now, Joseph,..."

"....exposing our kind to a human who is not..."

"Enough," Favian didn't have to shout, didn't have to raise his hand this time. All six council members stopped talking again with their sole attention on him.

A beat of silence passes and then another. Am I the only one breathing or have I always sounded like Darth Vader when I breathe? My heart is pounding in my chest as I watched Favian nod absently at me and then at Malachi before turning to face his fellow council members.

"Well, this was unexpected, and we certainly have much to discuss now, my friends," he took calm steps back around the table to his seat, and it's like he gave some signal because the other members followed suit.

Malachi and I stand in front of the half-circle table. If I thought it was unnerving having Favian so close to me with the others arguing behind him - it's nothing compared to standing in front of the entire council all looking down at you from their seats. It's really intimidating for me as a human, but Malachi seemed completely unphased by it all.

"We stand at a proverbial fork in the road, with many paths to choose from. Each path will have its own sets of consequences that will befall not only us as the hand that delivers, but those innocents that we have sworn an oath to protect. We should not make a decision so rashly,"

"But what of the human, Favian?" a lanky man with nearly translucent blue eyes asks.

"What about her, Jonah?" the woman, Roslyn, responded, pursing her raspberry lips, "The Alpha-to-be exposed himself with no intent! We can't send her back to the humans. She knows too much now,"

"I think that's what Jonah meant. She can't go back there, but we can't keep her at the Concilium either. Especially when we don't know what action we will be taking," the woman who spoke turns to me, her brown eyes soft as she offers me a small, seemingly reassuring smile.

"They're right, Favian," the grey beard says softly, "Our only option is to hide the human," I honestly don't like the way that sounds.

It's like I'm becoming that rag doll all over again.

Caspian to the guards.

Guards to Atticus.

Malachi to Council.

Council to Somewhere.

Back and forth with no real home. I'm not a ragdoll, I'm back in the foster system looking for somewhere to call home. At least, as home as it will ever be.

The silence from the council doesn't help calm my nerves. I can tell they are all thinking and from the look on their faces, no one is coming up with any real solutions. Once again, I am nothing but a problem. A big one at that, especially if the great wolf council can't even figure out what to do with me.

"We could take her to my cousin's pack?" All eyes turned to Malachi, even mine, at his suggestion.

At first, it seemed even he was surprised by what came out of his mouth, but as the heartbeats ticked by, his face became more and more resolved.

"Alpha Jaxon? Why would we send her there?"

"Exactly. We need to get her away from wolves." Roslyn looks at the other council members, all nodding in agreement.

"With all due respect," Malachi took a step forward, approaching the council as if he were a lawyer in front of a judge, "I had Mia leave a note for Lotus, and she wrote that she was going home to clear her mind. If my assumption is correct, the Alpha-to-be will assume where he found her was her home because he didn't care to ask more than necessary,"

More than what was necessary. The truth ringing in his words is like a kick to the gut and I can't believe there is still more hurt to feel. I had wondered why Caspian had chosen me as his Luna? What had led him to me, and now it's clear as day. I was an easy target. When he asked about my family, I told him that I was alone. I don't know what Caspian had planned, only the numerous theories I have come up with, but one thing is clear. When I answered that question, Caspian had heard the answer I didn't voice, 'No one would come looking if I were to disappear.'

I wasn't important to him. I was convenient.

"You're forgetting that Jaxon's pack and Caspian's pack are enemies and have been for decades. Caspian would search there first," Jonah says, no one even noticing the small panic attack that I was having.

My throat feels too tight. Like all my air is being funneled through a straw directly to my lungs. I try to swallow past a lump in my throat but get no success in relieving my lungs. I want to just curl into a ball and cry. To have the Earth open up and swallow me whole.

Don't you know it's gonna be alright.

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine.

Bless the broken road that lead me straight to you.

The lyrics to some of the songs my mom would sing to me, to comfort me, jumble in my head. Her voice not as clear as yesterday, and it's not working to calm me down.

"But why would she have left a note if she were kidnapped by his enemies?" He rationalizes with a small smile, "If or when he figures it out - something more permanent might have already been in play." His small smile turns into a full-on grin, like the cat that got the canary.

It's a good, solid plan, I'll admit, but I'm still nervous about going somewhere new. Especially with another Alpha, regardless of that Alpha being related to Malachi. I mean there's a reason why he is here with the council instead of with whatever family he has left, right?

But then again, he wouldn't volunteer the cousin if he didn't think it was a safe place. Unless it is the only real option available. And then safe turns into safe enough.

"He's right. It's the best option we have. For now, we'll do it, and we will reevaluate once we have all the choices and consequences laid out before us. Take her to Jaxon and then come back, Malachi. There is much to do," Favian says, giving a small nod towards us, and even I can tell it's a dismissal. There will be no more final words or thoughts. No well-wishes, or apologies for ushering us out so quickly.

Malachi nodded back, grabbing my elbow and pulling me back out the large door. All seven of the council members kept their eyes on me, none of them saying anything until after the door closed.

"Well, Little Red, it looks like I'm taking you to Washington."