By moonlight's shadow

Chapter 28

Lukas walked outside his cottage after he and Rhea had finished their supper. Since they were part wolves they could eat voraciously and not gain pounds because of their originally high metabolism. It was good for him since he had a huge appetite but it was not the same in the case of his sister. She drank lots of juice and water and other minerals in liquid form. Until now they all had thought that it was some sort of vegan phase that she had been undergoing but now that Lukas did understand the source of her powers and strengths he knew that she needed nutrients more than she needed meat for her growth and development.

The moon was hanging in the sky like a hunter’s horn and it was a bit fuller than the night that the pack had run in order to find Aurora. But today after his meeting with the mermaid Lukas was feeling very restless and he knew that he needed to go for a run.

“Rhea…darling…I am going out for a run…would you like to come with me?” asked Lukas as he undressed in front of his house on the porch.

Rhea came out with a huge volume in her hand and then looked at her brother and said,” I think that I have found something, I shall stay back and finish this volume as you come back from the run.”

“That’s fine Rhea, but don’t you think that you are staying cooped up for too long? I mean, I understand that you have a need to put down your roots somewhere but a little amount of exercise is going to improve your metabolic and rate. And Rhea, you know na, that cooping up your Amelia is not very good for you or her…” said Lukas, as he was down to his boxers and looked at his sister who rolled her eyes at him.

“Brother, Amelia is whose wolf by the way???” asked Rhea as she yawned out loud. Then covered her mouth with her hand.

Lukas smiled at her reaction and understood that she was tired and she needed her rest.

“Tell Amelia that she is becoming increasingly lethargic these days. Oh!! And apart from the fact that you have been waking too many nights, I need you to sleep within an hour Rhea, because we will wake up tomorrow at five and practice. It has been quite long since I kicked your ass!!” smirked Lukas, as Rhea growled out but he ran and changed into a huge wolf mid-air.

Lukas’s wolf was beautiful and strong to look at. His name was Luke and his fur was black in colour with a patch of white fur beneath his throat. It almost looked like there was a moon beyond his jaws hanging in the black mass of fur. Luke felt good after being inside for quite some time.

“You know you should let me out more,” said Luke as they were running. With the soft mud and humus under his paws making marks on the soft top soil of the forest.

“You do understand that apart from the pack and the other wolves, no one is actually going to understand you, right?” asked Lukas as he enjoyed the feeling of the dew and the cold wind of night on his fur and across his skin.

“Is that reason you do not let me out often? Just because you need to communicate as the Alpha? But I am a part of you only Lukas, why do you need to hide me from everyone?” asked Luke and Lukas sighed from inside.

“In case you don’t stop talking in this manner to the one who holds you as a part of his body and soul then you can forget of going on a run for the entire next month and even on the night of the full moon I am not going to let you out. You are the Alpha not only by the power and strength and that you provide with your muscles Luke. It is the strength of character and mind not of the body that gives the strength to the Alpha of the Blood Moon Pack,” said Lukas as they finally reached the ledge. The moon seemed so much brighter than the other nights when seeing from the eyes of the wolf. The pull of the moon was incredible and he could feel that power in his very soul and bones. He knew that he would do anything to protect the pack and his family no matter what. That was his duty as the Alpha, that was the promise that he had made to the Goddess when he had assumed the role of the Alpha.

Goddess Artemis was the Goddess of the Moon and the Goddess of Hunt, she was the protector of virgins and she was an exceptional huntress herself. And that was the reason that the wolves looked up to her. They were bred in the way to become the best hunters and huntresses in the woods and the land. It was not the lion, nor was the tigers who knew that they had the strength for it not the lone and rogue creatures who survived the harsh winters. It was the pack that survived, and it would be always the pack that survived.

With this sole thought in mind, Lukas looked up at the moon and howled. It was the call of the Alpha which reverberated throughout the entire land. It was the call of the Alpha to show that he was there to protect them, it was to show that he was there no matter what. It was the call to mark the reassurance and believe in the strength of the pack no matter what. Finally when he had finished saying what he had in mind, Lukas ran back to his cottage.

He changed back to his human form mid-air and landed nimbly on his feet. He wore the clothes as fast as he could. It was more like a practiced habit and then he entered his house. He found that Rhea had fallen asleep on the couch where she had been sitting and reading the book. The book lay open on her chest and she was snoring softly. Lukas softly removed her hands from the page that she was holding open and then he looked at the chapter which she was reading. He found that it was book on the sorceresses of Light. He had no idea how this thing was in the library of their mother who was supposedly the Dark Sorceress but then again he did not know a lot of things.

Lukas knew that he was going to be spending considerable time with this volume of book which his sister had been able to unearth from that clutter which lay downstairs. But first he needed to make sure that Rhea was comfortable and she got the rest that she needed. Lukas kept the book on the table and then picked his sleeping sister in his arms and then went down to her room and placed her on her bed and then pulled the covers over her. Rhea sighed in contentment and purred as he rubbed her head. He smiled at her. His sister might seem big enough and might show that she was strong and resilient enough but finally at the end of the day she was nothing more than a child.

Lukas switched off the light in her room and closed the door behind him.

He reached the living room and found that there was a strange woman sitting on the couch reading the book which he had kept there open.

“Who are you? And what are you doing in my house?” asked Lukas, and his voice was laced with the threat that if she did not answer then the consequences would not be the one that she liked.

The woman looked up at him and Lukas staggered back in shock. It was his mother who was sitting inside his house, but then he noticed something different. It was only the face of his mother which resembled it with the likeness which could only shock him but her hairs were graying at the temples and there were lines all around on her face which made her look older than his mother was in reality.

“It is a pleasure to see the living child of my sister,” said the woman. She smiled at him but her smile did not reach her eyes and it was cold.

“I am sorry to say that I cannot return the sentiment. Is it a witch thing to enter someone’s house unannounced and uninvited? For surely I do not remembering having called you for a family re-union,” said Lukas as he stalked the woman with deliberate gaze.

“You did call me Lukas. Or else I would not have been here,” said the woman as Lukas narrowed his eyes at the woman who had now stood up.

“I can specifically remember not being able to contact any living relative of my mother’s family, since there were none. Then who on earth you might be? And you call my mother sister? So you do know that she does not live here any more and has been banned from the pack and its protection for an eternity, right?” asked Lukas, trying to clear off the doubts in his mind and found that the woman was nodding her head at him.

“I did not for once mention the word living for my sake, did I now?” asked the woman and Lukas dropped the book he was holding with a thud.

“You should be careful about the things you hold and drop so as to not wake your sister who is sleeping in the other room Lukas,” said the woman with a smile as she rose up from the couch. Lukas saw that she was not standing on the ground and her feet did not touch it while she only hovered on it. There was a strange transparent quality to her presence which made him realize that he was standing in front of a ghost.

“You…you are…deaddd?” stuttered Lukas, as he could not think what he was supposed to do and how to react for the first time in his life.

“Well you were pretty confident about the fact that you were not able to trace any of your mother’s living relatives since they were not there? Then why does it suddenly come as a shock to you to see one of them who is not living?” asked the spirit as Lukas felt a cold hand go down his spine making him gulp visibly. The spirit smiled.

“Don’t worry. I am harmless. I have come to aid you in your quest to find yourself and to gain control over your powers,” said the spirit as she moved away from the couch and then roamed around the room as Lukas’s eyes followed her around.

“But I did not call anyone and neither I have done any kind of spell, I don’t know any of them in the first place then how did you arrive here?” asked Lukas as she turned towards him and said,” You had given out a call the moment you realized that you have blue blood flowing through your veins but it is difficult for us to get a bearing of the time and hour when you have lived away from the earth for a long time. That is the reason I am few days late. But you don’t need to worry anymore. Your Aunt Sia is going to help you understand and learn everything you need to know,” said the ghost as Lukas smiled hesitantly at her.