The Moon Goddess's Karma

Chapter 02 ~ The world inside the book

“May the Moon Goddess have mercy on your poor mate’s soul!”

Astrid rolls her eyes as her teacher goes on and on about how the alpha’s daughter shouldn’t be so crass. The old manure is being her usual bitter self and taking out her frustrations on anyone nearby.

Unfortunately, Astrid made the very poor choice of taking a shortcut from the canteen to her next class at the gym because she was running late. Then she met her best friend Vixen (Victoria, really, but she loathes that name, as, according to her, it sounds so ancient) along the way who convinced her to ditch class. Together, they ended up under the shade of a tree, chatting and braying like monkeys, oblivious to the fact that in a science laboratory nearby, Ms. O’Meade was traumatizing the freshmen with her very presence and she got annoyed by their noise.

Astrid glares accusingly at the half-moon hanging in the sky, even though it is the middle of the day. “You could’ve given her a mate, you know,” she mutters. “Instead of making her a bitter spinster. Now she’s unhappy because she doesn’t get banged like a drum every night, and she probably wants everyone to be just as miserable as she is.”

“Are you listening to me, Astrid!?”

“Yes, of course, Ms. Old Maid—I mean Ms. O’Meade.”

Vixen giggles uncontrollably beside her as Ms. O’Meade’s nostrils flare in anger at the younger girl’s insolence.

“To the principal’s office, Astrid. Now.”

Vixen pales, and Astrid winces inwardly. She deserves that. She has gone too far this time.

“I’m sorry, Ms. O’Meade. I didn’t mean to sass you—”

“NOW.” The teacher marches towards the principal’s office, her chin raised and jaw clenched.

“Now you’ve done it,” Vixen mutters, walking beside her as they obediently follow their offended teacher. “That was really badly done, Star.”

She sighs. “Tell me something I don’t know. I didn’t mean to be rude…it just slipped, I swear!”

“Good luck explaining that to your old man tonight,” Vixen mutters.

Astrid sighs again. “You don’t have to go with me, you know. I’m the only one she wants to get flogged.”

Vixen gives her an offended look. “Don’t be silly. Of course, I’ll be right there with you. I’m not going to let you go down alone, especially since I’m the one who convinced you to skip class, anyway. If Principal Greybeard suspends you or makes you do community service, we’ll be doing it together,” she answers bravely.

Astrid grips her best friend’s hand tightly. She couldn’t have asked for a better pal. Vixen is the sister she never had, being born the youngest after five strapping boys to the alpha and the luna of the Sage Forest Pack. The “flower amidst the thorns,” her father used to joke, gazing fondly at his only daughter.

She groans inwardly as soon as they step inside the principal’s office. She should have stayed home today, in her bed, safe from the demon of misfortune.

There is only disappointment in her father’s eyes this time as they stand before him because, like a very cruel twist of fate—or maybe she offended the Mean Godde—er, Moon Goddess one way or another— the alpha happens to be in a meeting with the principal at that moment.

Astrid sighs and glances at Ms. O’Meade, expecting her nose to be twitching twenty feet up into the air, her chin raised in triumph as she hisses “Justice!” and glaring at her with glittering eyes. However, that is not the case at all.

Instead, Ms. O’Meade has a pinched look on her face. She appears to be very uncomfortable, looking like a cornered rabbit who wants to flee and is already regretting her every decision in life. How curious.

“Come forward, Astrid,” the alpha commands, and she has no choice but to obey with a lowered head.

“I’m sorry, Father—”

“I’m not the one you should apologize to, daughter.” Her father’s disapproval weighs heavily upon her, making the corners of her eyes prick with tears as she turns to Ms. O’Meade, trying very hard not to shed them.

“Your mother and I raised you to be strong of will, not mean of spirit. Your words and actions today towards Ms. O’Meade are unworthy and unacceptable. You will apologize immediately and face the consequences of such untoward behavior as soon as we get home.”

She swallows with difficulty, pained by the alpha command, before finally speaking, struggling to keep her voice from breaking. “I’m really sorry, Ms. O’Meade. It won’t happen again, I promise,” she says quietly, her head bowed in submission and penance. Truly, she had not meant it. She doesn’t even know why she said such an insensitive thing. It’s not like her to be mean.

Her teacher merely nods stiffly before excusing herself, almost as if she could not bear to be in the room for even a second more. They all watch her go with different expressions on their faces.

Then, her father turns his focus back to his errant daughter. “Return home immediately, Astrid. And wait for me in my office.”

She nods before turning to leave, tugging Vixen along with her before her friend can open her mouth to doom herself as well.

“Wait, I—”

“Forget it. I don’t want you to be grounded as well. It’s better that you are free so you can come find me when I can’t take it anymore,” Astrid mindlinks her. “I’ll let you know what my punishment will be as soon as I know what it is.”

Vixen reluctantly agrees.

Astrid gets home and finds her mother in the kitchen cooking dinner, singing and dancing to her favorite songs, with no care at all if she is off-key or making the wrong dance moves. The luna, who is half a witch, is actually a bit younger than the alpha and has always been the coolest person in her daughter’s eyes. Astrid watches her fondly, taking comfort in her lovely presence for several precious minutes until her mother finally acknowledges her.

“Oh, hello, my wee darling. You’re home early.”

Astrid winces. Father has not told her yet. Now it’s up to her to tell the truth about what happened. Even though the alpha has not yet returned, her punishment has already begun.

She will be watching the disappointment spread on the face of her absolute favorite person in the world.

“I…uhm”—Astrid clears her throat several times, gathering up the courage—“got called in the principal’s office today…”

Her mother, Ameera, stares at her without blinking, noticing everything at once now that she is focused on her daughter. “Merlin’s wand. What happened?”

“I have been…insensitive and mean to Ms. O’Meade,” Astrid admits. “She took me to Principal Greybeard’s office and—”

Ameera gasps. “Oh, dear Moon Goddess.Your father knows then. Come here, my love. Was he too harsh with you? Tell me everything.”

Her mother opens her arms wide in invitation, and Astrid feels something snap inside her as she runs to her mother’s arms. The pressure, but most of all, the kindness and understanding in her mother’s voice, makes her burst into tears all of a sudden, just like she used to as a little girl whenever she came home from school, tired of behaving all day and pretending to be brave.

Mother is her “home.” It’s okay to be herself when Mother is around.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t…I don’t even know why I said it. I’m not that kind of person! I would never normally say such an unkind thing—” she sobs, feeling very upset. “I’m not a bad person, Mom.”

“My sweet darling,” Ameera murmurs, caressing her back with firm but gentle hands and kissing the top of her head. “Of course you are not! Don’t ever think that you are.”

Astrid sniffs. “The Moon Goddess must be messing with me…with her nefarious plans. There’s no other explanation! And now I’m going to be grounded—”

Her mother chuckles softly. “Oh, hush, there’s no need to be so melodramatic. It’s not always the Moon Goddess’s fault, and there might be a more reasonable explanation for your odd behavior. It’s called growing up.”

“Growing up? Mom, I’m seventeen, not seven. I’m about to graduate from high school,” she whines.

Ameera chuckles. “Doesn’t make a difference. I’ve seen it before with your brothers. Early or late, it always happens. Sometimes, our emotions get out of control. It still happens to me, too, and I already have children. We learn and level up ’til the day we die. That’s a fact. But there are days that you just wish you never got out of bed, and it makes one react differently.” She frowns. “Now, I’m not saying what you did was okay. It is absolutely not, and I hope you apologized to Ms. O’Meade.”

“Of course I did!”

Ameera nods and smiles fondly at her. “Well, sometimes, love, it’s just hormones.”

***********

It most definitely is NOT just hormones.

The girl was actually right. I made her do it.

It was out of character, but I needed a reason to send her to the principal’s office while the alpha was there.

Astrid has always been a stellar student — the perfect alpha’s daughter — and this is her last year in high school. She’ll be turning eighteen in a few weeks and will soon be meeting her wolf, which will lead her to find her mate. It pains me a little to make her look bad, even just for a few chapters, but there’s a perfectly good reason for it!

You see, it’s all part of the grand plan. Ms. O’Meade needed to be at the principal’s office at that exact moment for a reason. Subsequently, it will introduce her very sad history, which will be necessary to the story since I’m thinking of making her Astrid’s sort of Master Yoda — an older and much more experienced friend who will be sharing her wise words and life lessons with the protagonist. But then, she will be revealed as some sort of revenge-seeking creature to be stopped at all costs.

I cackle like an old witch as I type away happily on my laptop, hell-bent on destroying someone’s fate.

Okay, that might have been an exaggeration. I will fix it and probably give her a nice second-chance mate…or just kill off her character in a quick and merciful death, depending on my mood and whatever the scene requires.

To be honest, I have no idea yet how the story will turn out or what will be the ending. Most of the time, the stories develop on their own as I write them, and I’m left just as surprised as the readers by the turn of events. I call it the “free wheel”.

No, that is not a typo; you read that right. Not will, but wheel.

Because the wheels of fate keep turning all on their own, as if on autopilot. However, just because it’s in smart mode doesn’t mean no one is driving.

After all, I am not their Moon Goddess for nothing, so I still do what I do best: meddling.

******

When the alpha arrives home later that day, Astrid is already waiting for him inside his office.

Alpha Conner sits without a word, making her wait as he finishes some tasks before addressing her. It is part of her punishment that she endures in silence.

“Did you tell your mom what happened?” he asks.

“Yes, sir.”

“Everything?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Good. You may go now.”

She stares at him in confusion for a few seconds. But Astrid is not dumb and never let it be said that she looks a gift horse in the mouth, so she stands up and thanks him before walking to the door as calmly as she can manage. She has almost closed it when the alpha calls her name again.

She freezes for a second or two before she closes her eyes and grits her teeth. “Yes, Father?”

“I expect you to act better in the future. Be worthy of the wolf spirit the Moon Goddess will bless you with in a few weeks. Do not disappoint me again, Star.”

She nods and closes the door.

Astrid lays awake that night. Unable to sleep, she goes to the kitchen for a glass of milk and is almost back in her room when she hears her parents talking quietly in her father’s office.

She wasn’t expecting them to still be awake at that hour, but she figures they are talking about what happened, and she is suddenly very curious to know what they’re saying.

Her father is probably expressing his disappointment, and her mother is likely defending her.

“May I ask you something? It has been bothering me, and I would like to know now instead of wondering and torturing myself all night long,” her mother says in a soft voice, sounding anxious.

“What is it, my love?”

“How did it make you feel?” Astrid can hear her mother asking in an oddly insecure tone. “Seeing your former mate again?”

Astrid freezes. What the..?