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“Luna,” Gillian and Alexander said once we were alone in the room, giving me their undivided attention. I looked at Markus and then back at them, pondering how I wanted to start this conversation.
“Have we been able to vet your witch? I would like to get started on training. I also need a secure place to start training my offensive power. I haven’t been able to do much without being afraid of burning the pack house to the ground since I currently have very little control.”
“We are still looking into a couple of details but should be done with the vetting in a few days,” Gillian responded.
“I can contact her immediately after Gillian is done. I know her, and have no doubt she will agree to help,” Alexander added. “I know she’s not overly comfortable with living within pack grounds, but if we set her up with a place near the edge, she will be willing to stay near so you don’t have to leave the grounds for the training.”
“Thank you,” I said to both of them. I turned to Markus. “I would also like someone to train me to fight if we can?”
Markus’ eyebrows lifted as he smiled with an impressed look. “You beat me to it. I was going to ask that this morning before we got distracted.”
I blushed, remembering our gloriously wet distraction. Gillian let out a cough that sounded a lot like a laugh, and I thought my head would turn into a tomato.
“Gillian, please arrange for someone you trust to train the luna. An experienced female warrior to start, please, so that she can be taught the best way to defend herself against someone stronger than her.”
“Yes, Alpha,” he bowed and left, waggling his eyebrows at us as he did.
“Sometimes I forget you guys are young, then he does something like that and I’m reminded how talented you all must be to grow the pack as you have, when half the time you behave like horny teenagers.” Alexander laughed as he left, shaking his head at us as he exited, leaving me with a disgruntled Markus. Narrowing his eyes at the humor that danced in mine, Marcus grabbed me and tossed me over his shoulder, stomping out of the door like a petulant child. I was squealing at him to put me down when he slapped my ass while we waited for the elevator.
“I’ll show you horny teenager,” he grumbled huskily, walking us into the elevator and pressing the button with some urgency. I felt the heat of his words down to my core and clenched my legs together, but it was too late because he groaned and slapped my ass again. “I’ll take you right here if you don’t stop throwing that delicious smell my way, Tuli.”
“It’s your doing!” I cried indignantly. He got off the elevator, and I felt his hand go up my skirt to squeeze my butt as he hurried his steps to our room.
“It’sgoingtobeokay, Tuli. Just take deep breaths,” Markus instructed as the SUV stopped in front of the gates to Sky Moon. It was a week after the full moon, and I finally plucked up the courage to ask Alexander for the key.
Maya was in the back seat with Danny, looking as pale as I felt. I didn’t know what I would find there, but I hoped I could find a picture or two to take with me. Maya wasn’t sure she would even know where her family lived. All she remembered was a blue door. Ruby was still not cleared to leave the hospital, but she’d given Maya a description of her house, and all she asked was that she bring back any photo we could find.
Markus stepped out of the vehicle and unlocked the gates. We drove through slowly, hoping Maya would recognize her old house. Gabriel and Zack were in the SUV behind us, though no one expected to be attacked. They would remain near the gates unless called.
The pack house appeared in the distance, memories flooding me as we made our way through the long drive. Most good, some bad. Markus’ hand wrapped over mine by the center console, massaging the fist I didn’t know I was making, then entwining our hands together. I breathed a little easier as his touch kept the memories from drowning me.
“Stop! Alpha, stop!” Maya yelled from behind us. Markus stepped on the brake while Maya was trying to jump out before the SUV came to a stop.
“Baby, wait!” Danny pleaded as he was desperately trying to keep her in the moving vehicle.
“That’s my house.” Maya cried as she struggled against him.
“We’ll go together. Just let the car stop,” he whispered soothingly in her ear. He released her the moment the car came to a halt, and Maya dashed off toward a pretty white house with a wrap-around porch, a swing and a peeling blue door.
“Go. We’ll grab you when you’re ready.” Markus nodded at Danny, who was already launching himself across the back seat to exit through the same door Maya had run out of. Maya stopped at the foot of the steps, frozen until Danny wrapped an arm around her shoulder and gently led her up the porch.
I gripped the hand wrapped around mine when Markus started driving again. I understood Maya’s hesitance to enter. We were children the last time we were in our homes, with our parents or siblings. Jesus, did Maya have siblings? I never asked. No one ever really talked about life before Blood Moon. It was dangerous, not just because it could earn a beating, but because no one wanted to remember that we were once allowed to be happy. It was easier to deal with our harsh reality if we could forget.
We finally stopped at the steps to the pack house. I was trying not to feel as a torrent of images flashed through my head. I could see them clearly now, not in a vision, but in my memories. I remembered Mom running after me as I ran toward Dad’s open arms after he came back from... goddess knows where. I was too little to pay attention to most things. All I could remember was the love and happiness I felt.
“Tuli?” Markus had my door open, waiting patiently for me to take his outstretched hand. I took it and let him help me down, needing the support of his arm around my waist to give me the courage I needed. We walked up toward the double doors, and I paused, unsure if I was ready to go in there after all. I didn’t know what to expect to see going inside. I wasn’t even sure what it was that I wanted to see. “I’m here, Tuli. I won’t let go.” Markus' reassuring and loving words gave me strength, and I gave a quick, jerky nod before I took a deep breath and opened the door.
Sky Moon was never as big as Crescent Moon. It was a small pack of four hundred when it was decimated by Alpha Geoff. The pack house only housed about fifty people in its heyday. The main floor was semi-open plan, with a long hall stemming from the staircase toward the offices and a semi-closed kitchen on the right. The main dining hall was an open space combined with the lounging area and foyer.
There was no elevator. Instead, a set of wide staircases gave access to the top four floors. All the furniture was covered with white cloths to protect it. Dust lingered on every exposed surface. A few old paintings were hanging around the first floor. A few pictures of the Dellarosa alphas.
I didn’t know what I had expected to see. I knew Alexander made sure the pack grounds were cleaned and properly cared for after the massacre, but there was something about the way my old home looked as if my parents had simply moved away that hurt deep in my heart. I knew I didn’t want to see blood staining the walls and floors, but this... it was as if the massacre never happened.
A stuttered sigh escaped my lips, and I walked over to the wall containing the pictures of the alphas that ruled over Sky Moon. I remembered no one here, but I could see the familial traits in each one. Dark curls, blue eyes, strong jaw. A few men looked so much like my father, and yet they weren’t him. Something was different each time. The shape of the eyes was wrong in one, the nose in another. The hair was never quite right in any of them.
“My parents aren’t here,” I mentioned out loud. I let my fingers touch the empty space on the bottom right. There was a hook there, waiting for a painting to be hung... or missing what had been there before. I looked around and noticed other spots that looked the same. There was a blank space above the mantle that I think housed a painting of the three of us. I uncovered a few display cabinets that I was sure contained pictures of the ranked members and families. All empty. The decorations on the ones not disturbed by the massacre were arranged around empty spaces. “There are no pictures of my parents or me.” I looked at Markus, a part of my heart beginning to fracture.
“Let’s go look in your parents‘ rooms. There should be some there,” Markus said, taking my hand. We walked up to the fifth floor together, but the closer we got, the more Uncle Lucien’s words floated through my head.
