Broken Souls

Two days flew by in a blink of an eye. Before I know it, we are on our way to the Wolf Moon Pack. Aaron can’t find anything to disprove Grandma’s story, but he also can’t find anything to prove her story either. I know he is only going to Wolf Moon because I want to.

Aaron gives me a quick rundown on what we did know. Alpha Eric and Luna Rana did have a daughter Mira, and I did know that as my mother’s name. Mira went missing at the age of nineteen, and no one knows why or what became of her. Though they apparently searched high and low for her, it was like she had just vanished. Well, I can tell them what happened to her: I just hope they want to listen to me.

We have to travel very far south, and I know it will take several hours. We will be gone for a few days at least. I wish Michael and Oriel could come, but they need to stay behind and look after the pack. I am feeling nervous, but Aaron and Grandma will be with me. I watch as small towns and large cities pass by. After a few hours, the sound of the road lulls me to sleep.

Grandma wakes me, and I notice the sky is dark.

“We are nearly there, Dear,” Grandma says warmly. I sit up and try to make myself look more presentable in my pink sundress, smoothing out the fabric.

“You look beautiful, Kay,” Aaron says from the driver’s seat, and I can see him looking in the mirror at me. I give him a shy smile. Soon, we are driving down a long gravel driveway. The lawn on either side is manicured perfectly and is illuminated by lanterns, making it almost seem as if it weren’t night. The driveway snakes its way up to a very large gray mansion. It could have been a castle; it was so large.

“Is that the Pack house?” I find myself asking, and Grandma just nods.

I can see a few large wolves running with us in the lantern light as we drive down the driveway, and I know they are the patrol. We pull up to the front of the pack house, and it is so massive it is overwhelming. Aaron steps out of the car, and he radiates confidence. I wish and hope I can have just a shred of that.

Grandma gives my hand a squeeze, and I can see through the tinted windows of the car a couple who have come out to the front marble steps. They are standing in front of massive oak doors. I can only guess that they are Alpha Eric and Luna Rana.

Aaron opens my door and holds out his hand for me. I know Grandma slips out the other door and is already waiting on me, so I take Aaron’s hand. He squeezes it, giving me a smile.

“It’s okay.” He whispers, and I give him a small smile. I slip out of the car and look at the ground as I step onto the driveway. I hear the Alpha and Luna as they begin to greet us. Then I hear a faint gasp, so I look up. The look of shock on the Luna and Alpha’s faces can’t be missed.

“How?” Luna Rana whispers as she grips her husband’s arm for support. Alpha Eric is tall, but not as tall as Aaron. He is in his early sixties with wrinkles around his eyes and mouth. He also has with deep worry lines on his forehead. His hair is completely gray, but he’s still handsome with warm brown eyes. Luna Rana is about 5’9” and looks just like my mother. The only difference is she has some gray at the temples in her dark chocolate-colored hair and a few lines around her blue eyes. She is very beautiful, and I try not to stare, but she looks so much like my mother that I don’t have any doubt I’m their granddaughter. I just hope they believe us.

“Hello, Alpha Eric and Luna Rana. Thank you for having us. May I introduce my mate and soon to be Luna, Kay.” Aaron is calm and in complete Alpha mood; I definitely like it. I look up at him and smile, and then I turn my gaze to Alpha Eric and Luna Rana.

“It’s very nice to meet you,” I say, bowing my head a little in respect. I half think Luna Rana is going to faint.

“Yes, well, come in, please.” Alpha Eric says, regaining some of himself.

“Yes, thank you. Also, this is Kay’s Grandma, Willow.” Aaron says, introducing Grandma, and she smiles politely, but I don’t think the Alpha and Luna notice her much. They are both still staring at me.

Grandma steps forward. “Luna Rana, it’s nice to see you again. Fancy a little chat, dear.” and Luna Rana pales at this, looking even more shocked when she meet eyes with Grandma.

“Willow?” Luna Rana breathes. Grandma just smiles and give a polite nod.

“I think we should see our gests settled, and then we can talk over dinner,” Alpha Eric say, bringing Luna Rana out of her shock slightly.

“Yes, I think that would be a very good idea,” Aaron replies. A couple of young men have our bags, and Aaron tightens his hold around my waist when one smiles at me.

“These boys can show you to your rooms. Dinner will be in an hour,” Alpha Eric says gruffly, collecting his wife’s arm and leading her away quickly.

We follow the two men to our rooms, passing down several halls and up a few flights of stairs. The men leave the very moment after they put our bags down. The guest room Aaron and I are put up in is very nice and done in reds and dark gray. Everything looks expensive. The room is large with a separate seating area, and I’m a bit in awe. Grandma is in another room a few doors down from ours.

Aaron tells me that we will need to change for dinner, so I waste no time unpacking my things and finding the black dinner dress. Oriel helped me pack and told me what I should wear each day. I wish she was here to help me, but she has it all pretty well organized for me.

I take my things and the dress to the bathroom to change; I run a brush through my hair and pin half of it up out of my face. I change into the knee-length dress. The dress is simple but stylish, hugging all of my curves with an open back. I pair it with black heels that make me feel unsteady. At least I won’t be as short. I just hope I don’t trip.

When I am done, I leave the bathroom. I see Aaron sitting on the dark gray couch looking at his phone. He looks up and smiles at me. He then stands up and walks over to me to wrap his arms around my waist. He is looking very handsome in his black pants, crisp white button-down shirt, and black tie.

“You look beautiful,” He says, planting a kiss possessively on my lips, pulling back, leaving me breathless.

“You look pretty good too,” I say, giving him a smile. Aaron leans in to kiss me again when someone knocks loudly on the door.

Aaron gives me a quick peck on the lips instead and goes to the door. Hs it, and Grandma is there in a lovely shimmery gray-blue dress. Oriel insisted that Grandma have some new dresses to wear as well. Oriel was actually warming up to the old woman better than Aaron is.

“We should probably head to dinner. It’s going to take forever to walk through all these halls.” Grandma huffs, a little annoyed. I can’t help but giggle at her. Aaron puts on his black dinner jacket and holds out his arm for me.

“She is right. We should head down.” He sighs, and I can tell he had other ideas. I take his arm and smile at him sweetly.

Walking into the dining room, I try to keep the look of awe and shock off my face. A giant chandelier hangs from the middle of the ceiling, and all I can think is how awful it must be to clean. The room has several tables, but the Alpha table is at the front of the room,. We appear to be the only ones dining in the oversized room.

Aaron leads us to the Alpha table where Alpha Eric and Luna Rana sit looking less shocked. They stand as we got closer.

“Thank you for joining us. We thought it would be better not to dine with the rest of the pack tonight,” Alpha Eric says. I’m a little shocked that there is another dining room somewhere probably full of people; how big is this place?

“Thank you for having us, and yes, this will be lovely. I’m sure you have some questions,” Aaron says, and I can see Alpha Eric and Luna Rana exchange glances.

We sit, and food quickly appears in front of us. It is some kind of soup, but I am too nervous to really pay attention to it. I can feel their eyes on me, and, luckily, Grandma finally speaks up,

“Luna Rana, it’s been a long time dear.” Grandma has her gentle smile on her face. The Alpha and Luna look at each rather than at me again.

“Kay, dear, do we know you from somewhere? You look very familiar? Do we know your family, perhaps?” Luna Rana asks.

“Well, I believe you may have known my mother,” I say calmly, but inside I’m a bundle of nerves.

“Her name was Mira.” I finish looking at Luna Rana in the eyes.

“No,” Luna Rana whispers, “You can’t be. Can you?”

“You know she is,” Grandma says.

“Rana, this is Mira’s daughter and your granddaughter. We need to ask you what happened, and we do need these answers. Kay needs to know, and I need to know. Something troubling is happening, and I don’t have all the answers I need, so we came here hoping you could give fill in the blanks,” Grandma says, looking at both Alpha Eric and Luna Rana with utmost seriousness. I am a little surprised at her bluntness.

“Umm, I’m sorry, I don’t know what you could mean,” Luna Rana says, looking pale.

“Mira ran away. No one knows why. Now please forgive us, but I’m feeling unwell. Please enjoy dinner and excuse us.” Luna Rana stands and nearly runs from the table. Alpha Eric follows after his wife, and I can’t help slump in my chair, a bit defeated; I guess they don’t want to tell me anything.

“Well, that could have gone worse,” Grandma says. “I think I’m going to go find dear Rana and see what I can find out.” Grandma doesn’t look twice before leaving the table as well. She goess off in the same direction as the Alpha and Luna.

“Well, at least they haven’t told us to leave yet,” Aaron says, rubbing his face, and I can tell he’s frustrated with all of this.

“I’m sorry. I seem to have brought so much trouble into your life,” I say, slumping further into my seat.

“Oh no, you haven’t. That old woman is trying my patience, but you have brought me happiness. We’ll figure this out. I think they will come around. You look so much like Luna Rana. I wonder how I didn’t see it before.” Aaron tries to reassure me, but I can’t help but feel defeated.

“What do you say we go back to our room and take a nice long bath?” Aaron says, smirking at me. I can’t help but smile at him, and I desperately want to take these shoes off. I nod, and he stands, taking my hand.

“We can try and talk with them tomorrow.” He says as he pulls me to my feet and kisses my forehead. I know he’s right; I just wish it had gone a little better tonight. What if they make us leave before we get answers?

We make our way back to our room, and at the door, Aaron scoops me up, carrying me inside. He only stops to close the door with his foot, and I’m giggling at him. We get to the bathroom, and Aaron sets me down on the counter, kissing me deeply. When he finally pulls away, we are both panting. He turns and begins filling the tub with hot water. He then helps me take off my shoes, kissing me again. I think this is better than some stuffy dinner anyway.