Lunaya.
"It was not long after sunrise that we got the call form the Alpha, the hunters had crossed the borders into Moon Light" I began my story.
"We had measures in place for if something like this would ever happen. I would escape one way and my husband, Micha, would go the other. We had practiced and talked about it often, where our supplies were hidden, where we would meet up afterwards and where we would go from there. It was planned down to the last meticulous detail. It was all pointless. The hunters overwhelmed the pack fighters almost too easily. They knew everything about us, from our fighting style to the layout of the village. They knew it all. It became clear that it was no ordinary accidental hunter raid, it was planned, and they were ready. After I said goodbye to Micha, I made it to the edge of the border before I was surrounded. After I realized that I was cornered and had no choice but to change into my wolf if we had any chance of survival, I hid my baby inside a hollowed tree and tried to lead them away from her".
Alyse moved herself close to me and wrapped her arm over my shoulder. I have told her little about the events of that day. She worked a lot of it out herself, but after a while she stopped asking me about what she didn't know. Hina had sat on the floor next to Pappi, resting one hand on her knee and was watching and listening with great interest.
"I don't much remember what happened after that, I killed as many as I could, keeping them away from the tree. The weapons they used were unlike anything we had seen before. They had liquid aconite capsules set in the bullets and smoke canisters with gassed aconite. In the end, my injuries were too much. I couldn't hold up against the poison, I was weak and just couldn't fight any longer. I remember laying in the snow unable to move, my wolf energy had expired, and I had no choice but to change back. I could see a man holding my baby and walking away through the trees. I can still hear her screams." I sobbed as I cradled my head in my hands. My heart ached with every single beat. The earth could open up and swallow me whole right now and I would welcome death. I'm a failure, a weak and useless failure.
"I found Moon Light as the sun was setting" Alyse began, still holding onto me.
"The sight was horrifying, blood and dead wolves everywhere. I couldn't take a step without stepping in blood. The smell of gunpowder and death was nauseating. I was about to turn and run when I heard Lunaya breathing. I didn't think it was possible for anyone to have survived an attack like that, but she did. Every one of my instincts were telling me to leave and run as far from there as I could, but there was something in the back of my mind stopping me. I don't know what it was. Like a voice or some kind of force inside me, pushing me towards her. I can't explain it, I just knew that I had to save her. I dragged her body into a half burnt out house and went about pulling out the bullets and flushing the wounds. To this day, I don't understand how she survived. The wounds should have been enough to end her life, mixed with the amount of poison in her blood, it's a miracle that she is still here" Alyse spoke proudly as she rested her head on my shoulder. I lifted my head and turned to kiss her forehead. She is my savior, in every possible way. I looked back to Pappi and continued my story.
"As soon as I was strong enough to move, I went to the place I was meant to meet Micha and waited. For weeks I waited, but he never showed. So, I started searching. Alyse took me back to where she found me, and I started there. It didn't matter how nasty I was or how many times I told her to leave me, she didn't, she stayed by my side and helped me the entire time. By then, it had been weeks since the attack and the wolves were already decomposing. I could barely tell them apart anymore, so I had no idea if one of them was Micha. I never found his body, or that of my baby".
The room was again silent with only the sounds of our beating hearts. Hina edged close to me and reached forward, gripping my arm and squeezing slightly. I looked to her face. She had tears rolling down her cheeks and sadness in her eyes. She didn't need words, everything she wanted to say was said through her melancholy gaze.
"Dear one, the baby from the tree was not killed, just taken" Pappi interjected.
"What? What do you mean taken?" I snapped my head to her.
"She lives and is waiting for you" she smiled.
"That doesn't make sense, why would hunters keep her alive? They knew she was a Were, when has a hunter ever spared a werewolf, baby or not" I rushed out. None of what she is saying makes sense. No hunter has ever shown mercy, why would this time be different. It's not possible.
"No. I'm sorry but it's not possible" I said stubbornly. Pappi huffed and frowned slightly.
"Alpha, would you please tell us what news your scouts have brought you?" she said turning her head to Hina.
"The story is that there is a young woman, and she is claiming to be the Triple Goddess. In the midst of a hunter attack on her pack, she used some kind of telekinesis power to kill a large number of hunters. Apparently, there are witnesses from other packs. The stories of the new chosen daughter are spreading around the world like wildfire" Hina answered. She seems to believe what she is saying, she said it with such conviction. Could it really be my baby? My heart raced as a flicker of hope shot through me.
"You're sure?" I asked urgently,
"Of course I'm sure, my scouts have my full trust and have never done me wrong" she snapped.
"Pappi, please, don't do this to me. Tell me straight up. Is it really true, is it my baby? How did she survive?" I pleaded with Pappi, reaching for her to ease me mind.
"These questions are not for me to answer. You must seek the answers from the child".
So, this is it, this is what she meant when she said destiny was coming for me. She knew days ago about this and didn't say anything. Why would she do that, keep such information from me, it doesn't make sense.
"This is what you meant in the dining hall isn't it? When you talked about destiny and about me being here. Is this what you meant for me to find out?" I asked Pappi with anger slowly starting to rise. She didn't answer me, she just sat back in her chair and placed her hands in her lap. I edged closer to her and grimaced.
"When you said that you saw my lineage, you didn't mean my past ancestors did you? Did you see her, did you see my daughter?" I growled slowly straightening my posture. Alyse's grip on me tightened and Hina moved herself between Pappi and me. Silence. She offered me no explanation. My anger exploded through my views in a quick heated wave.
"Answer me Seer" I growled, jumping to my feet. Hina stood and grabbed my shoulder, her lips curled back and she growled down at me. A warning, to calm down.
"Come my love, sit back down and take a breath" Alyse said calmly. It didn't work. The thought that I could have already been on my way to finding my child but wasn't, set off an anger in me like no other.
"I could have left days ago if you had of fucking told me" I screamed at a still and stoic Pappi. She was completely unfazed by my outburst and didn't look the slightest bit concerned.
"Why Pappi, why would you not tell me this right away?" I demanded.
"It was not for me to tell" she answered nonchalantly.
"That's bullshit and you know it. You had the information, you knew the truth, you simply chose not to share it".
My emotions are all over the place. I don't know if I'm still angry that Pappi didn't tell me, or sad that I have wasted all this time here when I could have been with my daughter. I feel overwhelming happiness that my child lives, but deep dread thinking that she may not accept me after all this time. What if she doesn't believe or understand the past. What if she feels that I abandoned her? Well, she would be right, because that's what I did, I abandoned her. I should have continued searching day and night until I found their bodies. Why did I just give up? If I hadn't quit, maybe I would have found her. Maybe I would have found Micha.
I hadn't realized that I was hyperventilating until Alyse pulled me back to reality. I was standing between her and Hina with my hands on either side of my face. Breathing was near on impossible, I felt like my lungs had completely closed over. The pain in my chest was astounding. It felt like my heart was being torn from my chest and my lungs were dipped in aconite.
"Shh now, clam down Nae. You need to breathe" Alyse was calling to me, her hands rubbing in circles on my chest.
"Breathe my love, breathe" she called again. I looked down at her piercing green eyes and inhaled a large sharp breath, holding it for a few seconds before blowing it out again. I repeated this a few times over until the pain in my chest eased and my heart rate normalized.
"There you go, you got it" Alyse cooed, still rubbing her hand on my chest. I took her hand and brought her knuckle to my lips, kissing each one.
"I'm okay" I said softly.
"You haven't had one of those in a while" she smiled at me softly.
"I just got overwhelmed, I'm sorry".
"Don't be sorry, you just got a hell of a lot of surprising information. I'd be worried if you weren't overwhelmed" she chuckled.
I turned to face Hina, who was still standing defensively in front of Pappi.
"Are we all good here?" she asked cautiously.
"Yes, I apologize" I said with a nod of my head.
"Okay then" she replied taking a small step to the side of Pappi. I looked down at the old woman and breathed out deeply. I know that she couldn't tell me what she saw, it's not the place of a Seer to divulge information like that. They have to let nature take its course and let the Goddess decide what people know, and when the people know.
"My apologies Pappi, I didn't mean to question your role as a Seer" I said as calmly as possible.
"I know sweet child" she returned with a smile.
"Will you tell me where she is? I need to go to her immediately" I asked as I knelt down in front of her, taking her hands in mine. She smiled and placed her hand on my cheek.
"You will find her in the far East of Canada".