The Luna's Gift

                                                                                            Stella             Wow. Has it truly been six months already? These past few months have flown by with all that we had to prepare for. Not only was it just preparing for our pup, but it was preparing for a whole new life. The Moon Goddess gifted me her rare ability, but instead of werewolves, I would be the anchor for all, giving every supernatural creature an option for a mate. After all, that is what we all secretly wanted, even if we tried to convince ourselves differently.            “Hey, beautiful,” Jake appeared, wrapping his arm around my waist, and pulling me in close to his chest. “Do we finally have some alone time?”            I giggled. “Afraid not, there killer. Isabel just brought Elias back to me after being with her half the morning. I had a few things to catch up on pack-wise.”            Jake spun me around, letting a low humming growl rumble through his chest. He has become quite the impatient one recently. “Little Elias is asleep, giving us plenty of time. Come on, Stella. You can spare a few moments from your work for your mate, can’t you?”            Oh, he knew how to wrap me around that finger of his. I leaned into him, pressing my lips to his soft, warm, tender lips. The second I did, Elias started crying. I swear, it was like that pup could sense anytime that I was trying to get a few seconds alone with his dad.            “You have got to be kidding me!” Jake grunted, turning around as I made my way into Elias’s room.            He was the cutest thing that I think I ever saw in my life. Maybe I was only saying that because he was our child, but I swore it was true. Elias did just what any other pup his age would do, and that was mostly eat, cry, poop, and sleep. It was better than it used to be, though. After I gave birth to him, the crying practically never stopped. It’s a wonder that I got any sleep at all. Now, I’ve gotten used to only having about three to fours asleep a night and can function normally. I can’t say the same for Jake, though.            “Come here, tough guy,” I said, picking up Elias out of his crib and into my arms. I swayed with him on my hip back over to Jake, who had his arms crossed over his chest until he saw his pup. Every time he would lay his eyes on Elias, it was like his entire body lit up. “Go to your dad.”            Jake took Elias from me, bouncing him up and down in the air like he did quite often. “I think that me and mommy should practice for a little brother or sister. What do you say, Elias?” I smacked his arm playfully. “Just kidding,” he said aloud. When I turned around, he whispered to Elias, “I’m serious, little guy.”            This time with Jake has been incredible, though. Everything has gone pretty smoothly since the day that the Moon Goddess herself visited me. We all knew that it would be any day now that she would call me on to become her anchor, the very thing I accepted to keep everyone that I cared about together. Since then, everyone was closer than ever before. Roxy and Blake took their role as grandparents very seriously and would keep Elias as often as they could. Dorian and Samantha spent most of their time traveling together. As far as me and Jake go, we hardly ever had time together, even when we didn’t haven’t Elias. Samantha left me her grimoire to study while she was off with Dorian, and I took every spare moment I had to practice my magic. Jake had the duties of being an Alpha, and his attention was focused more so on the pack right now, building ourselves back up.            The war with the vampires was far from over as of now. The vampire Elders didn’t agree with the Moon Goddes's decision for me to become anchor, but it was out of their hands. They left us alone for now, but I had a feeling that wouldn’t last once I became the anchor.            Honestly, it both thrilled me and scared me about this gift I would soon be receiving. Elias already kept me on my toes so much, and he was growing so fast that I didn’t want to miss a second of it, but I knew that would all change when the Moon Goddess was ready for me. She allowed us enough time to have Elias and prepare for what is to come, but it still felt as if it weren’t enough time.            In my thoughts, I hadn’t noticed Jake disappeared from our room with Elias. When I stepped out into the hallway, he was pushing me back inside, no Elias in his arms. “We have a little time before I am called away again. Mom is watching Elias for us in the meantime.”            Jake dipped his head down to my neck, swiping his tongue along my mating mark. Shivers ran down my spine as my ass grinded across his erection. He cupped my breasts in his hands, letting me continue the game I was playing with my ass moving against him.             When he had all that he could take, Jake bent me over our bed, pulling on my hair. “Your sweet arousal is killing me, Stella. I have fucking missed this, missed having you the way that I fantasize about in my office every day.”             He was getting ready to shed my clothes when he stopped moving. I looked over my shoulder at him, seeing his eyes glazed over, meaning that someone was mind linking him. This was our life, the life I happily signed up for.             “Don’t worry about it,” I said, smiling sweetly at him. “I hear the longer you wait, the better it is anyway.”             “Well, at this rate, it is going to damn near kill us both when we finally get to have sex again.”             When Jake left, I decided it was time to go for a run. I hadn’t been on a run since the day the Moon Goddess took over my body. Since then, Midnight has been hounding me non-stop about getting her paws in the grass. I had to say that I have somewhat neglected her, which was easy to do in this position. It was time that I let her have some time to herself.             I got outside, heading straight to the woods without being seen. If I didn’t sneak around, I would have Hunters following me to ‘keep me safe.’ I could easily take care of myself, and it was always awkward having one of Jake’s right-hand men by my side while I shifted. The instant I was in the clearing just beyond our pack borders, I let Midnight take over, shifting in less than five seconds.             Midnight danced around the flowery clearing, letting her paws dig into the soil beneath her feet. She raced as fast as she could back and forth until she became winded. Less than an hour into our run, this strange feeling came over me. It was like my wolf became paralyzed and, in my mind, I couldn’t keep things straight.             That was when I heard her clear voice. “It’s time, my child. Big things are coming, and you need to prepare for them. Once you learn the ways of your gift, it will become easier. This change will be excruciating at first, like it was your very first time-shifting, only worse. Bare it. Let it flow through you naturally. Do not force it, as it will only hurt worse. Are you ready?”             “Yes,” I said in the mind of Midnight.             My eyes drifted close all on their own, darkness surrounding me. Suddenly, I felt as if all the bones in my body were breaking at once. We let out a piercing howl that shook the ground beneath us, trembling from the aftershock of our strength. My entire body was a mixture of hot and cold like I was between passing out or barely pushing through. It was at that moment, just for a second, I wondered if it was all worth it. I wondered what I had gotten myself into by accepting this gift. Then, I remembered all the good that I would be able to do with it. Creatures of all kids would have a chance at happiness, not only limited to the werewolves. This was a new era for our species and many more. So, I relaxed my body and took the pain with open arms, accepting it rather than rejecting it.             It felt like a lifetime had passed before my eyes opened when in reality, it was only minutes, if even that. Through Midnight’s eyes, everything looked different. For a werewolf, our senses were already heightened than that of a human, but now it was like it was heightened even past the point of my werewolf abilities.             “Remember Stella, that this gift will also come with a price. Accept the challenges that you have ahead, embrace them as it will only make it easier for you. Being an anchor is not to be taken lightly, but if anyone can do it while maintaining the life of a Luna, it is you, Stella.”             “How will I know what to do when the time comes?” I mutter out quickly before she disappears from inside my mind.             I could hear her smile. “You will know, my dear. The voices will guide you, just open up and listen to them.” As quickly as she had come, she was gone again.             It was up to me to face this new life of mine, to embrace it, as she said. Juggling between my Luna duties and anchor duties would prove to be a challenge, but I would graciously accept, knowing that it would bring a much-needed change to our generation. I wanted nothing more than for my son to grow up in a world where he didn’t have to be afraid of who was once our enemies but grow alongside them instead.