Miracle of the Moon Goddess

2: It’s a cruel world

“Are you ready, Celeste?” mom asks me, straightening her immaculate pink dress.

Her hair is styled with light pink gemstones and must have taken hours to do. The make-up makes her look more awake and aware than normal, but there is more that makes her brighter than normal. The usual confusion on her face is gone. It’s not the first time I’ve seen this. Every time we visit my grandmother it’s like there is someone else at home.

I’m not sure why she always manages to look her best when at court, but I can’t do anything but be in awe of her. Still it makes me conflicted. It reminds me of how she was when I was younger. She was so full of life then. Even father loved her more, spending more time with her than his wife or any other of his concubines. That made me proud once, and happy for her that she had company when me and Damien had to go off-world. I was so happy she had someone to hug.

It was harder for me when I had to go without Damien. Not that I was completely alone. Mom sent slaves with me, but a hug had to be given in secret, and it was best not to risk their lives. The few times they sneaked in some affection, it was too brief for my heart. Still, I’m immensely grateful for the little they could offer me.

If it weren’t for my Mothers I wouldn’t have understood that what my father did to me, my siblings and mom wasn’t love. He might have called it that, and it might have been the truth at some point, but I know better now. Mom’s faked happiness was for our protection and when she couldn’t fake it anymore our father began resenting us. I don’t care if father saved mom from a cruel fate; he hasn’t been good to her.

I know I risk becoming married to someone like him, but I hope that he will let me have some say in it. Or atleast mom can help with choosing a husband. I need someone who is stable and good at warfare, that’s well and true, but it means nothing if the man I have to marry is half as cruel as my father. I don’t want to live in fear like mom, not when I have to rule a newly liberated country. I just hope I don't need to wait long before we can save the Wolf World from the lycans.

“Yes, mom, I’m ready,” I smile back at her, ignoring her personality change. Though I still think about it. It might be her wolf’s soul? Or maybe even the Moon Goddess? Mom has told me about her and it sounds wonderful. Better than father’s statement that all gods are dead.

Mom walks a bit closer, letting me get a full view of her clothes. I’m impressed by what my Mother’s have done. My purple dress matches mom’s in shape and cut. My dress has a few pink details to enhance this, whereas my mom’s dress has purple details. The same similarities are traced back to the dress Thea is wearing. Everyone can see we are mother’s children.

A part of me wonders if Damien will show up too and what he will be wearing, but there are no traces of him. Maybe he was sent off-world like he suspected? We spend more time off-world than on-world. Which is proven by the fact that all of my other siblings are not in this world.

I meet mom halfway over the floor and she takes me into an embrace. I sink into her, taking the advantage of her being more alert than usual. It feels good having her close to me again. Mom sniffs me like she always does when we hug, but today the hug becomes shorter. She stops what we are doing to study my face.

“You smell different. Has something happened?” Before I can answer her mom smiles the biggest smile I’ve ever seen on her. “Your wolf?” she whispers conspiratorially, looking into my eyes.

I only nod. We cannot speak of it with my father in the next room. Nevertheless, her smile brightens even more. Quietly we laugh together before she winks and composes herself. The woman before me is once again serious and alert. Perfect company at a ball.

I turn my attention to Thea and smile at her. I take her hand, the one not held by mom. She is visibly nervous about what's going to happen and I can’t blame her. If mom were more lucid, she would have said Thea is too young for any of this and all I can do is to agree with her. Mom might look alert, but signs like this underlines that it’s not her operating her body.

With Thea between us, mom and I walk to the living room where we find father as expected. Thea stiffens for a fraction of a second. If it weren’t for her holding my hand, I wouldn’t have noticed. Together we approach father and courtesy to him.

“Sire Prince Terra,” my sister and I say in unison, polite and respectful. Mom ignores the man and just walks into the room as if it’s empty.

“Have you heard anything from Damien?” I ask father, hoping to get a clear answer. I want to know if he’s sent to off-world training or not.

“No,” he answers, turning to the door

In a way I’ve gotten what I wished for. There is no more straightforward answer than that, so I don’t bother asking again or adding the fact that I saw Damien leave to find him. Father will just dismiss me, anyway. No, there are other things I can ask.

“Do you know why Empress Aubrey has summoned us?”

This time father only looks back at me with calculating eyes and nods once before going out to the two awaiting palanquins. He won’t give me more than that. I want to ask him out more but he and mom take the first palanquin and Thea and I take the second one. Mom looks angry, as she usually does near father. He protectively holds around her, forcing her to lean back into him. Even from my point of view, I can see she is not remotely relaxed.

“Is this the first time you will meet grandmother?” I ask Thea, taking my eyes away from our parents.

She nods quietly, so I hug her closer to me. She’s stiff like mom, but more because she is not used to me in the same way as our Mothers. She must feel terrible alone, going to a scary place with people she’s not remotely close to.

“You are doing great, Thea,” I whisper, to assure her. “When in private, you can show off your personality, but at court, the best is to stay quiet and only speak when spoken to.”

“Yeah, Mother Brown told me as much,” she gives me a brief smile meant for polite conversation. It surprises me; she is so young!

Usually, young children can avoid our grandmother, but something important will happen today. It’s the only reason I can think of for all of us being summoned. Even I, my mom's heir, was ten when I first visited court. It was dreadful. I felt more like a plaything than the granddaughter of Empress Aubrey. Today it’s Thea’s turn, and she is six, perhaps seven. It’s hard to tell.

“You can’t talk about our Mothers in public. You know what will happen if anyone finds out about how our household works,” I warn Thea, and she pales. She has already been warned about the consequences, but her slip-up is enough for me to repeat it. If she fails, it will be devastating for our Mothers. They aren’t allowed to have names, and calling them Mothers will definitely get them killed.

“Don’t worry,” I tell Thea. “This time, no harm done.”

Even with my reassurance, she becomes quiet again. Not willing to talk.

I let her be. Instead, I kept thinking about the man in the portal Damien opened up. Like before, I wish Damien hadn’t closed it. I would have liked to talk to mom’s mate if it was him at all. I’ve also wondered what mom would do if I told her, but with her being out of her mind, I cannot risk it.

Not to mention I wish I could have visited the same world where I saw the moon. I’ve been to five different worlds before, and none of them had moons. “I think it’s on purpose,” my inner voice tells me. “Now that your soul is whole and I’m here with you, you are more robust.”

I’m still not used to her voice, my wolf’s voice, but she is right. I have noticed some changes. My senses are getting better, and I'm more energized. It’s only been hours and I’m sure I’m more fit than before. I was not particularly poorly trained, insisting on learning to fight without fathers permission, but now I might even take Damien in a fight.

“Why didn’t Damien get a wolf's soul?” I ask the voice.

“I don’t know.” The voice sounds thoughtful, so I don’t interrupt. “Maybe Damien didn’t get the wolf genes from mom? He’s not a full wolf like us.”

I smile to myself when she calls us full wolf. It sounds like my father when he claims true elves are better compared to half-breeds like me.

“There is nothing halfbreed about us, Celeste,” she claims, but I ignore her. I know who my Sire is, and I’m okay with that. She can mutter as much as she wants, but she can’t change facts, proud or not.

Curious about my new abilities, I close my eyes to find out how much better my other senses have become. Straining myself, I can barely hear mom and my father murmur between themselves. Mom is begging for something again, talking about how ‘she’ is too young for that. I don’t know if they are talking about Thea or me. It might be one of my other sisters? It can’t be good.

I want to listen in and find out more details, but lose my concentration when someone in front of my parents harshly whispers: “Don’t be stupid, move out of the way!”

“But it’s her!” A dazed voice answers. “My mate.”

I open my eyes and stare directly at a group of slaves making room for my parent’s palanquin. Everyone is carrying heavy burdens. Amid them, is the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen, and my wolf repeats his words: “Mate.”

With great effort by his friends, they make him move to the side and kneel before it’s too late. I can’t keep my eyes away as I’m carried towards, then past the group. The man glances up at me when my parents are past him. My heart skips several beats for every second I get to study his features.

His dark skin glistens with sweat, though I cannot see the heavy burden he must have carried. Maybe the other’s have helped him? When we lock eyes, I forget all about the people around us. He winks at me with a warm dark brown gaze, making me melt instantly. No one has ever made me feel like this before, and my wolf whimpers “mate” over and over again, but I cannot do anything but stare at him.

I want to throw myself down from the palanquin and into his arms. My whole body longs for him and his touch. It’s almost like the moonlight, the way I crave for the moon I crave to be near him. By his reaction, when I’m at the closest, he can smell the scent of my arousal. His nose flares and his friends struggle to keep him on his knees.

I cannot phantom where my desperation comes from, but his reaction seems to mimic the same anguish as I have. His breath hitches like mine, and his body is shaking from the effort of not getting closer.

My mate’s friend slowly shakes his head in the corner of my eye, warning me just as much as him. If I do as I want to, my mate’s life will be over, and painfully, too. Unless my father’s rage doesn’t get the best of him. All I can do is wonder who this man is and avoid losing myself in his beauty.

I keep myself in my seat, forcing my head to turn away from the man and the group of slaves. While concentrating on breathing, I almost lose my cool when his scent of anis and fern hits me. Drool escapes my mouth and I wipe it before anyone can notice. I need to get him out of my mind! As a distraction, I force myself to look at my little sister instead. Thea looks back at me with questions in her eyes.