Lotus Moon

The Mystery

"What are you looking for?" Bardulf asked as he watched Conri search through the books that his father had left. "I'm looking for evidence," he said. "are you still talking about the Lotus Moon pack?" he asked. Conri nodded and sat back, his father died trying to find out this mystery. "It is our responsibility to find out what happened to one of our own," he said passionately. No one just disappears without a trace, there has to be something. "The Lotus Moon pack was one of the most loyal to our family. They also had the most resources out of the nine packs'' Conri said. "Something like that doesn't just disappear, '' he snapped. "Maybe magic is involved?" Bardulf asked. Conri didn't think so, "I'm sending Farkas and Adolphus to investigate," he said. "I want to see what my father died for '' he said.

"Louve, just remember that we love you so much!" a very familiar face looked down at her with loving eyes. Louve was a little girl again and she cried and held on tightly to the man and woman. "Please don't go!" she cried as they began to disappear "no! tell me who I am? Who are you?" she cried. "You will find out soon" they said. "LOUVE! LOUVE! Get your lazy ass up!" Louve awoke with a start. Tears were streaming down her face again, she quickly wiped them away. She heard her adoptive family calling for her to start on their breakfast. She hurried up and got dressed and went down stairs.

Her step sisters waltzed in and gave her dirty looks "she just started?!" "can you do anything right Louve" Tala snapped. "Of course she can't, that's why no one wanted her," Daciana teased. "I am making your breakfast... okay" Louve said. "Is that attitude?" Tala snapped, "I think it is" Daciana said. "The nerve of you, to be so ungrateful" Daciana said as she walked to her and knocked all of the food on the floor. "Oops' ' she said, Louve said nothing. "We took your dirty, runty, ugly, self in the least you could do is cook and clean for us" Tala said, grabbing her by the hair and then shoving her to the floor with the food. There was a clap at the doorway, "mother! Louve spilled our food again" they said in unison. Louve got on her knees ''I'm sorry. I will clean it up" "We can't have you wasting food around here." she said. "She's so clumsy... why do we even keep her around" Daciana said. She could feel her adoptive mother's sharp glare on her, "why indeed.. Now you both need to get ready for the tailor to come and fit you for new dresses" Louve could hear their screams of joy as they left the kitchen. Louve slowly and carefully stood up and grabbed a rag to clean up the mess her sisters made. Louve didn't cry, she learned long ago that her cries were never heard. She cleaned up the mess and started on breakfast. No matter how they treated her or how much she wanted to run away Louve understood that the Blood Crystral pack was all she had– as far as family was concerned. Louve made their tray of food to each of their liking. Louve carried them as she did so many times before out of the kitchen and towards the sitting room.

"This is so beautiful!" the girls cried as they rushed to the different colors of silk presented to them. "Yes, your father sent me the finest designs that I would like for you to try," the tailor said with a bright smile. They giggled and rushed to go try them on. (The designs were from the Lotus Moon pack's Alpha female fashion.) "Your girls will be the envy of all the packs at the Full Moon ball" the tailor said. "Why of course, the Blood Crystal pack is after all the second richest pack in all the region" Ostana said with a proud smile.

Louve walked into the sitting room with their food and at the same time Tala and Daciana came out in the dresses. When she saw them she gasped out loud, they turned to her with questions. "Are you that shocked that this looks that good on us?" Tala asked. "Of course Louve could never pull it off, '' Daciana said. The dresses they wore looked a lot like the woman in her dream and for some reason she felt offended that they had it on. Without thinking she walked over to them and touched the silk, it felt like how it felt in her dream. She gripped it tight, they shouldn't have it on! They should not be wearing this! Something deep within her exclaimed. "What the heck! Let me go" Tala snapped trying to pull away from her. "Get off of her" Daciana snapped, pushing at her. But Louve wouldn't move... couldn't move. Not until she heard the stern voice of Ostana. "Louve" she snapped, finally Louve released her hold on it. Soon Tala slapped her "Mother! I want her punished!" she snapped. Louve said nothing... she couldn't say anything. "She will have double chores," Ostana said, "and no dinner," she said. Louve hurried out of the room her heart pounding with anger. But why?

Odwolf waited in Alpha Conri's office, the door opened and he stood up to greet him "sorry for the wait" he said. "No need to apologize Alpha Conri, you are a busy man" he said with a smile. Conri walked to his desk and motioned for him to sit down. "Just to get right to the point, the Full Moon ball is coming up" Odwolf began. "I am aware" Conri agreed "and your father wanted you to obtain a wife of nobility before your 26th birthday which happens to fall on that same day" Odwolf said. "Alpha Conri, I believe that one of my daughters would be the most suited to be your mate" he said with bowing of his head. Conri wasn't thinking about marriage at all but Odwolf was right about one thing, his father had wanted him mated before his next birthday. "It's interesting..." Conri said slowly. "If my father was alive and the Lotus Moon pack was around I would be marrying their daughter" he said. "Anyway, I will see to it that I meet them before the Full Moon ball," he added. Odwolf gave a big toothy smile. "I have a fantastic idea of you coming to my home for dinner sometime next week," he said. Conri nodded in agreement and shook his hand. "Next week it is then," he said.

As Odwolf was about to leave Conri's trusted second in command came in. Odwolf couldn't leave without knowing what they were talking about. As Bardulf entered he closed the door. Odwolf stood with his ear to the door. "What did they find?" Conri asked, "it's just as you said. The place is clean" Bardulf stated. "Why was Odwolf here?" Bardulf asked "he wanted to invite me to dinner to meet his daughters" , Conri said. "Interesting," Bardulf said slowly. "Something definitely happened to the Lotus Moon pack and someone is covering it up" Conri said, changing the subject. Odwolf gasped and quickly moved away from the door. Alpha Conri was looking into the Lotus Moon pack's disappearance. His hands turned into fists at his side, he couldn't let them connect their disappearance to him.