The Children Of Maddeline

Twelve

Jadzia

I groan and open my eyes, blinking the sleep away. I'm looking up at a ceiling fan slowly spinning around, I'm covered by a thick blanket and I'm wearing some form of silk pyjamas. I sit up carefully, rubbing my bandaged arms and wincing slightly.

"Jadzia." Someone says from the doorway.

I look up and my breath hitches. It's her, my mother. She's changed out of the clothes I first saw her in, she now wears cut-off denim shorts with bare feet and a black crop-tee. The only thing that isn't different is the old, torn up jacket.

I gulp as she approaches, covering my mouth with my hands. She sits on the edge of the bed and squeals in surprise when I tackle her in a hug. She tightly hugs me back and strokes my hair in the way a mother should.

Tears well up in my eyes and I sob loudly as I hold her close. She rubs my back in comfort, humming a soft lullaby. I pull back and stare into her gorgeous eyes, her face is just like mine.

"What are you doing here?" She asks.

I sniffle and tell her my life story, she doesn't cry once through the whole thing. But then it dawned on me that she had no tears left after getting abused and raped by Delton for so many years.

"Sweetheart?" I deep voice interrupts me as I'm telling my mother about the boy on the plane.

Mum turns to look at her mate expectantly, "Remember to eat." He says, before walking away.

I turn to look at my mother, "What does he mean?" I ask with my brow creased, I hold her hands tightly.

"For some time after Gray saved me, I was ashamed at how I looked." She touches her muscled stomach tenderly, "I tried to starve myself, I ended up cutting myself a lot as well." She pulls the sleeves of the jacket up to show me the white scars that lined her arm. "When he found out, he would force feed me everyday and stand outside whenever I used the bathroom. He knows I'm too afraid to have anymore children so we adopted a boy from one of the packs in Mexico, he was a child born to the Alpha before the Luna was found, and he was unwanted there."

I blink. I hadn't thought she'd give me that much information.

"Follow along, let's eat." She exclaims, smiling at me brightly.

She pulls me gently by the hand and leads me out of the room, down a hall, down some stairs and into a large glamorous kitchen. My eyes bulge out of my head as I stare in awe at my surroundings.

"Luna, I just finished baking the cherry pie. Would you like some?" A short redhead in a maid outfit says politely.

"Yes, thank you, Faith. That would be lovely." Mother answers with equal kindness.

It's hard to pick up the Australian accent in her voice after she's been in America so long. I smile lightly as she seats me on a bar stool and sits herself down next to me, the jacket she's wearing swishes around her ankles. I stare at her, not really knowing what to say. I mean, if you hadn't seen your mother for your entire life, what would you say to her?

She smiles at me, showing her slightly crooked teeth. I smile back at her. A plate is placed down in front of either of us, I stare hungrily at my slice of pie, devouring it quickly. I look over at my mum with my mouth full, she's holding her piece of pie delicately and nibbling small bites off of the end.

I swallow, blushing profusely at my bad manners. My mother chuckles and reassures me that it's alright.

"I'm surprised by your appearance." I blurt out.

"I would be too." She mutters as she bites her meal again, "all those years trapped in a cell and I don't look a day over twenty, amiright?" She chuckles.

I laugh with her and sigh. "What pack is this?" I ask.

"TempestLupi."

After we talk for a while, boredom begins to take over and I ask if I could go for a run with her. I step outside, inhaling the fresh air. I look around to make sure no ones watching as I quickly strip and change forms so that I am standing on all fours and shaking my fluffy head.

I look at my mother expectantly, she walks past me and gestures for me to follow. I tilt my head at her, wasn't she going to shift? We jog through the woods at a steady pace, she never tells me the reason for not shifting and I never ask.

After a while, we find ourselves relaxing in a small meadow. My silky white fur billows in the wind and I close my eyes.

"It's been good getting to know you." I say as I look over at my Mother.

She's stretched out on the soft green grass, her tanned legs covered in scars and shimmering in the sunlight, and her ever-present jacket splayed out underneath her.

"Yes." She sighs, "yes it has"

The moment of happiness could never get better. I was finally reunited with my mother, and even though I had so much left to ask her, I would leave it. I wouldn't want to ruin the happiness of the moment.

Then suddenly, the serenity was interrupted by a loud gunshot and the burning pain in my side as my Mother screamed in fear and clutched my furry body as I fell to the ground.