A Luna Among Alphas

Don't Fear

A few year later

It didn't come as a shock to find Mama's heart no longer bearing in the morning of her weakest night yet, she'd struggled for long enough - I was barely 11 when it happened, and suddenly I was the woman of the house. Father's priority moved from making money to raising his children right

"Isabel! The meat! It's going to rot out here!" I turned to see yet another carcass the wolves had left outside our home, I liked to think of it as mother's blessing from above - that one small piece of advice had not only saved my life but allowed our family to prosper...Father was the only one who believed me about that night

He said mother had told him of a similar experience when she was young, and she had once taken him to meet her pack. I dragged the buck into the warm and left it there to be processed into something edible - the pelt could then be sold in the market and we could eat well again tonight

My brothers on the other hand...well they believed I made up the story to sound more useful than I was incessantly teased about my 'nonexistent bond', even though I once got caught holding a direwolf pup - Favian passed it off as pure luck and told me I was going to end up joining mother which caused us to fight upsetting the wolves temporarily...there were no blessings that month

"What did I tell you, father?! It's always just bucks with her! She's just as useless as when she was a kid, can't even find a decent man" I hit him over the head with a cloth for the last pet of his sentence, I was barely 18 - he was the older and no one saw him settling down with a wife, I could waste just as much time as he could

"Did you just- get back here!" I started to run dropping my basket hearing his footsteps thunder after me as he barged the wooden door open, he'd never been this mad with me before! My other brothers rushed out of the gathering crowd to stop him but were quickly in the dirt "Go! Get out of here and never come back! We don't need you! You killed our mother!"

Tears began running down my face as I continued into the forest before collapsing to the floor with my hands clutching my face...until I felt that familiar texture, that familiar push. A muzzle shoved its way into my hands as a sense of comfort as the wolf stared up at me - I'd forgotten how much they'd taught me, how much mother had shown me...I'd be fine

Mother had her pack in her youth, now this was mine - I could make it! I didn't need my brothers, I'd always love them but this is where I had to be now "I guess I'm one of you now" the canine tilted it's head before pushing further into my arms for affection, as long as I kept understanding that they were still wild animals, I'd stay alive

After awhile, I stood and the animal led me to where it's pack were waiting...my pack. Once again, I rested down in the snow and waited endlessly until I was accepted as a member - they seemed to remember me so it didn't take too long, then I was led to their den. I didn't dare touch the litter in the corner without permission from their mothers

It was going to be rough, but I would be okay in the end - I'd been prepared for this without knowing it. Mother, the wolves, all of it! I felt like she knew this would happen somehow, but that'd be impossible - she passed on long ago. She was sick but she wasn't crazy, she gave us all many teachings from her deathbed

Everyone could see why father loved her so much, the whole village adored her...then forgot about her as she wasn't able to leave the house as much. Her personality always shone through her darkest days but even sometimes she needed her hand held, in the beginning of her illness - mother was petrified of her own inevitable demise, but as time passed, she became more ready

And I missed her more for it...