Forever in the Past and Forever in the Future
Chapter 18

"So she had powers before her wolf woke up?" Elder Randall questions after Kas tells the Elders her story. He sounds suspicious of Kas's claims.

"Randall, Kas is sitting right here. Please address her directly. She doesn't have a rank right now, but she is Blood River's future Luna Regent," I scold the old man.

Randall gets a sour look on his face at being corrected and huffs at me.

There are fifteen werewolves from around the world on the Elder Council, making up the international governing body for all werewolf kind. They are former Alphas and Alpha Regents who have been elected to their council positions after they turned their packs over to their successors. There are many who believe I will be elected to the Council one day. Only time will tell.

The knowledge of the Elders is passed down from generation to generation. Each specializes in the history of their region. If anyone can give us answers about Kas, it will be them. We are in the third hour of this meeting and haven't gotten very far.

Kas has been holding her own very well, only looking to me for help a couple of times. She took her time explaining everything that had happened. Some of the Elders have questions but are reluctant to speak directly to Kas because she was a slave at Silver Moon and she isn't officially Luna of Blood River yet. In their regions, Elders don't interact with werewolves who are not ranked members of a pack, let alone slaves. It's an archaic way of thinking. It's also very frustrating for the purposes of this meeting.

Oscar from the Australian region speaks up next, "Miss Latmus, you claim your wolf says she is not at full power until you shift?"

"Yes, sir. But she can't explain what that means. I'm embarrassed to say that shortly after she first woke up, I almost lost control and she came to the surface. We didn't shift though."

"It's happened to the best of us, my dear," Oscar smiles reassuringly to her.

Roham from the South Asian region speaks next, "There are stories of a wolf being the dominant personality which causes the human part of their spirit to be born repeatedly with them instead of the wolf being assigned to a different human spirit every reincarnation. It's a deeper connection between the two, therefore not easy to separate the spirits from lifetime to lifetime. Miss Latmus, it sounds like it may be the case with you and Elexis. If you are a Goddess, her spirit may have been put in place to protect your spirit throughout its eternal journey... however many lifetimes that may end up being. In the modern world we think of gods and goddesses as immortal, in reality, it is just their essence that is immortal. Only the Gods we refer to as Titans are truly immortal." 2 Felipe, the Elder from the Mediterranean region chimes in, "What Roham is saying is, the Moon Goddess Selene is a titan, her lover Endymion was human. When Zeus allowed their children to be Goddesses, he was allowing their essences to be reincarnated until the end of time. So, lokaste, if your wolf Elexis is telling you that you have been connected to her since the beginning of both of your essences and you have been displaying powers beyond a typical werewolf, then I would say, yes, you're indeed a goddess. One of the fifty Menae. Daughter of the Moon Goddess. It is reasonable to say she selected Elexis to protect you. This gives credence to her claim that the two of you are warriors." The other Elders around the table nod and murmur in agreement. I look at Kas who doesn't seem surprised. She looks relieved. It's as if she was anticipating the answer and just waiting fo confirmation of the fact that she was a goddess. She just needed someone to tell her what Lex had told her was true. I give her hand a little squeeze. She looks at me witha grateful smile.

I

"Thank you, gentlemen. If I may, I have a couple of questions?" Kas asks tentatively.

"Please proceed, lokaste. Who are we to refuse the words of a goddess?" Philipe says, waving his hand welcomingly toward her, "Maybe even Randall and Karthik will speak more freely now, eh?" "

The men around the table chuckle at the reference to the ones not wanting to speak to Kas before they found out she was a goddess. Kas continues when the laughter died down.

"If Zeus gave permission for the Goddess Selene to have a relationship with Endymion, do you think that means his essence would also get reincarnated so they can love each other forever? I mean, d-do you think the man who brought me to Silver Moon was really my father? Could he have been Endymion? He was killed because he was a rogue. That means he was a werewolf. Is it possible he was the first werewolf?" Kas asks her questions rapid fire, her eyes welling up with tears. After what she just heard, she is not thinking about herself, she is worried about her father.

"T believe it is very possible that yes he was Endymion," Felipe confirms, "but please don't despair, lokaste. We have no way of knowing if he was the first werewolf but he was turned at some point for him to be identified as a rogue. That means your father's essence will be reincarnated. He will live again to love the Moon Goddess just as he has in his other lives. He may have already been reincarnated for all we know. What we may never be able to answer is how he ended up as a rogue trespassing on Silver Moon territory. He must have had a good reason. Now, my dear, is there anything else we can help answer for you?" 2

Kas nods and sniffs back her tears, "If I have been reincarnated for over four thousand years, how come I can't remember any of my lives? Why don't I remember Elexis? If our connection is as deep as you say, shouldn't I remember?"

Henri, the European Elder from France, who also happens to be a friend from my infantry when we were in the military, stands up from the table and nods toward Kas, "I request to address Alpha Bronx. lokaste, I mean no disrespect."

She nods at him, then looks at me expectantly. "Go ahead, Henri," I confirm, looking back at him.

Henri continues, "Alpha, I know in the past, you have declined to accept the help of witches and I completely understand your hesitation but we need to consider this is an exceptional case. Witches have direct connections to the powers of many gods and goddesses. I know of a coven of light witches near my pack who can help train and hone the abilities of your mate to protect her. They can help lokaste remember who she is. Help her learn about the essence of her spirit. lokaste seems to have some volatile abilities as well. She doesn't seem like the type of wolf who is interested in harming anyone or using her abilities for evil. It's in her best interest to learn how to control those abilities before there is an accident. The coven can teach her how to focus her energy. To be a master healer. You know healers are rare in our community and it's an ability that will benefit countless wolves. Please take your time and consider it." 7

I feel the hot acid of my temper starting to rise in my chest. Saint is raging in my mind. He hates witches more than I do. We've survived too many battles and lost one too many body parts to trust them. The Elders can see my rage building and looked very uncomfortable. 2 "Henri is a traitor, Bronx! Tear his throat out, "Saint howls. I feel myself stand up and realize Saint is trying to take control.