Luna Aleksa's Escape
Luna Aleksa’s Escape Chapter 37

*Xanthe POV*

“I’m not going to beat around the bush. I’m going to tell you this straight. So brace yourself.” I started to tell Aleksa, deciding that what I had to tell her would be overwhelming so I may as well keep to the point.

“Many millennia ago, the moon goddess blessed a lineage of wolves with special protective and healing powers, their role was to help heal and protect vulnerable wolves, they were known as the crescent moon wolves.”

“Crescent moon wolves carried a unique marking, which consisted of a sapphire blue crescent moon with two wolves under it, and a crown with a purple hue to it. Unfortunately, crescent moon wolves were constantly hunted and exploited, many living their lives in captivity, many dying after being drained of their powers and healing abilities. There were many powerful wolves who wished to harness their special abilities. I realize this all sounds unbelievable to you right now. Especially since you were led to believe you were human for the first eighteen years of your life. But I can assure you that it is all true.”

“Aleksa, your mother was a crescent moon wolf with special abilities and healing powers. She had left her pack when she met your father. You see Aleksa, your Grandfather was the Alpha of Moon Valley Pack. He was aware of Kristina’s abilities from a very young age and knew that she was a gifted wolf, as her mother was also one, and it was passed down by females in the family.”

“Back then, an alpha female taking the role of Alpha alone was unheard of, so they needed her to be mated and marked so that there would be a male alpha running the pack, thus maintaining their reputation and bloodline.”

“They (her parents) had planned to marry her off to the Alpha heir of a neighboring pack, in a bid to merge the two packs as they had no male heir so that their son would take the role of Alpha, and Kristina would be his Luna.”

“The alpha heir of the neighboring pack was an unkind, arrogant, and evil wolf, and rumor had it that he had planned to use Kristina for her gifts to heal his mistress, who suffered from some rare disease for which there was no known cure. The Alpha’s Heir was in love with his mistress and wanted to take her as his luna, but his parents had denied him.”

“And, Kristina had no intention of being mated to or being marked by him. Not long before the agreement was made, Kristina had met her fated mate in a chance meeting, your father. He was from another pack, and he was a warrior. When Kristina told her parents this news, they were not accepting of this, they felt that he had nothing to offer them, and being that they were in so much debt at the time, they refused to acknowledge her fated mate.”

“You see, I had met your mother back at her birth pack – Moon Valley. I would occasionally consult at the pack hospital. I had met your mother on a few occasions as she would volunteer at the hospital regularly. We had an instant connection. I met your father, Aleksander, a few times also. Actually, Kristina had only met him a few times before they ran off together. I met your father because your mother needed help leaving the packhouse to visit him. I was usually her cover story as she was constantly followed by her father’s guards. We would tell them that she was volunteering at the hospital, she would sneak out the back, and meet Aleksander just outside the pack boundary.”

“Worried that Kristina might defy them, and mess up their plans, her parents fast-tracked the agreement. The night before Kristina was supposed to leave for the neighboring pack, Aleksander with the help of some of his fellow warriors created a distraction and managed to help Kristina escape. That was the last she saw of her parents and her pack. They were on the run for months putting as much distance between them as they could.”

“Kristina’s parents never stopped looking for her. Their debts got higher, and they were on the brink of losing their pack when a Hunter came to them and made them a proposition. He would bankroll the pack but they wanted Kristina’s firstborn daughter in return. Somehow they were aware of her crescent moon wolf lineage. Kristina’s father was desperate to retain his title and his pack so he reluctantly agreed to the hunter’s proposition.”

“After some time the hunter had managed to replace her, and surely enough, Kristina and Aleksander had mated and had a baby girl -that was you Aleksa. They came for you, time and time again. Aleksander and Kristina were so determined to keep you safe and hidden that they veered away from packs and pack life, and opted for life in the human world.”

“However, one day they were caught unprepared, and that is the day Aleksander died trying to protect you.”

“Kristina was on her own then, she was heartbroken but determined to protect you with her life. She moved from town to town and worked menial jobs in order to support you, over the course of a few months she managed to do this well until they came again one night. They came in the still of the night, Kristina managed to hide you in the ceiling. She fought hard and managed to take them all out, however, she was critically injured and died from b***d loss that night.”

“When Kristina didn’t show up to work the next day I had a feeling something had gone horribly wrong. I left work at midday and when I arrived at the flat I was horrified at the scene that awaited me. It was like a scene from a horror movie, with bodies, and b***d everywhere.”

“I found Kristina on the floor in front of her bedroom, the door was shut behind her, she was protecting you trying to keep them from replaceing you. I checked for a pulse but I already knew Kristina was gone, she was so cold and I couldn’t sense her energy. I will never forget that terrifying feeling that struck me when I realized that you were unaccounted for. I searched frantically. Then I focussed my mind and found you fast asleep in the ceiling, warm, and unscathed, although a little dehydrated and hungry when you finally woke.”

“I had decided it was best that we left that town as soon as possible. I bent down and kissed sweet Kristina on her forehead, and that’s when I saw the locket. She wore it everywhere and treasured it with her heart. I knew I should grab it so that you always had something of your mother’s with you.”

“I took you home with me, and then I decided it was time to move on. I needed to get you somewhere safe, as there was a high chance that they would still be looking for you.”

“We traveled for a few weeks, and then I realized that this was no life for a little pup. I realized that I couldn’t give you what you needed. I managed to replace a job and somewhere for us to stay in a small town a few states over, it was a lovely quiet Christian community. I had gotten a job as a cleaner at a local church and would often overhear conversations between people. One day I heard an older couple talking about how they wished they had been blessed with a child that they could shower with love. I watched them for a few more weeks, did some background checks, and then I decided they were the perfect couple to raise you and love you.”

“Often they ran the community soup kitchen at the church and they were often the last to leave, so I wrapped you up in a little Moses basket and left you with a note at the door. I rang the bell then ran into the bushes and waited and watched.”

“I saw the amazement and concern and love in their eyes as they fussed over you. I saw the police arrive. I watched in the background over the next few months and I watched them take you in and eventually adopt you as their own. I then went on my way. I would check in every now and then to ensure they were taking good care of you and to watch you grow. I was so proud of the beautiful person you had become.”

“I was there when you met Lachlan and I knew what was coming but I couldn’t interfere. I just watched on the sidelines, waiting for the time to come when you would need me.”

“When you had made your way here to Rocky Mountain and I had heard that Kingston was requesting a Healer, I knew it was the right time for me to make an appearance in your life.”

“So Aleksa that is the story of your parents and what happened to them, that is also the story of how you came to be adopted and live in a human town. Now you know you are a Crescent Moon Wolf, there is still so much I have to tell you, you will need to learn to properly harness your powers and your gifts, and in time you will.”

“I knew one day you would need to know everything, and I needed to be able to explain it to you. You might ask why I did not tell you earlier that you were a werewolf. I planned to trust me. I was planning to come to you and reveal myself to you just before your eighteenth birthday and to be there with you when you shifted for the first time. I couldn’t let you go through it alone.”

“However, my past had caught up with me. You see I too was on the run. Probably part of the reason Kristina and I understood each other so well. We were in similar situations. I was detained against my will, and it was a few years before I could escape. I am so sorry my child. I am sorry that I had let you down, and that I had left Kristina down. But I am here now and I will answer any questions you have to the best of my ability.”

I looked up at Aleksa and I could sense a sadness within her. She was not looking back at me, she had her head down and was quietly sniffling and wiping back her tears. I looked to Kingston who looked astonished as if he was still processing what I’d just said.

Silence enveloped us and I waited patiently for Aleksa’s response and her impending questions. I also hoped that she would forgive me for my failures.