The Imperial Wolf Series Books 1-3
Chapter 55

Kate POV

I get in the truck with Cassie. We pull out of the driveway and start driving toward the omega house. "The log cabin Isabella lives in is right beside the omega house; you have seen it before," Cassie says. "Yeah, but it was vacant. No one lived in it back then," I say to her.

"Oh yeah, but after all of Lester's wolves joined the pack, we had to utilize as many of the old cabins as we could. This pack was once a huge pack. The numbers went down when Erick's father was Alpha. Mostly because of his mother," Cassie says. "Why did Isabella choose a house so far away from everyone else?" I ask her.

"You will see when you meet her. She is a bit odd but delightful. She does not care much for other people and only wants to be left alone. I go check on her and make sure she has what she needs. She is an ancient lady wolf. I am surprised she is still alive," Cassie says.

"Well, I hope she is alive when we get there," I say.

"Oh, she is; she is too mean to die," Cassie says.

"I thought you said she was delightful?" I question her.

"Well, she is a peach, that is for sure," Cassie says with a hardy laugh.

We drive past the omega house. I see Erick's mother watching us go by the house. I do not want to see her. I could do without that excitement for today. "Don't worry, and she won't bother you. Erick has her set up nice. She does not want to ruin any of that," Cassie

says.

"I do not want to see her. That woman tried to kill me," I say.

"You get that a lot," Cassie says.

"I guess I do," I answer her.

"It will calm down, someday. I hope anyway. There have been a lot of changes, and you know what, we will all come out of this for the better," Cassie says.

"I know. I am only worried about the baby. Erick said I need to learn to put the pack ahead of myself, which is hard for me to do. I do not want to fight with Erick. I need to be a better Luna to this pack," I say.

"You will learn how to be a good Luna. Just don't be like Erick's mother, and we can live with any mistakes you make along the way, Kate. Alpha Erick loves you and his pack. He should put his pack first, but I have a feeling you will always be number one. You have to let him know it is okay to put his pack before you. Now that will be the first step in being a great Luna for us," Cassie says.

"You are much better at this than me, Cassie. You should have been Luna to this pack, not me," I say to her.

"Well, no, thank you. I do not want all that responsibility. Besides, I got faith that you will grow into your role perfectly," Cassie says.

We park in front of Isabella's log cabin. She looks out the window and sees Cassie. I think she smiles. That is a good sign. She comes to the door and sees me. "Who is that with you?" Isabella asks.

"Hi, I am Luna Kate; I have come to talk to you," I say to her.

"I know why you are here, Luna Kate. You are here about that pup you got cooking in the over, aren't you?" Isabella asks, straight to the point and not very hospitable.

"Actually, it is more than that, Isabella. Can we come into your home?" I ask her.

She leaves the door open and walks into her living room. She sits down in her chair. The older lady wolf has long white hair that touches the floor in one long braid. Her golden-brown skin is aged and wrinkled, but I can tell she was once beautiful. I look over the pictures on the wall.

"That is my Jesse and me the day I married him and joined his pack," She says, pointing to the picture I am looking at on the wall.

"He was handsome," I say.

"He was an asshole, but I loved him. We raised seven pups together. They all moved on with their lives. I do not see them much anymore. My Raymond is an Alpha for a pack up north. He asked me to move up there with him a few times, but it is too damn cold. I like being down here where it is warm," Isabella says.

"Isabella, you know about me, right?" I ask her.

"Yes, dear, I know all about you and your mother. Shame what happened to her and to think you were separated from your brothers when you should have been together," Isabella says.

"What do you mean, my brothers? Are you talking about Macon? I only have one brother," I ask her.

"No, sweetie, you have two. Lester raised your younger brother," Isabella says.

"I only have one brother, that is Macon," I say to her.

"No, sweetie, Lester raised a boy that was your brother; Rainwater gave him to Lester shortly before she died. She hid her pregnancy from the pack. You did not know about your brother?" Isabella asks me.

"No, I mean, I found out about my twin brother, Macon, but only recently. I did not know about my other brother," I say to her.

"Well, then, I have a picture of him here. I will show it to you if you like," Isabella says.

"That would be great, but first, I came for another reason," I say to her.

"The baby, yes, you are here about the baby," Isabella says.

"Yes, I have had some issues. I went to sleep for three days and was on the imperial spiritual plane. My mother tries to come through me and talk to everyone. It was complicated. Shawn thought the baby was trying to protect me. I need some answers. Everything is blurry, and I am having a hard making out what the wolves are saying to me. I want to connect with them, but I worry about the baby," I say to her.

"Sweetie, the reason it is hard for you to connect with them is that you are a hybrid. Your child is a hybrid. I can help you link to them, but I would stop talking to the wolves if I were you. The spiritual plane is nothing but trouble. Nothing good comes from linking the mind and communicating with the dead," Isabella says.

"This situation is confusing for me; I thought you might help me figure out what my mother wants from me," I say to her.

"Luna Kate, your mother was a fantastic wolf who fell in love with a vampire. To each, its own is what I say, but the wolves of the pack did not see it that way. Your mother, now that she is on the spiritual plane, is very different. She is not the same wolf she was when she was here with us. Stop talking to the wolves. Shut them out, or they will drive you crazy. I stopped talking to them long ago. After my Jesse died, I tried to connect with him. That is when I realized they change when they get over there, and sometimes when they have unfinished business, they try to replace a way back to this world. Let it go. Let your mother be so she can finally rest in peace. Take your hybrid form as the ultimate imperial wolf. They are scared of you for it. They are scared you will be more powerful than them, and the truth be known. You will be, Kate," Isabella says.

"I do not know how to take my hybrid form," I say to her.

"All you have to do is drink," Isabella says to me.

"Drink?" I question her.

"Yes, it is kind of like when you took your first wolf form. You have to step out on faith that it can happen and take the form and then drink," Isabella says.

"How do you know so much about it?" I ask her.

Isabella opens her mouth and shows me her fangs. "I am a hybrid. I am not like you. I am just an old wolf now. I was never destined for the incredible power you are to have. Take the leap and take the form, or when the baby is born, you will become a vampire and lose everything about you that makes you a wolf," Isabella says.

"Thank you for everything," I say to her.

I turn to leave. "Wait, the picture of your family, do you want them?" Isabella asks me.

"Yes," I answer her.

Isabella gets up from her chair. She walks to a box on the table. She picks up the box and hands it to me. "Take them all. All of these are of Lester, Rainwater, and Alexander. They were such good friends. I think there are some of Erick's parents in here too. It was such a different time back then. I miss the old days," Isabella says.

I hand the box to Cassie and hug Isabella. "Thank you," I say to her. Cassie and I take the box and leave. I know what I have to do now.