Luna Aleksa's Escape
Luna Aleksa’s Escape Chapter 38

*Aleksa POV*

I sat there listening to Xanthe tell me about my birth parents – Aleksander and Kristina. I felt something I didn’t expect to feel. I felt an overwhelming sense of determination. A desire to do better, to be better, to be stronger, and to fight harder. I didn’t want my parent’s death to have been in vain. They had sacrificed so much for me. And now it was my turn to do the same for my children.

I would be damned if I was going to let something happen to my precious pups, especially Layla. If what Xanthe is saying is correct, then Layla is also a crescent moon wolf. That means she is in danger.

I felt a sense of fear and panic engulf me, all I wanted to do is to run to my precious Liam and Layla and hold them tight. But I needed to finish this conversation. There were still questions to be answered. I needed to be strong and know what we are up against.

A flurry of emotions was consuming me right now. There was a determination to make my birth parents proud. Fear that my children, especially Layla, were in danger, not just from the threat of being taken back to Evergreen and separated from me, but that there were wolves out there who may know of her existence and wish to harm and exploit her. Sadness – that I was the reason my parents died. If it weren’t for me they may not have been caught off guard and might still be here today. I was also concerned that this will all be too much for Kingston and the pack. And finally, anger, at the people that had hunted my parents and me and in the process robbed me of the life I was supposed to have, the one where my biological parents never died, where I was raised with my birth pack.

Just breathe Aleksa I told myself, as I felt Kingston’s arms wrap around me for comfort. He must have sensed my emotional hurricane through our mate bond. I looked up at him and he has a soft smile on his face, I can feel that he is concerned about me.

I nodded at him and told him through the mind-link that I’d be ok. And thanked him for being here for me.

I looked back at Xanthe and I said “There are so many questions I want to ask you, especially about what being a Crescent Moon wolf means. But I feel the first question I need to ask is this – where are my Grandparents? Are they still alive, and if so where?”

My rationale for this is that I need to know how much of a threat they were, as they are the reason that both my parents are dead. They were ruthless, they cared not for the mate bond, not for their own b***d, and their greed and ambition were clearly their priorities. I wanted to know where they were and if there was any chance that they could know of my existence and of Liam and Layla’s. Although in all honesty, I hoped there were gone. I had no intention of ever meeting such cruel people, in my mind, there were already dead.

“Aleksa, I wish I could answer this question without a doubt but I can’t. Your grandmother passed not long after Kristina was murdered. My contacts told me she took her own life out of heartbreak and regret. Apparently, she never wanted any of this for her daughter, and she was a subservient Luna and did what her mate had commanded her to do. While she didn’t agree with his actions, she also didn’t take a stand against them either. As for your grandfather, when the agreement with the neighboring pack fell through and Kristina left, there was no heir to take over. After the Luna passed, your grandfather’s wolf became feral and started to lose his grasp on reality, the pack began to suffer, and at this time the neighboring pack invaded the Moon Valley and took over control.

There was an alpha challenge, and your grandfather was grievously wounded, but it is unknown as to whether he actually died, as a rogue attack occurred while the challenge was taking place, and chaos ensued, it was at this time he disappeared, and his body was never found, although it is assumed he died but it is not certain. The wounds he sustained in the challenge coupled with losing his mate would be enough to end any wolf. I don’t think he is a threat to you Aleska, or to your pups.” Xanthe told me looking absolute in her answer.

“And, the Hunter, did you ever find out his identity? Who was the person that made the agreement with my Grandfather for my mother’s firstborn daughter?” I asked Xanthe, wanting to get an idea of the players that were involved here, and who we were up against.

“No, I’m afraid not. I tried to keep a low profile. I had to keep you safe. I used some of my contacts to find out about your grandparents, but I was unable to find anything about the Hunter. I didn’t want people to know I was asking questions.” Xanthe told me apologetically.

“Hmmn, ok, fair enough, thank you Xanthe for everything, you have done for me. I do appreciate it. It sounds like I owe you my life. I’m not sure how I can ever repay you, but I will surely try.” I told Xanthe, feeling a great deal of respect for the woman sitting in front of me right now.

“If you don’t mind, I do have some more questions?” I ask Xanthe.

“That is fine Aleksa, I have no place else to be right now. Fire away.” Xanthe said sweetly.

“You said that my mother died fighting to protect me. But I don’t understand. If she was also a Crescent Moon wolf, why did she die? Why didn’t she use her powers?” I questioned Xanthe. As that is one part of this story that I can’t seem to get my head around.

“I wondered when you were gonna ask me that question. The wolves that showed up that night didn’t appear to have any scents. And when I arrived on the scene I detected the faintest hint of magic, of dark magic Aleksa. I fear that a witch who practices dark magic was involved. I can’t say for certain, but I imagine that there was a barrier or forcefield that your mother’s powers couldn’t penetrate. I’ve wracked my brain throughout the years trying to understand what happened there, that’s all I have come up with that makes any real sense.” Xanthe told me bowing her head down. I got the impression she was unhappy that she hadn’t been able to uncover more.

“Dark magic? So she stood no chance then? Outnumbered by wolves and facing off against a dark witch.” I said anger searing through me, I feel my whole body starting to shake, and I could feel my eyes glowing.

“Aleksa, honey, try to calm down, just breathe,” Kingston said as he tried to calm me down, his touch alone was enough to soothe my soul.

“Aleksa, I can help you. Just knowing that there was a dark witch involved gives us more of an advantage. We can prepare better. I’m sorry I know this is all a lot. I know it’s horrible. I hate that this all happened and I couldn’t do anything to help. We have a chance here though, to prevent history from repeating.” Xanthe soothingly tells me while placing her hands on my hands.

“Tell me of my father’s death. I need to know – everything.” I expressed to Xanthe. I needed to know as much as I could about the events that had transpired all those years ago.

“Aleksander was a warrior from a pack a state over from Moon Valley. They met by chance really. Kristina would every once in a while sneak out with her friends into one of the nearby human towns for a bit of dancing and fun. One night she bumped into Aleksander while leaving the club, they knew they were mates right away, and instantly connected. They would meet every chance they got, as Kristina set about introducing him to her father. Aleksander wasn’t able to mark and mate with Kristina straight away with her being the alpha’s daughter, so he had to be patient and undergo formalities, however, the alpha was opposed to their mateship.”

“You see, Aleksander was an elite warrior for the Dark Moon pack, he was revered among his squad, and everyone that met Aleksander took an instant liking to him. He was very popular with the she-wolves but was determined to wait for his mate, which he did. Your mother – Kristina was the same, she was holding out for her mate too. They were so in love. It was a perfect match.”

“You wanted to ask how your father died. He was a fierce fighter, but he was outnumbered the night that they first came for you, however, he was holding his own just fine. but the rogues that attacked him stabbed him in the back multiple times with a silver blade laced with wolfsbane. He wasn’t able to heal and ultimately died of b***d loss and wolfsbane poisoning. I’m sorry Aleksa, he was so courageous right to the very end. He managed to take them all out with him. When they had first attacked, he had already told Kristina to take you and run, which she did reluctantly. No one anticipated a silver blade and wolfsbane, they fought dirty.” Xanthe explained. “Your mother never forgave herself for that. No matter how much I would tell her that she did the right thing, she followed Aleksander’s orders and got you to safety. Kristina was heartbroken but found the strength to go on for you. She was most likely able to do this because she was a Crescent Moon wolf.”

” She knew she would meet Aleksander again one day, and she wanted to make him proud by protecting you.”

Salty tears were slowly escaping my eyes as Xanthe recounted the events leading up to my father’s death. I had so much love and respect and regret in my heart right now for the parents I had once thought hadn’t wanted me.

I wiped away my tears, took a sip from the glass of water in front of me, and took a few breaths.

“What more can you tell me about my wolf? You said I am a Crescent Moon wolf. How can I find more information about myself, about my powers and abilities? I need to know how to use them properly, and how to control them. Everything that has happened so far happened randomly. I have no clue of what I am doing.” I confessed to Xanthe.

“There is not a lot of information about the Crescent Moon wolves. Aside from Kristina, I had not heard of a Crescent Moon wolf until then. Kristina learned to harness her powers to a point, but even she didn’t know a lot about her powers, and she never had a chance to master them. And with all that was going on we didn’t speak much of them.” Xanthe replied.

“The best way for us to learn more about your wolf would be to speak with an elder. I have some contacts we can utilize, but we need to be careful as to who we trust with this. Can you give me a few days? Give me some time to reach out to a few of my contacts. I feel they will be able to point us in the right direction?” Xanthe asked me.

“Of course. Maybe we should end this meeting here. I need to get back to Liam and Layla, and I’m sure Kingston has plenty of pack business to attend to. Xanthe, thank you for your time. I appreciate everything you have told me. I really do appreciate you coming here.” I thanked Xanthe.

“Aleksa, Kingston has my details, and you can contact me anytime. I want to be here for you.” Xanthe said warmly as she got up from her seat.

“Can I just say how much you look like your mother? You really are the spitting image of her.” Xanthe told me. That made my heart swell with pride. Kingston and I stood up from our seats.

“Uh, Xanthe, do you have any photos of my parents? I’ve never met them or even seen a picture of them. I don’t even know what they look like, and I would like to.” I asked Xanthe, as my lips started to quiver, I was fighting to prevent my emotions from consuming me once again.

“I actually do. I’m sorry Aleksa, I wasn’t thinking. Of course, you would want a photo of them. I believe I have one or two. I could bring them with me when I come back in a few days if you like.” Xanthe asked me.

“That would be amazing – thank you! Well, we will get going and we look forward to hearing from you in few days, all going well. Goodbye Xanthe!” I said as I walked over to Xanthe embracing her in a hug, she smelt like wild jasmine, the hug felt strangely familiar, as did her scent. I walked over to Kingston, and we locked hands and walked off through the gardens. I lay my head against his shoulder and we walked together, our bodies molding into one another’s. I could feel the warmness from the bond. I looked up at Kingston’s face while we were walking, he looked down at me and kissed me on the forehead. “I love you so much,” I said to Kingston.

“I love you too, Aleksa,” Kingston said back. And we kept walking towards the packhouse to see our pups on this warm sunny day, the blue sky was dotted with fluffy white clouds, there was a gentle breeze passing us, I could hear the birds chirping in the background, bees buzzing over the wildflowers that littered the sides of the path we walked on, and a faint sound of children playing with frisbees on the grass in front of the packhouse.

There was so much going through my mind right now, but it could all wait a few hours. This mama needed some time with her pups.