The Unclaimed Human Luna
Chapter 88

Conner POV

They’d seen Cordi and Collin off two days after they had arrived for the alliance meeting, and things were back to normal around the pack once more. His father was actually calmer and seemed to have gone back to how he’d been after mating to Brittney, but before El had arrived, even El had commented that he seemed less annoyed than normal.

She was not wrong about that, and the man when not attending to meetings was with Brittney and their daughter, was always smiling at her. Loved his little girl, that much was clear, even to Conner. He was likely going to spoil her rotten, up until a certain point, when that need to contain and control her took over. It would be interesting when Ashley hit those teenage years.

He was helping El to set up all of Taro’s belongings in one of the studies, in their suite. There were two offices up there, one for him and one for his Luna to work from in the privacy of their own rooms, or if they just wanted to spend time together, which is what his father had told him. Conner had not really understood that at the time, but he did now.

He was helping her so that it was ready for when she went back to university next semester. He was currently helping her to line the bookshelves with her father’s books. Most were on bugs and trees but there were some on foxes. There were prints of foxes, photos Taro had likely taken himself, framed and ready to be placed on the shelving. A few professional prints he also noted which she wanted to hang on the walls.

He was listening to her talk about her father, the things that he had liked. She was reminiscing about her father the whole time, there was some sadness in her voice at times, and other times she smiled and chuckled as well, had a lot of good and fun-loving memories with her father.

She showed him all the drawings he had done himself of foxes as they unpacked his things from the boxes. Even her father’s desk was there, everything from that storage shed back in California was here. Brittney had meant it when she said she’d kept everything of Taro’s for El, and now they were setting it up properly to her liking, to make her feel closer to him.

He was happy that she had something of her fathers to recall her memories. He didn’t really have anything of his mothers at all, a few photos, not that they were on display anywhere, tucked away from his father’s sight. He’d not like seeing them after his mother had left him. Conner had learned to keep them out of sight of the man.

He got to see the books that Taro had read to her as a child as well, tales of foxes and kitsune’s alike, read through some of them and smiled to himself. He could see her and himself reading them to their own children one day down the track, mentioned that to her and she’d smiled right at him. Then stated, “I hope you’re good at making individual voices for each character. Dad always did that for me.”

He’d just chuckled, he’d never read a book out loud to anyone before, but he’d already seen El do it to Ashley just the other day. It was very cute, and Atlas had been up inside his mind watching her, his beast was thinking about her with their own pups. Conner had had to remind Atlas that El was only 18 and that they were going to wait on pups.

Got the distinct impression Atlas wanted one now, kind of hoped that he was keeping that to himself. Conner didn’t want Petal getting wind of it and making the decision to have a litter just yet. It was up to Petal and with her and Atlas’s connection she might just decide to do so if she understood her Mate wanted one.

He opened a box and smiled at the photo albums in there, told her she should have a few of them framed, and place them in the room or on the desk as he himself flicked through them. He also knew she had a few from Italy on her phone at the moment. They would be nice as well for her to print and display.

He had a nice little surprise for her. It was due to arrive in a few days. Cameron had been hunting all this time for a nice estate in Italy and he’d found one, quite close to the Willow Moon Pack, and he’d even contacted Juliana to help with the purchasing of it. The deeds and photos of the estate were on their way.

Though that amount of money vanishing from the pack’s funds had seen him hauled into his father’s office to explain why he’d spent several million dollars on something in Italy and what the hell it was and why he would do that, his father couldn’t fathom a reason for it himself, it seemed.

Conner had simply told him “For a place for El to go home to Italy, somewhere safe for holidays and trips back to see her home pack. I think she would like that. I want her to be able to have that.”

His father had stared at him for several long minutes with a deep frown on his face, then muttered something about this pack being her actual home pack, before dismissing him. He knew that his father was still annoyed that she and Petal had yet to be initiated into his Pack. Was still annoyed that they just walked away from him when he brought it up, which the man did daily. He didn’t like that she was as of yet initiated into his pack.

Conner had sighed and given in to the man. “Father, perhaps you should simply ask her, to please let you initiate her into the pack, not tell her she has to do it.” Then he’d left the room. It was now up to his father to suck it up and ask politely for her to let him initiate her. She was never going to do it with a demand, and he’d pretty much let his father know that. What the man would do about it was another matter.

He’d seen the Estate that had been purchased, it was a lovely orchard with a beautiful sprawling Manor that could house about 12 people and even had staff quarters. He had called Juliana to thank her for the assistance. She’d just chuckled at him and said “It’s my pleasure. I’ll staff it for you if you like, and gate it off properly with my pack logo to keep others away and warn them off. If you like?”, He’d only thought about it for a moment and then had stated “No, thank you. I’ll sort a logo for the gate myself, but if you have pack members that are willing to live there and maintain it while we’re not there, that is okay with me.”

She’d agreed and told him she thought it was a lovely thing he’d done for his Mate and her Granddaughter. Which had shocked him, considering El always called her Aunty, he had to remind himself that she technically was her grandmother due to being Sloan’s twin.

Soon that portfolio would arrive, and he’d be able to give it to her. He hoped she would like it. It was his very first gift to her, and he was hoping that she could see he really did mean that he wanted her to be able to go and visit her family anytime she liked. He was also happy to go back there and have time away as well. Would be good for him as well as her.

They were going to be heading there between semester breaks, he thought with a smile, but knew and was already planning for all 10 of them. Sage’s little sisters were going to be going as well. To go out and stay in that manor for a month before the semester started here. Not that anyone knew that bar Adam.

He saw her place a few photos on the desk and smiled at them. It was one of her and her father, plus Sloan and Julianna. It was a good photo of her and her pack. Taken in the Willow Moon Pack at that, when she’d been 16. Next to that was one of her and her parents. She smiled at it for a moment and then turned those silver-grey eyes of hers to him. “What does your mother look like?” she asked, surprising him more than a little.

Conner stared right at her for a moment, as she looked at him, “Do you have any pictures of the two of you?” she asked when he didn’t answer after a moment.

“I do.” He sighed, “I don’t put them out. Father hates looking at them. Lost quite a few to him after she left.” He leaned on the desk and shook his head just a little.

“Do you want to put them up in here? It’s your suite and if he touches them, I’ll let Petal rip him a new one.” El smiled up at him as she walked over and slid her arms around his waist, leaned into him and looked up at him.

Conner smiled down at her, liked that she was trying to comfort him, hugged her gently, “I could, I suppose, he doesn’t talk about her, kind of a no no subject. He loved her and she left him for her Goddess Gifted when she met him. Apparently, though I only just found that out a few months ago. He tried to keep her but she didn’t want to stay.”

“She just left you here? Or did Logan make you stay?” El frowned and he knew what she was thinking.

“I was made to stay. He told mother she wasn’t allowed to take me. She told me she loved me, I was her son and then just left. I haven’t seen her since.” Felt her hug him even more and sigh herself.

“Does he know where she is?”

“I don’t know, I was only ever told she was dead to us.” He shrugged, but he did want to know and he knew it, always wondered if she was alright? was she happy?

“I would like to see a photo if you would be willing to show me. Though I know you look like Logan.”

He nodded “Alright, it’s old, like 12 years.” He said and put her away from him a little to go and forage out that one shoe box that had what photos remained from when she was there. It was in the walk-in closet, up on the top shelf, way at the back. Pulled it down and took it back to El, for her to look at.

She sank down in her father’s chair at his desk and opened it, to look through them. Smiled up at him and pointed at a picture of him as a baby “You were a chubby baby, I see.” She giggled.

He was chubby right up until he was two, then was off running about and slimmed down.

“Look at them eyes, Conner.” She smiled. “Still so very dark blue.” he saw her finally see a picture of his mother. She was a brunette with dark blue eyes, was tall at nearly six feet, all slim and muscular, though she did look happy in that photo holding him as a small child.

Saw her shake her head “I thought you had your fathers’ eyes, but I think they are your mothers.” She looked up at him and then back to the photo, and back to him, he just nodded.

“They are my mothers, a darker shade than my fathers, though most don’t notice it until they see my mother.”

“Her name?” El asked as she leaned a little closer to look at that photo. Then flipped through some to find an older photo of him and his mother, one from when he was ten. She pulled it out and really looked at it.

“Anna.” He told her.

“Anna what?”

“What?” he frowned down at her now, that was an odd question. “Anna Greystone, but I guess it would be something else right now, whatever her Goddess Gifted Mate’s last name is.”

“She’s pretty Conner.” El smiled up at him. “You should frame some of these and put them up, she is your mother after all.

“I could, I guess. It’s unlikely that father will come in here and look at them.” he nodded.

“You must miss her.” El sighed as she looked up at him once more.

“Yes. Curious mostly about where she went, is she happy?” He shrugged “I hope so.”

“Do you blame her for leaving you here?”

“I did for a long time, years in fact, but I understand now it’s likely my father’s doing. He was never going to give me up, very controlling, as you well know. I also think I was not allowed to see her because he won’t let her come here to see me. Not that he’s ever said that. Just doesn’t talk about her at all.”

“That is terrible, and not at all fair to you either, Conner.” El frowned up at him. “Perhaps we could find her. Grandma might be able to help in that regard, it’s what she does.”

Conner smiled at her. “It is, I guess. I’ll think about it. I’m certain father knows where she actually is. He just doesn’t want to say. Likely never been in that pack since, but I imagine she had to have met her Goddess Gifted Mate here at a mating ball, so it’s likely he knows which one.”

“Just doesn’t want to tell you.” El frowned.

“I think she broke his heart, and he just doesn’t want anyone to know it. Plays it off as he did care, but…” Conner sighed “He told me he loved her, tried to get her to stay, it was difficult for him and Hale.”

“Perhaps that is why he’s so cranky all the time. The pain still lingers.”

“It could well be, they were mated to each other for 14 years.” He nodded as he picked up a picture of him and his mother and looked down at it. “I hope she’s happy. I am curious if I have brothers or sisters as well. It is likely so, it’s been 12 years could well have five or six of them.”

“That you could.” El nodded and then she got up and he watched her pull a photo from one of her frames and put the one of him and his mother, when he was ten, into it and put it up on a shelf right next to her at about the same age, with her dad.

Smiled right at her, he’d not displayed any in a very long time, just tried to keep them from his father’s sight mostly, hidden for only him to look at. “Thank you.”