Page 44 of The Wolf Moon

“You really are the Shadow of Death,” I exclaimed, turning on her with mild irritation before smiling. I hadn’t seen Cate since the challenge. She looked as healthy as ever, tall and mysterious. She proved mischievous as apparent when she stepped calmly around me and pointed to the mess hall with a curious tilt on her head.

“Do you want me to let him know you’re here? Did you want to have breakfast with him? It would be good to be seen by his side, now,” Cate lifted her hand to her chin in thought as I immediately began to panic.

“No! No, I…. I already ate,” I lied quickly. I felt Roman change direction and head back towards us from within the hall. I quickly reached out and grasped Cate’s arm before tugging her to follow me. “Let’s go somewhere else!”

“But I haven’t eaten yet,” Cate responded with a pout, no doubt trying to stall in order to force me to confront Roman.

“I’ll get you a whole cow if you want. Let’s go,” I hissed, relieved only when she allowed me to begin to drag her away towards safety. Cate followed me as I walked determinedly behind buildings, moving hastily until we were at the abandoned school for children who no longer were being born. I opened a window, climbing in quickly before standing in the eerie classroom.

I stepped forward, running a finger over a nearby desk and leaving a trail in the dust. I heard Cate enter the window behind me and turned to find her looking around quietly with her own look of sadness.

“Isn’t this a sad state,” Cate said simply before wandering to the teachers desk and collapsing in the chair. She lifted her legs up, propping her feet on the desk and causing a cloud of dust to disperse around her. “Take a seat, Miss Young. Class will begin shortly.”

Maybe Cate could help me. I couldn’t avoid Roman forever, but I couldn’t be sure he wasn’t just messing with me in the first place to scare me off from being Queen Luna. I also had no idea what the title meant and I was clueless about… well… I’d never been with any man before. I sighed loudly and obliged Cate, sitting stiffly at a nearby desk in the front row.

“You’re a warrior wolf which means you’re right under Beta Caleb’s demand, right?” I asked her vaguely.

“I am.” Cate was playing with her lance, twirling it on the floor next to her as she rocked herself in what had to be an ancient chair by now.

“So you probably hear a lot about Beta Caleb’s business. And the King Alpha’s business, too?”

Cate smiled briefly, but nodded. “You do know you’re the Queen Luna. If you want to know something, you can demand it of anyone. Even if the King Alpha demanded discretion, I’m sure they wouldn’t stand a chance against you.”

Yes, I was hearing this often lately. I can demand this. Demand that. I was far more used to fighting for what I wanted and being nothing more than a village girl. Just saying I was a Luna or a Queen or anything else didn’t make it feel true within.

“It’s not something I would want to talk to a lot of people about,” I muttered unhappily before groaning and holding my head in my hands. I moved my hands over my face and continued with a muffled voice, “Okay. So first of all, Roman said he wanted to protect me. That’s why he brought the Red Moon wolf here and claimed to have chosen her as the Queen Luna.” I lowered my hands and looked at Cate.

“That would be one valid reason,” She responded to an unasked question. “Being the alpha’s mate is dangerous enough, but by claiming someone else as Queen Luna, it would have taken the target off your back. The King Alpha is unbeatable. His Queen, maybe not so much.”

That part I understood, of course. Roman never had a need to pick anyone to be his Luna because he had no mate; no one did. When I came, the position became acquirable. Cate noticed my silence and continued, “As his mate, you have an obvious right to the title. All you would need to do is demand it and the challenges would begin. Maybe they never stop. Maybe because no one can defeat Roman, it made the next best thing desirable and attainable. But that isn’t the only reason he brought that woman back.”

I paused at her statement.

“What other reason did he have?” I asked intently.

“The brother packs demanded it. The Mother’s blessing came back to all wolves, as the King Alpha announced. Apparently, the alphas all demanded the King Alpha prove he was still loyal to the new laws. They wanted him to cast you to the side and pick a Queen Luna other than his mate,” Cate played with the dust on the desk absently. “He definitely didn’t think you’d know you could challenge for the title. And he had no clue you could win a challenge, too. You pretty much screwed up his entire plan in one swift match.”

Cate looked all too proud at the statement. I wondered what the other packs would think when they learned Roman’s mate killed their chosen Luna and still took the title anyway. Would it cause unrest between the packs? I felt uneasy instead of satisfied with the answer.

“Roman said there were steps to take, to becoming a Queen Luna,” I treaded carefully forward, my face already beginning to heat up at the topic. Cate wasn’t completely paying attention which made it slightly easier. “If he announced that wolf as Queen Luna, said he checked out her skills and such, and accepted her… would she have already gone through those steps before she arrived here?”

“You want to know if he slept with her, huh?” Cate asked slyly, her attention on me more so now than before. She removed her feet from the desk and leaned forward easily. “Why don’t you ask him? I think he would enjoy that line of questioning.”

“I’m not asking him!” My heart jolted at the thought of even bringing it up, knowing already that he would feel that ugly emotion painting my soul at the thought that he may have ‘accepted’ Lillian to that extent. “I’m not asking for Roman’s virtue. I’m just… wondering about the culture part of it…”

“He could have,” Cate shrugged, “If he couldn’t wait to. She wasn’t his mate, but that hasn’t stopped wolves before. As for the culture aspect… there’s usually a pattern depending on if the Luna is mated or not.”

I stared at her intently now, knowing she was heading directly into an explanation that would either prove Roman was just messing with me or prove that he was dead serious. I wasn’t sure which I hoped for, honestly.

“And?” I pushed Cate when she didn’t continue. “What do you mean?”

“If the Luna isn’t a mate, like Lillian from the Red Moon Pack, may the Crone rest her soul, usually she is selected from a group of she-wolves. Maybe even having to complete challenges for the title right then and there. The Alpha would select the most superior female and announce them to their pack for acceptance, as the King Alpha did. If the pack doesn’t approve, challengers come forward and the Luna would need to keep her title. If she does keep her title, then it would be more likely they would ‘mate’ afterwards,” She explained quickly, clearing her throat before leaning back.

“If she’s a mate, things are different. You first would need to complete the marks and solidify yourself as true mates. Usually it happens on the same night. He bites her, she bites him, she tests his claim, he proves it, and they are together in eternal joy. After that, the claim to the title can be made. Many times, it won’t be challenged at all, due to the choice being made by the Mother already.”

I was sitting open mouthed at this point.

“She tests his claim and he proves it? What do you mean by that?” I asked nervously.

---