Page 56 of The Barren Luna

“Whatever my mate wants.”

“Then show me the greenhouse first, and go for a run with me later? I need to shift,” I said, fidgeting with my napkin, and he understood my unspoken plea for support.

“I’d love to, Gina.”

The greenhouse was enormous, heated, and seemed to be unofficially divided into three parts. One part looked like it was in the process of being set up, and I deduced that these were the benches and pots used for starting off new seedlings for the upcoming season. I read some of the labels: broad beans, garlic, shallots. I had so many questions, but something told me David wasn’t the one to know the answers to them. I needed to find whoever managed the greenhouse one of these days.

How did their planting and harvest schedule differ from the one in West Virginia? Did the altitude affect the process in any way? This was all so fascinating. The second part was full of vibrant green Crisphead lettuce, Swiss Chard, kale, broccoli, and other plants I couldn’t easily identify.

The third part held perennials and herbs – I spotted the currant bush immediately, smelled the basil and the parsley, and then Iwas hit by –oh no. Before my mind could fully process what was happening, my nose and my heart were both weeping already. David half-shifted as soon as I started sobbing, and stood in front of me, scanning the greenhouse for threats.

“Gina, love, what happened?” he finally gave up on finding the mystery danger and simply took me in his arms.

“It’s... the... sage...” I managed to squeeze the words out in between sobs.

“I don’t understand, but let’s calm you down first and move you away from the sage, alright?”

He was rubbing my upper arms again, but this time, the gentle gesture just made me break down harder.

“No... no...”

“Okay, let’s stay here then. It’s okay. Let it out, love.”

What was probably around fifteen minutes later, I finally calmed down enough to tell him what had happened.

“Dorothy, she smelled like sage flowers. I haven’t scented her since I watched her die, and it just hit me unexpectedly,” I said as I hugged my knees to me.

I was sitting on the ground next to David, neither of us not caring that we’d get dirty.

“For a moment, my stupid heart was happy, can you believe it? It was like watching myself from the outside – I smelled her, then got happy thinking she was just ’round the corner, then I remembered what had happened, and then my heart broke all over again.”

The heat of the greenhouse was starting to get to me. Some sweat trickled down my forehead and into my eyebrows. I used the back of my hand to wipe it off. David took out his handkerchief, wiped his own brow, then handed it to me.

“I think I know a little bit about that. The first months after my dad died and I took over, I’d be walking around the Palace, absentmindedly thinking that I’d run into him any minute.”

“At least I have the option to be physically removed from the place that is full of my memories with her. I’m sorry about your dad, he was a great male and I really liked him.”

“Thank you. I’m really glad he got to meet you, even though he didn’t know you were my mate.”

“I’m glad, too. Queen Adeline was always really nice to me as well.”

“See, Mom couldn’t handle staying here all the time, sleeping in the room they used to share, being reminded of him daily, so she went to stay with her sister for a while.”

“I can’t even imagine what that must feel like,” I said and he shot me a strange look.

“What was Dorothy like?”

For a moment, I couldn’t speak. The lump in my throat had lodged itself so firmly that I felt any attempt at moving it would cause it to press on the faucet connected to my eyes and unleash a torrent immediately.

“She had a crazy sense of humor. You could be on your deathbed and she’d get you to laugh about it.”

“Wow, that sounds amazing.”

“Yeah. And she was full of knowledge about lore and different packs and their customs and legends.”

“As a pup, you must have enjoyed that very much.”

“I did. She was the one who shaped my views on mates and life. She truly was my mother in most senses of the word.”

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