Page 187 of Unforgivable

Lyri

I run like my ass is on fire. My mom has lost her ever-loving mind, and she's dragged Bea and Luna Gloria down to crazy-town with her. If I can make it to the barn, I can hide in the cow pasture behind it. They can't smell me over the cows.

"Lyri Song! You get your butt back here right now!" Mom bellows out.

A whine from my she-wolf tries to escape. She doesn't like her mother wolf being angry, despite us being Luna. But it's a life-or-death situation. I can't let myself strangle my mother. It's a close thing. I've let mom torture me too much these last two weeks.

"You are not getting Mated with those feet, youngling!" Luna Gloria hollars. She's waving a set of pedicure tools in her hands.

I swear, these females are like an invading army.

I toss a glare at her nephews, who are just chortling away, leaning against the barn doors. I'm not sure why they're still here. All of the males are getting ready at the packhouse for the ceremony tonight.

"Lyri!"

Shit. I've been spotted. Mom comes charging across the lawn, tweezers, and curling iron in both her hands. Why tweezers? Oh, for the love of all that's holy, what is she planning now?!

"Stay away from me, Mom," I warn her.

Her eyes narrow on me. "You are going to look perfect tonight, Lyri. You mark my words; my daughter will look utterly perfect on her Mating night!"

She lets out a gasp of horror. "Look at your feet, Lyri!" She grabs me by the arm and starts to drag me back inside.

"Mom, no pedicure!" I whine. "You can't give me a pedicure and make me wear shoes to the ceremony! They're not even open-toe! They're heels! I'm getting mated in the forest! Be reasonable!"

"I will beat you bloody with this curling iron. Stop whining." She pulls me into the kitchen, which now resembles a disaster zone relief center. "Sit," she orders me imperiously.

"Why are you so mean?" I grump.

She starts yanking on my hair again. "Because you will be perfect, so help me, Goddess."

I sigh.

---

It was worth the torture. All of it, all of the pain that Daan delivered to me was leading me here to this moment.

And now, standing in the faint moonlight under the canopy of trees, I make my peace with the Goddess. Maybe she does know what she's doing, after all.

We make choices. Some are terrible. Daan was good at that. He learned it from his father. Some are good. Nothing will ever be perfect, but... this is my paradise.

My three males are standing together, talking quietly while they wait for my approach. Usually, the female waits, and the male must find her on a hunt, but when have we ever been conventional? I am the Luna, and they are my Choice, so I have to 'find' them.

They didn't make it challenging. They didn't even try to hide. The path through the woods was strewn with flower petals. Not hiding.

Despite everything that weighs on our souls from the memories of that night, we chose this spot. The spot. I wanted to remember something beautiful here, instead of a nightmare.

Scattered in the trees are our witnesses, members of the pack from all parts of the hierarchy. Mating under the Blue Moon is usually a more private ceremony, but the pack needs this. They need some hope.

Alpha Jax approaches me on quiet feet. His eyes are red from crying, his face too pale. He's lost weight, but he's still standing.

It's more than I can say about Jessi. After she left the pack, she went to her sister's pack and caused strife there in just oneweek. She mysteriously disappeared again. We are hunting her. I’ll sleep easier knowing Jessi is gone for good.

"You look beautiful, Luna," he praises me.

I nod, smiling at him in sympathy. One horrible decision cost him everything. Or, maybe his everything was already broken. A weak, disloyal Luna and a liar for a son. His path from the Goddess isn't easy from this point forward.

There's pain in his eyes, but hope, too. He has already started seeking wolves to fill holes left in the pack by the last few months. He approached me yesterday with a dossier of all sorts of wolves; couples seeking refuge, orphans in need of a home, elders whose packs can't care for them anymore. It keeps him sane, trying to help other wolves. I think it's also his way of seeking his own redemption.

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