Homeward Bound

The next morning, after a night spent in bed without much sleep, Lucky was reluctant to get up. She would much rather have gotten a few more hours of shut eye with her mate. She rolled out of bed, knowing she had to make arrangements to go to Midnight Moon. She made coffee, and after sitting down with a cup she picked up her phone to see what the dark overlords of chaos had in store for her.

The first news headline she saw was: GENETICALLY MODIFIED WOLF? She laughed, the conspiracy theories just got crazier and crazier. Then again, being a werewolf would have seemed like a crazy idea a a month and a half ago. The "Game of Thrones" enthusiasts were calling it a Dire Wolf. Lucky had enjoyed watching that show, she hadn't gotten to see the last season. She pictured herself and Traven, sharing ice cream and popcorn and binge watching their favorite shows together, and the thought made her heart and soul overwhelmed with joy and gratitude. They mind linked for hours after completing the bond, and every moment they spent together made the bond stronger.

She didn't know it, but her love radiated out from her a moment ago, and had a ripple effect on everyone in the hotel. A couple who had been fighting after days of meth use and no sleep suddenly stopped, and began apologizing to one another. The runaway teenage girl called her Dad to let him know she was okay. When he offered to come pick her up, and promised just to listen, not judge, she agreed. Across the street, a guy about to walk in to the gas station with a gun and risk his whole future for a couple hundred bucks turned around and went to his sister's house, and told her he needed help. The front desk receptionists were especially friendly, and it was not the fake friendly of most customer service workers. She had emitted a wave of energy, and the effects were subtle but powerful. Nyah felt it, and knew what it was. It was Lucky's "magic." Her special ability. She had to let Lucky know, she could project her emotions across large spaces. She would need to get control of it, because it could happen with any emotion. Nyah worried about this, that the darkness of the past would make Lucky an emotional wreck. Nyah got Lucky's attention with a howl. The woman's mind was like a bunch of highways jammed full of fast moving traffic layered over one another.

"Hello, dear," Nyah greeted her warmly.

"Well look who is awake! Want to share my coffee?" They both laughed at that question.

"I always share your coffee. But I have to tell you something. As a moonchild, you are gifted with a kind of "magic," and yours just happens to be the most dangerous of all."

Lucky groaned. "Why is that so unsurprising?" Of course it would be the most dangerous. Why didn't they just give her some gasoline and matches to play with? "Out with it," she told her wolf.

"You have the ability to project emotion, what you are feeling, out of you like a pulse. It has a ripple effect on everyone around you. How far it reaches, will depend on you learning to channel it and send it out purposefully." Nyah explained. Lucky immediately grasped the implications of this. She could literally walk around and spread good vibes. She could also do the same with any negative emotions.

"So I have to be careful not to get too angry, I could cause people to fight. My sadness will be felt by everyone I encounter if I am sad."

"It's okay to feel sad, and angry, you simply have to learn how to not just USE your power, but also how to NOT use it." Nyah was proud that Lucky understood so quickly.

"How can I learn it?"

"Practice. And perhaps the assistance of a witch. A good one. Not a dark one." She saw the shock on Lucky's face and found it comical. "Witches exist too, Lucky. Some are very, very powerful. On both the light and the dark side. Not one of them is half as powerful as you will be."

"So I am a witch too?" She thought of Flappy. Weren't witches supposed to have cats?

"No, just a werewolf with unusual abilities." Nyah laughed. "You won't be flying around on a broomstick any time soon."

"The idea of flying around on a broomstick doesn't appeal to me," Lucky stated. "But if I can learn to use this power, I could end wars. I would be a force against evil."

"And because of that you have to be very careful. You are a threat to evil. They may try to attack you, or corrupt you and manipulate your power."

She got a message from Alpha Jacob letting her know that Alpha Liam would be expecting her and asked if she had transportation. She still hadn't gotten a new drivers license or registered her car. She sighed. She replied to his message, explaining the situation. A few moments later, Alpha Jacob sent her a message that he would have Eli drive her to Midnight Moon, and that he would pick her up in an hour.

He would also bring Daniel, who could drive her car and Traven to Desert Moon. She watched Traven and Flappy sleep, and this time she felt a strange pulling sensation in her core, as though her body was drawing something in. She focused on it, and realized that she was feeling love in a very pure form. She held her hands out and pulled them towards her, imagined grabbing a glowing ball of love, and then pushed it out around her.

"Yes!" Nyah exclaimed, you did it! That's amazing!" Lucky went to the window and looked outside, watching people closely. She saw everyone start to smile, saying hello to each other, and a couple of teenage boys were helping an elderly lady load her bags into a Taxi. She went back to look at Traven again, and he too had a beautiful smile on his insanely gorgeous face. Her mate was so hot! She gasped, wondering if these emotions could be felt by everyone too! She rushed back to the window, and was happy to see that people were not having a wild orgy in the street.

"This is going to be a pain in my ass," Lucky still didn't know if she had been blessed or cursed. She hadn't quite made her mind up. She was still a little angry with Big Mama. She decided to focus on getting ready to go to Midnight Moon.

She quickly showered and dressed, and began putting stacks of money into a lockable tote that would fit in the trunk of her car. She packed a bag of clothes and essentials, putting the rest of her new belongings into a second tote. She put on minimal makeup, deciding to wear a pretty dress she had purchased. It was green like her eyes and the fabric was soft. It hugged her curves, but she thought it looked elegant. She threw a matching green scarf around her shoulders. It was quite warm in Albuquerque. Flagstaff would probably be a bit cooler, but she had a change of clothes ready for that, just in case.

She hoped she wouldn't have to change out of the green dress. She slipped on a pair of black wedge sandals. She looked at Traven and his goofy dog, realizing she wasn't going to see them for a few days made her heart hurt. She decided not to wake them, leaving without saying goodbye meant not saying goodbye. She knew he would understand. She didn't think she would be able to go, if she had to say goodbye. She snapped a picture of the two of them, and an incoming message from Eli had her grabbing her bags and quietly leaving the hotel. Daniel met her on the way across the parking lot. She handed him her keys, and told him about the totes, and to tell Traven to call or text when he woke up, if she was too far away to mind link.

"Please, take care of him and keep him safe. I love him," Lucky confessed, feeling silly for saying such a thing so quickly but she also knew it was the truth. Daniel smiled and reassured her Traven and his adorable dog would be treated like Kings. Lucky laughed.

"You haven't smelled the farts that come out of that dog." Eli warned Daniel. "It's like tear gas." Eli and Lucky both chuckled at the memory from the previous evening, when they plotted to weaponize dog farts.

Lucky climbed into the car, a limousine! Eli was not driving, Alpha Jacob's personal driver would be taking them to Midnight Moon in style. There was a woman sitting in the back, catching her off guard. She tripped and fell backwards, fortunately landing on one of the soft seats. "I am so sorry," Lucky began. The woman, who had caramel colored hair and eyes, smiled warmly, and something about her put Lucky at ease.

"I'm Eli's mate," she explained. "He thought you might like to have another woman to talk to. I'm so happy to meet you!" Her enthusiasm was infectious. Lucky wondered if her pulse of positive energy had affected her. "You are so lovely! I love that color on you!"

Lucky knew she and this woman were going to be great friends. She hadn't had a female friend in so long, her best friend from high school had drifted towards her boyfriend, and Lucky had never found it easy to open up to people. She was always the shy one hiding in the back row, walking through the halls with her eyes on the floor, not wanting to call attention to herself. She had always felt different, like she didn't fit in. Now, she was starting to understand why.

The two of them chatted so much she thought they might be annoying Eli, who had put AirPods in an hour ago, when they had started talking about how amazing sex was with the mate bond. Men talked about such things, why shouldn't women do the same?

Lucky got more nervous as they got closer to their destination. This did not go unnoticed by Amelia, who asked her in a soft voice, "do you want to talk about it?"

"I don't even know what to say. So much has happened and I haven't had time to really process any of it." Lucky felt tears sting her eyes. "And now I might be close to finding out what happened to my birth mother, and my father. I mean I don't know if they are alive or dead. I have no idea what happened to them. Why they left me. Why they didn't want me."

"Lucky, I can't imagine your mother and father not wanting you. You are such a sweet soul, you have just been filled with poisonous thoughts by terrible people and it may take a while to get all of that poison out of your system." Amelia hugged her, her heart broke for this poor girl. How strong she must be to have survived what she did, and come out of it with an aura of love. She hoped Lucky found what she was searching for. "Why don't you lie down? The seats are so comfortable, and there are pillows in this center table."

Lucky took the pillow and within minutes she was snoring. Amelia shook her head, hoping that this girl was brave enough to face what she was about to find out. Alpha Jacob had been right. Lucky looked like someone they all knew.

The truth was about to hit the fan.