The Ladies’ Room

Lucky walked through the Pack House door right behind Traven's parents, quickly catching up to them. She whispered to his mother, "could you join me in the ladies' room? It's about your son." The pretty woman's eyes widened, fear and hope dancing in them as her mouth opened wordlessly.

"Of course. Excuse me for a minute, William, I will join you by at the table in just a moment." She smiled at her mate, and turned to follow Lucky into the bathroom.

"This is a bathroom? It looks like a spa!" Lucky exclaimed, taking in the velvet chairs with their soft floral pattern, the matching chaise lounge, the wall to ceiling mirrors that made the room seem even bigger than it was. She had business to take care of first, so she quickly found a stall and peed for what seemed like forever. How embarrassing, she thought, she was meeting his mother for the first time and it sounded like a waterfall was flowing out of her. Shaking her head, she looked under the stalls and made sure they were alone.

"Sorry, I didn't realize I had to go until I really had to go, apparently," Lucky called out, facepalming herself. Why was she talking about it? Nyah was laughing hysterically at her, so much that she made a snorting sound that caused Lucky to start giggling. "Crazy ass wolf," she said, and quickly corrected herself, "not you, Mrs. Blackpaw, I was talking to my wolf who just loves to laugh at my embarassment." She sounded like an airhead! "Don't float away," Nyah snorted again, as Lucky struggled to regain her composure. She quickly exited the bathroom stall, and rejoined an amused looking Mrs. Blackpaw in the sitting area.

"How did you know my name?" She asked Lucky. "You are the Alpha's daughter, right? You arrived today?"

"I don't want to talk too much here, but the short version of the story is that your son is my mate." She moved her strategically placed scarf aside to show her mark. "I just met him very recently, I wanted to let you know he is okay. More than okay, really. He's pretty amazing, you and his father raised a wonderful, kind, and extremely attractive...werewolf." She washed her hands and dried them with one of the plush towels that were rolled and stored beneath the vanity.

Much to her surprise, Traven's mother pulled her in for a hug. "It is such a delight to meet you, dear," she said, her voice full of four years worth of emotion. Lucky hugged her back, holding back her own tears.

"This is what he did when we first met. He gave me the best hug I have ever had, I needed it more than anyone could ever know." They pulled apart and when their eyes met Lucky recognized the kindness in her eyes, the genuine goodness of her heart. Traven's eyes were the same. He looked like a younger version of his father, but he had his mother's eyes. She missed him so much, and couldn't imagine what this poor woman had been through, years passing without knowing where her son was, whether he was alive or not, whether or not she would ever see him again. She felt her emotions forming a ball of energy, and focused on holding the ball. When she was sure it was positively charged, she released it, a white glow surrounding her as she pushed it outwards into the world.

She heard Mrs. Blackpaw gasp, exclaiming, "your eyes, they are glowing. You are glowing. And I feel wonderful. My Goddess, sweet child, what are you?"

"I am not really sure how to answer that yet," Lucky said honestly, as the glow faded. She heard laughter outside begin to spread through the crowd, happy that this dinner would be a good one, happy she could make others feel good. "I was raised in an orphanage as a human. I didn't know I was a werewolf until I literally turned in to a huge black wolf and saw myself in the mirror. Then my life got interesting, to say the least. I guess I am a moonchild?" She showed her the birthmark, and smiled at the look of joy on the face of the being who brought her beloved mate into the world.

"Oh, dear, we do need to talk. But not here. My name is Sophie. You are Lucky, right?"

"That I am. In so many ways." Lucky was so grateful to be where she was. "I miss him so much right now."

"Can you come by after dinner?" She asked, looking at Lucky hopefully. "We are just a block west of the Pack House. Fifth house on the left."

"Of course. I will go get my new puppy and bring her over. If anyone says anything, you have been wishing to see the puppies and we just happened to run in to each other and start talking." Lucky smiled at the thought of her sweet puppy, she had loved her baby girl from the moment she held her. She wished that everything bad in the world could just disappear, that she could just radiate love to the world and never have to think about the dark place she had come from again.

The door opened, and a flustered Amelia rushed in, her panicked eyes taking in the scene. "My mate is an idiot," she told Lucky, wringing her hands together. "Eli was talking about you and, um, Draven, and guess who was behind us and was surprised to find out his daughter had a mate! I'm sorry, Lucky. He will probably have a million questions."

"Did he ask about who my mate was? What did you tell him?" Lucky refused to panic, that would make the situation worse. She wondered what would happen if her father knew that Traven was her mate, and that she knew without a doubt that he did not kill Neveah. She just knew. Traven had loved her. Would she be able to talk some sense into her father? She didn't know him well enough to risk it. Not yet.

"Of course he asked, Eli said he was from Desert Moon, your Draven. That you met when the three of them, Eli, Daniel, and Draven, were sent to Albuquerque to find out more about the Las Vegas Wolf." Lucky breathed a sigh of relief, as did Sophie.

"Amelia, this is Sophie. We were just talking about the puppies, she really wants to see my new baby after dinner."

Amelia gave Sophie a warm smile. "It's nice to meet you! And you are in for a treat, those puppies are adorable."

"Sophie, this is my BFF, Amelia. She knows everything about me." Sophie picked up on the meaning behind those words.

"It's so nice to meet you, dear," she said to Amelia. "What is it like to be best friends with a celebrity?" She gave Lucky an incredulous look. "The Las Vegas Wolf! This is turning in to quite the night!" Lucky blushed, wondering if that title would follow her forever. It was so weird to be famous without anyone knowing who she was. Like Hannah Montana meets Sons of Anarchy on the set of Game of Thrones. The thought made her giggle, and she emitted another positive energy wave, not as impressive as the previous one, but enough to ease the tension that had started to rise.

"Yes, I am the Las Vegas Wolf, the rumors are true. That's a story for another time, though. Let's just enjoy dinner. I'm sure I can handle a few questions from my father." It sounded so strange, saying it.

Her father. She hoped to find some way to set everything right, she just didn't know exactly how. Maybe the Moon Goddess would help her figure it out. Big Mama always had the clearest answers, after all. Again she heard faint melodic laughter, like wind chimes. Apparently Selene found it amusing to be called "Big Mama." Lucky hoped she was amused enough to give her a sense of direction that didn't feel like she was spinning in circles.

Indeed, The Moon Goddess found her latest Moonchild very amusing, delightful in so many ways. Nyah was proud to be bonded to Lucky, who was growing stronger every moment of every day. She was determined to keep Lucky safe, to protect her, no matter how daunting that task turned out to be.

"Let's go eat, I'm starving," Sophie said, and the three of them started towards the door. Before Lucky could pull it open, the heavy wooden door swung inward, almost knocking her over again.

It was Luna Gina, and she looked furious! She glared at Lucky, narrowing her eyes as she looked at Sophie. "Lucky, are you making new friends?" She asked, her voice sickly sweet, but not sweet enough to mask the venom behind them. "The company we keep says a lot about who we are." Sophie looked like she wished she could just disappear, staring at the floor. Lucky felt anger scratching at her from the inside. What was this woman's problem?

Nyah growled, and Lucky's eyes glowed almost imperceptibly. She glared back at the angry woman, all of her instincts telling her that the Luna was dangerous. There was something about her that just felt wrong, not quite sane, like she could come unhinged at any moment and leave everything around her shredded to pieces. While she could understand the stress her arrival must be causing the Luna, it didn't excuse the outright hostility she harbored towards Lucky and Sophie.

Luna Gina's face was a mask of hatred, "you are only as good as the company you keep," she spat. "Your present company birthed the death of my daughter." Lucky wanted to punch the snooty bitch right in the mouth.

Instead, she said,"you are right, Luna. The company we keep is something we should always be aware of. With this in mind, my friends and I must leave immediately." She grabbed Sophie's hand, pulling her along as she pushed past Luna Gina and out of the bathroom.

If looks could kill, Lucky would have dropped dead on the spot. Fortunately, they could not, but that didn't mean she wasn't in danger. She couldn't risk underestimating her enemy.

Lucky had spent enough time with monsters to know when she was in the presence of one.