The Feels

An hour later, Lucky had picked up her puppy, and was enjoying the beautiful evening, the temperature was pleasant as the sun began to set behind the mountains. She hadn't decided on a name for the puppy just yet so she was just calling her the baby girl.

She was looking forward to being able to speak openly with her mate's parents, and of course to talking to him. She was amazed at how much she missed him, considering the short length of time she had known him. She felt a strange sense of time warp, her life at the orphanage seemed like such a long time ago, and even her imprisonment in that hotel suite was fading in to what felt like a distant memory.

She liked this place, and would truly have considered making it a home if she didn't sense such turbulent undercurrents within the pack. She sensed that her father was full of regret for the way his life had played out, that he was starting to realize the gravity of some of the mistakes he had made. Still, she knew that there was no future for her here without Traven. If only she could find a way to clear his name. She knew he missed this place. Leaving had cut him deeply, enough to drain the joy out of his smile, the smile that rarely reached his eyes unless he was smiling at her.

"Baby girl, what are we going to do?" The puppy just cocked her head to the side, as if to say, how would I know? I'm a puppy!

She arrived in front of Sophie and William's cabin, and was pleased she didn't have to knock as she had her arms full of a squirming, sniffing ball of energy. Sophie opened the door with a warm, welcoming smile. "Lucky, we are so happy to see you." She booped the little puppy's nose, adding "and your little baby girl!" She ushered Lucky inside, leading her in to a cozy sitting area, which was furnished with a couple of older, overstuffed chairs and a worn but comfortable looking couch.

She imagined Traven sitting on that very couch, and she felt the mate bond tugging on her heart, harder than ever. "Well, what do you say we give your boy a call and he can tell you himself about how we almost literally ran in to each other in the middle of the desert?" Sophie and William looked at each other and then at her with so much hope in their eyes it brought her close to tears.

"I will get some coffee," Sophie said, "Lucky you just make yourself at home. I apologize for the mess, we don't get a whole lot of visitors. To be honest we rarely leave this cottage since, well, I'm sure you know what happened."

Lucky took a seat in one of the overstuffed chairs, trying to keep baby girl on her lap, to no avail. The puppy made a beeline for William, who seemed delighted to scoop her up and lavish her with attention. "She is just something else!" He told Lucky. "Traven brought his puppy home shortly before the incident. He hadn't even named him yet. He was so cute, even though I swear he could eat more than me even then!"

"That doesn't surprise me one bit. He eats more of my food than I do!" Lucky laughed. "Traven named him Flappy, well officially he is Mr. Flaps, because that's what he does with a rabbit when he catches one. He flaps it back and forth." Lucky chuckled. "A couple of days ago Traven, Eli, and Daniel got in to a food fight while I was sleeping. That dog cleaned up the mess, and was still hungry! Then we went out to eat and he disappeared into the kitchen at the restaurant, we all went crazy looking for him, only to find him begging for treats from the cooks." She began to laugh even harder. "Traven was talking about a pack run with Flappy at desert moon. I told him it would be a pack roll they way that dog eats!"

She was pleased that they laughed with her, glad they were much more comfortable than they had been at the Pack House. She took her phone out of her bag and dialed her mate's number. He picked up almost immediately.

"Lucky! I was just thinking about you! Which isn't surprising because that's pretty much all I think about. You. How beautiful you are, and about what I would like to do to you when I see you again," Lucky's face turned bright red, even as his words sent a shiver down her whole body, and she felt her core ache for him.

"Um, well, I can't say I haven't been thinking the same thoughts," she began, noticing that Sophie and William were trying so hard not to laugh that Sophie had tears in her eyes.

"There are some people here who would like to say hello to you." She handed the phone to Sophie, who took it with shaking hands, tears of joy now spilling down her cheeks.

"Hello, kiddo." She said softly, and she heard Traven drop the phone and curse himself.

"MOM?" He exclaimed, "Goddess is that really you?"

"It is, my sweet boy. Your mate is an amazing woman. You got Lucky, no pun intended, but truly, I am so happy to hear your voice." She handed the phone to William, overcome with emotion.

"Son, I have waited for this day for so damn long," William began. "Everything happened so fast, we were trying to come up with a plan and the all of a sudden it was over and they passed judgment and damn it, I am so sorry we failed to protect you." William was now in tears. "We were so happy when you escaped. The Alpha and that bitch of a Luna came here accusing us of hiding you, not long after we let Flappy out and he disappeared. We knew that you had taken him. They accused us but could find nothing. As fast as you are we knew you were more than capable of getting away."

"Don't ever blame yourself. Ever. Not you or mom. Please. There wasn't time for you to do anything. I have never once had anything close to a thought against you. I miss you so much." Traven's voice broke, the sadness and loneliness of the last four years flowing like water from a burst dam into his words. "I wish I could see you, see Midnight Moon, if I hadn't had Flappy I would have lost myself long ago. And then I stumbled across my mate. Dad, you always told me to have faith in the Goddess and her plans for us. I was losing that faith. Now I will never lose it, she is real, and she heard our prayers." Lucky and Sophie held each other, Sophie rocking Lucky back and forth trying to soothe her, even as Lucky tried to be strong.

It was as if Sophie knew Lucky had been desperately craving exactly this. A shoulder to cry on, the feeling of unconditional motherly love that poured from Sophie was healing her broken soul. She listened as Traven and his parents talked for over an hour, feeling a growing sense of contentment. He told them he was proud of his infamous mate, who had come straight out of hell and into his world as an angel.

"The stories the humans are coming up with to explain it are the most amusing thing I have ever witnessed," Sophie blew her nose and laughed. "I think the theory that it was a production company filming a scene from a movie is the most popular one at the moment."

None of them want to believe the truth, Lucky thought, none of them want to believe that their kind could be so cruel. That was how most of them would see it.

There were humans who recognized Nyah's behavior as that of an abused, caged animal, not a bloodthirsty monster, and those were the ones who gave Lucky hope. Something she desperately needed right now.

She decided to give the three of them some time to talk alone, and her baby girl needed to go outside. Excusing herself, she made her way outside to the porch, keeping an eye on her little one while she did her business and quickly dashed back to Lucky, jumping on to the porch swing next to her. She sat for a while, watching the night sky fill with stars, as the puppy fell asleep in her lap. Lucky's eyes fell shut, and she found herself drifting away, not into sleep but into the realm of the Moon Goddess.

Now what? She wondered. How much more was she supposed to take? She hoped this time she would find more decisive answers, not the cryptic statements she was used to getting. She was surprised, Selene did not even appear before her, she simply spoke, in a voice that carried her words like the melodies of a wind chime before a storm.

"Your mother's words can be found in your sister's room, hidden beneath your feet, but not where feet have touched the ground." With that she was gone, and Lucky came back to find baby girl licking her face, which helped her control the surge of emotions she felt after the encounter.

"As clear as mud," she muttered, and the puppy looked at her with curiosity and something like understanding.

She went back inside, ready to tell her mate's parents exactly who she was. They felt like family. She knew she could trust them, and maybe they could help her make sense out of nonsense, find order in the paint splattered canvas that was becoming her life.

Her mother's words, in her sister's room. It looked like she needed to look for Neveah's room at the Pack House. She just didn't know how she was going to do that discreetly.

Nyah chose that moment to speak up. "You don't have to be discrete. You are curious about your sister, the one you never got to meet. If anyone asks you wanted to feel close to her, and found her room." Her wolf was right. She was absolutely going to find Neveah's room, and show the Moon Goddess she was smart enough to decipher her riddles.