Mated To An Enemy

[Full Moon – Ashleigh’s Luna Celebration]

When the hunt began, Ashleigh had listened to the howls. Hearing Caleb joining in filled her with a sense of relief. She knew how worried he was about her.

On their honeymoon, they had both been able to relax. Enjoying their time alone, they could put everything they had been through behind them and focus entirely on each other.

But coming home reminded them of all they still had to face. Caleb’s fear of something happening to her seemed to be getting worse, and her loss of control had only made it harder for Caleb to let go.

“Ashleigh,” Corrine called.

Ashleigh turned to join her mother and Fiona.

Once the moon had reached its peak, they left the party. Then, heading into the forest, they approached the small clearing where Ashleigh had first encountered Fiona.

“What are we doing here?” Ashleigh asked.

“Introducing you to your Luna,” Fiona smiled.

“Each pack has a sacred place, a location the Luna feels a strong connection,” Corrine added. “In Winter, that place is Lily’s Rest.”

“For Summer,” Fiona said, “it’s right here. The same place you found yourself drawn to all those months ago.”

Corrine smiled.

Ashleigh looked around. She remembered feeling a pull to this place. It hadn’t been anything dramatic, just the smell of wildflowers. A freedom and warmth in the land.

“But I don’t feel anything different here?” Ashleigh questioned.

“Actually, you might not feel anything yet,” Corrine said. “Technically, until you have met your Luna and accepted each other, you are not one of us.”

Ashleigh furrowed her brow.

“But, I don’t understand,” she said. “When Axel became Alpha, all he had to do was make a vow to the Goddess, and it was done. So why is becoming Luna more complicated?”

“It’s always harder to be a woman.” Fiona shrugged.

Corrine laughed.

“An alpha is promised to the Goddess. He vows to protect and lead her people, honor her wishes, and do as she wishes. All he needs is permission from her to do so,” Corrine said. “A Luna is different. We are more.”

“How?” Ashleigh asked. “If the alpha leads the pack, how can the Luna be more? I mean, some packs don’t even have Lunas, like Autumn and Spring.”

“It’s difficult to explain,” Corrine said.

“We serve the Goddess in many ways,” Fiona said. “Some, even we don’t know about.”

“What does that mean?” Ashleigh asked with frustration.

“You have encountered the Priestesses,” Corrine said. “They serve the Goddess more directly than any other wolf. And at times, they call on us to serve them, but what we do is only ever known to them and us.”

“This all sounds very strange and not at all what I thought being Luna was,” Ashleigh sighed.

“What did you think it would be?” Fiona asked.

“Supporting Caleb, leading in battle, helping to decide the future of the pack,” she replied.

“Well, yea, that’s the day to day,” Fiona replied. “But if that’s all that was needed, the Goddess would have just stuck with an alpha.”

Ashleigh sighed. She looked around again, expecting something dramatic to happen.

“Still nothing,” she sighed.

“Give it a little time,” Fiona said. “It’s different for all of us.”

“I thought you said that the two of you would be able to guide me through this?” Ashleigh asked. “But it sounds like you don’t even know what will happen.”

“We will be here to support you and help you if it gets out of hand,” Corrine said.

“If what gets out of hand?” Ashleigh asked.

“The Luna presents to us all in different ways,” Corrine said. “Sometimes, it is a conversation or a vision of sorts.”

“For me, it was a hunt,” Fiona offered.

“A vision?” Ashleigh asked, then turned to Fiona. “A hunt? What are you talking about? I don’t understand what you want me to do.”

“I’m sorry, darling, we don’t know how she will present herself to you. But based on how she reacted to Fiona, I suspect there is a good chance your introduction might get violent,” Corrine said with a soft sigh.

“Definitely,” Fiona agreed.

“What do you–” Ashleigh started to ask what they meant, but something drew her attention.

A slight shift in the air, a light gust of wind from just above her.

Ashleigh stepped back just a moment before the blade came down before her eyes, the silver metal glinting in the moonlight as she barely avoided it.

She gasped and took several steps back.

“Mom!” she shouted, looking back toward Corrine but finding she was gone.

“Fiona?!” she called out and found she was also gone.

“We are alone.”

The voice was unfamiliar. A solid and assertive tone, deeper than anyone woman she had ever met.

Ashleigh turned to face the owner of the voice.

A tall, imposing woman, muscular and broad-shouldered. She held the hilt of a long sword in her hand, currently pointed toward the ground.

She wore dark leather pants and a matching long-sleeved corset top. Her auburn red hair was long and decorated in random braids and small metal accents.

Several small scars on her face and one large gash that crossed her eye made it clear that she was a warrior with a violent history. Her strong jaw and rectangular face only emphasized the severe expression she wore.

Ashleigh might have been frightened by this woman if not for the familiar silvery grey eyes.

“You…” Ashleigh whispered as she looked at the woman, a sense of déjà vu coming over her. “You’re…”

An image of the tapestry flashed in her mind; the silvery eyes weaved into the fabric, the scar, the auburn hair.

Ashleigh gasped, and her eyes widened as the memory faded with a painful ache in her skull.

“You’re one of them…” she whispered with a hiss as the pain in her head grew.

“Is this the time to focus on a memory you are not permitted?” the woman scoffed.

“I saw you,” Ashleigh said. “On the tapestry….”

Ashleigh groaned as, once more, the pain in her head spiked. This time it caused her to drop to one knee as she held on to her head.

“I am not here to answer your questions or give you clarity,” the woman said. “If you are too weak to focus on the task at hand, you are not fit to lead my people.”

Ashleigh looked up at her.

“Your people?” she asked.

The woman stood up straight. She lifted her sword to rest on her shoulder as she spoke.

“I am Solana. The first Luna of Summer.”