Luna of Mine (19 page)

A
lina pulled the door open to her parent’s cottage to find
Sisily standing there. Her face was drawn up into a cautious smile,
but when her eyes took in the girl before her it fell
away.

“You are
getting worse,” she said as she quickly stepped into the room and
closed the door behind her.

Alina turned and took one
of the two seats in the tiny living room that doubled as a bedroom
for her. She closed her eyes as she laid her head back against the
chair and let out a deep sigh. “It is my fault; why should I not
suffer? Why should he not punish me for hurting him?”

Sisily made a coughing
sound. “Are you serious right now? The girl I have known my whole
life would never believe such a horrid thing. Your mate should
never punish you, Alina. If Vasile is ignoring you because he wants
you to hurt, then I hope that you will march up to his castle and
flog him with a dead chicken.”

Alina’s lips twitched at
her friend’s ridiculous scenario. “I am sure he would find me quite
mature if I flogged him with dead fowl.”

“Maturity
is over esteemed,” Sisily muttered petulantly.

“
I am
beginning to believe that all the magnificence of finding your true
mate is also overprized. If this is what all the fuss was about,
then I want no part.” Alina rubbed her chest trying to push the
relentless ache away. For what felt like the hundredth time, she
wondered how she would survive if he continued to keep the bond
closed. She had foolishly thought that she herself had wanted the
bond closed and Vasile had been right in telling her no. Now she
faced her fears coming to pass―losing him because she had not been
enough.

W
eeks past and still she received no answer from her mate. She
no longer called out to him during the day. It was only at night
when she was still. The darkness wrapped around her reminding her
of how very dark life had become―only then did she reach for him.
By the time she fell asleep, her pillow was soaked with her tears
and her lungs hurt from the gasping in desperation for air that
would not satisfy. Her wolf pined for their mate. She refused to
hunt, and Alina was afraid to phase for fear that her wolf would
not let her return to her human form. All in all she was a complete
and utter mess. She had lost weight and her clothes hung loosely
off her body. She did not exam herself too closely when she bathed,
sickened by the bones that stuck out on her hips, shoulders, and
ribs.

It was three months from
the day of the ceremony for the dead Alphas that her parents could
no longer watch her waste away. She saw the look in her mother’s
eyes that she knew all too well. It was the look that meant she was
far beyond being fed up. It was the look that declared her will
would be done come heaven or hell, and no one would stand in her
way.

“
If that
stubborn, foolish male will not fix this, then I will,” she heard
her mother’s tense voice through the darkness of the cottage. “I am
going, Petre, and you can support me or not, but I am going. I will
no longer stand by and watch her suffer. I am done.” Her mother
swept through the cottage jerking the door open and then slammed it
closed behind her, leaving a deafening silence behind.

“Father,” Alina called
out.

He stepped out from their
room, the glow of the candle light behind him outlined his large
frame. “Do you need something, love?” he asked in the same gentle
voice they had been using on her for months.

“Where is
she going?”

He started to answer but
she stopped him with her hand. “Do not lie to me, not after all
that I have been through. I need the truth.”

He gave a resigned nod
before he answered. “A mother feels every ounce of pain that her
child feels. With every tear you cry she cries a hundred. With
every crack your heart endures, hers shatters repeatedly. There is
nothing that she would not do to take your suffering, nothing she
would not barter, nothing she would not endure, and nothing she
would not reveal even unto her own utter humiliation to remove the
anguish you have withstood.”

“
Where
is she going?” she asked again through gritted
teeth.

“To the Fae.”

T
wo hours later Georgeta stood before the invisible veil that
divided their realm from Farie. Though it had been years since she
had been here, she still knew where to find the entrance to the
realm of the fae. She also knew the risk she was taking coming
here. When the last healer had fallen, the Fae had left the human
realm, tired of the fighting amongst the other supernaturals. Few
Fae were even still seen in the human realm, but their powerful
reputation remained, their mystique even growing over the years of
absence.

One in particular who had
been the ambassador to their pack did not fully agree with leaving
the human realm, but she has been outvoted. It was this Fae that
Georgeta would be appealing to on behalf of her daughter. Petre did
not agree but Alina was getting sicker by the day and she refused
to watch her daughter waste away to nothing because a stubborn male
would not swallow his pride and take care of his mate. Because
Alina was not of age, she was still under their authority.
Therefore, Georgeta technically had the right to seek out help on
her behalf.

She took a deep breath
before she called out loudly to the invisible barrier before her.
“Perizada of the Fae, I seek your council.”

Though she came all this
way, traveling in her wolf form, carrying her clothes in her mouth
and running as hard as she could to get to the veil quickly, she
had no guarantee that the Fae would even answer her let alone grant
her request. But there was a chance. It was a possibility that
Perizada would agree to help, and no matter how small that
possibility, Georgeta had to try.

Several minutes past
before the Veil began to shimmer. The invisible force situated
between two huge trees rippled like water and out stepped a tall,
slender woman with waist length white hair that shimmered as though
tiny lights were attached to each silky strand. Her eyes were large
and a pale green, her lips ruby red, and her cheeks high with a
natural blush. She looked to be around twenty five summers, but the
primeval gleam in her eyes told a different story than the young
face and youthful glow. She was an ancient being, thousands of
years old, and powerful. If any could help Alina, it would be
her.

“
It has
been a long while since I have had the privilege of the company of
a she-wolf.” Her voice was sultry and seductive with a slightly
musical quality to it. “Georgeta Sala, mate to Petre Sala, mother
of Alina Sala, and member of the Eastern Romania pack, I so name
you. Why do you seek me out?”

The formal address did not
surprise Georgeta. She knew it was the Fae’s way of ensuring that
she could not tell a falsehood. Only a fool would try to lie to the
Fae, especially to the one standing before her.

“
I seek
help on my daughter Alina’s behalf. She is sixteen summers and
recently found her true mate. He is the new Alpha of our
pack.”

Peri sucked in a breath.
“Stefan and Daciana have perished?” The emotion that was evident in
her voice made it clear that she cared for the Alpha
pair.

“A few months ago,”
Georgeta answered.

“
We will
return to that information once you have stated your purpose. Go
on.” She motioned for her to continue.

“
Vasile
is much older than Alina. He is the most dominant male we have seen
in a very long time, and Petre felt that they should wait to bond.
Vasile agreed to wait two years. He returned to the castle and the
pain of their separation was intense. Alina told me that the pain
coming from his side of the bond was driving her wolf mad. She was
fighting to not leave and go to him against her father’s wishes. So
she asked him for space, to help them both better cope with their
own pain without having to endure the other’s as
well.”

A smirk stretched across
the Fae’s face. “Let me guess; the new Alpha did not handle such a
request with much grace?”

“
That is
putting it mildly,” Georgeta growled. “He has shut the bond
completely. Alina knows she made a mistake in asking for the space
but she is young and she was scared. She has pined for him for
three months, reached through their bond attempting to get him to
hear her, and begged him, and still he ignores her. She is sick.
She has lost a disgusting amount of weight. I fear…,” she stopped,
attempting to hold back the tears and the sob that fought to break
through her words. “I fear for her life. Their bond was intense and
strong from the moment they met. I do not know how much more she
can endure.”

Peri’s eyes narrowed as
she crossed her arms in front of her. “Though I am not a mother, I
feel for you. But how does this situation concern me?”

“
I wish
you to break their bond completely, as if they had yet to meet.
They both need to heal and mature. Vasile has a lot to deal with as
the new Alpha. The pack was not as healthy as he was led to
believe. His father was not well for a while before his death and
the pack suffered because of it. Vasile has to make it
right.”

“Do you not think that he
needs his mate in order to be able to be what the pack needs? Are
not the males more stable with their true mate, not to mention
stronger?” Peri countered.

“When they are not being
insufferable asses, yes that is true.”

Peri chuckled. “How I have
missed you wolves,” she paused. “But if you repeat that I will
still your tongue.”

Georgeta waved her off not
concerned with the Fae’s words. “Can you help her?”

“
I could
do what you ask, but I will not.” Peri’s words were not unkind but
they were firm.

“Will you tell me why?”
Georgeta asked as any hope she had put in Peri’s help slipped
away.

“
Do not
look so forlorn she-wolf. Vasile may be hardheaded but he is no
fool. He will not let true harm come to his mate. Yes, there will
be consequences for his stubbornness but not at the price of your
daughter’s life.

“
The
reason I will not interfere is because sometimes pain is necessary
in order for great change to take place. There is great change
needed in the Eastern Romania pack, and it will take Vasile being
the wolf and the man the Great Luna has created him to be to cause
that great change. He cannot do what is necessary, nor can your
daughter if every obstacle is removed from her
path.”

“
I
understand,” Georgeta said as she nodded and tears began to stream
down her cheeks, her bloodshot eyes boring a hole into the Fae. “I
do not like it, but I understand.”

“
Have
faith in your creator, Georgeta. She created Alina just as she did
Vasile and she created them for each other. Perhaps, she has a
plan?” Peri smiled gently at her.

“
Thank
you for your time, Perizada. Try not to stay away too long,
alright?”

Peri nodded. “I assure
you, I will keep watch. This news has captured my attention, and I
imagine that I will need to pay Vasile a visit before too
long.”