Longing For A Luna

The Moon Goddess was mournful.

For thousands of years, her werewolf children had honored and cherished the mates she had chosen for them. Unfortunately, over time they began to value power, wealth, and sexual desires over the precious mates she had blessed upon them. Pack leaders forced their children into matches arranged to strengthen alliances and secure fortunes. More and more werewolves began to reject their fated mates, instead choosing to act on their greed and lust for power.

Frustrated by the decades of disrespect, the Moon Goddess withdrew her divine guidance and allowed her connection to werewolves to go dormant. If they would not honor the sacred mate bond, she would no longer bless them with one. Years passed and the concept of a fated mate became nothing more than a legend. Eventually, werewolves stopped marking mates at all, instead opting for the human customs of marriage or long-term cohabitation.

Exhausted by the callousness of her werewolf children, the Goddess slipped into a slumber of sorts.

-Present Day-

Clutching the blanket closer around her, Breanna shivered and tried to stay awake as she waited. She checked her watch; it was almost time, two minutes until moonrise. Just two more minutes until she could see what the old woman had been talking about.

The day she met her here, at this long-forgotten, empty reflection pool hidden in the back corner of the pack grounds, Breanna had at first been annoyed by the lady’s intrusion.

“Call me Bee,” the old woman had said, as she sat next to the crying girl.

Breanna had found this place after running aimlessly, blinded by tears, looking for somewhere to be alone. She had just come home for winter break from college, excited about seeing her boyfriend, Nolan. Just one more semester until she graduated, then they could be together all the time. They had already applied to live in one of the pack’s cottages when she was done with school. Breanna couldn’t have been any happier.

That was before she came home a day earlier than expected to surprise Nolan. Breanna couldn’t wait to see the look on his face when he came home from work to find her waiting for him. Instead, she found heartbreak.

Nolan was in bed with someone else. He confessed to having an ongoing affair with the woman, a coworker, for months. Breanna was astounded when Nolan placed the blame on her, claiming Breanna had manipulated him, pushing them into a relationship too soon. She truly loved him and thought he felt the same; how could he treat her like this?

Even worse, Nolan was not the first to trample all over her heart. Freshman year of college, there was Michael, who told her he loved her after three months of dating, then dumped her after they had sex. Before that was Kingston, her high school sweetheart, who wanted to “get out there and play the field” before settling down with one person.

Breanna wished she could find a sure thing. She wanted to lock eyes with someone and know right away it was meant to be. That kind of kismet only showed up in movies.

Bee listened intently as Breanna spilled all of the grief she was feeling out. Usually Breanna would not have confided in a stranger, but there was something familiar and comforting about the old woman.

“You know what you need?” Bee said, “You need a project. Just a little something to take your mind off this boy so your heart can heal.”

Breanna looked at Bee, intrigued; it would be good to have something to occupy her time for the rest of the break. If she stayed home the whole time, her family would start asking questions about Nolan, and she wasn’t ready for that.

-

The area around the reflecting pool looked very different now; weeds and debris had been cleared away and the water had been replenished. Breanna was thankful for the mild winters in this area; she had spent every spare minute she had over the last two weeks outside, working on this project. She balked at first when Bee suggested she restore this minor part of the garden until she said it was part of an old shrine to the Moon Goddess. Something about learning that spoke to her, and Breanna felt like she was supposed to be the one to fix it.

Bee had been right; this had taken her mind off Nolan. She had enjoyed beautifying this little reflecting pool belonging to the Moon Goddess, even though she now had blisters on her hands and an achy back. She had literally put her blood, sweat, and tears into this project. It was all worth it to be the first person, in who knows how long, to see the reflection of the moonrise in this special place.

Breanna remembered how adamant Bee had been about getting the pool ready by the full moon. She explained it was called the Wolf Moon in January, and Breanna would see something special if she could get it done by then.

“Make sure you bring some flowers to put on the altar of the Moon Goddess over there,” Bee told her, “And bring some honey cakes, like the ones your Gran used to make.”

When Breanna placed the flowers and cakes on the altar, she briefly thought about that odd comment. She didn’t remember telling Bee about the cakes and wondered how she knew about them. Maybe she had known her Gran? She hadn’t seen Bee since that day, and made a mental note to ask her when they saw each other again.

The alarm on her watch sounded; it was time. Standing and throwing the blanket to the side, she walked closer. Breanna watched the reflection of the full moon in the water. The light seemed to intensify and soon the water was glowing, coming alive with movement. Everything around the shrine seemed to vibrate with an intense energy; it felt feminine…and ancient. Suddenly, Breanna felt herself pushed back as a wave of power pulsed through her.

She looked around; everything looked normal again. The reflection pool that had seemed so turbulent moments ago was now placid and calm. She started to feel antsy standing there by herself. Grabbing her blanket, Breanna turned and started walking on the little pathway that would lead her out of the garden. She saw one of the warriors on guard duty up ahead and stopped when she noticed he was staring at her.

Breanna was about to raise her hand in greeting when they locked eyes.

“Mate!” they both said at the same time.

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