Healing His Broken Luna.... Chapter 90

#####Chapter 3 - Denial

Lukas POV

"Lukas, you're thirty-one, you're not getting any younger and you need to keep searching for your mate." My mother urged me.

"You're right, I'm thirty-one. When are you going to accept the fact that the Moon Goddess has cursed me? My mate is probably dead and I'm not going to spend another decade waiting for someone who doesn't exist." I snapped back.

"But the prophecy-"

"The prophecy is not mine and I will not live the only life I have been given chasing a fairy tale." I cut her off.

I was so sick of hearing my parents and grandparents' speculations over a nonsensical prophecy. Sure, I had elemental gifts, but so did several of my uncles, siblings and cousins. The prophecy could easily be their destiny or their pups.

"I like Donnatella a lot. Actually, I love her. I won't take a pack until I have Luna." I reminded my mother.

"Lukas, your Grandparents will be very disappointed if you select a mate instead of waiting for your destined mate."

"I have to go. My plane is getting ready to land." I didn't want to hear the guilt of letting my grandparents down, so I ended the call.

This is how our conversations always seemed to circle. Always the prophecy, always the importance of finding my mate, always a push to take a pack from some unfit Alpha. All of my uncles, cousins and siblings have their own packs. The LaRue, Kappas and Theodorus families have the largest and strongest packs in the world. It also helps that elemental gifts are common within our families. 

A pack could be handed down to an Alpha's heir, which was typically their oldest child. Or a wolf could challenge an Alpha for a pack, which was a fight that usually ended in someone's death. There were a few packs I had considered taking when I was younger, but I had hoped to have my mate first. 

Since the Moon Goddess has not given me a mate. I wanted nothing to do with any prophecy that would honor her. I wanted nothing to do with caring for a wolf pack as wolves are considered to be her children. Honestly, at this point, I have no interest in anything related to the shifter world. I will take what I want and do what I want without being tied to a stupid prophecy.

My wolf Luke, is just as frustrated and angry with the Moon Goddess as I am. When I first started having relationships with other females, he would protest and disagree. He wanted to wait for our mate. Now he's accepted the fact that we are mate-less and really wants me to select Donnatella as a chosen mate and mark her. 

In the werewolf world, it's difficult but not impossible for non-mates to have pups. Luke wants me to hurry up and mark Donnatella so that our odds of having pups are stronger. Luke is one of the strongest wolves to ever walk the earth, second to my grandmother of course. We are descendant from Gods and have been given elemental talents.

"Alpha, we'll be landing in about ten minutes." The pilot of the jet announced through the speaker in the cabin.

Even though I did not have a pack of my own, every wolf, even other Alpha's naturally recognized me as the Alpha of Alphas. The pilot was also a wolf who worked for LaRue Enterprises and I was currently taking one of our jets to a small regional airport in the Adirondacks.

When the plane landed Donnatella's beautiful long legs caught my attention first as she stepped out of the waiting black Lincoln to greet me. I stepped off the plane and on to the tarmac and walked over to her. She threw her arms around my neck and I devoured her delicious lips. She was already in the city working on a photo shoot and met me at the airport before we arrived at her pack.

Two hours later, we sat in the dining room at Sapphire Moon pack eating a late lunch with Alpha Jaxon, Donnatella's brother and his third and fourth in command. Luke was on edge since we arrived, and I couldn't really understand why. So, after lunch we went to our room to unwind and I let Donnatella take the edge off of me.

When we were done, I took a shower and Donnatella took a nap. I could feel Luke's anxiousness come back so I decided to walk around the pack house and check out the territory. I figured the fresh mountain air might do us both some good. I took a long walk and felt the curious eyes on me as I walked around.

I noticed the stables in the distance and decided to go have a look at the horses. People often joke that my wolf could be confused for a horse because of his size but the Theodorus males also descended from King Lycaon which makes us bigger and stronger. I approached the barn and pushed the door open.

I felt Luke on full alert and my eyes landed on a tiny figure in a water trough. I stood for a moment wondering if the pup had fallen in by accident or if she intentionally had climbed in. The water splashed around, and I stood watching her. She had long brown hair and she appeared to be bathing. Why was she bathing in a barn?

She dunked her head into the water, and I was surprised she fit in the trough. When her head emerged, she moved her arms around at some half assed attempt to wash her hair. I could see some of her bones, they were prominent in her shoulders, arms and back. 

I wondered if she was a rogue hiding in the barn. I sniffed the air for her scent. It was very faint, but it was there, like sweat pea flowers. It smelled euphoric. Luke let out a growl and it startled her. She looked so weak and frail.

"WHAT IS YOUR NAME?" I asked her.

I wasn't sure why I needed to know or why I cared. She continued to look down at the ground and did not answer.

"ARE YOU DEAF? I ASKED YOU A QUESTION!" I growled.

She had covered her arms over her chest, not that she had much to see. She made no attempt to move or respond and it pissed Luke off. I stared her down with my intense gaze no one has ever been willfully disrespectful to me. I was ready to walk over to her, yank her out of the water, wrap my hand around her neck and choke her until she answered me. How dare this pup disrespect me.

Luke let out a whine in my head at the thought of hurting her, which shocked me. I've never heard him whine before. I walked out of the barn as fast as I could.

"Luke what's wrong?" I asked.

"Mate." He whispered in my head.

"Buddy, I think you're a little confused. She was like fourteen or something, I'm old enough to be her dad. She's not our mate. Our mate is Donnatella remember." I said.

Poor guy, he's been on edge since we arrived. I figured he was just envious of Alpha Jaxon having found his mate and having a mating ceremony this weekend. He gets a little bummed out every time we have to sit through someone else's mating ceremony. Between all of my siblings and cousins, there's been many in my life. Maybe we'll go out for a run tonight. He can clear his head and focus on our real love, Donnatella.

I sat at the dinner table eating with the others. Donnatella chattered nonstop about her work, travels and other things. I tried to look interested as well, but my mind kept drifting back to that sad little thing bathing in the barn. I tried to shake her from my thoughts and focus on my food. I couldn't seem to swallow down my food without a feeling of guilt. I wondered if she was eating dinner too. She was skin and bones.

After dinner Donnatella wanted to go see her horse and grabbed a few apples. I decided to tag along, I was curious to see if the female was still in the barn. I considered asking Donnatella about her and what I saw earlier but decided to wait until we were at the stables.

We entered the barn and she made her way over to the big black horse. My eyes roamed the stables looking for the young female but didn't find her. We heard a loud stomach growling from a pile of straw coming from the stable next to the one we were at and I knew she was in there.

"We may have a mouse problem in the barn, I'll have to let the stall keeper know." Donnatella told me.

"I hear breathing inside of this stall, is there a pup hiding in the straw?" I asked.

I opened the stall door and reached into the straw until I grabbed something. It was a foot, and I dragged her out. She squealed like a little mouse. Her dress moved up her thigh and my eyes landed on the welts and bruises on her skinny little legs. I let go of her and she acted like a frightened little animal. She didn't dare look me in the eyes.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be home with your parents, pup?" I said, hoping she would look me in the eyes.

When she didn't, I stepped closer to her. Luke wanted to check her scent again. He was sure she was our mate and I was sure he was losing it.

"Darling, she's my father's prisoner. A human mute who cares for the animals." Donnatella told me.

"A human mute? I think not." She's not human, I sense her weak wolf. She's probably been abused so much and is so weak that her wolf doesn't have the energy to surface or heal her. In her frail condition, she would probably die trying to shift. 

"Her parents are responsible for my mother's death."

"Why is she still alive?" I asked. Death would have been more merciful than torturing her.

I don't believe she's my mate, even if she does smell wonderful. There is no way I could be paired with a child. I stalked back off to Donnatella who kissed me, and suddenly I felt a wave of repulsion flow through me at her touch. We left the barn and continued on our walk. I decided to try and probe for more answers.

"Is your father's prisoner from this pack?"

"Yes, she is." She replied.

"So, she's not really human then?"

"She never shifted on her eighteenth birthday. She's as weak and pathetic as any human."

She was at least eighteen years old. I could feel Luke perk up. That bit of news seemed to blow me away. She looked like a young teen before fully developing. She lacked fat in areas where a female's body should have fat. I suppose this was a result of being starved. By human standards, she could be considered anorexic.

My mind was quickly rushing to do the math. There was nearly twelve plus years between us. There is no way she's my mate. She would have been about six when I was eighteen and started looking for my mate. I lost all hope when I turned twenty-eight and still did not have my mate. She would have only been sixteen at the time.

"That explains why we didn't find her." Luke whispered to me.

"There is no way in hell she's our mate. She's just a pup. You're confused." I told him.

"You're in denial." He said before he shut me out.

"Has she always been mute?" I asked Donnatella.

"I don't know, nor do I care. Can we please change the subject?" She sounded annoyed at my sudden interest in the slave.

"Of course." I replied.