In the darkened common room several groups ate dinner. One young woman idly stirred her tea as she stared out the window.
Luna was bored. Her parents had dragged her here for experience in diplomacy. They were looking for a treaty with the Carpathian race.
Simon, are you there? She called, not really expecting an answer. Simon had been quite vocal about the stupidity of coming to the Carpathian Mountains.
Simon had come into her life a few years ago. Luna shuddered as the memory over took her.
The boys called to her, coming over. They punched and ripped her clothing. Help! She screamed in her mind.
Simon was suddenly very there in her mind. He took over her body with a finesse that surprised her. He shielded her from the pain as he/she fought. The boys ended up running. Luna had sunk down sobbing.
Who are you? she asked.
Your protector and friend, was the answer.
That had started their long conversations. Luna had told him everything. She didn't know why but she trusted him. She told him how she could communicate with animals, that her parents were werewolves, and about her birthmark that hurt occasionally.
Simon revealed very little about himself, but he told her that he was a hunter. He seemed obsessed with her having a normal life. He encouraged her to go to the prom, she refused. He told her to go dating, she still refused. Finally exasperated, he had demanded to know why.
Simple, she told him, none of them could hold a candle to you. Not to mention that the only decent conversation I've had today was with you. She had spent the day listening to bad renditions of rap songs.
Simon had tried not to be pleased. He failed miserably.
Luna sighed, pulling herself back to the present. She looked out the window longingly. She wanted to go talk to a wolf or something. Maybe her parents would fence with her.
A young man sat down next to her. Luna glanced at him and then looked out the window again.
"Why the gloomy face?" the young man asked.
Luna glared at him, "Why do you care?"
"I'm bored."
"That right there is why the 'gloomy' face," replied Luna looking out the window again.
"You're bored too?"
Luna went for heavy sarcasm. "Wow Spock, your observational skills astound me!"
"What would you rather be doing right now?"
"I'd rather be walking outside looking for wolf tracks," Luna said. "But I value my life and sanity too much."
She felt a stirring in her mind. Simon? She asked hopefully. Her hope turned to outrage. It was the boy!
What the hell are you doing? Get out of my head!
You can hear me?
You're not exactly being subtle! GET OUT!
The boy made a hasty retreat. They sat glaring at each other.
"What are you?" the boy choked out.
Luna glared at him, but before she could answer a blinding pain flashed in her birthmark. "Ahh!" she cried out, panting as she clutched her lower stomach.
"Luna? Luna!" her mother cried out.
"I'm alright Mom, just the usual. It'll be over in a second." Her mother sat back down. Luna pulled up her shirt, she had forgotten the boy. The pain had never been that bad before. She was sure that the birthmark had to be burning.
Luna caught the boy staring at her birthmark. Blushing, she covered it back up.
Mikhail! We've got another Dragonseeker! The boy called out.
Two men swept into the room. Both wore power like a cape. They reminded Luna of Simon in a strange way. It was the way that danger exuded from their pores.
"Would you care to come for a walk with us?" The one with the silver eyes said. Luna felt a pressure in her head, urging her to say yes.
STOP IT! SIMON HELP! She screamed.
Her parents reacted. Moving as one the came over and swept her behind them. The aching pressure stopped. Dad bared his teeth at the men. His teeth were elongated and sharp.
"I suggest that you stop putting my daughter under a compulsion!" Dad snapped.
Another man swept in. He shoved past Dad and drew Luna towards him. "Stop frightening my lifemate."
Luna felt the headache easing. Thanks Simon, she whispered. Reassurance flooded her mind.
Luna's mother came over to her. "So you are her lifemate. I wondered when you'd show up."
This confused the men. Luna smiled. Luna's mother gestured for them to sit down. Simon kept Luna cradled next to him.
"Prince," acknowledged Luna's father. "I am Bruce Walters, nature conservationist and Lycan. This is my mate, Alicia Walters, also Lycan. Luna is our daughter, not of the flesh, but of the heart. We had brought her here to reclaim her true heritage. We wanted her to have a normal life first. We adopted her when she was about two. She had been abandoned on the agencies doorstep. We raised her as our own. We have been aware that she has been communicating with her lifemate for six months now." Bruce directed a heavy glare at Simon. "I am not happy to give her up, but she needs to find her own path."
"You lied to me. You never told me I was Carpathian," Luna said.
Alicia stroked her hand. "No, we omitted information."
Luna glared at her. "Same word different spelling."
"I am sorry darling." Alicia then glared and pointed at Simon. "You. Would you like to explain how you accessed my daughters mind?"
Simon told them the story of how Luna had been attacked. Her mother pursed her lips.
"Do you know Maryann Delaney? She was also Lycan," the Prince said.
Luna's parent's faces went white. "How old is she?"
"Thirty-five," was the answer.
Bruce and Alicia stared at each other not quite daring to hope.
"Dark skinned? Light coffee color? With curls?" Alicia demanded.
Mikhail nodded.
"She's alive! My cousin is alive!" Bruce calmed down enough to explain, "My cousin and his mate were murdered. No one found the baby. We had assumed that she was dead, no one escaped that mob," his tone was wondering.
"You said 'was'. What happened to her?" Alicia worried.
The silver-eyed man shook his head. Simon identified him as Gregori. "She was converted. She is the lifemate of one of our hunters, Manolito De La Cruz."
"She is in good hands then. I know of the De La Cruz brothers. They are loyal warriors," Bruce said.
Then everyone turned their attention back to Luna. She squirmed, not meeting their gazes. Simon gave her a little squeeze of reassurance.
"She is part Carpathian. More importantly, a Dragonseeker. That means that she must be one of Razvan's children." Simon growled. The prince continued. "I think it would be good if she met some of the other younglings. She already met Josef, for better or worse."
Luna eyed Josef warily. "Stay out of my head." This comment had all of the men glaring at him. Josef cringed.
Mikhail laughed. "Well at least you are using your skills for more then video games."
Josef straightened a little bit. He smiled at Luna. Simon growled. Luna rolled her eyes. The one downer about Simon was that he was a little too dominating and he was a bit of a chauvinist.
I am not! he protested in her mind.
Yes you are. You didn't even want me to join the fencing team! I've been fencing since I was ten and you said it was not the right thing for a woman. You wanted me to take a cooking class! Chauvinist!
It is the place of a woman to stay home and take care of the children, Simon said primly, just to annoy her. Luna stepped on his foot.
Twerp.
"Would you like to meet Skyler?" Josef asked. "She's close to your age. Sixteen. How old are you?"
"Nineteen. Well, at least nineteen. We're not sure when my exact birthday was. I might be twenty or twenty-one for all we know," Luna replied.
They rose to leave. Luna's parents had already paid. Mikhail spoke to Bruce. "We were not aware that Lycan were still in this world. Where have you been?"
Bruce smiled, "Here and there. Our packs have started to disintegrate. We maintain a connection but it's easier to blend in with humans if we don't all stay in one place. Of course that Society has been a pain in the butt. We lost the Howling Star pack last year. My pack has been able to keep a low profile. I'll need to call Larina, she is more closely related, tell her that Maryann is still alive."
Mikhail nodded. "You are a pack leader?"
Bruce shrugged and gestured to himself and Alicia, "We are. We run the Sifting Sand pack. We've got the largest pack in over a century. Twenty members."
Alicia whacked him on the head. "Don't brag, you know it's only luck that's kept us alive this long." She looked at Luna, "Men! Darling, I know it will take a long time, especially with a Carpathian male, but don't let him have the upper hand."
Luna snorted. "You'll remember I ended up joining the fencing club anyway. I'm not too worried."
Simon nuzzled her ear, sending lightning shooting through her veins. "You should be," he murmured, his teeth tugging on her earlobe.
Luna took a page from her mother's book and whacked him on the head. His retaliation was a harder nip. His tongue soothed the small sting.
"Why are you giving us all this information?" Gregori asked Bruce.
"We know you're desperate for an alliance. Frankly we are too. Our numbers have been dwindling. We don't have the same skills that you do. Our protectors grow weaker as the planet does. Your race grows weak over time as well. You depend on the earth. If we can band together to save the earth, then we may last a few more centuries. Getting rid of Xavier as well wouldn't be a bad idea."
This speech stumped the Prince and his Second. The Prince recovered first, "I'll have to speak to the warriors council but I believe we have an alliance. Would you come by later tonight?"
Bruce and Alicia nodded.
Josef ran ahead. Luna noticed that they weren't walking on a path.
"Boo!"
A yell split the night. "Josef you are dead! Come on Alex!" A teenage girl chased Josef down the clearing with a small boy. She sprang at Josef and tackled him, twisting his arms behind his back. The small boy began tickling him. It was obvious that this had been done many times before.
The prince was doing his best not to smile. Bruce and Alicia were chuckling quietly to themselves. Luna grinned delightedly. She would have to give this girl some pointers on tackling a heavier opponent.
Luna's parents stopped laughing and stiffened. Their eyes glowed a strange silver-blue and swept toward the north end of the clearing. A large wolf stood there. His bright ice-blue eyes glared at the boy on the ground. Mist swirled and a man stood in the wolf's place. He stalked down toward the girl and Josef, ignoring the Prince for the time being.
The girl got off of Josef immediately. "It's okay, Dimitri. He was just playing."
"He frightened you." The man's voice was hard, but the hand he used to sweep the girls hair away from her face was gentle.
She shook her head. "Not too much. It's okay."
Dimitri frowned. The girl gave him a nod. "It's okay," she repeated.
"Where is Gabriel, Skyler?" Dimitri asked.
"He saw the whole thing, he knew I wasn't in any danger," said the girl who Luna realized must be Skyler.
Dimitri nodded and glared at the young man who had tucked the boy under his arm like a parcel.
Dimitri brushed a kiss on Skyler's hand and melted away. A wolf took his place and he trotted off. Skyler looked after him with a worried frown on her face.
The boy Josef had pinned shrieked. "Let me go, Josef!"
Josef dropped him.
Skyler turned to face them. She smiled hesitantly. Another Carpathian male came down the path. "Skyler, are you alright?"
The girl turned to him and smiled, more warmly this time. "I'm alright Gabriel. Josef," she glared at the boy, "Was just teasing again."
Gabriel nodded. He looked at the prince, "Mikhail, what are you doing here?"
Mikhail nodded to him, "We have another one of Razvan's children. Her parents are Lycan. I thought that she should meet Skyler."