Their Silver Moon

Jamie Miller

She was sitting on the floor of the bathroom, staring at the white tile walls, her hair sticking to her face and her eyes-stained red. I scanned the now dark room, and my eyes landed on the pregnancy test sitting next to the sink.

“Did you just find out?” I asked.

She nodded.

“Just before you linked me,” she said, her voice dry as the expression on her face.

“I’m sorry,” I said, collapsing on the floor next to her and bringing her in for a hug. I knew it would be nothing compared to Nate – compared to the hug she needed, the hug she craved, but I felt completely hopeless. “I should have never let him out of my sight.”

Her body flopped against my own and she closed her eyes, her fingers clinging to my shirt, and I wrapped my arms around her. My heart ached as I thought about the so many times, I’d seen my Luna broken – how much she’s struggled in the past, how much she’d overcome.

All for this – for me to turn my back on Nate for one minute. All to get out of the cold, just a little bit faster.

Her shoulders began to shake and she took in a deep breath, trying to calm herself trying to regain control over her own body, over her wolf that I felt lurking beneath the surface. “We’ll find him Al, we’ll bring him home, I swear.”

I wasn’t sure how long we’d sat on the bathroom floor, my body had ached from the cold, then from the drive back where I didn’t stop, where I sped past every speed sign, where I sat on the floor of my Alpha’s bathroom, holding his mate as I tried to comfort her. For all we knew he was dead or could be soon. I wasn’t sure for how long she cried for, but as the sun set, she fell asleep in my arms and I scooped her up, cradling her against my chest I carried her from the house and took her home with me.

Grace met me at the front gate of our small little house and she pressed her head against my own, greeting me. ’What happened, Jamie?’ she asked.

I swallowed, I didn’t know how to tell Alice, let alone Grace. ’Nate’s gone missing, and our Luna is pregnant,’ I replied with a shrug.

Grace let out a squeal before quickly covering her mouth and her eyes darting between me and Alice who still slept peacefully in her arms. “What?” she said, her voice hushed.

“We’ll put her to bed first – then we’ll talk.”

* * * * * * * * * *

Compared to Nate and myself, Alice had always been fair skinned, her white hair and eyes only made her look more a piece, more elegant – like the white wolf had embodied her body and soul. Even after everything that had happened, she had stood tall, she had held her ground, but now, the woman who stood before me, was broken. Her skin was grey and the bags under her eyes made her face look hollow and gaunt, and her hair had been thrown back into a ponytail. Somehow, rather than it been hours since Nate had disappeared, it looked like weeks or months.

I stood from the dining table as she lingered in the hallway, her eyes looked dull and red, “How are you?” I asked.

“I feel like crap,” she replied, her voice deeper than normal – dry, hoarse and unforgiving.

“I can only image,” I replied, “you should eat some dinner,” I said, quickly walking into the kitchen and pulling out the leftovers Grace had packed away for her. Throwing the lasagna in the microwave as she walked over and sat herself at the island bench, her arms wrapped around herself and I wasn’t sure if she was hugging herself, or her stomach – her unborn child.

“What would he have said?” she eventually asked, looking up from the white granite benchtop.

I chewed on my words, mulling over the thoughts in my mind – not wanting to say the wrong thing, not wanting to upset her more, but rather something that would give her the motivation to go on. “When we arrived on site, after assessing the threat level, he said to make sure you had an escort. Your safety is the most important thing to him, you are the most important thing to him,” I said, taking her hand and giving it a light squeeze.

She nodded, “he wanted to be a father, didn’t he?” she asked.

I nodded, “yeah, but more than that, he wanted you.”

Alice’s shoulders sagged and her head rested on the benchtop, “and I can’t do this, not without him,” she said, the words softly spoken but their meaning hard and sincere.

“And you won’t have to,” I said, getting the food out of the microwave and placing it in front of her, before getting a place fork next to the plastic tub. “And I don’t just mean me and Grace and Pet, we’re all here for you. But we will him Alice, I swear to you, we will find him.”

She looked up at the food and then at me, and blinked away the tears that had formed in her eyes, “Thanks Jamie,” she said and a lifeless smile graced her mouth.

“I’m going to bed, Al. But please, if you need anything, anything at all – just ask.”

She nodded and straightened her back, and picked up the fork, “thanks Jamie, I will.”

I petted her head and left the kitchen.

Joining Grace in bed, the stress that weighed on my body seemed to evaporate as I wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her body hard against mine and deeply inhaling her scent.

Grace turned over, nuzzling her head under my chin and planted a kiss on my collar bone, sending sparks through my blood, “how is she?” she asked, still half asleep.

I planted a kiss on her head and tightened my embrace on Grace, “I can’t image what they’re going through.”

“Do you think he’s dead?”

“No,” Jamie said softy, “otherwise the title will have needed to pass on.”

“Unless she’s carrying a son, then the title would wait for him.”

I swallowed the thought, “I don’t know if Alice would make it if Nate was dead,” I answered and I hated to admit the truth in those words, let alone say them out loud.

Grace shifted in my arms and looked up at me, her big brown eyes seemed to melt my soul and I let out an exasperated sigh, “We’ll take care of her, we’ll make sure she gets through this.”

Author's Note:

You guys feeling loved with all these updates? Or are you all still mortified about what has happened?