Filed To Story: In the Shadow of the Past Luna (Lily & James)
“Are you… are you saying that I was your second choice? And that Stephanie was your first?”
Feeling my distress, James quickly pulled me off of my chair. He then adjusted our positions so that I was sitting in his lap while he held onto me protectively.
The Moon Goddess smiled at his gesture before she leaned forward, grabbed both of my hands, and looked at me with almost-scary seriousness.
“I was worried that you might think of it that way, Lily. But, no, I am not saying that you were my second choice. I am saying that you were not who I originally expected to put into this position. That even I sometimes make mistakes.”
“That sounds like the same thing.”
“It is not. I love a all of my children, and you have always been very special to me. I always intended for you to have a very special destiny.”
I did not say anything: I just continued to listen intently.
“Each of my mission wolves-and, yes, you are one-receives from me powers and gifts that are necessary to help them achieve a specific task or goal. The mission wolf referenced in the prophecy will receive the most gifts and powers, because her destiny involves the goal that is most important to is a destiny filled with power and hope, but also danger and responsibility.
It
Yes, I admit that my original expectation was that Stephanie would take the position discussed in the prophecy. I expected that she would be the one to get the powers that I am giving to you today, and that she would be the one to focus on my most important priorities.
And, had any of that happened, your destiny would have been different. Not bad, but different. However, my plans and expectations changed.
Free will can be used for good, and free will can be used for bad. That is why destinies are never fixed or certain. They can only sometimes be predicted, but they can always be changed.
I already had concerns about Stephanie’s worthiness before she turned 14. Because of my concerns, temporarily masked Stephanie’s special wolf so that she and others could not see it. It was an extreme thing for me to do, but it gave me time to determine if Stephanie could be redeemed with proper guidance. Unfortunately, six months later, I was essentially forced to make the temporary mask permanent.”
“What happened?”
I asked.
“The day that I did it, one of Stephanie’s younger classmates -who had not yet turned 14-confessed to Stephanie that she liked James and planned to ask him to go with her to the school’s spring dance. Later that day, Stephanie pushed that classmate down three flights of stairs, causing her to break an arm and two legs.”
I gasped. I know that I should not have been surprised, but I truly did not realize that Stephanie had started doing those kinds of things so young.
“The worst part about it was that Stephanie planned the attack,”
the Moon Goddess continued. “She did not act on spur of the moment jealousy or possessiveness, and no one urged her to do it. She had hours to think about it, she came up with the idea all on her own; and she spent hours blocking out her wolf who was pleading with her not to do it.
I decided right then and there that even if Stephanie could later be redeemed- I could never trust her to be the chosen wolf mentioned in my prophecy. I immediately freed Stephanie’s special wolf and replaced her with a wolf who was willing to try to work with Stephanie to make her better.
The whole thing is really sad. To this day, I do not think that Stephanie has ever realized that I replaced her wolf. She has always cared so little for what her wolf says or thinks that she only barely knows her wolf’s name or the sound of her wolf’s voice.”
The Moon Goddess sighed.
“Anyhow, I am glad I did what I did. I am glad that plans changed.
Unfortunately, however, masking Stephanie’s wolf created a very large wrinkle. And following that up by replacing Stephanie’s wolf permanently in turn created one of the largest waves I have ever seen.
That led to huge ripple consequences.
One of those consequences was that the forces of evil learned about the prophecy and my plans for a special wolf. They became determined to track down my special wolf and either make her theirs or kill her.”
I gulped. James squeezed me tighter..
The Moon Goddess sat up straight, and looked at me with a look of sincerity in her expression.
“Despite everything else that I told you, and everything else that you have been told, I want you to know that James and Stephanie were never intended to be mates. Never. Not for a second. The two of you were fated to each other from Day One, and Lily you were always supposed to be the West Mountain
Pack’s next Luna.
was
The only thing that changed was that you and James now have an additional role as well.
I also want you to know that as much as I regret the choices that Stephanie made and the choices that she continues to make- there has been a silver lining. And that silver lining is you, Lily.
After Stephanie did what she did, I had planned to scrap the prophecy entirely and look for another way to achieve my goal. It was not ideal, but it would not have been the first prophecy to have been scrapped or changed.
But then, in the middle of Stephanie’s darkness, you began to shine almost like a beacon of light.
Day after day after day especially when you were still living full-time at West Mountain- you proved. that you had the courage to be everything that I had hoped my chosen wolf would be. From intervening when others were being abused, to volunteering to be tortured, to helping care for the families of the hurt and fallen, to helping Joey….
The Moon Goddess squeezed my right hand and looked at me sympathetically.
“I know that you have suffered, Lily. So much. No one other than you and I fully appreciate how much you have been through, and how much you have done to help others. I know that not even Rose knows it all, because you do not want to talk about it or re-live it. You also do not want to see yourself as a victim.
tiny, and you
I wish I could have helped you more. I want you to know, though, that I was always there and I did help.
you when I could, and I have always been incredibly proud of you. You have earned your destiny, are the only one suitable for it. Not as a second choice, but as the only choice.”
I silently looked back and forth between James and the Moon Goddess, trying to absorb and understand what the Moon Goddess was telling me. James wiped the tears off of my cheek and kissed me gently. “Now, if you are ready, let us talk about that destiny of yours. Your earned destiny.”
(Lily POV)
“Now, if you are ready, let us talk about that destiny of yours. Your earned destiny.”
I hesitated. I desperately wanted to know what all the secrets were about, but I still had so many questions about everything that the Moon Goddess just told me. There were pieces that still did not seem to fit.
At least I knew that James was always supposed to be mine. Somehow, I found that incredibly comforting.
“May I ask you a few more questions first?”
I asked.
The Moon Goddess shook her head. “I am really sorry, my love. I had hoped that we would have longer to talk, but the longer this conversation goes on, the bigger of a wrinkle it creates. And thanks to the two of you and your little lovefest this week, I have already had to intervene and wrinkle things a bit too much already….”
The Moon Goddess paused and gave us both a mischievous smile.
When I realized what the Moon Goddess was referring to, I began blushing. Out of the corner of my eye, could see that James had a hint of red on his cheeks as well.
“Oh, do not be embarrassed,”
the Moon Goddess said teasingly. “Your reasons for waiting to mark each other were sweet, and your little lovefest represented young love at its finest. In fact, it reminded me about why I thought the two of you would be a perfect pair. And you deserved to take some time together. I am glad that you did.
It just also meant that, in order to keep you both safe, I had to ‘help’ Charlotte transpose a few numbers and ‘help’ distract the wolves at the West Mountain Pack who were trying to figure out where James went.”
A folded piece of paper then magically appeared in the Moon Goddess’ hand, and she handed it to me. This is the prophecy. You can take this with you and read it.”
I took the paper from the Moon Goddess and showed it to James. He glanced at the paper and then turned back to the Moon Goddess.
“I have read the prophecy before Moon Goddess, and it has some information, but it does not clarify what Lily’s intended destiny is,”
James commented.
“No, it does not. That is why we are here. I did not want to put that part in the prophecy.”
“Okay…”
“I had planned to give you a grand speech about it, but we do not have that much time, so let me see ift can condense it.
Basically, the world has been slowly filling up with more and more wolves who think like Stephanie,
Sheila, and Margie. They are unfortunately not unique in their thinking or their behavior. And even outside the werewolf community, enemies have started to realize that the mate bond is both a strength and a weakness.
The increasing desire by enemies Inside and outside our communities to use the mate bond as some sort of sick tool for torture, revenge, and manipulation hurts me to my core. I am also concerned about the growing culture amongst youth that the mate bond is not important and can be ignored. It is similar to the growing human ambivalence towards marriage.
The mate bond is about love and loyalty. It is one of the most important attributes of being a werewolf, and protecting it is my number one goal of current times.
“Meaning I said hesitantly.
“Meaning that your destiny, Lily, is to protect the mate bond for this and future generations. I want you to help me remove those from power who threaten it, or who are threatened by it. I also want you to help me punish those who seek to manipulate it for evil. And I want you and James to be an example for others of what the mate bond can and should be.”
I thought for a second.
New Book: Veiled Desires of the Alpha King Novel
Dayson was the alpha of the largest pack in North America. Powerful figures from other packs sought to offer gorgeous girls as potential mates for Dayson. He steadfastly rejected these advances, he was not a pawn to be manipulated. But eventually there came a mysterious girl he could hardly say No. Who was she?