The Beta and the Gamma
I could not believe what my eyes were seeing. A tiny girl/woman stood before me, staring not at me but through me. Thomas must be kidding; he cannot be thinking of taking this young girl/woman as his chosen mate. She's still a child. It is creepy the way she stands there staring and not saying anything. Her long dark hair was twisted in braids, and she had big purple eyes just staring. She is holding a beat-up stuffed wolf and what looks like a pile of rags.
"Hi, I am Beta Mark." I said, introducing myself, "And over there is your Gamma. His name is Kelp." I refer to Kelp as her gamma because the Gammas have a special connection with the Lunas of a pack. They feel what they feel and know when they are in need. I have only seen the connection once when Thomas' parents were Alpha and Luna. It is a fantastic thing to watch. It is very different from the mating bond. The Gammas' sole purpose is to care for the Luna when her mate cannot. However, the little one is just there acknowledging nothing I say. As I am about to link the Alpha, he walks toward us and the vehicles. I told him I was just about to link him, and he ordered me to put the Luna in the car to get something to eat and head home.
As I turn the SUV onto the road, I glance in the rear-view mirror and notice Kelp looking rather green. I glance at Alpha, and he is playing with his phone. Linking the gamma, I ask, "Hey, what's up? You're not looking too good." He looks at the little girl sitting beside him, holding her wolf. Then I hear, "Mark, we have a problem." Again, I glance toward the Alpha, " What?" The Luna, she's moon touched."
I controlled my wolf and kept myself from slamming down the brakes. I want Thomas to avoid picking up on how special the Luna is. If he finds out, he will be more obsessed than he already is. Oh, my goddess, what are we going to do?
"Kelp, how touched?" I asked. "I don't know, but she's close to the goddess. Won't know how close until she turns 19." is his answer. Anyone who is moon-touched is related to our moon goddess, Selene. They can be male or female, but people only know their relationship to the goddess once they turn 19 and the mark appears on their forehead. The goddess then visits her relatives, helping them to understand their power.
"Fuck, Kelp, how do you know?" I ask with a calm I don't feel. "Man, Mark, the moment the word he's your Gamma left your mouth, my mind was flooded with pictures of her life until now. It's not pretty. She's communicating with me by showing me. Look at her eyes. They're purple and black. Only those who are moon-touched have eyes that color." he explains.
Ugh, Selene, why would you do this to us? We couldn't protect our first Luna from the Alpha; she was his destined mate. How do you expect us to keep this one safe? I think to myself.
"Kelp, how do you know all of this?" I inquire. His eyes stare back at me in the rear-view mirror as he answers, “My grandma is moon-touched." Alright, what to do? I'm thinking, and I notice Alpha Thomas looks like he is finishing up the work he was doing on his phone.
"Kelp," I say, "Can you communicate back with her?" He looked at me with a smirk and let me know that our little Luna opened a mind link to him as soon as I asked him. He says, "She's been listening to our mind link since we started the conversation. I didn't say anything because I wanted her to understand she could trust both of us. Mark, she shouldn't be able to listen in on our mind link or open her path to anyone. She's not part of our pack yet, nor does she have her wolf."
"Today is her birthday, so Alpha will indulge her now. He will want to impress and lure her into feeling safe before letting her see who he is." I look at Luna Katia to see if she understands what I am trying to convey, although I'm speaking to Kelp. She nods her little head in understanding.
She's a clever little thing. This worries me because the Alpha can't control his temper and has no patience for children. As we roll into Shifter City in the middle of nowhere, Colorado, we see a diner, and I pull in and park.
Alpha hops out, opening the back door; he holds his hand, saying, "Come to Katia, let's eat, have cake and ice cream, then go further into the city to get you a present." She continues not to interact but gets out of the vehicle and walks with us into the diner.
The look on Thomas's face as he lowers his hand is ignored, and he follows Luna, who tells me she will pay for that indiscretion.