Mother of the Moon - Chapter 105 - Down the Mountain
Lunaya.
Alyse continued climbing up Elaine until she was only inches from the ledge.
“Okay” Elaine grunted and the hands holding me back released. I leaned down and grabbed for Alyse’s hand. Once I had both my hands locked around her wrist and forearm, I began to stand myself back up, pulling her with me. The woman behind me had her hands around my waist to ensure I didn’t topple forward. With a few grunts and groans, Alyse was back up on the ledge, with Elaine right behind her. I guess I severely underestimated Elaine’s strength and power. With our backs pressed against the cliff, I threw my arm around Alyse’s shoulder and pulled her head in under my armpit.
“Thank the fucking Goddess” I huffed in relief. Alyse sobbed quietly into my jacket for a moment before lifting her head and staring into my face.
“I can’t do this” she sobbed.
“Yes, you can, we’re nearly there and we can’t turn back now” I said firmly.
“No, please I can’t. I want to go back” she pleaded.
“We can’t do that love, you know this”.
She roamed her eyes over my unwavering face and finally sucked in a tight breath and wiped the tears from her eyes. She nodded and turned back to face Elaine. Elaine was beyond furious.
“I said to pay fucking attention. I don’t care how fucking pretty the sky is. Watch where you are going or I will let you just fall next time” she growled, her angry eyes looking over us both.
“S-sorry” Alyse mumbled softly. A growl bubbled up through my lips and rolled across the rocks. But Elaine ignored me and started sliding along the ledge again. Alyse just nearly died, I nearly lost the love of my life. Again. And she dares scold her right now, while we’re still standing on this fucking cliff. If we were anywhere but here right now, I would have ripped her face off.
***It’s okay love, she’s right***
***No, she is not***
***She is, I wasn’t looking where I put my feet***
***She has no right***
***Nae, calm down. Let’s just get off this damn fucking mountain***
***This isn’t over***
***Of course it’s not***
Alyse began moving again, following closely behind Elaine and paying extra careful attention to her foot placement. I wasn’t wrong when I said we were nearly there. The small ledge started to spread out a little until it came out on the side of deeply slopped rocky field. From there, we could see all the way down to the bottom of the mountain. It was still a long way to go but the path from here on out was a hell of a lot less life threatening.
-
We made it to a small stone cabin at the foot of the mountain just as the sun began to set. We spent the night all squished together in the tiny single room hut. It was tight, though I was thankful for the warmth that the combined body heat provided. I learned that the three warriors that joined us are named Venus, Cleo and Phoebe. Venus was born in India, though she didn’t say much about her upbringing or how she came to be at Luna Eclipse. She is younger than the rest of us, tall and slender, with long deep black hair and smooth tanned skin. She is a little quiet, but her eyes never stop watching. Phoebe has been with Luna Eclipse her whole life. She was found abandoned as a baby by an Omega and they came to the pack together. Phoebe is the image of a typical Barbie, but her skills in tactical warfare and hand to hand combat could rival that of an Alpha male. Cleo is an interesting woman, the strong and silent type. She came from a Māori pack somewhere in Raukumara, but that was all I got out of her. It’s clear that she is fiercely loyal to Hina and Luna Eclipse, but there is something sinister in her silent nature. It makes me feel a shiver slide up my spine each time I catch her staring at me emotionlessly.
Hina really did have everything organised. There was a minivan waiting for us at the little hut, but by the looks of it, it lives there permanently. Just in case the time comes for it to be needed. The drive to Queenstown airport was about four hours and we made it with an hour and a half to spare. Now, Alyse is browsing magazines and after buying out half the little airport shop of its confectionaries. I’ve never known someone to have a sweet tooth quite like Alyse. But after the day we had yesterday, I would buy her all the sweets in the world if it meant she kept that smile.
Elaine came to sit beside me, she didn’t say anything, just sat next me watching Alyse. My anger at her reaction on the mountain had subsided somewhat but she was still not my favourite person right now. We sat quietly for a few minutes, the awkward tension growing significantly.
“I have to apologise” she finally broke the silence.
“You do?” I questioned. This, I was not expecting. At all.
“You didn’t need my scolding on the cliff. I was just worked up and couldn’t hold it back”
“You know that’s not an apology?” I poked, glancing at her out of the corner of my eye.
“I am sorry” she huffed, leaning forward to rest her elbows on her knees.
“Thank you. But you were right. We were so taken in by the view that we weren’t paying full attention to our footsteps”.
“I can’t blame you for that. New Zealand is the most spectacular place in the word” Elaine said leaning back and smirking at me.
“You’ve travelled?”
“Not a lot, no. But I don’t need to travel to know that this place is beyond beautiful”
“That’s a fair assumption. Take it from someone that has seen the world, this place is unlike any other. I almost wish we could stay”
“You could you know. Stay”
“Hina said the same thing, but I couldn’t. Not if it really is my daughter. I would never be able to leave her again”
“And if she doesn’t want you there?”
“Well, then I would just watch over her from the shadows”.
Elaine was silent for a brief minute, nodding her head and still watching Alyse flitter around the small store.
“You’re a good mother” she finally spoke,
“I beg to differ”
“It wasn’t your fault, you did all that you could do”
“It just wasn’t quite enough though, was it?”
We returned to a comfortable silence. I appreciated her apology and her honest opinion, even if I don’t fully agree with it. I could have done so much more to protect my offspring. But there is no point in living in the past, it can’t be changed. But I can make damn sure that the future is bright.
-
We boarded our first flight of the trip and settled in for a long, and sure to be tiresome journey. We slept when we could on the flights and the stop overs were spent stretching our legs and walking around. Dubai was our longest stop over, so we decided to let our wolves out for a run. Being couped up in a flying metal tube for hours on end has a way of messing with you, especially with creatures that are born to be in nature. The run was desperately needed, and thoroughly enjoyed by all of us, except Alyse of course, though she did enjoy her walk.
Arriving in Halifax sent wave after wave of anxiety through my bloodstream. She is here. My child is here, somewhere. I am so close and yet still so far. I wish I could flash with her. I wish I knew where she was, so that we could go straight there. I wish a lot of things. I just need this whole search part to be done with, I need to hold her in my arms and make sure she knows that everything will be alright. We picked up our two hire cars and split up. Elaine, Alyse and I in one car. Cleo, Phoebe and Venus in the other. Then, we started on our three-hour drive to Trout Point Lodge.
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