The baby grew up in the sky as part of one of the stars.
The woman in white may have not been the one to give birth to him, but she nurtured the little creature. She named him Luca.
Luca's birth parents never forgot about that albino baby, but they knew the baby would be well taken care of by the woman. The woman in white made sure they had a happy and prosperous life by gifting them good fortunes to them and the children they'd conceive in the future.
Luca grew up in the sky along with thousands and thousands of stars. He saw his birth parents grow old as well as his siblings. He looked a little like them, but none of them had the same pale skin, white hair, or grey eyes. However, the long nose, high cheeks, and eye shape were the same.
"What are you looking at, dear?" his mother asked from behind him.
He was sitting down on a cliff, looking down at the earth. His parents were now older, and his younger sibling was now seventeen years old. It had been twenty-four years since he was born, and his parents still celebrated his birthday by visiting the hill where Olivia had asked for a miracle.
"Why can I not go?" he asked her. Luca hugged his legs closer to him resting his chin on his knees. "They seem to remember me."
His mother sat next to him, the white dress hanging from the edge as if it was a waterfall. Which, to be honest, looked exactly like a waterfall falling to earth.
"You don't belong there any longer. There is nothing down there that can tie you down to stay for more than a few hours."
"I was born there. I just want to say hello." He replied to her.
The woman followed her son's gaze. He was looking at his younger brother. His dark eyes were looking at the waterfall her dress was creating. To them, she appeared as the moon, round and bright. She blended into their nature in different ways. Next to the cascade her dress created, she saw one of her favorite creatures, a wolf. The wolf was drinking from the lake where the waterfall was connected, and next to it a few more wolves were laying down, resting for the day.
An idea occurred to her and she stood up, holding a hand out for Luca to take. "Come."
Luca did not complain and followed his mother down to earth. The wolves looked at the pair when they landed in the middle of the pack. They ignored them; they were not a threat.
"... she then took him in her arms and I just fell asleep." Luca heard Olivia talking to one of his sisters.
"Do you miss him, mother?" the girl asked.
Luca looked up to the top of the hill, hidden by the magic of the woman in white. Olivia and a young woman who looked like his father were sitting there, Zacharia was holding his wife near him, and Olivia brushed the hair off her daughter's face.
"Every day," she replied. "But I know he is out there, looking over us."
Luca smiled. He knew they were talking about him.
He felt his mother's magic in every cell of his body. His body contorted in a weird shape, there was cracking and pain as his anatomy changed. The loincloth he was wearing ripped as his hips grew in size, and the jewelry that adorned his neck and ears fell on the ground, broken.
When it was over, he looked down and saw paws where feet should've been. He was in all fours, with an extra member growing out of his spine, a tail. He walked towards the lake, the wolves were now on alert, looking at him.
He saw his reflection in the water, he was a wolf.
A very large wolf.
He tried to speak but was unable to formulate spoken words. He heard his mother's voice inside his head then.
"I have given you a way for you to visit them whenever you want to". She spoke.
"How am I going to even get close to them? I look like a wolf!" He complained. Was this her solution? He was not even able to speak.
She laughed at him.
"You can transform back into your original form. I have given you a place here, you are now both, a deity and part of this place."
"How?" he questioned her sarcastically.
"Just reach out to your humanity."
He closed his eyes and concentrated the same way he did when he meditated. Although he was born a human, his mother had gifted him with various abilities and characteristics. He had power, not the same way his mother did, but he was something between a human and a god. His concentration allowed him to reach a part of his mind where he noticed a separation of two personalities.
One was human, the other was wilder, savage even. He tried to push towards the human side, but there was some resistance, not a mental one, but a physical one. His body started to hurt as it changed back to its original form, his anatomy changing once again, this time it was rather painful but not unbearable.
He stood up, naked. He was not ashamed, he was comfortable in his skin, but his mother waved her hand and a pair of trousers appeared in front of him. He put them on and tied them around his waist.
"Go say hi." Said the woman in white. Luca smiled at her. He loved both his mothers, but he was curious about his birth parents so he wouldn't let go of this unique opportunity. "Hold on." She stopped him.
He looked back at her, already halfway to his birth parents who were still oblivious to what was happening behind the veil of magic the woman in white had conjured.
"Yes?"
"You can tell them whatever you want, but please come back to me," she begged him. "I will be waiting right here."
Luca ran to her and embraced her tightly. He loved her and wanted her to know how much he did with that hug. He'd be back to her, always.
He let her go and made his way to his family, eager to get to know them. He made sure his steps were making sound, to alert them of his presence. The first one to notice Luca was the youngest sibling who until then had been looking at the waterfall still unaware of the presence of the wolves.
"Who are you?" he asked, calling the attention of the other present individuals.
The oldest daughter was the next one to notice him. She was seated in front of her parents who also looked at Luca making his way to them. Zachary and Olivia gasped, recognizing his pale complexion and white hair. Olivia placed a hand over her mouth and Zachary went rigid next to her.
"How..." Olivia started but choked with her own words. Zachary placed a hand on her back and helped her relax.
Luca stopped in front of the trio, his younger brother walked behind him and joined his family. They were all now standing, looking at the fine young man in front of them. Olivia was the first to reach out to him and hold his cheek, Luca allowed her to do so and leaned toward her warm hand closing his eyes, enjoying the sensation.
"Son?" she asked.
Luca opened his eyes, looked at her, and nodded. Zachary extended his hand and placed it on his shoulder, squishing it a little.
"What is going on?" he asked.
"Came to say hi." He replied.
His siblings, Ariadne and Oliver, asked him all kinds of questions. The main topic was who was the woman who had taken him and made their parents feel like that was the right thing to do. Luca was aware of his mother's past relationship, but he was not about to tell that in front of his younger siblings so all he said was:
"Mother's debt was to carry the son of the moon goddess."
Olivia's eyes started to water, and tears fell down her cheeks. She understood then he knew about her past.
"Are you upset?" she asked.
Luca shook his head and held her small hand between his two big ones. "No. You did what you did for love. I understand love makes you blind and reckless. I have been up in the sky for twenty-four years and I have witnessed countless love stories and tragedies."
Oliver and Ariadne looked at each other confused.
"I am not here to judge you, "Luca continued. "I am here to get to know you and hope you allow me to be part of your lives."
And Luca was part of their lives from that day on. Every year, he'd make his way back down to earth from his home up in the sky. His birth parents grew old and passed away, happy that their son would have a longer life than expected. His siblings enjoyed his company on their wedding days, the days their children were born, and their grandchildren.
Generation after generation welcomed Luca into their lives, but with time, he became more of a myth as he started to feel the weight of seeing his family grow old and die time after time and avoided visiting earth altogether. He saw how people fell in love, but he found none to be in love with.
The moon goddess felt the pain her son went through, saw him transform into the great white wolf and run through the constellations, looking for someone who might never come.
He took a few maidens as lovers, but as they started to grow old and he stayed the same, he let them go to find a man who could grow old with them. He made sure every single one was well taken care of and gifted them good fortunes.
"Mother," he went to visit his mother one day. She was down on earth, taking care of her favorite creatures the wolves. "What are you doing?" he forgot what he had come to ask her when he say what she was doing.
There were twenty men on the floor and next to them were twenty women. His mother had her eyes closed and was letting her powers flow from her fingers into the bodies of the people on the floor. Luca recognized the people as worshippers of his mother's temples. He saw they were in couples, one man and one woman, all holding hands with their partner.
"You will see."
She refused to explain further which forced him to just observe what she was doing. When the people woke up, they were all wolves, bigger than the usual wolves but slightly smaller than himself.
"Go on then, reproduce and form packs. You are the new creatures of this earth and will care for it. Protect the innocents, protect each other, love each other."
It was a fascinating thing to see. Luca witnessed as each couple walked in different directions. From the sky, he saw as they reproduced and grew in numbers. Soon, thousands and thousands of people who could transform into wolves created small hidden societies. They named their leaders Alphas and Lunas. Created a hierarchy and different cultures according to their region.
But they all venerated his mother, thankful for the gift she had bestowed upon them.
And as for his mother, she spent a lot of her time playing cupid. She created used the souls of the wolfs and divided them in half, giving one to every new baby born in the pack. She made sure they were good for each other as the human personality had to be just as good as the wild part. Two sides of the same coin.
"They are twin flames," she explained to him one day. "This is how I create a bond to help them find the best partner they could ever have."
"And will I ever get one?"
The woman had thought about that, but she was looking for the best fit for her son. She wanted the best for him and, although he might have to wait, she was willing to wait forever until the perfect soul appeared.
"Eventually." She'd always reply.
Years passed. Wars were fought, technology advanced, and Luca would travel to earth to help a pack once in a while when there was discord, but always in secret. His mother had not realized that every creation had its bad apples, and he tried to help whenever possible by getting rid of what the packs refer to as rogues.
He still looked after his family, who had forgotten about him altogether. But he still cared for his parents' descendants who had become rather successful in many aspects. Occasionally, one of them was born with the same eyes or the same nose. He even found the faces of his siblings in some of their great-great-great-great-grandkids. It was rather amazing to watch.
"Still no perfect match?" He'd ask his mother every few years, by now just teasing her. He pretty much gave up on waiting for the perfect match.
He had relationships with a few mortals, half-mortal like himself, and immortal individuals. Let them be men or women, he found love in different people. Luca tried to make the best out of his existence, however, he could not help but to get a little bitter. But when you've been alive for thousands of years and more years to come, staying with one person was tiring at times so his relationships were never too long.
"Maybe," She replied. He stopped in his tracks. That was the first time she ever said something slightly close to a yes. "Maybe not."
He stomped out of the room of souls annoyed.