GUINEVERE
My parents, Damien's dad, they'd all been influenced by a witch's potion. Someone had wanted vengeance so severely on the Valencia family that they'd resorted to tarnishing the mate bond. My entire existence, the way the pack had treated me growing up, the fact that my identity was the daughter of a traitor. It was all a lie.
"Damien," I said, jumping up from the bed excitedly after my moment of anger at the entirety of the situation, "Do you know what this letter means? We can clear my family's name. We need to show it to your father immediately. We need to show it to the entire council."
Damien leaned forward and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me back down onto the bed. "Yes, Gwynn. First thing in the morning, I will inform my father of this letter. Then you'll be introduced to the pack as their Luna. But right now, I want to crawl into bed with my mate. I've had too much adventure today."
Damien yawned and pulled down the covers, crawling into bed. He patted the spot beside him, beckoning to him. I crawled into bed and took my permanent space by his side. I turned my body towards him and nuzzled my face against his chest, drifting off into a peaceful sleep. Finally feeling at ease with my place by Damien's side, tomorrow everything would change.
"Guinevere, Guinevere."
I opened my eyes and was greeted by the familiar face of the moon goddess.
"Luna," I smiled up at her. We were no longer in our regular visiting spot. I looked around, smiling, realizing that she'd brought me to her home in the moon world. "You aren't worried I'll break something?" I ask, a teasing glint in my eye.
"No, not here. Here you're in my comfort space. I control time and reality in the moon realm. I also thought it would be the best and safest place to practice controlling your shared powers with Sabrina." she replied, smiling.
"Uh... training?" I asked, feeling nervous, "You mean I can't just give full control over to Sabrina and let her do it all?"
"While Sabrina may be my child, she lost touch with her human side when she died. She is now completely a wolf; her being a part of you is what makes you both a werewolf. I can't count on Sabrina alone to handle Jupiter. Her anger will be pointed toward him during the war, and she will lose control. You need to be there and be present to help her control her rage. She needs her humanity if you are to win this war."
"How do we know I won't forget my training like I forgot everything before?"
"That, my dear, is another reason you're here in my realm. The moon is my territory; Jupiter's powers can't touch you here."
"Why can his powers touch me in the Earth Realm, isn't that neutral territory? Why aren't the gods stopping this mass destruction, isn't your father, King of the Earth Realm?"
Tears glistened in the moon goddess's eyes. "Guinevere, my father is dead. When Jupiter found out my father and mother had helped hide my pregnancy and hid Sabrina from him, he ambushed the both of them, killing them in a rage of fury. The Earth was destined to go to the next male heir. Since Jupiter and I were still technically married by the stars, he gained control of the Earth Realm."
"What other territories does Jupiter have?" I ask, wanting to know everything I could about him, intent on knowing my enemy more than I know myself, or however that old philosophy goes.
"The reason Jupiter was so hell-bent on marrying me and having me bare his heirs is because he doesn't have a territory. He automatically gained the Earth realm by marrying me when my father passed. When he learned I was also gifted the moon realm, he became hell-bent on impregnating me, if we had a son together, the Moon Realm would automatically become his, and then Jupiter would have control over that realm.
As you know, however, that did not occur. Jupiter's powers come from darkness. The more darkness he spreads throughout the Earth, the stronger he becomes. With each pack he vanquishes, Jupiter's darkness spreads. He's stronger now than he's ever been, so it's imperative we begin your training now."
I gulped, suddenly even more nervous now than I had been previously.
'Don't worry, Guinevere.' Sabrina piped up in the back of my head. 'I was reborn for this; this is my... this is our Destiny.'
Sabrina was right. If we didn't at least try, we would fail the nation. We were born for this; without us giving it our all, the world would crumble. "Okay, Let's do this!" I reply to the moon goddess with more confidence than I felt.
"The first thing you must learn how to do is turn off your emotions. Jupiter will feed off of you, and as a Luna, your emotions will be poured into every pack member. If at any point at all in the battle, you feel like all is lost and you've given up hope, Jupiter will win. He will feed off that hopelessness and weaken everyone in your pack while nourishing more strength into his undead army."
"How am I supposed to shut off my emotions?"
"By putting up a mental block. The easiest way to do that is by concentrating on something other than how you're feeling."
I looked at the moon goddess, confused. "But that's completely against human nature."
"You're not only a human, Guinevere. You're also a wolf. And you're not an average wolf. Your wolf is the spirit of my child. You're stronger than you give yourself credit for. It is also in your nature to block your emotions. Many have succeeded in not letting their actual feelings show; whether that's healthy or not is an entirely different subject we will approach after you win this war."
The moon goddess and I practiced blocking my emotions for hours. But everything we did, failed. I felt mentally exhausted, and I had the beginnings of a migraine. I wasn't sure why I was struggling so hard with this. I felt like for years I had blocked out what other pack members had said, not letting their words affect me, but apparently, I had worn my emotions on my sleeve because I had no way of knowing how to suppress them now."
Seeing that my energy was depleted, the moon goddess signaled that we'd trained enough for the night. "Keep practicing hiding your emotions. I will meet with you again after your Luna Ceremony. You'll hear a lot of negativity during your ceremony; try to block out what others are saying. A strong Luna will have a perfect poker face."
"Okay, I've got this." I smile weakly, slightly bowing my head as a sign of respect toward my goddess.
When I lifted my head, the moon realm was gone, and I was sleeping in and out of an unconscious state. My mind was completely exhausted, and even conjuring a dream was too much.
"Rest up, Guinevere; we have a long day tomorrow," Sabrina whispered as the sweet sound of nothingness cradled me to sleep.