Chapter Sixty-Eight

Jasmine’s POV

I had just returned from my usual morning runs with Lena.

She still could not get used to the fact that I had a wolf and her dreams of going on runs with me were being fulfilled.

She also could not get over how beautiful she said Snow was.

Snow had instantly taking a liking to Lena’s wolf, as I never doubted she would. And although I knew Snow was much faster, she always kept a pace that she knew Lena’s wolf could keep up with whenever we ran.

We had just returned from washing up at the stream after our run when Amy ran up to join us.

“Luna!” She called, panting for breath from her run.

She still refused to call me by my name no matter how many times I had urged her to do so.

“There’s a letter”, she said, still panting for breath. “From the Alpha”, she finally managed to get out.

On hearing this, I grabbed her hand excitedly and began to pull her into another run.

As she opened her mouth to protest, probably to say she could not run any longer, Lena scooped her into her arms and we broke into a run, laughing all the way.

I was not worried about Amy being too big or heavy for Lena to easily carry, knowing about her werewolf strength.

We raced to our house and entered through the door, still laughing from our race.

Gaia and Nana were seated on chairs in the parlor when we walked in. As Lena placed Amy down so that she could stand, I instantly headed towards Nana to kiss her cheek and receive her usual heart warming kisses in return.

“Good morning, Gaia”, I greeted, reaching for the letter on the table I knew had been placed there for me.

“Good morning, Jasmine”, she greeted in return to while Lena kissed both Nana and her, receiving kisses in return.

Since Gaia was the mother of her mate, it was normal that she greeted her with kisses.

Amy simply bowed to both women as greeting, before moving to sit beside Lena, who put an arm around her and pulled her close.

I sat down to open the letter and was greeted with silence.

Everyone waited for me as I went through the contents of the letter.

It began by telling me how much longer their journey would have to take, but that it was for a good cause.

My heart dropped in disappointment.

I had been hoping they would return home soon.

But when I read the reason for the further delay, I felt my spirits lift and let out an excited cry of happiness.

“What is it?” Lena asked, eagerly leaning forward.

I read that part of the letter again, just to be sure, before looking at her, barely able to contain my happiness.

“Are they on their way home?” She asked impatiently.

“No but it is for a very wonderful reason”, I said.

“Well, tell me already”, she said, almost out of patience. “I am almost dying to hear”.

“Luke has found his mate!!!” I announced happily.

On hearing this, Lena screamed in excitement and I could not blame her.

It was the best news I had heard in a while and I was very happy that Luke had finally found his mate after waiting for so long.

Judging from the calm smiles from Nana and Gaia, I could only assume that they had already known about the joyous news.

“What else does the letter say?” She asked impatiently, finally recovering from her screams of excitement.

I turned back to the letter, choosing to read aloud so that she could hear.

“It says that she is the daughter of the Alpha of Redclaw pack”, I said, quickly reading through it with a smile. “Regan says he believes she will be a perfect match for Luke”, I said and looked up.

Only for my smile to slowly disappear at the look on Lena’s face.

She looked like she had seen a ghost.

The happiness and excitement that were on her face only moments ago completely melting away.

“What did you say?” She asked, her voice just above a whisper.

I hesitated, turning to Nana who had a sad look on her face and Gaia, whose expression was as unreadable as it always was.

“I said Luke’s mate is the daughter of the Alpha of Redclaw pack?” I repeated, purposely making it a question because I did not fit the life of me know what was happening.

“What is the matter?” I asked. “You look as though you have seen a ghost when you were happy only moments ago”, I told her.

At my words, she simply looked away.

I turned back to Nana with confused eyes.

“Tell me what is wrong”, I pleaded.

Probably already planning to do so, she simply nodded.

“You see”, she began. “We do not talk much about it, since it happened before the Blackmoon massacre”, she said. “But Luke once had an older brother”, she announced.

My eyes widened in shock at the news. I had never heard about Luke’s older brother before.

Gina, I had heard about, but I had heard nothing about Luke having an older brother.

Nana nodded at my obvious surprise.

“His name was Lane”, she continued. “He is who Luke named his wolf after”, she said. “Lane was my first grandchild and was quite older than the rest of my grandchildren”, she said, a far away look coming into her eyes. “He was his father’s favorite, it was clear for everyone to see. And his mother adored him as well. Lane was the perfect child who brought his father great pride”, she said and paused for a short while. “It was not fair to poor Luke”, she said. “His father barely ever looked his way. But Luke did not mind. He adored his brother even though he got all the attention from both of their parents. Despite knowing about the bond between Regan and Luke, their father still insisted that Lane be trained to take on the role of Beta. He wanted every good thing for Lane”, she said. “But even if he had wanted to, Luke could never hate his older brother. Whatever Luke lacked in fatherly affection, Lane made up for it. He taught him how to do everything and doted very much on his little brother. Whenever he could escape their father’s attention, Lane would take Luke into the woods for some adventure or the other”, she said, a smile coming onto her face as she recalled the memory.

“It warmed my heart whenever I saw how much they loved each other”, she said as her smile slowly disappeared. “Since my son insisted that Lane train as the future Beta instead of Luke, he followed them on their travels to visit other packs as soon as he had gotten his wolf. It was on one of such occasions that they went on a visit to Redclaw pack”, she said.

“There had been talk of making an alliance with them since they were one of the largest werewolf packs in the East”, she said and her eyes began to glisten. “I remember when they left that day”, she said. “I had watched the two brothers say their goodbyes. I had watched Lane promise his brother to finally teach him how to shoot a bow and arrow after he returned. I had watched him ruffle his little brother’s hair affectionately before he went to join the others”, she said, he voice turning quiet. “That was the last time we saw him alive”, she said.

“He did not return”, she said as I felt a tear trail down my cheek. “Only his lifeless body did”, she whispered.

Amy sniffled as she wiped at her tears, placing a small, comforting hand on Lena’s arm.

Lena smiled an empty smile.

“I was very young so I do not remember much of it”, she said. “I remembered Luke and his mother crying”, she said. “I remembered how my uncle could not say a word for days. No one would even tell us how he died. His mother grieved for a long time. But my uncle turned his pain and grief into anger instead, and he directed all of it at poor Luke”, she said.

“I remember Nana and my uncle fighting all the time over the way he treated Luke. It was as though he wanted to turn Luke into Lane”, she shook her head slowly. “I remember that Nana took Luke from him. That was the period I grew close to Luke”, she shared. “It was not too long after that, that Blackmoon attacked”, she said.

Nana shook her head sadly.

“The fates must have a terrible sense of humor”, she said. “Poor Luke. My poor grandson. I cannot imagine how much turmoil he must be in. To have finally found the mate he had yearned for, only to have her be the daughter of the Alpha of the pack responsible for his brother’s death”, she said.

“Forgive me, Nana”, I said carefully. “But what happened to him?” I asked. “How did he die?”

It was Lena who answered.

“We do not know”, she said. “None of them that went for the visit ever said what exactly had happened. No one would tell us how he died”, she said. “It remains a mystery even to this day”, she said.

“I am worried about Luke”, she said after a short while and turned towards Nana and Gaia. “I am sure his mate had nothing to do with Lane’s death”, she said. “But will Luke understand that as well?” She asked.

Nana gave a small smile. “You underestimate your cousin, my dear”, she said to Lena.

“It is not him I am worried about”, Lena said. “It is the pain in his heart that worries me”, she said. “Pain can blind one to the beauty before them”, she said.

Unconsciously, I nodded in agreement.

Lena had a point.

I had seen first hand, what pain could do to people. How it could change them into something unrecognizable.

But something in me knew that Luke would not be like that.

Luke was different.

No matter the amount of pain he had been through, I was certain he would overcome it.

But hearing about what Luke had been through, I could not help but feel sorry for him.

Somehow, Luke had become the brother I had never had, and finding out what he had gone through when he was younger simply broke my heart.

He was much stronger than I had always thought, and I had always thought Luke was one of the strongest werewolves I had ever seen.

“I am sure he will make the right decision”, I said with conviction.

Nana nodded her agreement.

“I am sure he will”, she said and turned to Lena. “Trust in him”, she told her. “Has Luke ever disappointed you before?” She asked.

Lena shook her head.

“He has not”, she said.

“Then he will not start now”, Nana said.

Finally, Lena smiled. “I wonder what she is like?” She thought aloud.

“I do too”, I said, excitedly grabbing her hand.

She suddenly turned to her mate’s mother, Gaia, with wide, hopeful eyes.

“You have seen her, have you not?” She asked .

Gaia simply smiled.

At her smile, we all eagerly turned to her.

“What is she like?” I asked.

Gaia took in a breath before saying. “She is a strong she-wolf and a good daughter”, she said.

I was pleased to hear that. It meant she was kind.

“Well, what does she look like?” Lena asked, ever impatient.

“Patience, Lena”, Nana scolded softly.

Lena took in a breath.

“She is beautiful”, Gaia said cryptically.

Everyone else was satisfied with her answer, except Lena who sat back with a silky twist to her lips.