Moonlight Betrayal
Chapter 90

Chapter 90: Chapter 90

Chapter 90

Kaeleen’s POV

It was already evening by the time I made it back home from work. I took a quick shower before searching for Astrid because whenever I was home, I only wanted to be in her presence.

I was about to go to her room when I ran into Lila who was coming out with a blanket.

"Is Astrid in?" I asked her.

"She’s in the garden. I was about to bring this to her." She said, showing me the blanket.

"Don’t worry, I’ll get it to her." I told her as I took it from her.

With a smile and a thank you, she left. Lila was a huge bundle of energy and she was a suitable assistant for Astrid. I found Astrid exactly where Lila said she was, in the quiet sanctuary of the flower garden my mother had planted years ago. She was sitting on the huge wooden swing that hung from the thick branches of an ancient oak tree, her feet barely touching the ground, her gaze lost somewhere in the riot of colorful blossoms before her.

She smiled when she saw me approaching, but it didn’t quite cover the sadness in her eyes. I didn’t say anything, I just gave her the small blanket, spreading it over her before taking a seat next to her on the wide swing, the heavy chains groaning softly under my added weight. We swayed gently in the quiet twilight.

"Hey," Astrid said, her voice soft.

"Is something the matter?" I asked, my voice low.

She let out a long, slow breath. "Remember I told you Rebecca asked me to go with her to see Hunter?"

"Yes?" I prompted, watching her profile.

"I saw him today." She turned to look at me, her beautiful eyes clouded with a sorrow that mirrored my own. "I think I understand why you almost had a breakdown that day."

"Almost? I had one." I said with a smile that also didn’t quite reach my eyes.

She returned it and we were back to the quiet before I spoke up again.

"He’s cool, isn’t he? Even now."

"He is," she agreed. "He was so kind and funny. And Serena is too. It’s taking a huge toll on her to see him like that. She tries so hard to be strong for him, but you can see the fear. It’s... it’s heartbreaking."

I looked away from her, my gaze falling on a cluster of deep red roses. My mother’s favorite. "You know before this happened, they were trying to conceive."

The words hung in the air between us, heavy with unspoken grief. Astrid’s hand found mine, her slender fingers lacing through my own.

"Really?" she whispered.

"Yeah." I squeezed her hand, grateful for the anchor it provided. "But it was difficult. Hunter is human, and it turns out Serena has fertility issues. The pack doctors said it wasn’t impossible, but it was... a long shot. She has always, always wanted a child of her own. She treats Rebecca and me like her children already, bossing us around, worrying about us." A small, sad laugh escaped me. "It was already hard, a fifty percent chance given Hunter’s humanity, and the added fertility issues didn’t help matters. It destroyed her every month when nothing happened. It hurt her a lot when she found out Rebecca had conceived, and Rebecca wasn’t even trying. She doesn’t even care if she has a child or not, not really. Serena would have given anything for that."

My voice grew rough with emotion, given the unfairness of it all. "And then, when they had finally come to terms with it, when they were looking into other options, she found out that Hunter is sick. I... I just don’t like that she’s been dealt this hand. She’s the best person I know. She deserves to be happy, to enjoy her life without all these... these impossible hurdles."

"Life is unfair." She said softly.

It really is. We stayed in each other’s quiet company swaying on the swing but then, the silence was suddenly shattered by the sound of pounding little feet and high-pitched, joyous shrieking.

"Lulu! Lulu!"

A small blur of motion shot out from the path leading from the pack house and barrelled straight for the swing. Christian, launched himself at Astrid with the force of a tiny, adorable cannonball.

Astrid let go of my hand and caught him with a laugh, wrapping her arms around him as he scrambled into her lap. "Christian! You’re going to knock us all over."

"I miss you, lulu." He said to her,

"Awwn, I miss you too." She said with soft kisses on his cheek.

"I talked to Daddy!" he announced, his face beaming, his big brown eyes sparkling with excitement. He had my cousin Yvonne’s eyes. "He is coming to the pack soon. And he’s bringing my favourite toy."

His words weren’t exactly as clear as that but we could make them out.

Just then, Yvonne appeared, walking at a much more gentle pace. Which she was anything, but.

"Letting your offspring run wild again, I see," I teased, a smile finally breaking through my somber mood.

Yvonne rolled her eyes, a gesture I was intimately familiar with. "He heard Astrid’s voice and took off. He’s got a sixth sense for his Lulu. Besides," she added, a smirk playing on her lips, "unlike some people’s wolves, he has manners."

I chuckled, watching as Christian settled into Astrid’s arms, his head resting against her chest as he continued to chatter away, telling her all about his day in a long, rambling, and utterly captivating monologue. Astrid listened with rapt attention, asking him questions and making all the right noises of encouragement.

"So," I said, turning my attention back to my cousin. "He talked to his father today. Does that mean you’re finally going to speak with your baby daddy?"

Yvonne’s face instantly pinched into a scowl, a dark look taking over her face. "First of all, don’t call him that. Second of all, mind your own damn business, Kaeleen."

Before I could retort, she gave me a firm shove. I was so caught off guard by the suddenness of it that I fell right off the swing, landing with a soft thud on the grass.

Astrid burst out laughing, a beautiful, melodious sound that made my heart skip a beat. Even Christian giggled at my undignified sprawl on the ground.

"That’s what you get," Yvonne said smugly, taking my now-vacant spot on the swing next to Astrid. She leaned her head on Astrid’s shoulder, a mirror image of how Astrid had just been comforting me.

I pushed myself up, brushing grass off my pants, a wide grin spreading across my face. This was us. This was my family. A chaotic, messy, loving group of people who could move from heartbreak to horseplay in the span of a minute.

I sat on the grass at their feet, leaning back against the sturdy oak tree, content to just watch them. Yvonne and Astrid fell into an easy conversation, while Christian’s excited chatter slowly began to wind down. His eyelids started to droop, his small body relaxing completely against Astrid’s. Soon, his breathing evened out into the soft, rhythmic sighs of deep sleep.

"He’s out like a light," Astrid whispered, her hand stroking his soft brown hair.

"Thank the Goddess," Yvonne sighed dramatically. "Five minutes of peace."

We sat in a comfortable silence for a while, the only sounds were the chirping of crickets and the gentle creak of the swing. I watched Astrid as she held the sleeping child, a look of such profound tenderness on her face that it made my chest ache.

Then, something happened.

We watched, mesmerized, as a ripple went through Christian’s body. It wasn’t violent or painful; it was a smooth, fluid wave of change. The fabric of his pajamas seemed to loosen and shift as the shape beneath them altered. His human limbs folded and reformed, his features softened and elongated, and a coat of downy fur sprouted all over his skin. The entire transformation was over in less than ten seconds, and it was utterly silent.

Where a sleeping little boy had been, there was now a tiny, sleeping wolf pup.

He was a perfect, miniature ball of fur the color of honey, curled up in a tight circle in Astrid’s lap. His little nose twitched, and a soft, sleepy whimper escaped him. His tiny paws, with their comically small claws, paddled in the air for a moment as if he were dreaming of running through the fields.

"He... he shifted," Yvonne breathed, her voice filled with awe. She reached out a trembling hand, her fingers hovering just above her son’s soft fur, afraid to touch him, as if he might disappear.

"Oh my god!" Astrid said but she was careful enough not to wake him.

"This is like experiencing him taking his first steps." I said as I stood up. "This is the youngest we’ve had in the pack’s history. He’s just 2."

"Heh, not my son making history no one has ever made and he’s just two years old." Yvonne said with a laugh even as I could see tears pouring down her face.