"Yeah, yeah... Um, the pizzas are here."
"Cool. I'll get dressed and be right back, you can start eating."
"We'll start drinking too!" yells Ben from the kitchen, where he's behind the counter, busy opening some bottles.
I give them a little smile and go inside my bedroom. I close the door behind me as soon as Spark is inside too. I stare at the carpet for a few seconds, hesitating. Maybe I just dreamed the last hour... or maybe I'm really going crazy with voices, magic circles, and nasty snakes. I get closer and lift the carpet with my foot. Damn it, it's still here. Alright, not dreaming then.
I bite my thumb. What next? I don't know the first thing about these damn circles! I put on some silk ensemble and walk back to the main room while trying to think of my next plan.
Kelsi and Ben are already on the couch, fighting over which movie to watch tonight. This has become pretty much the routine for our little trio, but for some reason, tonight, I'm not really into it.
I sit on the big armchair and grab my bottle of beer. Kelsi frowns.
"You okay, Mara?"
"Yes, yes... What was it about the Black Luna, by the way?"
"She wants to meet you," says Ben. "Don't worry, she's super cool. I mean, she's not nearly as intimidating as Selena."
Great, then maybe I'll have a meeting with a member of that family where I don't end up on my ass or in the mud...
"When?"
"Tomorrow late afternoon, at her house."
"Why is she interested in me all of a sudden?"
They exchange a look, both a bit surprised by my cold tone. Crap, that one didn't come out well. Still, I'm getting suspicious of everyone now. No one cared about me for weeks, and all of a sudden, I have to meet both of the werewolf Lunas in the same week?
Ben, who was about to eat his slice of pizza, is left hanging with his mouth half-open and hesitates, a bit at a loss.
"Uh... I think she was curious to meet you, now that they've pretty much determined you're... not dangerous..."
"So they have determined I'm not dangerous?" I repeat, a bit confused. "I thought everyone was doubting me after the fire at the university?"
"More like they think you don't have bad intentions?" says Ben, shrugging. "I don't know. The Black Luna isn't really the kind to doubt people either, she isn't like Selena or the Black Brothers, to be honest. On the contrary, she's seen as the pacifist."
"Didn't you mention she was the strongest, though?"
"In terms of werewolf blood and power, yeah, but still, she's not much of a fighter."
Oh, right, she's the healer... I keep getting confused. I don't really understand how she's got some magic healing power. Maybe she's a bit like me in that aspect? I doubt it's similar, though; she heals others, while I only heal myself super fast. I nod and grab myself a slice. My tone was a bit too harsh earlier, and now there's a heavy atmosphere. I need to act normal, not clue them in on the fact that I just killed a magic snake in the bathroom!
Spark hops on my lap, interested in my pizza, so I quickly eat it, while Kelsi grabs the remote to select the movie. Ben is sending me glances, still at a loss.
"She's a bit of a legend to all the packs, you know."
"How so?" I ask, genuinely interested. "Because of her noble blood thing?"
"It's Royal Blood. And yes, there's that, the fact that she's... super filled with Moon Goddess power."
The Moon Goddess... The deity all werewolves believe in. According to Bonnie, she's not only the werewolves' goddess, but all witches are also under the Moon Goddess' protection too, whatever that means. All creatures of the night, as opposed to humans. I find it pretty ironic that all three species, if I include the vampires, believe in the same goddess, but can't see eye to eye with each other.
"Nora was abandoned as a baby, she grew up in the slums and then in a pack that had no idea of her real status and used her as a slave, you know. She found her mate, our Alpha King, years later. She had no idea she was a Royal, but she fought in the war, the one against the vampires, and she was so, so good. A few years back, the clans were super divided, and the King wasn't super popular, but once Nora took her place as his Luna, all the clans got along!"
"You're saying it as if things had gone smoothly," says Kelsi. "Wasn't there a big fight between all the clans at first?"
Ben frowns and shakes his head.
