"What would you do iiif... you woke up aaand... your hands were made out of brooms?" I asked, leaning on the handle of my mop as I looked to the ceiling while considering my question. Once decided, I smirked and turned, grasping the mop determinedly before continuing to clean the floor of the mostly empty mess hall.

There was a group of wolves around me, only three, all doing various chores while preparing the mess hall for the day. Elle was an older wolf, maybe in her fifties, and dedicated to wiping down all the tables. She was an all work, no play type of person, and if it weren't for my title at all she probably would have been beating me over the shoulders for conversing with the others instead of focusing entirely on mopping.

Sam wasn't far from me, mopping another section, but he paused when considering the question at hand. He was only two years older than me, brown hair that reminded me of one of our family horses, and oddly enough two different colored eyes; one a deep blue and the other an average sable.

"Do you mean full length brooms? Like would the handle start where my hands were and then go all the way out, you know?" Sam asked, putting way more thought into the question than necessary.

"Mmmm... Yeah, sure," I replied simply.

"I would be the best mess hall cleaner in existence," Sam said with a dramatic sigh, "I would need to find my dustpan handed mate next." April, the third wolf nearby, launched into laughter before getting a sharp look from Elle in the distance. She immediately cleared her throat and continued to wipe down and set the chairs at the tables.

It had been only a couple days since Roman had suggested we 'complete our ceremony' and once I was released from the clinic, I had been spending my time randomly assisting in chores around the pack in places I felt Roman wasn't near. Each time I volunteered, wolves would assure me it wasn't necessary. After all, the King Alpha didn't spend his time mopping the mess hall. A Queen Luna was expected to be doing much more important things, whatever that was. But after a bit of pressure from me, they usually caved.

"Do you think they'll give us first pick on food?" I asked April, raising my head to look towards the kitchen with interest. Sam stifled a laugh, making me throw a glance at him. "What? I'm hungry."

"You're the Queen Luna. You can have food whenever you want," Sam said with great amusement, "First pick? Have you really been helping us clean just for food?"

I acted offended, raising my hand to my chest dramatically. "I would never give my aid just to get food. Anyway, I'm not just going to walk in there and demand it," I continued to clean with renewed determination that would make Elle proud.

"Whatever you say," Sam replied before continuing as well. I was thinking about what type of food had been prepared, considering just how much I was going to eat, when I felt something within me stretch out in sudden anticipation. I stopped mopping, standing up straight, and listened to the instinct within me. Roman was coming in my direction.

I dropped the mop and fled, escaping through a side door and moving around the building until I saw him in the distance. He was walking with Beta Caleb, listening as Caleb discussed with him some unknown topic. They both entered the mess hall without a glance my way, though I knew Roman must have felt me nearby as well.

"Why are you hiding from the King Alpha?" I heard Cate suddenly from behind me. I jumped with surprise, still not used to being unable to sense her presence.

"You really are the Shadow of Death," I exclaimed, turning on her with mild irritation before smiling. I hadn't seen Cate since the challenge. She looked as healthy as ever, tall and mysterious. She proved mischievous as apparent when she stepped calmly around me and pointed to the mess hall with a curious tilt on her head.

"Do you want me to let him know you're here? Did you want to have breakfast with him? It would be good to be seen by his side, now," Cate lifted her hand to her chin in thought as I immediately began to panic.

"No! No, I.... I already ate," I lied quickly. I felt Roman change direction and head back towards us from within the hall. I quickly reached out and grasped Cate's arm before tugging her to follow me. "Let's go somewhere else!"

"But I haven't eaten yet," Cate responded with a pout, no doubt trying to stall in order to force me to confront Roman.

"I'll get you a whole cow if you want. Let's go," I hissed, relieved only when she allowed me to begin to drag her away towards safety. Cate followed me as I walked determinedly behind buildings, moving hastily until we were at the abandoned school for children who no longer were being born. I opened a window, climbing in quickly before standing in the eerie classroom.

I stepped forward, running a finger over a nearby desk and leaving a trail in the dust. I heard Cate enter the window behind me and turned to find her looking around quietly with her own look of sadness.

"Isn't this a sad state," Cate said simply before wandering to the teachers desk and collapsing in the chair. She lifted her legs up, propping her feet on the desk and causing a cloud of dust to disperse around her. "Take a seat, Miss Young. Class will begin shortly."

Maybe Cate could help me. I couldn't avoid Roman forever, but I couldn't be sure he wasn't just messing with me in the first place to scare me off from being Queen Luna. I also had no idea what the title meant and I was clueless about... well... I'd never been with any man before. I sighed loudly and obliged Cate, sitting stiffly at a nearby desk in the front row.

"You're a warrior wolf which means you're right under Beta Caleb's demand, right?" I asked her vaguely.

"I am." Cate was playing with her lance, twirling it on the floor next to her as she rocked herself in what had to be an ancient chair by now.

"So you probably hear a lot about Beta Caleb's business. And the King Alpha's business, too?"

Cate smiled briefly, but nodded. "You do know you're the Queen Luna. If you want to know something, you can demand it of anyone. Even if the King Alpha demanded discretion, I'm sure they wouldn't stand a chance against you."

Yes, I was hearing this often lately. I can demand this. Demand that. I was far more used to fighting for what I wanted and being nothing more than a village girl. Just saying I was a Luna or a Queen or anything else didn't make it feel true within.

"It's not something I would want to talk to a lot of people about," I muttered unhappily before groaning and holding my head in my hands. I moved my hands over my face and continued with a muffled voice, "Okay. So first of all, Roman said he wanted to protect me. That's why he brought the Red Moon wolf here and claimed to have chosen her as the Queen Luna." I lowered my hands and looked at Cate.

"That would be one valid reason," She responded to an unasked question. "Being the alpha's mate is dangerous enough, but by claiming someone else as Queen Luna, it would have taken the target off your back. The King Alpha is unbeatable. His Queen, maybe not so much."

That part I understood, of course. Roman never had a need to pick anyone to be his Luna because he had no mate; no one did. When I came, the position became acquirable. Cate noticed my silence and continued, "As his mate, you have an obvious right to the title. All you would need to do is demand it and the challenges would begin. Maybe they never stop. Maybe because no one can defeat Roman, it made the next best thing desirable and attainable. But that isn't the only reason he brought that woman back."

I paused at her statement.

"What other reason did he have?" I asked intently.

"The brother packs demanded it.  The Mother's blessing came back to all wolves, as the King Alpha announced. Apparently, the alphas all demanded the King Alpha prove he was still loyal to the new laws. They wanted him to cast you to the side and pick a Queen Luna other than his mate," Cate played with the dust on the desk absently. "He definitely didn't think you'd know you could challenge for the title. And he had no clue you could win a challenge, too. You pretty much screwed up his entire plan in one swift match."

Cate looked all too proud at the statement. I wondered what the other packs would think when they learned Roman's mate killed their chosen Luna and still took the title anyway. Would it cause unrest between the packs? I felt uneasy instead of satisfied with the answer.

"Roman said there were steps to take, to becoming a Queen Luna," I treaded carefully forward, my face already beginning to heat up at the topic. Cate wasn't completely paying attention which made it slightly easier. "If he announced that wolf as Queen Luna, said he checked out her skills and such, and accepted her... would she have already gone through those steps before she arrived here?"

"You want to know if he slept with her, huh?" Cate asked slyly, her attention on me more so now than before. She removed her feet from the desk and leaned forward easily. "Why don't you ask him? I think he would enjoy that line of questioning."

"I'm not asking him!" My heart jolted at the thought of even bringing it up, knowing already that he would feel that ugly emotion painting my soul at the thought that he may have 'accepted' Lillian to that extent. "I'm not asking for Roman's virtue. I'm just... wondering about the culture part of it..."

"He could have," Cate shrugged, "If he couldn't wait to. She wasn't his mate, but that hasn't stopped wolves before. As for the culture aspect... there's usually a pattern depending on if the Luna is mated or not."

I stared at her intently now, knowing she was heading directly into an explanation that would either prove Roman was just messing with me or prove that he was dead serious. I wasn't sure which I hoped for, honestly.

"And?" I pushed Cate when she didn't continue. "What do you mean?"

"If the Luna isn't a mate, like Lillian from the Red Moon Pack, may the Crone rest her soul, usually she is selected from a group of she-wolves. Maybe even having to complete challenges for the title right then and there. The Alpha would select the most superior female and announce them to their pack for acceptance, as the King Alpha did. If the pack doesn't approve, challengers come forward and the Luna would need to keep her title. If she does keep her title, then it would be more likely they would 'mate' afterwards," She explained quickly, clearing her throat before leaning back.

"If she's a mate, things are different. You first would need to complete the marks and solidify yourself as true mates. Usually it happens on the same night. He bites her, she bites him, she tests his claim, he proves it, and they are together in eternal joy. After that, the claim to the title can be made. Many times, it won't be challenged at all, due to the choice being made by the Mother already."

I was sitting open mouthed at this point.

"She tests his claim and he proves it? What do you mean by that?" I asked nervously.

"I knew it," Cate said devilishly, sitting up further. "You didn't complete the ceremony. I knew you'd play hard to get."

I was entirely red at this point. "I'm not playing hard to get! I didn't even know about this ceremony hunt thing. I thought he was just messing with my head to get me to change my mind about being Queen Luna!"

"The King Alpha must be showing stubborn restraint. How do you plan to seduce him?"

I gaped at Cate, standing up sharply from my seat. "I never have and I never will... seduce that man," I whispered the last few words in embarrassment. "I am... a virgin, okay? Can  I not be Queen Luna, the King Alpha's mate, without keeping my virtue?"

"Ohhhh, come on. It's natural. And you're well past breeding age." Cate was taking way too much joy from this conversation. I felt my horror only growing.

"Breeding?! Beasts! You're all beasts," I declared in offense before turning to flee from her.

"Have you heard their hopes? That you will bring back the pups?" Cate called from behind me. I froze in my step. Around me, the dusty desks remained silent relics. How many children had filled these rooms? How did it feel to have this place here? A reminder every day of what they no longer had.

"I have sacrificed everything," I said quietly, an anger and frustration within me. "I won't sacrifice that just in the hope that it will break a curse. If I... if I gave up my virtue, I would want it to be out of love, not duty." I continued towards the opened window, determined to hide away forever at this point.

"Queen Luna," Cate's voice echoed across the empty room. I looked back at her to see her watching me with her hands folded under her chin politely. "What do you think of the King Alpha now?"

I stared at her for a moment, frowning unhappily, before huffing and climbing out the window determinedly without a response. My mind was spinning with thought after thought, pulsing through my brain in a way that left me uncoordinated and distracted. I stomped around the school building and behind another before finding myself stopped in my tracks.

It was the same archery range I'd found Diana practicing after being marked by Roman. Instead of Diana standing with a bow in hand, Roman was there. He had already shot at the target, his arrow hitting it in the center with so much force that it was half buried in the post. I hadn't noticed I was walking towards him while in my entirely frustrated state, that evil beast inside of me probably seeking him out without my permission.

I glanced around to see Beta Caleb was no longer with him. I considered making another run for it, but then Roman equipped another arrow, standing tall and aiming at a target further away. In just that moment, I remembered a similar sight; one of Roman in the far past, hunting just as I had hunted, without the scars or rage on his face. He was an Alta back then; a Maiden's wolf. Even though the visions had been so long ago, I could still remember the fondness the Goddess had of him, to bless him with her own powers, and to watch over him through his good and terrible days.

The arrow hit the target with a loud snap, jolting me from my thoughts. I was certain Roman knew I was there, but he didn't turn to acknowledge me. So I quickly turned away and made my escape without being stopped yet again.

That night, like many nights before it, was yet another where I struggled to sleep. I stayed in the guest room with Caleb and Diana, as it was probably the only place I felt familiar enough to stay. When I did fall asleep, my dreams were filled with feelings of anxiety, heat that felt more feverish than enjoyable, and flashes of his face.

"Mila," A voice whispered loudly to me in the night. My entire body felt heavy, like the dirt of my future grave had already been packed down over me, but the voice persisted despite my resistance. "Mila, wake up! Mila!" Hands shook my arm annoyingly. I groaned, but turned to face the demon that was bothering me.

Diana was a glowing angel in the night. I rubbed my eyes, but her smile still was lit up like some otherworldly creature. I wanted to be suspicious, but her overall mood seemed to light up the world with her. I found a smile beginning to creep along my own lips and lifted my head inquisitively.

"What is it?" I asked her curiously.

"It worked," She told me quickly, climbing onto my bed and moving closer to me. I sat up quickly, not yet comfortable with even the wolves that were never cruel to me. I preferred fighting as a bonding technique. But Diana didn't notice my distrust. "It's a miracle. She listened! It worked!"

"What worked?" I pressed, now confused.

"The ceremony," Diana whispered, looking at me pointedly. I stared at her a moment, but then recalled that strange night when her and several other wolves were praying to the Goddesses in front of the lake. I remembered their voices chanting in the darkness, the pulsing of that strange power, and my hand on Diana's stomach. But I never had found out what that was all about. It happened and then no one spoke of it further.

"Okay. What does that mean?" I continued, frowning now.

"It means the Triple Goddesses are returning. They've lifted all the curses. We're not doomed, Mila. We're going to be okay," Diana was ranting at this point, a happiness bubbling up within her that was quelled only by her desire to tell me this news in a whisper. I stared at her blankly, trying to understand what it was she was telling me.

"All the curses? You mean?" I was struck by a sudden realization. "Someone is pregnant?!"

Diana shushed me, lifting her hand to cover my mouth quickly.

"Not just someone. Me," Diana said to me quietly, a desperation rising in her tone as she admitted this to me. I widened my eyes in surprise. "When the Mate curse was lifted and I knew Caleb was my true mate, we finished the marks and our ceremony. Then I asked for the Goddesses to give me fertility and they listened, Mila." Diana released her hand from my mouth slowly, hesitantly, but I understood for whatever reason she really didn't want this to be something other people knew about.

"How do you know?" I asked her, looking from her face to her stomach openly. She didn't look any different to me. Diana reached for me, grabbing my hand and pulling it until my palm was on her stomach.

"Listen. Listen closely," She insisted firmly. I hesitated, but then took a breath and closed my eyes to focus. I couldn't feel anything, but then it probably was way too soon to feel any movement from the little thing. I remembered resting my head on my mother's stomach as a young child when she was with my little brother. Back then, I could hear the pulse of my mother's body, the heartbeat that rushed blood through her, the shifting of muscles and other odd sounds, and the baby running its hand along the surface of her stomach so that I could feel him.

Now, as I focused, I heard even more. I heard Diana's heart racing with her own excitement as she held me still. I could hear the rush of air entering and leaving her lungs. I could hear the blood flowing throughout her. And underneath everything, I could hear a smaller rhythm. The beating was faster than Diana's heart and separate from the rest of her body's rhythm. But it was strong. It was a new life.

I opened my eyes wide with surprise.

"I can hear it," I said, stunned. Diana's smile widened even further and she released her grip on me before lunging forward to hug me.

"It's because of you. You were there, so they listened. Thank you," She breathed gratefully. She pulled back to face me again with sincerity.

"I don't know about that," I said, embarrassed for a moment. I stood to my feet suddenly. "We should tell Caleb! Oh, and Roman! This would change everything... We could make things how they used to be or maybe even better than before. This is amazing!"

My mind was racing. This would mean the war Roman had planned against humans, whatever world ending scenario he was coming up with, didn't need to be acted out anymore. The wolves wouldn't go extinct. The old laws could come back, the old religion no longer considered a crime, and the schools would one day be filled with children again.

"We can't," Diana hissed, grabbing me roughly to pull me back onto the bed. She tugged my arm further until I was close to her once again. My train of thought was halted by her statement.

"Why not?" I asked in confusion.

"It isn't safe. It isn't like the Mate curse. I'm the only one, Mila. None of the other women, none of them are with child. If anyone found out... some would be happy, but... something is happening," Diana's voice got even quieter, "... with the humans. This would ruin decades of planning. There are people who would do anything to make sure we don't change our course, do you understand?"

I recalled Cate's explanation of the brother packs; how they had demanded Roman prove his loyalty to the new laws by throwing me aside and picking his own Luna. So there were wolves like that... wolves that would rather stay within the new laws, where humans were oppressed, and would eventually be wiped out by the wolves.

Would Roman be one of those? Would his first response to this news be the urge to deny the Maiden's blessing and to kill the child, just as he had denied us and tried to let me die?

I shook my head firmly. He was an asshole, but not that big of an asshole.

"We should tell Roman. You need protection," I said to her firmly. "You can hide it for now, but what will you do when you're showing? You'll be a walking target by then and everyone will find out anyway."

"Just wait, Mila, please. When the time comes and I can't hide it any longer, I will tell the King Alpha and my mate. I will get protection. But for now, the best protection is to keep it a secret for as long as possible. Promise me, please." Diana was desperate. I wanted to immediately announce to as many powerful people as I could... maybe even the warrior wolves. The idea that someone would go after Diana was making me panic. Maybe we could hide her in a cage somewhere until she was safe again. How long would that be?

"Fine," I grumbled unhappily, deeply reluctant, but not sure in the end if my eagerness to tell Diana's secret would result in her safety or put her in danger, "But if things start to go south, I'm not letting the world go to Hell to keep your secrets. This could seriously change everything."

"I know. I understand. Thank you, Queen Luna."

"Ugh, I'm never going to get used to that," I groaned, laying back on the bed in exhaustion. As I led there, watching Diana look down at her stomach as though willing the child within her to grow quickly, I realized yet another thing. The ceremony between Roman and I... it hadn't mattered after all.  The Maiden had given her blessing without it. It would stand to reason she would do so again. It was a relief, knowing such a curse wasn't on my shoulders to lift any longer. "When others become pregnant, you won't have to hide any longer, right?"

Diana lifted her head, mulling over the question thoughtfully.

"I guess not." She admitted, the thought a wistful one.

"Then I'll pray. If it's because of me, because they're only listening to me, I will pray for you. I'll pray for everyone," The intensity in my words was enough to stun Diana, who looked as though I had proposed to her after a lifetime of courting. I cleared my throat and then put my hands together, lifting my face to the sky before adding jokingly, "I call upon you, Maiden of the moon, let everyone get knocked up."

Diana laughed in amusement, pulling on my arm before looking at me intently.

"If you're serious, I will show you how. It is a crime, just so you know," She continued to speak in her quiet whisper, but her words were striking enough to quicken my heart.

"I think I've broken enough rules for an execution by now," I said before pausing, "Actually, now that I think of it, I broke out of my execution, too. Besides, I'm the Luna now. People keep saying there's perks; jail free should be one of them, right?"

Diana hugged me once more, her warmth soothing.

"Thank you," She repeated, pulling back to rub her hands down the sides of my face adoringly. "I'm so glad you came here. I know you'll do wonderful things."

I was stunned by her words, by her feelings towards me. I was beginning to notice a pattern among the wolves, the general approval of my existence and the affections that were coming with it. Even though it felt nice, it made me terribly homesick.

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Music: Catastrophe- Brennan Savage