Pure Moonlight (closed)

[heartofcourage]

"I'm very proud of you, Telma." Selena said with a genuine smile towards her son's mate. "I'm sure your beautiful work will be enjoyed for years in Edinburgh."

Selena had a beautiful blanket that had been woven when Telma was young and starting out. It was an honor that the queen was considering her work as some of the best in all of Scotland.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Us lumberjacks are giving the weavers a loan to buy dyes and more materials so they have plenty to show the Queen, seeing as most of the men at the mill are family or friends with Telma's partners. There's three others that are mated with weavers and dyers too." Ruben pressed a kiss to Telma's cheek then. This news had especially helped him out of the short depressed slump he'd been in, and he'd been more involved than ever with Telma's work.

 

[heartofcourage]

"It'll help everyone if the deal goes through. More money helps the tribe no matter what." Telma said as Ruben kissed her cheek.

Luna watched her brother and noticed how in love he was with Telma. She was happy that he had found someone to complete him the way that Telma did. Beneath the table, she reached to take Jan's hand, squeezing it tightly to show her support.

 

[KieranSoares]

Jan was grateful for Luna's support, and he briefly laid his head against her shoulder, not caring if her parents saw. It was his own quiet way of telling her he appreciated her.

"If Telma does go... I think I'll go too. I trust the other weavers to keep her safe, but it'd be a good opportunity for some time together away from work once she's done," Ruben added.

 

[heartofcourage]

"As long as I've spent here with the wolves and as much as they swear that they don't have weddings and the like, I think a honeymoon would do the two of you a world of good." Selena said with a smile, watching as Jan rested his head on Luna's shoulder for a moment.

"Jan, perhaps you could help me in the kitchen for a moment." Selena murmured as she stood to take her plate in there to begin dishing up the dessert that she had made.

 

[KieranSoares]

Jan shared a glance with Luna, his expression as if he were going to the executioner. But he didn't hesitate too long before following Selena with some more dishes from the table that they wouldn't be needing for dessert. He deposited these dishes beside the wash basin and turned to Selena, awaiting her order or some manner of confirmation that she still didn't trust him as far as she could throw his sorry hide.

 

[heartofcourage]

Selena was quiet as she worked in the kitchen. She could feel Jan tense beside her, waiting for her to lay into him. She had promised she would do that. She intended to keep her promise to her mate and her daughter.

"I know you're trying." She said softly, pausing to turn and look at him. "I know you love her. She is my baby. You have to understand that this is very difficult for me. I had a horrible childhood and I don't want to see my daughter trapped in a relationship that might harm her in some way."

 

[KieranSoares]

"You have every right to be terrified," Jan agreed softly. "I haven't been much of a man, but I'll never be the likes of Tamblin Ghis. I may not know much about him... But I don't think I'm even capable of that kind of cruelty that you had to go through." Jan summoned up his courage and took Selena's hands. "I may not be able to give Luna the world... But she'll always be loved, she'll never go hungry, and she'll be safe. I'll do whatever it takes to keep it that way."

 

[heartofcourage]

"Are you ready to be the mate of a healer?" She asked softly as Jan took her hands and promised that he would take care of Luna. "She will be gone a lot. She might not always have time for you. Will your eye wander then?"

"Are you ready to be the mate of a white wolf? She will always be in danger and there is the chance that your Cubs would be white wolves as well." Selena wanted to be sure that Jan knew all of the troubled that would come with mating with Luna.

 

[KieranSoares]

"I got the same questions from Kreston too. And Karn, Petu, Ghell... I told them all I was willing to take it all on if it meant Luna and I could be together and be happy. If she didn't want me and I didn't want to keep her, I wouldn't be here right now." Jan's eyes were clear and determined.

 

[heartofcourage]

"You have a lot to prove to many different people." Selena said softly. "You are welcome here, Jan. even if I might not be comfortable with the fact that my cub is ready for a family of her own, you are welcome here."

 

[KieranSoares]

"Thank you," Jan whispered, feeling his heart swell with excitement and joy. He kissed Selena's cheek and took the dessert dishes to the table.

 

[heartofcourage]

Selena took a deep breath as he kissed her cheek and moved from the kitchen with the dishes. She hadn't been expecting him to kiss her. She turned slowly to watch him leave the room. This entire situation was enough to make her heart crumble. She was had already lost her son to his mate. Now she was losing her daughter. They were both grown, ready to start lives of their own, and she was still the lost little girl that depended so much on her family. Without Ruben and Luna, she didn't know what she would do with herself.

 

[KieranSoares]

When Selena seemed to be taking a bit longer than expected, Kreston rose to come in and to her side. "Love?" He asked softly, noting the lost expression on her face. "Are you alright? Jan came back in with a smile on his face... What did you say?"

 

[heartofcourage]

Selena didn't say anything to Kreston for a long moment, lost in her own thoughts as he came to check on her. She let out a long sigh as he asked what she had told Jan.

"I told him that he was welcome." She said softly as she turned to look at Kreston. "Our babies aren't babies anymore. I can't tell you how much that hurts my heart."

Selena had always taken joy in her children. She was very much like her mother in that aspect. Ruben had been all she ever had for a very long time and Luna had soothed her heart in a very difficult time. Now, she was faced with the prospect of letting both of them go off and live their lives.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Selena..." Kreston murmured, hugging her close against his chest. "Just because they're not babies doesn't mean they're going to go away. They might not live with us anymore but they'll always be close. You're not losing them..." Though Kreston always seemed so calm about it, there were a couple times Selena had found him quietly distraught over the issue.

 

[heartofcourage]

"What will we do with an empty home?" Selena asked him as he held her tightly. "I'm liable to go crazy without something to do for one of them."

Luna had been living at their home off and on since she was old enough to hold a job for herself. Recently she had moved back, mostly to soothe her parents after her capture, but also to make sure that she was protected and safe with her family. Ruben hadn't lived with them in a very long time. Selena had always had issue with her children moving out but there was little that she could do to stop them.

 

[KieranSoares]

"You've never lived for yourself, Selena," Kreston murmured. "All your life... you've been living for your siblings, then Ruben, and then Luna. It's time you finally did things for yourself. You've never really had hobbies or passions. Why don't you find some?" Kreston offered.

 

[heartofcourage]

"Am I really the kind of person that should find a hobby?" Selena asked as she looked up at her mate with a long sigh. "I'm just a sad woman right now. It'll take me time but I know things will work out for the best."

 

[KieranSoares]

"I think you just need something new to focus on. You spend all your time worrying about everyone else. I can't say I know what's best... But I do know that you could do well with being a little more selfish." He kissed her cheek and hugged her close once more. "I worry about you... Just as much, if not more than the kids. And they worry for you too what with the migraines you've been getting."

 

[heartofcourage]

"I'm fine, Kres." Selena said shortly, not wanting to talk about her headaches. "It's all just a bump in the road."

She was quiet again after that, unwilling to tell her mate that she was nervous and scared for the future. She had no idea who she was without someone to care for. She had considered adopting an orphaned cub, but she knew that would simply be putting a bandage on her aching wounds.

 

[KieranSoares]

"Whatever you say, love," he murmured, letting it be for the moment, except for an added, "I'll listen when you need me to." He returned to the table alone to rejoin his children.

 

[heartofcourage]

Selena stood there, back turned to Kreston as she thought about everything happening. Her knuckles were white as she gripped the counter when he stepped back into the other room with the children. She felt like she was turning into her father. There was a beast inside of her that was threatening to break free and destroy all of the good things she had in her life. It felt like madness and for the first time in her life she understood what Tamblin must have felt.

Her head was throbbing by the time she painfully tamped down that fear. She walked back into the dining room with the dessert in her hands and a neutral expression on her features. This fight was hers. She wouldn't worry the family with it.

 

[KieranSoares]

Dinner went fairly smoothly before Ruben and Telma headed home, and Jan offered to walk Luna to her own home. Kreston was still worried for Selena, but he had no idea the battle going on in her mind, and he didn't say much to her because he knew she just didn't want to talk.

 

[heartofcourage]

When Jan took Luna back to her home, Selena felt herself lose a part of herself. The days of having her daughter home were quickly ending. She had to accept that. Her head was pounding fiercely, but she still pulled on a cloak, pausing briefly to look at Kreston.

"I'm going for a walk." She murmured before she left the house and set off into the woods.