The Claiming by Cooper Book 2
The Council by Cooper (Jara & Mason)
Chapter 55
Jara
I haven’t spoken to Mason since he rejected me several weeks ago. If I’m honest with myself, I know it wasn’t a rejection, it was from a place of love that he told me no. I know that, somewhere in my mind, I know I’m being irrational, but it does nothing for my feelings of anger and hurt so I’ve stayed away from him, choosing to sleep in Layan’s room every night instead of going to our room.
I’ve shut myself off from Mason. My grief is so overwhelming that I can’t handle any more. I know he’s hurting too, but I can’t be there for him. It’s just too much right now. The same is true for the pack. I know they are feeling grief for our loss, and I’ve shut myself off from them, not able to deal with more than my own pain. And so, I’ve stayed locked inside my own head.
I’ve avoided everyone, everyone except Layan and Isabella who refuse to let me ignore them. Or, if I refuse to speak, they sit with me, talking around me or sometimes, just sitting quietly with me. They’ve made sure that I eat and that I bathe. Otherwise, I go where they tell me, I sit where they tell me.
Tonight, as with every evening, I’m in a rocking chair on the back porch with a blanket over my lap, rocking gently in my chair looking out over the forest. Layan is on one side of me and Isabella on the other.
“Luna!” Melinda says, racing toward me.
“Melinda, no. Come back here. Leave Luna alone.” Brynn says, coming up behind her.
“I’m so sorry, Luna.” She says, taking Melinda’s hand and trying to pull her away.
Melinda is having none of it. “No momma. I have a message for Luna. I have to give it to her, it’s important.” She says, fighting to pull her hand out of her mother’s grasp.
“Melinda, stop this. We’ve talked about this.” She says, picking Melinda up.
“Luna, please. It’s important.” Melinda says as Brynn begins to carry her away.
“It’s okay, Brynn.” I say, reaching my arms out for Melinda. She’s so insistent that whatever she feels the need to tell me is important to her.
Brynn puts her down and she rushes back to me. I help her crawl into my lap, and she takes my face in her small hands.
“I have a message from Luna Mila. She came to me in my dream to tell me and she said it was very important that I tell you. She made me promise. I’ve been trying to, but mom wouldn’t let me come see you.” She says, giving Brynn the side-eye.
I frown at her. “A message from Mila?” I ask.
“Mmhmm.” She says, nodding. Isabella is watching her closely and she leans forward.
“What did Mila look like in your dream, Melinda?” She asks, maybe wondering if Melinda has heard my sister’s name before and had a dream about her.
“She’s beautiful, like Luna Jara. Only her hair is a lighter brown, and her eyes are a light green color, not like Luna’s, which are brown.” She says, studying my face as if to make sure she gets it right.
Isabella looks at me and I nod. That’s exactly what my sister looked like. “What did she say?” Layan asks, everyone’s attention riveted on Melinda now.
She looks me straight in my eyes. “She said to say thank you for sending her the baby she could never have. She said you don’t have to cry anymore, Luna. She has baby Mena, that’s what she called her, and she will take care of her and raise her for you.”
My hand flies to my mouth. “What?” I whisper.
“She said they will both see you someday in the Moon Goddess’s realm, but your job is here. So, she will watch over your little girl as if she was her own, so you don’t have to be sad anymore. And she said she loves you and she’s very proud of you.”
I feel the hot sting of tears in my eyes. “She always wanted to name her daughter Mena. Did you see her? My little girl?” I ask her.
“Mmhmm. Luna Mila was holding her. She’s very pretty. She has your dark hair and Alpha’s grey eyes. Oh, and Warrior Lewis was there too. He said he’ll watch over them like he watched over you.” I pull her to me, hugging her tightly.
“Thank you, Melinda.” I say, tearfully.
“You’re welcome, Luna. Luna Mila was very happy. She said to make sure I gave you this message. She said it would make you feel better.”
“It does, sweetheart. It really does. Thank you.” She hugs me again before sliding off my lap.
“Okay, momma, I’m ready now.”
I look up and see that Brynn, Layan and Isabella are all crying too. They reach out, holding my hands. I squeeze them, closing my eyes and sending a silent prayer of thanks to my sister.
When I open my eyes, it’s like a haze has been lifted from me, a darkness removed. My child is with my sister, and I know she will always look after her.
I stand up, walking to the back of the porch. I realize that it’s unnaturally quiet. There’s no laughter, no talking, nothing. Just the sound of paws hitting the dirt in the distance as the patrols run our borders.
I reach out and feel the sadness, the loneliness of the pack. They not only suffered the loss of a member of their pack, but they are feeling the loss, grief and withdrawal of their Alpha and Luna.
Then, I undo what I should never have done. I open the door in my mind that connects me to Mason. The moment I do, it’s as if I can feel his head snap up, as if he’s been staring at the place where I cut off our connection, waiting and hoping for me to open it again.
I turn, moving quickly, needing to see him. I lift my nose in the air and follow his scent to his office. I open the door and see my mate for the first time in a long time.
His eyes are bloodshot, his dark hair is too long and it’s a mess, as if he can’t keep his hands out of it. The office smells strongly of him and I realize he’s been sleeping in here at night while I’ve been sleeping in Layan’s room.
He stands, watching me cautiously, not sure what to do. I open my arms and walk toward him. In an instant, I’m in his arms, his face buried in my neck, a sob catching in his throat.
“I’m so sorry. I should never have cut you off.” I say. He’s shaking his head before I can finish.
“No, I’m sorry. I should have done more. I should have searched harder for Typhon. I should have….”
I cut him off, pulling his face away from my neck so I can look into his exhausted eyes. “There was nothing you could do, my love. You did everything you could. I know that.”
Relief washes over his face and he pulls me to him again.
“I love you so much, Jara. I was so afraid I’d lost you too.”
“I was lost, Mason, but I’m back now. And now, you’re stuck with me.”
“I will gladly be stuck with you forever, Jara.” As we hold each other, I know there is one more thing I have to say to him.
“Thank you for telling me no, Mason. I wasn’t able to feel it then, but I know, in my heart, that you weren’t rejecting me. You were protecting me, as you always do. I won’t push for us to try to have another child until the doctor says it’s safe.”
“I can’t lose you Jara. You’re too precious to me. But as soon as the doctor says it’s safe, I’m locking you in our room and keeping you there until you tell me you’ve had enough of me.”
“Better plan to spend the rest of your life in bed with me then, Alpha, because I’ll never have enough of you.” I tell him.
He leans his forehead against mine. “Can we go to bed, in our bed, together?”
“Yes.”
He takes my hand, and we spend the night curled up together, holding each other, both of us getting much needed sleep.