Tis so painful to lose you to Death
O valiant man of war and an astute general
But springing out of your loins unto the earth
Is your protégé, the queen eternal.
- PenaciousShewa

It is the age-long custom of the wolves of the Conscientious Pack to mourn the death of a late Alpha for a period of seven days. During these seven days, no one is to step out of his or her house, and the pack must be quiet. The sound of mirth must not be heard, and this is always the tradition, as the death of every Great Alpha is to be lamented on in this manner. After the expiration of these days, on the eighth day, the body of the deceased Alpha is taken in a procession into the Tomb of The Great Alphas and buried.

After the Great Alpha is laid to rest, there is great rejoicing and celebration, so massive that the Rogues can hear the sound and drums of felicitation, and this, of course, is intentional. The drums pass a message to the Rogue wolves that although an Alpha has gone, another remains on the Throne.

However, this is not entirely the case when Alpha Stocles dies, and although he is mourned quietly and reverently, as usual, there is a minimal celebration in the pack.

Wanna know why?

The reason is not far-fetched. Although Milos, the heir to the Throne has found his Luna, she is yet to be with child, and thus, he cannot be crowned the Alpha of the pack. Thus, it is a delicate time for the whole pack, and if the Rogues get to know the Alpha is late, and that the Throne is vacant, they will not hesitate to charge into the territory and wreak havoc. Where there is no ruler, the people perish, so they say. Thus, everyone is waiting in hope for the news of the Luna’s pregnancy.

Wanda approaches the creek and spots him sitting quietly, lost in thoughts, with his head in his palms. She sits right beside him and he raises his head to look up at her.

“Hey,” Milos croaks, his eyes brimming with unshed tears.

“Baby…..I looked around for you all to no avail. I guessed that you would be here. You did not have breakfast, and now you have skipped lunch. Talk to me, please. How can I help?” Wanda asks, with worry and concern clearly etched on her forehead.

Milos looks into her eyes and whispers, “I miss him, Wanda. I don’t know how he kept it all together. It has just been ten days since he died and I do not know how to handle the pack. I am faced with pressure on all sides. I can’t do this, baby. I can’t rule…..”

“Ssssh……,” Wanda interjects lovingly, placing her index finger on his quivering lips. “You are the son of your father, birthed by your mother and strengthened by the moon goddess. You are fully equipped for the task ahead of you. You were born to rule and reign, and that exactly is what you will do. Okay? And don’t forget one thing, baby; I am here for you at all times. I am not going anywhere, hmmm?”

Milos stares at her for what seems like an eternity and smiles, “I am such a lucky bastard for having you as my Luna.” He cups her face in his hands and kisses her softly on her lips.

“Well, that was lovely,” Wanda comments breathlessly “but I am famished, so can we go get dinner now?”

“Sure thing, Luna” Milo concedes, and with this, he lifts her over his shoulder straight into the house, and they enjoy their lunch. After eating, they lay in bed and chat for hours, before they both fall fast asleep.

Wanda wakes up feeling uneasy. She moves further towards Milos to cuddle him but she is hugged by his duvet instead. She slowly opens her eyes and realizes that he is not even in the room.

He must have resumed his Alpha duties.

She yawns three successive times and wonders why she is so tired this morning. Wanda is usually a morning person but today, she just wants to lay in bed and empty her insides into the bathroom sink, all at the same damn time.

She hears the shuffling of feet outside the door, and before the other person can knock, Wanda shouts, “Petra, please don’t knock. I know it is you, and I am awake already”.

Petra slips into the room and lands right on Wanda. Wanda tickles the latter off her, and they laugh hysterically. Wanda gets off the bed and checks her closet for what to wear while Petra draws her bath. She picks a pale blue dress with tiny straps, places it on the bed, and pulls her nightdress over her head in preparation for her bath.

As she steps into the bathroom, Petra’s eyes widen in shock, surprise, and excitement. She does not stop staring at Wanda’s breasts and the latter is really confused.

“Luna, you are pregnant! Look at your nipples, and your full breasts. Oh, goddess! You have done it again; you have given us another heir!” Petra shouts in elation, and Wanda is dumbfounded. It all immediately makes a lot of sense; the nausea, the vomiting, the sleepiness, and of course, the missed period.

“Wow,” is all she manages to say.

An elated Petra guides Wanda gently into the bathtub and bathes her. As she does, she assures Wanda that from this moment, she will be given extra care and that the security detail around her will double, because she is carrying the pack’s prized possession. Wanda on the other hand tries to take it all in, as this whole situation is still fuzzy to her.

After the bath, Petra helps Wanda into her dress and plaits her hair into a loose ponytail. Wanda requests that her food be brought into her room, as she doesn’t have the stamina to go downstairs to eat. She also does not want to risk puking at the dinner table. She wants to keep the news of her pregnancy to herself.

She keeps walking down the hill towards the river. She is at peace, and she hears the water call out to her. She arrives at the river bank and wades into the water. As she keeps wading, a figure appears in front of her; tall, beautiful, with blonde hair and piercing green eyes. She is mesmerized by the comeliness of the apparition before her.

“Luna, thou art carrying the future of the Conscientious Pack, and according to the time of life, she shall purge the Taga Wereforest .”

“I am sorry…did you say ‘she’?” Wanda questions.

“Aye, Luna. Avrio” the image immediately disappears into the water, with glitter in its wake.

“No….no…wait…wait…wait….” Wanda mutters in her sleep, shivering violently.

“Wanda, Wanda! Wake up” Milos calls out to her, shaking her and trying to wake her.

“I saw her, Milos, a water spirit. She said I am carrying the future of this pack…”

“That was the moon goddess, baby,” he says, trying to reassure her. “According to legend, she appears to every Luna once conceives”.

“Petra told you?” Wanda asks.

“You bet she did, she barely let me walk through the door into the living room before she told me”

“Sounds like Petra,” Wanda smiles. “But Milos, there is something else….” She trails off.

“Tell me, baby, you know you can tell me anything” he assures her.

“The goddess said our baby will be a girl”

Milos sits up and looks closely at Wanda “A girl, as in a female child?”

“Yes Milos,” Wanda replies.

“I am discombobulated right now, but one thing I know for sure is that the moon goddess is the Wise One, and whatever she says is the best. However, we must keep this piece of information to ourselves until the baby is born, okay?”

Wanda nods in agreement and in a few minutes, she is lulled back to sleep by Milos’ constant rubbing of her back.

As Milos does this, his thoughts dwell on all that Wanda just divulged to him, and he wonders what exactly the future and the moon goddess have in store for all of them.