Chapter 4

Mark pov I could not believe what my eyes were seeing. A tiny girl stood in front of me, just staring. Not at me but through me. Thomas must be kidding; he cannot be thinking of taking this little girl as his chosen mate. She's a child. It is creepy the way she stands there staring and not saying anything. Her long dark hair twisted on her head in braids with big purple eyes just staring. She is a beat-up stuffed wolf and what looks like a pile of rags. "Hi, I am Beta Mark." I said, introducing myself, "And over there is your Gamma. His name is Kelp." The reason I refer to Kelp as her gamma is because the Gammas have a special connection with the Lunas of a pack. They feel what they feel and know when they are in need. I have only seen the connection once when Thomas' parents were Alpha and Luna. It is an amazing thing to watch. It is very different from the mating bond. The Gammas' sole purpose is to take care of the Luna when her mate is not able to. However, the little one just stands there acknowledging nothing I say. Just as I am about to link the Alpha, he is walking toward us and the vehicles. I told him I was just about to link him, and he ordered me to put the Luna in the car to get something to eat and head home. As I turn the SUV out onto the road, I glance in the rear-view mirror and notice Kelp is looking rather green. I glance at Alpha, and he is playing with his phone. Linking the gamma, I ask, "Hey, what's up? You're not looking too good." He looks at the little girl sitting next to him holding on to her wolf. Then I hear, "Mark, we have a problem." Again, I glance toward the Alpha, " What?" The Luna, she's moon touched." I put everything I have into controlling my wolf and keeping myself from slamming down the breaks. I don't want Thomas to pick up on how special the Luna is. If he finds out, he will be more obsessed than he already is. Oh, my goddess, what are we going to do? "Kelp, how touched?" I asked. "I don't know, but she's close to the goddess. Won't know how close until she turns 17." is his answer. Anyone who is moon touched means they are related to our moon goddess, Selene. They can be male or female, but no one knows their relationship to the goddess until they turn 17 and the mark appears on their forehead. The goddess then visits her relatives, helping them to understand their power. "Fuck, Kelp how do you know?" I ask with a calm I don't feel. "Man, Mark the moment the words he's your Gamma left your mouth, my mind was flooded with pictures of her life up till now. Believe me, it's not pretty. She's communicating with me by showing me. Look at her eyes. They're purple and black. Only those who are moon touched have eyes that color." he explains. Ugh, Selene, why would you do this to us. We couldn't protect our first Luna from the Alpha, and she was his fated mate. How do you expect us to keep this one safe? I think to myself. "Kelp, how do you know all of this?" I inquire. His eyes stare back at me in the rear-view mirror as he answers, “My grandma is moon touched." Alright, what to do, I'm thinking, and I notice Alpha Thomas looks like he is finishing up the work he was doing on his phone. "Kelp," I say, "Can you communicate back with her?" He looks at me with a smirk and lets me know that as soon as I asked him, our little Luna opened a mind link to him. He says, "she's been listening in on our mind link since we started the conversation. I didn't say anything because I wanted her to understand she can trust both of us. Mark, she shouldn't be able to listen in on our mind link or open her own path to anyone. She's not part of our pack yet, nor does she have her wolf." "Well, today is her birthday, so Alpha will indulge her at the moment. He will want to impress her and lure her into feeling safe before letting her see who he really is." looking at Luna Katia to see if she understands what I am trying to convey to her although I'm speaking to Kelp. She nods her little head in understanding. She's a smart little thing. This worries me because the Alpha can't control his temper, and he has no patience for children. As we roll into shifter city in the middle of nowhere, Colorado, we see a diner, and I pull in and park. Alpha hops out, opening the back door, he holds out his hand, saying, "Come Katia let's eat, have cake and ice cream, then go further into the city to get you a present." She continues to not interact but gets out of the vehicle and walks with us into the diner. The look on Thomas's face as he lowers his hand that is ignored and follows his Luna lets me know she will pay for that indiscretion.