The Two Lunas

Chapter 47

Reagan's point of view

The last couple  months have been torture. The entire pack is in mourning. They all see that Niles has given up on life. He's no more than a walking corps. And Skyler is clinging on to Niles with every ounce of strength he has. Desperate to hold on to him. There was no doubt Skyler and Niles are the heart of the pack. Like any true Luna. Their love and compassion made this pack who it is today.
Sure Ryder made pacts and alliances. He overlooked the budget and kept order. But the Luna's, they guided the pack to greatness. When the Alpha had all but rejected them, publicly no less, they pack was furious. Nobody in the pack is loved more ferociously than the Lunas. And the pack was out for blood. They demanded retribution. And they got what they seek. Until the Luna had been scourged by the Alpha, nobody thought killing Aries was possible. But possible or not, didn't play in to it. They would achieve the impossible if need be. And they did. The entire pack worked together to achieve the impossible: Kill the strongest wolf possible ever in existence.
But the damage had been done. Skyler would have pulled through if he could have gotten Niles through this. But he would never survive losing Niles. And everyone knew it. And Niles was a walking corpse. And Skyler knew it too. But it just made him cling to him even tighter. Niles was his salvation. His life and he would never let him go. It was heart breaking to watch Skyler talk to Niles. He would talk about anything and everything. He talked about the children, he talks about his hopes and dreams for the pack. And most heartbreaking was when he would talk about their plans for Skyler to have a couple more kids in the future, and they would name them Dion and Deimos. But most often he talked about his undying love for Niles. He talked about how beautiful he was, he talked about how sweet he was, he talked about every single thing he loves about Niles. And when he finished talking , he would start all over again. He told Niles he loves him and why over and over and over again. He would hold him, feed him, and take care of his every need. Because Niles gave up on life, he no longer ate or did anything on his own volition. So Skyler did it all for him. Skyler never complained, honestly Skyler never rested. He took care of their kids, then took care of Niles. He was continually moving. Never stopping for a moment. It was almost like he knew, if he paused, he may never start back up again. He was on the verged of losing himself, just like Niles, and the whole pack knew it. I could see their house from my front porch, and people were in and out of that house all day long. And as morbid as it was, the reason was clear, Everyone was making sure they weren't dead yet. It would be even more tragic if nobody knew they had died and the kittens, as Skyler called them, were hurt or lost because of it.

I had the hardest job in the world now. Ryder became the Pack alpha. And by default I was the new luna. I would never live up to people's expectations. I would never be revered like Skyler and Niles were. They were basically immortalized. And now I had to take their place. An impossible task. My job was to care for children and families, yes. But also, my job was to be the comforting, loving mother for the pack. My job was to help them heal emotionally. The pack was in mourning. The entire pack felt depressed. They were grieving. And what made it worse was I was grieving too. As was Ryder, and all his brothers. They were losing their brother. And Ryder was losing his ex mate. He may of rejected him. But he never stopped loving him. Not truly. He just didn't think he would love Niles like he should. But I knew that was bullshit. He loved him deeply. Thankfully not as much as Skyler. The pack couldn't handle more loss right now. But he did love him. So he was losing both previous Luna's and two men that he loved deeply. His brother and ex lover.
Skyler had been a very close friend to me. He was the one that set Ryder and I up. He was the one that made me feel like I wasn't worthless and cheep. He loves me even when others  saw me as a dirty whore. He stood up for me and made me feel important and cared for. And I loved him for it. He had been like a mentor to me. And now, I was losing him.

I knew that Niles was pregnant with Ryder's pups. And I knew that Ryder wanted to keep them and raise them. We would soon have 5 little pups to raise, which was insanity. But I understood. It was a piece of Niles that he could hold on to. And they were his biological children, so I couldn't refuse. Part of me wanted to. How was I going to raise 5 small children at once?
The question remained who would raise Skyler's four babies? They needed to be raised in the pack, the pack already made it clear that Sklyer's son would be the next alpha. Skyler always said Dylan was the next alpha and the pack was adamant that that would be the case. I didn't resent them. I would be calling for the same thing. But as Ryder's mate, it seemed unfair that he would be Alpha but couldn't pass down his position to his first born son as most Packs would expect. I think I was madder about it than he was though.
Xander had already decided to move in to our pack and begin as beta. This was a surprise to everyone, because Xander was 16. But with everything going on, he was dropping out of school to help Ryder.
And it sounds like Xander and Timmy plan to move into Skyler's home and there is even talk of them raising the 4Ds. Dylan, Demetrius, Daphne and Damon. At least that was the desire. They had two on the way already, so they would be raising six kids. But I guess it wasn't that extreme. Niles and Skyler would have done it. But again, Xander was 16. He was having to grow up way too fast. And some people thought maybe someone else should take Skyler's kids. But all his brothers stood by Xanders wish. So it seemed that Xander and Timmy would be raising all Skylers kids. Because it was unlikely that anyone would go against the Alpha and betas wishes, or Skyler's family. I just hoped Timmy and Xander didn't regret there decision once they found their mates. I know they want to mate. But I hope they don't do it in the heat of the moment. I watched them at Skyler's claiming all those months ago and they were incredibly passionate and almost marked each other then, as they get closer I fear they may act that impulse out and regret it later.

I decided to visit Skyler and Niles. It's always depressing. The guys I knew and loved are disappearing before my very eyes. Skyler used to be so fun and full of life. Now he's a shell of himself.

I slowly walk down the road to Skyler and Niles house. It's the middle of march and the flowers are starting to poke through the cool ground and the grass is beginning to grow lush and green. I enjoy the chili breeze as it blows past me, and smile. I try not to think about what awaited me a Skyler's house. I had always been so excited to be his neighbor. But now, there's no joy as I reach their door. It's a sense of forbidding. I knock on the door and enter. As I walk in I find the family in the playroom. Niles is sitting on Skyler's lap like he always is. And the kids are playing. Demetrius is just beginning to take his first steps. It's early for that's but I'm not surprised, that boy is always moving. Dylan tries to imitate Demetrius, but falls and get frustrated. Daphne is babbling to Damon nonstop, just as Niles and Skyler had predicted. And Damon is just watching Daphne. Like he is listening to everything she has to say, and understands what she is babbling about. It's very cute. But Skyler and Niles miss it. They watch the kids, but they never truly see them anymore. There is a vacancy in their eyes. But Skyler talked to Niles and Niles seems to listen.
Skyler is talking about Dion and Deimos again. And it breaks my heart. Because they will never be. They are a dream that will never be fulfilled.
I sit by Skyler and he looks at me. It is eery, because it almost feels like he's looking through me. He smiles and says "hello" but again. It's all a facade. You can see clearly that he's responding as he should. But there is nothing behind the words.
"Hey Skyler, I forgot, what are you naming these kids?" Truthfully they never said. I knew about Reece and River. But they never said what the third would be named. Skyler smiled again. "The girls are River and Rowan and the boy is Reece." I nodded. "Those are great names." I complement. And Skyler nodded. "Niles has always wanted a River and Reece, so naturally the last baby needs to be an R as well. We looked up lots of R names, but always came back to Rowan. It seems appropriate for the girls to both be named after nature, and the boy's name mean Fierce warrior. I bet he'll be a great warrior, just like his name implies. Maybe even a beta some day." I smiled and nodded. I knew Ryder planned to raise these kids as equals to my own and like his father, he would pick a child based on who was worthy, not based on parentage. So my children may not end up the beta, Niles might. And since Niles has alpha blood, even if he's an omega, there's a good chance he will be the next beta, if he's a dominant pup. It's really just a wait and see at the moment. As a mother, I wanted my kids to be the next Beta, but I didn't have control of that.

I looked at Niles and it looks like he wet himself. But neither seem to notice. Shit!! "Skyler, is Niles having contractions?" Skyler looks at me and back at Niles and shrugs. I feel his stomach and it tenses up. I keep it there to see how far apart they are. It's four minutes before he has another one. I called the doctor then call Ryder.
"Ryder, Niles is having contractions, and his water broke. We need to get them to the pack doctor, and we need someone to watch the 4Ds." Someone pulled up to the house and I sigh in relief. It's Miss Stacy, one of the daycare workers.
"Hey can you watch the kids, I need to get them to the pack doctor." She nods and I grab their hands and pull them out the door.