Chapter 14
TEA WITH THE LUNA
Jasper’s mother sits across from him and me, a half-eaten slice of apple pie on an antique-looking plate in front of her, daisies dancing in a circle around the circumference of the dish.
We’ve been talking for hours, but somehow her cup of tea is still steaming.
Jasper has just finished telling her about his time at the Sanc.
“You would have loved to see what they’ve built,” he says, his hand resting in hers on the tabletop. “You would be proud.”
“I am,” she says, nodding. “Of them, and you.”
Both of their eyes are gleaming, glazed with tears, but their expressions are happy, content, their cheeks rosy from the fire and our meal.
“You should have seen how Jasper was with the kids at the school he helped build,” I chime in, thinking Mitsuha would have loved to see Jasper reading to the kids, doing silly voices for all the characters. “His performance as the wicked witch was Oscar-worthy.”
Her infectious smile shines back at me from across the table.
“I bet it was.” She turns back to Jasp. “I’m glad you got to experience that.
The rogues are very special to me. I felt their struggles and couldn’t help but want to do something for them.
But I was always amazed at their resilience, their spark for life no matter what. ”
“Yes,” Jasper agrees. “I’m afraid I’ve been too harsh on them. But being with them, working alongside them, I got to see a whole new side to them, to see who they really are.”
“I’m glad.”
“I think . . .” Jasper is staring at the table, scared to say what’s on his mind. “I blamed them,” he says, looking up to meet his mother’s eyes. “For what happened to you.”
“I know.” She nods solemnly. “And I’ve spent a lot of time since then wondering if I was wrong to bring you with me that day.
If I shouldn’t have kept you more separate from my work with the rogues.
I knew it was dangerous. But seeing how you’ve grown and learned, and the man you’ve become, I think it was important that that part of my life was part of yours.
I’m glad you’ve gotten to see a little more of what I was working toward. ”
Mitsuha’s neck is turning pink, her eyes focused on their hands resting on the tabletop. A few errant tears fall, making dark spots on the wood.
“But I’m also sorry that I left you. I never wanted you to have to go through everything you’ve experienced. All that pain.”
The muscles in Jasper’s neck bulge as he swallows.
“I wish I could have been there for you.” She looks up, her eyes bloodshot. “I wish I could have taken away some of the pain you’ve carried, I wish I could have lifted some of the weight of your fate from your shoulders.”
Jasper is a mess. Hell, so am I. All three of us are big, wet, piles of emotion.
“It’s okay,” he tries to say, blinking through the deluge. “It’s okay.”
With a light shake of her head, Mitsuha sniffs back some of her tears. “I am sorry.” She pats Jasper’s hand. “But I’m also so proud of the man you’ve grown into and the way you’ve dealt with the hand you’ve been given. You couldn’t have turned out better.”
For a moment, Jasper sits with his mother’s last comment. Then he glances at me. “You have my mate to thank for a lot of that.”
She looks my way too, studying me gently. “Well, thank you, Max.”
Outside, I sense a shift in the light, as if despite the morning seeming to have stretched to accommodate Jasper’s reunion with Mitsuha, the evening is fast approaching. Through the window the sky takes on a purplish hue, glowing orange at the horizon, the clouds a burning shade of pink.
“I’m afraid we don’t have much more time,” Mitsuha says, placing her free hand on top of hers and Jasper’s. “I know you came here looking for help. I would like to do what I can.”
Jasper’s relaxed expression turns stony.
“There are people who wish to see the Elite Pack destroyed. And not just that. The same people would decimate rogue society. They want to overrun the country with their way of thinking. We’re facing a threat unlike anything we’ve ever seen before.
Bigger, more violent, single focused. And father . . .”
He grinds his teeth, one foot tapping relentlessly under the table.
“It’s all on me, Mom. I’m in charge now and I—I don’t know if what I’m doing is right. If it’s what Dad would have done. We came here to speak with him and—”
“And you found me.”
Gently, she lifts the tips of her fingers to her lips, thinking.
I lean forward, wanting to help. “We thought maybe we could find Jericho on the Lunar Plane to ask for his advice.”
“I see.” She nods. “But your father isn’t here.”
Jasper starts up, panicked. “Is he . . . ?”
Mitsuha smiles and shakes her head. “No, he is still alive. But I haven’t sensed his presence on this plane. Wherever he is, I know he will be fighting to get back to you.”
“But that means . . .”
“Yes,” she says. “It means you will need to guide yourself. The path is yours to make.”
He runs a hand through his hair. “But there are so many people relying on me to do the right thing. How do I know I’m not making a huge mistake?”
“My dear one, we never know if the actions we take are the right ones. All you can do is follow the light in your soul. Trust in your own judgment. And leap.”
Jasper stares at her, maybe wishing she would give him more specific notes.
“You’ve seen the world,” she says, reaching for his cheek. “You’ve experienced hardship”—a glance at me—“and love. You have all the tools you need.”
“But I’m scared,” he says. “I’m scared of messing up.”
“I wish I could tell you what to do. But that wouldn’t be fair to you, not in the long run. You’ll know the right thing to do when the time comes.” Mitsuha pulls him to her, holding his head against her shoulder and stroking his hair. “You’ve got everything you need.”
With a sigh, Mitsuha glances at the window, where the sun has suddenly set and the stars have awakened.
“I’m afraid we’re out of time, my dear one.”
“I don’t want to leave you,” Jasper says, sitting back and wiping at his tear-streaked face.
“You never will,” she replies. “But the people who need you are waiting.” Reluctantly, she stands. “And won’t they be surprised at the amazing things you’ll do.”
She walks us to the door, and they say a tearful goodbye.
On the porch, they embrace for a long time, and I know Jasper probably wishes he never had to let go.
The air has turned chilly, the sky is ominously dark.
Hanging low on the horizon is the moon, and more than ever, I can feel her presence, her attention zeroed in on me.
I wonder if we’ve stayed too long. If we were meant to find this place to begin with. Either way, it’s time to leave.
“Jasp,” I say. “We gotta go.”
He pulls himself away from his mother and she kisses his forehead.
“I’m so happy we got to meet,” she says, giving me a hug as well, then sending us on our way.
“Trust yourself,” Mitsuha says as we descend the steps of the porch. “The answers you need are already inside you.”
At the base of the stairs, I slip my hand into Jasper’s as we wave goodbye one last time, and with a sigh, we turn to head back toward the cherry orchard. Jasper is quiet at my side, his eyes focused on the path in front of us. If he looked back now, I wonder if we’d ever be able to leave.
When we’re a good distance from the cabin, I feel a presence enter my head, and a voice whispers to me.
“Blood Wolf.” Mitsuha’s voice echoes in my mind.
“You are more vital than you realize.” I glance back at the house, where I can still make out the shape of Mitsuha, standing on the porch, unmoving.
Is she looking at me? “When the time comes—you must do the hard thing. No matter the cost. You must leave him behind.”
As suddenly as she entered, she vacates my mind, her absence a cool breeze.
But what does she mean? And why didn’t she say anything while we were still with her?
My head is swimming. What will I have to do that she didn’t want Jasper hearing about?
I’m getting the sense she knows more of what’s to come than she let on.
There’s no time to go back now, the sky is deep and black, and the cool breeze has turned icy.
The moon is larger, as if it’s trying to get a closer look, to see who is here and who has stayed too long.
When we reach the spot where we began our time on the Lunar Plane, the top of a hill surrounded by cherry trees, I turn to Jasper, taking both of his hands.
“Are you okay?” I ask.
He looks tired, emotionally run through, but his lips curl into a gentle smile. “Yes,” he says, rolling his shoulders back, standing a little straighter. “I’m sad, but I feel good. I feel—ready.”
I take him in my arms as cherry blossoms swirl in circles around us and press my lips to his.
Even with my eyes closed I can tell the stars are spinning above us, faster and faster until we’re surrounded by a twister of light.
And then with a whoosh, the swirling stops, and I know we’ve arrived at home.
“You two took your time,” Omar says.
I open my eyes and find him leaning against the crystal in the corner, one knee pulled up to his chest. Jasper and I are sitting exactly how we were earlier, although now my legs are aching, and pebbles are grinding into my ass something bad.
“How long were we out?” I ask.
Omar glances at the time on his phone. “About three hours.”
“Huh, it felt longer.”
“Got everything you need?”
“Yes,” Jasper says with more certainty than I’ve heard from him in days. He blinks and opens his eyes too. “You have to go,” he says to me. “Convince the rogues to fight with us. Tell them we will stand by them now and in the future.”
“You’re sure?” I ask, knowing this is a big decision, that the ramifications will ripple through the life of the pack for decades to come.
Jasper nods. “I am.”