Luna's Angel Ch. 25-Conclusion

Do you have any idea how much it sucks for an Angel to wait in a TSA line???

Still, things were going pretty well. Wendy was now accepted fully, and the witches were fitting in better than I expected. I thought Luna was happy with me, so I was shocked when I found myself up in the Hereafter with Selene, the Moon Goddess, frowning at me. I immediately dropped to a knee and bowed my head. "My Goddess, how may I serve you?"

"Stand, Nathan." I did, and she looped her arm around mine and led me through the door leading out of the white room. "You've caused me no end of headaches, young man."

My blood almost froze with this comment. "How have I failed you, my lady?"

"It's not so much what you've done, it's more me not thinking through what would happen when I created you and sent you down there. The other Gods were not happy, and you know yourself it didn't work. I created you to kill and destroy, but the carnage you left behind was worse than the damage the evil ones were doing."

"I know, that is why I stopped. When I went to take over the Pack, they hated me, hated you for the loss of their mates. It was a lot to get through, knowing how many decent men died doing what the evil ones told them to do. I still deal with the repercussions." I looked at her, sadness on my face. "I think you chose the wrong person, I was too immature to know when to stop."

"No, you proved to me you were the right person, Nathan. I was pleased when you became Alpha, I have been watching how you have grown with a lot of pride." She smiled a little as we walked through the passageways, I had never been this way. "You are a better Alpha than Angel, I think. That's both the problem, and the solution."

"To what?"

She stopped me before a huge set of double doors. "Let's just say you and the other Angels running around down there have been a topic of debate in the Pantheon. Today a decision was made, that is why you are here. What needs to be done cannot be done by me. You need to trust me. Follow my lead and don't say anything unless directly asked." I could see the fear in her eyes, this wasn't going to be good.

I followed her into the room, where the powerful Gods and Goddesses sat in court. Zeus and Hera sat in thrones, with others seated or standing around them. I followed her to the center, where she pulled me in front of her and pushed me to a kneeling position. Zeus's voice boomed through the room. "So THIS is Luna's Angel."

"He is, my Lord. He is the one I created and sent down, and now wish to no longer have as we discussed."

I hid my shock, my wolf was forward and just as nervous. I kept my eyes down, this wasn't the time to argue.

"These Angels have caused more trouble than they are worth," he thundered. "Know this, if you are losing your power and your worshippers, I will no longer allow you to interfere in the mortal realms. Such actions have effects we cannot predict. Each of you will recall their Angels forever, starting with this one. Nathan, come forward."

I rose up and walked to stand before his throne before kneeling again. "Your Angels will be unmade, their bodies scattered to the winds unless they can show me why they should retain a mortal form." He shifted his gaze to me. "So Nathan, Angel of Luna, why should you continue to live?"

"I have a mate, and a daughter we adopted, my Lord. I am an Alpha, I have built a Pack from nothing to thousands who depend on me for leadership and protection. I have lived already, I do not ask for myself, I ask for them. I beg of you to consider what I am doing as a man, not as an Angel." I bent my head down.

"Do you agree, Selene?"

She came forward and put her hand on my shoulder. "Yes, my Lord. He has become a caring, loving Alpha and is bringing out the best in my people. I wish to leave him there."

There was silence as Zeus and Hera whispered in each other's ears. Finally, he turned back to me. "Do not make me regret this," he said. He laid his hand on my head, my brain filled with light and my body erupted in pain before I blacked out.

I awoke in the same bed in the same white room when I first died. I sat up, seeing Selene watching me from the foot of the bed. "What happened?" I hurt. A lot.

"You are no longer an Angel, Nathan. The Gods decided that we would no longer allow Angels access to the human realms."

I took a moment to think; I felt somewhat empty now. "So I'm dead?"

She shook her head. "Your words and deeds were enough to save you, I will be sending you back down. Things won't be the same, though." She got up and walked to the side of the bed. "You are no longer immortal, Nathan. That went away with the wings."

"So I'm going to age and die?"

"Yes, and so is Wendy. The immortality she possessed as the result of her magic was also removed. Immortals in the human world are too dangerous any more, there are so many humans, so unpredictable, so capable of destruction. Zeus has implemented a hands-off policy, he is removing those influences. Whether you live or die, even how you live or who you worship, is all up to you now." She patted my hand. "You're doing a good job as an Alpha, Nathan. Your example is turning werewolves back to me. Eventually, what I asked you to do is happening."

I sat up, groaning in pain as every muscle and joint in my body protested. "Why do I hurt so much?"

"Your healing is at a werewolf rate now. You'll be fine in a day or so."

I threw my legs over the edge. "My enemies will attack me if I'm vulnerable."

She laughed. "I doubt that. I left you with your previous size and strength, and your fighting skills remain unmatched. Be measured with your threats and let no one know your immortality is gone, and they will be afraid to do anything."

I nodded; Wendy was also vulnerable now, but we could at least grow old together. Maybe by the time we became vulnerable the world would have changed enough for it not to matter.

"When do I go back, my Goddess?"

"Now," she said as she approached. "I did leave you with one surprise for your mate."

"What did you..." and with that I went black again. I woke up in my bed, a place I had been spending little time after Wendy went to sleep because I would get up and work. I was exhausted and sore, so I pulled her into my side and went back to sleep again.

Six months later

I was in my office when Jessi came running in. "Daddy, Mommy is sick!" She pulled me out of my desk chair and we ran down the hall to the bedroom. I got to our bathroom, Wendy was kneeling in front of the toilet, her hand on the flusher as she finished retching into the bowl. I ran forward and pulled her hair back as she spit into the water.

"Honey, can you get Mommy a glass of water?" She ran to the sink and got a Dixie cup full of water and brought it over as Wendy flushed. She rinsed her mouth and spit into the bowl again. "Can you stand up?"

"I think so." I stood first and helped her up; she washed her hands and brushed her teeth before I led her back to the bed.

"How long have you been feeling this way?"

"It started last week, but this is the first time I've thrown up." Jessi climbed onto the bed and hugged her from behind.

"Come on, we're going to the doctor." I picked her up and carried her out of the house, Jessi following along as we walked across the large campus that was now holding our Pack house, apartments and businesses.

We soon entered the clinic and were shown to a room, where Doctor Elizabeth Parker took her vitals and history. "What symptoms have you been experiencing, Luna?"

Her shoulders dropped. "Frequent nausea, but this was the first time I've thrown up. Smells seem to set it off. I've been tired for weeks, and my boobs are tender."

Dr. Parker smiled, then reached into a cabinet and withdrew a cup. "Go across the hall, fill this and give it to the lab," she said as she filled out a paper.

Twenty minutes later, Wendy was nearly asleep on my lap when she came back in, smiling. "Congratulations, Alphas. You're pregnant."

So THAT is what she meant. "This is one hell of a surprise," I said. I kissed her, and Jessi joined the group hug as the reality sank in.

Thank you, Selene!