The shouting was louder now, I could make it clear.
''I'm telling you now, old man. You are not taking my mate from here. Sara doesn't need to be in your apartment. Molly can help her just as well here''.
''You're being unreasonable, Sara is not coping. We can all see that. I'm honestly worried about what it's doing to her mental health. Greg, please reconsider'.
It was the plea in Peter's voice that propelled me into the apartment uninvited. The two men stopped going at each other as soon as they saw me. Both of them lowered their heads as a mark of submission and respect.
''Grand Luna, what are you doing in here?'' Greg said to me, quite sharply. I only had to raise my eyebrows for him to blush slightly. ''I'm sorry. That came out wrong. I apologise Grand Luna''.
I waved off the apology as concern started to grip me. I looked at both men, waiting for one of them to explain. When neither did I ask the simple question ''Is everything okay?''.
Greg's shoulder slumped, as if in defeat. Peter looked like he had aged ten years since I had seen him last. It was his worn face that looked into mine, now. I nodded encouragement for him to continue.
''It's Sara, Grand L..... Genie. She is in a bad way. One of the twins is not settling. We have all tried to help, but nothing works. Sara has locked herself in the bedroom with Bastian but refuses to have anything to do with the Baby Girl. We are at our wit's end. We were shouting because I think Sara should stay with Molly and me for a while. But Greg doesn't want to be without his mate, he is being unreasonable. Peter finished with a snap in his voice towards Greg. Who, with every word spoken, looked more and more defeated.
My heart ached for them all. Why hadn't they called for me? I would have helped. Sara is my best friend.
I asked this question and only got blank looks for an answer until I heard Molly speak up.
''Genie, Sara feels like a complete failure, she's not eating, bathing or caring for herself in any way. I asked if she would like to see you, and she lost her mind. Saying silly things and becoming upset. So we all dropped that suggestion and tried to keep it in the family. But clearly, we all failed her on that score. She glared daggers at both her husband and son-in-law.
I stood rooted to the spot for a moment, while I took in everything I had learned over the last few minutes. I was trying to come to terms with the fact that my best friend wouldn't see me and that my Beta had kept secrets for my Gamma. I know they are mother and daughter, but when one leads, one must keep protocol in mind. I mentally shook that thought away. For goddess sake, this was Sara.
That was when the lounge door opened a little in the crosswind, and I heard a sound so pure to my heart that it brought instant tears to my eyes. I walked down the hallway that led to the cosy lounge area and pushed the door open. There, crying in her bassinet was the most beautiful baby I had ever seen. She was perfect, from her little pink toes to the fine white blonde hair on her head. The only problem was the sound coming from said baby. She was screaming, crying and upset.
I spun around when I heard movement behind me. And seeing Greg, I almost shouted myself, but I managed not to. ''Why the hell is this child in her crib and not being comforted? Molly, what's going on here? Where is Sara, why isn't she comforting her baby? Guy's. Please tell me what's going on?'
The crying child seemed to ease off for a second but then started crying, but all the harder. We all jumped when a loud crash came from the bedroom door, which was a few doors up from the lounge.
Greg rushed off to see what had made the noise, and I was left with Molly, Peter and the Baby.
While she was starting to explain to me what the fuck was going on here, Molly picked up the baby and started to soothe her. This only upset the baby even more. I could hear Peter ask if he should try before Molly shook her head and laid the baby back down. Although she was still crying, it was a little quieter than before.
''We have tried everything, Genie. Everything. Dr Julia has been here every day since birth. But Sara locked herself in her bedroom two nights ago, and hasn't come out since. What can I do? Baby Girl never stops crying. She will become so exhausted that she will sleep, but only for around twenty minutes, and then it starts all over again.
I could see the fatigue in both Molly and Peter's face, and more so in Greg's when he finally returned.
I felt awful that I hadn't been there for them. I didn't know any of this. The baby girl continued to scream, and my head was ringing from it, so I asked if I could pick her up. What Greg said flippantly ''Sure, everyone else has tried, why not a stranger to her''. Peter smacked him on the back of the head as Greg's words registered with him and had the decency to look contrite.
''Come here, little one'' I cooed as I picked up the precious little thing. I could feel my own heart twanging with longing and something I couldn't put my finger on. I nestled her into my arms and bounced her gently, all the while talking baby talk to her. It was only when someone tapped me on my shoulder that I realized I was completely enchanted by the baby girl.
I looked over my shoulder to see identical shocked faces looking back at me. No one said a word, but Greg reached for the baby. I didn't want to let her go but knew I was being silly, so I handed her back to her father. It was instant. The reason they had all been looking at me like that. As soon as Greg had taken the baby back, she started to scream again. When I held her, she had not only stopped crying but seemed asleep.
Greg handed the screaming baby back, and at once the baby stopped crying. I brought her soft check next to mine as I breathed in her scent. It was odd, the baby didn't smell of Sara and Greg.
Puzzled, I was about to ask something when Sara walked into the room. She looked a mess. Her usual buoyant crazy fun personality was gone, replaced by stress and anxiety. You could see she had lost weight and looked drawn and pale. Greg asked her something quickly and left the room, only to return a moment later with Bastian.
Sara walked over to where I stood holding her daughter and looked at me incredulously. Not sure what she was about to say to me, I steeled myself to have an earful from a protective she-wolf. I had her cub after all, ''You got her to stop crying? Praise the goddess. I have prayed to your mother since we got out of the hospital. Nothing we did made any difference. But look at her now''.
As both Sara and myself looked at the baby, I could feel Sara's arm slide across my shoulders. Like we had done so many times over the years, the action made me smile. It was when Sara touched me and the baby that it happened. There was darkness for a few seconds until my eyes adjusted. Then I saw that we were summoned to the trance-shift realm. My beautiful Sapphire sat beside me, I still held the baby, which surprised me. More shocking than that was that Sara was sitting next to me. Sara, in my Trance shift realm. Sara looked as shocked as I did. And when she spotted Sapphire sitting on the other side of me, she let out a little frightened squeak.
All three of us looked at each other. I was about to explain to Sara where we were when I heard the light ethereal music that normally accompanied my mother begin to play. Within seconds of it starting, we could all see the haze appear with something inside of it that was getting larger. Seconds later, the moon goddess herself stood before us, and Sara's face planted the floor in an attempt to bow as deeply as she could.
Our mother laughed a light airy laugh and told Sara to sit up. While Sara righted herself, Sapphire and I had a silent but furious exchange via our link about what the fuck was going on with her.
With all of us clueless, we could only stare at the goddess and wait for her to address us.
Seeing the baby still asleep in my arms, my mother spoke.
''Good, Genevieve. You got my gift!''.